A Tragic Life

Ener couldn't help frowning. Underground... that would be troublesome. He couldn't exactly flip the entire street over, could he?

That would cause far too much commotion and destruction.

If he really did that, Smoker would probably be the first to step in and stop him.

So Ener entered the weapon shop once more and found the owner.

"Gulp..."

The owner swallowed. One glance at the situation outside was enough for him to know how fierce the battle had been. Yet this Major before him was completely unharmed; even his cape hadn't been damaged.

He clearly possessed an overwhelming advantage.

Ener merely chuckled. "Boss, how much is this Kitetsu?"

The owner replied, "Twenty thousand Beli."

Ener said, "This is Sandai Kitetsu. While it isn't among the Fifty Skillful Blades, it's still a Famed Blade. You're really selling it for only twenty thousand Beli?"

The owner fell silent for a moment. "Major, this is a cursed blade! If I hadn't just witnessed your strength and believed you could tame it, I never would have sold it to you... Besides, since I put it among the worst blades, I have to sell it at the price of the worst blades."

"Then thank you very much!" Ener took out twenty thousand Beli and handed it over.

Then he changed the subject. "I heard you also have Yubashiri, one of the Fifty Skillful Blades. Would you be willing to sell it to me? I'll offer thirty million Beli..."

The owner froze slightly, then looked surprised. He couldn't understand how this Major had known.

But after lowering his head to consider it, he said, "Please wait a moment."

Before long, the owner came out holding Yubashiri and presented it to Ener. "I've always wanted to find it a suitable owner, so it can become famous throughout the world once again."

Ener accepted it. "I'll have Smoker deliver the Beli later, along with an extra ten million... That ten million is for the shop owners affected by the battle just now. It's compensation from me. After all, those pirates came because of me."

The owner's eyes lit up at that. "Then I'll thank you on their behalf, Major."

This time, he received no reward. Yubashiri and Sandai Kitetsu were both Famed Blades and both belonged to the Skillful Blade class. After all, the Sword Soul System only granted one reward per blade grade.

What a pity.

Still, Zoro could have one more Famed Blade in his hands.

Then Ener walked out with the blades. With a burst of strength from his legs, he shot into the sky and used Geppo to head toward the harbor.

He was incredibly fast.

"Rumble..."

But at that moment, a violent explosion sounded in the distance. Ener instinctively turned his head, and after only one look, his eyes widened.

Because he saw someone trading blows with Smoker.

"Holy shit..."

Ener was utterly stunned. Across the entire East Blue, Smoker was absolutely invincible. Even in the original story, when Luffy, the protagonist, faced Smoker, he needed his father Dragon to stop Smoker for him.

But now...

Ener stopped in midair and watched the two continuously clash. One was smoke, while the other was mud...

A Logia?

That made sense. In the East Blue, only someone who was also a Logia could hold Smoker back.

Still, this ability was somewhat similar to the Swamp-Swamp Fruit. He wondered which one was superior and which was inferior.

Now he understood why Smoker hadn't caught up earlier.

So this guy had stopped him.

At the same time, Smoker roared in anger, "Gak, what are you doing? Don't forget that you were once a Marine too."

"A Marine?... Heh heh... Hahahaha..." Gak burst into laughter.

"That's right, I was once a Marine. So what?"

"Are you going to ask why I became a dog for those people?"

"Why? Because they can give me what I want... If I had remained in the Marines, could I have obtained this Logia—Mud-Mud Fruit?"

"Could I?"

"Besides, with a single call from the Celestial Dragons, even the Marine Admirals, the Marines' highest fighting force, have to obediently run over to protect them.

"They'll even kill everyone the Celestial Dragons want dead, regardless of right or wrong.

"So the entire Marine organization is nothing more than the Celestial Dragons' dogs.

"Since that's the case, what's wrong with me following those people?

"After all, they're serving the Celestial Dragons too. I've merely changed identities to serve the Celestial Dragons.

"To put it even more bluntly, aren't we all being dogs for the Celestial Dragons? What gives you the right to stand on the moral high ground and condemn me?

"If you've got the guts, use your morality to condemn those lofty Admirals!

"If you've got the guts, condemn the Celestial Dragons!

"We're all dogs. Who's more noble than whom?"

"You..."

Smoker was left unable to refute him, because Gak wasn't wrong at all. How could he argue against that?

"Whew..."

Smoker took a deep breath and only spoke after calming himself. "Even so, you should have your own bottom line. Don't forget that you once wore justice upon your body."

"Wore justice???"

"Hahahaha..."

It was as though Gak had heard the funniest joke in the world. He laughed so hard he could barely catch his breath.

When the laughter finally stopped, Gak's expression twisted into a savage one as he roared, "Smoker, have you forgotten how my wife and daughter died?!"

"They died beneath your Marines' justice."

"I was fighting pirates on the front lines, while my wife and daughter died at the hands of my comrades. And now you're standing before me, talking about justice?"

"If my justice couldn't even protect my wife and daughter, then what the hell do I need that justice for?"

"This..."

Ener, who had already arrived beside the two of them, felt as though he had just heard the greatest piece of gossip in the world.

He didn't consider himself a good person, but he could never bring himself to harm the wife and daughter of a comrade fighting on the front lines.

He looked at Gak with some sympathy.

Just hearing it was enough for him to deeply feel Gak's pain.

The deaths of his wife and daughter had already left him grief-stricken. Yet they had died beneath the justice he believed in... That was simply...

The deaths of his wife and daughter, the betrayal of his comrades, and the collapse of his faith—all of it had come together.

Honestly, the fact that Gak could still live on so strongly was already a miracle. After all, few people in this world could endure such a blow.

Ener would be no different.

He asked timidly, "Which bastard would actually kill the wife and daughter of a comrade fighting on the front lines? Is he even human? I, Ener, may not be a good person, but I really couldn't do something so utterly vile."

Ener's words made both Gak and Smoker turn to look at him.

The instant Gak saw Ener, his eyes narrowed, and a cold glint flashed within them. "It was you?"

Then he laughed again and turned toward Smoker. "Look. Even the son of that bastard Burns knows this isn't something a human should do. Yet our Admiral went ahead and did it."

"An Admiral?"

Ener immediately caught the key point.

Then he looked at Gak with even more sympathy. "Don't tell me your wife and daughter ran into that mad dog Akainu?"

"Mad dog?"

Gak was slightly taken aback, then laughed. "That's right. That guy is a mad dog. To kill pirates, he'll use any method and sacrifice anyone.

"My wife and daughter were captured by pirates, but even after they revealed their identities, that madman still attacked without hesitation..."

"So it really was him."

It was unexpected, because anyone capable of killing women and children would see no difference in pirates.

Yet it was also only natural, because Akainu was exactly that kind of person.