One Piece: King of the World-Chapter 362: Smoker: Are You Talking About Yourself? What a Waste of My Feelings.

Kuzan looked at Smoker in surprise and asked, "What's wrong? Why aren't you staying here?"

"It's too troublesome, too many rules and regulations."

"I need to improve my strength as fast as possible and refine my skills. The New World is about to become chaotic, isn't it? After all, that bastard Shiki is running loose."

"Once I'm out there, I'll have to fight hard battles. So let me go to the New World, where I can build up military merits and temper my strength," Smoker said without hesitation.

Kuzan nodded at his words and then said, "Maybe you don't know yet, but soon, we'll be moving Marine Headquarters into the New World."

As soon as he finished speaking, Smoker was stunned. After all, this had never happened in the past eight hundred years!

He fell silent for a moment before asking, "Is it because of what's happening at Marineford?"

"That's part of the reason. In fact, even before we planned the Summit War, the higher-ups had already considered relocating headquarters. The G-1 branch will serve as our new base in the New World. This just happens to be a coincidence," Kuzan said, shaking his head.

"G-1? Now I understand why Gion isn't stationed at headquarters—she was transferred to G-1. I thought she was like me, just being stubborn and refusing to stay put," Smoker said with a smirk.

"Yes, Gion just went ahead of us. So what about you? G-1?" Kuzan asked with a smile.

"You said not to assign me to headquarters. If I hadn't known, I might've ended up at G-1. But now that I do know, and that it's about to become Marine Headquarters, what should I do? Give me a more free environment, I'll be able to do better there," Smoker said, shaking his head.

"The freest place is G-5, but you know what it's like there. Are you sure you want to go?" Kuzan asked after a moment of thought.

Smoker didn't hesitate and nodded. "Then G-5. With my personality, I might be more comfortable there."

"Alright, I'll inform Vice Admiral Vergo. Get ready and report there," Kuzan said with a smile.

The G-5 Marine branch was infamous for having the highest death rate and being the most brutal unit in the New World. It was composed almost entirely of Marines who were considered problematic, too difficult to manage but too useful to discard, so they were all thrown into G-5 and left to fend for themselves.

As a result, G-5 earned several nicknames within the Marines, such as "The Problem Child Camp" and "The Garbage Dump."

Their combat style was also ruthless, any pirate they captured was executed, often in cruel ways. On top of that, the spoils they seized rarely made it back to Marine Headquarters or the World Government.

As a consequence, their branch received little to no official funding. In a way, they were like pirates wearing the cloak of justice, except they only targeted other pirates.

The leader of G-5 was Vergo, a pirate at heart who thrived in that chaotic environment. Originally, he was planted in the Marines as an undercover agent for Doflamingo, meant to serve as a countermeasure against the Marines.

However, after Rosinante's death, Doflamingo lost interest in that plan. Besides, with Claudius gradually aligning himself with the Marines, Doflamingo understood that in the grand scheme of things, the Marines ultimately sided with his cousin.

So, he let Vergo do as he pleased, without giving him further tasks.

Since G-5 was completely uncontrollable and brutal enough that even Marine Headquarters couldn't rein it in, Vergo frequently used its power to aid Doflamingo. Despite this, he never left the Marines, remaining comfortably in his position as a Marine Vice Admiral.

Doflamingo also knew that when his cousin eventually seized power, the Marines wouldn't just be an opposing force, they could potentially become an extension of his influence. Thus, he allowed Vergo to remain in the Marines, where he could be useful.

After a brief silence, Kuzan suddenly smiled and said, "This might be the last time I help you. From now on, you'll have to rely on yourself. Smoker, you're right, if you want to change something, you need enough power in your hands, and you need strong support behind you."

For a moment, Kuzan thought he saw a shadow of Saint Claudius in Smoker.

Smoker was stunned for a moment, then frowned and asked, "What do you mean? The way you're talking… it sounds like there's something more to it?"

It didn't feel like Kuzan was just telling him to be independent, there was a deeper meaning behind his words.

Kuzan didn't try to hide it. He simply smiled and said, "I'm leaving the Marines."

Smoker's expression froze. He took a drag from his cigar and asked, "Is it because of Admiral Sakazuki?"

Having been under Kuzan's command, Smoker knew about the conflict between Kuzan and Sakazuki. That's why he asked.

Kuzan smiled, shook his head, then nodded. "Partly because of him, but the situation is more complicated than that. It's not something simple. But not right now, I want to at least wait until the Marines and the World Government stabilize. After that, I'll leave the Marines."

Smoker was confused. He understood why Kuzan wanted to wait until the Marines were stable probably until the war ended, along with the relocation of Marine Headquarters.

But what did the World Government have to do with it? The World Government seemed stable enough, didn't it?

Seeing Kuzan's silence, Smoker figured there were classified matters involved, so he didn't press further.

After a moment, Smoker reluctantly picked up his teacup and asked, "So, where are you going after leaving the Marines? Will we still see each other?"

"Yeah, of course. I'm going to work for CP-X," Kuzan said with a smile.

Smoker, who had been prepared for an emotional farewell, suddenly stiffened at his words. His expression darkened in annoyance.

"Can you not be so dramatic next time? I thought you were planning something drastic," Smoker grumbled. "But after all that buildup, you're just transferring to CP-X? What's with the sentimental speech? I thought you were heading off to start from nothing!"

CP-X was still under the World Government's umbrella. Over the years, they had worked closely with Marine Headquarters, practically functioning as brother organizations. Given Kuzan's laid-back nature, transferring to CP-X didn't seem all that different from staying in the Marines.

This realization annoyed Smoker, he had been ready to say something meaningful, but Kuzan had just played with his emotions.

"Hahahaha," Kuzan laughed heartily.

"CP-X is a good place. If anything big happens, don't forget about me, whether it's catching Golden Lion or taking down the Demon Heir, take care of me," Smoker said sincerely.

To Smoker, CP-X was a mysterious and powerful organization. Once the Marines finished their restructuring, it was inevitable that they would crack down on the chaos in the New World. At that point, CP-X and the Marines working together would be natural.

With Kuzan joining CP-X, he would surely be in a high-ranking position, meaning he would have access to first-hand information. That would be an advantage, whether for intelligence or training.

Kuzan smiled, nodded, and said, "Don't worry, I won't forget you."

"Yeah." Smoker nodded, exhaled a puff of smoke, glanced at Kuzan, and said, "Then I won't disturb you anymore. I'll go pack up and report to G-5."

"Go ahead. Vice Admiral Vergo is a good person, you should get along with him," Kuzan said with a smile.

Smoker stood up, finished his tea, gave Kuzan one last look, nodded, and left.

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

After Smoker left, Kuzan picked up his teacup, took a sip, and murmured to himself, "Times are changing so fast… it's overwhelming."

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