"Buzz—!!!"
A silver-white luxury speedboat cut through the calm sea, leaving a long white trail behind it.
Although it was originally designed for one person, it still felt spacious with both Aiden and Issho onboard.
When the first ray of sunlight broke through the clouds, a massive structure appeared at the horizon.
"Is this... your base?"
Standing at the bow, Issho narrowed his eyes slightly. Aiden had talked about the place the entire trip, but seeing it in person still surprised him.
It didn't look like a normal Marine branch at all.
The G-17 base looked like a giant black steel fortress sitting on the ocean.
The dark metal outer walls reflected a cold light under the morning sun. Giant rams extended from the walls like the tusks of a beast, and rows of heavy cannons covered every side of the fortress. Just looking at it gave off a feeling of overwhelming military power.
This was a fortress built entirely for war.
However, what surprised Issho even more was the port protected behind this terrifying fortress.
The harbor was surprisingly busy.
Merchant ships constantly entered and left the docks in an orderly line. The workers moved quickly, but nobody looked nervous or afraid.
The loud noise of the morning market could even be heard from the commercial streets outside the fortress.
Seeing such strict order maintained through overwhelming strength made Issho tighten his grip on his cane sword slightly.
"In the Great Pirate Era, if you want order, you first need enough strength to stop others from causing trouble."
Aiden steered the boat with one hand and smirked. He glanced at Issho. "So? It might not look very 'just,' but it's a pretty comfortable place to live."
Issho looked away and revealed a genuine smile.
"You use force, but the people here live peacefully. The civilians here aren't afraid. That alone tells me enough."
"I like this place very much."
Half an hour later.
G-17 Base, Base Commander's Office.
Click.
Aiden pushed open the heavy metal door.
Instead of greetings, a cloud of smoke thick enough to choke someone rolled out toward him.
"Cough, cough—Smoker, are you trying to burn down the office?"
Aiden waved his hand in front of his face to clear the smoke.
Behind the desk, a silver-haired man with a dark expression sat buried under piles of paperwork. Two cigars hung from his mouth at the same time, and the only sound in the room was the nonstop scratching of his pen.
Smoker didn't even raise his head when Aiden entered. He acted as if nobody had walked in at all, though the smoke around him started moving more violently.
"Hey, Smoker, busy?"
Aiden walked over with a grin, but Smoker completely ignored him.
"Come on, don't be like that."
Aiden didn't care. His eyes drifted toward the cluttered desk, where a newspaper lay spread open across the papers.
The front-page headline carried a massive black-and-white photograph.
Under dark thunderclouds, a giant pillar of lightning over ten meters wide crashed down onto the tower of the Blacksteel Palace.
Even in black and white, the image looked terrifying. The palace tower had melted and collapsed under the lightning strike. Stone shattered apart while smoke and dust covered the sky.
Above the photo was a giant headline:
[PUNISHMENT! MARINE HEADQUARTERS REAR ADMIRAL "REAPER" PUBLICLY EXECUTES TYRANT! THE BLACKSTEEL EMPIRE HAS CHANGED!]]
"Cough..."
Looking at the newspaper, Aiden awkwardly rubbed his nose. "Well... they picked a pretty good photo."
Hearing that, Smoker finally reacted.
He slowly stopped writing and raised his head.
His bloodshot eyes locked onto Aiden, and the frustration in them was impossible to miss.
"Photo? You're worried about the photo?"
Smoker's voice sounded rough from stress and too many cigars. He jabbed a finger toward the newspaper. "Aiden, what exactly did you tell me before you left?"
He pointed hard at the headline, his voice full of sarcasm.
"You told me you had some top-secret emergency mission. You said it was classified and you had to handle it alone, so I got stuck here cleaning up all the work at the base. Right?"
"Well... it was technically a secret mission..." Aiden looked away slightly.
"Secret my ass!"
Smoker finally exploded.
He slammed his pen onto the desk and roared, "The entire world knows you went to the Blacksteel Empire and blew up their palace! The damn reporters even wrote down every detail!"
Smoker felt like he'd been tricked.
He thought Aiden had gone on some dangerous classified mission, but the guy had just gone out and made headlines across the world.
"You dumped all this work on me while you went outside acting like some hero!"
"Relax, relax."
Aiden leaned forward shamelessly. With a flick of his wrist, he pulled out a box of premium cigars from his storage ring and placed it beside Smoker.
"You're reliable, so I left the base to you. Besides, I brought you a gift."
Aiden tapped the cigar box lightly. "Top-quality cigars from the Blacksteel royal family. I heard only royalty gets to smoke these."
Smoker instinctively caught the box. The moment he smelled the rich tobacco scent leaking out, half his anger disappeared.
"Hmph. At least you still have some conscience."
Smoker snorted and quietly put the cigars away.
"Of course. Though I know a few cigars aren't enough to heal Captain Smoker's wounded heart."
Aiden grinned and stepped aside, revealing Issho standing quietly behind him.
His tone became more serious.
"I know you've been overloaded lately, handling both training and paperwork alone. So I brought back some real reinforcement to help share the workload."
"A helper?"
Smoker raised an eyebrow and finally looked toward Issho.
Issho wore loose light-purple clothes and carried a simple cane sword.
He had a calm and honest smile on his face. His eyes looked gentle, making him seem like nothing more than an ordinary middle-aged man.
Smoker frowned slightly while looking him up and down.
As a Logia user, his instincts were sharp. But no matter how he looked at Issho, he couldn't sense any dangerous presence from him.
No sword aura. No Haki pressure. Nothing threatening at all.
"You must be Captain Smoker?"
Issho bowed politely without showing any discomfort under Smoker's stare.
"My name is Issho. It is a pleasure to meet you. I hope I can be of help while I stay here."
On the way to the base, Aiden had already explained the situation at G-17 to Issho. He had specifically mentioned "Smoker the White Hunter."
According to Aiden:
"That guy looks scary, has a terrible temper, and smokes like a chimney. But he's actually a good person. Without him, I wouldn't be able to slack off this much."
Because of that, even though Smoker's attitude wasn't friendly, Issho still looked at him kindly.
"Help me?"
Smoker sounded doubtful. He looked toward Aiden like the entire situation made no sense.
"This is your helper? A plain-looking old man?"
He crossed his arms and snorted.
"Where did you even find him? Let me make this clear now—the base doesn't keep useless people."
"Tsk tsk, Smoker, you really need to improve your eye for talent."
Aiden casually dropped onto the sofa and crossed his legs.
"Don't judge people by appearances. Starting today, Issho is our special advisor."
Aiden smirked.
"And technically, his rank is a little higher than yours."
"What?!"
Smoker nearly bit through his cigar.
It wasn't jealousy. He simply couldn't accept an unknown man suddenly becoming a superior officer.
In the Marines, strength meant everything.
"I don't accept this."
Smoker stood up immediately. White smoke slowly spread around his body while his eyes sharpened.
"Aiden, I respect your strength. But if some random old man wants to lead the elites of G-17, nobody here is going to accept it."
"I knew you'd say that."
Aiden looked completely unsurprised. In fact, he looked amused.
He waved toward Issho.
"Looks like our adjutant needs proof. Why don't you two head to the training ground for a quick spar? Just keep it under control. The repair costs are expensive."
Issho sighed helplessly and rubbed the back of his head.
"Then I suppose I should show what I can do."
A short while later.
G-17 Central Training Ground.
By now, the training field was completely surrounded by Marine soldiers.
For Marines who spent every day training and patrolling, nothing was more exciting than watching their feared "Ghost Captain" fight in person.
"Hey, who's that old man in purple? He looks weak."
"Quiet! The Base Commander personally brought him here! But Captain Smoker looks seriously pissed."
"This is going to be good! Captain Smoker's a Logia user! Besides the Base Commander, who could beat him?"
Amid the whispers, Smoker removed his Justice coat and tossed it to a nearby adjutant.
He cracked his neck loudly as the muscles across his body tightened.
"Old man, don't say I didn't warn you."
Smoker inhaled deeply. White smoke immediately poured from his body and spread across half the training ground.
"My smoke isn't just for blocking vision. Since Aiden thinks so highly of you, I'm not holding back!"
Logia-type, Smoke-Smoke Fruit.
Aiden had already explained Smoker's ability during the trip, so Issho wasn't surprised.
Facing the rolling waves of smoke, Issho simply stood there calmly without moving a single step.
"It truly is an impressive ability."
Issho smiled gently.
"However... you rely too much on your Devil Fruit. If you become careless, you will suffer for it."
"Stop talking like some old teacher!!"
Smoker's eyes sharpened fiercely.
Boom!
Without hesitation, he charged forward!
In midair, Smoker's right arm transformed into a massive smoke fist and slammed toward Issho with tremendous force.
The attack was incredibly fast. Most pirates wouldn't even have time to react.
Yet Issho's expression never changed.
He didn't dodge.
He didn't even move.
Just as the smoke fist was less than half a meter from his face—
Issho casually flipped his wrist.
Keeping the cane sword inside its scabbard, he lightly tapped it against the ground.
Thud.
A soft sound echoed across the field.
Then—
A wave of purple force spread outward instantly.
"Gravity... Suppression."
No explosions.
No flashy effects.
Yet Smoker suddenly froze in midair.
An overwhelming force crashed down onto his back and slammed him toward the ground!
"What—?!"
Smoker's pupils shrank violently.
Before he could even react—
"BOOM!!!"
The entire training ground shook violently.
The surrounding soldiers froze in shock.
Smoker and all the smoke around him were smashed directly into the floor!
The solid metal ground caved inward instantly, forming a massive crater shaped around his body. Twisting metal groaned loudly under the crushing gravity.
At the bottom of the crater, Smoker desperately tried turning into smoke to escape.
But the gravity even pinned down his smoke body.
He couldn't move at all.
The fight ended instantly.
Complete domination.
The entire training ground fell silent.
Only the sound of the ocean wind remained.
At the center of the field, Issho calmly lifted his cane sword.
As the purple glow faded, the crushing gravity disappeared completely.
"I win."
Issho walked forward and reached out to help Smoker back up.
His tone remained as humble as ever.
"Captain Smoker handles his fruit very well. That attack carried impressive force. If I had reacted a little slower, I may have been knocked down."
Smoker: (...)
He stood there stiffly while staring at the smiling old man in front of him.
His mouth twitched slightly. At some point, even his cigars had disappeared.
Knocked down?
That attack almost crushed me into the floor!
And that control over gravity—being able to pin down even a Logia body instantly—was far beyond anything an ordinary strong fighter could do.
The pressure Issho gave off...
Only Aiden had ever made Smoker feel something similar.
"What a strong..."
Smoker slowly took a deep breath. After grabbing his coat back from the adjutant, the last bit of resistance in his expression disappeared.
The Marines respected strength.
With power like this, nobody would question Issho's position.
"I accept it."
Smoker lit another cigar while looking toward Aiden with mixed feelings.
"You... where on earth did you find a guy like this?"
"Hahaha! That's because I have an eye for talent."
Aiden laughed loudly and wrapped an arm around both of their shoulders.
"OHHHHH—!!!"
Only then did the stunned Marines finally react.
The soldiers looked toward Issho with eyes full of excitement and admiration.
In this chaotic Great Pirate Era, nothing made them feel safer than having another monster-level fighter protecting the base.
Listening to the cheers around him, Smoker slowly exhaled smoke.
Looks like things are only going to get harder from now on...
A new pressure settled in his chest.
Aiden was already terrifying enough. Now even some unknown old man could crush him in one move.
If he didn't get stronger soon, he wouldn't even be able to keep up with them anymore.
Aiden, however, was in an extremely good mood.
With the current lineup at G-17, they could already dominate most of Paradise.
Even if they entered the New World and faced one of the current Three Emperors, they probably—
"No, no, no!"
The moment that thought appeared, Aiden immediately shook his head hard and stopped himself.
"I am absolutely not tempting fate like that."
If he actually attracted monsters like Kaido or Big Mom, then the base he worked so hard to build would probably get flattened overnight.
Aiden quickly pushed the dangerous thought out of his mind.
He was confident, but not arrogant enough to believe he could already shake the New World.