Meeting the Shichibukai, Smoker's Allegiance!

Achino Volcano Island.

The temporary camp had a three-story building here, nothing grand, not even the exterior walls were painted, just bare bricks and stones.

At this moment, on the top floor of this small building, in a bare room covered with gray and white cement, there are many luxurious pieces of furniture that seem out of place.

The desk exudes an exquisite artistic flair, the sofa is covered in luxurious fur, the wine cabinet has an antique feel, and there are even a few classical art paintings hanging on the bare wall.

This combination makes the style here very unique, yet it also has a special kind of beauty.

At this moment, at the head of the sofa surrounding the coffee table, Ortolan was smoking a cigarette, leaning back on the sofa, looking at everyone in the room.

To his left, in order of position, are Doflamingo and Moria.

To the right of him, in order of position, are Mihawk and Smoker.

That's right, at this moment, Ortolan is chatting with the Shichibukai.

Doflamingo and Moria were Ortolan's old subordinates, and the two of them were very relaxed and unpretentious.

Doflamingo, for example, was swirling a glass of red wine in his hand, sitting in an exaggerated posture, almost squatting on the sofa, with a slightly wicked smile on his lips, and his eyes constantly scrutinizing Smoker across from him behind his orange sunglasses.

Moria unceremoniously stuffed the snacks on the table into his mouth, a strange smile on his face, his eyes occasionally glancing at Mihawk and Smoker.

Compared to those two, Mihawk was sitting back on the sofa with his legs crossed, his Black Blade, Night, which he always carried, resting against the side of the sofa, ready to be picked up at any moment.

His expression remained calm, and when Doflamingo and Moria's gazes swept over him, he would simply look back without flinching.

As for Smoker, he was still as handsome as ever, but he looked more weathered than before, which made him less sharp and more aged.

He held a stress-relief ball in his hand. As he exerted force, the ball was squeezed into a strange shape. As he released his strength, the stress-relief ball quickly returned to its original shape.

"Call..."

Ortolan exhaled a puff of smoke, making the air in the room even more murky. He then calmly knocked the ash from his cigarette into the ashtray, a smile playing on his lips as he looked at Mihawk and said, "Long time no see, Mihawk. Now everyone on the high seas calls you the World's Greatest Swordsman. How impressive..."

Mihawk crossed his arms, his expression perfectly calm. Hearing this, he shrugged and said, "In this New World, you probably can't find anyone more imposing than you. Why bother talking about me?"

"Hahaha... you're much colder than before. I thought we were friends..." Ortolan laughed heartily.

Mihawk's expression shifted slightly, and he looked at Ortolan, murmuring softly, "A friend...? I never expected you to see me this way..."

Ortolan chuckled, took another drag of his cigarette, and ignored Mihawk, turning his gaze to Smoker and saying, "This should be our first meeting, right?"

Compared to Mihawk's coldness, Smoker was much more enthusiastic, smiling as he said, "Admiral, if you remember correctly, although I have always admired you, there has never been a suitable opportunity to visit you before."

Ortolan nodded first, then said, "Thank you for your help with the Red Hair Pirates last time."

"Not at all, I should thank Admiral your guidance afterward, Red-Hair. That Shanks was asking for trouble. Everyone knows what kind of status and position you have in our New World, Admiral. How dare that country bumpkin pirate who came out of nowhere provoke you? He deserved to end up like this." Smoker flattered.

As he said this, Mihawk frowned slightly, seemingly displeased, but did not stop him.

"Let's not dwell on the past." Ortolan waved his hand, then smiled and said, "But I always keep my word. I still remember that promise. By the way, I wonder if you have any connection with Dover?"

Doflamingo laughed and said, "Fufufufufufu, Admiral. Mr. Mingde and I have worked together quite a bit these past few years, so we must have some contact."

Smoker nodded and said, "That's right. Thanks to you, I've gotten quite a bit closer to Doflamingo these past two days."

"Then let's go." Ortolan nodded, and continued, "Dover and Moria are my friends. Keep in touch with them. We're all on the same side, so don't be too distant. If anything happens, don't forget each other."

Hearing Ortolan's words, Moria smiled kindly and nodded to Smoker.

Smoker was overjoyed because Ortolan had just used the phrase "one of our own," which meant that he had finally gained the approval of this powerful figure!

From now on, he can try to move from the outer circle to the inner circle. Obviously, because of his identity, the Admiral even specially asked Doflamingo and Moria to guide him, so that he can understand how to integrate into the circle of Marine Admiral Ortolan as a pirate, just like Doflamingo and the others.

Now, Ortolan also has some ideas about Smoker.

Actually, at first, he didn't take this guy seriously, because this guy wasn't the Great Pirate he remembered. In other words, he might have been able to stay in the New World for very long before he died due to various unexpected reasons.

He was either taken care of by the Marines, killed by pirates, or retired on his own. Of course, he might have died in some natural disaster caused by a sudden climate change. In any case, he did not appear in the original story.

So at that time, Ortolan didn't take Smoker seriously at all. He just treated him as a lucky nobody. After extorting 20 billion Belly from him Shichibukai, he never paid any more attention to him.

But later, Smoker's performance really surprised him. This guy was definitely a strong person. The Paramecia type Crush-Crush Fruit indeed powerful. With his position as Shichibukai and his personal strength, he had repeatedly provoked the Whitebeard Pirates and was still able to get better and better, which proved his ability.

The destruction of the Red Hair Pirates brought this guy back into Ortolan's sights.

After that, Ortolan stopped ignoring the guy and paid him some attention, even letting him experience some of the benefits of working outside the circle.

This step was actually Ortolan testing Smoker to see what his true mindset and thoughts were.

As it turns out, this kid is quite charming. Ortolan's impression of him back then was that he was somewhat unruly, but now, after so many years, he has matured a lot. He can say nice things to flatter people and has become more tactful.

That arrogant air of Great Pirate is definitely still there, otherwise he wouldn't be in his current position. But he knows to restrain himself in front of me, and that's enough.

In this environment dominated by the sea, no matter how prosperous the Marines becomes in the future, pirates will never be eradicated. In fact, it can be said that the Marines will not allow pirates to be eradicated. But how can the value of the Marines be demonstrated?

The same applies to the New World. The Whitebeard incident was just the beginning. Just as Charlotte Linlin thought, after dealing with Whitebeard, Ortolan will begin his next plan against the Beasts Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates. He will only consider it over when he has the entire New World under his control.

Even so, he could not stop the pirates from emerging endlessly in the New World, like weeds.

Pirates are impossible to eradicate.

Ortolan was very clear about this, so he also needed to cultivate a controllable person who belonged to him to become the Pirate Overlord of the New World, and even the new king of pirates!

It became the sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of all nations in the New World!

There are many situations that the Marines cannot easily handle, but pirates don't have as many concerns.

The new pirate king cannot be Charlotte Linlin, because she is unsuitable, nor can it be Kaido, because Kaido is uncontrollable.

Doflamingo is actually very suitable for this kind of dirty work, but since Doflamingo has already started to redeem himself, Ortolan wouldn't want to drag him back into this quagmire.

Moreover, his strength is indeed lacking, insufficient to suppress the pirate forces.

As for Moria, this was even more true.

Smoker is currently Ortolan's top choice. He himself seems very willing to continue to maintain his pirate identity. After all, with Doflamingo and others being redeemed, Smoker has been frantically expanding his pirate attributes and influence after the Hachinosu Island incident.

This in itself is a manifestation of ideology. Besides, he is pragmatic. He may not be as cunning and shrewd as Doflamingo, but he is not a fool. For Ortolan, that is enough.

Of course, the most important thing is that his strength is formidable enough!

Indeed, Smoker's strength is clearly much greater than that of Moria and Doflamingo, Shichibukai.

He could even rival the greatest swordsman like Mihawk!

Otherwise, under such high-pressure conditions in the New World, he wouldn't be able to hold onto his position Supreme Leader the fourth Great Pirate force.

It's even more impossible that he could have been locked in a stalemate with the Whitebeard Pirates for so many years, preventing Newgate from twisting his head off!