Chapter 859: Suggestion of Apprenticeship
"Alright, Vic! Stop scaring him. He just recovered from a serious injury and can't stand the ups and downs!"
Smoker had just experienced four consecutive defeats and was seriously injured and on the verge of death. He was already confused and didn't even know to release his Observation Haki to feel Vic's aura. He could change and imitate other things, but his aura would not change.
This can only be done when the special fruit ability is developed to perfection, so Aokiji never doubted Vic from beginning to end, even though he had seen Vic's weird smile before and helped Vic to trick Smoker.
"Hahaha! Smoker! You're so funny. Even I doubt it. Brains are meant to be used. Why don't you use them?"
Vic put away his weird smile and burst into laughter. It was quite fun to tease Smoker. He had a sudden idea when he saw Smoker's incredible eyes before. He didn't expect that Smoker had a lot of inner drama. He probably imagined a shocking conspiracy against the navy. Although Vic really had such a conspiracy, he would not use Smoker as a friend.
Tashigi had already left early with the older children who needed medical treatment, and only Smoker and the others were left here waiting for the navy to take over Punk Hazard, so they couldn't leave for a while.
Vic also had something to say to Smoker, and Smoker also had something to ask Aokiji, so the two outsiders from the navy also stayed and lit two bonfires not far from the dock. Smoker, Kuzan, and Vic were in one group, and Smoker's G5 subordinates were in another group!
"I never considered the World Government my everything. Even if I'm not a marine, there are things I can do. There are some things you can only see clearly if you're not a marine. It was only under Vic's influence that I quickly saw things clearly!"
"I just died once!"
Smoker asked Aokiji why he left the navy. At that time, Smoker had already left the marine headquarters and never had the chance to question Aokiji again. Now he finally asked it. This has been the question he has always had. If he lost to Akainu, can he no longer be a marine?
Aokiji's answer was very relaxed, but Smoker was very serious and said that he had died once, meaning that he hoped Aokiji would not deceive him!
"Hahaha! I guess it's fate that I'm here, but it seems like Vic came here on purpose."
"What are you doing here?"
"I came to see you!"
"Why do you know I'm here?"
"..."
In fact, Aokiji came to see the Straw Hat Boy this time. He accepted Wake's suggestion and came to investigate. Maybe in the original work he really came to see Smoker and wanted him to report to Akainu that he should pay attention to Doflamingo, one of the Shichibukai.
Later, Akainu did take it seriously and sent Fujitora to Dressrosa, which might have something to do with Doflamingo's resignation statement in the newspaper. From this point of view, Aokiji in the original work could not be an undercover agent of the navy, otherwise he would not have to pass the message to Akainu through Smoker as a mouthpiece.
Aokiji originally just said casually that he came to see you, but he didn't expect Smoker to be so serious and insisted on getting to the bottom of it, leaving Aokiji at a loss as to how to answer. He couldn't possibly say that he came to see the Straw Hat Boy, right?
"Are you colluding with the dark forces now?"
"I am who I am! Smoker!"
"That's good!"
Aokiji's silence made Smoker think more. Smoker is really a sensitive person. Except for his weak strength, everything else is above the passing line. He is a very good leader. Vic decided to give him a hand!
"Smoker! You must have been beaten silly these past two days. How does it feel to have lost so many games in a row?"
Smoker has experienced four consecutive defeats in the past two days, to Law, Straw Hat Boy, Vergo, and Doflamingo. He was not as good as the Mesozoic Era, and now he has been surpassed by the New Era. It is really miserable. I guess he can completely face the reality this time, and Vic can also guide him.
"Hey, hey, hey! Vic! You don't have to expose someone's scars like this, right?"
"What Vic said is true. We have all become stronger in the past two years, but they have changed more. I regret not listening to Vic. In the past two years, I have focused more on the ability of the fruit and neglected the basics!"
When in Rogue Town, Vic told Smoker the importance of Haki and asked him to prioritize practicing Haki. Smoker also arranged it this way at the beginning, but things were a little different after Haki awakened. The practice of Haki was too slow and no significant results could be seen for a long time. The Smoke Fruit was Smoker's comfort zone, and then he fell into the comfort zone and couldn't get out. It was not surprising that he was defeated today.
"Of course, if you develop the fruit ability well, it will be very strong, not to mention that you have natural ability, but I think you still haven't grasped the essence of the smoke fruit, so you have missed both ends. You should put the fruit ability aside for now, find a master seriously, and consolidate your physical skills and domineering."
"Master? But I have a mission. Vergo, the base commander of G5, is Doflamingo's undercover agent. I will be needed to guard G5 from now on. I'm afraid I won't have time to become your apprentice!"
"You're stupid! First, become my disciple and learn everything, then you can go back to the base and practice on your own. If you need a sparring partner, go find the pirates. There aren't many around the G5 base, so why are you so rigid?"
Vic sincerely felt that he did not grasp the essence of Smoker's Smoke Fruit. It seemed that apart from the auxiliary ability, no offensive moves had been developed at all. This was abnormal!
The superhuman type may have full auxiliary abilities, but the natural type will never be like this. It can only be that the abilities are not understood enough so they are not developed. Just based on this point, Vic thinks that Smoker is not the material for developing abilities. It would be better for him to find a master to learn physical skills and focus on practicing domineering!
"Then who do you think I should take as my master?"
Smoker felt that what Vic said made sense. As long as one followed the master's standards, it would be the same no matter where one practiced.
"Look at us."
Vic raised his thumb and pointed at Aokiji next to him, then turned around and pointed at himself. He was very clear that the two people in front of him were the best examples. Can't he copy the gourd?
"You mean Mr. Zephyr?"
Smoker said somewhat uncertainly that Vic's experience in the navy was very similar to Aokiji's. He first trained in Zephyr's elite camp and became Zephyr's student. Later, he went under Garp and was trained as a disciple. Their current achievements are all related to those two powerful men of the older generation.
"I don't think Mr. Zephyr has enough energy to teach you alone. He has a lot of new recruits under him. I suggest you take Mr. Garp as your teacher. He is a free man now and has plenty of time to prepare... No, to train you!
If you are willing to take the risk, you can go directly to his dog-head warship to be a deputy. It doesn't matter whether you are the base commander of G5 or not. Don't you have the ambition to go further?"
Because Vic had solved the hidden danger of Bakin and Weevil in advance, Zephyr did not leave the navy in despair to establish a new force and destroy the New World. He is still leading the elite battalion of the Navy Headquarters.
So after Cap retired, he was no longer needed to lead the elite battalion. Although he was retained by the commander-in-chief of the three armies, it was no different from retirement. He was free and idle every day, and had plenty of time to deal with Smoker! Yes, in Vic's mind, Smoker needed to be severely dealt with, otherwise he would still be a piece of rotten wood!
"Hey, hey, hey! Did you say something extraordinary just now? Why do I feel like you want to push me into a fire pit?"
Although Vic changed his words in time, Smoker still heard what was in Vic's heart and became alert immediately!
However, Vic's words were still very tempting to him. If he could go one step further, he would become a navy admiral! How could he not yearn for it? Besides, one of the two men in front of him was a former admiral, and the other was a candidate for admiral. If nothing went wrong, they would definitely become navy admirals!
The more important point is that they all graduated from Zephyr and Garp. He himself also graduated from Zephyr, and now all he needs to do is go to Garp for further studies. It's like a fixed formula, just fit the characters into it, and the answer is obvious. Aren't these two people in front of him the answer!