Bang!
Smoker pinned Luffy to the ground and sat on him.
"A 30,000,000 berry bounty, huh... Hmph, your luck has run out!" Smoker pressed on Luffy's head and grabbed his Jutte from his back.
Clang!
"Is that so? I wouldn't be so sure."
Just as Smoker was about to draw his Jutte, a voice appeared out of nowhere. A ghostly figure materialized behind him and grabbed his Jutte, preventing him from pulling out his weapon.
"You're..." Smoker was startled. He turned his head to see a man in a dark green coat standing behind him, holding his Jutte.
Rumble...
Thunder rumbled in the sky, and a flash of lightning illuminated the street, allowing Smoker to see the face under the coat.
"What's wrong? Who is it? Who is it?" Luffy, still pinned to the ground, also noticed the man behind him.
"The World Government has always wanted your head." Another voice suddenly joined in. A figure appeared out of thin air in front of Smoker. He was a man wearing a black coat with a white wave pattern and conspicuous golden earrings.
"The world is waiting for our answer," Dragon said with a smirk, looking at the man in front of him.
"One after another... What is it about this place that attracts all of you?" Smoker asked with a serious expression, looking at the two men surrounding him.
Whoosh!
The sky fell silent, and the heavy rain stopped. A fierce hurricane, like a tornado or a waterfall, poured down from the sky and swept through the streets of Loguetown, cleaning out nearly the entire town. Smoker and the Luffy under him were both blown away by the torrent of wind.
Even the coastal fortress and cannons were torn apart by the ferocious hurricane, crushing the large fortress cannons within.
"Tch... What a pain!" Aeridar braced himself, releasing a strong wave of concussive force that formed a field around him, blocking the hurricane.
"You're a Warlord of the Sea. What role do you intend to play in this world? What is it you're seeking?" Dragon asked, his coat flapping in the wind as he stood face to face with Aeridar.
The hurricane came and went quickly. In just a few minutes, the wind subsided, and the rain began to fall again.
On the coast, Smoker and the Marines watched as the Straw Hat crew's ship sailed into the distance.
"That guy... What was that sudden gust of wind about? On the day of Gold Roger's execution 22 years ago, a man who appeared and disappeared like lightning..." Before Smoker could finish, he froze. He remembered Luffy's declaration on the execution platform. Was he sending off the future King of the Pirates?
"Go on. If that's the path you've chosen." Dragon stood on a rooftop, reaching out his hand from under his coat as he watched Luffy's crew set sail. As a father, he was derelict, but he still had faith in his child.
"Why?! Why did you help that man, Dragon?!" Smoker turned his head, questioning him. He was confused. The man in front of him was from the Revolutionary Army, an anti-World Government faction. Why would he help a pirate? Logically, they shouldn't be involved with each other.
Rumble!
Another flash of lightning illuminated Dragon's smiling face.
"Is there any reason to stop a man from sailing to the sea?" Dragon looked at the distant Going Merry and said with a light chuckle.
Smoker bit down on the cigar in his mouth, turned to the other side, and shouted again, "What about you? Golden Ring Aeridar! As a Warlord of the Sea, you have a duty to hunt pirates!"
"Hehehehe... Captain Smoker," Aeridar said with a smirk, standing on another rooftop. "Is there any reason to stop a man from sailing to the sea? Don't forget, I'm a pirate. Marine!"
"You bastard! You can't trust pirates!" Smoker was so angry he nearly bit his cigar in half. "Get the ship ready! We're going after that Straw Hat kid!"
"Huh?" The Marines behind him stared at Smoker in disbelief.
"I'm going to the Grand Line!" Smoker declared coldly.
"B-but, Captain! You're in charge of this island! What will you tell the higher-ups?!" a Marine asked nervously.
"Hehehehe... No one can stop a man from sailing to the sea. And no one can stop a man from searching for the justice in his heart," Aeridar grinned.
"I'm coming too!" Tashigi gripped her Shigure sword tightly. She was soaked but determined. "I will never forgive Roronoa! I'll catch him with my own hands!"
Dragon looked at Smoker and Tashigi, then at Aeridar, with an amused expression. Without a word, he turned and jumped off the rooftop, disappearing from sight.
....
In the Calm Belt, a giant, luxurious ship sailed through the domain of sea kings.
"That little rascal! How dare he disobey my orders?!" A middle-aged man with a bubble helmet stood on the deck at the bow of the ship, his handsome face filled with rage as he looked at the disconnected Den Den Mushi. He roared, "He's nothing but a pathetic, homeless prince from a fallen kingdom! A stray dog!"
"Gustav-sei, we only let him join us for the power he has. I never thought he would try to turn on us!" a black-haired man wearing a black coat with a gray skull pattern said, standing next to the Celestial Dragon.
"Hmph! I'll make him my slave!" Saint Gustav said with a hateful expression.
"Let's deal with Golden Ring Aeridar first, or I'll be the one to get unlucky," Malha said, adjusting his black hair and glancing at Saint Gustav.
Saint Gustav was a Celestial Dragon, so as long as he hid in Mariejois, he would be safe. The World Government would never tolerate a pirate attacking their home base and a World Noble.
But he was different. He was a man from the Underworld. If his identity was exposed, he would be hunted down until he was dead.
"Hmph! I can't be killed!" Saint Gustav scoffed, full of himself.
Malha turned his head away and sneered. Can't be killed? What a joke. The Undying King is dead, so what does that make you?
Just then, a gigantic shadow appeared on the sea's surface...
Splash!
"ROOOAR!"
An enormous blue serpent-like Sea King surged from the ocean, creating a hundred-meter-high wave that crashed down like a torrential rain.
"Tch! So the Seastone ship isn't completely effective, is it?" Saint Gustav said, looking at the Sea King staring at his ship.
"Nothing is foolproof," Malha said calmly.
Then, Malha raised his right hand and pointed his index finger at the blue serpent-like Sea King, which was hundreds of meters long.
"Great Disintegration: Ray!"
Like a hot knife through butter, a wrist-thick green beam of light shot through the Sea King's massive head and streaked across the sky.