"You despicable Marines! Have you forgotten what Justice means?"
"Oh! Don't say that! Smoker and his men are good people. The really bad ones are like Nezumi the former Captain of Branch 153. Those are rotten apples!"
"Since when do good Marines need pirates to defend them? Detestable pirate, detestable Marine!"
"I told you we're not bad people either! I'm not lying! We're not going to do anything to you. We're just... offering you food and a place to stay. Gods, this is hard to explain!"
"Don't try to deceive me, you evil Marine!"
"Please don't say that about Smoker, he's really not a bad person!"
"..."
Smoker watched the two of them bicker, his face dark. He turned to Mock, who was still trying to explain on his behalf, and said in a cold tone, "Shut up!"
He glanced briefly at the sallow-faced old man, but still didn't say anything to him, or even look at him again, flicking the ashes from his cigar.
"And don't make this worse for me, or I'll arrest you! Get the people moving, and get the hell out of here!"
"Okay! Smoker... yes, Smoker..." Mock nodded happily, then scratched his head, looking at the chaotic scene. He hesitated, then turned back to Smoker. "How about you lend me some men first? There's a lot of folks here. If you want this done faster, we don't have enough hands."
Smoker's face turned red from fury. 'What does that guy think the Marines are, his personal errand boys?'
But looking at the chaos before him, the group of sallow-faced, ragged scavengers, the garbage dump that stank and served as their home...
The scene... it reminded him of what he'd seen in the Goa Kingdom.
'Maybe only a Marine like him could turn a blind eye to this, just like Vice Admiral Garp.' After all, Goa was a World Government Member Nation! But now this bastard Mock shows up. 'Fine, let's see what changes you can actually make!'
He sighed, waving a hand at Tashigi, his face still dark. "Hurry up!"
But.
"Captain Smoker..." Tashigi looked at him hesitantly. "I've never captured civilians before." she whispered.
"...Do what you think is best!" Facing his adjutant's hesitant question, Smoker was silent for a moment before saying, his face frowning, "Let them finish gathering everyone quickly, and just get this over with."
"Yes, sir!"
Helpless, Tashigi could only bite the bullet and lead the Marines to help.
"Everyone, don't run! Please don't run, we're not bad people!"
"Please believe us! You'll have something to eat when you get there!"
"We're not lying to you!"
Russ's eyes widened again at the sight.
'Marines actually helping Pirates capture people? Unbelievable!'
"What the hell are you Marines doing?" Russ roared. "Helping pirates capture slaves? How could you do that? How could Marines fall so low?!"
Mock hesitated.
Looking at Smoker, who was now practically steaming, Mock realized the scene looked pretty bad. He scratched his head, giving Smoker a flattering smile. He was about to say something when...
One of Mock's pirates ran up. "Captain Mock," he said. "We found a group of kids hidden away."
"Grandpa! Grandpa!"
"Grandpa Russ!"
Russ, whose anger had flared, froze again, panic washing over his face. He jerked his head up at the shouts, spotting the children who had been found, then turned to Mock, his face etched with sorrow as he started pleading. "Please, spare the children! Spare my granddaughter!"
However.
"Oh, you've got a granddaughter! Great! Take 'em all!" Mock said brightly. "The Conomi Archipelago could use more kids!"
'These damn pirates... they won't even leave the children alone?' Russ's face stiffened, his panic escalating. "No! Please, don't take the children!" he begged. "I have a treasure! A real treasure! I heard about it from spies from other kingdom... they called it a 'Treasure of the Sea'! I swear it's valuable! I was going to use it to get everyone back to the Michael Kingdom, or trade it for food... Please, just don't hurt the kids! I'll give it to you!"
"Oh, a treasure? A Treasure of the Sea? Could it be that Devil Fruit the Boss was talking about?" Mock's face lit up with sudden excitement. "Take 'em all!" he shouted, "Take 'em all! Wahaha, what a haul! We'll take the kids and the treasure!"
"Disgusting..." Russ muttered, despair flooding his eyes as he heard Mock intended to take everything. "You devils!"
"Don't worry! I'm not just taking it! Let's see what it is first," Mock quickly explained with a reassuring smile, thinking Russ just didn't trust him. "Bring them over! Bring 'em all over!"
Smoker, standing to the side, had been watching the scene with a frown, and even the cigar in his hand was shaking slightly.
'Is this how this guy always rounds people up? If I didn't know better, I would think this was a crew of particularly nasty pirates who partook in slavery! And they...'
Smoker looked up, watching the Marines actually helping the pirates round people up.
'A group of fallen Marines, helping pirates?!'
"Evil Marines! No, not Marines!" Seeing that there was no other way, Russ looked to Smoker, his voice pleading and desperate. "You are great Captain, A Marines of Justice straight from Headquarters, please save the children!"
Smoker snapped back to reality, a hesitant expression on his face. After looking at Russ, then at the children in their tattered clothes, he sighed. "They'll be better off over there!"
"Better?" Russ's voice was a raw question. He looked at the indifferent Smoker, and his old, thin face twisted again with rage and despair. He roared, "You fallen Marines who have abandoned Justice!"
"Captain Smoker and the others are pretty good people!"
"They're still colluding with evil pirates!"
"Even though we're working together, we're not bad people, really!"
"You still want to deceive me even now?"
"I'm really not lying to you! Ask Captain Smoker if you don't believe me!"
"Shut up!" Smoker snapped at Mock, whose attempts at explanation were only making things worse. His face was green. Seeing the chaos finally winding down, he said impatiently, "Just get everyone out of here and finish this already!"
"Okay, Smoker! It's fine! I'll explain everything later!"
"You-"
Before Smoker could say anything...
*Puru puru, puru puru...*
Mock's Den Den Mushi rang. He was stunned for a moment, then answered it directly. "Yeah, boss! I know! I'm heading back now!"
Then he looked at Smoker again. "The Boss is calling me back for work, Captain Smoker! Gotta go! Everyone, move it! The Boss is calling!"
"Get the hell out! I will curse you all!"
Finally, with the Marines help, the Mock Pirates finished rounding everyone up.
Under a barrage of curses hurled at the Marines, they boarded the Mock Pirates new ship with the crowd and set off for Marine Branch 16.
Leaving behind...
Smoker stood there, smoking his cigar. His hands trembled slightly with anger.
"Captain Smoker, don't be angry. They'll understand once they get there," Tashigi said, looking at him being cursed without retort. She smiled inwardly, then sighed. "I saw it just now... they're even worse off than the people in the Goa Kingdom. At least they had rotten fruit left by nobles. They'll definitely understand your good intentions!"
"Whatever," Smoker muttered, curling his lip. He flicked his cigar again, watching the Mock Pirates' ship pull away. "If I find out they pull anything shady, I'll drag them back myself. Right now, I just don't want to see their faces."
He turned his head. "Return to base!"
"Yes, sir!" Tashigi saluted. After a moment, though, she seemed to remember something. "Oh, right! I almost forgot!"
"Forgot what?"
"Captain Dante's gift. Didn't you say you wanted to return it?" Looking at Smoker's frown, she added quickly, "It'd be good to have Mock and his men take it back. It's not too late. I'll have them wait!"
She was about to call out to the Marines, to shout at the Mock Pirates to stop, when...
"No need!"
Tashigi turned, confused, looking at him. "No need? No need for what, Captain Smoker? Didn't you say-"
Before she could finish...
"I'm keeping it!" Smoker snapped, glaring at his adjutant. Tashigi was clearly trying not to laugh, and Smoker's face, normally gruff, seemed to flush slightly. He looked away.
'I just got cursed out like that... And now she wants me to return the gift?'
He flicked his cigar again, his expression carefully blank. "That's what I deserve," he grumbled. "After all, those cannonballs I wasted earlier haven't been reimbursed yet!"
"Yes! Exactly, Captain! It's what we deserve! And that military expense report..."
"Those cheap bastards, Keep sending it!" Smoker said viciously, a sudden idea forming. "Tell Marine HQ that we ran into the vicious Mock Pirates here in the Michael Kingdom, suffered heavy losses, and need them to send the money here immediately!"
'So Dante wants me to learn from him? Fine. I'll see what Mock's really up to.' Ignoring the confused look on Tashigi's face, Smoker headed back to his warship. He watched the Mock Pirates ship grow smaller on the horizon, frowning, and took a deep drag from his cigar before pulling it from his mouth.
==========
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