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"Smoker, I'm not trying to pick a fight here, but your Loguetown is a real dump compared to Lunia Port."
Inside the Marine base, Jin made himself right at home, launching into a casual, rambling conversation.
A vein throbbed in Smoker's temple.
"Hey, hey! Don't think just because you're a king—and Hina's boyfriend—you can waltz in here and start giving me orders. This is my town."
Smoker had already heard about Hina's promotion. They were close friends, and he was happy for her. He just never expected her to end up dating a king. It wasn't jealousy—Smoker was a straightforward man, and his friendship with Hina was purely platonic. He just had a deep-seated dislike for royalty and nobles. It wasn't his fault; their reputation had been thoroughly ruined by the others.
In that respect, Jin was also a victim of circumstance.
"You know, with an attitude like that, you're going to have a hard time climbing the ladder in the Marines..."
Jin said, shaking his head. "—The sea isn't just about fighting, Smoker. It's about politics... about knowing how to play the game. Still, I have to admit, it's rare to find a Marine with your kind of integrity in this day and age."
Jin genuinely admired Smoker.
Among all the Admirals and Vice Admirals with their "Absolute Justice" and "Lazy Justice," Smoker had a true sense of what was right, but he hadn't lost his humanity. He was a man of both reason and passion.
His only weakness was his lack of raw power and potential. He had fallen behind in the later stages of the story. Compared to the lineup of second-generation powerhouses, Smoker was just an ordinary kid from Loguetown.
The fact that he had made it to Vice Admiral at all was a testament to his ability; it was the pinnacle for an ordinary man, a rank countless Marine soldiers could only dream of.
"What's your point?" Smoker said, his patience wearing thin.
Jin just smiled. "My point is, if you ever get disillusioned with the Marines... you can come work for me."
"You?" Smoker scoffed. "You've got to be kidding me."
BANG! BANG! BANG!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The sudden sound of gunfire and explosions cut their conversation short.
Smoker shot to his feet and looked out the window. "What's going on out there?!"
"We're... we're trying to get a report, sir!"
"Where's Tashigi? She's on patrol, isn't she?"
He grabbed his coat of justice from the back of his chair, snatched his signature weapon, and stormed out. At the door, he remembered he had a guest and glanced back. "Sorry. Something's come up."
"Go ahead," Jin said. Through his bond with the demonic carrier, he already knew exactly what was happening.
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"You bastards!" Bartolomeo roared, charging forward.
An invisible barrier shimmered into existence before him.
The sight of the carnage, the hellscape of gunfire and explosions, would have broken the spirit of most men.
But for him, it was fuel for his rage.
Bartolomeo was a vicious and cruel man. He had set out to sea to follow in Luffy's footsteps. He had once bombarded and set fire to a city full of innocent civilians. He had even distributed grotesque videos of pirates he had tortured.
He was a madman, a supernova who had topped the "Pirate We Most Want to See Disappear" list.
But he was also fiercely loyal. He would go through hell and back for his friends.
So, seeing his men gunned down... his rage was absolute.
Law saw this and leaped from his ship to engage him.
Two slashes of his sword met an invisible wall. In the reflection of the sunlight, Law spotted the shimmering surface.
"A Devil Fruit?"
"It's useless!" Bartolomeo yelled, pushing the barrier forward, forcing Law back. "I ate the Barrier-Barrier Fruit! I'm a Barrier Man! No attack can ever reach me!"
He was about to be pushed into the sea.
Law stomped his foot, shattering the ground beneath him. The force of the impact launched him into the air.
As he descended, he spread his arms wide.
A translucent blue sphere of energy expanded around them.
"ROOM."
He placed his hand on the hilt of his cursed blade, Kikoku.
With a sound of steel, he drew the sword.
He landed, holding the follow-through of the slash for a beat longer than necessary before slowly, deliberately, sheathing the sword.
It was a perfectly executed, stylish move.
"It's useless," Bartolomeo sneered. "I told you, I'm..."
He trailed off. Something was wrong...
He looked down. Where was the lower half of his body?
He looked up and saw his own legs, still running, while his torso, under the pull of gravity, tumbled to the ground.
"AHH! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die!" he shrieked, covering his face and rolling on the ground. Who wouldn't be terrified at the sight of their own bisected body?
"BIG BRO BARTOLOMEO!!!"
"Ahhhhhhh! Big Bro got cut in half!"
"That guy...!"
Bartolomeo's crew cried out in shock.
"Damn you! Save the Boss!"
They charged forward.
Law looked up and, with a flick of his sheathed sword, commanded, "Amputate."
Within the ROOM, all things, living or not, were under his control. The ROOM was his operating theater. And he was the surgeon.
Inside it, he was a God.
His only weakness, before his Awakening, was that he had to be inside the ROOM to control it.
One by one, his attackers were sliced apart, some cut in half at the waist, others losing arms and legs. They all collapsed to the ground.
"So strong..."
"Who is that guy?"
"Is that a Devil Fruit power?"
The crowd was stunned.
"Huh? That's weird..." Bartolomeo, still rolling on the ground, suddenly realized something. It had been a while, but he was still alive.
He looked up.
His legs were still running around.
But there was no blood, no guts.
It was as if... he wasn't injured at all.
And it wasn't just him. His men, their arms and legs severed, were also still alive, their dismembered bodies just flailing around.
"Hey! My arm! Don't run away!"
"That's my leg!"
"My head! Come back!"
The bystanders stared, completely bewildered, at the bizarre spectacle of dismembered body parts running amok.
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