Chapter 150: The Trial Tower Officially Opens!
In Smoker's mind, the details of the reward began to form.
Poison Mastery—
Originating from a group of brutal street fighters who wielded sharp weapons and saw anything within reach as potential tools, embracing any means necessary to win.
They pursued victory above all else, straying far from traditional martial techniques.
Poison needles, venomous barbs—
even debris on the ground could be turned into a deadly weapon.
"What a bunch of nasty bastards—just like pirates!"
Smoker sneered internally as the knowledge settled into his mind.
This fighting style went completely against his principles.
But then…
He raised his hand. A faint purple mist emerged. When he lightly touched a pirate restrained by chains—
Zzzzt—a sizzling corrosive sound echoed.
A potent toxin.
It had fused directly into his body?
As Poison Mastery leveled up, his bloodstream, muscles, even bones would gradually be imbued with venom.
Every attack would carry intense poisoning effects.
"…Huh."
Still biting down on his cigar, Smoker's eyes flickered with realization.
He tried spreading a weak dose of the poison into his surroundings—
In an instant,
the white smoke swirling around him took on a faint purple hue.
"You mean it can merge with my Devil Fruit?"
His eyes widened—he almost choked on his cigar and started coughing.
Until now,
even though his Smoke-Smoke Fruit was Logia-type, compared to Marine Admirals, its attack range and destructive power were laughable.
Sure, part of it came down to fruit mastery,
but the nature of the fruit mattered too.
The Ice-Ice Fruit, the Magma Fruit, the Light-Light Fruit—
All could cause large-scale destruction, but the Smoke Fruit's default offensive power was pitiful.
But poison—
Poison could patch this shortcoming.
He imagined clouds of toxic fog covering the battlefield,
pirates collapsing one by one, writhing in pain…
Smoker quickly pushed that thought aside and muttered,
"There's no such thing as a good or bad power.
As long as it catches pirates and protects civilians—even poison is fine."
Contract Quest (2/5)
Objective: Submit 5 million Berries
Reward: Poison Mastery (50 skill exp, 50 proficiency)
Back on the Marine ship, he threw the Black Raven captain at his subordinates and said,
"Bring me five million Berries. I'll pay it back when we return to Loguetown."
He hadn't brought much cash on this recon mission,
but every Marine ship kept emergency funds on board.
No one objected.
Their eccentric colonel rarely followed rules anyway.
Once the money was brought out—
Quest Complete. Reward Granted.
The purple mist around Smoker thickened visibly.
New quest: Submit a named blade.
Cough
Smoker couldn't help glancing at the sword at Tashigi's hip. He resisted the urge to borrow it.
Forget it. Once they returned to Loguetown, he'd visit a sword shop and try his luck.
...
Seagulls scattered across the sky.
Not just gulls—
even some panting albatrosses arrived, as if flying from far away.
These were the trained birds of Morgan,
Emperor of the Underworld and president of the World Economy News Paper.
Capable of crossing oceans, they were experts at delivering breaking news.
The news of a mysterious "projection fruit user" in East Blue had already reached headquarters.
Morgan wouldn't miss such a scoop.
He deployed all available Den Den Mushi and prepared for a global live broadcast.
"Mihawk is there too?"
"And that… is Smoker, the rising star of the Marines!"
Through his Den Den Mushi, Morgan scanned the crowd, eager to capture world-shaking news.
He rode atop a gargantuan albatross, racing toward East Blue.
At that moment—
the bottom floor of the black tower suddenly lit up.
Until now, no device had been able to see inside.
But the obsidian exterior began to turn transparent,
revealing the inside of the lowest level to all observers.
Corrupted Creatures.
Countless monsters from the Soul-Harvesting Palace packed the bottom floor.
The tower's base was as large as a major island.
Ruins and rubble…
Specters of the afterlife…
Dark pagodas with sweeping eaves…
Paper money raining from above…
Wailing shadows floating midair…
The mere sight chilled the bones of everyone present.
"Is this hell?"
"Those are demons… the tower's full of demons! It's a Tower of Hell!"
Even the most ruthless pirates began to tremble.
In the Pirate World, ghost stories and the undead were known—
Moria's island fortress was built on legends of death.
But most took such tales lightly.
What pirate didn't have blood on their hands?
The more they killed, the less they believed in justice or karma.
But now—
this obsidian tower had laid bare humanity's deepest fear of death, in full view of the world.
"Don't be afraid!
Those demons are just scary-looking monsters.
We just have to kill them!"
Arlong, at first shaken, quickly steeled himself and growled.
"The Contract Fruit that gives us power…
The tower imprisoning evil spirits…
This event covering all of East Blue…
Just who are you?"
Smoker's hand trembled as he puffed his cigar, anxious to learn who was behind it all.
He wasn't the only one.
Everyone watching—whether from the crowd, through Den Den Mushi, in Marine HQ, the Underworld, the pirate empires, or royal palaces—
had their eyes fixed on the tower.
They all shared the same thought:
Who is this man, and what is he planning?
...
"Welcome, everyone—
to the Pirate World's first event: Battle for the Sea King!"
At the center of it all—
at the top of the pitch-black tower—
Fang Yi appeared, dressed in Pirate World-style aristocratic attire, as if he belonged.
"There he is!"
Everyone held their breath.
Pirates. Marines. Everyone stared at the man atop the tower.
In just a few days,
he had drawn together the entire East Blue's naval forces and pirate crews.
The tension had reached a boiling point.
And the one responsible for it all—
was now standing before them.
What does he want?
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