The White Hunter, Smoker!

Chapter 8: White Hunter Smoker!

East Blue, Loguetown.

Known as the "Town of Beginnings and Endings," this was the birthplace of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, and the site of his final execution.

The grand, tumultuous Great Pirate Era was ignited right here.

And the throne that once belonged to Roger still stands in the town square to this day: the infamous execution platform.

After a seven-day journey aboard a merchant vessel, Bane finally stepped onto the docks of this town.

"Just how absurd is the Straw Hat Pirates' speed?" Bane couldn't help but sigh, feeling the exhaustion of the week-long voyage.

In less than half a year, the Straw Hat Pirates had navigated through various adventures across the East Blue and reached the Sabaody Archipelago at the end of the first half of the Grand Line.

If they had relied on the speed of a merchant ship, it would be a mystery whether they could even cover half that distance in a year.

Standing at the port, feeling the pleasant sea breeze, Bane glanced back at the pier. Loguetown was indeed a famous and prosperous island town in the East Blue; the docks were packed with ships of all sizes from across the seas.

Unexpectedly, Bane even spotted a pirate ship!

As far as he knew, the base commander of the Loguetown Marine base at this time was none other than the Marine Headquarters Captain known as the White Hunter, Smoker.

In the original story, Smoker had confidently told his subordinates that during his tenure in Loguetown, he had never let a single pirate escape.

In other words, any pirate heading from the East Blue to the Grand Line who actually made it out—like that "East Blue Overlord" Don Krieg—must have bypassed Loguetown entirely, never setting foot here.

So, it was obvious: the owner of this pirate ship would likely meet their misfortune here before long.

Honestly, the public security in the East Blue was quite good; Bane hadn't encountered a single pirate during his entire week at sea.

After glancing twice at the pirate flag and confirming it belonged to some small-time thugs he didn't recognize, Bane lost interest. He stepped away from the port and headed toward the town, planning to collect his bounty at the Marine base, visit Roger's execution platform, experience the local culture, rest for a couple of days, and then catch a new merchant ship to Shimotsuki Village.

Perhaps it was luck, but the moment Bane stepped into the town's commercial district, he heard a sharp, urgent whistle. At the sound, the surrounding merchants froze, then quickly began packing up their goods, shouting to one another, "It's the Marine emergency whistle! Run! They must be catching pirates again!"

In less than three minutes, the entire commercial street was deserted, leaving behind scattered stalls, small shops, and a bewildered Bane standing in the middle of the road.

"Huh? Are they always this practiced?" Bane looked at the empty street, unsure of how to react.

The next second, the sound of gunfire crackled from the end of the street, and a group of pirates came charging out, pursued by a large detachment of Marines.

The lead pirate was a burly man with a shaved head and an eyepatch, wielding a pistol in his left hand and a cutlass in his right, his aura fierce and savage.

"Damn it! Didn't they say that White Hunter went back to Marine Headquarters to report? Why is he suddenly appearing here?" the pirate captain cursed while shouting at his underlings to hurry up.

Just then, thick white smoke erupted from behind them, surging forward at incredible speed. Within three or four breaths, it engulfed the straggling pirate lackeys, silencing them instantly. The smoke didn't pause, accelerating again to chase down the pirates ahead.

The pirate captain ignored the fate of his men, focused solely on escaping. After running for over a hundred meters, he spotted Bane standing in the middle of the road, looking as if he were frozen in fear.

"Get lost!" the pirate captain cursed, raising his blade to slash at Bane.

However, before his blade could fall, his vision suddenly went black. He felt as if he had been swallowed by an infinite, boundless darkness in that very instant!

"What is this?" the pirate captain exclaimed.

Before he could react, a large hand emerged from the darkness, precisely gripping his throat. A terrifying force surged from the hand, dragging him off the ground, and for a moment, the captain felt a sensation of weightlessness.

The next instant, with a loud thud, Bane slammed him into the ground. The solid stone tiles shattered instantly, and blood pooled from the back of the captain's head. After a few twitches, he stopped moving.

At the same time, the dense white smoke swallowed the remaining pirate lackeys.

The surging white smoke and the thick dark elements confronted each other on the street for a moment. Soon, Smoker's figure slowly emerged from the smoke, and the darkness gradually dissipated, revealing Bane, who looked at Smoker with a bright smile.

"You... you aren't a space-related ability user," Smoker said after a moment, looking at Bane.

Clearly, as a Captain of Marine Headquarters, he kept a close eye on the situation at sea and recognized Bane's identity at a glance: the culprit who had killed Thatch, the Fourth Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates!

Of course, that was the perspective of the Whitebeard Pirates; to Smoker, Bane had simply rid the world of a menace—a job well done!

"I never claimed to be a space-related ability user," Bane replied with a chuckle.

Smoker held no hostility toward Bane, though he remained vigilant. He stood his ground and asked, "Come to think of it, no one knows your name yet. Would you mind introducing yourself?"

"Bane." Bane didn't hide anything and gave his answer directly. After a brief pause, he added with a smile, "As for my profession, I suppose I'm a pirate hunter? I just turned twenty this year. Anything else you want to ask?"

Smoker hadn't expected the guy to be so forthcoming, answering everything in one go. He thought for a moment and added, "Yes. What are you doing in Loguetown?"

"Collecting a bounty. Like I said, I'm a pirate hunter. I've been traveling to avoid retaliation from the Whitebeard Pirates and never had the chance to collect the bounty on Thatch. Now that I'm in the East Blue, it's safer, so I came to you Marines to collect. Three hundred and sixty million Berries—don't try to shortchange me," Bane said cheerfully.

Smoker looked at the half-dead pirate at Bane's feet and replied, "By my count, that should be three hundred and sixty-two million, two hundred thousand Berries."

Bane understood the implication and didn't refuse, nodding, "You're the one paying, so you make the call."

As they spoke, the main force of the Marines caught up. Without needing orders from Smoker, the soldiers began the routine task of "bagging" the pirates.

Seeing this, Smoker said, "This isn't the place to talk. Do you mind coming to the Marine base? We Marines are quite interested in you."

Bane had intended to go to the Marine base anyway; Smoker could only pay him there. Moreover, Bane trusted Smoker's character. Since he had never had any conflict with the Marines, he didn't mind. After giving his consent, the two headed toward the Loguetown Marine base together.

As soon as they stepped through the gate of the base, a cute girl wearing glasses rushed toward them, looking rather flustered.

Bane recognized her at a glance; this female Marine was Tashigi.

"Captain Smoker, are you alright?" Tashigi asked with concern.

Smoker waved his hand dismissively, his tone cold. "What could possibly happen to me?"

Then, before Tashigi could speak again, Smoker ordered, "Report to Headquarters. Tell them the one who killed Thatch has come to our Loguetown base to collect the bounty. He is a pirate hunter named Bane."

"Oh..." Tashigi responded instinctively, then froze, looking at Bane in surprise.

Smoker, however, didn't coddle her. Seeing her dazed expression, he barked, "What are you staring at? Get moving!"