Smoker


 * The subject of this article is sometimes called "Chaser".

Smoker the 'White Hunter' (白猟のスモーカー) is a Marine commodore. He was first introduced in Loguetown, where he made it his mission to capture Monkey D. Luffy. He was initially introduced as a captain (大佐) in his first appearance. As the series progressed, he was promoted to the rank of commodore (准将) due to the events in Alabasta.

Appearance
Smoker is a muscular white (gray in the anime) 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 neck, wrists and hem. Many cigars are strapped to the jacket which has the kanji for "justice" (正義) written on the back of it. He used to carry a Seastone-tipped jutte as his weapon, until it was destroyed during the Battle of Marineford by Boa Hancock. He also wears brown leather gloves, blue jeans with a brown belt and large military issue brown leather boots. The fact that he also rides a custom made motorbike gives off the impression of a delinquent marine.

In the manga, his hair has a white tone and the fur on his coat was initially blue, later changed to dark green, and ultimately modified to follow the anime, albeit with a much lighter green tone, and with green zips as well.

During his stay on an unknown island of the Grand Line, he was seen without his jacket, that he had a subordinate to carry for him. During this time, he was seen keeping his jutte strapped to his back via a series of belts. A scar was visible on the right side of his chest.

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 Alabasta Incident. He let Luffy go after he found out that Zoro was ordered by Luffy to save him from drowning; however, he quickly lost his temper after Luffy made a stupid remark. He warned Luffy that as a Marine, next time, he would have tried and capture him. Smoker also didn't like taking credit in Alabasta for the Straw Hats' work in defeating Crocodile, telling the World Government to eat shit when they attempted to reward him for it. On the other hand, Smoker is dedicated to the pursuit of global justice against criminals and pirates and will not forget those that forsake the law and manage to escape his grasp, though he appears to share Aokiji's and Garp's "moral justice" and recognizes that not all Marines are as noble as their image suggests, nor should all allies be trusted blindly.

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 unexpectedly interrupts them and throws them through several walls, Smoker, as soon as he sees Luffy, barely acknowledges Ace. He merely shoves him into the ground and prepares to go after Luffy, who is his primary target.

It seems Smoker doesn't like people who make too much noise around him, as he claims that it breaks his focus. Smoker also does not trust the Shichibukai as he sees them as nothing more than pirates. In fact, he has been betrayed by Shichibukai twice so far in the series. His favored weapon is a sea-stone tipped jutte.

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.

Marines
Smoker is not afraid to openly challenge the higher ranking echelons within the Marines or World Government, going as far as to use a brutal insult in an attempt to reject a promotion that he did not want.

Hina
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 addresses Hina by her name alone.

Tashigi
He has a close relationship with his subordinate Tashigi. However, he appears to act very harshly to her mistakes, such as confusing another soldier for Smoker due to her not wearing her glasses. Despite this, he's shown that he trusts her judgement, as seen when he tells her to follow her own sense of justice when she goes to Alabasta.

Aokiji
Smoker also seems to be on good terms with Aokiji, as he requested the admiral to deliver a message to Luffy, even though Aokiji did not in the end. Smoker also requested Aokiji to negotiate with Sengoku for a transfer to the more dangerous G-5 station in the New World.

Monkey D. Luffy
He has a strong desire to capture Luffy dating back to when Luffy was about to be executed by Buggy in Loguetown. Smoker saw the smile Luffy gave off to mirror that of Gol D. 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. Ever since then, Smoker has been relentless in trying to catch up to Luffy and capture him. Even after Luffy ordered Zoro to save Smoker from drowning after escaping the Rainbase Hideout, Smoker still had the agenda to someday capture 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.

Portgas D. Ace
He also made an enemy of Ace during the Alabasta 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.

Shichibukai
Even though the Shichibukai have allied with the World Government, Smoker, 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, as on top of his sheer strength, his Logia Devil Fruit powers set him apart from most Marines. In Loguetown, he was on the verge of capturing Luffy during their first encounter, and would have succeeded had it not been for Luffy's father, Monkey D. Dragon. After the Enies Lobby events, he was shown unsatisfied in capturing a pirate with a bounty of 50,000,000. When Luffy meets him again in Marineford, he comments that Smoker has gotten far stronger before being pinned to the ground. Smoker's overall strength has granted him enough confidence to ask for a reassignment to a station in the highly fearsome New World.

He is one of the few Marines that has ever beaten Luffy, the others being the 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. As evident of his strong build, Smoker possesses incredible physical strength: during their confrontation in Loguetown, he was able to hold down Luffy with him being unable to retaliate, a noteworthy feat, considering Luffy's own inhuman physical power. He also has great endurance and resistance, as he was able to stand back up with no visible damage and without effort after receiving a kick from Boa Hancock, whose attacks are strong enough to shatter stone and Pacifistas armor (though Hancock's kick was primarily to get him off Luffy).

Smoker has both excellent hearing and memory, as shown during the Alabasta arc when 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". He has also shown great strategic capabilities, as he was able to plan in mere minutes the efficient assault on the pirates in the plaza during Buggy's attempt to kill Luffy.

Smoker is aware of the existence of Haki, though his exact knowledge in that area is unclear. So far, it seems unlikely that he could use it himself, as he required his jutte to nullify opposing Devil Fruit powers.

Devil Fruit
Smoker has eaten the Moku Moku no Mi, a Logia type Devil Fruit which allows him to create, control and become smoke. He can manipulate the smoke's density to make it thick or thin, allowing him to hold and constrict others within it. Like most Logia users, he can fly by turning his lower body into smoke and propelling himself like a rocket.

At this point, he doesn't appear to have any exploitable weakness (aside from the standard Devil Fruit weaknesses), due to his ability to be intangible.

With his current mastery over his powers, the only reliable way to injure Smoker is through the use of Haki, as Hancock did during their short battle, or through the standard Devil Fruit weaknesses.

Using his smoke powers, Smoker can power up the engines of his motorbike, the Billower Bike, for on-land and presumably water transportation.

Weapons
Smoker's main weapon is a large jutte that is quite long and is 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.

Since only the tip is seastone, it does not affect Smoker himself. He keeps the tip hanging in the air at all times, and his thick clothing provides further protection. When he turns into smoke, the weapon does not turn into smoke with him because of the seastone. Instead, he carries it with him while in smoke form.



Smoker seems to be very proficient in wielding the jutte, taking enemies by surprise and using the weapon to deliver strong blunt attacks.

The jutte was broken in half when Boa Hancock kicked it, which led it to crumble. It is unknown if he had it repaired, got a replacement or ceased using one after the two years.

Its hilt is white in the manga, but red in the anime. Also, in the manga and in its related merchandise and products, it seems to be much longer than in the anime, almost reaching down to Smoker's feet.

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.

Smoker was also present at Loguetown during Gol D. Roger's death.

Mission at Loguetown
Some time prior to the current storyline, Smoker managed to become Marine Captain (大佐, Taisa), and was charged with the protection of Loguetown, the city in which the Pirate King was born, and then executed. Some citizens as well as some of his subordinates were apparently afraid of him, most likely because of his smoke powers, his imposing appearance and his sharp manners; the captain however seemed to care deeply for the inhabitants of the city. This is seen when he did not get angry when a little girl accidentally bumped into him, spilling her ice cream on one of his pant legs. He instead gave the girl money to buy a bigger ice cream.



When Buggy was preparing Luffy's execution, he reached the plaza with his men, and when the execution-platform was destroyed by a lightning strike, he captured Buggy and his crew with his smoke powers. He then chased after Luffy on his Billower Bike and was able to reach him near the town's entrance. There he rapidly dispatched Sanji and then got into a small duel with the Straw Hat captain. Luffy was clearly at a disadvantage, and the only reason he and his crew were able to get away is because of the mysterious "Revolutionary" Dragon (Luffy's father) who appeared to cause a freak storm.

Nevertheless, Smoker 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, he believes there is something special about him, since he was smiling and seemed happy (just as Gol D. 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.

War in Alabasta
Smoker tracked Luffy all the way to Alabasta, 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.



He later continues his chase with the Straw Hats, but ends up getting caught with them in a cage trap set up by Crocodile. When Sanji comes he helps find Mr. 3 who frees them. Just when everybody is about to drown Luffy tells Zoro to save Smoker even though he is an enemy. Once out of the trap, Smoker tells Luffy to go to Alubarna, but next time they meet, they will battle.

After the Alabasta 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.

A message to Aokiji
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.

After Enies Lobby
After the Enies Lobby incident Smoker was seen on an island in the Grand Line, capturing an unnamed pirate with a bounty of 50,000,000. Both he and Tashigi had gotten promoted since they were last seen - he was promoted to Commodore.

He told Tashigi that in order to go on chasing the Straw Hat Pirates they needed better rank: he explained that they would go to New World to crush them. He also had on his chest a scar that did not exist during the Alabasta Arc.

War Against Whitebeard
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 was 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 had finally made Smoker understand why the Leader of the Revolutionaries saved the Straw Hat pirate in Loguetown.



Later, Smoker decided to confront Luffy. Luffy stood up, and tried to defeat him with a Jet Gatling Gun. Smoker just commented that he was still unable to strike him despite his growth and held Luffy down with his jutte. Boa Hancock, in anger, intervened and threatened him, ignoring his query as to whether or not she intended to abandon her title as a Shichibukai. Smoker was curious as to how Hancock hit him when he was not solid and then came to the conclusion it was due to the Kuja Haki. He attempted to chase after Luffy, but was barred by Hancock who broke his jutte and ignored his warnings of what her actions could mean.

Smoker and Tashigi are later seen retreating to the plaza as Sengoku was about to execute the final stages of his plan. After the death of Portgas D. Ace, he is seen condemning the marines still fighting against the pirates as their objective had been completed. After the arrival of Shanks, Smoker is seen standing down with the other marines.

After the War


After the war, he is seen in Aokiji's office, talking with him and asking about his reassignment to the G-5 Marine base in the New World, while brushing off the recent news of Luffy infiltrating Marineford to ring the Ox Bell 16 times.

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 Loguetown. However, in the manga, Smoker's comments on Roger were merely just a passing comment and only Roger's face is seen. In the manga, his hair color is pure white, as opposed to his greenish-grey color in the anime. The fur on his jacket was initially blue, but was later changed to green to follow the anime.

Also, as of episode 488, Smoker is seen using his miraculously-repaired jutte, even though Hancock had destroyed it earlier in the anime.

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 sub-arachnoid 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 14, a Japanese holiday called White Day (coinciding with his smoke powers, and "white" theme to his attack names).
 * Smoker is the first Logia-type Devil Fruit user to be introduced in the series.
 * One of his hobbies appears to be rock balancing.

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