In the Chief's Office of Enies Lobby, I was lost in thought while looking at a report. There were many questions arising in my mind about the current situation.
First of all, it was established that the incident of Luffy assaulting a Celestial Dragon had occurred on Sabaody Archipelago. That was not an issue. It followed the original storyline, and there were reports of the appearance of Bartholomew Kuma, who allowed the Straw Hat Pirates to escape, so things should have proceeded as in the original plot.
However, due to the fact that Blackbeard had taken care of Whitebeard, Ace hadn't been captured by the Marines. And if Ace hadn't been captured, the Impel Down arc wouldn't have happened.
So, I had speculated that an event similar to the Pirate Alliance might occur as a replacement, but I never expected Luffy to end up fighting Kizaru again.
Considering the location, Luffy was most likely sent to Amazon Lily just like in the original story, located between Amazon Lily and Sabaody. But the subsequent events had taken a significant deviation.
In terms of location, he probably intended to head straight to Sabaody without the Ace situation. However, it seems he encountered a dark broker who seemingly had connections with the Celestial Dragons along the way. There was no information suggesting Boa Hancock's presence, so it could be assumed that they had a confrontation somewhere else.
Moreover, during this battle, Ace and Jinbe joined Luffy as reinforcements. According to the information gathered by Tama, it seemed the broker had some involvement in the incident where Fisher Tiger became a slave of the Celestial Dragons in the past, giving Jinbe a reason to fight.
However, if this broker had connections to the Celestial Dragons, it was natural to assume they had connections with the Marines too. Furthermore, given Luffy's history of assaulting Celestial Dragons, Kizaru appeared on the scene. Just like after Sabaody, Kizaru had his hands full.
The battle consisted of Luffy, Ace, Jinbe, and Kizaru, and it seemed that Luffy, who couldn't yet use Haki among that group, was at a disadvantage and struggling.
However, Rayleigh, who had obtained information from Kuma, appeared and turned the tide of battle. The dark broker was defeated, and Kizaru retreated.
Most likely, Jinbe would lose his status as one of the Seven Warlords due to this incident, but he probably had prepared himself for that outcome.
Well, setting that aside... The problem was, despite these changes, it didn't seem to serve as a substitute for the Impel Down and Marineford arcs.
However, the key points seemed to be intact. Jinbe leaving the Seven Warlords, Luffy realizing his lack of strength and starting a training period, Rayleigh's arrival as his mentor... In terms of preparation for the two-year time skip, the essential elements were all there.
As I looked at this report, what I thought was... It seemed like even with the power to alter fate, there were situations becoming impossible to modify.
The Enies Lobby arc had still worked out relatively well. If I managed to handle Robin's bonds, Franky's recruitment, and obtaining the Thousand Sunny, then there would have been no need for CP9 as enemies.
However, by dealing with Teach, I had nullified the conditions for the Impel Down and Marineford arcs. Furthermore, I had placed surveillance on Ace using Totomitsu's power, and if it seemed like he would be captured by the Marines, I intended to intervene.
In the end, it was impossible to modify the course of destiny, and the events seemed to be shaped to fulfill only the necessary conditions... If it continued like this, the Summit War wouldn't happen, and Whitebeard might have survived.
From here on, there was a high possibility that the story would deviate greatly from the original. Since there had been two years of training time according to the original storyline, it meant that events like the Fish-Man Island and Punk Hazard arcs wouldn't occur.
"...Captain, it seems Kuzan-san would like to discuss something with you. He asked if you have time tomorrow."
"Kuzan? Understood. I'll make time tomorrow afternoon."
"Got it. I'll let him know the exact time later."
"Alright, thank you."
I replied to Pochi's words, who had brought me coffee. From the tone of the conversation, it seemed like it was more of a personal consultation than a formal request.
As I thought about this, I opened the newspaper, and there was a photo of Luffy. It reported that he had appeared at a large-scale memorial event in a certain country, and without causing any disturbance, he had silently offered prayers and left.
The photo showed Luffy's arm with the same "3D2Y" inscription, indicating that the two-year training had indeed taken place as expected.
"...It's a familiar face."
"It seems like he's causing quite a stir. Well, to be fair, he already became famous for hitting the Celestial Dragon."
"The Celestial Dragons still lack a sense of danger. Even if they use an Admiral or the Marines to threaten someone who doesn't fear Admirals or Marines, it might not be effective..."
"Besides, if someone's faced with the choice of dying or resisting when a gun is pointed at them, there will always be those who choose to resist."
It was rather surprising that there seemed to be no recorded instance of a commoner, pirate, or slave harming a Celestial Dragon in the past. Whether they were slaves with exploding collars or not, if they were willing to sacrifice their lives, they could potentially resort to self-destructive attacks.
In fact, if the Revolutionary Army intended to eliminate the Celestial Dragons, intentionally sending in slaves for kamikaze or suicide attacks might be a more effective method.
With these thoughts in mind, I began to allocate tasks to the CP9 members who had come to the Chief's Office. Despite the commotion in the outside world, we had a relatively calm period here.
***
The following day, when I went to the reception room for the promised meeting with Kuzan, I found both Kuzan and another person present... It was Smoker.
"Kept you waiting?" I asked.
"No, no. I had to make time for this, so... Oh, let me introduce you. This guy here. Um, well, he's kind of like a subordinate, Smoker. His rank is Vice Admiral."
"I know. The White Hunter, Smoker, right? He moved from Loguetown to headquarters and has been actively operating in the New World, I hear. You might already know, but he's the one who dealt with Spandam."
"Pleased to meet you."
"Yes, it's fine to use honorifics in this kind of situation. You'll use them when necessary... So, what's the matter?"
As we sat down face to face, I inquired. I could somewhat anticipate why Smoker had been brought here. Kuzan had shown a certain interest in Smoker from the beginning. And given the timing, it probably had to do with Smoker expressing his desire to move his base of operations to the G1 Branch in the New World.
Considering these factors, the reasons were becoming clearer.
"Well, you see, this guy has quite a bit of potential as a Marine, and I'm expecting a lot from him... However, it seems he has some unfinished business with a certain adversary, and he wants to operate in the New World from now on. Unfortunately, from my perspective, his skills are lacking... So, I thought, if you're okay with it, could you train him?"
"...What's your opinion on this, Smoker?"
"I know you're monstrously strong. And I've heard you're even training Admiral Kuzan, who's been getting stronger and stronger recently. I'd really like to learn from you."
"Are you prepared?"
"I am."
Smoker declared while looking straight into my eyes. He had a determined and sincere gaze. In the original storyline, he would make a significant appearance two years later. He would be featured with Law, but he would also suffer setbacks like having his heart extracted by Law and being defeated by Vergo and Doflamingo. His treatment had been somewhat unfortunate.
While considering these things, I released the suppressed aura within me. Adding a bit of Haki, I directed it towards Smoker, causing him to grit his teeth and visibly struggle to withstand it.
"Let me ask you again... Are you prepared?"
"...I am!!"
Watching Smoker make a firm declaration even within the aura I had infused with Conqueror's Haki, I let out a slight smile and eased my aura.
"Very well. When you have time, show up, and if I'm free, I'll train you. However, make sure you take the day after tomorrow off."
"Smoker, this is serious. Make sure you take the day off the next day... You're gonna get roughed up."
Well, considering the high probability that the Punk Hazard arc won't happen, it's uncertain whether Smoker will face off against Vergo or Doflamingo... But at this point, since we're here, let's train him until he can decisively defeat Doflamingo or something... We have two years, and I'm experienced in teaching Haki to the CP9 members, so it should be efficient.
As for his Devil Fruit, the Moku Moku no Mi, it's sometimes considered a lesser version of the Gasu Gasu no Mi, but its potential is quite high.
Especially Smoker's ability to manipulate smoke has a physical aspect to it, like restraining opponents in smoke form, so adding powerful Haki to that could be interesting.
Also, techniques like White Blow that allow simple extension of limbs for attacks could potentially become much stronger with physical training, so there's potential for improvement there.
"Oh, by the way, have you heard the talk about Sengoku resigning as Fleet Admiral?"
"Yeah, he's been thinking about stepping down and handing over to the next generation for a while. It seems he's planning to do it within the next year or so."
Yes, in fact, Sengoku had been considering resigning as Fleet Admiral for some time. Even without the Summit War, he seemed to be preparing to pass the torch to the next generation, as he had mentioned during joint training.
Though it's uncertain if he'll become Fleet Admiral according to the original storyline, it seemed like Kuzan was unusually motivated. Not in a way that he didn't want to let Akainu become Fleet Admiral, but he also had his own ambitions and wanted to become Fleet Admiral himself... This could potentially lead to a different outcome from the original.
...It's about time my knowledge of the original storyline becomes less and less relevant, huh.
***
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