"Come, try the Barrier Fruit."
After Nojiko's pale face recovered slightly, Yun Lie patted her shoulder, his eyes full of anticipation.
"Alright." Nojiko took a deep breath and intertwined her slender fingers.
In an instant, a faintly glowing transparent barrier appeared out of nowhere, steadily separating her and Yun Lie into two spaces.
"Boom!" Yun Lie's muscles instantly tensed, and his fist, carrying a powerful gust of wind, heavily struck the barrier.
A violent wave of air spread out from the point of impact, causing the debris on the deck to rattle and clang.
However, the barrier remained intact, without a single crack, as if silently proclaiming its indestructibility.
"Nojiko, try to protect yourself completely, especially above your head."
Yun Lie narrowed his eyes slightly and continued to patiently guide her. Nojiko pursed her lips and began to try new operations.
At first, her movements were slightly stiff, and the barrier was intermittent and difficult to form in the air, but with continuous attempts, she gradually mastered the trick.
The sturdy barrier, like clay endowed with life, stretched and bent at her will under her control, finally completely enveloping her entire body into a crystal-clear sphere, with every blind spot on her head protected.
Subsequently, Yun Lie told Nojiko about the abilities Bartholomew had developed and his ideas for the Barrier Fruit.
For example, a barrier could not only protect oneself but also trap enemies inside and continuously shrink the space within the barrier, reducing the oxygen inside.
Another idea was to mold the barrier into a flying armored mini-giant, activating a Gundam mode, which Yun Lie called Susanoo.
Nojiko also took it seriously, as she had just eaten the Barrier Fruit and still had much to explore.
.......
Outside Marine Branch 16 in the East Blue, the atmosphere was tense.
Large numbers of heavily armed Marine soldiers surrounded the base, metal clashing with low whispers, and the air was filled with the tense smell of gunpowder.
"What are you doing? Do you want to rebel!?"
Colonel Nezumi, his face flushed, stormed out of the base, his shiny military boots heavily thudding on the ground with a 'thump'.
At this moment, the soldiers uniformly made way, and Smoker, hands in his pockets, walked out with steady steps.
"Nezumi, congratulations, the truth is out!"
Smoker sneered, throwing a thick stack of documents onto Colonel Nezumi's face, the papers scattering on the ground with a rustling sound.
"Impossible! This is fake! Someone is framing me!"
Colonel Nezumi frantically knelt down to pick up the documents, quickly scanning the dense evidence on them, his face instantly turning pale, his voice trembling but still stubbornly denying it.
"You know whether it's true or false. The headquarters' order has been given. Surrender obediently!"
Smoker's eyes were cold as knives, no longer wasting words. He gripped his Sea Stone Jitte and pressed it towards Colonel Nezumi, the metal grinding sound exceptionally harsh.
"You forced me! Brothers, kill them!"
Seeing no way out, Colonel Nezumi suddenly drew his military knife, barely parrying the Jitte's attack, and turned to desperately order the soldiers behind him.
The soldiers looked at each other, hesitation on their faces.
"You were all involved in what happened these past years. If I'm finished, you won't have it easy either! Why not rebel with me and become pirates!"
Colonel Nezumi threatened with bloodshot eyes. These words swayed many soldiers, who gripped their weapons and slowly surrounded them.
"Very good, you're still so stubborn. You all step back, I'll take care of them alone!"
Smoker laughed in anger, waving his hand to make the soldiers behind him retreat.
"Arrogant! Just you alone? Go!"
Colonel Nezumi shrieked in shock and anger. He didn't think Smoker, who was also a Marine Colonel like him, could be much stronger than him.
A soldier's military knife, gleaming with cold light, slashed towards Smoker, but it passed directly through his body, only stirring up a faint puff of smoke, accompanied by a soft hiss.
"Not good! He's a Devil Fruit user!" Colonel Nezumi's face suddenly changed, his pupils rapidly constricting. He turned and frantically fled towards the direction with fewer people.
"Trying to run now? Too late!"
Smoker sneered, a large amount of white smoke surging from his body, like an enraged beast.
Instantly, the soldier who had just slashed him was tightly bound by the white smoke, unable to move.
"White Snake!" Smoker's arm transformed into a nimble smoke python, drawing a white arc in the air, precisely coiling around Colonel Nezumi's ankle.
Accompanied by a shrill scream, Colonel Nezumi fell heavily to the ground, kicking up a large cloud of dust, and rolled several times on the ground in a disheveled manner.
Colonel Nezumi struggled in terror, frantically clawing at the ground with his hands, trying to break free from the omnipresent smoke serpent.
However, Smoker's ability was not something he could easily break free from. The smoke serpent tightened more and more, making his ankle ache.
"Let go of me! Let go of me!"
Colonel Nezumi howled desperately, his eyes full of despair and fear.
At this moment, he saw a fallen military knife nearby, and like grasping at a last straw, he reached out to grab it.
Smoker snorted coldly, another arm formed by condensed smoke quickly extended, knocking the military knife away. "Stop your futile struggles, Nezumi."
Smoker approached step by step, without a trace of pity in his eyes.
Colonel Nezumi collapsed on the ground, completely losing the strength to resist.
The surrounding soldiers, who had been incited by him, seeing that he was finished, put down their weapons one after another and knelt in surrender.
Smoker walked forward and punched and kicked Colonel Nezumi until he lost the ability to resist, then he stopped.
Subsequently, he gestured for his subordinates to handcuff Colonel Nezumi and escort him away, and this farce finally came to an end.