99 Chapter 98

In the Gate of Justice, located close to the Impel Down, there lied a monitor room—one that kept the surveillance of the Impel Down's various locations through what were known as the Surveillance Den Den Mushis.

Many jailors, all having evacuated to this place a long time ago, were gazing at the screen ahead of them in vivid horror.

The water, already having engulfed the entire sixth level, continued to rise at an accelerating pace. Even worse, Magellan was yet to exit from his office—the only intact section of the fourth level.

"That Shiryu must be dead by now," Muttered one staff, before turning to another, "And how's the call on Warden Magellan going?"

"U-Uhh... I think he did pick up to our call, but all I hear is the noise of, um, you know—"

<<BRRRRFFF!!!>>

"...Yeah."

Another one sighed, "Well, tell him that he has to get out soon if he doesn't want to die, unlike thousands of those criminals who drowned already."

"...Something is weird though."

Then, one female staff with wavy blonde hair said keenly, narrowing her eyes at the monitor.

"The way in which the influx of water into the facility suddenly increased by several folds... it's as if a huge hole was punctured at the bottom!"

"It's probably because there indeed is one, Domino. Water pressure breaking the wall, you know."

"...Oh."

__________

"Eh... the call abruptly ended from their side." In confusion, Tokikake shrugged. From across, Smoker let out a deep breath and relaxed his body. He, closing his eyes and dropping his head, momentarily entered the period of rest.

The golden light from the setting sun intensified. Only the tip of the sun was now visible, and on the opposite side of the sky, the pale moon was secretly rising.

Aramaki, taking a seat next Smoker, witnessed the shift from day to night. In a stern expression, he said,

"You told us before, the story of that Vice Admiral Victorious. For harbouring thoughts similar to yours, he was killed. Others of similar characteristics too, were of no difference."

The waves crashed on the cracked walls of the Impel Down. The water sprinkled over the shaky ship and splashed over their form. Gion watched with narrowed eyes, the marines reluctantly looking at one another. There lied a strange sense of tension, one to which Sengoku and Tsuru grimaced in response.

"You were the only one to ever arrive this far. To openly speak the truth and directly oppose the World Government's oppressive means of governing, the whole world has now become aware of what kind of man you truly are." In this environment, Aramaki nonetheless asked plainly, "What will happen from here on, Smoker-san?"

The sun has fully set, and the full moon revealed itself on the opposite side of the sky. It emanated a pale glow across the night sky, but it was insignificant. Without the sunlight, the atmosphere took a shift to that of a cold and unusually ominous one.

"...Even if you ask, I have no idea either." Smoker, opening his eyes in this state, dryly remarked, "And sometimes I do wonder, if doing what I believed to be the right thing was the best thing to do."

Everyone on the ship listened to Smoker. Strangely, there existed an inexplicable sense of warmth even without the sun, contrary to the tension-filled atmosphere among the numerous marines ahead.

"But you know what? I decided not to linger in the past. If you are afraid of taking a single step forth, you'll never get to walk. Without learning how to walk, running will be impossible. Once I decided to change this world, I settled on the thought that what I truly need wasn't the preparation under the surface, but the resolve to risk my life for it."

Pacifistas, Seraphims, Mother Flame—the World Government will become stronger as time passes on. Having the knowledge of the future, Smoker knew that time wasn't necessarily an advantage for them. Unless active changes are made, numerous will continue to suffer for the next eighteen years.

"...I have nothing but gratitude to all of you, for following my selfish self up until now." Said Smoker, "Deciding to come to this world's worst prison to save one guy like me... heh, makes me feel special."

Aramaki let out a grin. Rosinante, though barely conscious and standing, smiled in relief—that Smoker hasn't changed at all. Senor Pink, with his head turned the other way, seemed to be in deep thought. Gion, looking at the still-active Cameko, blinked her eyes in amazement. The kids at the back simply stood by, with Law staring at Aramaki in particular with that of disbelief—of how incredible the man's rate of recovery was.

"...Do you remember our discussion in the past, Smoker? One involving you, Bastille, and Hina." Hina, now gazing at the stars that started to reveal themselves up in the sky, asked.

Smoker smiled, "Of course."

Hina's irises reflected the glowing stars above. They are vast and majestic in view,

"Wow..."

"Oh, I know that one! Do you see a bright one over there? The name of that star is Nameless!"

"...That's a name?"

and the kids too watched it in awe—unlike the other marines ahead who were in full-on caution to notice such a sight.

Hina, shaking her head in defeat, chuckled, "As time passed on, our naïve selves changed. Our ideals were modified and reshaped. Back then, Bastille and Hina used to believe that your goal was the most ridiculous and childish one. But now that Hina thinks upon it... you are the only one who hasn't changed since then, still aiming for that dream as ridiculous as the possibility of the devil fruit named 'Human Human fruit, model: Sora' existing."

"Sora... meaning sky, huh," Rosinante mumbled to himself.

"Oi, Smoker!!"

Then, a thunderous shout boomed throughout the night sky, before one burly man with spiky gray hair and a similarly jagged beard, Garp, landed on their ship, grinning. Behind him, one Marine Warhip containing Sengoku, Tsuru, Zephyr, and the other trainees were approaching them.

"Garp-sensei, it's been a while." Smoker grinned, "Sorry, but I didn't manage to get those rice crackers from the Rubeck island. You'll have to deal with it."

"Bwahaha! You were worried about that?" Garp laughed boisterously with his hands on the waist, "It's alright! I'm a generous man after all—what's with that stare of yours, brat."

'...You? Generous?' Smoker, though filled with disagreement to Garp's claim, hid it with a shaky grin, "Nothing—"

BOOM!

"—ow!"

"Hmph, have you forgotten how to respect your teacher?!"

"Since when did I disrespect you, old man—"

BOOM!

"...ow!"

Others, with their eyes popped out and jaws dropped, watched the unreal interaction between two men.

"Garp-san!" Gion immediately called out, "He's severely injured! Can't you see that he's not in a condition for you to punch him like that?!"

"...Punch?" Garp raised his eyebrow, lowering his hand as he did so. Turning to Smoker who was rubbing the back of his head, Garp asked, "Smoker, did I punch you just now?"

Smoker, recovering from the pain in seconds, shrugged, "I don't know if I can call that a punch, Garp-sensei. You know, I think you've gotten a tad older—"

BOOOM! Smoker's head was driven into the deck as Garp mercilessly blasted his fist right onto his head for the third time.

"""AHHHHH!!! SMOKER!!!!!"""

The ship immediately fell into a panic. Law hurriedly moved with a small medic kit of his, Aramaki, Rosinante, and Senor Pink yanked Smoker back out with the strength that remained in them, and the children were busy fussing over the unconscious Smoker—who had blood spraying out of the top of his head like that of a fountain.

"What do you think you're doing, Garp-san?!!" Gion pointed her finger at Garp who simply scratched the back of his head in confusion, "You're going to kill him at this rate!!!"

"...Ah?" Garp squinted his eyes, and placing his hand under his chin, hummed in thought. Eventually, he simply laughed it off, "Bwahahaha! Don't worry, that brat's fine!"

Hina, simply throwing a piece of cloth over the bleeding top of Smoker's head, sighed knowingly, "Ha... Hina isn't surprised."

"Seriously Garp, what have you done this time around?!"

"Don't be so harsh to that child, Garp. He's been through a lot."

As the second Warship finally came to a stop, Sengoku and Tsuru, standing with sweatdrops, said to Garp—still in the middle of getting reprimanded by Gion.

"Huhu..." On the other hand, Zephyr grinned in approval, "Well done, Garp. That kid needs some discipline in him."

Robin deadpanned at Zephyr, looking at her instructor by the corner of her eyes, '...Seems like Zephyr-sensei hasn't forgotten how Smoker jokingly called him a child molester before.'

"Eh... Fleet Admiral Sengoku?" Rosinante's eyes opened wide in a pleasant surprise. Sengoku, losing all seriousness upon Rosinante's words, held his arms wide and shouted,

"Come and embrace your papa, Rosie!!!"

"Pff... what," Aramaki, standing next to Rosie, placed his hand on top of his mouth, holding in laughter. Rosinante's cheeks reddened, before he said out loud,

"I-I appreciate your hospitality, but this is too much, Fleet Admiral!!"

"Sister Tsuru!"

On the other hand, Gion waved her hands at Tsuru in excitement, instantly ignoring Garp who was busy picking his nose and running at the old Vice Admiral. Tsuru, upon locking her eyes on Gion,

"...Who are you?" Mumbled in a dumbfounded expression.

"...Did you not take your daily dose of medicine?"

Meanwhile, Hina respectfully bowed at Zephyr, "It's been a while, Zephyr-sensei. Hina wonders if all has been well for Zephyr-sensei."

Zephyr chuckled softly, adjusting his sunglasses as he did so, "I've been hearing your efforts from afar, Hina. It seems that you've gotten more mature since when you left my care."

"Yo, Hina!" Then, two men revealed themselves from Zephyr's back. Shu, with a lewd eye-smile on him, whispered at Hina, "So, how's the progress going with Smoker?"

"Kekekeke! I bet that they went all the way! Sneaky bastards!" Akehende, placing his hands on his waist, laughed out loud.

Hina watched two men with her eyes twitching in annoyance. From two men's back, Kujaku, Ain, Binz, Shuzo, and the others—they stared at each other and sighed, amazed by the antics of their seniors.

Robin's ears perked up as she heard two men's jokingly-made words, and she narrowed her eyes at Hina, calculating the possibility of those words being true.

"And so,"

Smoker, whose consciousness returned thanks to Law's support, spoke to Garp in amusement,

"Heh, I heard that you threatened to quit Marine, Garp-sensei."

Garp grinned as he stood in front of the sitting form of Smoker, "Indeed, I did."

There was a brief silence, before,

"BWAHAHAHA!"

"WAHAHAHA!"

The two of them burst into laughter—

"—Hold on!!!" Garp suddenly stopped his laugh and stared at Smoker, "Your laugh changed!!"

"What?" Smoker paused and tilted his head, "No it didn't. It's still the same—"

"IT SOUNDS LIKE THAT ACCURSED ROGER'S LAUGH NOW!!!" Garp, yanking Smoker by the collar of his prisoner's uniform, roared at his apprentice, "What happened, brat?! Don't tell me that you plan on becoming the Pirate King now!!!"

"What the hell are you even talking about, old man?! Why would I be interested in that One Piece shit?!!"

BAM! Smoker and Garp bumped their foreheads and glared at each other. The children, watching the childish interaction between the two in sweatdrops, said among themselves,

"...My fantasy is broken."

"White Hunter and Marine Hero... who would've thought?"

"...They know that they are still being broadcasted, right?"

__________

"Oh my~ what a complex circumstance we are trapped in~" Borsalino, on the deck of one Warship, far from two ships docked at the Impel Down ahead, said casually with his hands in his pockets. Looking around, Borsalino saw many troubled marines, discussing and debating among themselves.

"It was a well-known fact among us that the World Government wasn't invested in saving the civilians! Hell, you know what?! I actually find Smoker's words valid! The doings of World Government is just as bad as that of pirates, if not worse!!"

"...And risk our lives? Remember, we too are humans! We are no different than those civilians!! I didn't become a marine to be some noble hero of a fairy tale!! Hell, I just want a peaceful life with a stable income!! We simply do the jobs given to us!! Civilians?! Tell them to save themselves!!"

One by one, the ships sailed toward the Impel Down—for those who agreed to Smoker's statement. And those who didn't, remained; Borsalino noticed that the majority of the Vice Admirals: Yamakaji, Doberman, Lacroix, Lonz, Tokikake, and more, remained. And on the other hand...

"...Kuzan. Momonga. Stainless."

Doberman, with an evident disappointment written on his face, scowled, "So you decided to betray the Marine?"

"..."

Momonga and Stainless didn't say anything. Kuzan on the other hand,

"Betray?"

snorted as he turned his head and coldly stared Doberman,

"Fleet Admiral sides with Smoker—one who holds the absolute authority over the Marine. By refusing to follow him... who are the traitors here?"

"Hmhm... that makes sense too..." Borsalino nodded in agreement, seemingly weighing the pros and cons of the decisions available to him.

Then,

<<Purururu, Purururu,>>

the mini Den Den Mushi on his wrist rang. Borsalino, with a raised eyebrow, accepted the call,

"Moshi moshi~"

<<...Borsalino.>>

A voice—belonging to one of the Five Elders without a doubt, was spoken out of the snail. Then,

<<Destroy the Cameko on Smoker's ship.>>

"...Oh?"

Borsalino expressed a surprise, not having expected such an order. Then, he raised his head at the night's sky where the stars twinkled, and after a few seconds of thorough observation... he accepted the mission,

"Hm... alright~ I suppose that I'll be a traitor then~"

And then, everything happened in an instant. Borsalino raised his index finger and fired a bright beam of laser—one that penetrated right through the Cameko—while everyone's guards were down.

"What?!" Sengoku quickly turned around with his teeth gritted, and then,

Zoom—.

all of a sudden, one ship—somehow levitating up in the air—revealed itself from the empty sky.

Zoom—.

That wasn't the end. One by one, more and more ships appeared, filling the night sky with numerous ships—all of which had the mark of World Government engraved.

Smoker's eyes widened in a shock, 'Warp Warp fruit…?'

<<The Elders have decided.>>

From atop, one man spoke through a speaker,

<<White Hunter Smoker shall be executed here. And those who side with him will be eliminated... regardless of their statuses.>>

This man, whose beard and head arched in a way that resembled a crescent-shape altogether, was someone whom Garp recognized.

"Figarland Garling…" Garp, frowning, growled, "What are you doing here… you good-for-nothing scum?!"