Chapter 3: Roy's Wave Fist
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
When Roy's warship docked at the port, it, as expected, drew a significant amount of attention.
After all, the massive Sea Beast corpse resting on the aft deck was extremely eye-catching.
"I'm going to find Vice Admiral Viroth to debrief the mission."
"Hans, you take Second Platoon and escort this guy to the cells. Wait for Headquarters to confirm his identity, and then we'll transfer him to Impel Down with the other prisoners from this month."
"Fal, you take First Platoon into town to sell the Sea Beast meat. And while you're at it, arrange a victory feast at the usual place."
Roy's words were practiced and familiar; this clearly wasn't the first time he'd given these orders.
"Yes, sir!" (x2)
Hearing the words "victory feast," the eyes of the Detention Unit Marines instantly lit up.
Only then did Roy disembark, preparing to head to his superior's office to file his report.
But...
"Hey!"
He had just set foot in Marineford's Oris Plaza when a familiar voice hit his ear.
The voice made him curse inwardly, and he immediately spun around to make a run for it.
But before he could even take a step, a dense cloud of white smoke had already enveloped him.
"What's your answer to the thing I asked you before?"
As the question was asked, a figure slowly condensed from within the smoke.
Hearing the words, Roy answered without hesitation. "Not great! Smoker, I've told you, I don't plan on leaving the Detention Unit!"
That's right.
That iconic white hair, those rippling muscles, the cigars ever-present in his mouth and strapped to his chest, and the unique Jitte weapon on his back—all pointed to the man's identity.
Marine Headquarters Lieutenant Colonel, Logia Smoke-Smoke Fruit user, 'White Hunter' Smoker.
"Roy Amos!"
Smoker, hearing the refusal, roared around his cigar. "You bastard... Don't joke with me!"
"Who's joking with you?"
Roy shot his old colleague an annoyed look.
He knew exactly what Smoker wanted.
In fact, Smoker and he had joined the Marines in the same recruitment class.
And, as you can imagine—with a Logia user right in front of him, Roy naturally hadn't passed up the chance to acquire his ability.
During their training period and apprentice missions, Roy and Smoker had gotten along well and were considered solid friends.
It was only after their boot camp ended that their paths diverged dramatically.
Smoker, with his Logia fruit and outstanding combat prowess, was naturally groomed as one of the Marines' top talents, even entering the elite training camp of the former Admiral, 'Black Arm' Zephyr.
Roy, on the other hand, had decisively chosen to join the Detention Unit.
As a result, even though they were from the same class, their ranks were now two full levels apart.
And that was why Smoker was here.
He was already a Lieutenant Colonel at Headquarters. According to HQ rules, once a Marine officer is promoted to Captain, they face two choices.
Either they join the fleet of a Vice Admiral or even an Admiral, or they are dispatched to one of the Four Blues to manage a Marine branch.
The former was the choice for most officers, as serving under a high-ranking flag officer was the fastest path to promotion.
But Smoker, famously the most hard-headed and stubborn man in all of Headquarters, had no desire to serve under any Vice Admiral.
So, he had already made his choice—he was going to his hometown, Loguetown, to take command of the Marine branch there.
And that was why he was here, looking for Roy.
"I told you, I need a capable adjutant," he said, his expression grim as he stared at Roy.
"And I told you, I'm not going," Roy said, his face set. "I already recommended Lieutenant Tashigi. She's a fine Marine..."
Leave the Detention Unit?
If he did that, who was going to help him fill his Devil Fruit quota?
But just as he said the words...
WHOOSH!
A tremendous sound of displaced air rushed into Roy's ears.
"Swish!"
Roy's figure instantly vanished from his spot. At the same moment, Smoker's Jitte slammed into the ground where he had been standing.
KRAK-KRAK-KRAK!
The white pavement of Oris Plaza instantly spiderwebbed under the immense force, leaving a large crater.
The other Marines who had been passing by jumped back in shock. "What's going on!?"
"An enemy attack!?"
Some Marines even subconsciously shouldered their flintlocks.
But then, they saw a shocking sight.
After Smoker had done his part to add to Marineford's ground maintenance costs, he didn't pause for even a second.
"White Fist!"
He bellowed, and countless fists made of dense smoke erupted from his body, flying in a barrage toward Roy!
"Hey, hey, hey! Smoker! What are you doing? Are you crazy!?"
But within the storm of smoky fists, Roy's figure weaved and dodged, moving like a leaf in the wind.
Not a single one of Smoker's countless punches could even touch him.
[Rabbit-Rabbit Fruit, Model: Snow Hare LV1 - Equipped - Grants partial characteristics of a snow hare, enhancing all physical aspects, with extra boosts to hearing and speed.]
[Mouse-Mouse Fruit, Model: Grey Mouse LV1 - Equipped - Grants partial characteristics of a grey mouse, enhancing all physical aspects, with an extra boost to agility.]
But Smoker completely ignored his protests.
"White Impact!"
While still hammering Roy with fists of smoke, Smoker's lower body dissolved into a surging cloud, propelling his upper body instantly in front of Roy.
He raised his Jitte high and brought it crashing down again!
"You're actually serious?!"
Roy yelped at the sight, then threw his hand up.
The abilities in the Fruit Encyclopedia switched again.
[Ox-Ox Fruit, Model: Rhino LV1][Strong-Strong Fruit LV1]
The same power that had one-shotted the Sea Beast surged through Roy's body. He reached out and blocked Smoker's Jitte with his bare hand!
BOOM!
The massive force of the impact shattered the ground beneath Roy's feet once more.
But even under such tremendous power, Roy's figure didn't budge an inch.
He just stared at Smoker and said in a low voice, "If you keep this up, I'm not holding back!"
"Bring it!"
Smoker roared, his arm already dissolving into white smoke, ready to strike again.
Seeing this, Roy gritted his teeth. "You bastard!"
He stopped holding back. With one hand still gripping Smoker's Jitte, his other hand snapped open into a palm.
At that moment, the abilities in the Fruit Encyclopedia switched once more.
[Human-Human Fruit, Model: Daibutsu LV1 - Fully enhances physical condition and allows the user to emit a small shockwave from the palms.]
A golden, glittering shockwave erupted from his palm.
BOOM!
The blast carved a deep trench in the ground. The smoke that Smoker had transformed into was instantly blasted apart and sent flying.
It wasn't until the smoke cloud landed in the distance that it reformed into Smoker's figure.
By now, all the Marines in the vicinity had been blown completely off their feet!
Some of the new recruits, not knowing what was going on, had their weapons raised, thinking they were under attack.
It was only when they saw that the two men in the center of the battlefield were both wearing Marine uniforms that their faces collectively froze in stunned disbelief.
"So strong... They're like monsters... Who are those two!?"
"I know the white-haired one! That's 'White Hunter' Smoker!"
"The Logia user? The mad dog of Headquarters who's famous for never listening to orders?"
"Who's the other guy!? He can actually fight him!?"
"Is he one of the elite combat officers!?"
The Marines buzzed with discussion.
The strong always draw attention, no matter where they are.
And without a doubt, even at Marine Headquarters, a battle of this level was a rare sight for most common soldiers.
But at this moment, Smoker didn't care about the surrounding chatter.
He just stood there, cigar in his mouth, his expression still grim. "Your physical strength and your 'Wave Fist Style'... they've gotten stronger again!"
That's right.
Smoker considered himself one of the few people in Marine Headquarters who truly understood Roy—at least, he thought he did.
He had known long ago just how monstrous Roy's natural talent for speed, power, and reflexes was.
In fact, if he hadn't personally seen Roy swimming in the ocean with his own eyes, he would have sworn Roy was a Devil Fruit user.
On top of that, he had seen Roy use this "Wave Fist Style" before.
According to Roy, it was a 'fist style that uses the formless waves in the air to create a shockwave when you punch.' Smoker had secretly tried to learn it many times but couldn't even begin to understand how Roy did it.
But that wasn't important.
This sea was full of strange and powerful people; he'd even heard a rumor that some guy in the Revolutionary Army could pierce stone just by winking.
For Smoker, what was truly important... what he truly couldn't understand... was Roy's choice!
Most Marines believed that anyone who volunteered for the Detention Unit was a coward, unwilling to face real danger.
But Smoker knew Roy wasn't that kind of person.
"Do you remember that little girl in Kessia Village?" he growled, biting down on his cigar.
"Back then, to get back the money for her mother's medicine, you and I chased those pirates across an entire sea. You personally fought a bloody path through a pirate-run town and captured the whole crew!"
"I've seen your Justice, Roy... Tell me what the hell you're thinking!"
"You have this kind of strength, so why won't you go to the front lines and make a name for yourself? Why are you wasting away in the Detention Unit as a measly Captain!?"
He roared the question.
But faced with Smoker's interrogation, Roy was completely calm. "Justice?"
He pulled a flask from his sleeve and began to glug, glug, glug.
It looked like a heroic swig of booze.
But judging by the black, bubbly liquid that splashed out, it was clearly cola.
He wiped his mouth and grinned. "That wasn't my Justice you saw, Smoker. That was just... basic decency."
"Besides... I'm not an ambitious guy. The Detention Unit suits me just fine!"
Hearing this, Smoker's rage flared again.
"You bastard..."
White smoke began to pour from his arms, and it was obvious he was about to attack again.
If words didn't work, he'd communicate with his fists. He was that kind of man!
But just then...
"Smoker."
A sudden voice made Smoker's movements freeze.
"Ooh!"
"Who is that beauty?"
"It's 'Black Cage' Hina! Lieutenant Colonel Hina!"
A wave of excitement went through the crowd of Marines, and several of them already had hearts in their eyes.
At that moment, a slender, pink-haired beauty, also in a Marine uniform, was walking out from the crowd.
"Hina just got back from a mission to find you causing trouble again. Hina is very frustrated."
She had a thin cigarette holder in her mouth, and she looked at Smoker with exasperation.
"You still haven't cleared your last disciplinary action, right!?"
As one of Smoker's few friends, she had to clean up his messes far too often and had plenty of complaints.
Although Smoker's aggressive aura had already deflated by half, he still tried to act tough. "Hmph! It wasn't my fault this time! It was this bastard..."
He decisively removed himself from any responsibility and turned his head, intending to get Hina to join him in scolding this unmotivated slacker.
But when he turned his head, he found...
The spot where Roy had been standing was completely empty. Not even a shadow remained.
"He ran again... That bastard!"
Realizing Roy had slipped away, Smoker's fists clenched so hard his veins pulsed.
But before he could give chase, a circle of black iron bars snapped up from the ground, caging him.
Hina's voice came from behind him, now laced with a dangerous edge. "Trying to run? Explain yourself, quickly. What kind of mess were you making this time? Or else... Hina is going to get angry!"
At this, Smoker's expression finally turned to panic.