Loguetown - The town's Plaza.

While Smoker and Tashigi were on their way to the town's plaza, Buggy and his crew were arguing with Alvida.

" Alvida! You should reconsider your decision before you regret it." Buggy said, trying to persuade Alvida to change her mind.

"What are you talking about?" Alvida looked annoyed. While holding her iron mace on her shoulder, she looked at Buggy with contempt and scoffed, "I have already joined them ... And why would I even need your opinion in the first place? Humph!"

"WHAT?! Aren't we friends?! Now you are leaving me!" Buggy replied furiously.

"Friend? ... We were just in an alliance because we had the same goal ... But now I found the one I was looking for, and I have nothing to do with that kid Luffy, so why would I wait for him here?" Alvida retorted.

"Didn't you say you would help me deal with him?" Buggy pleaded.

"I never did!" Alvida denied it and explained further, " What I said is while I will be waiting for someone in Loguetown, I wouldn't mind helping you against that kid." Alvida paused for a second before continuing. " But now I found the man I'm looking for ... So I'm leaving."

"Alvida, you betrayed me!" Buggy yelled and wanted to attack Alvida, but he was afraid of the man she had just joined.

That man was a monster, so he didn't want to anger him, that's why he was just arguing with her instead of fighting her.

"Betrayal?" Alvida narrowed her eyes, saying in a deep voice, " Buggy! You seem to forget that if I hadn't saved you back then, you would have already been eaten by some sea monster right now! ... So you should be thankful instead."

"I'm really thankful. That's why I'm warning you ... That man is dangerous! ... You never knew what he would do in the future." Buggy said, trying to convince Alvida of Austin's danger.

"I said it before ... That's not your damn business!" Alvida shouted angrily.

Buggy was going to respond when he suddenly heard a commotion nearby. Turning around to see the cause, he was shocked when he discovered that they were already surrounded by hundreds of Navy soldiers.

He immediately gave up on persuading Alvida and ordered his crew to escape. "Everyone! Make a way. We will escape to the shore."

Chaos broke as the fight between the Navy and the pirates started, making the nearby citizens panic and flee for their lives, leaving the battlefield area.

It didn't take long before Smoker, alongside Tashigi, arrived at the plaza.

Upon his arrival, he saw that the mess had already started, with even some injured people already appearing from both sides.

Smoker immediately intervened to prevent more of his men from getting killed or hurt.

"Whiteout!" Smoker yelled, using his Devil fruit power, shooting out clouds of smoke from his arms and using them to engulf all the pirates, including Buggy and Alvida.

After ensuring everyone was inside, he made the smoke denser and trapped them inside.

"Shot them!" Smoker yelled, ordering his soldiers.

The soldiers complied and shot out a net made of Seastone created to trap Devil fruit users.

Both Buggy and Alvida got captured in the net. The latter was shocked because the steel net was supposed to slip off her skin due to her power. But contrary to her expectations, she was trapped inside and could even feel her body weakening!

" What's with this annoying steel net?" Alvida asked Buggy, who was also trapped beside her.

"That was a 'cage shot' which was developed by the Navy to deal with Devil fruits users." Buggy gritted his teeth, looking at Smoker with rage.

"We are done for!" Buggy added, regretting his decision to start arguing in the middle of the plaza.

"That's not possible! I just joined Austin's crew ... How could I get captured here!" Alvida yelled furiously at Buggy, clearly indicating that it was his fault for stopping her here and wasting her time.

Smoker, who was coming towards them, happened to hear Alvida's last remark and smirked as he asked with an amused tone. "Hoh? Did you join the Black Storm Pirates?"

"That's right! You better release me, or my Captain will kill you all in revenge." Alvida said, threatening Smoker with Austin's name.

The soldiers nearby were surprised that 'Iron Mace' Alvida had joined the Black Storm pirates and tensed up at the news, especially since there's a massive difference between a pirate with a 5 million bounty on his head and another with 10 times that amount on his head.

Smoker could feel his soldiers' morale drop down after being shaken by Austin's name. He couldn't help but get angry and yell.

"Fools! Did you forget I'm also here? Whether it's a pirate with 5 million or 50 million on their heads, they will never leave this island as long as I'm here!"

"That's right ... Captain Smoker ... is with us here!" A soldier yelled, trying to encourage himself more than the others.

" Yeah! ... Captain Smoker is stronger!" Another soldier said, followed by another, and soon the soldier's morale rose again.

Looking at the soldiers, who were motivated again, Smoker nodded in approval before shifting his gaze back to Alvida and grinned, saying,

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"Thanks for the information ... Now I know that Black Storm Austin will surely show up as long as I capture you and stay here." He smiled and added, " ... Of course, that's only if he truly cares about you ... or has the guts to show up knowing I'm waiting here."

" You will definitely regret this ... I hope you won't run away with your tail between your legs when he shows up." Alvida gritted her teeth and said.

" I really wish he shows up to make me regret it." Smoker smirked, adding, " Because that way ... he will make my job of capturing him much easier."

Smoker thought for a moment before coming up with an idea. He smiled mischievously and called one of the soldiers, " Oy! You!'

" Yes, Sir!" The soldier saluted in response.

" Spread the words that 'Iron Mace' Alvida has joined the Black Storm Pirates and was captured by me ... Don't forget to mention that I'm waiting at the town's plaza for the 'great' Black Storm Austin to rescue her." Smoker grinned as he looked at the furious Alvida, adding, " ... Let's see if he would come here or run away instead."

The soldier was surprised at first by the strange order, but nonetheless, he still went to do what he was told to.

....

Soon the rumors spread through Loguetown that Alvida, the 'Iron Mace', joined the Black Storm Pirates but got captured by the Navy Captain Smoker, who arrested her alongside Buggy 'The Clown'.

What surprised the town's people was what Smoker did when he heard that Alvida had joined Austin's crew.

Instead of returning to the base to secure the prisoners, he started waiting boldly at the town's plaza in case Austin showed up to rescue Alvida, sending a clear and direct challenge to the pirates.

This act, however, gained the support and praises of the town's residents, who cheered for Smoker, calling him the strongest Navy officer on the East Blue.

The people soon started spreading the rumors fast. And as usual, it didn't take long before they began twisting the facts, stating that Austin was afraid of Smoker and had already run away, leaving his crew members behind.

.....

20 minutes later, Emilia, who had just finished her task on the Navy base, encountered Sebas and Brain on her way to the town's plaza.

They went to the meeting place together and found Zero, alongside Erya, already waiting there.

Austin was the last to arrive and noticed that his subordinates were already gathered, waiting for him. He smiled and went toward them.

" Did you have fun?" Austin asked.

" Indeed, it was a good adventure!" Zero responded cheerfully, clearly satisfied with the amount of food and drinks he had savored today.

" Huh?" Austin glanced at Erya and noticed the latter didn't seem too well, so he asked him, " What's wrong, Erya?"

" I'm...' argh'...Fine...my lord," Erya stumbled in his reply. Clearly, something is wrong with him.

" Tsk, this fella has no endurance at all. He barely ate some food and couldn't even walk properly later on." Zero shook his head in disappointment.

Erya's eyes twitched, but he didn't have the energy nor the will to respond, so he just ignored Zero's remarks.

" What about you two?" Austin shook his and looked at Sebas and Brain.

" Yeah, it was fun." Brain lazily responded, not having the slightest enthusiasm about this journey. Obviously, he hadn't had any fun at all.

" They have many kinds of unique fish here, so we brought some to cook them later, my lord," Sebas explained gently.

" Great." Austin nodded in approval before looking at Emilia, " Did you finish your task?"

" Yes, my lord," Emilia nodded and said, " I have just finished."

" What did you find?" Austin asked with anticipation.

" I found a lot of things, my lord." Emilia explained, " There was money, weapons, many Den Den Mushis, maps, Log poses, and Eternal poses...etc."

" Excellent!" Austin nodded in approval, " I will see what you got later on in the ship."

" My lord, shall we leave for the ship?" Brain asked. He couldn't wait to go back to the ship to sleep.

" Not everyone is here yet," Austin replied.

" Huh?!" Everyone was surprised as they looked at each other in confusion.

"We got another new member, so we are waiting for him here." Austin smiled slightly.

" Ho, so it's a new brother!" Zero exclaimed.

" No ... " Austin explained," I said it's a new crew member, not a new brother."

Understanding the meaning of Austin's words, Brain and the rest were shocked by this news because up til now, no 'crew member' had ever joined their family before.

Every addition so far was either 'brother' or 'sister', which is why they found it weird now that an 'outsider' had joined the group.

They didn't even know how to interact or behave with this new 'crew member'!

Austin noticed their worries and sighed, saying. " Just treat them as you treat each other ... Everyone who joined the Back Storm Pirates is part of the family, so you must respect each other and treat them properly."

" After all, this may not be the last time a 'crew member' joins us," Austin smiled, thinking about a certain tanned-skin young woman.

"Understood, my lord," Everyone responded in unison with thoughtful expressions.

" Good." Austin nodded in satisfaction and examined his watch, " There's still 10 minutes left to the time we agreed on, so let's wait here."

....

While the Black Storm pirates were waiting for the arrival of their new 'crew member', they heard some people nearby talking about the latest rumors.

"Have you heard? Buggy the Clown and Iron Mace Alvida said to wreak havoc on the town's plaza, but Captain Smoker intervented and captured them easily." A person said excitedly.

"That's only natural ... Captain Smoker has come from the Navy's main HQ." Another one added, " So, he is in a different league compared to the pirates of the East Blue."

"By the way, did you hear? They say he is waiting for Black Storm Austin to appear on the plaza," Another one said.

"Huh? I didn't even know he was in town! ... But why would he appear there?" Another person asked curiously.

"Fool, didn't you hear that Alvida has already joined the Black Storms pirates?" Someone said.

"What?! Does that mean he will appear there to save her?!" the previous person exclaimed in shock.

"Isn't that mean ... he will be clashing with ... Captain Smoker?" Another one interjected anxiously.

"Yeah! But I bet he will be captured as well." Someone added with a confident voice.

"It's hard to say ... I have read in the newspaper that he has ... a 50 million Berries bounty on his head," said Someone uncertainly. Clearly, he was uneasy.

"Fools! Captain Smoker is a strong Devil fruit user! ... I bet that Austin will be captured in one blow just like Alvida and Buggy," retorted Another one.

Standing at the side, Austin frowned and sighed when he heard their talk.

He looked at his subordinates and said, "It appears we will have to go to the town's plaza."

" What about our new crew member, my lord?" Zero asked with a bewildered look.

" It seems our new crew member was captured," Austin shook his head.

"What?!" The other exclaimed.

" But I heard it's just Buggy and Alvida who got captured, my lord," Brain stated, obviously puzzled.

He was the only one here, alongside Austin, who had met these two before, so he had an idea about their personalities and strengths. Which is why he found it incomprehensible that his lord may have invited any of them to the crew.

"Let's just head there first. I will explain things later." Austin sighed and answered.

Austin, followed by his subordinates, departed toward the town's plaza to verify the credibility of the rumors. And at the same time, to rescue their new crew member, Alvida, in case she was really captured.

_________________________

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