Your Acting Is Really Terrible

"Get out of here!"

"Bad Marines!"

The little girl did her best to put on a fierce expression, but paired with her flushed cheeks, she only looked exceptionally obedient and adorable.

Yet Smoker could not laugh at all. Ignoring the little girl, he turned his gaze behind her.

More and more civilians gathered here, faintly surrounding the Marines.

Anger filled their faces, while they held whatever they could find—farm tools, brooms, stools, wooden clubs—things that could barely be called weapons.

Even when facing the Marines, there was not the slightest fear on their faces. There was only resentment that had built up for far too long.

"Leave this place, Marines!"

"You only know how to run from pirates. Now that it's over, you show up?"

"This kind of justice... this kind of justice..."

At the front of the crowd.

A one-armed young man gripped the stump at his shoulder, refusing to let go even as blood soaked through the bandages. The pain made his expression increasingly savage, and his voice was like that of a wounded beast:

"We don't need it!"

"The Branch Base you promised, the port you promised... none of it was ever built! Everything was for money!"

"The pirate attack has only just passed, and you're already this impatient?"

Amid the hoarse, desperate shouts.

Smoker's expression darkened.

Naturally, he could see their true purpose. They merely wanted to protect the pirates hidden within the lord's manor.

But no matter what, he could not understand why these civilians would stand on the pirates' side.

Ignoring the enraged civilians, Smoker turned to Gaza and Gawain, his brows tightly furrowed.

"You played this hand well."

With that said.

Smoker raised a hand, signaling the surrounding Marines to lower their weapons.

He could not bring himself to attack civilians who had just suffered such hardship, especially when part of that hardship had come from the Marines.

Gaza looked around.

In the eyes of these civilians, she felt a warm strength.

At that moment, even the aura from Smoker that had made her legs go weak no longer seemed so unbearable.

She took a deep breath and said calmly, "We did nothing. They came here of their own accord."

"Mr. Marine, if you don't have a search warrant, please leave."

"Tch!"

Smoker snorted coldly, his gaze landing on the Knight beside Gaza.

In the East Blue, the only person who could make him feel danger was Gawain, whom he had fought tonight.

If he had only been surprised before, then now he was certain that the attendant standing before him was Gawain in disguise.

Was he really going to let a pirate escape right in front of him?

Or...

Smoker tightened his grip around the Jitte, his expression shifting uncertainly.

"Captain Smoker!"

Suddenly.

Tashigi hurriedly squeezed through the crowd and rushed to Smoker's side.

"The events at Raven Port yesterday have mostly been cleared up."

"There were three Warships that arrived here in total. After Captain Rat saw through Knight Gawain's identity, he immediately sailed away."

"Another was disguised by Admiral Creek's men. This is their specialty, but they've already been wiped out."

"As for the last group..."

At this point, Tashigi gave Gaza in the distance a strange look before continuing.

"The Marines who rescued the civilians in the port were likely disguised by Knight Gawain's men."

"Pirates?"

Smoker froze slightly.

"That's right."

Tashigi nodded.

"If there wasn't a fourth party involved, that should be the case."

"We are the fourth party."

Smoker sighed.

He understood now why these civilians were willing to risk their lives to stand in front of him.

It was because the civilians of this era were far more simple-hearted than one might imagine. If you treated them well, they would treat you well in return. If you stood up for them, they would be willing to stand before the Marines for you.

Right now, in the eyes of Raven Port's civilians.

Those pirates who had run through cannon fire and personally snatched them back from the hands of death deserved far more respect than the Marines.

For a moment.

Smoker was overwhelmed with mixed feelings. Though unwilling, he ultimately waved his hand.

"We're leaving. Go get a search warrant!"

"Yes!"

Tashigi saluted, her gaze resting on Smoker as she fell slightly dazed.

Perhaps it was an illusion.

But she felt as though something was weighing down on Smoker at that moment, making even his back seem less towering than usual.

The surrounding civilians parted to form a passage, allowing Smoker to lead the Marines away.

Only after the Marines had completely disappeared, and the Warships remaining in the port sounded their horns, did everyone finally let out a long breath.

Many of their clothes had already been soaked with sweat.

"That scared me to death. I thought we were going to fight the Marines here."

"With the weapons in our hands, we can scare people at best. If we really fought the Marines, we'd just be lining up to get shot."

"But didn't we scare that Marine officer away too?"

"Hehe~"

The crowd gradually became noisy.

Yet not a single person regretted coming here today to protect their saviors.

Only then did the one-armed young man come back to his senses. Looking at his blood-soaked shoulder, he grimaced in pain.

Then he gave Gaza a faint smile.

"Lord, this time, it was all thanks to you that we... that we survived."

"I..."

Gaza's gaze dimmed.

"So many people still died in the end. If I had discovered it sooner, if we had been stronger..."

"You've already done very well."

The one-armed young man comforted her, then seemed to recall something and said teasingly, "Also, please pass a message on to our benefactors."

"What is it?"

The one-armed young man grinned.

"Your acting is really terrible. How could Marines possibly risk their own safety and stake their lives to save us?"

"Next time, you can wear your own clothes. You can even bring your own flag."

As he spoke, everyone's gazes gathered on Gaza. Clearly, this was a decision they had discussed long ago.

Seeing the smiles on their faces, Gawain felt something inexplicable grow within his heart.

In the distance.

Smoker stood on the deck, looking toward the lord's manor in the distance as he muttered, "Knight Gawain, just what kind of person are you?"

No one answered Smoker's question.

Tashigi stood quietly beside him, holding the Seastone Jitte that had just been fished out of the sea.

Wooo—!

After the long horn blast, Smoker came back to his senses. He looked toward the distant sea, and the confusion in his eyes gradually faded.

"Among pirates, there may be one or two exceptions. But pirates themselves are the root of the chaos in this world."

"Tashigi."

"Yes!"

"Do you know? I submitted reports about Rat to Headquarters several times before, but every single one vanished without a trace. The most recent time, I even received a warning from a certain Vice Admiral."

Tashigi's breath caught, and she quietly tightened her grip around the famed blade Shigure.

Smoker continued, "If I were stronger, if my position were higher, I could change the state of the East Blue Marines, even the Grand Line."

"We are too weak—not just in strength, but in authority..."