Chapter 347: Chapter 347: Smoker: Damn you, Kuzan!
Even Smoker, slow as he might be, understood that this situation wasn’t normal. What these pirates had just said absolutely couldn’t be made public across the seas!
"Hey!"
"Morgans, you can’t publish any of this! It would put the whole sea at risk—countless innocent lives are on the line!" Smoker rushed toward him, fully alert now.
"Gahahaha~"
"Rear Admiral Smoker, I’m afraid I can’t agree to that."
"You think you can stop me? Sometimes, the truth needs to be told—only then will people start paying attention."
"This sea once had many nations under the World Government’s rule. They were like stars scattered across the vast ocean, bringing a bit of light and order."
"But now? Under the greedy hands of the World Government—those Celestial Dragons sitting high above—more and more countries are backing out. They just can’t keep up with the heavy tribute anymore."
"Those once-proud nations, bled dry by the government, are falling apart like dying candles in the wind."
"They’ve lost the foundation they lived on. They’ve lost hope. So the only choice they have left... is to go out to sea and become pirates."
"Now tell me, Rear Admiral Smoker—whose fault is it, really? Is it the pirates’? The nobles’? Or is it the World Government’s? The Celestial Dragons’?"
Morgans’ words left all the Marines stunned.
Smoker froze in place, standing silently as something shifted in his expression.
Morgans’ words were like a knife, cutting deep into his heart and forcing him to think hard.
Was it really the pirates’ fault?
Or was the real blame on the government—this so-called powerful but rotting system?
Or maybe, it was those untouchable Celestial Dragons who did whatever they wanted?
These questions kept echoing in his mind, leaving him lost in thought...
But when he snapped out of it, his eyes turned firm again. He stared Morgans down and said in a low voice, "Morgans, I don’t care what you said—there’s no way I’ll let you publish what happened here today!"
With that, he started walking toward Morgans again, clearly ready to attack. Two Marine Captains followed close behind.
But Morgans didn’t flinch at all.
"Rear Admiral Smoker!"
Right as things were about to explode, Tashigi stepped forward, sword in hand, spreading her arms wide like a shield to block their path.
Her face was tense, her clear eyes full of deep concern. She shook her head firmly, signaling them not to act rashly.
The situation was far too delicate. One wrong move, and the consequences could be more than anyone could handle.
As a Marine, how could she just stand by and watch justice be trampled? Her heart wavered with inner struggle, and she unconsciously tightened her grip on her sword...
But they really couldn’t lay a hand on Morgans.
The Marines, pirates, civilians, and even the royal army led by Angela all became tense from the atmosphere.
"Tashigi, do you understand how big of an impact today’s events will have on the seas if it gets out?" Smoker said in a low voice as he looked at her.
"Rear Admiral Smoker."
"We can’t stop him, and we don’t have the authority to. He’s part of the Dream Exploration Team now. Unless we get orders from Marine HQ, we can’t engage with a force on the level of the Four Emperors!" Tashigi looked at Smoker seriously.
After hearing Tashigi’s words, Smoker and the two other Marine Captains immediately felt a sinking feeling in their chests. A strong sense of unease spread through them like a wave.
They had been way too careless—almost forgetting something this critical.
What made things worse was that the troublesome Dream Exploration Team was still on the island.
Given how urgent the situation was...
They knew the most important thing now was to quickly report everything that had happened here to Marine HQ. Only then could HQ react and make decisions as fast as possible.
If they waited any longer and let Morgans publish the story, they’d be put in an even more awkward and powerless position.
After struggling with his thoughts, the gloomy look on Smoker’s face only grew darker.
He slowly turned and walked toward the base, shouting, "Hey! Let’s go. Take all those damn pirates back with us!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Rear Admiral Smoker!"
Hearing the anger in Smoker’s voice, the Marines escorting the pirates immediately snapped to attention and started moving quickly.
But just then, Angela suddenly stepped forward and spoke up to stop them:
"Rear Admiral Smoker."
"Can you let them go? After all, they don’t have bounties from the World Government, and you know exactly why they chose to become pirates..."
Right after that—
Witt led the royal army forward without hesitation, standing directly in front of the Marines, clearly trying to protect the pirates.
"King Angela, you know that’s impossible," Smoker said in a deep voice.
Angela didn’t move aside. She continued:
"Rear Admiral Smoker, this is the Kingdom of Magiatsuka. They are citizens of Magiatsuka. And again—they don’t have World Government bounties!"
"So if they went out to sea as pirates, that’s something we, the Kingdom of Magiatsuka, should deal with ourselves!"
Smoker looked at the scene in front of him, and a mix of feelings rose in his heart. He also felt a sense of frustration. The Marines didn’t have much authority here, and Angela was being very firm...
He needed to talk to that bastard Kuzan, and fast...
Smoker waved his hand, signaling the Marines to let the pirates go. Then he led them back to the Marine base.
Angela let out a quiet breath of relief when she saw that. But it wasn’t over yet—if they were going to do this, they had to do it thoroughly. She immediately gave Witt an order: "Take them all back with you!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The royal army obeyed right away and escorted the four pirate crews back to the capital.
.....
"Gahaha~"
"Big news, big news!"
"Hey!"
"We should go too and publish what happened today as soon as possible!" Morgans was bursting with excitement. Today’s event had thrilled him beyond words.
"Yes, boss!"
A few of his assistants quickly followed him as they headed toward the hotel.
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