Smoker's expression turned awkward.
He had just said that no pirate had ever managed to pass through his waters, and now the pirate he had ordered his men to capture had broken straight through.
For a moment, the three ships fell into silence.
The only sound left was the rolling crash of waves against the hulls.
"Someone just said no pirate had ever gotten past the sea he was guarding."
After a brief, embarrassed silence, Zoro looked at Smoker with a strange expression.
"Ahem. I don't have time to argue with you people about that right now. I'm going after that fleeing pirate. As for you, if you want, you can join the Marines.
"Once you join the Marines, you'll be free to capture pirates as you please."
Smoker's words came out somewhat stiffly.
Because that kind of phrasing was obviously overbearing, but it was also the procedure handed down from above.
Facing the Hunter Guild's increasingly rapid development, the Marines had come up with the idea of poaching its members.
After all, compared to the Hunter Guild, which had only recently appeared, the Marines were far more famous.
"According to what you're saying, does that mean anyone who isn't a Marine doesn't even have the right to catch pirates?"
Kuina immediately caught the contradiction in Smoker's words and struck back without hesitation.
"I've already given my warning."
Smoker's expression stiffened.
He did not answer Kuina's question and instead chose to cut the conversation short.
Hearing him say that, Kuina's young face visibly filled with displeasure.
"What do we do?"
Zoro turned to look at Kuina.
When they left Shimotsuki Village, Master Koshiro had told him to follow Kuina after going out to sea and not run around on his own.
And most of the time, Zoro had indeed temporarily entrusted his brain to her.
Kuina made the decisions on almost everything.
Still, Zoro remembered that when they set out to sea, Master Koshiro had warned them that it would be best not to openly clash with the Marines for now.
But situations like this had already happened several times.
Some pirates would flee into the waters around Marine branches, using the Marines' rule that Hunter Guild members were not allowed to approach as a way to avoid capture.
"Turn around. Continue the pursuit."
Kuina stared at the slowly turning Marine warship and spoke directly.
The other pirate hunters on their ship heard her order. After exchanging a few glances, they immediately began moving.
The ship sailing alongside them saw their movements and followed suit, turning with them.
The actions of the two ships immediately drew the attention of the Marine soldiers aboard the warship.
"Captain, it looks like the pirate hunters on those two ships don't intend to give up. They're still trying to enter the waters under our branch's jurisdiction to continue the pursuit. Should we open fire?"
On the open sea, if the distance was great, it was difficult for the cannons on a warship to accurately hit a target.
But right now, the three ships were practically right next to each other.
At this range, a hit was guaranteed.
Smoker frowned. After glancing sideways, he shook his head.
"Forget it. Ignore them. Ask where that kid escaped to."
Smoker took a deep breath.
Because of Cyrus, the Hunter Guild was naturally being resisted by the Marines as a whole.
But regarding Cyrus, Mary Geoise, and the World Government, there were actually quite a few quiet voices spreading within the Marines.
After all, as long as a person still had some sense of justice in their heart, it was difficult to look kindly on the Celestial Dragons.
And the Marines, of all organizations, claimed to stand for justice.
When many Marine soldiers first joined, they had truly carried justice in their hearts.
It was just that, as time passed, that justice often changed shape.
Smoker had risen to the rank of captain, so he knew a fair amount about the situation inside the Marines, about Mary Geoise and the Celestial Dragons, and about the World Government.
In fact, when he was younger, his inability to tolerate certain matters had nearly gotten him expelled from the Marines.
The fact that a Logia user like him had been sent to serve as a base commander in the East Blue branch was also connected to that.
As for the recent orders from Marine Headquarters and the World Government, Smoker found many of them extremely unpleasant.
But as a Marine, as long as those orders did not violate the justice in his heart, he would still carry them out.
Of course, carrying them out was one thing.
The extent to which he carried them out was something he could decide for himself.
"That boat doesn't seem to be planning to dock at Loguetown. It's heading straight toward Reverse Mountain."
Hearing Smoker's words, his adjutant did not find his reaction strange and immediately reported Ace's movements.
"And he looks like a pirate with decent strength. He broke through the capture attempt by jumping onto one of the warships, throwing everything into chaos, and escaping afterward."
"He's heading for the Grand Line?"
Smoker spoke in a low voice, his cigars clenched between his teeth.
"Go after him."
Smoker gave the order directly.
Because of its heavy tonnage, the warship could not turn as quickly as Kuina's ship, but after completing its turn, its acceleration was clearly much faster.
After all, in terms of technology, Marine warships were undoubtedly far superior to their small vessels.
Watching the warship speed past not far away, kicking up a huge spray as it rapidly pulled ahead, Kuina clicked her tongue.
"Looks like we won't get our turn. I still wanted to fight that guy."
Seeing how fast the warship was, Zoro turned around in speechless frustration and sat down against the railing.
"Kuina, why don't we go back? We had leads on other pirates too, right? Why don't we switch targets?"
Zoro asked when he saw Kuina's thoughtful expression.
"Huh? Oh."
Hearing Zoro call her name, Kuina answered casually, as though waking from a dream.
"Wait a second."
Seeing Kuina's reaction, Zoro narrowed his eyes in imitation of Cyrus, then looked her up and down.
"You're not thinking of crossing Reverse Mountain and going to the Grand Line, are you? Master Koshiro said we're not allowed to go to the Grand Line."
After being seen through, Kuina turned to look at Zoro.
She did not bother pretending anymore.
"With our strength, as long as we don't run into any true monsters, we'll definitely be fine."
"No way. I'm listening to Master Koshiro! No means no! Master Koshiro specifically told me to keep an eye on you."
Zoro shook his head so hard he looked like a rattle drum, almost leaving afterimages behind.
The other pirate hunters listened to the two of them, excitement appearing on their faces.
No one who went out to sea lacked the desire to test themselves on the Grand Line.
Most simply did not have the ability.
Kuina and Zoro might still be young, but both of them were swordsmen capable of flying slashes.
With that kind of strength, it was already difficult for them to find opponents in the East Blue.
If they followed those two to the Grand Line for a bit of adventure, that would be pretty damn exciting.
However, Zoro's opposition looked extremely firm.
"Don't you want to go to Alabasta and see the mark left behind by Cyrus's slash?"
After thinking for a moment, Kuina suddenly spoke, her voice was full of temptation.
The mark left behind by Cyrus's slash?
Zoro froze, then immediately understood what Kuina was talking about.
It was the trace left behind after Cyrus fought a swordsman named Issho.
Apparently, it had already become a great canyon filled with glass and gemstones.
"Don't worry. Alabasta is one of the closest countries after entering the Grand Line. We'll go to Alabasta, take a look at that slash, and then come back."
Kuina continued.
One look at Zoro's expression was enough to know that he had been completely tempted!
The current Zoro's pursuit of swordsmanship was clearly stronger than Kuina's.
Although Kuina had once valued swordsmanship just as deeply, after Cyrus's guidance, she had already come to see things more clearly.
Now, she only pursued her own ultimate path.
"Fine, but we agreed on this. Once we reach Alabasta, we return to the East Blue. Otherwise, Master Koshiro will definitely scold me."
In the end, Zoro was still tempted.
He also wanted to see just how strong Cyrus had become.
After all, he had heard Master Koshiro say before that Cyrus might already be one of the strongest people in the world.
"Don't worry, don't worry!"
Kuina immediately waved her hand.
She did not tell Zoro at all that entering the Grand Line was easy, but returning from it was the difficult part.
But right now, Kuina truly wanted to walk the path Cyrus had once walked.
More than that, she wanted to participate in the Hunter Exam.
After taking the exam and becoming a true Hunter of the Hunter Guild, she would definitely be able to give Cyrus a surprise.
That was Kuina's current thought.
Of course, before that, she had to keep growing stronger.
Ace's little wooden boat, the warship chasing behind him, the warship Smoker was aboard, and Kuina's ship formed a line across the sea, heading straight toward the channel of Reverse Mountain.
Of course, the people aboard those ships all had very different thoughts.
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