Thud!
With nowhere left to run, Smoker took the full force of the blow. Struck with Ryuuto's full power, enhanced by the Seastone, Smoker coughed up a great mouthful of blood before collapsing weakly to the ground.
"Ryuuto, you're amazing!" Luffy yelled, his voice booming from the execution platform where he was still shackled. Seeing Ryuuto defeat Smoker didn't stop him from cheering at the top of his lungs. "That was so cool!"
"He's gotten stronger again." Zoro and Sanji exchanged a look. Though they said nothing, their eyes were wide with shock.
The fight between Ryuuto and Smoker had been fierce, but Smoker had held the upper hand for most of it. Because of this, Tashigi and the other Marines had been content to watch from a distance. The tables turned in an instant. By the time Ryuuto struck Smoker down, it was all over. Everything had happened too fast.
"Captain Smoker!" Tashigi and the Marines cried out, starting to rush forward.
But it was too late.
Ryuuto hauled Smoker up with his left hand, pressing the tip of the jitte against the captain's chest with his right. He was certain that if the Marines opposite him opened fire, he could pierce Smoker's heart before any bullet reached him.
His chest heaved. The battle had taken its toll, and that final Tornado Bind technique had consumed a vast amount of his stamina. Ryuuto was not in good shape.
"Stop! Don't... don't do anything rash!" Seeing the jitte poised over Smoker's chest, Tashigi ordered her men to stand down. Gripping Shigure, she stared directly at Ryuuto.
"Let Captain Smoker go," Tashigi called out, adjusting her glasses. "Making an enemy of the World Government will not end well for you."
"Are you sure you understand the situation, little miss glasses?" Ryuuto said slowly, in no particular hurry. "You'll release Zoro and Sanji first."
What a joke. An enemy of the World Government? He already had a bounty on his head. What was there to be afraid of?
"Release them!" Tashigi commanded. She looked at Ryuuto, who appeared calm, as if he still had strength to spare. This man was powerful—so powerful that even Captain Smoker was no match for him. If they angered him, the captain's life would be in real danger.
"Yes, Master Chief Petty Officer Tashigi!" A few Marines stepped forward at her command. They untied the ropes binding Zoro and Sanji, then gestured for them to get lost.
The moment the ropes came off, Zoro and Sanji leaped away, putting distance between themselves and the large group of Marines.
"Zoro! Sanji!" Luffy shouted happily upon seeing them freed.
"Finally!" Usopp, who had been hiding in the crowd, muttered to himself in relief. He had been terrified when his friends were captured.
Zoro and Sanji immediately broke into a run toward the execution platform.
Seeing this, Ryuuto decided enough time had passed. He brought the jitte in his right hand down hard on Smoker's head.
Thud!
Smoker was knocked out instantly.
"We released your men! Now let the captain go!" Tashigi shrieked, her voice laced with fury at Ryuuto's action.
*Such an excitable girl,* Ryuuto thought, shaking his head internally. He raised his leg and kicked, sending a Rankyaku slicing through the air toward the execution platform.
The blade of pale blue vacuum shot past Zoro and Sanji at incredible speed, striking the platform's support pillar.
Boom!
With a thunderous crash, the entire structure came tumbling down.
"Luffy!" Zoro and Sanji yelled, picking up their pace as they sprinted toward the wreckage.
"Luffy!" Usopp's panicked voice cried out from the crowd.
"Zoro! Sanji! I'm okay!" From amid the rubble, Luffy stood up, completely unharmed. He waved to his crewmates.
"Thank goodness!" Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp all breathed a collective sigh of relief.
*That's enough. This farce is over.* Ryuuto thought, looking at the glaring Marines and shaking his head.
After that brief pause, he felt some of his strength returning.
"Geppo!"
With a soft cry, Ryuuto kicked off the air itself, launching himself toward the rooftop where he had left Yubashiri and Sandai Kitetsu.
As he soared over the heads of Tashigi and her men, Ryuuto casually tossed the unconscious Smoker down into the crowd of Marines.
"You can have your captain back!" Ryuuto's voice drifted down from above.
Tashigi and the others paid him no mind, their attention fixed on the falling captain. They all raised their hands, trying to catch him.
CRUNCH!
Captain Smoker landed with perfect accuracy right in the middle of a large group of them.
"Ow, my head!"
"I think my arm's broken!"
"Captain Smoker, are you alright?!"
A cacophony of pained and worried shouts erupted from the pile of Marines. Tashigi rushed over to check on the captain.
Once she confirmed Smoker was only unconscious, she looked up, but Ryuuto was already gone. In the distance, she could see Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji sprinting toward the port.
"Damn you, pirates! You won't get away next time!" Tashigi vowed, her expression grim.
Meanwhile, Usopp slipped out of the crowd and began running toward the port from a different direction.
After retrieving Yubashiri and Sandai Kitetsu, Ryuuto headed in the direction he'd last seen Nami. Sure enough, it wasn't long before he found her, laden with a large bag of clothes.
"Captain, what are you doing here?" Nami said, her face lighting up. "The clothes here are such a great deal! Look, I bought so many! And they're all beautiful!"
"Of course, Captain, I didn't forget what we were here for. Look what I got!" Oblivious to what had just transpired, Nami excitedly showed off her haul: a large bag of clothes and a Log Pose now strapped to her wrist.
"Alright, Nami, something came up. It's not safe here anymore," Ryuuto said, cutting her off. "We need to get back to the ship."
He appeared at her side in a flash. After his brief explanation, he grabbed her and leaped into the air.
"Geppo!" Ryuuto grunted. "Let's go!"
With the rhythmic thump, thump, thump of his steps on the air, Ryuuto flew. He held Nami with one arm and her massive bag of clothes with the other. Yubashiri, Sandai Kitetsu, and the jitte were all secured at his waist as he continued to use Geppo to travel.
Loguetown was a bustling port with a thriving commercial center. From the central square, twelve stone-paved roads radiated outwards like the spokes of a wheel, connecting every corner of the town.
They had just left the shopping district where Nami had been, a street filled with a dazzling array of goods where one could find any specialty product from the East Blue.
Flying a little further, they passed over a street that housed the fish market. Fishing boats that had come in that morning would unload their catch at the docks, and it would all be brought here to be processed and sold.
And beyond that, Ryuuto and Nami could finally see the port.