"Hehahaha! Lord Wang Shi said I'm his friend!"
Bartolomeo shouted excitedly to his underlings on either side, his eyes sparkling with little stars.
The red-haired big sister Dezaya and the little gang leader Gambia were just as thrilled.
This was a big shot who commanded the East Blue.
Wang Shi had actually paid attention to a bunch of petty underworld thugs like them.
It was like a top leader shaking hands with a naive, clueless college student—enough to leave anyone flustered.
"Hey! You thugs, get the hell out of here!"
Captain Smoker had no great fondness for these underworld thugs and directly ordered them away.
These thugs had no bounties on their heads, so the Marines weren't responsible for them.
Loguetown also had a security force from the Polaris Kingdom, but those people clearly couldn't handle Bartolomeo, a Devil Fruit user.
Seeing the Marine soldiers blocking their way, Bartolomeo and the other thugs immediately grew wary.
Smoker, a Logia user, was the nightmare of every pirate and gang thug in the East Blue.
They couldn't land a hit on him, while he could beat them senseless.
Even Bartolomeo, who feared nothing, didn't dare provoke Captain Smoker.
"Captain Smoker, this friend of mine clearly cares about the East Blue's rise. He's a true hero."
"I, Wang Shi, love making friends with heroes like him."
Wang Shi waved away the Marine soldiers and walked toward the green-haired man with the rooster-comb hairstyle.
"Hehahaha! Lord Wang Shi said I'm a hero!"
Bartolomeo shouted excitedly like a child who'd spotted his idol, nervously wiping his hands on his clothes again and again.
"Hmph, him? A hero?"
Smoker watched Wang Shi, frowning. But he soon understood what Wang Shi was after.
The man had even managed to recruit a pirate like El Drago.
It seemed Wang Shi had set his sights on Bartolomeo, the Devil Fruit user.
Smoker hadn't expected Wang Shi to pay attention to even a lowlife like this.
His ambitions really were enormous. He was recruiting subordinates everywhere.
"Hero, why don't we take a stroll around the Pirate King Execution Platform together?"
Wang Shi smiled faintly and took the initiative to invite Bartolomeo, giving the underworld boss plenty of respect and making him feel valued.
"I-I... Yes! Let me show Lord Wang Shi around. I know Loguetown better than anyone!"
Bartolomeo was flustered by Wang Shi's invitation, but quickly pulled himself together.
He absolutely couldn't embarrass himself in front of his idol.
He was, after all, the boss of Loguetown's underworld.
And a Hero of the East Blue, as Lord Wang Shi had called him.
Heh, he liked this new nickname, Hero of the East Blue.
He decided to ditch the Cannibal title from now on.
From now on, he was Bartolomeo, Hero of the East Blue!
He would follow his idol Wang Shi, the Emperor of the East Blue.
Eric and El Drago watched the green-haired man in surprise. They hadn't expected Wang Shi to think so highly of him.
Eric, who operated in these waters, had heard of this underworld boss.
They said no one could break through his barrier.
He wondered whether his Wind Blade could defeat the man.
Zoro and Saka each stroked their new swords, silently following behind as they took in the bustling island known as the Island of Beginnings and Endings.
After years of training on Shimotsuki Island, they truly hadn't visited many islands or seen much of the world.
"Lord Wang Shi, that's the platform where Pirate King Roger was executed."
Like an underling, Bartolomeo excitedly introduced one of Loguetown's famous sights to Wang Shi.
Dezaya, Gambia, and the other thugs followed close behind, hoping Wang Shi would pay them some attention, offer them a word of praise, and make them famous too.
"Pirate King Roger died at fifty-three. Life really is fragile..."
Wang Shi gazed at the unremarkable Execution Platform, his eyes filled with a longing for immortality.
Even the most powerful pirates of the sea were either tormented by illness or constrained by age, until they ultimately became a handful of dust.
Even Roger, as powerful as he was, had contracted a terminal illness.
Whitebeard Newgate, hailed as the World's Strongest Man, was already seventy, his old injuries beyond healing, with an IV drip keeping him alive.
What did decades of dominance amount to?
Invincibility, immortality, absolute power...
Those were the things Wang Shi wanted.
"Pirate King Roger ushered in the Great Pirate Era. His life was full of legend! He was a great hero..."
Bartolomeo said with some admiration. Most pirates and underworld thugs still dreamed of winning the same fame and fortune as Pirate King Roger.
"Hmph. A criminal who ushered in an age of chaos!"
Hearing Bartolomeo praise Roger, Smoker spoke coldly, already regarding the underworld boss as a potential pirate.
Someone who worshipped Roger would go to sea and become a pirate sooner or later!
It seemed he'd have to keep an eye on that green-haired freak.
Still, Wang Shi was lamenting Roger's short life and how fragile life was.
That was a truly unusual perspective.
Smoker had never heard anyone say such a thing before.
After all, most ambitious people wanted to become world-famous figures like the Pirate King.
Fame, wealth, power... Those were the things people pursued all their lives.
"Roger, what was the point of starting the Great Pirate Era at the cost of your life?"
"Are you sure that single-minded fool can change the world?"
Wang Shi murmured softly as he walked toward the Execution Platform, wanting to experience the view Pirate King Roger had seen back then.
"Stop! Wang Shi, you're not allowed on the Execution Platform."
Smoker's expression darkened as he immediately moved to stop him.
"No one can stop me, Smoker!"
Without even turning around, Wang Shi waved his hand. Smoker, who was about to draw his Jitte, vanished from the spot.
The sight left Tashigi and the Marines frozen in place, staring in stunned disbelief.
Had their Captain Smoker been exiled?
What should they do? What should they do?
Was Smoker going to be trapped there for the rest of his life?
"Smoker was instantly defeated?!"
Bartolomeo's eyes widened. In their eyes, Captain Smoker had been practically invincible, yet Wang Shi had casually made him disappear!
Bartolomeo and his underlings gazed at Wang Shi, who was steadily walking up to the Execution Platform, with even greater admiration.
That was the Emperor of the East Blue's presence and power!
"Even a Logia user can't resist His Majesty's Exile Power! It's just too broken!"
Eric and El Drago were just as astonished. They'd thought the renowned Smoker might at least put up a fight.
But he'd still been banished in an instant.
Too powerful, too unfair!
"Being His Majesty's enemy must be miserable and dangerous."
Saka smiled faintly. Zoro agreed. Smoker hadn't even gotten to fight before being exiled. It was certainly miserable, and he hadn't had a chance to resist.
He wondered how anyone could counter Wang Shi's power.
Was keeping their distance from him the only option?
"Your Majesty Wang Shi, please, please release Captain Smoker!"
Tashigi pleaded with Wang Shi in terror, her eyes full of panic. She hadn't expected even Captain Smoker to be unable to resist him.
Even a Headquarters Vice Admiral couldn't defeat Captain Smoker, a Logia user, that quickly!