Chapter 208

"This matter must be reported to Officer Smoker immediately; I'll leave this place in your hands."

Dasqi said, hurrying off toward the direction Smoker had left.

……

184, Luo En: Unjust rules have no reason to exist!

At this moment, inside the Luo Ge tavern.

After hearing Luo En's explanation, Smoker's face turned pale, cold sweat dripping from his forehead, his heart surging with turmoil.

"You… are serious?"

"I said I'm not joking."

Luo En took a sip of wine.

Smoker stared at him fiercely: "Why tell me this?! Don't you fear I'll report it to Headquarters, and they'll send their highest-tier forces to stop you?"

"It doesn't matter."

Luo En set down his cup and smiled at him: "Smoker, I tell you this because I believe in you. Only someone like you deserves to be called 'justice' in my heart. That's why I came to Luo Ge Town—I hope you'll join me."

"Impossible!"

Smoker refused outright.

"I am a Marine. These two words define my stance. If you truly intend to carry out your insane plan, I will only ever be your enemy on the battlefield!"

"Smoker, don't speak so definitively."

Luo En poured himself another cup of wine: "I once thought that if I grew strong enough, I could become a free traveler on this sea—unbound by anyone or any rule, living exactly as I wished. But later, I realized how naive I had been."

"Someone told me that the Marine organization, though seemingly vast and boundless, is in fact a massive cage, bound by lofty, imposed rules. Anyone who challenges those rules is labeled a pirate or criminal by those who made them, and it's your duty to deal with them."

"Even if those people never intended to become pirates or criminals, it's still the same—if they disturb the rules, they are unforgivably guilty."

"If these rules were just, I'd be willing to obey them. But if these rules exist merely to make it easier for those who made them to control the world, to serve the Celestial Dragons in enslaving all beings, then there is no true freedom on this sea. These so-called rules are nothing but iron chains and shackles—and even the justice you believe in has been twisted, stripped of all righteousness."

Smoker listened, gripping his wine cup tightly, teeth clenched as he forced out two words: "Shut… up."

Luo En drank his wine and continued: "Over these past two years, besides training and growing stronger on Wudao Island, I occasionally slipped away to explore. I've traveled through many islands and nations in the New World—it's far more chaotic than the Grand Line. But what surprised me was that in some nations controlled by the Four Emperors, there was no stinking class division; nobles and commoners coexisted harmoniously. Yet in the nations under World Government control on the Grand Line, class division is extreme."

"Ultimately, the existence of Celestial Dragons is utterly unnecessary in this world, Smoker. You must feel the same, right? There must be many Marines who kneel before the Celestial Dragons, even betraying the very word 'justice' behind them?"

Smoker clenched his teeth but said nothing.

He could not refute it.

"These two years have made me completely clear. Even if I become a strong one, unbound by anyone or any rule, if this world doesn't change, no matter where I travel, the scenery before my eyes will still make me sick—just like the kingdom of Goa in the East Blue."

Luo En set down his empty cup, stood up, and said calmly: "This world needs change. Rather than wait for others to act, I will act."

"The World Government will still exist—but without the Celestial Dragons."

"The Marines will continue to exist—but as the New Marines."

Smoker's glass wine cup cracked under his grip, the fractures spreading with a creaking sound.

"Smoker, want to make a bet?"

Before leaving, Luo En seemed to remember something, stopped, and spoke over his shoulder to Smoker.

"What kind of bet?"

"You know Kuzan well, right? I bet on which side he'll choose."

Smoker's eyes narrowed: "What do you mean?! Kuzan is a Marine Admiral! Do you think he'd ever side with you?!"

"Then you're betting he won't."

Luo En's voice carried a hint of amusement: "I bet he will. If I win, you join me."

Smoker downed the wine in one gulp, then smashed the cracked glass cup onto the counter—it shattered completely.

"And if I win?"

"Then when we fight, I'll fight you with my eyes closed."

Luo En smiled.

Before Smoker could grasp the meaning of those words, Luo En had already stepped out of the tavern.

He had just stepped out the door when Dasqi ran toward him.

In the instant they passed each other.

She glanced at Luo En's face, catching only a vague side profile.

It felt vaguely familiar—as if she'd seen him somewhere before…

Before she could think further, she had already rushed into the tavern and spotted Smoker at the counter—she immediately pushed the thought aside.

"Officer Smoker, there's a major incident!"

……

Outside the tavern.

Luo En walked down the bustling street, hands tucked into the pockets of his black coat.

"Where is Dragon now?"

The thing he planned to do was to ignite an unprecedented war—the first in eight hundred years—a battle that would decide the world's fate and overturn everything.

It could not possibly rely solely on him and the Air Calamity Travelers.

What he was doing now was gathering strength.

And he already had some names in mind.

The Mera Mera no Mi user with Admiral-level power, the blind old man, Yoru—though we made a pact after that duel, his stance is still uncertain.

The world's greatest swordsman, Hawk-Eye Mihawk—uncertain.

Smoker—irrelevant.

Marine Admiral Kuzan—uncertain.

The Sea Empress Boa Hancock is possible, but not certain.

The possibility of Pluto Lei Li exists, but it is still not certain.

The former Admiral Zefa is possible.

The Four Emperors—no matter which one, there's no certainty.

And among the four imperial forces, the one most likely to join this great battle, without doubt, is Kaido of the Beasts, who has a grudge against Luo En.

Aside from these people and factions.

Among the strong ones and factions Luo En knows, the ones most likely and capable of standing by his side now… are the Revolutionaries.

Especially that man—Luffy's father, Monkey D. Dragon, whom Luo En had met once as a child!

He is Luo En's most suitable ally!

Yet after scanning the entire Luo Ge Town with Kenbunshoku Haki, Luo En still could not find Dragon.

In the original story, he saved Luffy in Luo Ge Town, but now it seems he has not yet arrived here.

Luo En did not choose to wait here.

Instead, he left Luo Ge Town and set out for the Grand Line.

He would go directly to the Revolutionary Army's headquarters.

White Soil Island, Baratie.

185, if he's not here, I'll do it!

After Luo En left.

Smoker considered whether to report this matter upward, but Luo En's attitude at the time left him deeply uneasy.

Moreover, the matter Luo En mentioned was too absurd and unbelievable; Smoker even worried whether anyone would believe him if he reported it.

If questioned, he wouldn't know how to explain—could he say that as a Marine, he was acquainted with that man, had reunited after a long time, and heard him drunkenly blurt it out over drinks?

That would be ridiculous!

Who would believe it!

Amid Smoker's distress and hesitation, ten days quickly passed.

He still did not choose to report it.

…

About a month and a half after Luo En left Luo Ge Town.

The Straw Hat Crew, now with Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Sanji, arrived at Luo Ge Town.

As in the original story, Zoro obtained "Yuki-So" and "Sanzo Kiri" from a local weapons shop, along with Muku, the wooden sword Luo En had lent him.