Hi, Ghost here again *waves*.

So here is the next chapter. And this is shorter then the other two, but in this one we just follows Smoker. Yes Smoker are in this story. He is one of my favorite marines so of course I needed him in the story. You will see which other marines that will join, later. Haha
You will also get the whole story about the marines later on. You will know what happens to them all, more then you got now. This was more exposition in this chapter. And I am sorry if it felt a bit boring because of this. Tried to make it interesting. But I felt like you guys needed to know at least a little bit more.

And since you got to know the marines and Hawkins gang a bit more this time I will tell you that the Marines district are more in the middle of the town, almost directly at the middle. Charing space with, well you will know that later.
That means that Hawkins district (which now are really small), are between Blackbeard (Island/coast, under them and a bit to the left.), White Beard (above them), Marines (To the right of them). So they are in the middle of it all. Hope it make a bit sense.

I am also sorry for everyone who wanted to have more of the others. But I will move around between a lot of different characters. But don't worry, I will be back to the others soon. Can't promise when tho, because I have ideas of what I want to do. But I may change the order of it. So don't want to get your hops up, and then make you disappointed.

I will try to write more tomorrow or on Sunday, I should have the time, as it looks now. I just need to write on some other things first. Trying to switch between my stories.

Then almost as the last thing I want to do is to thank the people reading and reviewing my story. I am glad to see that someone likes it. So thank you very much :)

So with all that done, I hope you enjoy the chapter :)

The room was almost completely dark, except a few candles at the table, spreading light over the map. A map that changed way to often to rarely be updated. And whit gangs raising and falling, it didn't make it easier.

Smoker sighed and released a puff of smoke on the map. He was tired, or rather exhausted. He wished he could say it was because he had a stressful week, but this week were no different from any other. Every week were the same, the gangs fighting over control, and he tried to stop the war with the few marines he had. In moments like this, alone in the dark, he often admitted to himself, that it was a lost battle. He tried to give his men hope, tried to tell them that they would win this and order would return, but he knew that would never happen. They were too few marines left, and more important to few good and strong ones. Most of his men were newly recruited, people who meant well, but they had no idea what they were doing. And what could he do about that? Nothing. Join a gang was more tempted then joining what was left of the marines. And even if he would never admit it in front of his men, he would rather have joined a gang then the marines these days. Sometimes he even wondered why he stayed. Was it some idiotic loyalty, loyalty for something that wasn't there anymore.

The old ones were dead. Senguko had been the first to go, long before the war actually. But his death had released something none of them had been prepared for. And the first gang had been created. Roger had been a fair man, and all he had wanted to do was given the kids on the street a fair chance, something Senguko also had tried. And Roger had been afraid that would be lost if he didn't do something. But Garp had stepped in after Senguko, and actually manage to calm things down. And what had been started stopped and it was almost like the city forgot about everything at first. Smoker could still remember the days. Days when the city was in peace, you could hear laugh, meet nice people and walk on the streets without fearing for your life. When being a marine had meant something. That was when he had joined, almost twenty years ago. And he had been so proud, and he knew that it was a hopeless dream, that the marines and city once would be what it once was. Maybe that was why he still tried, to dumb, proud or even stubborn to give up.

Then one day he had woken up and everything change, or that's how it felt. It had been going on for a longer time, he had just been to blind to see it. Maybe he was too happy to care of maybe it was too high up for him.

He still remembers it as it was yesterday the moment he was on guard and the alarm sounded, an alarm that meant something had gone wrong, terrible wrong. He had no idea what it was, but he had gripped his weapon, and he had almost expected an army of dead or something else unrealistic come and attack him. Smoker had been standing there for what felt like ages when the alarm stopped and an unfamiliar soldier ran out on the yard, covered in blood. Smoker stared at the man, no idea what he should do. Not until Captain Morgan stepped out and stabbed the man. Smoker just stood there, not sure on how to even react. He didn't move until Morgan ordered them all to gather in the training yard.

Smoker had been puzzled about it, if they all went there, who would then guard the precinct? But he, as the good soldier he was back then, had followed order. And he walked over to the training yard with his fellow marines. And when he got there he saw Akainu standing there, on the balcony instead of Garp, and at once Smoker know that wasn't good. Akainu was a man that was willing to do anything to get the power over the city, and to show that the people living there was beneath him. Compared to Senguko and Garp, who had cared about the city, and that everyone should be safe, Akainu wanted people to be scared, and that they should turn to him to get protection, if they paid. Smoker stood there, looking at Akainu as he said the words, Smoker didn't want to hear.
"Garp is dead. Killed. And with that the old era is gone, and enter is a new one. From this day things will be changed" Akainu said and with those words things started to change.

Akainu took down Roger, and even if it wasn't without ease, he still did it. And with that Akainu had thought that it would be over. No one would go against the marines, but he had been wrong. Smoker had watched how one gang after another raised. It had started with White Beards gang, a man following Rogers ideals, wanting to take care of the children in the neighbourhood. And even is Smoker fought him, he still respected the man. White Beard had taken in children, given them a new life, a family and sent them to somewhat righteous way. And Smoker was sometimes glad that there were men like White Beard left in the city. And Smoker rarely fought him, feeling that if he left White Beard, some part of the down would have a chance to get some sort of order and morals.

He couldn't say the same for the other gang that soon followed. Linlin, or rather Big Mom as she called herself, soon started to fighting the marines, wanting to give her family a better life. But compared to White Beard, she didn't help everyone in her district. She threated them to give her what she wanted. And Smoker had heard rumours that she eats people who was a threat to her, or in her way. Smoker had never founded any proof of this, but it did worry him sometimes.

And as she wasn't good enough a man only wanting power for power, or so it seemed come along. Kaido, gathered the strongest around him, wanting to take over the city by fighting everyone. Smoker know really little about him. He had made a fuss in the beginning, fighting everyone, not leaving anyone alive, but when he got his district he seemed to calm down, which made Smoker really nervous. It was to calm, and he didn't know what Kaido planned but it was something.

Smoker remembered all the problem they had have with them in the past. Akainu tried to fight them all, at once. And that was the problem, he divided his forces into different groups, trying to fight everyone at once. Smoker saw many of his friends die that way, and it felt cruel that he was left alive, when so many wasn't. But every day he kept fighting, just like he was told. But for everyday he also felt more and more hopeless, and sick of it. He saw the city being destroyed, civils dying on the streets, innocent bystanders. And as the fights kept going one started within the marines. The ones who wanted to follow Akainu and the ones who didn't.

Smoker cursed Akainu for making the marines fall apart, just like he let the city fall apart. He didn't know if it was better that the man now was dead or not. The damage was done, and he was stuck with what was left. The fragment of the marines, and a city that was on a point of no return. But when Akainu had been alive, there wasn't as many gangs as now. With him gone it felt like every last scumbag on earth founded their city. A man named Black Beard, manage to start a riot at the prison, and soon he had run it over, killing all the marines there, and now he ruled there. Smoker didn't have the men to take it back, even if he wanted to. So all he could do was watching how the dangerous prisoners they had manage to capture, now was free. And as if that hadn't been enough a man named Shanks had ridden in one day from the ocean and taken over the harbour. So now he couldn't get any backup if he wanted. Not that anyone would come. Smoker had demanded it for years, and had only been met by silence. But no one could get into town without Shanks permission, and leaving for that matter too. And lately even more gangs took ground. Smoker could almost not count them anymore. And his latest problem was a gang calling themselves; Straw Hats. Smoker looked at the map, and the south part around the forest. He knew that they were their somewhere, but not where. And he had no idea what their goals was.

But even if Smoker was unsure gang's goals he was even more unsure about the mad men out there. And it felt like they had become more. It had started with the Joker, back in the days. And even if he was one of the oldest names out there. His name started to pop up at Akainu's time. But still to this day Smoker no nothing about him. Not his real name, not his district or goals. He only had a name, and it gave him nothing. Sometimes he even doubted that Joker was real.

Then he had Mr. 0, who pop up sometimes after the revolution against the nobles. The common people had gotten enough of the nobles and where they had been able they had killed whole families, on other places they had just made them flee. Smoker know that Mr. 0 was behind it. But he didn't know why, or what he got out of it. But he could at least pin something to him. That and people who had been spotted in the town with other numbers. Someone said it could be a coincidence, but Smoker didn't think so. It was too specific to be just a coincidence. But even with more than one number, Smoker couldn't pin Mr. 0 to one district either. But at least he knew that Mr. 0 was real.

Smoker then looked at the map again and the north part of the town, a big area, where he had placed a pin for the surgeon of death. That was a man that made Smoker very puzzled. The man killed very openly, not even trying to hide it. Smoker guessed it was to scare off people, and it had worked. Few people wondered into the surgeons district this days, and they didn't try to take it over. But despite that the bodies wasn't fewer, his office was full off paper about the corpse from the north district. And Smoker guessed that he didn't even got half of the numbers. But in the same time as the surgeon killed people, Smoker had heard that he was the best doctor in town, if he helped you, you would without a problem survive anything. Smoker was sure it was exaggerated, but he didn't doubt that the Surgeon was a good doctor. Not that Smoker would ever seek his help, risk of dying in the progress. But with the Surgeon having two sides, being an open man, and not running from them, almost challenging and playing them, Smoker didn't know where he had him. He had a district, a name, and a lot of actions, but not a motive.

Then he looked at some other pins, marked The Blue Gentleman. He wasn't as hard as the Joker, to determinate if he was real or not, but almost. No one ever saw him, no one knew where he was from, or what his goals was. He moved all over the town, doing different things. Smoker looked at the pins for bodies, robbery, black mail, and then different deals, a lot about information. Smoker had no idea what the Gentleman was up to. It was like he was playing in every league, or maybe none. And that made him so unpredictable. And since no one ever saw him, he didn't have a guess on how he looked or was. He had even given him some information sometimes, and that made Smoker feeling that he was the most dangerous. Because that man would do whatever he seemed fit. And there was nothing he could do to stop him.

Smoker sighed, and sat down and lit a cigar, and let the smoke fill the room. Wanting to disappear in it. Nights like this he felt like he should have given up a long time ago. He had nothing to fight for. He didn't want the power, he wanted to give the people some peace and a feeling of safety, but he felt like he couldn't do that. The best way to get that was to join a gang, or belonging to some of the few noble's families, still alive. Families that now lived in the Casino District, maybe one of the safer district, but one of the districts, that was farthest gone. Smoker felt that there was no return for the people living there, brook, gamers and addicts. And it was where the gaps between the rich and poor was widest. No surprise, since the rich controlled the district. But it was a place where the gangs had no control, being driven out by the rich. They weren't a gang, but they got united if there was a threat. Smoker had left them alone a long time ago.

He didn't even know who he focused on anymore. There was to many people to try fight, and as the same time defend his own district. He felt like his own district got smaller and smaller every day. Soon he and the other Marines would be gone, he most likely dead. Because if things feel, he had no place to go, not anymore. Maybe he could find some of his old friends in town, try to hide at them. Aokiji being the first one he thought off, but after what happened all those years ago, the man disappeared, and Smoker hadn't heard of him. The same with Vegapunk. He actually didn't know if neither of them were alive. Maybe both were dead, or maybe they left a long time ago. He wouldn't blame them. That Vegapunk even stayed at his side for as long as he did was a surprise, especially after what Caesar did. Smoker had tried to find the other man, for almost killing his friend. But Caesar disappeared and Smoker hadn't resources to look for him. So even if both his friends were alive, he didn't think he could find them.

So what could he do besides run? He could maybe hide, but what would be the point. People know of him, and he had gotten a lot of enemies, people who wanted to see him dead. And not even the revolutions had been able to hid forever. And when they were found, another good man was murdered. When Dragon disappeared the underworld was left in chaos, and everyone tried to take the control. And Smoker didn't know what happened. Because without Dragon his ears and eyes disappeared. And the revolutions that survived had gone even further underground, and no one had seen or heard of them in almost ten years. So Smoker know that whatever happened, this would be his grave. And he didn't know if he would laugh or cry. So he did nothing, as so many nights before. He just sat there, in the smoke, thinking of reaching for a drink, as often, but he never did. He felt like he couldn't get drunk if he was needed. But damn sometimes he wished he could have one free night, one night of doing what he wanted. Smoker know that he didn't have nights off, and as faith wanted to prove him right he heard the door open.

"Smoker-san?" Tashigi asked as she walked into the room. Smoker didn't see her, but as the whole room was filled with smoke, there was no surprise. Smoker didn't bother to remove it, not yet at least. Instead he just hummed as answer.
"We have a problem" she said.
"Don't we always?" Smoker asked rhetorical, in a bitter voice. Tashigi didn't answer that.
"Black Beard has taken the coast to the west. They drove back parts of Hawkins gang, which made them try to take a part of the White Beards district. Something they wasn't able to do. But it's very tense between them, and both gangs are on alert. Hawkins gang are trying to gain more space, by looking to east, which mean ours"

Smoker took a deep breath, feeling how the smoke filled his longs. It was just one thing after another. With Hawkins gang moving he needed to focus on defending his boarder to the west. Which wasn't a problem per say, but it would take energy. And if something else happened he would have even fewer men to send somewhere. Hawkins wasn't too much of a trouble, and if Smoker did have more men, he could have brought them down already. But he couldn't have head on confrontation, he needed to plan things carefully. And right now, he could only stop Hawkins from taking over parts of his district. Smoker could almost laugh at this, not even be able to help themselves, and they were the ones trying to take back the town. But he knew that if he laughed now, he would most likely make Tashigi worried, and he did not want that woman worrying over him. So instead he stood up, and removed all the smoke.

"Send Coby and his men to defend the west border" he said to Tashigi, without looking at her. Instead he walked over to the map. He needed to pin the movement of Coby and his men, and the tension between the different gangs.
"I will do" Tashigi said as she walked over to the table. "Something else?"
"Put on some coffee, because we will be up all night, planning on what to do next"
"Yes" Tashigi said and left the room and Smoker returned to the map and started to move around his troops, hoping to find the best solutions he could.