First Clash with the Smoke Man

"What happened?"

Little Nami clutched Ling Donglai's sleeve, looking at the increasingly outrageous conflict behind them in confusion.

"I just didn't expect the Marines to have their eyes on the Log Pose. That thing is going to be troublesome... Let's check out the edge of the Calm Belt first."

If they entered through the Grand Line's entrance, aside from the issue with the pointer, they would also have to watch out for an island whale ramming into the mountain. Ling Donglai had mostly forgotten the details, only remembering that there was a touching story behind it.

However, Ling Donglai had no desire to run into that island whale when he passed through.

After all, an island whale as large as a mountain... was simply too absurd.

Behind them, white mist spread closer.

The smoke man, Smoker!

"You pirates are getting far too lawless!" Smoker clenched a cigar between his teeth, white mist swirling around him as he rode an imposing motorbike.

"No way, even the art style of the transportation is different."

Ling Donglai glanced sideways at Smoker's ride and felt that this world was bizarre beyond reason.

"You're the thirty-million-berry pirate, right?" Smoker spotted the exceptionally conspicuous Ling Donglai at once. From afar, he waved a hand, charging toward Ling Donglai amid thick smoke.

His body remained behind, but his attack had already reached Ling Donglai's back. More precisely, it was an arm.

There was a fist at the end of that arm, while everything behind it was white smoke.

Armament: 310,000 Volts!

Ling Donglai kicked his horse, flipped into the air, and threw a punch. As their fists collided, the shockwave blasted out every nearby window, while scorching white lightning crashed down fiercely upon Smoker.

"This feeling..."

Smoker immediately braked and withdrew his arm.

"Someone in the East Blue can actually use Armament Haki... Is he a genius?" He looked at Ling Donglai speeding away, unable to hide his shock.

After all, even he, a colonel who had come from headquarters, had yet to learn Armament Haki!

"Looks like his bounty needs to be raised again. This kind of strength already rivals some of the vicious criminals in the Grand Line."

With a wave of his hand, Smoker scattered the white lightning, then turned to look at the still-restless pirates.

"Stay put!"

His hands transformed into elements, and the white mist formed a cage that easily subdued every one of the pirates!

Driving the carriage, Ling Donglai returned safely to the Shark Superb and unloaded the supplies.

After exchanging a punch with Smoker from afar, Ling Donglai could clearly feel the gap between himself and those from Marine Headquarters.

He had used every trick at his disposal just to repel the other man's casual strike!

In the end, it was the shock of seeing Armament Haki appear in a beginner's village that made Smoker stop pursuing him.

"The road ahead is still long." Ling Donglai looked over the gains from this trip to Loguetown.

First, they would not have to worry about food for a while. Second, he had bought a long-coveted cookbook of the seas, which recorded most edible giant sea beasts and Sea Kings.

In the world of pirates, the true danger of giant sea beasts and the like lay in their massive bodies and strength, which could easily destroy ships—not in humans being unable to defeat them.

After all, even if you could beat those things, what good would that do if your ship was gone? You would still be screwed.

That was why only the elite could hunt Sea Kings for meat. Most other pirates ran the moment they saw one.

With the sea cow Momoo pulling his ship, Ling Donglai did not need to worry about Sea Kings destroying it. He only needed to worry about one thing—whether he could fight his way through a Sea King nest and enter the Grand Line.

"Change course. Head for the Calm Belt!" After pondering for a moment, Ling Donglai spoke in a low voice.

"Huh... Can that work? That's a Sea King nest, a famous place of death."

"But we don't have a Log Pose, nor do we have reliable information about the entrance, do we?"

"Without intelligence, we can only rely on luck if we go through the entrance. And compared to luck, I trust strength more!

He was not Luffy, someone who could charge ahead on luck alone. That guy was crazy enough to set sail in a wooden barrel!

"That's true. Even though I've read so many books, the Grand Line is still vague to me. Charging in without sufficient information would be far too risky."

Nami nodded, then glanced at the sea chart and ordered Momoo to change course toward the Calm Belt.

Life at sea was unbearably dull. Ling Donglai and Nami trained for three days before Momoo finally reached the edge of the Calm Belt.

The moment they entered the Calm Belt's domain, Nami immediately sensed it. "There's no wind, Captain. We've reached the Calm Belt, the infamous realm of death..."

"Ahhh!!!" The sea surged as an octopus monster burst straight out of the water.

That was the ruler of these seas—a giant Sea King!

"Momoo, retreat!"

Lightning flashed in Ling Donglai's eyes. The instant he said the word "retreat," the sea cow immediately fled the Calm Belt, trembling at its edge with tears glimmering in its eyes. It turned back to look at Ling Donglai, its gaze seeming to say that it would rather die than go back in.

It was truly pitiful.

"Interesting. The moment we leave the Calm Belt, those Sea Kings stop chasing us and sink back into the sea... Isn't this a perfect farming spot?" Ling Donglai stood at the bow, scorching white lightning dancing across his body.

Restless, the fully charged current had long wanted to break free from the cage of his flesh and annihilate everything around it.

"Don't panic, Momoo. We'll go up and lure it out, then leave its aggro range. One lightning strike from me will definitely electrocute that giant Sea King. That octopus monster is edible!"

Ling Donglai soothed the sea cow, then flipped through the cookbook of the seas until he found the recipe for giant Sea Kings.

He had wanted to eat Sea King meat for ages! A giant Sea King that big should last them quite a while, right?

"No way, are we really continuing?" Little Nami clung to the mast in disbelief.

That octopus monster from earlier had been at least a hundred meters tall, just from the portion exposed above water. It was like a mountain suddenly rising from the sea, carrying a suffocatingly overwhelming sense of shock.

Its sheer size alone was enough to make people feel breathless.

Nami's fear of Sea Kings had already surpassed the sense of security Ling Donglai could give her.

"That's right. Killing a giant Sea King truly is a tremendous challenge."

Ling Donglai took off his cap.

This Sea King was merely one that stayed near the surface.

The deeper one went into the sea, and the closer one got to the central regions, the more outrageous the Sea Kings became.

The Sea Kings summoned by the mermaid princess Shirahoshi with the power of Poseidon were terrifying existences five thousand meters long, capable of destroying islands at will.

Compared to those, what did this octopus monster even count for?

His Current Drive had already stalled at 350,000 volts and could not advance any further.

--

I found out this book is ranked thirty-fourth on the contract list. You guys are awesome—please vote.