NOTE: Leave your power stones, and maybe a comment, hahaha, please!
"Hmm!" Before he could think any further, Rody, using his Observation Haki, noticed a group of people quickly approaching them.
At that moment, Rody stopped, causing the others heading to the port to board the ship to do the same.
"Is something wrong, Rody?" Nami asked, tugging at his arm curiously.
Rody smiled slightly, his eyes filled with interest. "A group of bugs is coming to cause trouble."
...
Everyone became serious at Rody's words. Although they couldn't see anyone, they knew that Rody, their captain, wouldn't lie to them after all. In their opinion, Rody wasn't the type to make jokes; there was no way he would lie to them just to joke around.
As if to confirm Rody's words, a few seconds later, hurried, orderly footsteps were heard behind them.
STEP
STEP
STEP
When Rody sensed the guest had arrived, he turned around. Seeing this, everyone else did the same. Immediately afterward, they met Smoker.
He was a burly, serious man with short, white hair combed back and a cold, ferocious expression. He wore a white Marine jacket with shoulder pads. The jacket was uncovered, revealing his explosive muscles. He wore dark pants and toe-capped boots. In his mouth, he held two Cuban cigars that kept smoking, adding even more ferocity to Smoker's appearance.
At that moment, Smoker was riding his favorite motorcycle, called the "Billower," followed by a group of Marines running behind him in unison.
If Rody hadn't recognized Smoker and seen the Marine uniforms the soldiers were wearing, he would have sworn this guy was definitely a damn gangster.
Smoker got off the motorcycle with a cold stare. The next moment, the group of marines arrived and stopped behind Smoker.
At that moment, the gazes of Smoker, Tashigi, and the other marines turned to Rody and his group.
"Spiky black hair, the marks on his face are identical to those on the bounty order. The woman holding his arm should be Nami, the little thieving cat."
"As for the red-haired woman and the serious, well-dressed old man, according to intelligence, they should be the ship's chef and Rody's butler," Smoker thought.
But as he looked further to the left, he saw Bumblebee, the talking motorcycle. This made Smoker's face become extremely strange and astonished. He had never seen anything like it in his life.
Smoker shook his head inwardly, dispelling those thoughts. This wasn't the time for that. With an indifferent yet serious face, he said, "Rody the Killer, surrender and save us trouble!"
CLACK
CLACK
As soon as Smoker finished speaking, the marines following them raised their weapons in unison and pointed them at Rody and his group.
The atmosphere suddenly became extremely tense and silent. The streets, once filled with civilians, were now empty, but in some windows of nearby houses, curious onlookers could be seen waiting to see the impending battle.
In that moment of silence, Sebas Tian whispered at his side, "Lord Rody, the other party is the Marine Colonel stationed in Loguetown, the Logia-type Devil Fruit user, Marine Colonel Smoker, also known as the White Hunter."
Although Rody already knew this, he nodded slightly in thanks. "Mmm, I see, Sebas. Return with the others to the ship."
The moment the words fell, Rody gently moved away from Nami's grasp. He took a step forward with a somewhat excited smile. He looked at Smoker and said, "Smoker, right? Since you're here, let me try out the attacks of a Logia-type user."
...
Behind Rody, Sebas hurriedly gathered the people in an orderly manner. "Come on, let's follow Lord Rody's orders and Let's return to the ship first."
"But..." Nami looked at Rody with a worried expression. Although she knew Rody's strength, she couldn't help but feel uneasy. After all, Rody already held a very special place in her heart. If something happened to Rody, she wouldn't know what to do.
"Come on, Captain's Wife, there's nothing to worry about. Captain Rody is really very strong. Let's return first," Bumblebee said quickly, noticing Nami's reticent expression.
"Yes... yes... yes, Miss Nami, there's no need to worry about the captain. "He's extremely strong and will crush those marines with ease!" Carmen added, tugging on Nami's arm to encourage her.
"Okay," in the end, although still a little hesitant and reluctant, Nami agreed. She turned around and, along with the others, ran toward the port.
"Rody, be careful, idiot! You have to go back!" Nami shouted, raising her arms and cheering with all her might to support him.
Seeing that Rody's group was about to escape, the soldiers pulled the triggers of their muskets.
Bang bang!
Bang bang!
Hundreds of bullets shot out of the muskets one after another, filling the streets with the smell of gunpowder.
Seeing the swarm of bullets approaching, Rody simply waved his hand, and hundreds of barely visible cuts turned the bullets heading toward Nami and the others into dust.
"What... what..."
"What... what just happened?!"
Watching their bullets turn to dust, the marines exclaimed in shock, unable to comprehend what the hell had happened.
"Devil Fruit, just like the intelligence said!" Smoker muttered, slightly surprised, as he watched the bullets turn to dust. Smoker was genuinely surprised; After all, not even he could see how Rody turned the bullets into dust.
"Stand back, this isn't an enemy you can defeat!" Smoker said, and at that moment, a cloud of smoke began to rise from his body, flooding the area.
"Stand back, stand back, Colonel Smoker is about to use his ability. Everyone stand back!" Tashigi ordered the soldiers to retreat, as Smoker's smoke could affect them.
"White Snake!"
BAMM!
With a roar, Smoker extended his left hand, and a huge smoke snake shot out toward Rody. The enormous snake opened its mouth, intending to devour him.
BOOM
BOOM
Wherever it passed, the enormous smoke snake tore apart the merchants' shops, turning the prosperous street into ruins.
"Oh, what an interesting technique!" The words fell in the next instant. Rody dodged the attack, but the next instant, this enormous snake began to follow him like a guided missile.
Whoosh!
"Hmmm!" Rody was surprised, but kept moving, anticipating the snake's movements.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
BANG
BANG
Every time he dodged the enormous smoke snake, it destroyed everything in its path, turning much of Loguetown's shopping street into a shambles.
"White Launcher!"
BANG
The next instant, Smoker's lower body turned into smoke, shooting at terrifying speeds toward Rody. Smoker left a trail of smoke everywhere he passed.
In the blink of an eye, he arrived behind Rody, a smoke snake in front of him, and Smoker behind him holding his seastone weapon.
Rody was practically without escape.
"Rody the Killer, you're finished!" Smoker roared as he fiercely stabbed Rody in the neck with his weapon, the Nanashaku Jitte, the tip of the weapon glowing faintly with a blue hue.
Rody smiled slightly, forming a small rabbit-shaped seal with his hands. "Really?"
"Rabbit Stampede!"
"Shadow Transfer!"
BOOM
The words fell. The next instant, Rody's figure was enveloped by his shadow, disappearing from the scene. Before Smoker could even be surprised, hundreds of rabbits exploded from where Rody had been standing.
"What the hell?!" Smoker exclaimed in surprise, finding himself surrounded by hundreds of rabbits. The rabbits attacked him like a plague of hungry wolves, but it was useless; they couldn't attack his elemental state.
At that moment, Rody, taking advantage of Smoker's distraction with the rabbits, flexed his legs from where he appeared and leaped toward Smoker.
BAAANG
The ground shattered from the force Rody exerted. At that moment, Rody had an excited smile on his face. In less than a blink of an eye, he appeared next to Smoker.
Seeing the approaching fist, Smoker didn't deign to dodge it. "It's useless, kid, my Devil Fruit..."
Before he could finish, Rody's fist was covered in a layer of Armament Haki that flashed a faint metallic glow.
"Shit, it's really ha...!"
SMASH!!!
Smoker couldn't finish his words even when he tried to use his early elementalization to try to make Rody's fist pass through him without harming him. It's a shame that didn't happen. The fist landed.
CLICK
Rody felt the slight crunch of bones in his fists, which excited him even more.
BOOM
The next instant, Smoker shot backward like a cannonball, destroying several buildings.
"Colonel Smoker!"
"Colonel Smoker has been brought down!"
The Marines, who had never seen their Colonel brought down before, exclaimed in surprise.
"Colonel Smoker!" Tashigi muttered in concern as she watched her Pillar of Justice being brought down.
"What an idiot!" Rody thought as he watched Smoker fly away, spitting blood from his attack. This arrogance was typical of Logia users; they were always confident that no one would touch them thanks to elementalization, which made them arrogant by nature. "These Logia users practically get a double critical hit upon landing their first blow!" Rody thought.
Rody clasped his palms on his chest as he descended to the ground, forming a pair of wings, while at the same time the cursed energy began to work.
"Nue!"
WRINKLE
The next instant, Rody's shadow twisted, and a bird emerged from it.
It was a large, owl-like creature with orange feathers and a white, mask-like skull. Its wings were large, and it had extremely sharp claws and teeth.
The enormous creature flapped its wings to stabilize Rody in the air to provide him with greater comfort. Rody had controlled the amount of cursed energy to adjust the size of the Nue. After all, he didn't want to summon the enormous Nue that Sukuna summoned when he took possession of Megumi's body.
The current Nue was large enough to accommodate him.
"Wha... what?!"
"What the hell is that thing?!"
The Marines, seeing the enormous bird, exclaimed in shock. "Rabbits, birds!" Rody looked like a walking zoo, no matter how you looked at him. At that moment, the rabbits Rody summoned began to squirm, finally disappearing into the shadows.
At that moment, seeing the dust rising after Smoker's impact, Rody was lost in thought. "To kill or not to kill?" Rody hesitated inwardly. On one hand, he wanted to kill Smoker to earn more system points, but on the other, Nami's words echoed in his head.
"Rody, when you encounter other Marines, could you forgive them? I know Colonel Mouse was evil and deserved to die, but not all Marines should be like that, so forgive them for once!"
Rody sighed inwardly. "Forget it, only forgive people once. In the future, when we meet again, I'll definitely kill them!" Rody thought.
"Kughh!"
"Kugh, cough, cough!"
At that moment, Smoker, looking miserable, staggered out of the rubble, coughing and spitting blood while clutching his chest with one hand.
It was clear that Rody's punch had caused him great pain.
At that moment, Tashigi and the other marines rushed to Smoker, filled with concern.
"Is Mr. Smoker okay? Is he seriously injured?" Tashigi asked, panicking, as she helped Smoker up.
Smoker, who had been helped up, spat out another mouthful of blood and looked at Tashigi, speechless. His face clearly said, "I'm in this state, how can I be okay?"
"Cough, cough, Tashigi, escape with all the soldiers. You shouldn't stay here and die. I didn't expect there to be anyone in the entire East Blue capable of using Haki. I can't defeat Rody the Assassin. There's no need for unnecessary sacrifices," Smoker said with difficulty as smoke began to rise from his body again, ready to buy Tashigi and his soldiers time.
"That's impossible, Mr. Smoker. We won't abandon you no matter what," Tashigi said firmly.
"Sergeant Major Tashigi is right, Colonel Smoker. We won't abandon you no matter what," the soldiers surrounding Smoker said loudly.
"You guys are really..."
Rody watched this clichéd scene with boredom. It was the same old story: "I'll stay, you go, no, I won't leave no matter what! Let's fight together!"
Rody rubbed his temple. At that moment, all his fighting spirit dissipated. He said impatiently, "Hey, stop making a fuss! Don't worry, I won't kill you!"
"Do you think we'll believe you? You've killed countless people since you set sail. Would you let anyone go?" Smoker looked at Rody in disbelief. He was genuinely surprised. You know, practically anyone who attacks Rody dies. It's rare that he lets anyone live.
"Hahaha, right, if I wanted to kill you, do you think you'd still be alive now?" Rody smiled slightly and replied sarcastically.
"Then why don't you kill me?"
Rody rubbed his chin, pretending to be thoughtful. "Hmm, let's just say you saved a life today at someone's request. You're also an interesting kid and still have a lot of potential to discover. You can become stronger in the future. I hope that, when the time comes, you'll become stronger and bring me more fun."
"So stay alive and work hard to get stronger. If the next time we meet, I see you not getting stronger and slacking off, I'll kill you and the entire army you lead. White Hunter Smoker, you better not let me down!"
With those last words, Nue flapped her wings and flew away, disappearing over the horizon with Rody in tow.
Hahahaha!!…
Seeing Rody laugh and disappear over the horizon, Smoker couldn't help but slam his fist into the ground, frustrated by his weakness.
"Bastard! I'll definitely catch you the next time we meet!"