Chapter 345: The Fortune Teller's End, Roy Returns
Sabaody Archipelago · Abandoned Warehouse
In a dark, secluded corner, Basil Hawkins sat cross-legged, his fingers nimbly flipping tarot cards. The flickering torchlight cast dancing shadows across half his face, making him look like a sorcerer awaiting a final judgment.
Faust, the black cat Mink, crouched nearby. His tail lashed irritably, his golden vertical pupils full of confusion.
"Captain, the entire archipelago is in a state of absolute chaos..." Faust's voice was tense. "This is the perfect opportunity for the Hawkins Pirates to make a name for ourselves! Why are you hiding here?"
Hawkins did not respond. He slowly flipped the final card in his hand.
—Death · Reversed.
His pupils constricted sharply. His voice was low and gravelly. "Survival rate... one hundred percent."
"Escape rate... zero percent."
"If I am to live... why can I not escape?!"
Faust's ears suddenly twitched, his tail going stiff as his gaze turned sharp. Between the cracks in the warehouse floorboards, wisps of white fog were silently seeping out, slithering across the ground like snakes.
Before they realized it, the room had been filled with a thick, bone-chilling mist.
"Captain... something's wrong!"
"This fog... it's getting too thick!"
Hawkins' entire body tensed. With a sharp clack, his tarot cards scattered across the floor!
The next second—
Exhale—
A cold breath sounded right beside his ear. The heavy scent of cigar tar mixed with a metallic tang of blood washed over him.
"...Found you."
The voice was deep, like the whisper of a reaper.
A chill ran down Hawkins' spine. Faust's fur stood on end as his claws unsheathed with a sharp shing. "Who's there?!"
"BANG!!!"
Before the words could even leave his mouth, a heavy punch coated in Armament Haki slammed ruthlessly into Faust's abdomen!
The Mink warrior's pupils shrank. A scream was cut short in his throat as he sprayed a fountain of blood. His body was sent flying like a ragdoll, crashing through three brick walls before becoming embedded in a pile of crates, unconscious.
Hawkins had retreated ten meters the moment the voice sounded, his Straw-Straw Fruit powers activating instantly! Countless straw dolls rustled out of his sleeves, rapidly arranging themselves into a formation!
"Straw Chariot!"
"RUMBLE!!!"
the dolls twisted and merged, transforming into a hideous straw war-chariot. It ground across the wooden floorboards, charging violently into the depths of the white mist!
"WHITE VINE!!!"
Smoker's roar exploded from within the fog!
The white smoke abruptly transformed into countless chain-like tentacles, instantly entangling the chariot!
CRUNCH—!!!
A second later, the straw chariot was forcibly ground to pieces, turning into a storm of debris! The resulting shockwave exploded like a massive wave, blowing the roof right off the warehouse!
As the firelight and dust cleared, Smoker's silhouette finally emerged. His cigars glowed red, white smoke coiling around his body. His cold voice sounded like a sentence: "Hawkins—your prediction was correct."
"You will survive..."
"But you won't get away."
The dilapidated warehouse collapsed completely under the aftershocks of the battle. Dust permeated the air as shattered tiles flew.
Hawkins' expression turned thoroughly grim. He didn't dare hold back any longer. He slammed his hands together and let out a low roar:
"Goma no So (Demon Face / Lugh's Form)!!!"
"RUMBLE—!!!"
His form expanded rapidly, transforming into a massive straw man over ten meters tall! Coarse straw ropes and ancient runes were stitched across his body, his fingertips hardening into chilling five-inch iron nails. A ghostly fire burned within his eye sockets, making him look like an evil spirit from the underworld.
The straw giant's footsteps boomed, making the earth tremble. The oppressive aura made the Marine soldiers on the outskirts of the block break into a cold sweat.
"DIE!!!"
A massive claw swept horizontally, the iron nails tearing through the air with chilling destructive power as they cleaved toward Smoker!
"WHITE BLOW!!!"
Smoker roared, meeting the attack with a powerful punch!
"BOOM!!!"
The white smoke collided head-on with the straw giant. Smoke and dust churned as a shockwave ravaged the entire street!
However, the next instant, several Marine soldiers at the street corner simultaneously screamed and fell. Blood sprayed from their chests, their faces twisting in agony!
"W-What's happening?! We weren't even attacked!!!"
Hawkins looked down from his height, his voice icy and sinister. "It's useless, Marine."
"Every strike you land on me will be transferred to another."
"Before me, brute force is meaningless."
Smoker stepped out from the ruins, his face ashen, the white smoke around him churning wildly.
"Dammit...!"
The giant straw claw pressed down again! Smoker roared, swinging his fist to block. BANG!!! The entire block vibrated from the force, but another innocent soldier's chest burst open simultaneously, and he fell into a painful coma.
Seeing his subordinates fall one after another, the corners of Smoker's eyes twitched. The fire in his chest finally exploded!
"You bastard!! I hate trash like you who use others as shields the most!!!"
His roar shook the heavens, but his offensive was forced to slow down. He could no longer strike easily.
Just amidst the stalemate—
"Captain Smoker!!"
Tashigi arrived panting, dragging a subdued Faust behind her. She pushed up her glasses, rapidly analyzing the combat situation: "His ability can only transfer 'damage dealt to his body'!"
"—But suffocation cannot be transferred!!!"
Hawkins' pupils shrank. For the first time, a genuine chill rose in his heart. "What?!!"
Smoker bit down hard on his cigars, his gaze turning sharp. His arms instantly elementalized, the white mist roaring and churning in the air!
"White Mist: PRISON COFFIN!!!"
"BOOM!!!"
Countless thick tentacles of white mist lunged out, instantly binding the straw giant! Limbs, torso, and neck were all tied down firmly. Hawkins' massive body struggled frantically, runes flashing, but he could not break free!
CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!!!
The white mist closed in rapidly, condensing into a solid "white coffin" with the giant straw man at its center! The walls of the coffin compressed, the space shrinking rapidly as a sense of claustrophobia swept over him!
Hawkins hammered frantically from within, his roars transmitting through the thick mist:
"It's no use!! I am—immortal!!!"
However, the next second, he felt a suffocating pressure hit him! The thick mist was like a living viper, frantically pouring into his mouth and nose, blocking his airway and rapidly exhausting the oxygen within the coffin!
"Cough... ack!!"
A tearing pain erupted in his chest. Hawkins' strength rapidly waned, and the outer shell of the straw giant began to crumble and collapse.
His vision began to go black, a wave of terror hitting his heart. Survival rate... 100%...
To think I'd actually be captured?!!
"Cough... cough-hack—!!"
His power receded sharply. The straw man shell disintegrated into a heap of debris, and the massive silhouette came crashing down!
THUD!!
Hawkins reverted to his human form, falling to his knees. His face was a bruised purple and his eyes rolled back until only the whites showed. He finally lost consciousness from suffocation.
Smoker shook out his arms, the white mist receding like a tide. He coldly exhaled a puff of smoke:
"Hmph... so-called Supernovas..."
"Are nothing more than this!"
...
Elbaf · The Underworld
The black turbulence of space-time twisted madly in mid-air. A figure was spat out from the rift, crashing heavily onto the mountain-like roots of the Treasure Tree Adam.
"BANG!"
Dust exploded and gravel flew. The figure landed on one knee, his chest heaving like rolling thunder.
"Ha... ow, ow, ow... how long has it been since I felt real pain like this...?"
He let out a low, raspy laugh, though it was laced with exhaustion and the scent of blood. His robes were tattered and his body was mottled with bloodstains, looking as if he had just struggled his way back from purgatory.
He slowly raised his head, the light in his eyes still burning with unquenchable battle intent.
It was Roy, returning from the ancient battlefields of eight hundred years ago!
Deep in his mind, that scene was still echoing:
—The moment Joy Boy waved his hand, that utterly absurd power homogenized every object and attack it touched, as if all things in heaven and earth were being assimilated into one.
—That top-tier Conqueror's Haki, unleashed without restraint as if it cost nothing, sweeping across the firmament, making kings tremble and draining the color from the world.
His chest heaved violently. Roy gnashed his teeth, yet he couldn't stop the smile that hooked the corner of his lips.
"He really was a monster... even a guy as self-proclaimed and arrogant as Imu was scared into kneeling on the spot."
Thinking of that scene, he couldn't help but let out a low chuckle.
But the smile was gone in an instant. Roy raised a hand, sensing the power churning within his body during his contemplation.
"However... it wasn't without its gains."
"My Conqueror's Haki, after the tempering of those two top-tier wars... is finally standing firmly at the very top of the first tier."
CLANK-CLANK-CLANK...
Behind him, the heavy sound of iron chains suddenly rang out.
In the shadows of Treasure Tree Adam's roots, a massive silhouette was tied down firmly by thick Seastone chains. The person's eyes were obscured by layers of thick bandages, and his entire body radiated a suppressed, ancient aura—like a demon god slumbering in the abyss.
Along with a slight vibration of the chains, a low, hoarse voice echoed, as if coming from the depths of hell:
"Human... you have a familiar scent on you..."
The air in the Underworld suddenly turned cold, and even the roots of the Treasure Tree seemed to shiver.
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