Vs. Smoker!

"We don't have the right to judge you for what happened in the past."

Under Lowett's solemn gaze, Smoker stepped forward, removed his Jitte, and held a cigar in his mouth.

"But now..."

"Pirate 'Black Count' Francis Lowett..."

Pointing his Jitte forward, Smoker loudly declared, "On charges of assassinating East Blue Branch 16 officers and soldiers, I find you guilty!"

"In the name of Justice, surrender immediately!"

Swish... Splat!

As soon as the words left his mouth, a "hidden weapon" was thrown from the side of the street, hitting Smoker directly in the face.

The sweet juice soaked his white, spiky hair and flowed down his forehead, leaving Smoker looking a bit disheveled.

"Someone's attacking!"

"Form ranks, protect the Vice Admiral!"

Under attack, the Navy soldiers quickly changed formation, surrounding Momonga and Smoker.

But Smoker remained unfazed.

He wiped the liquid from his face, tossed aside the smashed tomato, and turned his head.

"You..."

Another tomato flew straight at his nose. At the mouth of the alley, a little boy, no taller than an adult's waist, stood beside a basket of tomatoes, cradling seven or eight in his left arm and throwing with his right.

"Bullshit Justice! Who needs your Justice!"

Under the gaze of so many people, the boy trembled, snot running down his face, but the anger in his eyes kept him from fleeing.

"Dad, Mom, Grandpa, where was your Justice the day Arlong killed them?!"

Smoker paused, unable to speak the words on his tongue.

The boy shouted with a choked sob.

"Uncle Sam went out to find help and drowned at sea. Where was your Justice when that Mouse sent his body back to mock us?!"

Juice rained down.

The little boy vented with a trembling voice.

"Get lost, Navy!"

"We don't need your Justice!"

A group of elite soldiers, who could face the root of all fear, the Undead, without batting an eye, were now stunned, letting him throw tomatoes at their superior officer.

Their eyes held self-reproach and pain, the veins on the backs of their hands, gripping their guns, bulging.

Swish... Splat!

Another rotten vegetable flew over. Lowett's gaze shifted to Nojiko, who stood in the center of the street holding a pile of wet garbage.

"Get out, Navy!"

"He's right, we don't need it!"

"Yeah, we don't need it!"

Villagers one by one pushed open their doors and rushed into the street, holding various "weapons." Kitchen knives, brooms, stools, hoes – full of creativity.

Smoker lowered his gaze, his face obscured by the swirling smoke.

Momonga closed his eyes in pain, enduring the various foul-smelling projectiles hitting his body.

This situation was beyond anything he had imagined.

The villagers, who had been barely surviving under Arlong's oppression, now had the courage to attack them... Had the Navy's Justice become more detestable than the pirates' atrocities?

This left Momonga feeling disheartened.

He would rather go to the New World and fight the Four Emperors' pirate crews than endure this inner torment.

Suddenly, the little boy ran out of "ammunition." He pulled a dagger from his shoe and, unnoticed by the crowd, rushed forward.

"Vice Admiral, be careful!"

"Vice Admiral!"

But Momonga didn't dodge. He let the boy climb onto his shoulders, gripping his greatcoat, and hold the dagger to his neck.

"Hurry and run, big brother who plays with corpses! I've got him!"

No, you don't.

Lowett: "..."

There were too many points to critique; he didn't know what to say for a moment.

"Interesting..."

Then, Lowett's lips curled into a faint smile.

"This is too interesting!!"

He burst into laughter, leaning back and forth.

"Do you see this, Vice Admiral Momonga? This is your Justice!"

"Open your eyes! Open them wide and look carefully, this is your Justice!"

Momonga's eyelids twitched at the words, but he never opened his eyes.

"It's simply laughable, isn't it?"

His smile vanished abruptly, and Lowett's gaze deepened.

"Remember not to seek revenge on the villagers later, or else... I will repay you with the lives of your families."

Children act without considering the consequences.

But as a reliable adult, Lowett couldn't be reckless.

With that, Lowett turned gracefully, preparing to leave.

But at that moment...

A white pillar of cloud suddenly shot out, smashing into a house by the roadside.

The surrounding villagers froze, looking at the room, which looked like it had been bombarded by explosives, with lingering fear. They couldn't help but put down the "hidden weapons" in their hands.

"Enough!!"

Smoker looked up. The tomato juice staining his face couldn't hide his seriousness, only solemnity.

"What are you waiting for?"

He turned and glared at Momonga, saying, "What do you take our beliefs for? Vice Admiral Momonga!"

"Are we the kind of Marines who joined without knowing these things?!"

"Smoker..."

Momonga trembled all over and slowly opened his eyes, looking at him in disbelief.

"There are always some darknesses that someone has to bear. If it's not you, it's me. This is the principle Teacher Zephyr taught us, have you forgotten?!"

Can't find the book title, you can try searching for the author, maybe the name has been changed!

Zephyr, former Marine Admiral "Black Arm," now the chief instructor of the new recruit camp.

He arrested countless pirates in his lifetime but never killed a single one, earning him the title "The Great Admiral Who Doesn't Kill"!

Among the currently renowned figures in the Navy, besides Sengoku's peers, nine out of ten others were trained by him. He is a true elder of the seas.

"The world is like this, with blurred lines between black and white. But if even we give up, what is this coat worth?! A joke?!"

Smoker roared, tearing off the Marine coat from his back and throwing it into the air.

Whoosh!

The sea breeze blew, rustling the fabric. Facing the rising sun, the word "Justice" on the back of the cloud-like white coat was clear and dazzling.

"Evil must be eliminated, this is my Justice!"

Momonga remained silent. After a moment, he looked up.

"I..."

"Don't move!!"

The little boy was startled and quickly pressed the dagger tighter against his neck.

Seeing Momonga stunned again, Smoker irritably brushed the tomato juice from his eyelids, exhaled a long puff of smoke.

"Count Black, Lowett, in the name of Justice, I arrest you!"

With that, Smoker clenched his right fist, and a long, narrow cloud of mist shot out.

White Smoke: White Fist!

"Trouble..."

Someone was willing to make a move, which meant a fight was inevitable.

His eyes slowly narrowed, Lowett waved his hand, stopping the Black Knight who was about to charge out, and turned back.

"Fine! It's a good opportunity to understand what this so-called Logia type is."

Lowett was also very curious whether magic could take effect on Logia users.

Withered Black Sand!

Whoosh whoosh!

The black sand on his left arm rapidly writhed and expanded. Amidst ripples like water droplets on the surface, black cannonballs shot out one after another, heading straight for Smoker.

Noticing those things, Nojiko's pupils contracted.

"Run! That black sand is highly poisonous!"

Lowett staggered, his mouth twitching.

He knew Nojiko said that to prevent the unsuspecting villagers from being poisoned by the Black Sand, but it also served as a reminder to Smoker not to be hit by it.

"This isn't worth the ticket price anymore!"

As expected, knowing the Black Sand was highly poisonous, Smoker didn't charge in recklessly. He controlled his White Fist, twisting and turning it to dodge the Black Sand projectiles.

White Snake!

Bang!!

Piercing through the hail of bullets, his fist landed heavily on the edge of the port, smashing the stone slabs into pieces. Amidst the scattering dust and smoke, Lowett leaped away from the attack, swinging his left arm again while in mid-air.

"Black Sand: Acid Rain: Shadow..."

"Combination Magic: Death Rain Curtain!"

With a flick of his wrist, a curtain of Black Sand flew out. Under the effect of the magic, the dense Black Sand rapidly split into thousands of bullets, covering the sky like a dark cloud blotting out the sun.

Facing this overwhelming killing move, Smoker knew he couldn't dodge. He spread open his smoke canopy, choosing to block.

White Curtain!

Puff puff puff!

The effect that Chuu had once displayed on Lowett now manifested on Smoker.

Thousands of projectiles rained down, battering the smoke into white mist that dispersed with "puff, puff" sounds. However, only a few managed to penetrate the White Curtain, significantly reducing the threat.

The highly corrosive, poisonous Black Sand, each grain that landed on the ground, corroded the lifeless earth into finger-sized black holes.

The terrifying rain of death instantly eroded everything within a hundred-meter radius, leaving only the Navy's main force at the center with minor injuries.

"Terrifying attack!"

Noticing his slowly healing arm, Smoker gasped.

His white smoke appeared soft and easily dispersed, but in reality, it was extremely resilient, difficult to cut even with ordinary swords.

However, against the opponent's corrosive attack, the resilience of the white smoke was completely countered.

If he hadn't continuously generated white smoke to fill the gaps in the White Curtain, this rain would have resulted in heavy casualties.

Here's a joke: If a drop of water falls from a very, very high place, will it injure or kill a person? Answer: Getting rained on can actually kill people!

"I can't let him create distance!"

Witnessing this terrifying attack and confirming he wasn't poisoned, Smoker's eyes narrowed as he reached a conclusion.

Momonga was strong, but as a swordsman, he couldn't block such a wide-ranging rain curtain like Smoker could.

Therefore, he absolutely couldn't let his opponent unleash his attacks freely; he had to seize the initiative.

Snap!!

As the last grain of Black Sand fell, the White Curtain in mid-air dispersed with a roar, smoke swirling and spreading, obscuring vision.

Only when the distance closed to less than twenty meters did Smoker, enveloped in white clouds, suddenly charge out.

He chose the Jitte as his weapon not only because Seastone was difficult to process and forge into a blade, but also because Smoker himself possessed great strength, and only heavy weapons could unleash his full power.

"You're finished if you get hit, Black Count!"

The Jitte whistled through the air as it swung towards Lowett. With explosive force, twenty meters vanished in an instant.

Puff... swish!

He successfully hit Lowett, but the swarm of crows scattering everywhere made Smoker's pupils contract.

"Not good, it's an illusion!"

What kind of Devil Fruit ability was this?

Besides controlling corpses and Black Sand, it could also create clones to confuse opponents?!

If Smoker knew that Lowett had even healed Nami's eyes, he would probably be even more bewildered.

However, he didn't have time for that now.

"Soul Devour: Raven: Scarlet..."

"Combination Magic: Blood Plague Raven!"

Just as his old strength waned and new strength had yet to arise, Lowett accurately seized the opportunity, sending the spell into his abdomen.

"If poison and acid are ineffective against you, what about curses?"

Staring in astonishment at Lowett not far from his side, Smoker's eyes suddenly widened. With a "puff," a black crow emerged from his chest and flapped its wings, soaring high.

Thank you to book friends ~Dreaming I Don't Realize I'm a Guest in My Own Body~ and ~Ghost Dragon's Grudge~ for their 100 reward. Thank you for your support!

After finishing writing last night, I was happily going to bed, but then I was dragged out to KTV, and it lasted until early morning... I had no choice but to post a draft today. It's 1:40 PM, and Da Shu hasn't slept all night, so the proofreading isn't very thorough. If there are any typos, please remind me in the chapter comments.