XX-level Hokage

"Actually, you don't need to worry so much. I won't hurt Tashigi, and even if it's you, I don't mean you any harm," Mashiro said with a light laugh.

"Do you think I'd believe a criminal? Since you're not going to reveal your identity, let's arrest you and interrogate you." Smoker said, instantly charging towards Mashiro.

Smoker's smoky arm transformed into a spiraling column of smoke, continuously extending and shooting towards Shinji. "White Vine"

Faced with Smoker's attack, Shinji dodged it with a slight movement.

But the white smoke trail seemed to have a tracking function; the spiraling column of smoke curved and attacked Mashiro again. "It can be freely controlled."

Seeing the smoke heading towards him, Mashiro reached out to grab it, but it was to no avail; he passed right through it. "Unable to take physical damage, just like smoke in nature."

A column of smoke pierced through Mashiro's hand, instantly binding her. This can inflict physical damage on enemies.

Then Mashiro tried to smell the surrounding smoke and immediately coughed.

"It can also cause elemental damage. It's a truly amazing power. I estimate that if an ordinary person who has never cultivated before ate this fruit, they would be transformed instantly. Without the power of domineering aura, even someone who has cultivated for a long time would be easily defeated."

For the first time, Mashiro became interested in the unique power of this world.

You should know that in her original world, even if you were born with powerful bloodlines such as the Senju, Uchiha, or Hyuga clans, you would not have any advantage over ordinary people without training.

"Can you tell me now? Your identity?" Smoker stepped forward and asked, looking at Mashiro, who was shrouded in white smoke.

Mashiro simply smiled at this, then exerted a little force, instantly shattering the smoke binding her. "It seems that physical attacks can still be effective to some extent," Mashiro said softly.

Upon seeing Mashiro free, Smoker quickly retreated to create distance between himself and Mashiro before launching another attack.

His arm transformed into smoke again, then into the shape of a snake and struck at Mashiro. "White Snake"

Facing the smoke snake rushing towards him, Mashiro stretched out his hand, and a fire snake shot out: "Fire Release: Fire Snake Technique"

When the fire serpent touched the smoke serpent, the smoke serpent instantly began to burn and disappear. In a moment, the smoke serpent vanished completely, while the fire serpent only shrank slightly and continued to rush towards Smoker.

Seeing this, Smoker was greatly surprised. A large amount of smoke surged forth, enveloping the fire serpent. The fire serpent shrank continuously within the smoke until it disappeared.

"Are you also a Logia-type Devil Fruit user? But I remember the Flame-Flame Fruit was possessed by a rookie pirate, Portgas D. Ace, wasn't it?" Smoker asked, puzzled.

Mashiro completely ignored Smoker's meaning and continued to mutter to herself, "It seems to be affected by elemental weakness. However, Logia-type Devil Fruit users seem to be able to use the power of the elements indefinitely. I just wonder if it consumes stamina."

Seeing that Mashiro was completely ignoring him, Smoker's expression became even more gloomy.

His entire body transformed into smoke, which then expanded until it enveloped Mashiro. "White Gale"

As Mashiro's eyes were obscured by the smoke, he vanished from his spot in an instant.

He then instantly appeared behind Mashiro, picked up the Seastone Ten-Hand Technique, and struck Mashiro.

Mashiro slightly shifted her body, easily dodging Smoker's attack, then grasped the ten-handed stone and, with a forceful pull, easily snatched it away. "Come here. Is this Seastone?" Mashiro murmured, touching the metallic stone in her hand.

"Oh no!" Although he didn't know why Mashiro could see him through the smoke, nor did he know why Mashiro wasn't afraid of Seastone.

But now that Jutsu is in Mashiro's hands, Smoker has no choice but to flee.

"Sorry, you can't dodge it." With that, Mashiro instantly appeared beside Smoker. "So fast!"

Smoker hadn't reacted yet.

The ten-handed strike landed on Smoker, sending him flying and crashing heavily to the ground, where he began spitting blood.

"Fearing seawater, affected by Haki, and suppressed by Seastone, it makes sense that Devil Fruit abilities grant immense power while also creating inescapable weaknesses." Mashiro casually tossed the Seastone Jitte on the ground and said.

Faced with overwhelming power, all fancy abilities can only buy time.

If Mashiro came with the intention of killing Smoker, a wide-range Fusion Technique plus a sealing technique would have been enough to take care of it.

Chapter Sixteen: Hostages

“So, stay here for now, Lieutenant General.” Mashiro waved her hand, and the Jitte on the ground shattered into four pieces, which then flew up and pinned Smoker’s limbs.

"Who exactly are you?" Smoker lay on the ground, completely incapacitated, and asked with a look of resentment. Mashiro didn't answer, and walked towards the Marine branch without looking back.

Meanwhile, at the Marine branch headquarters, Tashigi mobilized all the Marines present, standing ready to await the final outcome. As footsteps approached, Tashigi gripped the gate tightly.

As Mashiro's figure appeared, Tashigi instantly commanded the attack. Dozens of Marines pulled their triggers simultaneously.

Bullets rained down on Mashiro.

Wow, what a unique welcoming ceremony! "The Rinnegan manifests, and all the bullets stop around Mashiro."

"Tashigi, you should know that I didn't mean any harm. Otherwise, I could have killed you all right here right now," Shinji said calmly. Then all the bullets bounced back and re-entered the muzzle, instantly destroying the rifle in the Marine's hand.

“So, you should know what choice you should make.” Mashiro smiled. “Everyone, back off, don’t attack.” After a moment of silence, Tashigi spoke.

“Don’t worry, Smoker isn’t dead. He’s lying outside right now, but you can’t go to rescue him. I don’t want to be disturbed while I’m looking up information,” Mashiro said softly.

“I understand,” Tashigi said calmly; that was all she could say for now. “Alright, can you take me to the archives?” Mashiro said with a light laugh.

"Please follow me." Tashigi had no will to resist anymore. She knew that if she was not careful, she would lose not only her life, but the lives of all the Marines, including Vice Admiral Smoker.

Led by Tashigi, Mashiro quickly arrived at the archives.

Mashiro casually found a chair and began searching for the information she needed. Tashigi stood to the side with a complicated expression.

Even now, she still feels like she's in a dream, because it's hard to associate Mashiro's appearance, greed, the feeling she gives off, or her personality with a vicious criminal.

Even now, Mashiro, engrossed in reviewing documents, exudes a serene tranquility. Sunlight streams through the window, illuminating her with unparalleled beauty and radiance, creating a sense of unreality.

Two hours passed just like that.

Just as Tashigi felt her legs going numb, Mashiro gently stood up. Her expression remained calm, leaving one wondering whether she had gotten the answer she wanted.

"Alright, you can send someone to rescue Smoker now. I was especially careful; the wound isn't big, and he shouldn't be in any life-threatening danger." Mashiro said softly, putting the file back in its place.

Upon hearing this, Tashigi, ignoring her numb legs, quickly ran out. Mashiro followed her out.

In the plaza of the naval branch, two soldiers carried Smoker over. His face was very pale. Just as Mashiro had said, the wound was small, but the two-hour wait had still caused him to lose too much blood, and he had fallen into a coma.

"Now that you've gotten what you wanted, aren't you going to leave Loguetown?" Tashigi asked, seeing Mashiro not far away.

"More or less, but just in case the Navy comes after me later, I need a hostage," Mashiro said softly. "What?" Tashigi was a little confused by Mashiro's meaning.

“In other words, you’ll need to follow me for a while until I find what I’m looking for,” Mamoru said calmly. “I…” Tashigi instinctively wanted to refuse, but then she remembered that she didn’t seem to have the right to refuse.

“If I were a hostage, would you leave Loguetown immediately?” Tashigi asked firmly. “That’s right,” Mashiro replied with a smile.

“I understand, let’s go,” Tashigi said calmly.

"Sergeant! You..." The other soldiers wanted to say something, but Tashigi stopped them with a look.

She tiptoed to a navy officer's side and whispered, "She took me away and immediately reported the G-5 branch incident to headquarters. Also, when the vice admiral wakes up, tell him not to worry about me; I will find a chance to escape on my own."

Then she turned around and went to Mashiro's side.

"Have you finished explaining?" Mashiro asked softly. Tashigi didn't answer.

Mashiro reached out and patted Tashigi. "Earth Release: Light and Heavy Rock Technique"

Then Tashigi floated up.

"What, what's going on?" Tashigi asked nervously.

“Don’t worry, you can think of this as a mode of transportation.” After Mashiro finished speaking, she flew up, pointed her finger at Tashigi, and then flew away instantly.

Tashigi, as if connected by an invisible force, also took to the air, closely following Mashiro. Light-Heavy Rock Technique + Universal Pull = Flying with someone on board.

As Mashiro's flight speed increased, Tashigi began to scream. She had never encountered anything like this before, "Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!"

"Close your eyes, calm your mind, imagine that you can fly, and then slowly open your eyes to look at the ground." Mashiro's voice reached Tashigi's ears.

Mashiro's voice seemed to have a magical power, which began to ease Tashigi's tension. She closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths, and then slowly opened them to look at the ground.

The ground was now Fanfan's sea area, the sea surface shimmering under the sunlight. After shedding her initial fear, the thrill of flying began to emerge.

"How is it? Flying through the air feels completely different from walking on land or drifting on the sea," Mashiro asked softly. "Indeed, it's a wonderful feeling. Everything is so light, and... how should I put it... free," Tashigi replied.

Whether walking or traveling by boat, the body needs to bear a certain weight, and there are also constraints on direction and distance. But flying in the air is different. Your body floats in the air, and everything becomes unrestrained.

"Mashiro, I've always wanted to ask you, are you really a bad person?" Tashigi asked after hesitating for a moment.

Despite the fact that Mashiro attacked the Navy branch, injured a Vice Admiral, and stole internal Navy documents, making her a complete criminal by any measure, for some reason, she always had a feeling that the person in front of her wasn't a bad person.

This is also an important reason why Tashigi was willing to become a hostage; she wanted to persuade him.

"Whether someone is good or bad depends on how you define it. Some pirates burn, kill, and plunder; some pirates protect their own territory; some naval officers uphold justice; and some naval officers are a den of snakes and rats."

Good and bad are always relative. I want to collect the Poneglyphs, which is of course taboo in your navy's eyes, but the truth of the lost century hidden in the Poneglyphs may be friendly to the civilians in this world.

"All I can say is that I have no ill intentions towards you, otherwise none of the naval personnel in your branch would have survived. That's all I have to say," Mashiro said softly.

Upon hearing this, Tashigi fell silent.

In fact, she had thought about this before. During her naval training, she asked her instructor what to do if she encountered a good pirate. The instructor did not answer, but simply said to do what you should do.

So, what should she do about Mashiro in front of her?

Mashiro didn't seem to understand Tashigi's intentions; her reason for keeping Tashigi by her side was simple: she needed someone familiar with the area to guide her.

Nami's strength was somewhat weak, and fearing something might happen to her, she left her in Cocoyasi Village for the time being.

Tashigi, on the other hand, is different. As a sergeant major in the Navy, her strength was already quite good in the first half of the Grand Line.

Also, Tashigi's naval identity can bring some convenience to Mashiro's actions. That's all.

After traveling for some time, the two arrived at Twin Gorges.

Chapter Seventeen: The Baroque Studio

"This is Twin Gorges, the entrance to the paradise of the first half of the Grand Line."

Starting from here, the fleet can use the tracking pointer to decide which of the seven routes to follow.

"Without the log pointer, I wouldn't be able to find my way either," Tashigi said, looking at the strait in front of her.

“Oh, that’s troublesome. Isn’t there a lighthouse up ahead? We can wait there for a while, and when a pirate crew comes, we can just steal their ship and the Log Pose,” Mashiro said softly.

"Hmph, why do you always resort to violence?" Tashigi said with a hint of exasperation.

"What, you have another way? Besides, I'm robbing a pirate crew. As a Marine, shouldn't you support me?" Mashiro said nonchalantly.

Upon hearing this, Tashigi shut her mouth; she didn't know how to refute Mashiro's words.

Mashiro and Tashigi landed near the lighthouses on either side of Twin Gorges. An old man saw them and asked in surprise, "Who are you?"

“Don’t worry, I’m from the Navy in Loguetown. She’s my colleague. We have some business to attend to on the Grand Line, but we left our Log Pose behind, so we plan to wait here for a while,” Tashigi said.

"Oh, I'm Crocus. I'm a doctor, and I'm currently here as the lighthouse keeper," Crocus introduced himself.

“The doctor who lives in the lighthouse? I’ve heard about you from my other colleagues,” Tashigi said with a smile. “So I’ve actually become famous in the Navy? What an honor,” Crocus replied with a smile as well.