This was the one who had one-shot Smoker.
If they'd known earlier that this "monster" was standing right next to them, then even if you gave them the courage of ten thousand lions, they still wouldn't have dared to spew such arrogant nonsense.
But regret came too late.
Because who could've imagined—
the one who crushed Smoker… was just a seemingly ordinary teenage boy?
It completely shattered everything they believed they understood.
The moment they recalled the threats they'd yelled out in rage—
their scalps went numb.
Their backs went cold.
They were done.
Absolutely done.
They had talked big… right in front of the real person.
And he'd heard every word.
"B-Boss… please spare us!"
"It was just angry talk—don't take it seriously!"
"Yeah, Boss! We were only joking! If we really tried to sink a monster like you into the sea… that's harder than climbing to the sky!"
"Exactly! With our abilities, those 'grand feats' are impossible. Please don't take our words to heart!"
The shirtless tough guys shrank back like frightened children, faces pale with terror.
They felt like they wanted to die.
Their luck was cursed.
Loguetown was huge, packed with hundreds of thousands—maybe over a million people—
and yet they somehow managed to bump into the single most terrifying person in the entire city.
What kind of probability was that?
And still…
the most unbelievable part remained:
"W-Who could've known…"
"The one who crushed Smoker… was a kid?!"
That was the thing nobody could accept.
They stared at Ryukawa's youthful face, his calm posture, that clean white outfit—
and their hearts screamed in despair.
Their understanding of the world had been dragged off a cliff.
Ryukawa smiled lightly.
"Earlier, you weren't saying that."
"I clearly heard someone say they wanted to skin me."
"Well? I'm standing right here."
"Go on. Do it."
"N-No! We wouldn't dare!"
They trembled like leaves.
Fight him?
What a joke.
In their eyes, Marine Captain Smoker was already someone they could only look up at—especially as a Logia user.
So what did it mean for Ryukawa to defeat him?
It meant the difference between them wasn't a "gap."
It was a different universe.
They couldn't even imagine the level of strength required.
Just thinking about it made them shiver.
Ryukawa's smile turned a little more playful.
"Weren't you all pretty arrogant?"
"I'm right here."
"Everything you said you wanted to do—skinning me, chopping me apart—go ahead."
"Boss, please, you're killing us!"
"Yeah, Boss, we were wrong! Please let us off!"
Everyone wailed.
They hated themselves.
They wanted to slap their own mouths a thousand times.
If their mouths hadn't been so cheap, how could they have offended a monster like this?
"The chance was right in front of you," Ryukawa said calmly.
"You didn't take it."
"That's not my problem."
He tilted his head.
"How about this—our 'grudge' ends here. One clean stroke. What do you think?"
"Grudge…? Boss, we don't even qualify to have a grudge with you!"
The crowd looked like they were about to cry.
They were nobodies—street-level riffraff.
And Ryukawa?
He was the one who crushed the very man they feared most.
The difference in status was so absurd that even the word "grudge" sounded laughable.
Ryukawa lost interest.
He waved his hand.
"Alright. I'm leaving."
He hadn't even planned to reveal his identity.
It was just a passing whim.
And as expected—
the moment his identity surfaced, these "tough guys" nearly wet themselves.
All that rage, all that swagger…
vanished like smoke under a bucket of icy water.
They watched his back as he walked away.
Then their legs gave out.
They collapsed to the ground.
Sweat poured from their foreheads and splashed onto the street like rain.
Only now did they realize—
they had just wandered to the edge of death…
and stepped back purely because he allowed it.
A trembling voice broke the silence.
"Can you believe it…?"
"The one who crushed Smoker… is a kid?"
Everyone swallowed hard.
They couldn't.
Not until today.
Before this, they would've bet their lives the culprit was some hardened thirty-year-old veteran.
Now they finally understood why the Marines were so secretive.
Because if news spread—
that a Marine captain, a Logia user…
got crushed by a teenager—
the entire Marine branch in Loguetown would become a joke.
"Even if the truth leaked out," someone whispered, "who would believe it?"
They sat there, shaking, unable to stand.
"A kid… with that kind of strength…"
"What kind of talent is that?"
"This sea… is too big."
"Monsters like that… never run out."
A while later, some casino underlings rushed over—
and witnessed a scene they'd never forget.
Their "big bosses"…
were all collapsed on the ground, trembling like they'd seen a ghost.
The underlings nearly questioned reality.
"W-What happened…?"
"Why do the bosses look like they got scared out of their minds?!"
Loguetown suddenly felt far more terrifying than it had yesterday.
Ryukawa continued walking across the streets toward the port.
Rumors followed him like wind.
Everywhere he passed, people were talking about Smoker's defeat.
In the minds of the residents, Smoker was already a top-tier monster—
so the one who defeated him became an almost divine figure in their imagination.
"If they keep exaggerating…"
"I'm going to get worshipped as a god."
He shook his head with a helpless smile.
"This is East Blue."
"It's too small… too weak."
"When people have never seen real strength…"
"all they can do is fantasize."
They didn't know—
the person they were praising in whispers…
was casually walking right past them.
To reach the port quickly, the fastest route required crossing a Marine checkpoint.
Even though Loguetown was in chaos, the checkpoint still operated as normal.
Smoker's defeat shook the branch, but the soldiers assigned to routine posts still followed procedure.
This particular checkpoint, guarding the road to the port, was led by a Marine Lieutenant named Karlqi.
He commanded twenty elite troops and used the post like his personal kingdom.
The position had plenty of "oil and water."
That was why Karlqi had grown fat—round-bellied, smug, and spoiled by easy benefits.
At that moment—
Ryukawa walked toward the checkpoint.
A Marine stepped forward and blocked him.
"Kid. If you want to pass here, register your name."
Ryukawa stopped, smiling oddly.
"If it's me… I don't think I need to."
"Huh?" The Marine frowned and sized him up.
He thought this might be some noble kid at first—
but the more he looked, the more unfamiliar Ryukawa seemed.
Ryukawa's smile deepened.
"After all… I just offended your Marines."
"So I figured I don't really need to follow your rules anymore."
The Marine's face changed.
"You—!"
He instinctively took a half step back.
Nearby Marines noticed and gathered quickly.
Even Karlqi was alerted.
Wearing an annoyed expression, he marched over, ready to curse someone out—
until his eyes landed on Ryukawa.
A boy in white.
Not a speck of dust.
A wooden sword in hand.
Karlqi's foot froze in midair.
His anger extinguished in an instant—
like it was drowned in ice water.
His pupils expanded.
His face went stiff.
And then—
terror flooded his eyes.
His fat body actually started trembling.
At the same time, the urgent warning from the Marine branch—received earlier—exploded in his mind:
"Smoker has been defeated… crushed… critically injured…"
"Listen carefully! The one who did it—was a boy!"
"Yes, you heard right. A teenage boy!"
"A white-clothed boy…"
"Carrying a wooden sword!"
"Remember this—remember this—remember this!"
"In Loguetown, no matter what…"
"Never provoke a white-clothed boy holding a wooden sword."
"Because…"
"He is the one who crushed Smoker."
"If you run into him, you must detour. Do not conflict."
"Otherwise… disaster will fall on you."
Karlqi stood there, blank.
Rigid.
Unable to move.
It was a scorching June day—
yet he felt as if a freezing current had surged from his feet to his skull.
He shuddered uncontrollably.
His spine went numb.
Goosebumps erupted across his body.
Cold.
So cold he couldn't breathe.
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