Putting on someone else's coat was one thing, but completely stripping someone? Malice towards a defeated foe? Empty talk and excessive emotions from Yosaku? The necessity of wrapping a defeated opponent in a net? From the green-haired guy's perspective, only having a Logia power could explain all the oddities at once. Zoro knew from experience how guys felt about 'invincible opponents,' so, as it seemed to him, the conclusion could only be one, and he had already voiced it. At the same time, Zoro nearly ruined Luffy's whole plan with his question. The fact that Zoro didn't know about Smoker's Logia power directly contradicted what Luffy had told the captain. And although there was no full disclosure, this time the blunder was too significant to go completely without consequences. Smoker found Zoro's behavior and words, at the very least, strange and suspicious. However, in this particular blunder, Luffy was mostly at fault — giving his orders, he could have mentioned to Zoro that he was dealing with a Logia, not just 'a very strong opponent.' In other words, very strong for Johnny and Yosaku.
"Yeah, he's a Logia!" Johnny beamed with a joyful smile.
"And we defeated him ourselves!" Yosaku added, literally puffed up with pride.
"With the help of auxiliary means," Zoro nodded slightly. "It seems you need more training."
Johnny's smile instantly withered, and Yosaku deflated like a popped balloon. Zoro didn't care. If they were hoping for praise or respect, they needed to win with haki. Having resolved all the oddities, Zoro approached Smoker.
"So you're the famous 'Mad Smoker' Schmuck?" — Zoro asked the captain lying on the ground with complete seriousness.
Johnny and Yosaku froze in shock at first, but within moments they burst into loud laughter. They could tell without any clarifications that, until Luffy intervened with his creative version, Zoro had no idea what the local captain's name or nickname was. Smoker himself took a few seconds to understand that Zoro was referring to him. Perhaps if it hadn't been for Zoro's intense gaze, the captain might have thought they weren't talking about him at all.
"'White Hunter' Smoker," came the cold response to Zoro's question.
Despite the fact that the captain had taken Zoro's mangled name and nickname personally, he didn't feel much irritation or anger. Smoker only needed one look at the famous swordsman to confirm all the rumors about his strength. Roronoa Zoro turned out to be not just strong but incredibly strong! Smoker could confidently say that, without the power of his fruit, winning in a direct confrontation with this man would be impossible for him… The captain got another confirmation of his unexpected informant's words. Yet Smoker still couldn't believe in the need for vice admirals and especially admirals. Or maybe he simply didn't want to believe? Didn't want to believe in the existence of someone so illogical? Where could someone with such monstrous strength come from in East Blue? If such strength could be gained through training alone, the Navy would be composed of people equal in strength to the current admirals.
"I apologize," Zoro slightly tilted his head, acknowledging his mistake. "I didn't know your name and nickname, someone else told me, and he's a big fan of jokes."
Smoker wasn't sure what emotions he should be feeling right now. On one hand, Roronoa Zoro apologized for showing disrespect, but on the other, this same Roronoa Zoro, arriving straight into the trap set for him, didn't even think it necessary to find out the name of the one hunting him. As if it didn't matter to him. In the end, Roronoa Zoro apologized for one thing and then, as if in passing, managed to offend even more. That's why Smoker didn't know what emotions he should feel… And the captain couldn't stop thinking about where Roronoa Zoro could have gained such strength. To become that strong, he would have had to go through dozens of life-and-death battles with opponents who were at least his equal, if not superior. No training alone could account for it; it had to be real combat where even the smallest mistake could cost him his life. The catch was that, in East Blue, as Smoker could now definitely say, there was no one who could stand against Roronoa Zoro in an open fight. And even if such a person existed, one or two life-and-death battles would be enough for someone to die. That's what life-and-death battles were for.
"What do you want from me?" Smoker asked. "Why did you order the Beheader' and the 'Butcher' not to kill me?"
Zoro silently glanced at Johnny.
"Cthulhu-aniki called me and ordered me not to kill him," the guy shrugged.
Zoro shifted his gaze back to Smoker.
"You're incredibly lucky: you'll live," the green-haired guy said. "But you're also incredibly unlucky," he added in the same tone, "you've caught Cthulhu's interest. I would explain to you who Cthulhu is, but you already know about him... don't you?"
Smoker didn't respond.
"You've heard a lot of diverse information today, information that wasn't meant for your ears," Zoro continued calmly, as if he hadn't expected any response from the captain. "Information that could cause certain problems for my family. Of course, nothing serious, but who likes problems? Especially when they can be avoided with minimal effort."
Smoker remained silent.
"Personally, I think it would be easier to kill you," Zoro admitted honestly, sitting down next to the Marine, "no person, no problem... Unfortunately, as I said earlier, you've caught Cthulhu's interest, so you have to live: you aren't of interest to him dead. At the same time, we can't allow you to talk too much, so if you decide to loosen your tongue, your subordinate will pay the price for your babbling."
Smoker's heart skipped a beat. Tashigi. She should have been here by now, but she still wasn't. And Roronoa Zoro knew there was a traitor on their ship. The traitor who left with Tashigi. The missing Tashigi. The conclusion was obvious.
"What did you do to her?!!" Smoker roared, his voice as fierce as Johnny's during his partial transformation.
"To her?" Zoro raised an eyebrow, standing up straight. "I have no idea what you're talking about," the guy answered honestly. "I've said what I needed to; the rest is up to you... Ryuu, Yosaku, it's time to head back to the ship," the swordsman added after a brief pause, confidently walking in a direction he had chosen at random.
"RORONOA ZORO!!! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!!" Smoker bellowed.
"Uh... are we just going to leave him like that?" Johnny glanced at the furious Smoker.
"And what do you plan to do with him?" Zoro asked, stopping and turning to face the guy, ignoring the captain's shouts.
"How about knocking him out?!" Yosaku immediately suggested with great enthusiasm.
"Why?"
"What do you mean, why? So he won't be freed and chase after us!" Johnny explained. "Just look at him, he's about to lose it," he gestured towards Smoker.
"And if he does chase us, so what?" Zoro asked, once again ignoring the captain's screams.
"But he's a Logia!"
"So what if he's a Logia?"
"..."
When he wanted to, Zoro could shut down his interlocutors just as well as Luffy, sometimes even better, thanks to his reputation.
"We're heading to the ship," the swordsman repeated. "And Yosaku, ditch the stick."
"First of all, it's not a stick, it's a jitte, and second, it's my trophy!"
"Your choice, but don't say I didn't warn you later."
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(the Loguetown arc is finished in there, and next one will start soon explaining part of Luffy's past...)