"Alright, Vic! Stop scaring him. He's just recovered from a serious injury and can't handle too much stress!"
Having just suffered four consecutive defeats and been seriously injured and on the verge of death, Smoker was completely disoriented. He didn't even think to use his Observation Haki to sense Vic's aura. He could change and imitate everything else, but his aura was unchangeable.
It's only possible to achieve this if one has a special Devil Fruit ability that has been developed to its full potential. Therefore, Aokiji never doubted Vic from beginning to end, even though he had seen Vic's strange smile before and had even helped Vic prank Smoker.
"Hahaha! Smoker! You're really something. Even I'm starting to doubt that brains are for using, so why don't you use them?"
Vic stopped his eerie smile and burst into laughter. Teasing Smoker was quite amusing. He had come up with this idea after seeing Smoker's incredulous look earlier. He hadn't expected Smoker to have such a vivid inner monologue, probably imagining a shocking conspiracy against the Navy. Although Vic did have such a conspiracy, he wouldn't use Smoker as a friend.
Tashigi had already left with the older children who needed treatment, leaving only Smoker and the others to wait for the Navy to take over Punk Hazard, so they couldn't leave anytime soon.
Vic had something to say to Smoker, and Smoker had something to ask Aokiji, so the two outsiders in the Navy stayed behind and lit two bonfires not far from the dock. Smoker, Kuzan, and Vic were on one bonfire, and Smoker's G5 subordinates were on another!
"I never considered the World Government my whole life. Even if I weren't in the Navy, I still had things I could do. There are some things you can only see clearly when you're not in the Navy, and it was under Vic's influence that I quickly came to understand them!"
"I just died once!"
Smoker asked Aokiji why he left the Marines. At that time, Smoker had already left Marine Headquarters and had never had the chance to question Aokiji again. Now he finally asked, as it had always been a question he had: Did losing to Akainu mean he could no longer be a Marine?
Aokiji's answer was lighthearted, but Smoker was very serious, saying that he was someone who had already died once, meaning he hoped Aokiji wouldn't lie to him!
"Haha! I guess it's fate that I'm here, but it seems like Vic came here specifically for this."
What are you doing here?
I've come to see you!
How did you know I was here?
"..."
Actually, Aokiji came to see the Straw Hat Boy this time, accepting Vic's suggestion to come and investigate. Perhaps in the original work, he did come to see Smoker, hoping that he would report to Akainu to pay more attention to Doflamingo, one of the Shichibukai.
Later, Akainu did indeed take it seriously and sent Fujitora to Dressrosa. This might also be related to Doflamingo's resignation statement in the newspaper. From this point of view, Aokiji in the original work could not be a Navy spy, otherwise he would not have needed to use Smoker as a mouthpiece to pass messages to Akainu.
Aokiji had just casually mentioned that he'd come to see you, but Smoker took it so seriously, insisting on getting to the bottom of it, leaving Aokiji at a loss for words. He couldn't very well say he'd come to see the Straw Hat Boy, could he?
"You're not colluding with the dark forces now, are you?"
"I am who I am! Smoker!"
"That's good!"
Aokiji's silence made Smoker overthink again. Smoker was indeed a very perceptive person. Apart from his lack of strength, he was above average in everything else and was a very good leader. Vic decided to give him a hand!
" Smoker! You've been getting beaten senseless these past couple of days, haven't you? How does it feel to be on a losing streak?"
Smoker has suffered four consecutive defeats in the past two days: Law, Straw Hat Boy, Vergo, and Doflamingo. He was already inferior to the middle generation, and now he has been surpassed by the new generation. It's really quite miserable. I guess he will finally come to terms with reality this time, and Vic will be able to take the opportunity to guide him.
"Hey, hey, hey! Vic! You don't have to reopen old wounds like that!"
"What Vic said is true. We've all gotten stronger in the last two years, but they've changed even more. I regret not listening to Vic. In the last two years, I've focused more on my Devil Fruit abilities and neglected the fundamentals!"
Back in Loguetown, Vic told Smoker about the importance of Haki and urged him to prioritize training Haki. Smoker initially followed this plan, but things changed after his Haki Awakening. Haki training was too slow, and significant results were not seen for a long time. The Smoke-Smoke Fruit was Smoker's comfort zone, and he became trapped in it. So, his current defeat is not surprising.
"Of course, a well-developed Devil Fruit ability can be very powerful, especially since yours is Logia type. However, I feel that you haven't grasped the essence of the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, so you're neglecting both aspects. You should put your Devil Fruit ability aside for now and properly find a master to solidify your physical skills and Haki."
"Master? But I have a mission. The G5 base commander, Vergo, is Doflamingo's spy. I'll need to guard G5 from now on, so I'm afraid I won't have time to become your apprentice!"
"Are you stupid?! First, find a master and learn the skills, then go back to the base and practice on your own. If you need sparring partners, go find some pirates. There are plenty around G-5 Base. Why are you being so inflexible?"
Vic genuinely felt that Smoker's Smoke-Smoke Fruit hadn't grasped its essence; it seemed that aside from its support abilities, it hadn't developed any offensive techniques, which was abnormal!
Paramecia might have full support abilities, but Logia would never be like that. It's just that they don't understand their abilities enough to develop them. Based on this alone, Vic thinks Smoker isn't cut out for developing abilities. He'd be better off finding a master to learn physical techniques and focusing on training Haki!
"Then tell me, who should I take as my master?"
Smoker thought Vic's words made sense; as long as one followed the master's standards, it didn't matter where one trained.
Look at the two of us.
Vic gave a thumbs-up, pointed to Aokiji beside him, then turned and pointed to himself, his meaning clear: Aren't these two the best examples? Can't you just copy them?
"You mean Professor Zephyr?"
Smoker said somewhat uncertainly that Vic's experience in the Navy was very similar to Aokiji's. First, he trained in Zephyr's Elite Camp camp and was Zephyr's student. Later, he went to Garp's command and was trained as a disciple. Both of their achievements are related to those two older generation powerhouses.
"Teacher Zephyr probably doesn't have the energy to teach you alone. He has quite a few new recruits under him. I suggest you become Mr. Garp's apprentice. He's currently free and has plenty of time to... no, I mean train you!"
If you're willing to take the plunge, you can go straight to his Dog-Head Warship and be his second-in-command. The G5 base commander doesn't care whether you're there or not. Don't you have any ambition to go further?"
Because Vic had eliminated the threat of Bakkin and Weevil ahead of time, Zephyr did not leave the Navy in despair to create a new power and destroy the New World. He was still leading the Elite Camp of the Marine Headquarters.
So after Garp stepped down, he no longer needed to lead the Elite Camp. Although he was retained by Commander-in-Chief Kong, it was practically the same as being retired. He was very free and had plenty of time to train Smoker! Yes, in Vic's mind, Smoker needed to be rigorously trained, otherwise he would remain a piece of rotten wood!
"Hey! What kind of incredible words did you just use? I get the feeling you're trying to push me into a fire pit!"
Although Vic changed his mind in time, Smoker still heard what Vic was thinking and immediately became alert!
However, Vic's words were still very tempting to him. The next step would be to become Marine Admiral! How could he not yearn for it? Moreover, one of the two men in front of him was a former Admiral, and the other was Admiral candidate. If nothing went wrong, they would definitely become Marine Admiral!
More importantly, they both came from under Zephyr and Garp's tutelage. He himself graduated from Zephyr's tutelage and now only needs to go to Garp's tutelage for further training. It's like fitting a fixed formula into which you just need to fit the characters. The answer is obvious, aren't these two the answer?