Upon hearing the order to stand by from the Celestial Dragons, the Navy officers aboard the warship exged uain gnces, unsure of what to say.

  Smoker, oher hand, was fuming with anger.

  What kind of joke was this?

  If they wao make people kneel, fine, but Smoker wasn’t going to bow. He’d simply avoid them.

  But now, miles away, with no direct flict betweehey were forced to stop due to a traffitrol order using a high-level encrypted and? In the middle of the open sea, with no barriers in pce?

  It would take them half a day just to reach Pumiso Isnd at this pace. What was the point of waiting? Was it a bahey were headed to?!

  For pirates and civilians alike, after eight hundred years of ditioning, obedieo the Celestial Dragons had bee sed nature.

  But Smoker came from a different world.

  He was from a pce where "noble bloodlines" didn’t mean superiority. Everyone was equal, no matter their status.

  Apart from his occasional admiration for the try of Wano, Smoker treated everyohe same.

  He didn’t ko anyone, and he sure as hell wouldn’t let anyone force him to.

  So what if they were Celestial Dragons?

  Just because their aors were powerful, did that mean they were untouchable?

  Smoker was about to make a rash decision and charge ahead wheiced his crew. He couldn’t let his impulsiveness endahem.

  "Notify the navigator, mark the position of the Celestial Dragon’s ship, and calcute their route!"

  "Lookout, stay alert!"

  "Helmsman, take a detour a us moving!!"

  Just as the crew was about to a the orders, Smoker’s transponder snail rang.

  It was Zephyr’s voi the other end.

  "Smoker, Smoker... I just received an order."

  "Gover officials will be b your ship soon. Whatever they want to do, try to cooperate as much as possible and avoid flict. I’ll be there as quickly as I !"

  "?!"

  Before Smoker could respond, the transponder snail closed its eyes a back to sleep.

  "What does that mean?!" Smoker muttered in fusion.

  What did "cooperate as much as possible" mean? That was a fine lio walk!

  Dealing with pirates was ohing, but gover officials were a whole different ball game.

  At least Zephyr was on his way, which gave Smoker some reassurance.

  Soon, Smoker noticed two powerful presences rapidly approag.

  "That speed, that aura... is that the Moon Walk? But it doesn’t feel like it!"

  Moments ter, a small boat appeared on the horizon, a fast speedboat, no less.

  [The Wover has this kind of tech?!] Smoker thought. [Of course, they’ve been holding back...]

  The boat approached, and two CP agents jumped aboard, each more arrogant thaher. One had hair that looked like petals, and the other held a fan to cover his face.

  The oh the “petal-like” hair stepped forward.

  "Rear Admiral Smoker, we are Wover agents Gismonda and Maha. We are requisitioning this warship!"

  "From now on, all operations aboard this ship are under our authority, until the Celestial Drago!"

  Smoker leaned ba shock.

  The rest of the Navy officers also turo Smoker, uain.

  Smoker had earned his position through years of hard work. All his peers respected him, and they instinctively obeyed his orders. Even Gaspar, who often acted rebelliously, didn’t dare openly defy him.

  At headquarters, they were all trainees, and following orders from their instructors art of the job.

  Ohey were on a mission, the officers became part of a special ops team, with Smoker as their leader in Zephyr’s absence.

  Even though the CP agents were notorious, they carried the weight of the World Nobles' name, which made things tricky.

  Whether to follow their orders or not still depended on Smoker’s decision.

  After hearing the two agents, Smoker’s expression darkened.

  Gismonda and Maha? Weren’t these the future CP0 agents?

  They came in ag like they owhe pce, demanding things immediately!

  It was bad enough to offend the Celestial Dragons, but now he had to deal with them too?

  With a forced smile, Smoker replied, "Heh, what I do for you two? We have a mission to attend to."

  Gismonda’s face remained expressionless. "The great World Noble—Bancroft Saint—is ing to Pumiso Isnd."

  "We’ve detected pirates nearby, and we need you to provide prote!"

  Smoker’s eyes sharpened.

  "Hmm? You mean a pirate crew...?"

  "The Fang Pirate Crew! We ot allow these filthy pirates to interfere with the World Nobles!"

  "Oh, oh, oh!" Smoker’s mood shifted from cloudy to sunny in an instant.

  This erfect! He was about to deal with those pirates anyway.

  And now, he could earn some goodwill with the gover without spending a dime.

  "I see! For the Navy, the safety of the World Nobles always es first!"

  "Don’t worry, we’ll cooperate fully!!"

  Gismonda and Maha exged a surprised gnce.

  What was going on? He had just been angry, and now he was suddenly agreeing to everything?

  But Smoker’s words were smooth, and he carried himself like a capable leader.

  For Smoker, as long as it didn’t interfere with his pns, fttery came easily.

  "You two must be tired from your journey. Go rest for a bit. I’ll take care of everything else!" Smoker said, his tone friendly.

  In a good mood, he waved them off.

  "Hina... take these two to the and room and bring out the high-end cigars and drinks Zephyr-sensei keeps!"

  He’d been eyeing those cigars and drinks for a while.

  Zephyr-sensei was strict about keeping track of them, never allowing Smoker to indulge.

  But now, with a gover mission at hand, it was the perfect opportunity.

  After all, it only made sense for important gover agents to enjoy a little luxury, right?

  Hina nodded, guiding the two agents away.

  Ohey were out of earshot, Smoker whispered to Hina, "Tsk, tsk, sometimes even the Celestial Dragons' dogs mao do something useful, huh?"

  Hina rolled her eyes at him.

  As his closest panion, she was well aware of Smoker’s true thoughts on the gover.

  Whenever Smoker entered his "wise man mode," especially with Hina, he’d use their mental unication to buy time.

  When Smoker was rexed, he'd sometimes slip political opinions that seemed normal in his past life but sounded absurd in their current world...

  At first, Hina would argue a little. But when Smoker entered his "wise man mode," he became hard to beat, and she would quickly find herself overwhelmed.

  In political debates, men often had the upper hand.

  Smoker, heavily influenced by red ideological education since childhood, had theoretical knowledge that far outshone Hina’s.

  After a few rounds of these debates, Hina found herself somewhat brainwashed...

  Although she couldn’t go so far as to see the Celestial Dragons as pigs, at least she no longer worshipped them as gods or emperors.

  But seeing Smoker avoid flict with the CP agents made Hina breathe a sigh of relief.

  It was best when things went smoothly. After all, getting into a position like this was no easy task.

  Smoker stood at the bow of the ship and shouted loudly, "Everyone, full speed ahead! Let’s wipe out the Fang Pirate Crew!!"

  The Navy crew cheered, "Oh!!"

  Suddenly, Gismonda’s head popped out of the .

  "el Smoker, you misuood. Your job is to protect."

  "As long as the Fang Pirate Crew doesn’t cause any trouble, you’re to stay by the World Nobles and protect them at all costs!"

  "What?!"

  Smoker’s face darkened again.

  He couldn’t believe it. He had actually gotten his hopes up about these CP agents...

  Void996