Chapter 149: Smoker: Poison?
"Master, there are nearly five thousand people who either possess a Contract Fruit or have completed their contract and become official players."
Aboard the merchant vessel dubbed the Samsara Game,
Afu was monitoring the pirates gathering around the Trial Tower. She hadn't expected the number to be this overwhelming.
And more importantly, the total source energy these individuals held slightly surpassed that of the ninja world at its peak.
"The Pirate World is never short of people chasing power."
Fang Yi could sense it too.
During his stay at the Baratie restaurant, hundreds of individuals had already completed their contracts and purchased their fate-bound items from the Game House.
Among them, Buggy and Luffy had consumed the most source.
Especially Buggy.
In true pirate fashion—unreliable and shameless—he'd tried to skip out on the bill and signed a debt of 50,000 reward points without hesitation.
But the fate items he got were no joke:
The core class item for Gunner, Multi-Magazine, which allows storage of special explosive rounds, speeding up reloading and increasing power.
A Lv.15 purple-grade weapon, the Azure Dragon Rifle, enhancing fire rate and granting +15 Intelligence.
The Aerial Shot skill that allows for short bursts of air time, and Frost Rounds, adding ice-elemental damage to bullets.
Right now, Buggy could even pass as a barely-qualified Gunner from Sky Island.
Fang Yi mused,
"Burning that much source... Buggy's luck is bound to go down, isn't it?"
Just like Naruto in the ninja world,
Buggy's incredible luck came from the Pirate World's source energy. Once that energy was drained, it was hard to say whether he could keep pulling miracles and aim for a Yonko seat.
As for the rest of the new players, all of them had signed source debt contracts.
They were more than willing to trade invisible potential for tangible power.
The power level of East Blue's pirates had suddenly leapt up.
Even when compared to nations on the first half of the Grand Line, they were now at the level of captain-class protectors.
The downside—
Most of these new players were still too low-level. Many had to store their powerful gear in their inventory until they leveled up enough to use it.
"Time to begin the event."
Fang Yi stood and vanished from the ship cabin.
...
East Blue – Trial Tower Zone
The towering black spire radiated an aura of solemn majesty, warding off any life that approached.
The Marines had sent carrier seagulls to scout,
but the moment they approached the tower, they vanished as if crashing into clear water—only to reappear beyond the tower's boundary.
Around the tower—
"The Black Raven Pirates? I didn't expect to run into you here. You smashed my mast last time, didn't you?"
"You'll pay! Burning Blade Technique!"
"Five-Finger Misty Palm!"
Two pirate ships erupted into chaos.
Both captains were Contract Holders, using Samsara-powered skills in a violent duel.
These kinds of clashes were increasingly common.
The vastness of East Blue meant pirates rarely crossed paths.
But now, this mysterious event had drawn in every ambitious pirate, and though most were holding back, bitter rivals couldn't help but come to blows.
...
Aboard a Marine Warship
Their vessel kept a wide berth—no pirate dared get close.
Everyone knew the name of the "White Hunter."
"His hands are on fire? And he fights with his weapon like that?"
Tashigi's eyes widened.
The two pirate captains had fallen into the sea, but their powers still worked fine—proving they weren't Devil Fruit users.
Could this be the power granted by Contract Fruits?
Smoker puffed on his cigar, smoke curling around him.
"What did HQ say?"
Normally, he'd never allow pirates to parade around like this right in front of him.
But now, with thousands of pirate crews gathered due to this tower and its mysterious event...
Even if few had bounties over 10 million, there were just too many of them.
With so many mid-tier pirates, even Loguetown's Marines had to tread carefully.
One wrong move and they'd poke a hornet's nest.
Tashigi adjusted her glasses and reported,
"Marine HQ insists that we send a unit to participate in the game event. They want it recorded via Den Den Mushi."
"They haven't identified any Projection Fruit users who could pull this off. They're still discussing how to proceed."
"Discussing?"
Smoker sneered, annoyed. "A mysterious event draws thousands of bloodthirsty pirates, and they want to send Marines in to play games? That's a suicide mission."
Several Marine warships were armed with Vegapunk's latest tech—powerful enough to easily destroy pirate sailboats.
That's the only reason pirates weren't launching full assaults despite their numbers.
But if Smoker really did follow orders and sent Marines into the tower when the event began...
He couldn't guarantee they wouldn't be hunted down like dogs.
After thinking for a moment, he said,
"Tashigi. Bring me a Contract Fruit."
Loguetown's Marines had confiscated several fruits—but none had dared to activate one.
Tashigi handed it over, then suddenly gasped,
"Wait—Colonel Smoker! Are you planning to enter the tower yourself?!"
She knew full well that the situation was stacked against the Marines.
She'd been planning to talk him out of it—no need for unnecessary sacrifice.
But now he was volunteering?
"This event gathered thousands of pirates," Smoker said.
"Whoever's behind this is dangerous. Today it's just remote Orange Town…"
"But what if next time, the tower shows up in Loguetown? Or even Marine HQ?"
He couldn't ignore a threat like that.
Smoker took a bite of the fruit—
and a light screen instantly appeared before his eyes.
[Contract Quest (1/5)]
Objective: Defeat the captain of the Black Raven Pirates.
Reward: Poison Mastery Lv.1 (White)
"Poison?"
Smoker raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.
He knew these rewards varied—some enhanced the body, others gave powerful armor, and some granted skills like those the dueling pirate captains had used earlier.
But in his mind,
aside from the Warden of Impel Down with the Venom-Venom Fruit, poison was a low-tier, dirty trick used by scumbag pirates.
"Looks like I got a lousy draw. Whatever. I'll treat it as a ticket into the tower."
He wasn't excited by the reward. He casually drew his jitte.
White Smoke Launcher!
His massive frame turned to smoke,
and the explosive burst launched him straight into the skirmish between the two pirate crews.
White Fang!
The smoke coalesced into the shape of a savage wolf's maw,
biting down on the unsuspecting Black Raven captain.
Though the pirate had completed two contract quests and grown stronger,
he was still just a two-million-berry small fry—not nearly enough to face Smoker.
The gap was too great.
[Quest Complete. Reward Granted]
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