What Vice Admiral kane said in front of them was, in fact, the truth.
Just now, Captain Smoker really had ignored Ace.
He had shifted his focus onto the Straw Hat crew instead.
There was no doubt that this upright young woman had been completely stumped by kane's words.
Her face still showed a conflicted expression.
Meanwhile, Smoker, standing behind her, looked somewhat flushed.
Wasn't the meaning behind kane's words already obvious enough?
It was practically the same as pointing at his nose and saying: "Kid, your strength is way too lacking, and you still want to capture Fire Fist Ace?"
Although, judging from the battle just now, that was a fact, saying it so directly left Smoker with nowhere to put his pride.
"What kind of joke is this, Tashigi? Don't let that old man mislead you. He just wants to collect—"
But before he could finish speaking, kane's fist was already at his face.
He had already sensed kane's attack, but with his speed, there was simply no way to dodge it.
In the next moment, he was sent flying by a single punch.
"So you still haven't learned your lesson, huh? Then I'll help you remember. I already told you last time: don't smoke in front of me. I finally managed to quit, and here you are smoking. And not just one—you're smoking two at once? Are you asking for a beating? Don't you know how to show a little respect to your elders?"
The moment Smoker hit the ground, he sprang back to his feet.
And then he was completely enraged.
"Old man, don't underestimate me," Smoker said.
But what answered him was kane's merciless kick.
This time, Smoker had gotten smarter and turned into smoke in advance.
But in front of kane, that was utterly useless.
kane still kicked him flying.
And while Smoker was still airborne, kane immediately followed up.
Smoker turned into smoke again and flew upward into the sky.
But before he could fully get away, kane directly grabbed his leg.
Then he yanked him back down.
The sheer force was so great that Smoker could not break free at all.
Then he was slammed into the ground.
The heavily struck Smoker felt the world spinning, but before he could even recover, kane had already hauled him up again.
It was an extremely humiliating posture.
Smoker still wanted to resist, but in the next moment kane flung him away once more.
He crashed onto the ground in the distance.
Before he could even get up, kane's figure had already appeared in front of him.
Smoker's pupils shrank instantly.
Because kane's fist had already swung out.
"Vice Admiral kane!"
Tashigi, finally reacting, cried out.
kane's fist paused.
It stopped just an inch in front of Smoker's face, and the fierce flaming wind from that punch directly burned away the cigar in Smoker's mouth!
Smoker's face turned pale.
"So under this old man's hands, I really don't have even the slightest power to resist?"
kane withdrew his fist.
"Kid, remember this: if you want to lecture me, be prepared to get beaten up. Also, don't smoke two cigars in front of me. Even I only smoked one."
Smoker's gaze remained stubborn as ever.
kane, on the other hand, smiled.
"Not bad. That's a pretty good look in your eyes. Still keeping that much resolve even after taking my punches. Not bad at all."
Hearing kane say that only made Smoker even more irritated.
kane paid him no mind.
"Kid, remember one thing. Only when your strength improves can you accomplish more. Otherwise, it's all just empty talk. And isn't your target Straw Hat? Then let me tell you this: with your current strength, you're still far from enough. All right, that's enough talking. This old man is leaving. Sengoku's already rushed me several times."
Smoker looked somewhat dazed.
For a moment, he could not understand what kind of person kane really was.
kane had given Smoker a good beating, which could be counted as fulfilling his earlier promise.
And on top of that, he had managed to catch a big fish like Ace, which put him in an even better mood.
That was why he said those things to Smoker.
This kid's temperament was still pretty decent among the Marines.
At the very least, in some situations, he was much better than a rising Marine star like Coby.
And as Zefa's disciple, giving him a few pointers was no problem at all.
As for whether he could actually take them to heart, that depended on Smoker himself.
Still, after being crushed so thoroughly by him twice, if Smoker still failed to make any progress, then that would really be a bit pathetic.
kane no longer wanted to think about these things.
"Bocchi, let's go!"
"Yes, Vice Admiral kane!"
Watching kane leave, Smoker did not know what he was thinking.
"Captain Smoker…" Tashigi looked worried.
"Tashigi, I'm fine. Right, where did Straw Hat and the others go?"
Tashigi froze.
"They've already set sail. But it hasn't been that long."
"Gather the Marines. We're setting out immediately. We have to capture the Straw Hat crew. What that old man said just now only makes me more certain that Straw Hat isn't simple. We absolutely have to catch them!"
Tashigi looked puzzled.
Captain Smoker had just been beaten up again, but he did not seem all that angry.
"Tashigi, what are you standing there thinking about? Hurry up!"
"Understood, Captain Smoker!"
After saying that, Tashigi quickly left.
On kane's warship:
"Bocchi, call Headquarters and tell those useless fools about the danger level of Straw Hat and his crew. A swordsman who can cut steel, and a prince of the Vinsmoke family—how have they been pirates for this long without getting bounties? What exactly are those people at Headquarters doing?"
kane seemed rather irritated.
"Yes, Vice Admiral kane! I'll report it right away!"
"Wait."
"Vice Admiral kane, do you have any other orders?"
"You can appropriately emphasize how dangerous they are. For example, mention that Marine Captain Smoker has repeatedly failed to capture them."
Bocchi froze for a moment.
So this was meant to raise the pace of their bounty increases!
"Why are you still standing there? Get going!"
"Yes, Vice Admiral kane!"
Bocchi quickly left.
"Since the fodder isn't growing fast enough, then this old man will just have to add a little fertilizer. That way, next time the harvest will be better! And that brat Smoker needs a bit of stimulation too!"
kane was very satisfied with his own idea.
Not long after kane and his men left Alabasta, yet another article suddenly swept across the seas, titled: **The Rotten System — The Warlords of the Sea**.
In an extremely short time, it spread throughout the entire Grand Line.
The article thoroughly detailed Alabasta's tragedy from beginning to end, filling in everything the World Government had not explained.
Including Crocodile's scheme to seize the kingdom and his massacre plot.
It attracted people's attention almost instantly.
Only then did people realize that a giant nation like Alabasta had been played in the palm of a single Warlord's hand.
For a time, the entire world denounced the Warlord system.
Of course, kane's heroic deeds were also heavily emphasized.
Without him, Alabasta would have had no tomorrow.
But not a single word was mentioned about him taking money.
That whole affair gave the World Government quite a headache.
"Cobra really knows how to behave," kane said after finishing the newspaper.
*Buru Buru Buru…*
"Hello? Sengoku? I'm already on my way back. What's the matter?"
"kane, didn't you say you would keep the impact of the Alabasta incident to a minimum?"
"Sengoku, that's not quite fair to say, is it? I repeatedly reminded Cobra to watch the f
allout carefully. You can ask him yourself if you don't believe me. But that guy agreed on the surface, then turned around and did this anyway. There's nothing I could do about it," kane said helplessly.
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