"Luo Chen, be careful! That man can turn into smoke!"
Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji all shouted a warning. It was obviously too late for them to catch up to the flying Smoker. All they could do now was yell.
In the crowd of onlookers, Nami held her breath nervously, her palms sweating. She could see that Luo Chen was at a disadvantage against the bombardment of arrows. Now, with the addition of Smoker's unbeatable elementalization to tie him down, Luo Chen was in danger... Nami gripped Nojiko's arm tightly, making Nojiko nervous as well.
Smoker flew in mid-air, a cigar clamped in his mouth. He said indifferently, "You dared to come to Loguetown. This time, you won't escape even if you grow wings!"
Luo Chen chuckled. After using Shave again to dodge an arrow, he took the initiative and charged forward.
"Smoker, elementalization isn't an invincible ability."
"But against you, it is," Smoker said coldly, his left arm erupting into a snake-like cloud of thick smoke that shot toward Luo Chen to grab him.
Luo Chen's figure flashed. He used Shave to avoid the smoke-snake and appeared at Smoker's side, sweeping out with a whip-like kick.
Smoker did not dodge, instead swinging his Jitte to attack.
His intention was clear.
Relying on the fact that Luo Chen's attacks were ineffective against him, he gave up defense in exchange for offense.
In terms of physical strength, Luo Chen's speed and power had already surpassed Smoker's. His attack would also land sooner.
Smoker's abdomen turned into white smoke, the corner of his mouth curling up slightly.
BANG—!
The smile on his lips froze. An intense expression of pain instantly replaced it. He let out a miserable scream, and his body was sent flying like a broken sack.
Smoker spat out several mouthfuls of blood in mid-air. His Jitte slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground with a crisp clang.
He crashed heavily in front of the Marines dozens of meters away. Unable to bear the intense pain, he rolled on the ground, letting out suppressed whimpers and groans.
This scene stunned everyone.
No one had expected Smoker to be injured and sent flying. His elementalization had bizarrely failed.
The arrows from the second-story attic in the distance did not fire again. Rear Admiral Marcus seemed to be in shock.
Tashigi and the Loguetown Marines looked as if they were questioning their own existence, their faces full of disbelief.
Ever since Captain Smoker had been transferred to Loguetown, he had never been injured once. No pirate in the East Blue, regardless of their bounty, had ever been able to harm him.
How was it that today, he had been seriously injured by a single kick from Luo Chen?
Some Marines' hats were blown off by the wind, and some dropped their rifles, but no one paid any attention. They were all staring at Luo Chen in terror.
How did he do it? How did he break through Captain Smoker's elementalization?
The Straw Hat crew—Luffy, Sanji, and Zoro—were all呆滯. They stared blankly at Luo Chen, their confusion written all over their faces.
They had just fought Smoker.
None of their attacks had been effective. How had Luo Chen managed to injure him in a single blow?
Usopp's eyes were wide, his mouth agape.
Carina lowered her voice and said quickly, "Usopp, we have to find a way to keep Luo Chen with us! He gives such a sense of security!"
Usopp snapped back to his senses and nodded hurriedly.
"Definitely. Much more than Luffy."
Carina glanced at him. "Didn't you make a set of flying knives for Luo Chen before? You should have a good relationship with him, right? Try to persuade him later."
Usopp grinned and patted his chest. "Of course! I'll definitely find a way to persuade Luo Chen to stay on the ship."
Hearing this, Carina grew suspicious again.
'This guy isn't bluffing, is he?'
...
In the crowd, Nami's tense body completely relaxed, and she let out a long sigh of relief.
She said with pleasant surprise, "Nojiko, Luo Chen won!"
Seeing that Nojiko was a little confused, Nami explained with a smile, "The last time we ran into that smoke-man, none of Luo Chen's attacks worked."
"I didn't want Luo Chen to take the risk, but now it looks like he's figured out a way to deal with Smoker!"
"We have a chance to get Genzo's body back!"
Nojiko didn't quite understand the first part, but the last sentence filled her with joy.
"Can Luo Chen really do it? There are still a lot of Marines," Nojiko was still a little worried.
Nami bit her lip and looked at the second-story attic in the distance. "If he can deal with the enemy there, it should be fine."
At that moment, a tall, thin figure smashed through the attic window and charged toward Luo Chen's location.
Judging by his "Justice" coat and Marine uniform, he was clearly a powerful Marine, likely a Rear Admiral.
A Marine Rear Admiral was already a member of the middle-to-upper echelons of the Marines.
Above them were the Vice Admirals, and then the three Admirals, the highest combat power of the World Government.
If he could defeat a Rear Admiral, Luo Chen's strength would be at a level that Nami could hardly imagine.
She watched with rapt attention.
At this moment, the only one who could deal with this Rear Admiral was Luo Chen himself. No one could help.
...
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh...
The tall, thin Marine fired arrows as he ran.
Each arrow was coated with Armament Haki.
Marcus's cold yet astonished voice echoed over the execution platform square.
"Luo Chen, where did you learn Armament Haki?!"
To Luffy's crew and many others, "Armament Haki" was a completely foreign term. In the East Blue, there were almost no powerhouses who had come into contact with the level of Haki.
"None of your damn business. Where is Onigumo?" Luo Chen asked coldly, using Shave to dodge the arrows while closing in on his opponent.
His current strength was no weaker than any Marine Rear Admiral. Naturally, he would not be afraid of a close-quarters fight.
However, Luo Chen still maintained a degree of vigilance.
Observing the tall, thin Marine's weapon, it was clearly a long-range type. For him to be uncharacteristically charging forward now, there might be a trap.
Just as Luo Chen and his opponent were no more than twenty meters apart, an invisible resistance appeared without any warning.
Luo Chen felt as if he had plunged into a thick, muddy swamp. The air around him seemed to solidify, pressing tightly against his body.
For a moment, Luo Chen's Shave failed.
His high-speed body was instantly frozen in place, as if he had run into a transparent wall of air.
Luo Chen's expression changed slightly. He hadn't expected his opponent to have such a technique. Even with his caution, it was unexpected.
Nine incredibly powerful arrows, arranged in a line, shot toward him.
Luo Chen couldn't dodge. He could only summon wooden vines to form a shield in front of him.
The wooden vines rose from the ground, but their speed seemed to have been slowed down considerably by the enemy's strange field-like ability. There wasn't enough time to form a solid wooden shield.
Luo Chen could only control the branches to individually whip at the nine arrows.
The speed of the branches was still slowed. They only managed to knock away the last two arrows.
The other seven arrows flew rapidly toward Luo Chen.
He let out a loud roar, fully activating his Armament Haki. He crossed his arms and raised them to protect his vital areas.
RUMBLE—
It was as if seven terrifyingly powerful cannonballs exploded on Luo Chen's body.
He was blasted back again and again by the seven arrows. The arrows' paths were not fixed; at the last moment before impact, they bizarrely curved, attacking from different directions.
Blood spattered across Luo Chen's body.
Three arrows were stuck in his arms, two in his abdomen, and two in his left thigh.
Luo Chen lowered his arms and sucked in a sharp breath.
This was the first time he had been injured since transmigrating.
The arrows were very powerful. Even with his Armament Haki defense, they had still caused damage. If not for his body's powerful defenses, an ordinary person from the One Piece world would have had their limbs and torso blown apart by the arrows.
Marcus drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and looked at Luo Chen indifferently.
"Neither your Shave nor your Moonwalk will work within my Fetter-Haste Domain."
"All fast-moving objects will be affected by the power of Fetter-Haste."
Luo Chen pulled the two arrows from his abdomen, and blood spurted out.
He threw the arrows back, his eyes glinting. "Thanks for explaining your ability."
'Since I can't move fast, then I just won't move.'
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]