Nojiko was clearly startled, not expecting someone to recognize her in Loguetown.
Hearing the familiar voice, she quickly reacted and turned around in pleasant surprise.
"Nami!"
"What are you doing here? Where are the others?" Nami asked in a low voice, grabbing her arm.
Nojiko shook her head. "Everyone moved to another island. They're all fine."
Her voice dropped. "I came to see if there was a chance to take Genzo's body, but there are too many Marines..."
Nami asked in a low tone, "Why did Genzo have to do that? Doesn't he know that no one would believe him?!"
Nojiko was silent for a moment, then sighed. "We all tried to persuade him, but Genzo felt that if no one spoke up, Luo Chen's name would never be cleared."
"He wanted to use his life to plant a seed in the memory of the world."
"One day, if the Marines' slander shows even the slightest flaw, people will remember the truth he stated with his life..."
"Once the seed of doubt in the Marines takes root and sprouts, only then will Luo Chen have a chance to clear his name."
Hearing this, Nami trembled and silently bit her lip.
Yes, if Genzo hadn't spoken up, the world would never have known what happened in Cocoyasi Village. All the crimes would have been blamed on Luo Chen.
A crystalline tear glittered in Nojiko's eyes. She smiled. "Before Genzo left, he made sure everyone was settled and left all his property to us."
"I was worried he wouldn't be able to rest in peace after his death, so I thought I'd come to Loguetown to look for an opportunity. I didn't expect to run into you."
Nami said softly, "Luo Chen is here too. He went to retrieve Genzo's body."
Nojiko was stunned and looked toward the battlefield near the execution platform.
...
In the center of the battlefield, Smoker's body turned into white smoke, ignoring the hundreds of punches Luffy landed on him.
Sanji delivered a flying kick, and Smoker's abdomen exploded into white smoke.
The Jitte swept across.
Sanji couldn't dodge in time. He cried out and was thrown back several meters.
A cold glint appeared in Zoro's eyes. He held a sword in each hand and another in his mouth, slashing toward Smoker.
It was elementalization again.
The three swords drew bright arcs of light in the air.
Smoker's body, which had turned to smoke, solidified, and his Jitte struck Zoro's back.
Zoro let out a grunt and stumbled forward.
His expression turned ferocious.
Not long ago, after losing to the world's greatest swordsman, Hawkeye Mihawk, he had sworn never to lose to anyone again.
Today, he had run into this Marine with a Logia-type Devil Fruit ability.
Hiding not far from the three, Usopp and Carina were trembling with fear.
"It's over, it's over! We're really dead this time," Usopp's legs trembled uncontrollably like fans.
Carina gritted her teeth. "Didn't you say you have eight thousand subordinates? Where are they?"
Usopp was on the verge of tears. "I was bluffing! We're really dead this time! How is that Marine like smoke?"
Carina said angrily, "You're completely useless! If only Luo Chen were here!"
"Even if Luo Chen were here, could he win? That ability to turn into smoke is completely unbeatable, okay!" Usopp said dejectedly.
Carina was at a loss for words.
Indeed, as strong as Luo Chen was, Smoker's elementalization countered all physical attacks.
"How can there be such a broken ability," Carina gnashed her teeth.
"Watch out! There's an unidentified person approaching on the rooftops!"
Suddenly, someone among the Marines surrounding them shouted loudly.
Carina and Usopp looked up, their faces instantly lighting up with joy.
On the roof to their right, a young man in a black trench coat was running toward them at great speed, wearing a pair of sunglasses.
The Marines couldn't recognize him, but Carina and Usopp, who had spent several days with Luo Chen, recognized him at a glance.
"It's Luo Chen!"
"Even if he can't deal with Smoker, he might have a chance to save us!"
The two exchanged a look of pleasant surprise.
Tashigi stared intently at the young man in the black trench coat, her expression changing slightly. She shouted, "It's the former Marine Major, Luo Chen! Everyone, open fire!"
Some of the Marine soldiers were stunned.
The 80-million-Berry wanted man, Luo Chen?
How did Master Chief Petty Officer Tashigi recognize him?
Tashigi said resolutely, "It's definitely him! Follow the order!"
She had once been captured and held hostage by Luo Chen. Although he had later released her for some unknown reason, Tashigi had replayed the image of Luo Chen in her mind day and night. She trained harder than ever before, all for the sake of arresting Luo Chen and washing away the shame of her previous capture.
Seeing him today, Tashigi recognized him in an instant.
Her order drew everyone's attention.
Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Smoker all looked up.
"Bang, bang, bang..."
Countless gunshots erupted.
Bullets rained down, pouring densely toward Luo Chen.
He lifted his left hand, and wooden branches rapidly grew from his palm, forming a shield.
The dense rain of bullets slammed into the shield, having no effect at all as they fell to the ground.
His signature ability to control trees left no doubt in Smoker's mind. He roared, "Everyone, fall back! Don't get near him!"
Smoker's legs turned into white smoke, and he was about to charge toward Luo Chen.
But the next moment, from a private house across the street, a brilliant slash of a sword suddenly shot out.
The slash was incomparably sharp, cutting through the air and emitting a piercing shriek.
With a BOOM, the slash crossed over ten meters and struck the wooden shield in front of Luo Chen.
The immense force of the collision caused the several houses under Luo Chen's feet to collapse into ruins in an instant.
"Smoker, you continue to deal with the Straw Hat crew. Leave Luo Chen to us."
From the house where the slash had originated, three Marines in "Justice" coats charged out.
The one in the lead held a longsword.
The other two were empty-handed, but their footwork was powerful. One's figure flickered as if teleporting, while the other stepped on the air, pouncing down from the sky.
All three Marines were targeting Luo Chen.
Seeing that he couldn't make it in time, Smoker had no choice but to turn his attention back to the Straw Hat crew.
He glanced at Carina and Usopp, whose joyous expressions had frozen, and snorted coldly.
"It seems Luo Chen has a relationship with you."
"But he won't be able to save any of you today."
"Three Headquarters Captains are enough to take him down."
Smoker knew those three. They were the Headquarters Marines who had come with Rear Admiral Marcus. Each of them had mastered powerful swordsmanship, the Six Powers, or a Devil Fruit ability.
Having fought Luo Chen before, Smoker knew that three Headquarters Captains working together would be more than enough to deal with him. They didn't even need Marcus to show up.
Usopp's and Carina's faces turned white, their eyes filled with despair.
Smoker himself was a Headquarters Captain. The three who were charging toward Luo Chen were all no weaker than Smoker.
Zoro stood beside Luffy and said in a low voice, "That man's swordsmanship is so strong. Luo Chen is in danger."
To be able to create a tangible sword blast that flew through the air, that Marine's swordsmanship had already reached the level of a Kengo. A flying slash was an advanced sword technique that even Zoro had not yet mastered.
Luffy and Sanji said nothing.
Luo Chen was in a bad situation. But they weren't much better off, having to face the Logia-user Smoker. They couldn't think of any solution at all.
"Damn it! Gum-Gum Gatling!" When Luffy couldn't think of a solution, he stopped thinking.
His fists shot out rapidly, like an unending stream of bullets from a machine gun.
Zoro and Sanji had no choice but to brace themselves and charge forward, trying to pin down Smoker, hoping he would reveal an opening.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....patre0on.c0m/talecrafter]