At this point, the black Armament armor had completely wrapped Kai's arms.
The aura he gave off grew sharper and more terrifying by the second—
Shocking beyond belief.
Pressure dominated the field.
He felt like a prehistoric beast awakening—his presence alone making people's scalps prickle.
And the moment Kai revealed Armament—
Smoker's face changed violently.
His eyes filled with fear and disbelief.
He never would've imagined—
That he would see Armament Haki on Kai.
"H-How is that possible?!" Smoker blurted out.
He stared in utter shock at Kai's arms.
He saw it clearly—
That black armor coating, radiating a brutally sharp pressure.
A huge weight pressed down on Smoker's body.
Smoker went completely blank.
"A-Armament Haki…?"
"How…?"
"This shouldn't be happening…!"
The fighting spirit that had just reignited in Smoker's eyes—
Was instantly doused by a bucket of ice water.
He swallowed hard.
In his mind, memories crashed back.
Just a few hours ago…
Kai still had to rely on Seastone to break Smoker's intangibility.
And now—
Kai had Armament?!
Smoker's worldview was getting flipped upside down.
"Just a few hours…"
"How could this monster possibly learn Armament?!"
"I must be going insane…"
Smoker's lips trembled, his face pale with dread.
As Zephyr's student—still the camp's former number one—
Smoker knew what Haki was.
Even though he wasn't qualified to train it yet, he understood the basics perfectly.
For example—
The black armor in front of his eyes.
He recognized it at a glance.
This was the legendary Armament Haki—
The terrifying power that could break a Logia's elemental transformation.
"A few hours ago, he was just like most of us—only Rokushiki."
"But…"
"It's only been a few hours. How could he have Armament?!"
Smoker couldn't comprehend it.
While Smoker stood frozen—
Kai spoke again.
"This is the power that breaks your intangibility."
"Now…"
"Watch closely!"
Whoosh!
Kai's body split the air, tearing through the airflow as if it cracked the space itself.
A shrill sound exploded.
He disappeared.
Gone from where he stood.
"Bad—!" Smoker's face changed.
But before he could react—
Kai had already appeared behind him.
Like teleportation.
In reality, it was just Soru pushed to an extreme, creating the illusion of instant movement.
But to someone weaker—
It was teleportation.
"Before, I needed Seastone to take you down. That's been eating at me."
"I hate beating enemies with borrowed power."
"Unfortunately, I used Seastone to defeat you last time."
"In my eyes, that's not something to brag about."
"It's a disgrace."
"I've beaten countless opponents without relying on external tools."
"Only against you did I use Seastone."
Kai's voice sounded calm as it drifted into Smoker's ear.
In an instant—
Smoker's goosebumps exploded.
A chill shot from his feet straight up to his scalp.
He felt cold all over.
He hadn't even gotten a chance to respond.
Kai was too fast—
So fast his eyes couldn't catch it.
Smoker couldn't even imagine it.
A four-year-old who had trained Soru to this level…
It was absurd.
"My Rokushiki… and this monster's Rokushiki…"
"They aren't even in the same world."
"It's like mine is the lowest-grade trash…"
"And his is the highest-grade version!"
Smoker's mind shook violently.
Only now did he understand—
The same technique in different hands could produce completely different results.
Even within Rokushiki.
Same moves—
But used by him versus used by Kai…
The gap was like heaven and earth.
"Now, I can finally wash away that shame."
Kai laughed softly.
That line hit Smoker like a punch.
Wash away shame?
Hey—are you talking to the wrong person?!
The one who lost before was me!
It was my humiliating defeat!
Not yours!
And now you're saying you want to "wash away shame"?!
You're not even human!
You already beat me once, and now you're acting like you need redemption—
This monster was infuriating.
Smoker cursed internally, but there was nothing he could do.
He already knew what kind of outcome was coming.
After all—
Kai had Armament now.
Did Smoker even have the right to challenge him?
No.
Not at all.
Even when Kai had Seastone, Smoker wasn't his match.
And now—
Kai had Haki.
It wasn't even the same conversation anymore.
"Kai…"
"What a monster…"
Smoker ground his teeth.
A cold breeze brushed his neck.
Smoker's whole body went icy.
Then—
Kai's Armament-coated right hand locked onto the back of Smoker's neck, gripping him like iron.
In that instant—
Elemental transformation failed.
The intangibility Smoker prided himself on—
Completely lost its meaning under Kai's hand.
That "unsolvable" transformation—
Was broken in a single exchange.
In front of Armament, elemental transformation was nothing.
"I'm sorry to tell you this."
"Smoker—you lost."
"Your intangibility can't stop my attack."
"Remember this."
"A Devil Fruit is ultimately just borrowed power."
"A true powerhouse doesn't need any borrowed power."
Kai held Smoker by the neck and slammed him down with one hand.
BOOM—!
The ground trembled faintly.
Smoker's body was crushed into the earth, smashing out a pit over ten centimeters deep and cracking the surface like a spiderweb.
Crack—crack—!
The ground caved.
The earth fractured.
Rumble—!
Even an area dozens of meters wide shook lightly from that impact.
Dust and smoke surged up, swallowing everything.
Slowly, the dust dispersed.
Smoker lay pinned to the ground by Kai's single hand, unable to move.
He looked miserable—covered in dirt and dust, with scrapes and bruises scattered across his body.
Wretched.
Hard to watch.
A proud Logia user—
Subdued in a single exchange.
Dirt clung to Smoker's face, revealing a mix of pain, frustration, helplessness, and despair.
His body felt like it was falling apart.
Once again, he'd been smashed face-first into the ground.
Smoker's expression twisted bitterly.
"I'm so stupid."
"Really…"
"I actually doubted a monster… a once-in-a-century prodigy."
"I must've been insane."
"A freakish monster without precedent, and I dared doubt whether he could master the two colors of Haki in a short time?"
"Who am I to doubt that?"
"I'm an idiot beyond saving."
Smoker sighed in bitterness.
Regret flooded his chest.
If he'd known it would be like this—
He would never have agreed to duel this monster.
Now look—
He got beaten again.
And this time, he was killed in a single exchange.
At this point, Smoker could only admit one thing:
A true monster cannot be judged by common sense.
Just like Kai—
A freak who fully mastered both colors of Haki in only a few hours.
Every time he thought of that—
Smoker's scalp went numb.
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