On the outskirts of Loguetown, Smoker led a group of soldiers in surrounding the Barto Club.
But when he discovered that they had a "hostage," his brows knotted together.
"Damn it! They actually kidnapped an innocent old woman!"
Due to a misunderstanding, he thought the old woman who ran the snack shop had been kidnapped. For now, he could only surround them without attacking.
Smoker might have looked like a villain, but deep down, he was a thoroughly decent man.
He was the sort who wore a fierce expression but still tried to make little children laugh. That was why his hands were tied.
If someone from Akainu's faction had been here, they would have launched a Russian-style rescue long ago.
"...Probably not, sir. I've never heard of them kidnapping anyone."
The ensign serving as Smoker's adjutant thought back over what he knew about Bartolomeo, the notorious local piece of shit.
He certainly wasn't a good person, but his crew didn't even qualify as a proper gang. To put it bluntly, they hadn't yet dared to do anything that warranted a bounty.
Their main activities were extortion, demanding freebies, soliciting bribes, and collecting protection money. They were just a bunch of local thugs, nothing more.
Since they operated in a gray area and hadn't caused any "trouble" from the local rulers' perspective, they were all in cahoots with the local Sheriffs.
"Then what's he doing here?"
Considering that Bartolomeo had no bounty, Smoker accepted that explanation for now. In theory, people like him really weren't the Navy's responsibility.
Still, some kindhearted "concerned citizen" had reported them, and Smoker wanted to use the opportunity to confiscate their Devil Fruit.
"Probably... collecting protection money?"
The ensign hesitated before offering a possible guess.
"..."
Smoker fell silent for a moment, looking at the