Cracked! Scholar's Authority!

The villagers' hostility tormented Momonga. He could not deceive himself into dispensing justice upon Lowett.

But Smoker's rebuke woke him up.

They knew of this darkness, yet they still walked the path of upholding justice.

Thinking of the overly aggressive, thug-like Smoker from before, Momonga did not feel ashamed. Instead, he felt deeply gratified.

The sea ultimately belonged to the young. Every generation had its own tide-riders.

Smoker's realization finally let Momonga smell a trace of freshness amid the rotten, stale air of the East Blue.

So he absolutely could not be allowed to fall here!

Momonga made up his mind.

What if he had to bear countless curses and remain misunderstood? As long as hope endured, nothing was over.

Besides,

Smoker was not finished yet!

Swish... rustle!

Sand rolled off his clothes as Smoker slowly rose to his feet, gripping his jitte tightly. "What kind of ability is this?"

"Magic!"

Lowett planted his staff against the ground, his left and right hands overlapping.

"Black Magic, necromancy, evil sorcery—call it whatever you like."

Lowett had never feared revealing the existence of magic to the true core of this world: the World Government.

For one thing, it could not be kept secret. For another, the power of magic was far too distinctive. The pride of a Titled Great Mage would not allow him to hide and skulk about like the protagonists of other novels.

Besides...

Since his original stowaway experiment had been heading in the right direction, he was bound to continue.

Even if he could not find the answer to the Ultimate Mystery, he had to find where he came from.

That would require a great many resources...

"Magic?"

Smoker sneered. "You seem unaware of Devil Fruits."

He had taken Lowett for nothing more than a native of the lowest rung of East Blue society.

In the East Blue, Devil Fruits were the stuff of legends. It was rare to see even one in the entire sea.

Luffy, Smoker, and Buggy had all obtained their Devil Fruits outside the East Blue.

"..."

Lowett's cheek twitched.

Damn it, this felt even worse than Arlong.

They had both heard the truth. That idiot Arlong had believed it quickly, but Smoker possessed Marine intelligence sources and believed he knew countless secrets of the world. Thus, he was certain this was some unknown Devil Fruit ability.

[Ever since the day we personally slew the gods we once worshiped, I have pondered this: could the magic we now regard as truth be another form of superstition and worship?]

Remembering those cautionary words left by the first leader of the Holy Ten, engraved upon the walls of the Ten Saints Council, Lowett sighed with emotion.

"They're all the same!"

"Fine, then..."

He sighed, put away his staff beneath his arm, and smiled faintly.

"Then I'll prove to you the difference between magic and Devil Fruits."

It really was magic?

Smoker's eyelids twitched.

For Lowett to say that, he clearly knew about Devil Fruits.

Then why was he so stubbornly insisting on "magic"?

He did not look like the leader of some cult either.

"I have the feeling you're thinking something rather rude..."

Lowett narrowed his eyes, and his Soul Aura pressed forward.

Buzz!!

Soul pressure more than ten times that of an ordinary person surged ahead. From over a hundred meters away, the soldiers immediately found it hard to breathe, their pupils dilating. Unlike the oppression of Conqueror's Haki, this suppression of the soul produced only one instinct: fear.

In the eyes of ordinary people, Lowett instantly became an unseen, unheard primordial beast. The world turned gray, and their tiny selves fell endlessly before him into an abyss.

"Conqueror's Haki?!"

"...No, it isn't! This power..."

Momonga's eyes were filled with shock.

"Why does it feel like facing BIG?"

Feeling that terror welling up from the depths of his heart, Smoker's gaze darkened. He pushed off the yellow sand with his feet, refusing to be outdone.

"Oh? Then I'll... be watching closely!"

As his voice fell, Smoker shot forward. His entire body turned into a black streak as he rapidly closed the distance.

White Dance!

At the same time, he swung both arms. His left hand formed a fist while his right gripped his jitte. White smoke extended his arms like two whips, unleashing a torrential barrage of attacks.

Bang bang bang bang!!

"What the hell are you thinking?!"

Without Lowett's command, the Ghost Bone Shield floated before him and blocked the attacks with heavy thuds.

Take a man's money, avert a man's disaster.

As summons specially created by Emperor Haisan to form contracts with Necromancers, the consequences of taking payment without doing the job were extremely dire.

"Annoying bones!"

Smoker's expression grew grave. The shield's toughness had exceeded his expectations. It looked like mere white bone, yet it was harder than steel.

Every attack was blocked. He could not break through it anytime soon.

"But I've already achieved my goal!"

The rain-like barrage suddenly ceased. Smoker spread his arms wide and clenched his cigar between his teeth.

"White Gale!"

Pfft...

A leaking hiss rang out as Smoker's arms instantly transformed into clouds of mist. White smoke poured endlessly from his shoulders, blanketing everything.

This smoke was unlike the solidified smoke of White Blow. It was like evaporating vapor, spreading out in huge masses in every direction.

This was his strongest killing move at present: White Gale!

By taking advantage of smoke's dispersive nature, he created a region blanketed in white smoke that was nearly impossible to destroy.

It looked harmless, but this smoke was part of him. At any time, he could control it to solidify again, restraining his opponent—or even suffocating them to death!

"I see. You used that wild barrage to obscure my vision, while actually closing the distance so I would have nowhere to hide."

At some point, Smoker had already approached within ten meters of Lowett.

At such a distance, the white smoke instantly covered the entire harbor. The ocean was behind Lowett. He had nowhere to escape.

With his keen sixth sense, he could clearly sense faint threats radiating from every direction. It was a true net of heaven and earth.

"Not a bad idea, but... what about you?"

Unexpectedly, there was no panic in Lowett's eyes. He did not even rush to leave the area.

A faint smile rested on his lips as he looked up at Smoker and asked softly.

"To release all this smoke, you yourself should be unable to move freely."

"If someone struck you now, the outcome would be disastrous, wouldn't it?"

"You needn't worry about that. If you can do it, then go ahead and try..."

Smoker's expression remained unchanged.

Lowett could hurt him, but the effect would not be obvious.

Before he ran out of strength, Smoker was confident he could subdue Lowett.

That was the confidence Elementalization gave him!

"Give up, Black Count!"

Lowett shook his head and said softly.

"Do you know how many steps it takes for Armament Haki to touch the elementalized body of a Logia?"

He knew about Haki too?!

Smoker sucked in a breath, vaguely sensing danger.

Lowett ignored him and continued as though speaking to himself.

"Three!"

"First, the body releases the power of Haki. Second, willpower controls that Haki and forms armor. Third, contact."

In the distance, Momonga frowned tightly.

"Impossible! With his physical condition, he cannot possess Armament Haki!!"

As one of the sea's foremost powerhouses, Momonga had absolute confidence in his own judgment.

It was surprising but understandable that Lowett knew Haki existed. The World Government had never issued an order forbidding Haki from spreading to the Four Blues.

But he could not possibly wield Haki, much less Armament Haki, which placed such tremendous demands on one's physical capabilities!

In truth, he was right.

But that was not what Lowett wanted to say.

"Haki originates from the body. The body represents vitality. Control originates from the will. The will represents Mental Power."

Something called Scholar's Authority gleamed in Lowett's eyes.

His severed left arm pinned the staff beneath it as he raised two fingers on his right hand.

"Regardless of the specific repulsive reaction between Armament Haki and Logias, the fact that it can be done proves one thing."

Lowett lowered his middle finger. His eyes saw through everything, stars hidden within them.

Looking at Smoker, whose entire body had tensed so much that he had bitten his cigar flat, he declared confidently.

"As long as it is a collection of energy fused with both vitality and Mental Power, it can touch a Logia!!"

This was a process of reverse deduction!

The moment his words fell, the sense of crisis surged explosively.

Smoker's pupils shrank as he controlled the smoke.

"Strangle!!"

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The drifting white smoke solidified in an instant, suddenly emerging from the air and transforming into white vines that appeared directly beneath Lowett's armpits and around his thighs.

Then they contracted violently.

Creak...!

Lowett's limbs and torso were instantly bound tight. Unable to move, he was suspended in midair.

Yet he remained unmoved. His eyes were as still as an ancient well as he looked calmly at Smoker.

"You are already dead."

Whoosh!!

Blood seeped from the flesh of his face. A bead of blood bulged from his skin and shot forth from Lowett.

Flesh Magic Cone Technique!

This was a half-star spell. Even its half-star rating was only due to the additional effort required in using casting materials. Its true power was obvious.

Yet this little spell made the danger in Smoker's heart surge wildly.

I'll die!!!

He wanted to dodge, but when he moved his feet, he realized both his hands were still connected to the entire white smoke zone, binding Lowett. He could not dodge at all.

The cloud of smoke he had created to destroy his enemy had now become the straw that would claim his own life!

"Not good!"

Was this within your calculations too, Lowett?!

He abruptly raised his head. The blood cone grew larger and larger in his pupils.

Smoker's body jerked backward as blood sprayed from his forehead, staining the tips of his white hair red.

"Colonel!!"

Heavenly Slash!!!

Boom!!

The next instant, a horrifying sword aura beyond description tore through the earth and shot straight toward the harbor, plowing a deep trench through the ground.

The moment the white smoke dispersed, Lowett had no time to think. Using the momentum of his fall, he slammed his staff against the ground, nearly unleashing all his Mental Power.

Necro-realm Summon of the Bone Mountain Dragon!

A massive horned shield adorned with spiraling bull horns shot up from the shadows on the ground. An instant before the sword aura struck, it blocked Lowett's path.

Crack!

But in the next second, the vicious shield, which had appeared for less than a second, let out a mournful cry under unbearable strain. Cracks spread from within, covering the shield's surface...

Then, with a boom, it shattered into pieces.

Screech...!!

The terrifying sword aura did not lose any momentum. It tore through the harbor and ocean alike, as if a child were dragging a branch through the dirt, leaving a gouge hundreds of meters long before finally dissipating.

Seeing Smoker struck, Momonga, the terrifying Vice Admiral from Marine Headquarters, resolutely chose to intervene!

The moment he acted, he stunned everyone present!

Thank you to reader ~Seeing You~ for the 2,000 reward. Thank you for your support!

At the same time, thank you to all the readers who keep voting with recommendation tickets. This will most likely be tied to recommendation arrangements, so please keep it up!

Also, I fixed a major loophole in Chapter 24. One hundred million has eight zeros after the one. I admit I was an idiot.