Communication in the Hospital Room

'The homeland of the One Piece, the changing of the guard, the clarion call of a new emperor of the seas!'

What signal is the God Slayer sending by reigning supreme over Roger's execution platform?

'A major upheaval has shaken Loguetown; the East Blue is about to be reshaped!'

The navy has suffered another setback; who can stop him?

A few days later, outside a hospital in Loguetown, Kuzan sat on the steps, looking at the headlines in his newspaper and sighing softly.

"This is getting more and more complicated... It feels... so troublesome."

He scratched his head.

Morgans's intentions were too obvious; he was simply helping the One Piece gain momentum while simultaneously undermining the World Government.

This is just an old trick used by news agencies.

Looking at the recently rising stars like Fire Fist Ace, they were all created and promoted by Morgans in the same way.

However, the publicity surrounding Oboro was even more exaggerated, and more effort was put into it.

These newspapers are not all published by news agencies; there are also local tabloids that use news from news agencies to further embellish and manipulate information. Therefore, even if World Government intend to block the media on the market, it will be to no avail.

Despite the constant flow of tabloids and rumors, the story was still widely circulated.

Public opinion is difficult to control.

"Ha ha ha ha."

At that moment, Kuzan heard laughter coming from the ward behind him, got up and went in.

Inside the room, Smoker, his body wrapped in bandages, had already woken up. Garp was sitting on the sofa, laughing heartily and teasing the younger generation.

Smoker had a stern face.

If it were any other high-ranking naval officer, he would never have given them face or behaved so obediently.

But Smoker remained silent when it came to Lieutenant General Garp, no matter how much Garp tried to amuse him.

"Oh."

After Kuzan entered, he gestured to Smoker as a greeting.

"How about it?"

"I'm fine now, I can be discharged."

"Sigh...wouldn't it be better to be in the hospital recuperating and getting some rest? I've never had the chance to do that..." Kuzan said.

"..."

Smoker.

"The situation at the base has been resolved, and reconstruction has begun."

Kuzan also found a seat and sat down to let them know.

"We've learned pretty much everything... In short, this Celestial Dragons's slave is no ordinary guy. Our intelligence on him is very limited and incomplete. Especially regarding his strength, the World Government sent people to his former homeland but found no clues. That country has been extinct for a long time... It was originally a member state, but because it failed to pay tribute on time, it was sanctioned and, after losing protection, became a non-member state and was quickly engulfed by war... Although the territory still exists, it has become the territory of the Revolutionary Army. It won't be so easy for the World Government to infiltrate... Besides, so much time has passed, no one remembers this royal descendant anymore... So..."

Kuzan spoke up.

"When he became a slave of the Celestial Dragons, he was a useless piece of trash... After arriving in the Holy Land Mary Geoise, there was no time or space for him to undergo any kind of change. So, how did he become so strong?" Smoker lay on the bed. He was clearly only a colonel, but he was not intimidated at all when facing a Marine Admiral.

It's clear that he's familiar with Aokiji.

But his tone still carried a sense of usual toughness, even a hint of questioning.

Kuzan, with an expression of reluctance and aversion to trouble, replied, "This question isn't unique to you... no one else can figure it out. The only explanation might be that he possessed considerable strength before becoming a slave, perhaps it was a disguise?"

However, this seems somewhat inconsistent with Oboro's background and experiences of being born into a fallen kingdom.

That's very unreasonable.

If you have that kind of ability, you could escape the clutches of the Celestial Dragons before anything happens.

"Or rather... he was targeting the Celestial Dragons; he had his eye on Celestial Dragons."

Kuzan's eyes were lowered, and his narrow, open eyes revealed a sense of worry.

What do you think of his abilities?

Kuzan had a fairly good understanding of Smoker's strength, so he asked.

After all, on the Navy side, Smoker is the only one God Slayer and survived.

"This person is dangerous... but not enough to make someone as important as you worry." Smoker had barely woken up when he lit a cigar again.

He knew what Aokiji was asking: how did the God Slayer compare to him, as a general?

"I see..."

Kuzan nodded.

"I was just careless."

Smoker took a deep drag of his cigarette and said coldly.

"Main idea?"

Kuzan frowned.

"I'm serious."

But looking over, all that could be seen was Smoker's serious face.

The latter was not trying to be tough or save face.

"I'm sorry, but a lot of people up there are overwhelmed with this issue right now. From the moment I arrived in Loguetown, the aftermath of the East Blue affair is no longer your concern." Kuzan. "So... I'll help you catch him."

Seeing Smoker's expression change, as if he was about to lose his temper.

Kuzan suddenly looked over calmly. "I'm not joking... In the few days you were unconscious, the Yonko's forces have already reached the East Blue. To be honest, I can hardly imagine what will happen next."

"..."

Smoker opened his mouth as if to speak, but a vein bulged on his forehead, and he swallowed his words.

"Otherwise... why do you think even Vice Admiral Garp came?"

Kuzan then extended a thumb and pointed at Garp, who was sitting to the side.

His naval admiral was nominally the highest-ranking commander, but those within his own ranks knew that while the admiral was the leader, the real figurehead was this old man.

It could be said that Garp wasn't directed at Oboro, but rather at one of the Yonko.

When Kuzan mentioned Garp, the two of them realized that there was someone else sitting in the room... Garp did not participate in their conversation at all.

Kuzan turned his head and looked... and sure enough.

The old man, who had been laughing and Smoker when he entered the house, was now holding a rice cracker in his hand, as if he was about to eat it... but his head was tilted back, with snot bubbles hanging from his nose... and he was snoring away, fast asleep.

"..."

Kuzan silently lowered his hand, slowly stood up, and prepared to leave.

"I'll ask you one last question."

Before leaving, Kuzan stopped in his tracks. "How did he manage to injure you without knowing how to use Haki?"

"Gas."

Smoker paused for a moment, recalling the sensations in his body when he was injured, and uttered a single word.

"Gas?"

"Hmm... I feel like airflow has entered my body, and my tense, compressed muscles can't stop it at all."

"Is it... a Devil Fruit ability?"

Kuzan stroked his chin.

"No."

Smoker said with certainty, "I can't quite describe the feeling of being attacked, but it doesn't feel like a Devil Fruit ability... Moreover, although this method can ignore the Iron Body's defense to some extent, if I react quickly enough and transform into an elemental form in advance, it can't hurt me."

"Oh right, him..."

"Based on your situation, we can now basically conclude that he came from the sea... not from the sea itself." Kuzan seemed to know what the other person was going to ask, waved his hand, and answered as he was leaving.

"Get some rest, our hero."

Even if they don't catch the culprit, the information they have about the God Slayer is invaluable.