Chapter 160: Reencountering Smoker

After officially leaving the island of Salvador, no further unexpected incidents occurred along the remainder of Luo Lan's journey.

Thanks to Nami's presence as a super navigator, they completely avoided storms and the like.

Aside from Hina's phone call, which berated Luo Lan mercilessly, no other major events took place.

Ten days later, the boundary line of the island housing the Kingdom of Alabasta gradually came into the Marines' line of sight.

Seeing the steadily expanding, sand-filled island, all the marines breathed a sigh of relief while simultaneously raising their vigilance to the utmost limit.

A grueling ten-day journey without sleep or rest felt like an ordeal to anyone.

Now that they had finally reached their destination, the marines naturally felt a sense of relief.

"We've finally arrived. Yuba—no, Nanohana, the port city of the Kingdom of Alabasta."

"I heard this is a pretty decent island, just like Salvador."

"You still have the leisure to think about things like that? Didn't Rear Admiral Luo Lan say that the Kingdom of Alabasta is currently embroiled in a conspiracy? Our enemy this time is very likely Crocodile of the Warlords of the Sea."

"So what? You know Rear Admiral Luo Lan's strength. Why worry about such unnecessary things? We just need to honestly follow the Rear Admiral's orders and do our own jobs well."

While two marines were chatting idly, a new order arrived: Rear Admiral Luo Lan instructed them to hide the warship in a nearby strait and not sail directly into the port.

Though the marines found this command strange, they were not overly surprised and simply carried it out as ordered.

"Rear Admiral Luo Lan, there seems to be another warship in that strait. Judging by its specifications, it appears to be a flagship belonging to a Headquarters Captain."

Poncet suddenly burst into Luo Lan's cabin. Finding Luo Lan dressed in casual clothes, he looked somewhat perplexed before reporting the information he had obtained.

"A Captain-class flagship?"

Dressed in casual wear, Luo Lan wore a peculiar smile. Why did that sound somewhat familiar?

If he remembered correctly, the Marine captains who appeared in the Alabasta storyline were only Smoker and, later on, Hina.

Since Hina was currently stationed at the G-10 Branch, the Sherman Fortress, it definitely could not be her.

From that perspective, the owner of the warship went without saying.

"Is Smoker here as well?"

Luo Lan rubbed his chin, then pushed the news to the back of his mind, too lazy to concern himself with it further.

Smoker's appearance did not surprise him, nor would it affect his plans. There was simply no need to go out of his way to say hello; it was better to complete his own mission first.

"Don't worry about that for now. According to my previous instructions, bring Gal Dino and his little assistant over, call Nami and Zoro, along with the few marines I selected, and let's all go to Nanohana to gather information."

Luo Lan instructed Poncet as he walked out of the cabin.

"Yes."

Before docking, Luo Lan had already given the order, so Poncet naturally understood his intentions.

On the deck, Luo Lan smiled as he watched Gal Dino being escorted out by marines in casual clothes.

It seemed that the mysterious big boss, Crocodile, still held a profound influence over Mr. 3.

Though Mr. 3 had the audacity to deceive the Sand Crocodile over the phone ten days ago, now that they had officially arrived in Alabasta, his terror was once again surfacing.

"Let's go, Luo Lan. I'm starting to look forward to this. Another great pirate of the Warlord rank—I'm really looking forward to a match with him."

Zoro wore the outfit he hadn't worn in a long time and said with eager anticipation.

"Your opponent this time won't be that Warlord. His abilities are a bit special."

Luo Lan shook his head, slightly dampening Zoro's enthusiasm.

Once Nami and the marines had gathered, Luo Lan led the group off the warship and headed toward Nanohana.

Luo Lan's remaining knowledge of Nanohana came purely from the anime.

However, over the span of ten years, his memories were no longer very vivid.

The only thing he still remembered was that this was where Luffy and Ace parted ways for the last time, and their next meeting would be the life-and-death separation at the Summit War.

Yet Luo Lan knew that in this lifetime, the Summit War stood a high chance of not happening because he would not permit it.

Thus, this tragedy could likely be averted.

Stepping off the warship, a wave of heat washed directly over them.

The climate of a desert nation was precisely like this: arid, scorching, with wind-driven sand blowing at all times.

Moving from the warship to Nanohana, Luo Lan's party did not seem to attract anyone's special attention; it appeared that the arrival of large groups of people had grown customary over this period.

Even if these fellows were pirates, the residents of Nanohana would not be afraid, for they possessed a hero named Crocodile.

Though it required paying a small sum of money, compared to being plundered, what did that tiny amount of wealth matter?

Walking down the streets of Nanohana, Luo Lan noticed that the city had not grown remote due to its desert location; instead, it was just as bustling and lively as the island of Salvador.

Only, because of the desert, the number of tourists along the street could not compare to the tropical-flavored island of Salvador.

"That is?"

After politely declining a swindler selling golden apples, Luo Lan suddenly spotted an unusual group of individuals.

Those people were also wearing marine uniforms, seemingly searching for something in all directions.

In the midst of that group, a man over two meters tall with short white hair, draped in a marine officer's cape, stood in the middle of the street smoking a cigar.

Beside him was a muddle-headed, bespectacled young girl.

Luo Lan was far from unfamiliar with these two; in fact, he knew them quite well.

Were these not Smoker and Tashigi?

Earlier, when Luo Lan saw the other warship in the strait, he had made a guess; seeing Smoker in person now directly confirmed that suspicion.

"Captain Smoker, look over there! It's Rear Admiral Luo Lan!"

While Luo Lan spotted Smoker, Tashigi also noticed Luo Lan. Excitedly waving at Luo Lan, she simultaneously tugged at Smoker's sleeve.

"Luo Lan?"

Hearing that name, the corner of Smoker's mouth twitched noticeably, wearing an expression of extreme reluctance.

Yet under Tashigi's tugging, Smoker had no choice but to turn his head and look at Luo Lan.

"Long time no see, Smoker."

Luo Lan led the others over to Smoker and greeted him.

Smoker could be considered the first marine friend he had made in this world, and his promotion to Captain upon joining the Marines was partly thanks to Smoker's influence. Therefore, Luo Lan felt quite pleased to see Smoker again here.

"Yeah, long time no see, Rear Admiral Luo Lan."

Smoker gave a perfunctory military salute. The expression on his face looked thoroughly unnatural, and a hint of playful mockery accompanied his words.

He held no animosity toward Luo Lan, nor did he take Luo Lan's moniker of "Devil" to heart.

He had investigated the pirates targeted by Luo Lan and found that without exception, every single one of them was guilty of heinous crimes and utterly unpardonable.

Luo Lan's methods for dealing with wicked people were entirely justified.

His current irritation toward Luo Lan stemmed purely from jealousy.

Clearly, he had joined the Marines first; clearly, he had been the one to recommend Luo Lan. So why had Luo Lan managed to surpass him in rank and become an official marine general officer ahead of him?

Being promoted to Rear Admiral was one thing, but why had Hina, his own contemporary friend, also ended up as Luo Lan's adjutant?

Did this not mean that he would always remain a step below Luo Lan from now on?

He refused to accept this!