Smoker


 * The subject of this article is sometimes called Chaser.

Smoker (スモーカー, Sumōkā) is a character who has been chasing Monkey D. Luffy throughout the series. His name is a bit of a pun corresponding to his extreme form of smoking and his Devil Fruit powers. He was initially introduced as a captain (大佐, Taisa) in his first appearance. As the story progressed, his rank was promoted to Commodore (准将, Junshō) due to events in Arabasta. He is sometimes refered as the Loguetown arc's main antagonist.

Appearance
Smoker is a muscular bluish-grey haired man, who carries the very distinct trait of always being seen smoking two cigars at once. He wears a large thick white and blue specialist Marine jacket which he keeps open with greenish fur lining the neck, wrists and hem. Many cigars are strapped to the jacket which has the kanji for '"justice'" (正義, Seigi) written on the back of it. He carries a Seastone tipped jutte as his weapon. He also wears brown leather gloves, blue jeans with a brown belt and large military issue brown leather boots.

Personality
Smoker is a tough Marine, who when first introduced, was trying to track down Luffy in Loguetown. Unlike many other Marines in One Piece, Smoker does not follow the rule of Absolute Justice and follows his own brand of justice, which he later preaches to Tashigi. Smoker's view on justice also allows the Straw Hats to remain free even being pirates during the Arabasta arc. He warned Luffy that as a Marine, next time, he will have to try and capture him. Smoker also didn't like taking credit in Arabasta for the Straw Hats' work in defeating Crocodile, telling the World Government to "eat shit" when they attempted to reward him for it. He also tends to hold grudges toward pirates who have escaped him. For example, he prepares to capture Ace and is prepared for a big fight. However, after Luffy has thrown him through several walls, Smoker barely acknowledges Ace. He merely shoves him into the ground and prepares to go after Luffy, who is his primary target.

Despite his stern, businesslike manner, he does seem to have a soft side. In Loguetown, when a little girl bumped into him and dropped her ice cream on his trousers, he takes it in good heart. He even gives her money to buy a new cone. He also shows respect and even protective kindness to his subordinate, Tashigi. Smoker also let Luffy go after he found out that Zoro was ordered by Luffy to save Smoker from drowning, however he soon loses his temper with Luffy after he says a stupid remark soon after this.

It seems Smoker doesn't like people who make too much noise around him, as he claims that it "breaks his flow".

Lastly, he does not trust the Shichibukai as he sees them as nothing more than pirates.

Marines
He has close ties with Hina as a personal friend due their days of training. Because they have known each other for a long time, Hina calls him Smoker-kun while Smoker adresses Hina by her name alone.

He has a close relationship with his subordinate Tashigi. However, he appears to act very harshly to her mistakes, such as confusing another soldier to Smoker due to her not wearing her glasses.

He is not afraid to openly challenge the higher ranking generals within the Marines or World Government.

Enemies
He has a strong hatred for Luffy dating back to when Luffy managed to narrowly escape him at Loguetown. Ever since then, Smoker has been relentless in trying to capture Luffy. Even after Luffy ordered Zoro to save Smoker from drowning after escaping the Rainbase Hideout, Smoker still had the agenda to someday capturing Luffy only repaying him by letting him go that one time. Smoker is even willing to go as far as to the New World to capture Luffy. Smoker is Luffy's longest running Marine foe to date. When Luffy was about to be executed by Buggy, Smoker saw the laugh Luffy gave off to mirror that of Gold Roger's twenty-two years ago, and considered Luffy to be a potential danger to the world. Smoker has always wondered why Dragon would save Luffy in Loguetown, until Sengoku made it public that Dragon is Luffy's father.

He also made an enemy of Ace during the Arabasta Arc while Smoker was trying to capture Luffy. Smoker simply states that he couldn't let a pirate such as Ace go so easily. But after Ace helped Luffy escape from Smoker, it is possible that Smoker may have held a grudge against Ace for that.

Even though the Shichibukai have allied with the World Government, Smoker, just like Sengoku and Kizaru, thinks they are nothing but pirates and cannot be trusted. Indeed, Smoker made an enemy of Crocodile after seeing Operation Utopia, and of Boa Hancock after she defended Luffy.

Abilities and Powers
Smoker is quite a formidable fighter, and his fighting abilities are well beyond that of a normal Commodore. He was on the verge of capturing Luffy on their first encounter in Loguetown, had it not been for Luffy's father Monkey D. Dragon. During the Arabasta arc, he was able to hold his own against Ace, the second division commander of Whitebeard. And after the Enies Lobby events, he did not find any satisfaction in capturing a pirate with a bounty of 50,000,000. When Luffy meets him in Marineford he comments that Smoker has gotten far stronger before being pinned to the ground.

He is one of the few marines that has ever beaten Luffy, the others being two high-ranking admirals Aokiji and Kizaru as well as the brutish Sentomaru. As a result, Luffy resorts to running away from Smoker if he ever sees him.

It is also implied that Smoker has both excellent hearing and memory, as shown during the Arabasta arc where he tells Sanji to attack the third Bananawani that entered the room, since "That growl just now was the same as the one who ate the key." Smoker also appears to be extremly fast, when he first met Luffy he hit him and sent him flying and was able to get behind Luffy while still being sent flying and hit him back. This speed is compairable with the technique Soru

Devil Fruit


Smoker has eaten the Moku Moku no Mi Devil Fruit. The Fruit allows him to control any smoke around him. He can also change part or all of his body into smoke at will, like other Logia-type Devil Fruit powers. He can also manipulate the smoke to make it soft or hard, allowing him to hold and constrict others within it.

At this point, he doesn't appear to have any exploitable weakness, due to his ability to be intangible. However, in the beginning, Smoker has yet to master his Devil Fruit powers, as when he was caught off guard, Luffy sent him flying across a restaurant. However, during the fight in Marineford, when Smoker was diverting his attention to Luffy's arrival and a pirate slashed him, the blade bypassed his smoke body. This indicates that, over time, Smoker has trained his abilities to activate by reflexes, like Crocodile did.

Using his smoke powers, Smoker can power up the engines of his motorbike, the Blower Bike, for in-land transportation.

Weapons


He also wields a large jutte tipped with Seastone, a material that affects Devil Fruit users in a similar way to the sea (a person who consumes a Devil Fruit becomes weak and unable to move his or her body in the water, and Seastone is, in Smoker's own words, "a solidified form of the sea"), which he uses to subdue criminal Devil Fruit users.

His thick clothes are what allow him to carry around his Seastone-tipped weapon, along with the fact that he hangs it off his back so that the tip never comes in contact with him.

When he turns into smoke, the weapon does not turn into smoke with him because of the Seastone. Instead he carries it with smoke while in smoke form.

Early Life
Very little has been said about Smoker's past; what is known is that he joined the Marines at the same time as Hina. However, it appears that Hina has had to help Smoker before in situations where he was almost kicked out of the Marines. .

Loguetown Arc
Smoker chased Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates across the Grand Line, after Luffy escaped from him in Loguetown. While trying to capture Luffy, they got into a small duel, where Luffy was clearly at a disadvantage. The only reason Luffy and the crew were able to get away is because of the mysterious "Revolutionary," Dragon, Luffy's father, who appeared to cause a freak storm. Nevertheless, he set out after Luffy (along with his subordinate, Tashigi), abandoning his post in Loguetown. From witnessing Luffy's near-execution at the hands of Buggy the Clown, he believes there is something special about him, since he was smiling and seemed happy (just as Gold Roger had) even though he was about to die. Because he is convinced of Luffy's uniqueness, Smoker is determined to see that the "Straw-Hat Pirate" faces justice.

Arabasta Arc
Smoker tracked Luffy all the way to Arabasta, where he met the second pirate to ever escape his clutches: Portgas D. Ace, Luffy's older brother. He met Ace in a small cafe in Nanohana. Ace has the Mera Mera no Mi Logia type Devil Fruit, and when matched against Smoker's smoke abilities, the two men fought to a draw, though this is due more to the fact that their powers have no real effect on the other as they naturally go hand in hand, then them being of equal strength.

After the Arabasta arc, and the fall of Baroque Works, the Marines officially declared Smoker as the one who defeated Crocodile, one of the Shichibukai. This was done to cover up the fact that Crocodile had, in fact, been defeated by a pirate. Smoker, however, angrily and in not so polite terms, refused both the medals and promotions the Marines offered him and Tashigi. He even openly admitted that it was Luffy and his crew that truly defeated Crocodile and Baroque Works, but they refused to listen to him.

Post Skypiea Arc
He later gave Admiral Aokiji a message for Luffy, which Aokiji forgot until after he had beaten Luffy. Aokiji claims that Smoker's message was too stupid to tell (Luffy wouldn't have heard it anyway as he was frozen at the time), but the actual message has yet to be heard.

Post-Enies Lobby
After the Enies Lobby incident he was seen on an island in the Grand Line, after capturing an unnamed pirate with a bounty of 50,000,000, where he told Tashigi that, in order to continue on, they needed rank; both he and Tashigi had gotten promoted since they were last seen despite Smoker's protests. Smoker was then ranked up to Commodore (准将, Junshō). He then went on to say that he was going to go to the New World to defeat the Straw Hat Pirates. Also, on his chest is now a scar that had not been there during the Arabasta Arc.

Current Events
When the execution of Portgas D. Ace was announced, Smoker reported to the summoning of the Marines to reinforce Marineford.

Three hours before Ace's execution, he was seen with Tashigi listening to Sengoku's speech about Ace's past.

He's stunned along with Tashigi to see Crocodile amongst the members of Luffy's newly-gathered expedition to save Ace.

Sengoku's revelation of Luffy being Dragon's son has Smoker finally realize just what happened in Loguetown, and most likely why it happened.

He then attacks Luffy. Luffy stood up, and tries to defeat him with a Jet Gatling Gun. Smoker just commented that he's still unable to strike him despite his growth and thus pins Luffy to the ground with his jutte. However, Boa Hancock then intervenes and angrily threatens Smoker, ignoring his query as to whether or not she intends to abandon her title as a Shichibukai. Smoker was curious how did Hancock hit him when he was not solid. Then Smoker came to a conclusion that it is due to Hancock's Kuja Haki.

He attempts to chase after Luffy, but is barred by Hancock who breaks his jutte and ignores his warnings of what her actions could mean. He and Tashigi later retreat to the plaza as Sengoku executes the final stages of his plan.

He is then seen again watching his fellow marines continue fighting a bloody battle with the pirates even after their objective is completed. Smoker thinks to himself that this isn't right.

Major Battles

 * Smoker Vs. Buggy, Alvida and Buggy Pirates
 * Smoker Vs. Monkey D. Luffy and Sanji (Interrupted by Monkey D. Dragon); Luffy fights Smoker by himself in Anime.
 * Smoker Vs. Portgas D. Ace
 * Smoker and Tashigi Vs. unnamed pirate with a bounty of 50,000,000 (not seen)
 * Smoker, Tashigi and other Marines Vs. Whitebeard Pirates
 * Smoker Vs. Monkey D. Luffy (Interrupted by Boa Hancock)
 * Smoker Vs. Boa Hancock

Anime Only

 * Smoker Vs. Galley
 * Smoker Vs. Monkey D. Luffy (Town Square; Loguetown)

Anime and Manga differences
In the anime, the subplot on Smoker's backstory he mentions about Gol D. Roger is expanded on in Logue Town. However, in the manga, Smoker's comment on Roger were merely just a passing comment and only Roger's face is seen.

Translation and Dub Issues
In the 4Kids version of the anime, Smoker's cigars are removed, and smoke comes out of his mouth due to the power of the Smoke-Smoke Fruit. Although his mouth is almost always opened a little where the cigars should be. Because of this, he is renamed 'Chaser'. However, Smoker in the English video games One Piece: Grand Battle and One Piece: Grand Adventure has his cigars strapped to his coat, despite the previous editing. Additionally, his power was changed from smoke to steam.

Another change made to Smoker in the 4Kids dub was removing the kanji for "justice" on the back of his jacket, which is also left in the video games.

Merchandise
Smoker has been the choice character in many forms of merchandise. He has been featured in the series of models Portrait of Pirates.

Trivia

 * In the Japanese anime, Smoker was originally voiced by Ginzo Matsuo. However, Matsuo died on 25 August 2001 of an acute subarachnoid hemorrhage. Subsequently, Mahito Oba (the voice of the Narrator) took over the role of Smoker, beginning with episode 94.
 * In the 4th Japanese Fan Poll, Smoker is ranked the 20th most popular character.
 * His birthday is March 14th, a Japanese holiday called White Day (coinciding with his smoke powers, and "white" theme to his attack names).
 * Smoker is the first Logia type user to appear in the series and the first Logia the Straw Hat Pirates fight.
 * Every time Smoker has Luffy cornered, someone always interferes (Dragon in Loguetown, Ace in Alabasta, Hancock in Marineford).
 * He is both first person, and first Marine, shown to defeat Luffy. As such, Luffy typically resorts to running away when confronted by Smoker.
 * He seems to share the same sort of relationship with Luffy as Tashigi does with Zoro, with both being referred to as "the only one they can't fight", albeit for different reasons.
 * His relationship with Luffy is somewhat analogous to Garp's past relationship with Gol D. Roger, chasing and cornering the two similar pirates on multiple occasions. Neither of them have shown to be successful.
 * He is the only known Marine possesing a Logia type without being an admiral
 * Though he is not affected by physical attacks, like other Logia users, Luffy was able to ram him (and Ace, who was right in the line of fire), when he used Gomu Gomu no Rocket to shoot himself into the restaurant, after they arrived in Arabasta. This is the only time Luffy has been able to hit Smoker.

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 * Tashigi
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