Bill nodded slowly and walked up the steps to find the door to Smoker's office slightly ajar. He took hold of the handle, which seemed tiny in his hands, and knocked.
"Come in..." a voice rang out, and as Bill entered the room he saw the man to whom it belonged.
Smoker looked thin, almost as if he hadn't eaten for a month.
There were papers and books scattered all over his office, and Bill looked down to see one titled "Mind and Body" and another titled "Indomitable Will."
Slowly walking towards the table, Bill sat down on the chair opposite the sullen captain, noticing a book next to him titled "Haki and Its Uses."
Seeing that Smoker didn't seem to be going to start first, Bill suggested:
- Everything is fine?
Smoker looked around the room first, then returned his gaze to Bill and said,
- Yes, everything is just great. Wonderful.
Bill: - Well, that's good. I came to pick up Nelson Royale, but I also have a favor to ask of you that I was hoping you could help with.
Without blinking an eye, Smoker looked at Bill and replied:
- And what is this request, "Black Stone"?
This was the first time Bill had been called by his new nickname. He didn't particularly like it, but it could have been worse.
"I was hoping to borrow your schooner for a few weeks and also return the Eternal Pousse to the Island of Watches.
Leaning forward a little, Smoker took out a cigar and, taking a breath, it was as if life had returned to him.
- Do you want to borrow a schooner? I don't have a schooner, but they can provide you with a caravel, which is even better.
But I have a favor to ask of you, and if you help me, you can take the ship as a token of gratitude.
Then, taking a deep drag on his cigar, Smoker began to light a second one from the first.
When he finished, he leaned back, and despite the life in his eyes, Bill could see the hollowness of his cheeks.
- Tell me how you use Haki, Black Stone.
Hearing this, Bill immediately understood everything and involuntarily frowned.
"How do I use my Haki?" Bill shrugged, keeping a slight grimace on his face.
His grimace wasn't due to irritation with Smoker, but because he couldn't quite put it into words.
It was like trying to explain the color blue to a blind person. Descriptive language was a hurdle, and it seemed like a long time to Bill as he thought about it.
"Hmmm..." Bill began to tap his finger on Smoker's desk as he waited, lost in thought.
Finally, Bill shrugged and said:
— I can't think of a way to explain it.
Seeing that this answer did not satisfy the captain, Bill tried to approach the issue from a different angle.
- Okay, look, use your ability.
As he said this, Smoker pointed his finger upwards and, activating his ability, his finger became like a pipe.
When Smoker did this, Bill's eyes turned black and he suddenly saw the finger in two different dimensions.
The first way was the normal view through his physical eyes. He saw Smoker, the table, the room around them, and the raised finger that turned into a smokestack.
The second way was through his mind's eye. He saw chaotic waves of energy coming from a being that was in the same space as Smoker. This being was much less detailed than the one Bill had fought during the battle with Revolutionary Dragon, and was proportionally weaker.
He didn't know why it seemed weaker, maybe it was the devils themselves, but whatever the case, Bill focused his gaze on the creature that gave Smoker his strength and ordered it to stop.
Involuntarily, Bill said, "No." And then, without any resistance, the devil disappeared and reality reasserted itself.
As the devil disappeared, Smoker's finger stopped emitting smoke, and almost at the same moment the smoke disappeared, Smoker jumped back from his desk with a scream, knocking his chair against the wall behind him.
- What?! What did you do to me?! What the hell did you do to me?!
Bill knew that Devil Fruit users placed a disproportionate amount of importance on their abilities. Telling someone that their ability was weak was the same as calling them worthless.
So, even though Bill didn't feel threatened by Smoker's anger, he understood where it was coming from and raised his hands to calm him down.
"Don't worry, it's all right," he said as his eyes returned to their normal blue hue, then slowly lowering his palms, he continued, "Your ability is still with you, Captain. I just suppressed it. It's temporary."
"You... How?!" Smoker said, now calmer, but Bill could see the man was starting to sweat, and he wondered for a moment if it was because Smoker had a nature system ability, or if any ability user would feel the same anxiety.
Bill: - That's what I wanted to point out. Just calm down and sit down.
Smoker tried not to tremble as he listened to Bill, but he couldn't help it - his hands were shaking as he picked up the chair and sat down again, his cigars no longer in his mouth