Smoker, this Marine officer who also possessed a Logia ability, stood firmly in place, his gaze fixed like a falcon's on the blurred figure within the distant sand mist.
Gin!
Among all the Marines, aside from Lancelot, he was probably the one who understood Gin best.
After all, Gin was the one he'd personally captured with his men.
Back in the day, Gin's strength was decent, but it was limited to the East Blue.
Forget about the New World where powerhouses gathered like clouds—even in the first half of the Grand Line, his abilities could barely be considered passable.
He was merely a competent subordinate at best.
However, the Gin of today had overturned his perception.
With just one of his ultimate moves, he forced the entire Whitebeard Pirates to retreat, and even the pursuing Marines had to temporarily abandon their attacks and flee rapidly.
Such destructive power was astonishing!
Even more shocking was that he not only did this but also directly confronted Vista head-on, severely injuring this rare Great Swordsman with just a single move.
It must be known that Vista's strength placed him in the third tier of power in this world! Such prowess was undoubtedly among the elite.
In comparison, Smoker, also a Logia Ability User, could only rank in the fifth or sixth tier worldwide.
The gap between them was as vast as heaven and earth!
Lancelot alone had already made Smoker feel unattainable, but now even Gin's strength had left him far behind.
This caught him off guard, and for a moment, he struggled to accept this harsh reality.
Smoker had always been a proud and confident person, with considerable faith in his own abilities.
Yet, reality dealt him a heavy blow, plunging him into deep self-doubt.
Lancelot was like a monster, his strength so overwhelming that Smoker simply gave up comparing himself, choosing instead to silently strive to catch up.
But what about Gin?
As a fellow Logia Ability User, how could Gin already possess such terrifying power?
And what did that make him?
More crucially, Gin had only recently consumed the Sand-Sand Fruit!
And what about himself? How many years had it been since he ate the Smoke-Smoke Fruit?
With this comparison, Smoker felt that all these years had been wasted.
His past pride and confidence were shattered in an instant, vanishing without a trace.
"Ah... ah!"
Amidst these agonizing screams, the members of the Whitebeard Pirates fled in terror.
Their faces were etched with fear and despair, as if demons from hell were hot on their heels.
Thud!
Suddenly, a person collapsed directly in front of Smoker, as if struck by an immense force.
Smoker focused his gaze and finally saw the true condition of these victims clearly.
The person before him had become as shriveled as a mummy, his skin tightly clinging to his bones, devoid of any color. His eyes bulged, and his mouth hung wide open, as if he'd let out his final scream before death.
Gulp!
Smoker's throat bobbed as he swallowed a mouthful of saliva with great difficulty, as if that saliva were so heavy it required all his strength to force it down.
At the same time, a chill, like a cold snake, rapidly slithered up his spine, causing his body to tremble.
Just watching that guy's miserable state from afar made Smoker feel his scalp go numb, as if countless tiny insects were crawling over his head, leaving him uncomfortable.
His mind flashed back to the time he encountered the Sand-Sand Fruit ability user, Crocodile.
That guy's power was similarly terrifying, capable of drying a person out in an instant, leaving behind only a shriveled husk.
"It seems Gin didn't just inherit some of Crocodile's techniques; he also developed his own terrifying moves based on the characteristics of the abilities Crocodile created," Smoker muttered to himself, his voice tinged with disbelief.
He felt a wave of pity and sympathy for the fate of the Whitebeard Pirates.
These once-invincible pirates were now helpless against Gin's horrifying techniques, dying one after another in gruesome ways.
However, Smoker realized his thoughts were somewhat inappropriate.
He was a Marine.
His duty was to uphold justice and combat pirates, not to feel pity or sympathy for them.
Smoker was no saint.
He'd seen far too many pirates commit atrocities, bringing endless suffering and disaster to innocent people.
It was just that the scene before him was horrifying, and the manner in which the Whitebeard Pirates were dying was tragic, stirring feelings of pity and sympathy within him.
"This is..."
Not only Smoker, but even Sengoku, standing at a high vantage point, narrowed his pupils to pinpoints.
Gin's move was astonishing—it wasn't just a large-scale Logia-type attack but one that covered everything, leaving no room for escape.
Although this move was less visually impactful than Kizaru's Yasakani no Magatama, Aokiji's Ice Age, or Akainu's Meteor Volcano, the threat it posed was even more deadly.
While Kizaru's Yasakani no Magatama and Akainu's Meteor Volcano were dense, there were still gaps to dodge through.
As for Aokiji's Ice Age, as long as one timed it right and jumped at the exact moment, there was a chance to avoid it.
However, Gin's move was different. It was like an inescapable net, leaving no place to hide.
The overwhelming sand mist left people helpless.
Slashing attacks might cut through it, but under Gin's precise control, any gaps created would be instantly filled, leaving no chance to catch one's breath.
To successfully survive this calamity, there were only three feasible methods.
The first was to fly high into the air, away from the sand mist-covered area.
The second was to escape swiftly at the first moment, moving faster than the spread of the sand mist.
The final method was to cover one's entire body with Armament Haki to resist the sand mist's assault.
However, aside from the middle option, the conditions for the other two were demanding.
Across the entire world, the number of people capable of flight was limited.
Aside from those in the Marines who were proficient in Moon Walk, few possessed such an ability.
And those capable of covering their entire bodies with Armament Haki were even rarer.
At that moment, Sengoku witnessed a captain who was slower to escape fall under Gin's attack.
Sengoku gasped in shock.
With just this one move, Gin had achieved a feat worthy of earning him the rank of Vice Admiral at headquarters.
Moreover, thanks to this sweeping strike, his position within the Marines had become solid and unshakable as a rock.
The power of this move was unimaginable, its deterrent effect so strong that it'd make most pirates tremble in fear.
It'd be no exaggeration to say that this was an unavoidable, lethal strike!
He could even imagine that from now on, any pirate who crossed paths with this guy would turn and flee without hesitation, as if they'd encountered a Navy Admiral.
Because even the slightest hesitation would be a disregard for their own life.
"Dammit!"
Amidst the swirling sand and dust, only "Diamond" Jozu remained unscathed.
His condition was different from the previous battle.
Back then, only half of his body was in its normal state, but now, his entire body had transformed into diamond, flawless and impenetrable.
He watched helplessly as one member of the Whitebeard Pirates after another fell, the pain in his heart gnawing at him like a thousand ants.
This heart-wrenching feeling intensified his hatred for Gin, to the point where he wanted to tear him apart and devour him alive.
With a powerful push from his legs, he charged straight at Gin.
But Kizaru flashed in front of him, blocking his path.
Then, with a whip-like kick, he sent Jozu flying backward.
Unexpectedly, Jozu used the momentum from the kick to swiftly reach Vista's side, crashing into him and sending him flying.
Vista, who'd been swinging his sword to disperse the sand and dust to avoid being harmed, was sent crashing through the sand cloud by the impact.
He landed outside the sand cloud, and although he couldn't avoid taking some damage, he'd managed to escape with his life.
"Huh?"
Kizaru let out a surprised sound as he saw the scene before him, a look of astonishment on his face.
He seemed unprepared for such a turn of events, and a feeling of being played for a fool welled up inside him.
"Well now, it seems I've been tricked!" Kizaru's lips curled into a faint, cold smile, but his eyes turned sharp, as if they could pierce through one's soul.
He raised his leg, a powerful force surging within his body.
Light elements gathered like raging waves around his leg, causing it to emit a dazzling glow.
"Jozu, have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?" Kizaru's voice was low and imposing, carrying a hint of undisguised anger.
Before the words had left his mouth, his figure flashed like lightning, appearing right in front of Jozu.
Seeing this, Jozu's expression changed slightly, but he didn't panic.
He reacted swiftly, crossing his arms in front of his chest, assuming a solid defensive stance.
His muscles tensed, all his strength focused in his arms, ready to withstand Kizaru's attack.
However, Kizaru's speed was too fast, so fast there was no time to react.
His foot shot toward Jozu's crossed arms like a cannonball, carrying a terrifying force that seemed capable of tearing Jozu's body apart.