One Piece: Start Building a High Wall From East Blue

Time— Year 1517 of the Sea Circle Calendar.

Location— In the East Blue.

Somewhere in a calm sea area.

A massive warship was slowly sailing.

A giant flag of justice, with a white background and a seagull holding a balance scale, was flying high. The ship was equipped with numerous turrets, and masts and sails stretched up to the sky.

This was a Navy warship.

At this moment.

On the vast deck, an elderly man with white hair and beard, a tall and broad-chested figure with developed muscles, was leisurely resting his head on his hands, eyes closed, seemingly asleep in comfort. Occasionally, a bubble would form from his right nostril.

Suddenly.

A gust of East Blue wind gently blew, popping the bubble from the old man's nose, causing him to abruptly wake from his slumber.

He groggily looked around at the sea view, then casually reached over to a small tea table beside him, grabbed a donut, and stuffed it into his mouth.

As he chewed noisily, he looked toward the Navy officer standing nearby and asked without a care, "Smoker, have we reached the Navy's 16th Branch yet?"

Large Navy warships typically wouldn't appear in the East Blue, known as the weakest of the seas.

This trip to the East Blue served two purposes: to send the Navy hero Garp home for a break and to station Captain Smoker and his subordinates at the Loguetown Navy Base in the East Blue, a town known as both the 'beginning and end of the Grand Line,' to replace the current defense forces.

This time, they also had to swing by the Navy's 16th Branch.

"Yes, Vice Admiral Garp."

The man called Smoker casually wore a jacket with the word 'Justice' written on the back. However, it was nothing like the standard Navy justice cloak. Instead, it was a biker jacket, with wind goggles hanging around his neck.

His broad chest and abs, boldly exposed, his silver-gray hair combed backward into a crew cut, and the large cigar dangling from the corner of his mouth, made him look far less like a Navy Captain and more like a tough guy from the streets.

Looking at Vice Admiral Garp, who had finished his snack and casually told him, "Call me when we get there," before lazily lying back down, Smoker couldn't help but show a hint of helplessness on his serious face. But he said nothing more, only shaking his head.

Even Fleet Admiral Sengoku couldn't control Vice Admiral Garp, so what could a mere Navy Captain, who had been dispatched, possibly do?

Smoker casually opened the military documents in his hands. Inside was a Navy profile, the target of their current mission.

Name: Dande Chacher

Age: 23 

Birthplace: East Blue, Orphan 

Position: Base Commander of the East Blue 16th Division

Rank: Navy Captain

Evaluation: A former genius student at the Navy Headquarters training camp. He had an exceptional talent for swordsmanship, and after only two and a half years of training, he was granted the rank of Navy Captain as an exception. However, due to offending a superior, he was reassigned and began to decline. His willpower faltered, and his strength and talent diminished. For the past seven years, he has had no accomplishments or merits.

Note: Headquarters suspects this individual may have joined forces with pirates and violated Navy justice. Please have the inspection team conduct a thorough investigation!

On the right side of the file, there was also a photo of the man in a Navy uniform.

In the photo, the man had black hair and black eyes, with sharp features and clear lines. His eyes were deep and dark like the night, and his entire demeanor exuded confidence and nonchalance.

"Is this Captain Dande Chacher? He doesn't look like the type who would join forces with pirates."

As Smoker furrowed his brow and silently stared at the photo, a female naval officer standing nearby approached and curiously looked at the image as well.

She had short, neat black hair and wore old-fashioned square glasses. Instead of the usual navy uniform, she casually wore a checkered shirt paired with suit trousers.

She looked like a cute, friendly girl from the neighborhood, but her serious expression, paired with the finely crafted sword at her waist—Shigure—gave off a subtle air of a naval officer.

Adjusting her glasses, she spoke with curiosity, "I've also heard that Captain Chacher was already an excellent swordsman back then. Perhaps the headquarters just misunderstood."

"Shut up." Smoker glanced at his subordinate with a flat expression, removed his cigar from his mouth, and said calmly, "As a member of the Navy, never judge someone by their appearance."

From just the file, he couldn't see anything unusual, but as a genius Navy Captain with seven years in the East Blue and no accomplishments to show, suddenly transferred from 315th Branch to the 16th Branch...

What exactly was this guy up to? 

And what about the Mok Pirates...

Could this notorious, bloodthirsty pirate crew really be so difficult to capture?

Also, what was the connection between the former base commander of Loguetown and him? Why did they recommend him to take over 16th Branch?

As Smoker continued to think,

"It's here!"

The voice of his assistant—Commander Tashigi—pulled Smoker out of his thoughts.

He lifted his head and looked ahead.

In the distance, on the sea horizon, the outline of a familiar, well-decorated naval base slowly emerged from the mist, with the number 16 written on it.

Smoker furrowed his brow slightly, glanced at it briefly, then lowered his head again, staring at the photo in the document in his hand, murmuring to himself, "Dande Chacher!"

What is this guy hiding?!

...

Conomi Islands.

This area falls under the jurisdiction of the Navy's 16th Branch.

At this moment.

Cocoyasi Village... No, it should be called Cocoyasi Town now.

"Captain Chacher is here, Captain Chacher is here!"

"And Nami, Nami is back too!"

"Idiot, it's Commander Nami now. Nami finally... made something of herself. Bell-mère would be so happy if she knew. I thought she'd be a thief for life. I was worried she'd never amount to anything! Go call Mayor Nojiko!"

As a naval warship docked at the newly built pier of Cocoyasi Town, a group of people disembarked from the ship, and the whole pier was immediately filled with cheers.

The leading figure, a black-haired man in a standard naval white uniform, draped in a black fur coat, with a sword at his waist, smiled as he walked towards the town with several people following him, responding to the cheers.

"Damn it, who's unambitious?!" Nami, also dressed in a white shirt and a black skirt, heard the comments from the villagers and immediately raised her fist in anger at them. "You all better watch out, do you believe I'll arrest every one of you?!"

She had even changed from her usual plain short-sleeve striped top and slightly faded, over-the-hip skirt to a beautiful outfit, but this group still said she was unambitious.

Of course~ 

Arresting them was just a joke.

Nami, with a fierce glare, threatened the villagers of her hometown before turning her head. Her beautiful orange, slightly curled, short hair was neatly resting on her delicate, fair collarbones. 

Her brown eyes, like jewels, scanned the man walking ahead of her, then glanced at the changes in Cocoyasi Village... now a bustling town. Her heart couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions.

She never expected everything to change so drastically, it felt almost like a lifetime ago.

One year ago, she was still a crew member of the Arlong Pirates. Now, she had become a Navy Commander.

The once-poor Cocoyasi Village had transformed into a prosperous town, and all of this was thanks to the man walking beside her.

Thinking of this, Nami smiled slightly, walked up beside Chacher—who was striding forward with a serious expression, his hands in his pockets and a cloak draped over his shoulders—and hesitated for a moment before whispering, "Hey, thank you~"

"???"

Why the sudden thanks?

Chacher looked at Nami in confusion, then seemed to realize something. He chuckled and said, "It's just a Commander. That kid of the next town, Shelz, gets Navy support just because his father is in the Navy. He even has two dogs that the Navy takes care of. If I had a dog, it'd probably be getting meals from the Navy headquarters!"

After all, he didn't need to spend money on it. Instead of having the Navy protect the Celestial Dragons, it was better to let him use them to take care of his dogs.

Besides, Nami was quite talented. Becoming a Commander in the Navy wasn't a problem at all.

As for her identity... What's the big deal?

In this filthy world, being a thief, or even just a thief of pirates, could be considered someone with a clean record and morals intact.

But then...

"What?!"

Upon hearing Chacher's remark, Nami's perfectly shaped eyebrows twitched in anger. She froze, looking taken aback.

Who's a dog?!

With her hands on her hips, her face full of fury, she was about to say something when...

"BOSS, Mayor Nojiko has arrived!"

A voice, filled with a mix of suppressed laughter and elegance, came from beside them.