In his personal war against pirates, Smoker always demonstrated incredible consistency and methodicalness. And all this while Smoker was not a fanatic blindly believing in the infallibility of the Marine Corps. No, Smoker followed his own principles, which was why, despite his strength, he had been assigned to the weakest sea of all. His unpretentious independence had been too much for many. They had managed to remove this inconvenient captain, but in a way that left no room for criticism. And although Smoker could have refused his new assignment — he was friends with some well-known figures in the world — he chose not to. Smoker was not against making the safest sea in the world even a little bit safer. And over the past five years, he had succeeded in doing so. Not exactly as he had planned but succeeded. Smoker was capable of acknowledging others' achievements, so he fully understood that the lion's share of his success was due to the 'Pirate Slayers.' Thanks to this world-famous bounty hunter team, East Blue had come as close as possible to the ideal envisioned by all marines — a sea without pirates. The 'Pirate Hunters' were so zealous in their elimination of pirate crews that most ordinary marines considered them true pirate-haters. Among the regular marines, there were even rumors that the entire team consisted of people who had once suffered at the hands of pirates and had sworn to rid the world of all pirates.
Smoker knew better.
The captain didn't often leave Loguetown, but he did occasionally have to step away from his post. For instance, for annual captains' meetings or extraordinary meetings. In recent years, all extraordinary meetings had been held following actions by the 'Pirate Slayers.' No other reasons for meetings seemed to arise. Consequently, whether ordinary or extraordinary, the 'Pirate Hunters' were discussed at every meeting. Given these conditions, Smoker couldn't remain in ignorance, even if he had wanted to.
Most captains who had encountered the 'Pirate Slayers' at least once claimed almost unanimously that this team was a hundred times worse than any pirates. Whether this was actually the case or not, Smoker, who had never personally met the famous bounty hunters, didn't know. But he had no doubts that they did not hold the Marines in high regard. Otherwise, they wouldn't have provoked other captains and mocked them. Sometimes quite harshly. Did this make them worse than pirates? Certainly not. Smoker, as a Marine captain, didn't particularly respect most other captains — he viewed many of them as pathetic, pampered weaklings and cowards. However, after all the tales of the 'Pirate Slayers,' it was clear that there was no real pirate-hating fanaticism involved. The 'Pirate Slayers' were simply making money. Enormous amounts of money, according to rumors, but still understandable money. Ordinary business, and no lofty goals. That's all… Well, not exactly ordinary business, but definitely no lofty goals. And Smoker had no issues with that. The most important thing was that they did their job, and they did it exceptionally well. Perhaps even too well.
Until recently.
Unfortunately, the fate that befell most somewhat famous bounty hunters eventually occurred to the 'Pirate Slayers' — they themselves became pirates. Smoker, having heard stories from other captains, was not surprised by this outcome. Thanks to his Den-Den Mushi connections, he could confidently say that this outcome did not particularly surprise other East Blue captains either. There was plenty of horror and panic, but not much strong surprise. However, according to the newspapers, this outcome was absolutely unexpected and completely incredible for the rest of the world. Journalists went wild: "A ray of light in the dark realm turned out to be not a ray of light but a ray of even greater darkness." The outcry was deafening, but as news dwindled, it quickly subsided. News about the 'Pirate Slayers' faded from the front pages of world newspapers within a week and disappeared altogether within two. Local newspapers distributed only in East Blue lasted a bit longer. They remained on the front pages for a couple of weeks and for another two to three weeks — depending on the newspaper — in the middle pages, gradually sliding to the back with decreasing coverage. The 'Pirate Slayers' seemed to have disappeared. Or, more likely, they had decided to lay low for a while… What the rest of the world didn't know was that the 'Pirate Slayers' had simply succumbed to an unusually strong bout of laziness, but such an explanation was clearly beyond anyone's imagination.
Smoker was little concerned with why the 'Pirate Slayers' had decided to lay low temporarily. The most important thing Captain knew for sure — the Grand Line. Sooner or later, they would definitely head to the Grand Line. And considering their reputation, strength, and activities, it would happen sooner rather than later. The 'Pirate Slayers' had nothing left to do in East Blue. And Smoker understood this better than anyone else. He understood and prepared for the inevitable. The captain increased the number of observers, boosted the patrol size, and increased the number of ships involved. As soon as Smoker received news that the 'Pirate Slayers' had raised their pirate flag, he immediately declared a 'full combat readiness' to his subordinates… And for the first time in his service in East Blue, he requested reinforcements.
Smoker was confident in his own abilities, but he was equally certain that if his men were to clash seriously with the 'Pirate Slayers,' he would have to sign hundreds, if not thousands, of death notices. The captain was not willing to allow such a situation under any circumstances, so he did what he did. Reinforcements arrived promptly, without any delays, and in a significantly larger number than originally requested. To say that such an occurrence was extremely rare is an understatement. Smoker had never seen anything like it before. The captain could confidently assert that the Marine Headquarters took the threat from the 'Pirate Slayers ' very seriously. This was not surprising. On the Grand Line, the 'Pirate Slayers' could be considered just another notable newcomer. A bounty of one hundred million berries was not unusual there; every year, several dozen 'supernovas' appeared, meaning pirates with bounties of one hundred million berries or more. However, in the East Blue, the 'Pirate Slayers' represented a pure manifestation of a nightmare. Roronoa Zoro could easily be called the King of the East Blue, or even just 'The King,' and no one would dispute it. That's why Smoker intended to deal with this crew before they could become an even greater threat. As mentioned, Smoker was confident in his own strength: pirates with a bounty of one hundred million were within his capacity. If Smoker could be sure that he would be the first to confront them, he wouldn't have even requested reinforcements. Unfortunately for Smoker, he couldn't be everywhere at once, so it was highly likely that his men would be the first to encounter the 'Pirate Slayers,' and the reinforcements were very much needed.
Long days of waiting stretched into weeks. The 'Pirate Slayers' seemed to have vanished. Smoker began to worry that he had been deceived. Unlike other pirates, the 'Pirate Slayers' knew the East Blue inside and out, and they clearly had significant connections as well as an unspecified amount of money. Smoker's sources were not certain, but the amount was at least hundreds of millions of berries. Some of the captain's informants even claimed billions. What was worse, the billion-claims came from Smoker's most reliable sources, who had never let him down before, while all the others leaned towards 'several hundred million.' However, in the end, whether 'billions' or 'hundreds of millions,' both were more than enough to bribe a corrupt marine.
A single corrupt high-ranking marine, even if only slightly familiar with Smoker and the situation in Loguetown, could easily ruin the captain's plans. It was no wonder that, after several weeks of complete calm, Smoker began to believe more and more in this outcome. The 'Pirate Hunters' had clearly learned that Loguetown had become a trap they decided not to deal with. By the end of a whole month of waiting, the captain was almost entirely convinced of this… So it was all the more surprising when he learned that the latest pirates, who had brazenly entered the port — three teams had done so in the last month, more than the entire previous year, according to recent reports — were not just any fools, but the genuine 'Pirate Slayers.' The captain felt deceived. Smoker had considered them a special crew; unlike the usual pirate gangs he had dealt with in the East Blue. So, he did not expect such idiocy from those he had long regarded as dangerous opponents.