Chapter 184 - 42

Chapter 42"By the way, where is my ally?"Alvida had already fled when she saw the situation go wrong."Hey, Buggy, let's go again. Where do you want to go this time?"Luffy had appeared in front of Buggy before he knew it, grabbed his head, and grinned:"Consider this payment for your underlings bringing me here."Buggy was so scared that his body instantly split apart, but his head felt like it was being held by iron pliers, completely unable to break free."Th-this power is... Haki?!"In an instant, Buggy felt his scalp tingle. As an apprentice who had trained for many years on the Pirate King's ship, he knew Haki all too well, but why would a pirate who had mastered Haki be in a hellhole like the East Blue?"Didn't all those guys run off to the Grand Line?"If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't use Haki, Buggy would never have rolled back from a place like the Grand Line to lord over the East Blue."It's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding!""Straw Hat, let's talk this over. We're all so familiar with each other." Buggy immediately changed his expression, begging for sympathy. "Don't you want to become the Pirate King? I am the Pirate King..."Halfway through his sentence, hearing Buggyclaim to be the Pirate King, Luffy sent him flying with a Gum-Gum Rocket.Anyone who wants to become the Pirate King is a competitor, and knocking away a competitor is a very reasonable thing to do, right?Buggy: "...""Can't you let a guy finish what he's saying!""Luffy, let's go quickly. The Marine in town is going to notice us." Nami rushed over. She had just learned from the nearby crowd that there was a formidable Marine in town.Like Luffy, he was a Devil Fruit User.Furthermore, he was a Colonel from Marineford!It was said that many pirates setting out from here for the Grand Line had been thrown into prison by him.The guy's name was..."Hey, are you Monkey D. Luffy? Let me test if you're worthy of intruding into the town under my jurisdiction."A man smoking a cigar walked out of the crowd.The nearby crowd cheered, "Colonel Smoker!"Chapter 51: Haki? Is this what you're talking about?"Smoker?"Luffy indeed sensed a hint of strength from this cigar-smoking man who had "I am strong" written all over him.Unlike Buggy, whom he had just knocked away—who looked ridiculous and whose strength was actually just as ridiculous.The surrounding crowd was cheering; the sudden appearance of two pirates with bounties in the tens of millions had scared them.Smoker's appearance was like a shot of adrenaline for them, because ever since he became the Marinecommander of Loguetown, any pirate who wanted to cause trouble in this town had been thrown into prison by Smoker.Right now, more and more Marine reinforcements had arrived, and those Marine soldiers standing in front with guns were a source of security.Smoker stared at Luffy. He saw a different aura in this man than in other pirates—an indescribable aura, just like when he first saw Pirate King Rogerwalking to the execution grounds here.The first time, and also the last time.On the main avenue leading to the execution platform, even though he was wearing execution shackles, that man strode forward like a general returning in triumph.Possessing wealth, status, fame... The man who possessed the whole world was a proud king under any circumstances.Smoker held complex feelings toward Roger."Straw Hat, should I say you're lucky or unlucky? Anyway, thanks for helping me deal with the Buggy Pirates first."Smoker exhaled a puff of smoke. "But your journey ends here. You, the highest-bountied criminal in the East Blue, will be arrested by me personally."Luffy adjusted his hat, not paying attention to what Smoker said.Under his Observation Haki perception, Smoker's strength was indeed not weak.However, within this near-animal intuition, Luffysensed another powerful aura that was almost terrifying.Just perceiving a trace of it made his whole body tremble with excitement.So, in a nutshell, Luffy did not take Smokerseriously.This disregard was naturally sensed by Smoker as well."Do you intend to run away?""Is your goal the Grand Line? I won't let you set sail. If you want to go to the Grand Line, defeat me here.""Straw Hat, look into my eyes!"Luffy couldn't understand why Smoker was so excited.A light, scattered rain began to fall from the sky.He didn't know how long this pirate skirmish would last.He needed to end this quickly!"There's one thing I want to correct." Luffyclenched his fist and flashed his signature smile. "My goal isn't just the Grand Line. I am the man who will become the Pirate King!"The next second, Luffy was already in front of him.Smoker's heart trembled; this speed was so fast.It was almost comparable to him... No, it had already surpassed him!"Rubber Bullet."Luffy was now standing in front of Smoker, throwing a punch at close range. Even with his hands crossed to block, the weight and hardness made Smoker retreat repeatedly.This guy was clearly a Devil Fruit User, yet his martial arts were this strong? He had originally thought he could take down Straw Hat even without using his Devil Fruit powers.The reality, however, was that he was being mercilessly suppressed by Luffy in terms of martial arts.A faint voice of an old man echoed in Smoker's mind."I should have warned you not to rely too much on the power of the Devil Fruit. Haki and martial arts are everything. You will definitely suffer for this later."No, Teacher Zephyr, you are wrong.Smoker wanted to prove himself.Luffy soon saw Smoker opposite him looking incomparably confident."Straw Hat, I acknowledge you, but I will definitely do what I said. You cannot enter the Grand Line," Smoker said."Isn't it enough to just defeat you?""No, you can't do that."Meanwhile, Luffy saw Smoker's body gradually turning into smoke, and his eyes lit up immediately.This was similar to his own body turning into Rubber!"So you are also a Devil Fruit User," Luffy said.Come to think of it, along the way he had already seen quite a few Devil Fruit powers, like Buggy's Chop-Chop Fruit, the Sube Sube no Mi that turned the fat guy into a thin guy he didn't recognize earlier, and Uta's uta uta no mi.The onlookers also cheered.Because they had witnessed that Colonel Smokerin this state was invincible."Ah, my Devil Fruit power belongs to the top tier even in the Grand Line.""A Logia-type Devil Fruit at the very top of the Devil Fruit food chain. I am a Smoke-Smoke Fruit user."Smoker drew his weapon, grinned, and said to Luffy: "Submit to being captured honestly. I'll consider giving you a nice cell.""Let me remind you, my weapon also has Sea Stone on it. This is the natural enemy of Devil Fruit Users. Your win rate is zero."As soon as he finished speaking, Luffy, who had already entered his steam state, aimed at Smoker. "Gum-Gum Jet Pistol!"The air bullet hit Smoker's body and passed through the smoke.Luffy felt like he had hit smoke."It didn't hit?""It's useless. The reason Logia-type Devil Fruitpowers are called invincible is because ordinary attacks cannot target the physical body," Smokersaid."Hey, isn't this cheating?" Luffy couldn't help but retort.Facing Smoker's aggressive attacks, he could only jump up and down. Gear Second had increased Luffy's core physical functions so much that Smoker actually looked like he was being led around.Without Smoker telling him, Luffy could feel the threat of the so-called Sea Stone on that weapon.Since his attacks couldn't cause damage, he could only dodge and create distance.He focused on playing to his strengths and avoiding his weaknesses.Luffy began to try all sorts of methods, even unexpectedly swallowing a mouthful of Smoker's smoke.Smoker was clearly getting a bit heated. With an angry shout, he directly used his ultimate move, White Snake."It's useless!" Smoker tried to put psychological pressure on Luffy. "My soldiers are all around. Your stamina will deplete very quickly in this state. Just submit to being arrested!""All your methods are countered by me. If you enter the Grand Line later and learn Armament Haki, maybe you'll have a chance to fight me.""Unfortunately, your future will be stripped away by me!"Hearing this, Luffy suddenly stopped, and his fist was quickly covered with layers of pitch-black Armament Haki."Smoke Man, is this what you're talking about?" Luffy grinned."That is!" Smoker's pupils instantly constricted, as if he had seen something unbelievable."Haki?!""Gum-Gum Jet Gatling!""Iron Body!"In his haste, Smoker made the most wrong decision.Chapter 52: Dragon: I hope you can contribute to my Revolutionary Army cause in the futureColonel Smoker has arrived!Colonel Smoker has fallen!"Luffy!"Nami stared wide-eyed at this scene. She had only left for a moment, so what had happened?But none of that was important now; she had already found a way to leave."This way, let's hurry back to the going merry and set sail while we have the chance!" Nami shouted.Being targeted by the Marines was definitely not a good thing; they had to set sail quickly.Smoker had already lost consciousness.Those Marine soldiers were indeed loyal to Smoker. Even knowing that bullets were useless against Luffy, they surrounded Smoker, aiming at Luffy with shaking hands.Luffy's gaze passed over Smoker and the Marines beside him to look behind, his expression somewhat hesitant."Forget it, let's go."Luffy canceled his Gear Second state and grabbed Nami's hand, then ran."Eh, eh?!" Nami gasped."I can walk on my own."That was what she said, but looking up at Luffy, a tsundere expression appeared on Nami's face."He was the one who held my hand first!"However, Nami soon noticed that Luffy's expression was a bit strange, so she asked: "What's wrong?""I sense a very strong guy," Luffy said."Stronger than that guy named Smoker?" Namiexclaimed.In her view, that guy whose body could turn into smoke was already very strong, and Luffy's attacks had no effect at all.