Chapter 76: The Terror of Logia! The Smoke Named "White Hunter"!
Loguetown Central Plaza.
Although the execution platform, symbolizing "the beginning and the end," had been reduced to ruins by the water Dragon.
Buggy's crew had also been washed away to parts unknown, but the Straw Hat crew's crisis was far from over.
"Clack, clack, clack."
Heavy footsteps stepped onto the waterlogged stone road.
Countless fully-armed Marine elites swarmed out from all directions once again; it was the Loguetown garrison that had been lying in wait.
And at the very front of the encirclement, a white-haired man with two cigars in his mouth stood like a massive mountain, blocking everyone's path.
Smoker.
"Though that flood and lightning were impressive..."
Smoker drew the Jitte from his back as white smoke began to drift around his body, his sharp eyes fixed intently on Luffy and Tatsuya.
"But your farce ends here."
"Who are you? Smoke guy!" Luffy pressed down on his Straw Hat, looking annoyed.
"I am the man who is going to send you to prison."
As soon as he finished speaking...
"White Blow!"
Smoker's arm instantly transformed into a jet of smoke, his fist hurtling toward Luffy like a cannonball launched from its barrel.
"Gomu Gomu no Gatling!!"
Not to be outdone, Luffy unleashed a barrage of fist shadows.
However, a shocking scene unfolded.
Luffy's fists passed directly through Smoker's body as if he were hitting thin air, dealing no damage at all.
Meanwhile, Smoker's smoke fist landed squarely on Luffy's face.
"Bang!"
Luffy was sent flying backward.
"What's going on?! I can't hit him?!" Luffy scrambled up from the ground, his face full of shock. "My fists clearly struck him!"
"Let me! Three Sword Style: Oni Giri!!"
Zoro charged forward, his three blades slashing in a cross pattern.
"Swish—"
The blades sliced through Smoker's chest, but they only cut through a mass of white smoke, which reformed a second later.
"Diable Jambe!!" Sanji's kick followed immediately after, but the result was the same—completely ineffective.
"It's useless."
Smoker gave a cold snort as his body completely elementalized, turning into a sky full of white smoke that instantly enveloped the entire battlefield.
"I am a Smoke Human who ate the 'Smoke-Smoke Fruit'."
"To those of you who haven't mastered that power, physical attacks are absolutely ineffective."
"White Launcher!!"
The whistling smoke instantly solidified, becoming as hard as steel.
Like countless white snakes, it coiled around Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji, pinning the three of them firmly to the ground, unable to move.
"Dammit!! Let me go!!" Luffy struggled desperately, but the smoke only coiled tighter.
Smoker stepped out from the smoke, the tip of the Jitte in his hand pressed against Luffy's throat.
He looked up at Tatsuya, the only one still standing on the field, and spoke in a cold tone:
"It's over, Crimson Lotus Victor."
"Against a Logia type, you have no chance of winning."
Rainwater slid down Tatsuya's cheeks.
Seeing the three main combatants subdued in an instant, Tatsuya's brow furrowed tightly.
This was the Logia type—an existence that was nearly invincible in the first half of the Grand Line.
Without Haki, one couldn't even touch them.
"Tsk, what a troublesome ability."
Tatsuya did not give up without a fight.
He took a deep breath, his hands instantly forming seals.
"Since physical attacks are useless, then try this!"
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!!"
Once again, the accumulated water on the ground was channeled by Chakra.
A water Dragon, slightly smaller than the previous one but faster, roared forth and lunged straight at Smoker.
"Hmph, this move again?" Smoker intended to Elementalize to dodge.
But a cold smirk curled on Tatsuya's lips. "It's not over yet!"
The massive water Dragon crashed violently into the mass of white smoke.
While ordinary rainwater couldn't completely suppress an ability user and sap their strength like seawater, mixing in a large amount of moisture instantly made the once light and ethereal smoke heavy and damp.
"Hmm?" Smoker's movements showed a hint of sluggishness.
Now!
Tatsuya seized this fleeting opportunity. His hands formed seals again, his chest swelled high, and his Chakra burned frantically.
"Then let's add some fire to the mix!!"
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!!!"
"BOOM—!!!"
A towering sea of flames erupted from Tatsuya's mouth, carrying terrifying heat as it slammed violently into the damp, heavy smoke.
The intense heat of the flames and the damp mist collided violently in the center of the plaza.
"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—!!!"
Accompanied by a piercing sound, it instantly triggered an earth-shattering steam explosion!
Scalding white steam rose like a mushroom cloud, instantly swallowing Smoker's figure and dispersing the smoke shackles that bound Luffy and the others.
"Waaa! Hot, hot, hot!!"
Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji took the opportunity to escape the restraint, rolling out in a disheveled state.
"Did it work?!" Usopp asked expectantly from a distance.
The steam gradually dissipated.
Smoker's figure reappeared.
Although his clothes were somewhat scorched and his hair was wet from the water, making him look a bit bedraggled, he hadn't suffered any substantial injuries.
He had elementalized at the moment of the explosion to avoid the impact; the high-temperature steam only caused him slight discomfort.
"To think you'd use water and fire to create a steam explosion just to interfere with me..."
Smoker brushed the ash off his body, his gaze growing even gloomier.
"But... even this won't change the outcome."
Tatsuya clicked his tongue in annoyance as he looked at the unharmed Smoker.
"Damn Logia types."
He cursed inwardly.
He didn't know Haki yet, and while his Fire and Water Styles were grand, their lethality against an elementalized monster like this was still too limited.
That move just now was merely to create chaos and buy some time.
"Luffy! Everyone! Retreat!!"
Tatsuya made a split-second decision and roared at the group.
"We can't beat him right now! Don't stay and fight! Run!!"
"Trying to run? Too late!!"
Smoker's eyes sharpened as he lunged forward. The Jitte in his hand pierced toward Tatsuya with a whistling sound, while violent smoke surged behind him.
"White Vine!!"
Just as the strike that was sure to land was about to fall...
Suddenly.
A hand.
A hand wearing a black glove reached out from nowhere and firmly grabbed Smoker's Sea Stone Jitte.
"Huh?!" Smoker's pupils constricted violently.
A wild wind suddenly rose.
A suffocating, terrifying aura instantly descended upon the plaza.
All the smoke was forcibly blown away under the pressure of this aura.
At the center of the storm, a tall man wearing a dark green cloak with red square tattoos on his face had appeared out of nowhere.
He just stood there quietly, as if he were the master of the storm itself.
"You...!!"
Looking at the man before him, cold sweat instantly soaked Smoker's back, and the cigars in his mouth nearly fell out.
"The government's most wanted criminal..."
Just as the surrounding Marines were reeling in shock and preparing to regroup for an encirclement...
"Whoosh—"
The man didn't attack; he simply waved his hand gently.
A strange and violent green gale manifested out of thin air, instantly sweeping across the entire field!
"Waaaaa!!"
Hundreds of Marine elites, along with their weapons, were blown directly into the sky like withered leaves by this gale, completely powerless to resist.
Amidst the chaos...
Tatsuya was blinded by the wind, but he still struggled to turn his head and look at the man standing at the center of the storm.
Coincidentally, the man happened to turn his head as well.
Beneath the hood, those deep eyes—filled with wisdom and wildness—met Tatsuya's crimson Sharingan in mid-air for a fleeting moment.
It was a meaningful glance.
Tatsuya's heart skipped a beat as he thought to himself:
"The center of the storm... Dragon, huh."
"He actually showed up, Luffy's old man."
Dragon didn't look for long. He turned his head toward the shocked Smoker and said calmly in a low, magnetic voice:
"What reason is there... to stop a man from setting sail to pursue his dreams?"
"BOOM—!!!"
As the words fell...
Another even more violent green gale swept in.
But this wind didn't harm the Straw Hat crew; instead, it was like a pair of gentle, giant hands.
It lifted Luffy and the others directly, blowing them forcefully toward the harbor.
"Waaaa! We're flying!!" Luffy shouted excitedly.
"What... what's with this wind?!" Nami clung tightly to Clay.
"Don't worry about it! This is a tailwind!!" Zoro yelled.
Riding this incredible, mysterious wind, the Straw Hat crew instantly broke through the Marines' final line of defense and vanished at the end of the rain-shrouded street.
In the plaza, only Smoker remained standing in the gale, his face ashen as he stared at the green silhouette.
"Dragon... why are you helping that Straw Hat..."
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