Things Were Different Now

"You beat him?" Ham asked Rogge in surprise.

"No, but there's no need to keep going, is there, Captain Smoker?" Rogge glanced at Smoker.

Smoker gritted his teeth. How could he let it end like this? If Rogge hadn't taken a Marine soldier hostage, he never would have fallen for that attack. Refusing to accept it, he charged again and swept out a kick.

Bang!

Rogge raised an arm to block the kick, then activated his Chop-Chop Fruit ability. Smoker's foot broke apart and dispersed into a cloud of smoke.

"I told you. You don't have what it takes to bring me down," Rogge said bluntly.

"Justice will never tolerate scum on the seas!" Smoker roared. Smoke billowed from his body and engulfed Rogge once more.

Rogge's gaze hardened at Smoker's stubbornness. Smoker was stronger than Hina, that much was certain. But he relied too heavily on his Devil Fruit, just like Ace. Neither his hand-to-hand combat nor his fighting technique had caught up with his ability.

If anyone in the world had mastered a Devil Fruit ability to its limits, Rogge thought it had to be Admiral Kizaru, the most mysterious Marine. His ability had carried him all the way to the rank of Admiral.

Kizaru's hand-to-hand combat might have fallen a little short of the other two Admirals', but his Glint-Glint Fruit was terrifying. As Zephyr had said, Borsalino's hand-to-hand skills were lacking, but no one could deny that he had developed his Devil Fruit ability to its limits. Even after hearing that two of the Four Emperors, Kaido and Big Mom Charlotte Linlin, had joined forces, he had stepped forward and asked Akainu whether he should go to Wano Country.

The Admirals were far stronger than they appeared. There was a reason Blackbeard had fled from Akainu despite possessing two Devil Fruit abilities.

But compared with the Three Admirals' command of their Logia Devil Fruits, Smoker's Smoke-Smoke Fruit had no offensive power of its own. What could smoke do, put out fires? At least the flames of the Flame-Flame Fruit could burn people.

The Smoke-Smoke Fruit was just a cloud of air. Against an opponent on the same level, it was damn near useless. No wonder Smoker would get beaten down the moment he appeared as a Vice Admiral a few years later.

Rogge scoffed at Smoker's words. "Justice? Justice is bullshit. In this world, might makes right. Only the weak keep that word on their lips."

With that, Rogge drove a fist forward. It crushed through the countless streams of white smoke, compressing even the air around them. Smoker had no choice but to emerge from his elemental form.

"Smoker, don't you get it yet? I don't even consider you an opponent anymore." Rogge stood beside him, one arm wrapped around Smoker's neck, trapping it in the crook of his elbow.

So fast! Smoker's eyes widened. He hadn't even seen Rogge move. Almost the instant that punch sent out its pressure wave, Rogge had appeared beside him.

"Shark Bite!"

With Smoker's neck locked under his arm, Rogge rushed toward a tree and pinned him against the trunk. Then he put his strength into his arm and slammed Smoker into it.

Bang!

The trunk snapped. Smoker spat blood, clutching his neck as his eyes rolled back in pain. Rogge had nearly crushed his throat.

Rogge shook out his arm as he watched Smoker writhe on the ground, clutching his neck. No wonder the Raikage needed Bee to help with this move. With two people using it together, they could easily snap someone's neck.

"Smoker!" Hina saw what had happened, broke away from Jelly, and rushed over. Seeing Smoker clutch his neck in agony, she immediately formed iron bars to hold it steady. She couldn't let him keep moving it. If pressure hit the wrong nerve, Smoker might never recover.

"Goodbye, Marines. Honestly, I'd rather not see you again. Nothing good ever comes of it." Rogge smiled and headed for the shore.

With Smoker down, the Marine soldiers stopped fighting too. They had suffered no small number of casualties. The Asura Pirates might have had few members, but each of them was strong enough to take on a hundred men. Ordinary Marine soldiers were no match for them.

"Logia Devil Fruit users don't seem all that special," Jelly said, looking at Smoker, whom Rogge had defeated.

"Don't get carried away. He'd crush you," Rogge said with a faint smile.

"You're kidding! How about I fight him right now?" Jelly protested.

"If you beat him in that state, it wouldn't prove anything. Come on, there's no reason to stay," Ham said.

"We can't leave yet," Cook pointed out. "The Log Pose hasn't set. They're the ones who need to go."

"Good point." Rogge laughed. They still needed to record the island's magnetic field, so they couldn't leave. He turned his gaze toward the Marines.

Supporting Smoker, Hina glanced at them before helping him aboard a warship. The other soldiers carried away the wounded, and the ten warships departed the island.

"It's kind of hard to believe," Ham said as he watched the warships leave. He put a cigarette in his mouth and took a drag.

"What is?" Simon asked.

"A few months ago, we were just a bunch of thugs," Jelly said with a grin.

"No, you were the only thug," Rogge said, shaking his head.

Jelly shot Rogge a sidelong glance and spat out three words.

"Idiot. Get lost."

Rogge ignored Jelly. He knew what Ham was getting at. Back in West Blue, they had sailed with someone else's pirate crew. Then Rogge had turned them against their captain, and they had killed him, breaking a pirate crew's most sacred rule. If they had been with the Whitebeard Pirates, they would have been killed many times over.

Killing your own captain was a grave taboo. But out in West Blue, who would ever know?

The Heavenly Tribute Incident had been the turning point in their lives. Rogge had risked his life to give them the strength they had now. Their crew still numbered only seven, yet they had just faced thousands of Marines and a Logia Devil Fruit user. They had won and forced the Marines to retreat.

"The next island is Alabasta, right?" Rogge asked, resting his hands on his hips.

"Captain, we..." Simon began.

Rogge waved a hand. "Crocodile is a Logia Devil Fruit user too, but that doesn't mean we can't deal with him. If he wants a fight, we'll give him one. What's there to be afraid of? If we tiptoe around every danger, what's the point of sailing? Enjoy the voyage. We're only getting started. One Shichibukai won't stop us."

Simon nodded firmly. He had placed his complete trust in Rogge now, because Rogge had the courage to charge ahead no matter what stood in his way. That one punch had shattered all of Simon's doubts, leaving him with a single thought: he would follow Rogge wherever he went.