Carlmand and Behrens sparred throughout the journey. They were close in strength, so training together actually helped them improve faster and kept them from getting bored.
While guiding Makino through her training, Kazu also set aside half a day to think about how to develop his fruit powers. He spent the rest of his time relaxing, enjoying the sea breeze and scenery on deck.
He collected his idle rewards every day, and his strength steadily increased.
Ten days passed in the blink of an eye. Just after lunch that day, Carlmand was surveying their surroundings on deck with a telescope when he suddenly spotted the outline of an island.
"I see it! That should be Loguetown up ahead."
Kazu shouted excitedly, and Carlmand and the others hurried out as well.
"Loguetown, huh? We're finally here. The place where Pirate King Roger's story began and ended."
That scene had left a deep impression on Kazu in his previous life. He had watched Pirate King Gol D. Roger's execution countless times. It was also the opening that raised the curtain on the One Piece manga.
Now Kazu could finally see Loguetown with his own eyes, fulfilling a wish from his previous life.
"Loguetown. Pirate King Roger's hometown and the place where he was executed."
"I heard that most pirates in the East Blue come here on a pilgrimage. Even plenty of pirates from other seas travel thousands of miles just to get a feel for the places the Pirate King once walked."
Makino was excited too. She had agreed to become a pirate so she could see this world with her own eyes.
"That's right. This really is a place worth coming to for an adventure."
Behrens was excited as well. Even though he had never thought about becoming a pirate before, the Pirate King's name was certainly familiar to him.
The Pirate King, Roger, Loguetown, the Execution Platform.
These were practically household names in the pirate world. Anyone who had never heard of them was a rare species instead.
"Hahaha! Full speed ahead for Loguetown!"
Kazu and the others were no longer in the mood to train. Everyone stood on deck, watching Loguetown gradually grow larger before their eyes, their legs already poised to go ashore.
Buru buru, buru buru.
"Hello, Smoker speaking."
"Reporting, sir! This is the Third Patrol Squad. The Blond Hair Pirates are approaching Loguetown."
Smoker stood straight up at his subordinates' report, excitement on his face.
"What?!"
"Everyone, stay on alert at the harbor. I'll be right there."
"Yes, sir!"
Without further hesitation, Smoker led several dozen Marine soldiers toward the harbor at top speed.
A little over ten minutes later, Smoker arrived at the harbor with his men. The Blond Hair Pirates' ship was already visible to the naked eye. There was no need for a telescope.
"They're finally here. Excellent."
Smoker had long wanted to arrest this newly emerged pirate crew himself.
Though he was in his twenties and had only recently arrived in Loguetown, not a single pirate had ever escaped him.
Being an outstanding graduate of Marine Headquarters with a Logia Devil Fruit gave him some right to look down on the pirates of the East Blue.
But while he had his strengths, his weaknesses were even more fatal.
As his teacher Zephyr had said, Smoker relied too heavily on his Devil Fruit powers, leaving him unable to settle down and study Haki.
Zephyr had repeatedly warned Smoker not to imitate a certain sleazy light-man.
Devil Fruit powers were only there to support him in battle. Powerful physical techniques and Haki were the true marks of strength.
Unfortunately, Smoker simply would not listen. His weapon, the Jitte, contained Seastone, allowing him to effectively attack other pirates with Devil Fruit powers.
This also led him to neglect Haki. Even ten years later, when he encountered the crown prince Luffy after he set sail, Smoker still had not grasped both types of Haki.
"Everyone, find cover nearby and hide. Wait for my command, then surround the Blond Hair Pirates together."
"Yes, sir!"
The soldiers were well trained and carried out his orders with great efficiency.
Once everyone was hidden, Smoker took out Kazu's bounty poster and examined it carefully.
"A bounty of two hundred million Beli, huh?"
"Hmph. What an unlucky bastard. Now that you've run into me, your pirate career can end early."
Although pirates in the East Blue had always had bounties in the hundreds of thousands, millions, or even tens of millions,
he had never needed much effort to deal with them. A pirate worth over a hundred million Beli probably would not be much stronger.
Putting away the bounty poster, Smoker fixed his gaze on the approaching pirate ship.
He planned to wait until Kazu and the others landed at the harbor before completely surrounding them, eliminating any chance of them escaping by ship.
Before long, Kazu and the others' ship docked. Kazu used the Space-Space Fruit's power to cover Loguetown's entire harbor area. He had already discovered the Marines' little maneuvers.
"Wait on the ship for a moment. I'm going to stretch my legs."
With that, Kazu leaped up and landed directly on the harbor.
"Tch. He just wants to have all the fun himself and doesn't want us stealing his prey."
Carlmand had followed Kazu the longest and had gotten a handle on some aspects of his personality.
"Hahaha! Maybe the captain found an interesting opponent and got eager to have a go."
Behrens did not particularly mind. If the captain wanted to handle things himself, he was happy to take it easy.
"He's a grown man, but he still acts like a child."
Although Makino said Kazu was like a child who never grew up, the smile at the corners of her mouth showed that she was in a very good mood.
The three stood on deck to watch the fight while Kazu leisurely walked into the Marines' encirclement.
"Hahaha! Marines, did you come here especially to welcome me?"
Kazu's voice was loud. Though Smoker did not know how he had discovered them, he understood that hiding was now pointless.
"Her Kazi!"
"Your little game of playing pirate ends here."
With a cigar clenched between his teeth, Smoker charged out with the Marine soldiers and surrounded Kazu.
In Smoker's eyes, this pirate crew only had a handful of people, and its captain, Kazu, was the only capable one.
As long as he arrested Kazu, the others would never amount to anything, even if they escaped.
Besides, he had his own extremely fast sea motorcycle. As long as he arrested Kazu quickly, the remaining few would not escape his grasp either.
"Oh, how scary, Mr. Marine Officer~"
Kazu said he was scared, but his obnoxious expression infuriated Smoker.
"You can only act smug while you still have the chance. Once I've caught you, we'll see whether you can stay this relaxed."
"Everyone, ready! Fire!"
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
A dense barrage of gunfire rang out across the harbor. Countless bullets passed straight through Kazu's body and head without affecting him in the slightest.