Sailing: His comprehension is against the sky, and he comprehends the Eight Gates at the beginning.

Under the puzzled gazes of everyone, Bartonomio's eyes seemed to sparkle with starlight, his expression one of excitement and exhilaration, as he shouted with unparalleled fervor.

"I...I'm going to become...a pirate!!!"

Upon hearing this, his companion hurriedly covered Bartonomio's mouth in a panic.

He glanced nervously at the surrounding navy personnel and said in a low voice.

"Are you crazy? This place is full of navy personnel!"

Bartonomio, however, paid no attention, his eyes fixed on the image of the man from before, his mind filled with nothing but the image of him.

...

Smoker, who had been in a daze, was pulled back to his senses by Bartonomio's shout in front of the execution platform.

"I'm telling you, you... are too weak!"

Luffy's words came to mind again.

Smoker immediately frowned and gritted his teeth, his eyes blazing with fury.

"That bastard...how dare he look down on me like that!!!"

"Unforgivable!!!"

With a deep, angry roar, Smoker suddenly turned around, mounted his motorcycle, and chased after Luffy in the direction he had gone.

Seeing this, the rest of the navy quickly reorganized their formation and followed closely behind.

...

Heavy rain poured down.

Luffy ran along a street in Loguetown. Directly in front of him was the Going Merry, moored on the shore and swaying wildly in the surging waves.

On the Going Merry, Uta waved and shouted to Luffy.

"Luffy, hurry up! Nami said the wind is about to change direction, now is the best time to set sail."

"Is everyone else here?"

Luffy asked a question.

"We've arrived, now we're just waiting for you."

Uta responded.

Upon hearing this, Luffy immediately shook his arm, preparing to quickly board the ship.

Boom boom!

Just then, the roar of an engine suddenly sounded from ahead.

Then, Luffy saw Smoker riding a motorcycle, weaving out from a side street, and do a drift to block his way.

At the same time, a large number of naval personnel rushed out from all the streets and alleys, quickly forming ranks to surround him from all sides.

This was something Smoker had arranged when he went to the execution plaza to find Luffy early in the morning, having people seal off the coast in advance.

Smoker, with a cigar in his mouth, stood directly in front of Luffy, his anger still burning in his eyes, and said in a deep voice.

"Straw Hat Kid, I swear on my name, Smoker the White Hunter, a Marine Captain, I will not let you leave this place today!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Smoker stretched out his arms.

Suddenly, his arms transformed into large amounts of white smoke, like two billowing columns of smoke, stretching towards Luffy.

The surrounding navy personnel looked on with shock and envy, and couldn't help but sigh.

"It has appeared. The strongest Logia-type Devil Fruit, the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, has appeared."

"Colonel Smoker's smoke body is invincible; no one can hurt him in the slightest."

"This time, even Luffy, the Straw Hat Pirate known as the most wicked rookie, will be helpless against Colonel Smoker."

"No one in the entire East China Sea can defeat Colonel Smoker!"

...

The navy personnel were shocked and amazed, and there was much discussion among them.

Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, Luffy's figure flashed, as if he had vanished from the spot in an instant.

The next second, everyone looked as if they had seen a ghost, their mouths agape and their eyes widening as if they were about to explode.

Their eyes were filled with utter disbelief and shock.

It happened in an instant; no one even saw when Luffy made his move.

Everyone then saw Smoker cough up blood, his face contorted in agony as he collapsed to the ground.

Straw Hat Luffy stood to the side, holding his straw hat.

For a moment, all the navy personnel stood frozen in place, like statues.

"Fa...what happened?"

"When did that straw hat kid get close to Colonel Smoker? I didn't see him move at all."

"This is impossible! Isn't Colonel Smoker a Prototype? Aren't Prototypes invincible? How could he have defeated Colonel Smoker?"

"The invincible Colonel Smoker was... instantly killed? Am I really not dreaming?"

"That guy... he's so strong!!!"

Just as all the navy personnel were shocked and amazed, Smoker, who had been knocked to the ground with a single blow, was also deeply shaken.

He didn't even see what happened.

He suddenly noticed that Luffy had appeared right in front of him.

Before he could react, he was already lying on the ground, unable to move, with a burning pain shooting through his chest.

Straw Hat Luffy is very strong.

It was stronger than he had imagined.

This is what Smoker is thinking right now.

At that moment, he heard Luffy, who was standing next to him, speak.

"Sorry, I don't have time to play with you right now."

Luffy spoke calmly, leaving behind those words before turning to leave.

"Straw...Straw Hat Boy!"

Smoker gasped for breath, using all his strength to cry out in excruciating pain.

Luffy stopped upon hearing this.

Then Smoker continued.

“I...I will definitely catch you, no matter where you run to, I’ll stake my name, White Hunter.”

"absolute!!!"

Smoker clenched his teeth, his eyes filled with an unprecedented determination.

Luffy did not respond to this.

Although Smoker is a bit weak and gets abused in various ways in the original story, he is actually a pretty good person.

So Luffy didn't intend to get rid of this tagalong.

Let him pursue her if he wants!

Given the difference in strength, it won't pose any threat.

As soon as Smoker finished speaking, Luffy stretched out his arm and grabbed the side of the Going Merry.

As his body was pulled toward the Going Merry, Luffy's voice echoed amidst the raging storm.

"Our goal: the Grand Line!"

“Sail!!!”

As soon as the words were spoken, the Going Merry, like a wild horse unleashed, sped across the turbulent sea propelled by the storm.

In the blink of an eye, they were already hundreds of meters away from the coast.

On the shore, the navy could only watch helplessly as the Merry rapidly shrank and disappeared into the distance.

Ta da da da...

A series of running footsteps sounded, then stopped somewhere.

"Colonel Smoker, are you alright?"

Tashigi, panting heavily, looked worriedly at Smoker, who was lying on his back on the ground.

Before Smoker could respond, he continued to explain apologetically.

"I'm very sorry, Colonel Smoker!"

"I ran into Roronoa Zoro of the Straw Hat Pirates at the weapon shop, so I didn't get here in time."

"besides..."

"I'm really... so sorry that I couldn't capture Roronoa Zoro!"

Tashigi's tone was full of self-blame, and her eyes also showed anger and determination.

Smoker lay on the ground, completely ignoring Tashigi's explanation, and said...

"Compared to that..."

"Tashigi, hurry up and get ready!"

"We're heading to the Grand Line to hunt down the Straw Hat Crew!"

Tashigi nodded heavily upon hearing this and said...

"Yes, Colonel Smoker!"

"Next time we meet, I'll definitely catch Roronoa Zoro!"

After saying that, Tashigi turned around and was about to leave to make preparations.

But Smoker called him back.

"Tashigi, give me a Den Den Mushi."

Although Tashigi was puzzled, she still took out her Den Den Mushi and gave it to Smoker.

Soon, under Smoker's control, a voice rang out from the Den Den Mushi...

"Moshi moshi! This is Marine Headquarters..."

Before the Den Den Mushi could finish introducing itself, Smoker began to speak.

"I am Captain Smoker, the White Hunter, stationed in Loguetown, East Sea!"

"Regarding the new bounty pirate from the East Blue, Monkey D. Luffy, I have the following points to add."

"Straw Hat Luffy has the ability to catch Logia-type creatures, which means he must have mastered Haki."

“His strength is extremely high; I couldn’t last a single round against him.”

"Please have headquarters reassess his bounty and distribute the latest information on Straw Hat Luffy to all branches."

"above!"

"Card holder!"

Smoker finished speaking and hung up the phone, unaware that the people at Marine Headquarters were dumbfounded.

The person who answered his call was the same clerk who had answered Colonel Mouse's call last time.

After a long period of stunned silence, the man ran out of the studio with a look of terror on his face.

He was still shouting in panic.

"Colonel Brannew..."

The Navy Headquarters was once again thrown into turmoil.

...