Loguetown Central Plaza.
The execution platform, once a symbol of "The Beginning and the End," was now nothing more than a heap of debris washed away by the water dragon.
Buggy and his crew had vanished in the torrent, but the Straw Hats' crisis was far from over.
Step. Step. Step.
Heavy footsteps splashed onto the rain-slicked cobblestones. Scores of fully armed Marine elites surged from every corner—the Loguetown garrison, lying in wait.
At the front of the blockade stood a man with white hair, two cigars clamped in his teeth, blocking their path like an unshakeable mountain.
Smoker.
"The flood and the lightning were impressive..." Smoker unsheathed the jitte from his back as white smoke began to billow around him. His sharp eyes locked onto Luffy and Viktor. "But your farce ends here."
"Who are you? Smoke-man!" Luffy adjusted his hat, looking annoyed.
"I'm the man sending you to prison."
As the words left his lips: "White Out!"
Smoker's arm transformed into a jet of smoke, his fist launching like a cannonball toward Luffy.
"Gum-Gum... Gatling!!"
Luffy met the attack with a flurry of punches. However, a shocking sight unfolded: Luffy's fists passed right through Smoker's body as if hitting thin air. Conversely, Smoker's smoke-fist connected solidly with Luffy's face.
BAM!
Luffy was sent flying backward.
"What's going on?! I can't hit him?!" Luffy scrambled up, stunned. "My punches clearly touched him!"
"Let me try! Three-Sword Style: Oni Giri!!" Zoro charged, his three blades flashing in a cross-cut.
Shing—
The blades sliced through Smoker's chest, but they only parted a cloud of white smoke that reformed instantly. Sanji's kick followed, but the result was the same—completely ineffective.
"It's no use." Smoker snorted, his body turning entirely into vapor, shrouding the battlefield in white. "I am a Smoke-man who ate the Smoke-Smoke Fruit. To those of you who haven't mastered that power, physical attacks are utterly useless."
"White Vine!!"
The billowing smoke suddenly solidified like iron, winding around Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji like white serpents, pinning them to the ground.
"Dammit!! Let go!!" Luffy struggled, but the smoke only tightened its grip.
Smoker stepped out of the haze, the tip of his jitte pressing against Luffy's throat. He looked up at Viktor, the only one still standing, his voice icy. "It's over, Crimson Lotus Viktor. Against a Logia, you have no chance of victory."
Rain slid down Viktor's cheeks. Looking at the three main combatants subdued in seconds, he frowned deeply.
This was the Logia type—a virtually invincible existence in the first half of the Grand Line. Without Haki, you couldn't even touch them.
Tch, what a troublesome ability.
Viktor didn't surrender. He took a deep breath, his hands weaving signs in a blur. If physical attacks don't work, let's try this!
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu!!"
Once again, the puddles were drawn up by chakra. A water dragon, smaller than the last but much faster, roared toward Smoker.
"Hmph, the same trick?" Smoker attempted to turn into smoke to dodge.
But a cold smirk played on Viktor's lips. "Not done yet!"
The massive water dragon slammed into the white smoke. While ordinary rain couldn't weaken a fruit user like seawater, the massive volume of water mixing in made the light, ethereal smoke heavy and damp.
"Hmm?" Smoker's movements slowed for a split second.
Now!
Viktor seized the opening. His chest swelled as chakra burned furiously. "Let's add some heat!!"
"Fire Style: Great Fire Destruction!!!"
BOOOOM————!!!
A sea of towering flames erupted from Viktor's mouth, crashing into the damp, heavy smoke with terrifying heat. The extreme fire met the moist mist in the center of the plaza.
Sizzle—!!!
Accompanied by a piercing hiss, a massive steam explosion was triggered! Scalding white steam billowed up like a mushroom cloud, swallowing Smoker and blasting away the smoke shackles binding Luffy and the others.
"WAHH! Hot! Hot! Hot!!" Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji rolled away, taking the chance to escape the bind.
"Did it work?!" Usopp asked hopefully from the distance.
As the steam cleared, Smoker's figure reappeared. His clothes were singed, and his hair was wet, but he hadn't sustained any real injury.
He had shifted into smoke to evade the brunt of the impact, though the high-temperature steam clearly irritated him.
"Using water and fire to create a steam explosion to interfere with me..." Smoker brushed ash from his shoulder, his gaze darkening further. "But... it doesn't change the outcome."
Viktor clicked his tongue in annoyance. Damn Logia users. Without Haki, even high-level Ninjutsu had limited lethality against elemental monsters. That move was only meant to buy time.
"Luffy! Everyone! RETREAT!!" Viktor roared. "We can't beat him yet! Don't stay and fight! RUN!!"
"Run? Too late!!" Smoker lunged, his jitte whistling through the air toward Viktor while a torrent of smoke surged behind him. "White Vine!!"
Just as the blow was about to land, a hand appeared.
A hand clad in a black glove reached out from nowhere, firmly catching Smoker's sea-prism stone tipped jitte.
"What?!" Smoker's pupils shrank.
A violent gale suddenly erupted. A terrifying, suffocating pressure descended upon the plaza, blowing away all the smoke in an instant. In the eye of the storm stood a tall man in a deep green cloak, his face marked by red square tattoos. He stood there silently, yet he seemed to be the master of the storm itself.
"You...!!" Smoker's back was instantly drenched in cold sweat. Even the cigars in his mouth nearly fell out. "The world's most wanted criminal..."
As the surrounding Marines stood frozen in shock, the man didn't attack. He merely waved a hand. A strange, violent green wind swept across the plaza!
"WAAAAAAH!!"
Hundreds of Marine elites, along with their weapons, were swept into the air like dead leaves. Amidst the chaos, Viktor struggled to keep his eyes open against the wind. He turned his head to look at the man in the center of the storm.
By chance, the man turned his head as well. Under the hood, deep, wise, and wild eyes met Viktor's scarlet Sharingan for a fleeting moment. It was a long, meaningful look.
Viktor's heart skipped a beat. The center of the storm... Dragon.
He actually showed up. Luffy's old man.
Dragon didn't look for long. He turned back to the stunned Smoker and spoke in a low, magnetic voice: "Is there any reason... to stop a man from setting sail to chase his dreams?"
WHOOSH—!!!
As the words fell, an even more powerful green gale surged. But this wind didn't harm the Straw Hats; instead, it acted like a gentle giant's hand, lifting Luffy and the others and blowing them toward the harbor.
"WAAAAH! I'm flying!!" Luffy shouted excitedly.
"What is this wind?!" Nami clutched Klay tight.
"Don't worry about it! It's a tailwind!!" Zoro yelled.
Using the incredible freak wind, the crew broke through the final Marine line and vanished into the rain-shrouded streets.
On the plaza, only Smoker remained, his face pale as he stared at the green-cloaked back.
"Dragon... why would you help that Straw Hat kid...?"
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