Then again, thinking about it now, it turned out Tashigi and Smoker had known each other this early.
Back when Amon watched the anime, he had assumed Tashigi and Smoker were nothing more than superior and subordinate. Now it seemed that was not quite the case. Their relationship was probably closer to childhood neighbors, almost like an older brother and younger sister.
No wonder Smoker took such good care of her.
Judging from what little Tashigi had just said, they seemed to have come here this time to arrest pirates.
That was fine with Amon. He was not a pirate anyway. This was a perfect chance to talk the two of them into opening jars.
If that worked, his mission would be complete. Then he would not have to keep searching for customers one by one. That would be far too dull.
"Lieutenant Commander Smoker, all the pirates have been surrounded!"
While Amon was observing Smoker and Tashigi, the Marines who came with Smoker had already sealed off the area tightly around their group.
The members of the Alvida Pirates all turned pale at once when they saw the Marines closing in. Alvida herself was still unconscious, which only made things worse. Without their captain, they had no backbone left and no idea what to do.
Still, after Smoker surrounded the place, he did not move against them immediately. Instead, he fixed an interested look on Koby.
If he had seen correctly just now, the move Koby used should have been Finger Pistol from the Marine Six Powers. That alone had shocked him.
And once he realized Koby was less than 10 or 11 years old, the shock grew even greater.
To master the Marine Six Powers at such a young age, with talent like that, if he entered the Marines, then as long as nothing unexpected happened, he would rise to officer rank very quickly.
So from the moment Smoker saw Koby, he had already developed the urge to recruit him.
Smoker was one of the few truly upright men in the series. Starting from Loguetown, he chased Luffy all over the world. More than once, he had a chance to capture him, but for one reason or another, he let the chance go.
Later, after Luffy defeated Crocodile, Smoker became disappointed in the Marine system and eventually joined G-5.
Of course, all that belonged to the future. Right now, Smoker was still a young lieutenant commander who had only recently come out into service.
"I understand. Arrest all of them."
Smoker gave the order to his subordinates, then brought Tashigi and walked straight toward Amon and Koby.
"You boy, were you the one who defeated those pirates?"
"Y-yes, Lieutenant Commander, sir!"
It was Koby's first time facing a Marine officer of this rank. He could not help feeling tense and timid.
"Nicely done. By the way, would you be interested in joining us? If I'm not mistaken, what you used just now was Finger Pistol from the Marine Six Powers. At your age, being able to use the Six Powers already means your future is limitless. If you join us, your prospects will be extraordinary."
Smoker spoke directly, trying to recruit him on the spot.
Then he added, "Also, who taught you the Marine Six Powers?"
"Th-this... Lieutenant Commander, I..."
Put on the spot by Smoker's question, Koby had no idea what to say. He could only turn helplessly toward Amon for help.
His strength had increased, but the weakness in his personality could not disappear overnight.
The moment Koby looked over, Amon understood what he wanted and opened his mouth.
"My apologies, Lieutenant Commander Smoker, but Koby has already decided to join another Marine branch. I'm afraid he can't become one of your men."
"As for where his Marine Six Powers came from... heh, he got them from one of my jars."
As he spoke, Amon lightly patted the jars beside him.
Smoker frowned.
"You're saying his ability came out of these jars?"
No matter how he looked at them, those jars did not seem like something that could produce the Marine Six Powers.
"Of course. And these aren't common jars," Amon said with a grin. "My jars are very special. Forget the Marine Six Powers, even Devil Fruits and all three types of Haki can come out of them."
"Lieutenant Commander, Mr. Amon is telling the truth!"
Koby was still quite quick-witted. He knew Amon probably wanted to sell jars to Smoker and Tashigi, so he immediately spoke up to back him.
"They can really produce the Marine Six Powers?"
Smoker had not believed Amon at all, but hearing Koby directly confirm that the Six Powers had come from the jars made him startled.
Beside him, Tashigi also widened her eyes and stared at Amon in surprise.
Sensing her curious gaze, Amon turned and gave her a small smile.
He already had a good impression of this little girl, who looked so much like Kuina. On top of that, Tashigi's kind image in the anime had always made her easy to like.
"Of course, Lieutenant Commander Smoker. Want to give it a try? It only costs a hundred thousand berries."
"A hundred thousand berries..."
Smoker repeated the number under his breath and fell silent.
If that much could buy something like the Marine Six Powers, it would absolutely be worth it.
Even so, he still found it hard to believe these shabby-looking jars could really produce treasures.
More than anything, he was starting to suspect that Koby might be working together with Amon to trick people.
Then Smoker suddenly shifted the topic.
"Earlier, you said Koby has already decided to join another Marine force. Which one?"
Since he still was not sure whether Amon was lying, Smoker skipped over the jars and returned to Amon's earlier words instead.
Amon smiled when he saw the wary look in Smoker's eyes.
"Heh, of course he's going to join Vice Admiral Garp's unit."
There was no need to hide that. Garp would be arriving soon anyway. Besides, it was not some great secret.
"Vice Admiral Garp? You mean the Hero of the Marines, Vice Admiral Garp?"
A strange light flashed through Smoker's eyes the instant he heard that name.
"That's right."
"Men, arrest these two swindlers!"
The moment Amon nodded, Smoker immediately gave the order.
In his view, Amon's story was full of holes. How could a mere merchant possibly know the Hero of the Marines, Vice Admiral Garp personally?
Even Smoker himself, as a lieutenant commander, had only seen Garp once from afar.
That had been half a year ago, when he first took up the rank of lieutenant commander.
So without hesitation, he gave the command to seize them.
Koby's face changed drastically at Smoker's sudden hostility, and he froze, not knowing what to do.
Amon, on the other hand, remained completely calm.
Because within the range of his Observation Haki, he had already noticed someone rather interesting approaching.
That person was none other than the Garp he had just spoken with over the Den Den Mushi.