[OPFS] Chapter : 4

**Smoker's POV**

Looking over his hometown from his window, Smoker was in his office. It has been some time since he left this island for the Marine HQ for training. Nearly 5 years ago, he left for the HQ in the Grandline for special training under former Admiral Zephyr.

The training was cut short by his own request to come back to his hometown and serve as soon as he got to the captain rank. But now, after a year in Lougetown, the boredom of not having to fight strong individuals is getting to him.

All the criminals and pirates near the island have already been cleared out during the past year. The ones that land on the island in hopes of sailing the grandline are too weak to pose any threat to him and get caught easily with his logia powers.

The only entertainment he is getting these days is smoking his cigars and creating new rules and punishments for the marines under him at the base. He has already requested permission from the HQ to patrol the East Blue Sea to round up the cowardly pirates who don't dare come near his island. But after getting rejected twice, he gave up on it. It seems there are some captains who are well connected and don't want him to hog up all their work.

Now with nothing to do other than wait for idiot pirates to show up on his shores looking at the training grounds, he saw a couple of chore boys sparring with kendo sticks, one using ittoryu and the other using nittoryu. Just by observing them for 30 seconds, he could see who was going to be the winner.

Even though one of them was smaller than the other by maybe 30 pounds, the smaller chore boy with one sword was winning it by a margin with his superior skills in swordsmanship. But the other one just did not give up, even after getting stuck multiple times in his body. "Oy, who are they below training at this time?" Smoker asked his assistant, a petty officer.

After looking down at the training ground for a couple of seconds, he recognized them as the chore boys and girls, Tashigi and Logan. "Captain, they are the chore boys and girls of our base, Tashigi and Logan." said the assistant.

"Logan.. didn't Gennou-san have a kid called Logan?" inquired Smoker.

"Hai Captain, he did. An adopted son. The one we are looking at is Gennou-san's son," said the assistant.

**flashback 7 years ago**

The sun was setting; it was a beautiful day in Lougetown. Two people can be seen sitting on the roof of a tall building right beside the port of the city.

"Oi, Smoker, wipe that damn all encompassing frown off your face; we did good work today," said Gennou, smiling.

"What good work? It was only catching a bunch of no name thugs stealing wallets from old people.. I need some better work to challenge me," dismayed Smoker.

SMACK

"Learn to respect your superiors, Boke!!" said Gennou, admonishing him.

"What superior? You are retiring in some time, right?" replied Smoker.

The face of Gennou changed to a serious one: "Oi brat, Listen carefully. I have sent a report to the HQ in Grand Line for your special training. The request is accepted; you'll be leaving tomorrow. So don't cause any problems there, all right?" said Gennou.

"NAANIII!!! Wha.. but.. Aargh.. A little heads up would be nice, you old geezer!!" roared Smoker comically.

"Hahahaha, this is our last mission. Take care, brat." Saying that Gennou went back to the base. "Thanks Gennou-san!! I'll find my own justice and make you proud!" exclaimed Smoker, all the while Gennou walked back slowly with a content smile on his face.

**Flashback End**

Hearing someone knock on his door made him come out of his reverie.

"Come in," he said, giving permission to whoever was knocking, and he sat on his chair by the desk. In came the son of the person about whom he was reminiscing. Giving the kid a once over and feeling his presence with his somewhat usable observation haki. He felt the kid was quite strong for his age.

"Good Morning!! Captain Smoker!" Logan greeted him and did a salute.

"At ease. You are Logan, right?" Smoker asked to confirm.

"Yes, Captain!"

"How many years has it been that you have joined the Navy?"

"It's been 6 months since I joined, and my probation period got completed last week, Captain!"

"Ok, let's go to the training grounds. I want to see how strong you are."

"What? Yes, captain," he said with some awkwardness.

Logan follows Smoker out of the office, his heart pounding with a mix of excitement and anxiety. They step into the bright, open training grounds of the Marine base. The early morning sun casts long shadows, and a few Marines are already training. The atmosphere buzzes with the energy of a new day, and Logan takes a deep breath, ready to test himself against a captain from the Grand Line.

Smoker, exuding an aura of calm confidence, lights two cigars simultaneously and takes a deep drag, the smoke curling around him. He looks at Logan with a mix of curiosity and impatience.

“Show me what you’ve got, Logan,” Smoker commands, his voice steady and firm.

Smoker's directness surprises Logan a little, but he nods and enters the sparring ring. He picks up two kendo sticks, assuming a basic nittoryu stance. Smoker, without drawing his jitte, steps into the ring with his hands relaxed at his sides.

Smoker signals the start of the spar with a casual nod. Logan lunges forward with a swift strike aimed at Smoker’s midsection. With a speed that seems impossible for his size, Smoker sidesteps effortlessly, his movements smooth and controlled.

Logan quickly adjusts, launching a flurry of strikes aimed at various points on Smoker’s body. Each strike is met with an almost lazy parry or dodge, Smoker’s hands barely moving from his sides. Despite Logan’s best efforts, he can't land a single blow.

“Is that all you’ve got?” Smoker taunts, his eyes narrowing.

Gritting his teeth, Logan feints to the left and then pivots, aiming a high strike at Smoker’s shoulder. Smoker finally moves, grabbing Logan’s right wrist mid-strike and twisting it, forcing Logan to drop the kendo stick. In a fluid motion, Smoker sweeps Logan’s legs out from under him, sending him crashing to the ground.

Logan stands up, brushing the dirt off his clothes, and retrieves his kendo sticks, determination blazing in his eyes.

“Let's see how you handle two swords,” Smoker says and picks up his jitte, assuming a defensive stance. Logan charges again, this time with more caution and strategy. He swings one stick in a wide arc while keeping the other ready to block or parry.

Smoker’s jitte meets Logan’s first strike with a resounding clash. The force of the blow sends a shock up Logan’s arm, but he doesn’t falter. He brings the second stick around in a swift, low sweep aimed at Smoker’s legs. Smoker jumps, avoiding the strike with ease.

Logan presses his attack, using both sticks in a coordinated assault. Each strike is faster and more precise than the last, but Smoker parries them all with minimal effort, his jitte moving in a blur of metal.

“Not bad, kid,” Smoker admits. “But you’re not good enough yet.”

With that, Smoker steps into Logan’s guard, disarming him with a series of rapid, decisive movements. The kendo sticks clatter to the ground, and Logan finds himself on his back again. Smoker’s jitte pointed at his throat.

Panting heavily, Logan stares up at Smoker, frustration and admiration mixing in his expression. Smoker extends a hand, pulling Logan to his feet.

“You’ve got potential, Logan,” Smoker says, his tone softer. “But you need to work on your technique and control. Strength isn’t everything.”

Logan nods, absorbing Smoker’s words. “Thank you, Captain. I’ll train harder.”

Smoker claps Logan on the shoulder. “Good. Now, get back to work.”

As Logan walks away, he feels a renewed sense of determination. He might have been toyed with today, but he’s resolved to become stronger. He needs to reflect on how the fight went and how to improve. He remembered a quote from his previous life.

It's not the one who works hardest that always wins. It's the one who works the hardest effectively that succeeds.

The spar between him and Smoker had caught the attention of the marines at the training grounds, and by lunch time, it was the talk of the base. Everyone was surprised, as it was quite rare for a captain to take interest in a chore boy and spar with him.

Even Tashigi, who was always quite silent and always engrossed in Katana and swordsmanship books, approached him and asked why the captain sparred with him. Logan even detected a hint of jealousy in her tone but did not comment on it. This ammunition can be used later to tease her.

It was the Lieutenant that cleared the doubt of everyone—that Captain Smoker and Logan's father Gennou used to be close before Smoker left for Grand Line to train. After that, the discussion about his spar slowly died down.

Later that day, after his daily training and chores, he started meditating and tried to recall the fight and how I could improve. After some retrospection, it was evident that that style of swordsmanship, the two-sword style, was a completely made up style of mine, and I did not have any specific katas to train myself in. In the spars I had with Tashigi, I did not find this because I was trying to win in any manner that I could and did not care about the fluidity of my stances and my strikes.

And after Smoker gave me the clue to work on my technique, did it occur to me that I had no idea how to do that. Hence, I've come to the conclusion that I should keep my swordsmanship training on hold for now and work on strength and hand-to-hand combat.

Maybe, after some time, I can go to Shimotsuki village and train at the Issin Dojo and learn from there. But for now, the things that I can definitely work on effectively are my strength, hand-to-hand combat, and keeping my flexibility intact. So that in the future, I won't be restricted by it for sword training.

I need to update my training schedule to fit this. I want to ask Captain Smoker if he could give me information on the training regimen he followed at the Marineford HQ. But I am not sure if he would be open to sharing it with me.