The moment the Marines suddenly appeared, everyone present froze for a second.
"You're the one from Loguetown!"
"How are you here?"
Luffy stared at the very familiar-looking Smoker. After thinking for a moment, he finally remembered and slapped his fist into his palm as he shouted.
With two cigars clenched between his teeth, Smoker let out a cold snort.
"I came here for one reason."
"To arrest all of you arrogant pirates."
He glanced at Luffy first, then swept his gaze across the others, gripping his jitte tipped with Seastone, his expression cold and severe.
Because of the chaos caused earlier by the Magic Eye Pirates, coupled with one of the Four Emperors, Kaido, rampaging through the island—
the Marine branch stationed at Sabaody had suffered catastrophic losses.
Their manpower was stretched dangerously thin.
The lawless zones across the archipelago had already begun slipping out of control.
And on the Marine side, there simply weren't enough troops available in the short term to reinforce Sabaody.
As a result, the pirates on the island had become increasingly brazen.
It was precisely at that time that Smoker had voluntarily requested a transfer to Sabaody.
Even so, the branch here still remained severely understaffed.
Still—
relying on his own strength alone, Smoker had forcefully suppressed the increasingly chaotic situation on the island.
"How arrogant."
Kid, who had never possessed much patience, tilted his head back and mocked loudly.
The other Supernovas also stared coldly at Smoker, cruel smiles spreading across their faces.
"You really think one man is enough to take on all of us?"
"I think running away right now wouldn't be embarrassing at all."
Drake spoke indifferently, his hands in his pockets, the brim of his hat casting a shadow over his flickering gaze.
He had heard of Smoker before.
A former student of ex-Admiral Zephyr, and more importantly, a Logia Devil Fruit user.
It was impossible not to know him.
This man's temperament was notoriously thorny, which was why Marine Headquarters had sent him to Loguetown in the weakest sea.
Unexpectedly, he had now appeared at Sabaody.
And was planning to deal with all of them alone.
What a lunatic.
No wonder he was nicknamed the mad dog.
There had been a subtle warning in Drake's words.
Though he doubted Smoker would listen.
Hawkins, with his flowing blond hair and six vertical lines painted across his forehead, calmly toyed with his tarot cards as he looked at Smoker.
"Today's divination says all will be peaceful."
"That means the scales of victory are tilted in our favor."
Hawkins said flatly.
Smoker took a deep drag from both cigars and exhaled a thick stream of white smoke.
Then he burst into laughter.
"I hope you're all still this arrogant when you get to Impel Down."
Smoker bared his teeth.
The instant the words fell—
BOOM!
The ground beneath him exploded.
His lower body transformed into white smoke, propelling him through the air at incredible speed as he charged straight toward the nearest target—
Bonney.
"Captain Bonney!"
"Captain Bonney!"
The Bonney Pirates immediately drew their weapons, shielding their captain while launching attacks toward Smoker.
However—
Smoker was simply too fast.
Using the power of the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, he flew overhead, bypassing the pirates and appearing directly above Bonney.
So fast!
Bonney's expression changed, but her movements did not pause for even a second.
Her slender legs slammed against the ground as she leaped upward, raising her palm toward Smoker.
"Aging Shock!"
The moment Smoker saw her move—
he grinned.
The Seastone-tipped jitte in his hand thrust straight toward Bonney's palm.
The instant they touched—
Bonney let out a muffled groan.
Her ability instantly dissipated.
At the same time, a wave of weakness spread up from her hand.
"A Seastone weapon?!"
Bonney cried out in alarm.
She hurriedly pulled her hand back, dropping toward the ground in an attempt to escape the effects of the Seastone.
But—
that brief contact had already weakened her body.
And Smoker seized that instant.
He abruptly twisted in midair and appeared beside her.
His lower half, which had been smoke, solidified once more.
Then his leg lashed out.
BANG!
A heavy kick slammed directly into Bonney's chest.
She was sent flying uncontrollably, crashing into the distant ground in an explosion of dust.
At the same time—
the instant Smoker moved, Kid moved as well.
His legs tore across the ground like a crimson blur.
As he ran, large amounts of metal debris once again gathered around his arm, rapidly forming a gigantic steel limb.
"Punk Gibson!"
Kid roared savagely as he swung the enormous metal arm down toward Smoker, who had just kicked Bonney away.
BOOM!!
The violent attack struck Smoker directly.
Yet—
there was no impact sound.
Nor was Smoker blasted away.
Instead, his entire body dissolved into a cloud of white smoke.
Kid's full-powered blow passed through him completely—
as though striking cotton.
"A Logia…"
Kid's expression immediately darkened.
Among all Devil Fruits, Logias were the most troublesome and difficult to deal with.
Whoosh!
Smoker, now a mass of white smoke, surged rapidly along the enormous metal arm toward Kid.
"White Snake!"
Rope-like strands of white smoke quickly condensed, twisting like serpents.
Using the gaps within the metal arm, they snaked through and wrapped tightly around Kid.
In the blink of an eye, he was bound.
"Damn it!"
Kid struggled violently, trying to break free.
The smoke restraints looked unstable—
yet they possessed incredible toughness.
Whoosh!
Smoker shot forward, appearing right in front of Kid.
The end of his jitte thrust viciously toward Kid's throat.
At that moment—
"Kid!"
A black figure instantly rushed in front of him.
A crescent-shaped scythe blade gleaming with cold light clashed against Smoker's weapon.
A piercing screech rang out.
SHRRR—!
Sparks erupted continuously from the collision point.
The one blocking Smoker was none other than Kid's first mate—
Killer.
"Useless."
Smoker's gaze was icy.
His free arm transformed into smoke and stretched out rapidly, attempting to bypass Killer and attack Kid behind him.
Then suddenly—
"BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!!"
A sharp, urgent horn blast rang out.
Smoker's chest was suddenly split in half—
and then exploded with a bang.
Killer leapt backward at once, swinging the crescent blade attached to his arm and slashing heavily at the smoke ropes binding Kid.
The restraints were forcibly severed.
Kid immediately broke free and glared at Smoker as his body reformed from white smoke.
His face was ugly with frustration.
The smoke gathered once more in the air.
Smoker's figure reappeared not far away.
"'Roar of the Sea' Apoo, huh…"
"What an annoying ability."
Smoker's gaze shifted toward Apoo, whose entire arm had transformed into a trumpet.
By now—
the other Supernovas had all closed in as well.
"Luffy, should we retreat first?"
Seeing how fierce the battle had become in such a short time, Nami whispered fearfully.
Beside her, Chopper nodded frantically.
"No."
Luffy answered seriously.
Zoro and Sanji exchanged a glance and smiled faintly.
"We left Loguetown in a pretty miserable state last time."
Sanji said calmly.
"Didn't think we'd run into him again here."
"But his ability really is troublesome."
Zoro rested a hand on his sword hilt, frowning slightly.
And it wasn't just Luffy's group.
The other Supernovas felt the same.
Clearly, aside from Luffy and his crew, this was the first time most of them had fought a Logia user.
No matter how powerful their attacks were—
if they couldn't actually hit the opponent,
it meant nothing.
For a moment, no one knew how to proceed.
"Weren't you all acting tough just now?"
"With strength like this, you think you're ready for the New World?"
"Don't make me laugh."
"Did you really think reaching Sabaody means you're qualified to enter the New World?"
Smoker rested his weapon on his shoulder and sneered at everyone present.
The moment those words fell—
everyone's expressions darkened.
Especially Luffy's group.
The memory of their companions being taken away one after another made their faces turn even uglier.
"Hey, hey."
"That's a pretty irritating thing to say."
"You're just relying on your Devil Fruit power, that's all."
Mad Monk Urouge clenched his fists.
Though he was smiling, there was something brutal in that expression.
"Relying on Devil Fruit powers?"
Smoker repeated coldly.
The white smoke surrounding him slowly withdrew into his body.
Then—
a sharp, oppressive aura burst forth from him.
"So, you really don't understand…"
"What the standard of the New World actually is."
HUM—
Smoker clenched both fists.
His entire arms were suddenly coated in Armament Haki.
The moment everyone felt the change—
their hearts tightened.
The atmosphere instantly became tense.
"How lively."
A teasing chuckle sounded from behind the crowd.
Then came the crisp sound of high heels tapping against the ground.
Smoker frowned and turned toward the source.
Two figures came into view.
One was a beautiful short-haired blonde woman wearing a white flowered hat, a pink dress, a white shawl, and blue high heels, carrying a handbag.
The other—
was a somewhat heavyset man dressed in a purple suit, draped in a dark blue coat, wearing narrow black sunglasses, with an air of danger about him.
The moment Smoker saw their faces—
for the first time, genuine surprise and caution appeared on his usually composed face.
"Why are you two here?"
Smoker's tone turned extremely serious.
"Oh my, no need to be so tense."
"We don't have any hostile intentions."
The blonde woman smiled elegantly and waved her slender fingers.
Most of the Supernovas wore confused expressions.
Clearly, they had no idea who these two suddenly appeared figures were.
However—
none of them were fools.
The fact that Smoker's expression had become so serious was enough to show that these two were no ordinary people.
"So, it's them…"
Capone Bege's expression became solemn, his voice equally surprised.
Everyone immediately looked toward him.
Clearly, Bege knew who they were.
"Who are they?"
Nami was the first to ask.
"The rulers of the Underworld."
"They hold the same status as Morgans, president of the World Economy News Paper."
"That man is the Loan Shark King, Du Feld."
"And that woman…"
"Is the Queen of the Pleasure District—Stussy."
Bege answered gravely.
Compared to Bege's seriousness, most of the other Supernovas looked utterly uninterested.
To people like Kid and Luffy—
so-called rulers of the Underworld meant nothing.
On the other side—
compared to the approachable-looking Stussy, Du Feld had no intention of being pleasant.
"Alright."
"Marines, and all of you pirates."
"Leave immediately."
"We've requisitioned Grove 44."
Du Feld's expression was cold as he spoke loudly through his nearly toothless grin.
"Requisitioned?"
"I don't recall hearing anything about that."
Smoker's impatience became obvious.
For scum like these, he'd have preferred to arrest them along with the pirates.
Unfortunately—
they weren't pirates.
And rumor had it they had deep ties to the World Government.
Smoker was stubborn, but he wasn't interested in creating even more trouble for himself.
"What?"
"Do you need to see the paperwork?"
Du Feld sneered.
Smoker's expression darkened.
"Now, now, this isn't the time to argue."
"The important guests will be arriving soon."
Stussy interrupted gently.
Important guests?
Smoker's brows knitted together.
The situation was clearly moving beyond his expectations.
As for the Supernovas—
with one unexpected event after another, some had already begun considering retreat.
"Mm. They're here."
Stussy suddenly spoke and looked upward.
The instant those words fell—
a silver spatial portal suddenly appeared in the sky above everyone.
The next moment—
two figures stepped out.
Robin.
And Cabaji.
Under everyone's gaze, the two slowly descended to the ground.
"Robin?!"
The moment Nami and the others saw Robin, shock and joy appeared on all their faces.
"ROBIN!"
Luffy immediately started rushing forward—
only to be stopped at once by both Zoro and Sanji.
"Calm down, Luffy."
"We still don't understand what's going on."
Sanji pressed a hand against Luffy's shoulder, his expression grave.
By now, the Straw Hats had practically developed a conditioned reflex toward members of the Magic Eye Pirates.
Every single time they appeared—
they lost another crewmate.
(End of Chapter)
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