"Ian!"
"Captain!"
"Arrange for some Sea King meat to be sent to Danaan!"
"Understood!"
After finishing his Dao Force measurement, Luo Lan suddenly remembered something and quickly gave Ian an order.
After all, Nami and a group of over fifty Marines were still undergoing training at Danaan. He couldn't just summon her back like he did yesterday.
It made more sense to send supplies over, rather than disrupting their daily training.
Not long after Ian left—
A flash of red shot toward Luo Lan like a streak of lightning, leaving behind only graceful afterimages along the path.
"Luo Lan! What the hell did you feed Hina yesterday?!"
Hina grabbed Luo Lan by the collar and shouted, drawing the attention of everyone nearby.
"Sister Hina, what are you talking about?"
Luo Lan was genuinely confused.
What had he even done?
He only gave her some high-grade Sea King meat, right? At most, it might've made her feel energized and in need of a workout.
What else could it be?
"Don't play dumb with me! What exactly did you put in that meal yesterday?!"
"Nothing, I swear..."
"Impossible! Even Sea King meat—no matter how massive the beast—shouldn't cause that kind of effect!"
Hina still felt like her entire worldview had been shaken. She hadn't done any official tests, but she knew her physical strength had significantly increased.
All that just from eating Sea King meat?
Come on!
"Maybe... that particular Sea King was a special case?"
"Seriously?"
"Whether it's true or not, all I can say is—I didn't add anything else to that dish."
Hearing that, Hina finally let go of his collar, but couldn't help questioning herself deep down.
Could it really be… that the Sea King itself was that unique?
"Hey, Luo Lan..."
"What is it?"
"From now on, Hina wants Sea King meat with every meal!"
"Sure thing!"
Luo Lan agreed without hesitation.
No big deal. Just the haul from yesterday alone was enough to feed the entire branch for three months.
And that was only about a third of that Sea King's meat.
If they had a bigger ship in the future and could bring back entire beasts after every hunt…
They'd never run out of ingredients!
In fact, maybe he could even ask Seras to look into refining the meat into pill form—one a day or something.
Who knows, maybe it'd actually work?
---
Five days later—
Luo Lan and Hina arrived at the old harbor of the branch.
Yes, the very one that Hina had accidentally rammed her warship into earlier.
Now, with the dock still damaged, warships couldn't moor directly and had to anchor a hundred meters out, using small boats to ferry people back and forth.
At the moment, one such warship was anchored offshore, and a small boat was rowing steadily toward land, manned by two Marines.
"Huh? Hina? Why are you still here?"
A barrage of question marks popped up in Smoker's head.
The last he heard, Hina was only temporarily stationed at Branch 157 due to damage to her ship. Once it was repaired, she was supposed to head to the Prosperity Zone in the East Blue.
But it had been days.
And she was still here?
Hina didn't bother answering. She walked straight up to him and—
"Seaman First Class Smoker! Don't you know to salute a superior officer?!"
She barked sternly, causing Smoker to freeze mid-step.
Luo Lan, watching from behind, could barely keep a straight face.
"Hina, come on now..."
"Watch your tone, Seaman First Class Smoker! Hina is a Captain!"
Oh boy.
Hina was really having fun with this prank.
Luo Lan decided to join in, adding more fuel to the fire as he stepped up beside her.
"Sister Tina, who is this disrespectful First Class Seaman?"
"Hina heard he's from Loguetown."
"Seriously? They don't teach manners in Loguetown anymore? A first class seaman who doesn't salute a Captain?"
"Not just rude. Look—he's even smoking in front of a superior!"
"Mm. I think we'll have to rebuild this one from the ground up."
"Hina agrees!"
Listening to their banter—especially how Luo Lan kept emphasizing "Seaman First Class Smoker"—made Smoker's face twitch uncontrollably.
"...You two done yet?!"
"Hahaha! Smoker, you as a first class seaman? I'm dying!"
Finally, Luo Lan burst out laughing. He couldn't hold it in any longer.
A Logia user like Smoker… as a mere first class?
That's rich!
Just then, the two Marines who had rowed them ashore ran up and saluted.
"Captain, delivery complete. We're heading back now!"
Luo Lan returned the salute.
"Thanks for your hard work."
"Our pleasure!"
They saluted again and rowed away.
Smoker, meanwhile, began surveying the area.
Until he saw…
That crumbling two-story building that looked ready to fall apart.
"Luo Lan, are you sure people can still live in that thing?"
"Come on. Let me show you the real Branch 157."
"Real…? What's that supposed to mean?"
Smoker was puzzled.
Before Luo Lan could reply, Hina cut in.
"We've known each other for over a decade, so let me give you a heads-up—brace yourself. Don't get too shocked."
"Brace myself? Don't be ridiculous. I'm Smoker. I've seen it all—what could possibly shock me?"
Clearly, Smoker wasn't taking her seriously.
Luo Lan and Hina exchanged no further words and simply led the way into the forest.
They walked for over ten minutes. Just when Smoker was about to lose patience—
The trees parted, the light broke through, and suddenly—
Smoker's jaw hit the ground.
"What… is all this?!"
---
Two hours had passed since Smoker arrived at Branch 157.
Even after seeing everything, he was still in shock.
Now, he stood with Luo Lan in the massive training field.
Hina, of course, watched with great interest from the side.
"Luo Lan, are you sure you want to spar with me?"
Smoker eyed him strangely.
Everyone at HQ knew Luo Lan's physique was naturally weak—capped at a Dao Force of 5, no matter how hard he trained.
Sparring with Smoker?
He was honestly worried he'd accidentally break the guy.
"Of course. As the branch chief, I need to know the strength of any new arrivals if I'm going to assign them a position."
"Come on... You're gonna assess my strength?"
Smoker looked exasperated.
Sure, Luo Lan's marksmanship was excellent—even those far stronger than him had been caught off guard before.
But that didn't work on him.
He was a Logia user, after all. Bullets?
Totally useless.
"Whatever. Let's just get it over with. If it makes you happy..."
He sighed deeply, resigning himself to the task.
At the same time, he made a mental note:
Better hold back a little—don't want to accidentally break Luo Lan in half.
---
A/N: If you want an early updates, you can visit my Ko-Fi as I update there much early.
Currently at Chapter 54 for free chapters on my Ko-Fi and at Chapter 150 for advance chapters.
https:// ko-fi.com/sami27