Meanwhile at Alubarna Clock Tower – Rooftop
"You! Hey! What are you doing up here?!"
Smoker stood at the edge of the rooftop, smoke curling from his lips as two expensive cigars burned in his mouth.
In front of him, a girl in a yellow dress stomped across the stone floor, waving a frilly parasol. Her blond hair bounced with each angry step.
"I was supposed to land on you!" she shouted. "Crush you flat! That was my big entrance! I climbed all the way up here and you already ruined it by being here?!"
Smoker took a long drag from his cigars and let the smoke out slowly. "I flew up here."
"You—flew?!" she shrieked like he'd just insulted her life choices. "You can't fly! That ruins the whole plan! I was supposed to fall on you, add weight, and splat—job done!"
Smoker finally looked at her. "Then maybe have a backup plan next time."
Before she could scream again, the door behind her creaked open. Footsteps followed.
A tall man in a purple pinstripe suit stepped out, hands in his pockets, sunglasses low on his nose. He strolled up beside her, calm and casual.
"Take it easy, Miss Valentine," he said. "We're still on track."
Her pout vanished. She beamed. "You're late! But perfect timing!"
She pointed her parasol at Smoker. "Now you're toast. My partner's here."
Smoker raised an eyebrow. "So this is a two-on-one."
Mr. 5 smirked. "We're not just anyone. We're elite agents of Baroque Works."
Miss Valentine twirled. "I'm Miss Valentine, the gravity girl. They call me 'Courier.'"
Mr. 5 cracked his knuckles. "I'm Mr. 5. Human bomb. I am also known as 'Gem of the border.'"
Smoker looked at them, bored. "Baroque Works goes after pirates. I'm a Marine."
"We've got orders from above, our mission is to kill you." Mr. 5 shrugged.
"Yeah, you're our target," Miss Valentine said, spinning her parasol again.
Smoker sighed. "Figures."
Before he could say anything else, Miss Valentine shot into the sky.
"Kilo Kilo no Mi—Ten Thousand Kilograms!"
She flew up like a rocket and came crashing down like a meteor.
BOOM!
The rooftop cracked. Dust flew everywhere. The stone split beneath her feet as she landed in a smoking crater.
"Ha!" she shouted. "That got him for sure!"
But as the smoke cleared... there was nothing. No body. No blood.
Only drifting smoke.
A calm voice behind her said, "You missed."
She spun around—and saw Smoker standing several steps away, totally fine.
Her eye twitched. "What—how—"
"I'm smoke," Smoker said.
"That's cheating!" she yelled. "You can't just ignore my powers!"
Mr. 5 stepped forward. "I'll handle this."
He casually pulled something sticky from his nose and flicked it at Smoker.
"Exploding Booger Bomb."
KABOOM!
Flames burst out. Tiles shattered.
But when the fire died down, Smoker stepped forward, his body swirling back together out of the smoke.
Mr. 5's smirk vanished.
"No way."
Smoker tilted his head. "That's your move? You throw your snot at people?"
"Don't mock me," Mr. 5 growled.
He fired two more glowing projectiles. Boom! Boom! More flames—but Smoker passed through them like mist.
Miss Valentine leapt again, shouting in frustration. "I'll hug the life out of you! Kilo Kilo HUG ATTACK!"
She fell like a boulder, arms outstretched. She passed straight through Smoker and slammed into the roof.
"OW! That hurt me more than it hurt you!"
Smoker looked down. "I'm a Logia. You can't hit smoke."
"This sucks!" she groaned.
Mr. 5 fired three more bombs in quick bursts. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The roof shook. Smoke and fire filled the air.
Still nothing.
Smoker calmly pulled himself together out of the smoke.
"You done yet?"
Valentine wiped ash from her face. "You're not even fighting back!"
"You want me to?"
They both yelled, "YES!"
Smoker dropped his cigars.
"Alright."
---
A thick cloud exploded out of his body—heavy, fast, rolling across the rooftop like a wave.
Miss Valentine stumbled. "Ugh—it's so thick!"
Mr. 5 waved at the air. "I can't see anything..."
The air felt heavy. Hot. It was hard to breathe.
Miss Valentine coughed. "What's in this stuff? My chest feels tight…"
Mr. 5 staggered. "I feel dizzy... can't... breathe right…"
Smoker's voice echoed in the smoke.
"In a fire, people think the flames are what kill you."
They turned, eyes wide.
"But it's the smoke."
Valentine dropped to her knees. "My head… it's spinning... What is this?!"
"Smoke's full of carbon dioxide," Smoker said. "You're breathing, but it's not helping."
Mr. 5 collapsed to his hands. "My chest—hurts… I can't think…"
"Your lungs are moving. But you're getting nothing."
Valentine clutched her throat. "It's getting darker… I can't feel my arms...!"
Mr. 5 gasped, voice cracking. "Please—please, don't kill me. I didn't even want this fight. I was just following orders…"
Valentine wheezed. "I just wanted money… to open a little cafe. I used to make chocolate back home…"
"I wanted to help people," Mr. 5 coughed. "Wanted to be a firefighter…"
They started crawling through the smoke, weak and blind.
Valentine sobbed, "I don't wanna die up here…"
Mr. 5 choked. "I don't want my sister to think I just vanished..."
Then—a gust of wind.
The smoke cleared.
Light came back.
The two agents lay on the rooftop, gasping, coughing, trembling.
Smoker stood over them, arms crossed.
"You two don't belong in Baroque Works."
They looked up, eyes red and watery.
Mr. 5 croaked, "Why… didn't you finish us off…?"
"You said something about your dreams?" Smoker said.
Valentine blinked. "Yeah... I wanted to make chocolate. That was my dream."
Mr. 5 wiped his face. "I was never scared of fire or explosions. I thought I could save people. That's my dream."
Smoker lit a fresh cigar.
"Then stop wasting your life."
He blew smoke slowly.
"Here's the deal. You both join my ship. Valentine, you cook for me. Mr. 5, you help stop pirates from burning down towns."
They stared, still shaking.
"Or," Smoker added, "I send you to Impel Down right now."
Mr. 5 sat up fast. "SHIP. I CHOOSE SHIP."
Valentine hugged his leg. "I'll make anything! Sweet, spicy, weird, whatever you want!"
Smoker turned and walked toward the stairs.
"Then clean yourselves up."
He looked back once.
"I've got an important job for you."
Advanced chapters ahead on patréon
www.patréon.com/ImagineMaker