The Great Voyage: The Props Master on the Straw Hat Ship

With the burdens and pressures that had been weighing her down lifted, she felt light and airy, and began to radiate her own vitality and charm!

The others on the boat exchanged smiles upon seeing this.

What is that feeling of all your companions gathering together, heading towards the distance?

very nice!!

Several hours after the Merry departed from Cocoyasi village.

A warship slowly approached this direction.

A group of villagers, led by Sheriff Ah Jian, greeted them at the dock.

Go to the city and take a look.

The naval personnel disembarking from the warship didn't engage in much small talk; instead, they went straight to the point.

"……it is good."

Ah Jian glanced at the face that was even more ferocious than his own scarred face, and at the head of silver-white hair.

He was tall and wore a coat that looked like a snow hunter's outfit, with piles of cigars on his arms.

What's even more peculiar is that he also had three cigars in his mouth, clearly a heavy smoker, and seemingly not afraid of being choked by them at all.

Episode 071: Smoker! Footage: The Navy Headquarters is in turmoil!! [Please subscribe for the first time!!]

This was clearly a completely different sense from that of Colonel Rat, which made Ah Jian dare not act rashly.

He honestly led his group of sailors to the ruins of Arlong Paradise.

In just three days, the villagers had completely cleared the area.

Ah Long's savings over the years were taken by the villagers and distributed to twenty other unfortunate villages, allowing them to continue to survive.

Nami also completely buried her cold studio, the place filled with her painful memories.

So what was presented to the numerous naval personnel was this scene of utter devastation.

The menacing naval officer with the smoking pipe didn't seem to care and simply waved his hand dismissively.

"Search."

The concise and to-the-point order prompted numerous naval personnel to immediately commence operations.

One group went to receive the criminal fishmen, while another group searched the ruins of Arlong for anything that might have been missed, and for clues about Colonel Rat.

He himself stood there quietly, waiting for the results of the search.

He squinted one eye, surveying the surroundings as if searching for signs of some battle.

Ah Jian thought he and his group had handled things well enough, but he didn't expect that these professional naval personnel would still find something.

"Colonel Smoker!!"

A tall female navy woman with short, blue, center-parted hair and what looked like a famous sword hanging at her waist jogged over.

"This was found inside the ruins of Aaron Park!!"

She shared her findings.

Who are you talking to?

A deep, leisurely voice came from the side, causing the blue-haired female navy officer to pause slightly.

She immediately adjusted her black-rimmed glasses and realized that she was standing in front of Ah Jian.

The other person looked at him strangely, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

Blue-haired female navy officer: "...Sorry, I mistook you for someone else!!"

She looked embarrassed and hurriedly approached Smoker, handing him what she had found.

"A video Den Den Mushi?"

Smoker glanced at it. "I didn't expect a mere pirate to be preparing something like this."

"Are you trying to faithfully record your own death... Tashigi, put it down!"

As he spoke, Smoker instructed the blue-haired female Marine "580" Army, who was also his capable subordinate Tashigi, to play any useful footage he had recorded.

Soon, on the prepared equipment, the images faithfully recorded by the Den Den Mushi began to play.

The first scene that played made Ah Jian's expression change, and Smoker's face darken as well.

The image clearly showed Colonel Mouse and Ah Long chatting happily.

In addition, the two large leather trunks on the table, along with the numerous Berries inside, made Smoker, a veteran who had witnessed corruption within the Navy, instantly understand.

"I see

Smoker sneered, "Is this video Den Den Mushi meant to record scenes like this and use them as leverage?!"

Smoker was naturally aware of the deal between Aaron and Colonel Rat; this was a classic example of collusion between officials and thieves.

You have to understand, Arlong is a pirate, someone who needs to seek protection.

Coupled with his inherent distrust and contempt for humans, he naturally had to prepare for any contingency plans when Colonel Rat agreed to protect him and make the deal.

This way, if Colonel Rat ever goes back on his word and betrays him, or decides not to continue cooperating with Aaron, this video will be used as leverage to force Colonel Rat to comply.

It has to be said that it is truly remarkable that Arlong, a fish-man, could think of this.

Unfortunately, the video was ultimately useless and, as Smoker said, became a witness to his own death.

It's undeniably ironic.

Then, the screen showed Nami's entrance, Colonel Rat's greed, and Arlong's laughter, which made Tashigi clench her fists in indignation and Smoker frown.

However, soon after, the scene of the door being broken open appeared.

There's also a scene where Luffy, Link, and the others file in.

Immediately afterwards, Luffy grabbed Momo and started spinning around, while Link easily subdued Arlong.

"it is good!!"

When Tashigi saw Arlong being kicked away by Link, she couldn't help but shout "Good!"

However, when Smoker gave her that death stare, she immediately covered her mouth.

The scene continues, showing Link feeding Arlong a fruit, which causes Arlong to undergo a dramatic change.

The transformation from fish-man to mermaid caused Smoker and Tashigi to widen their eyes simultaneously.

At the same time, their throats bobbed, and it was clear that they were both disgusted.

The video then stopped playing.

Perhaps the Den Den Mushi (a type of electric scooter) found the scene too beautiful and too offensive to look at, so it stopped recording.

However, the footage presented earlier was enough for Smoker to extract a great deal of useful information.

"The Straw Hat captain, who is suspected to be a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit user, also has an exceptionally powerful first mate with strength almost enough to traverse the Grand Line, and can produce strange items..."

In Smoker's mind, the important scenes from before replayed.

Luffy's outstretched arm and immense strength, Link's powerful physique and strength, and the words he spoke with a condescending smile when facing Arlong:

I'm just an ordinary prop maker.

"Props maker..."

Smoker frowned, pondering this profession he had never heard of before.

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However, he quickly put that thought aside and turned to look at Ah Jian, who looked nervous beside him.

Smoker paused for a moment, then slowly stood up.

"Tashigi, you can report to headquarters that Colonel Rat was killed by Arlong's crew for colluding with them and for disagreeing over the spoils." After finishing the three cigars in his mouth, Smoker replaced them with three more.

"Ah...yes!!"

Tashigi, still a bit dazed, was taken aback for a moment before quickly realizing what was happening.

She recalled the scene from before where Colonel Rat was hit by that manatee sea monster, and guessed he probably wouldn't survive.

He nodded in agreement, acknowledging that this explanation was clearly intended to cover up for the villagers.

Upon hearing this, Ah Jian, who was standing nearby, breathed a sigh of relief, a look of relief flashing across his face.

His change in expression did not escape Smoker's notice.

But he didn't say anything; instead, he felt somewhat guilty.

"That scumbag Rat... if it weren't for him covering for those pirates, these villagers wouldn't have suffered for so long." Smoker even felt that it was too easy for Colonel Rat to just disappear like that.

To be honest, if it weren't for the presence of the notorious pirate Arlong, who is suspected to be worth 20 million, and the disappearance of Colonel Rat, it would be a huge loss.

Given the possibility that a naval captain might be killed by pirates, headquarters wouldn't have sent Smoker, the top naval officer in the East Blue, here.

To everyone's surprise, Colonel Rat did not die in the line of duty; instead, he was involved in nefarious dealings with pirates and played the role of a vile villain.

In the end, it was other pirates who stepped in and saved the village.

This result truly disgusted and made Smoker feel nauseous.

"Besides Colonel Rat, also send news about that so-called Straw Hat Pirates to headquarters so they can make a decision." With that, Smoker tossed the Den Den Mushi to Tashigi.

As the latter frantically caught it, he said coldly, "Those officials will understand once they see this video!!"

Having said that, Smoker looked into the distance, his eyes flashing, and whispered from his large, smoke-filled mouth:

"The Straw Hat Pirates?"

"A captain with Devil Fruit powers, and... a prop master?!"

The navy under Smoker's command is very efficient.

So, they made do with whatever troops they had, and quickly sent everything that happened here, along with the images from the Den Den Mushi, to the Navy Headquarters.

Having received the message from Smoker, the Navy Headquarters naturally wouldn't be careless.

They activated their intelligence network in the East Blue and quickly obtained information about Luffy and Link from various sources.

Realizing the situation was indeed quite serious, many naval officers gathered together and sat in the main conference room.

"Fellow naval officers, a formidable group of pirates has suddenly emerged in the East Blue. Although they are newcomers who have just set sail, they are absolutely not to be underestimated!!"

With his green cabbage-shaped hair, small black sunglasses, blue and white striped clothes, and a navy coat draped over his back, Lieutenant Commander Branno, a professional at meetings, solemnly addressed the crowd.

He chaired almost every important naval meeting.

Brannu stood with his hands behind his back, his thick lips reciting the important information:

"As far as we know, this group of pirates calling themselves the Straw Hat Pirates has already stirred up quite a storm in the East Blue."

He slapped his palm down on the blackboard behind him.

There, the marks are of pirates who have been defeated one after another by Luffy and Link.

"Buggy the Clown, with a bounty of 15 million Berries; Creek the Leader, with a bounty of 17 million Berries; and Arlong the Fishman, with the highest bounty in the East Blue at 20 million Berries."

"Plus, it's now confirmed that he faked his death and has finally been truly arrested—the Black Cat Pirates' captain, Kuro, with a bounty of 16 million Berries!!"

"In the East Blue, where the average bounty is only three million Berries, there is no doubt that they are all great pirates with bounties exceeding ten million Berries!!"

"But without exception, they were all defeated!!"

Bang bang! !

Two more claps sounded, and two more wanted posters were pressed onto the blackboard.

"They've all been defeated by these two men!!" Brannu exclaimed passionately.

The photos on those two wanted posters clearly showed Luffy and Link respectively!

"Monkey D. Luffy, the Straw Hat Boy, and Link, the Props Maker!!"

With a serious expression, Brannu announced, "The captain and vice-captain of the Straw Hat Pirates have become great pirates that cannot be ignored in the East Blue, no, or even the entire world!!" As he made the announcement, he also read out the battle records of the two that he had obtained through various channels.

Among them, even the very first pirate Alvida, and the Morgan incident in Shells Town, are known very well.

Clearly, after Smoker sent the video, the Navy took it very seriously and made full use of its intelligence channels.

The navy men below, arms crossed and sitting upright, listened attentively, their expressions solemn.