"You mean I'm not strong enough, so I can't do the things I want to do, and that's why I've ended up like this?"
"Of course! If you had Kuzan's strength, wouldn't you be able to ride a bicycle whenever you want and lie down and sleep wherever you want?"
How many people dare to speak ill of you? How many would stop promoting you because of these things? And who can truly attack you?
You probably know about Vice Admiral Garp's exploits. When he was young, he wouldn't even obey the orders of the Fleet Admiral Kong, acting entirely on his own whims. In the Navy, disobeying orders is one of the most serious offenses. But how did the Fleet Admiral Kong treat him?
He was offered the position of Marine Admiral several times, but he refused each time. Is Vice Admiral Garp the illegitimate son of the Fleet Admiral Kong? Of course not. It's simply because Vice Admiral Garp is too strong. The Navy needs his kind of combat power. As long as he doesn't make any fundamental mistakes, he can do whatever he wants in the Navy.
Therefore, this world ultimately respects strength, and Vice Admiral Garp and I are examples of that! If one day you see a Celestial Dragons bullying a weak woman, would you intervene or not?
If you try to control them, you'll be going against the Celestial Dragons and the World Government. They could send you to Impel Down to be tortured in no time, or even send you to Mary Geoise to be enslaved and used as a mount. You'll be powerless to resist!
If you ignore it, it goes against your sense of justice. From then on, your beliefs will collapse, and you will have no purpose in life, ultimately becoming a mindless, living corpse. What would you choose?
"I..."
"Based on what I know of you, you would probably choose the first option! It's true that a hero is not afraid of power, but your ending is destined to be tragic!"
Although you have the spirit to defy authority, your actual strength does not match your inner desires; to be precise, it is far too weak. Your strength cannot support your spirit of defying authority!
That heart will ultimately bring you endless pain and death, so, Smoker! Become stronger! For the sake of doing as you please, for the sake of justice in your heart! Only by becoming strong can you achieve these things! If you remain in seclusion, your heart will slowly decay, your body will decay along with it, and you will finally die a miserable death!
Judging from Luffy's behavior in Alabasta in the original work, you can tell what kind of person he is. When Smoker's credit was given to him, he immediately cursed and yelled, "I don't care about superiors or anything like that!"
This illustrates Smoker's sense of justice, his pragmatism, and his fearlessness in the face of power, yet he is powerless to do anything due to his insignificance.
This can only be described as Smoker being lucky; he didn't encounter any Celestial Dragons abducting Celestial Dragons or doing anything else that he considered a crime, otherwise Smoker would have been long gone.
Fortunately, Smoker has Aokiji as a backer, so he can certainly make a name for himself within the Navy. But if this happened to Celestial Dragons, Smoker wouldn't even know how he died.
His sense of justice will lead him to confront powerful pirates, his pragmatism will lead him to confront high-ranking officials, and his fearlessness in the face of power will lead him to confront the Celestial Dragons and the World Government.
So Smoker later faced Trafalgar Law and lost!
He then faced Vergo, who was actually an undercover agent disguised as an officer, and was defeated again!
Finally, he faced Doflamingo, despite having left the Celestial Dragons, was an ally of the World Government, and suffered another defeat!
Smoker suffered three consecutive defeats on Punk Hazard, a truly miserable and frustrating experience. Perhaps only now will Smoker truly understand the importance of strength. However, Vic is about to make him understand this principle ahead of time.
"Are you saying that I'm not strong enough, which is why I encounter all sorts of obstacles and troubles?"
Smoker isn't stupid; Vic has made it so clear. If he still doesn't understand, he's a blockhead.
Because of his own level of understanding and the naval ideology he received, Smoker often takes things for granted, considering them commonplace and common sense. Without someone pointing it out, it's difficult for him to understand these issues.
He was confined by all sorts of rules and regulations, unable to step outside himself to see these issues clearly. However, with Vic's guidance, he was able to see some of the true nature of this world!
At least he knows the principle that one must be strong to succeed, and that's enough. Expecting a native to be completely changed by a single conversation is impossible; Vic knows he doesn't have that kind of speaking ability.
"Of course! You can apply your strength to specific situations and analyze them again. Many things will then become clear to you. There are no worthy opponents in the East Blue. If you want to become stronger, you must keep fighting!"
After saying this, Vic stood up and walked to the window, leaving Smoker to think alone. He looked towards the training ground inside the base, where a tall, slender figure was wielding a sword.
That's Tashigi, who looks about 80% like Kuina. In fact, the two are very similar. Judging from Tashigi's childhood experiences, there's an over 80% chance they're twins. However, because their temperaments are completely different, you can still tell them apart at a glance.
Tashigi is somewhat adorable and innocent, while Kuina is cold and sharp, making her very easy to recognize. When Zoro first met Tashigi, he quickly realized he had mistaken her for someone else. This was not only because Kuina was dead, but also because the two had vastly different auras. He knew he had mistaken Tashigi for someone else just from her every move and expression.
Tashigi has some talent in swordsmanship, but it's really not that great. Kuina's far inferior to Kuina, who can now fight against big bosses like Hawk-Eye, while Tashigi can only clear out small minions!
Are they really twins? How can there be such a huge difference in their talents? Or is it due to a poor educational environment? Is buying a house in a good school district really necessary?
That's getting off topic. Tashigi was adopted by Smoker, and she used to have Vic to take care of her. But after Vic left the Navy, only Smoker was left. Smoker some status in the Navy, but not much. He can't find any famous teachers to teach Tashigi one-on-one.
Tashigi probably learned kendo at a naval kendo dojo where many people learn together. Kendo was Tashigi's obsession when she was a child, and she persisted even without a famous teacher. As for her achievements, well, let's just say they were lacking!
If Vic were still in the Navy, he could guide her, at least ensuring she wouldn't go astray in the general direction and would avoid many detours. At the very least, he could find her a renowned mentor. Of course, there are no "ifs."
"Are you looking at Tashigi? She really should come and meet you. You've taken good care of her before, and she still remembers it!"
Tashigi! Come to my office.
Smoker has already brought his immense power into many situations, and he found that those problems were easily resolved. He is following the same path that Vic took in the Navy, heading straight for the position of Marine Admiral!
Only then did he realize that what Vic said was absolutely right. But if he continued thinking about it, he would also have to defect from the Navy. So he quickly came to his senses and saw Vic watching from the window. He could hear Tashigi practicing her swordsmanship outside the window.
"Ah! Oh... coming!"
Tashigi was practicing her swordsmanship quite seriously, but she was startled by Smoker's loud shouts. Her swordsmanship posture completely went out of control, and she almost fell to the ground due to her uncoordinated movements. She had to fumble with her hands several times to regain her balance, and then she quickly sheathed her sword and ran into the building.
"Has this girl always been so reckless?"
Seeing Tashigi's performance, Vic asked, somewhat amused and exasperated. Although Tashigi was indeed like this in the original work, this was the first time he had witnessed it firsthand.
While Tashigi was a bit slow to react as a child, she wasn't this slow-witted. How did Smoker raise her? Has she changed so much? Or was she influenced by someone else?
"It's probably because I spend too little time with my family and am too lonely!"
After graduating from the Elite Camp, I was assigned to a foreign post. Fortunately, you guys visited her every now and then. But after you left the Navy, she was truly all alone!
By the time I returned to headquarters, she had become like this. It was my fault for not fulfilling my responsibilities. I should have entrusted him to you in the first place. Ain made the right choice!