Chapter 428: A Professional at Messing with His Little Brother for Twenty Years
When Smoker was in a bad mood, he liked to chain-smoke cigars—it had always been his habit. And clearly, he wasn't in a great mood right now.
He had indeed chased the Straw Hat Pirates to Alabasta, but he had never imagined he would run into Ian here.
There was no helping it—it felt so embarrassing. Ian was already a Warlord of the Sea now, his status second only to the Marine Admirals, while Smoker was still stuck as a Captain without any promotion. Although Smoker didn't really care much about rank, no matter how you looked at it, Ian, who had once been a swordsmanship instructor under him, was now someone he had to look up to. Anyone would feel exhausted meeting like this, right?
If there was one person Smoker least wanted to see right now, it was definitely Ian. But damn it, he had to run into him here of all places...
Still, Smoker was very wary of Ian appearing in Alabasta. He had long ago reported Ian's dangerous nature in a report to Marine Headquarters, but no one there had ever taken it seriously. As a result, Ian had caused a huge ruckus at Mary Geoise, making the entire World Government lose face.
Smoker had always felt that Ian was a troublesome figure—wherever he showed up, something was bound to happen. So when he saw Ian here, he naturally became alert.
Facing Smoker's questioning, Ian shrugged and spread his hands, saying, "Is this how you treat an old friend? Pouncing on me the moment we meet?"
Then, ignoring Smoker, he raised a hand and waved at Tashigi. "Yo, Tashigi! Long time no see!"
"L-long time no see!" Tashigi gripped her sword nervously and stammered a reply.
"Is that your sister next to you?" Ian pointed at Kuina, pretending not to know.
"N-no!" Tashigi quickly waved her hands. "She's Lieutenant Commander Kuina! We just look alike!"
Kuina played along, snorting coldly at Ian.
The two master-and-disciple clearly knew each other but acted as if they had never met. Smoker and Tashigi were both fooled—or rather, they had never even considered the possibility. Seeing Ian greet his subordinate while ignoring him, Smoker said impatiently, "Ian, don't think that just because you're a Warlord now, I'll forgive you! If I had known you'd cause such a big mess at Mary Geoise, I never should have let you leave the East Blue!"
Smoker really did regret it. If only he hadn't pursued the matter of Ian taking a Marine warship to wipe out the Arlong Pirates back then—if he had kept Ian in the Marines, maybe so many things wouldn't have happened later.
As he spoke, Smoker glanced behind Ian and naturally spotted Ace.
The moment he saw Ace, Smoker's pupils involuntarily contracted. It really was Fire Fist Ace, the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. So what Admiral Aokiji said was true—Ian and Ace were together, chasing the Blackbeard Pirates!
Damn it, this was definitely going to stir up trouble!
Smoker felt an urge to complain and couldn't help but block Ian, saying, "Ian, are you chasing the Blackbeard Pirates? Listen to me—leave the pursuit of the Blackbeard Pirates to the Marines! Get out of Alabasta right now!"
Ian looked at Smoker strangely. "Uh... you mean you want to catch the Blackbeard Pirates yourselves?"
"Of course!" Smoker nodded. "You might not know this, but Lieutenant Commander Kuina already encountered the Blackbeard Pirates once. It's just that something came up, so we didn't manage to capture them."
Hearing this, Ian was stunned and looked up at Kuina.
Kuina had run into the Blackbeard Pirates!?
This was beyond Ian's expectations, so he couldn't help but nervously scan Kuina from head to toe, checking if she was injured.
Seeing Ian's gaze, Kuina subtly shook her head, signaling she was fine.
After confirming Kuina was unharmed, Ian asked Smoker seriously, "Where did you encounter the Blackbeard Pirates? When and where? Tell me everything!"
Smoker, unsuspecting, recounted what Kuina had reported. After listening, Ian glanced at Kuina with slight surprise.
A splitting headache that vanished upon waking? That sounded exactly like the awakening of Haki. Could it be that Kuina had coincidentally awakened her Haki?
Ian couldn't ask her about it here, so he just shook his head and said, "Smoker, we're friends. Take my advice—don't get involved in this Blackbeard Pirates business. You Marines underestimate Teach. To be honest, even with Ace and me working together, our chances of capturing Teach are at best sixty percent. So, with all due respect, you can't beat the Blackbeard Pirates!"
Smoker was so shocked that his cigar nearly fell out. What!? The Blackbeard Pirates were that strong!?
He wanted to believe Ian was joking, but Ian's serious expression suggested otherwise. For a moment, even Smoker felt a knot in his stomach.
Could Marine intelligence be wrong?
Smoker didn't want to believe it, but when he thought about Ian's recent opponents—Marine Admirals, Warlords, senior officers under the Four Emperors—none of them were pushovers. Ian wouldn't joke about something like this.
So, after thinking it over, Smoker finally made a decision. "Fine, Ian. I won't interfere with your pursuit of the Blackbeard Pirates. Normally, as a Marine, I'd have to arrest Fire Fist Ace of the Whitebeard Pirates, but I'll give you face and pretend I didn't see him. In return, you can't interfere with our operations on this island!"
Ian was about to agree when suddenly a figure rushed over from a distance, pushing past Ian and Smoker into the restaurant.
"Food!!! I need food!!!"
The figure charged into the restaurant, sat down at the counter, and pounded the table, urging the owner, "Give me food! I'm starving!"
*Thud.* Smoker's cigar finally dropped.
And Ace, after getting a clear look at the figure, couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Luffy!!?"
Sure enough, the person who had burst into the restaurant was Straw Hat Luffy. But he was so hungry that he hadn't noticed Ian and Smoker blocking the entrance, let alone Ace.
Ace called out to him, but Luffy didn't hear. Just as Ace was happily about to go over to him, Smoker suddenly roared, "Straw Hat!!!"
The shout was loud enough for Luffy to finally hear, and he turned around, spotting Smoker.
"Oh, it's you, Smoky!" Luffy said with a troubled look, probably thinking this was a hassle.
"Straw Hat, I've finally caught you!" Smoker drew his ten-pronged weapon, ready to charge forward and arrest Luffy. Tashigi and Kuina also placed their hands on their sword hilts, prepared to follow Smoker's lead.
But at that moment, Ace suddenly spread his arms, blocking Smoker's path.
"Ace!?" Luffy finally noticed Ace and exclaimed in delight.
"Luffy, long time no see!" Ace faced Smoker but turned his head, revealing a smiling eye from under his hat brim.
"Haha, Ace! What are you doing here!?" Luffy pressed his straw hat and laughed heartily.
But their exchange annoyed Smoker. Frowning at Ace, he said, "Fire Fist Ace, what's the meaning of this?"
"Sorry, but Luffy is my little brother. I can't let you take him away just like that!" Ace said cheerfully to Smoker.
Hearing this, Smoker turned back angrily and glared at Ian, as if to say, "Ace is your man—you deal with him!"
Ian quickly waved his hands, signaling that he wasn't taking the blame for this.
As he waved, Ian looked at Luffy with a strange expression.
Although this was technically Ian's first real meeting with Luffy, he was exactly as Ian remembered. The reason Ian looked at him so oddly was that he found it weird to suddenly have another little brother.
Don't forget, Ian had drunk the oath of brotherhood with Ace and Sabo. Calling Luffy his little brother was perfectly accurate...
But then Ian glanced at Robin, who stood nearby expressionless. She had already left with him and would never become Luffy's crewmate now. That meant Ian had messed with his own little brother.
Just like when he had messed with Zoro—the feeling was way too satisfying...