Blood Battle in Loguetown!

There was no doubt about it, Lowett had walked into an ambush!

But he couldn't understand why...

Creak, creak!

Amidst the squirming of flesh and blood, the first Black Knight, "Butler," transformed. Under the terrified gaze of the town's residents, its ribs spread open, extending into bone to support itself on the ground.

Silent Step!

The next second, the Black Knight leaped and vanished from sight. When it reappeared, it was already high in the sky.

Screech... screech screech screech!

Steel cat claws, combined with bone wings on its chest and back, turned the Black Knight into a steel grinder at that moment. As cannonballs began their descent, it sliced them all apart.

Bang... rumble rumble rumble!

Giant fireworks exploded in the night sky, the wind pushing the warship, causing it to sway slightly on the sea.

Using the impact, the Black Knight landed nimbly, its bone limbs intertwined like a spider's, anchoring itself to the tip of the smooth ship's mast.

With its fingers on its cheeks, Lowett forced himself to calm down and think, his voice as cold as iron.

"The souls of Embyf Town are weeping, Vice Admiral Momonga!"

According to his calculations, Momonga shouldn't have stayed in Loguetown.

The pirates, led by "Hyena" Morey, were currently wreaking havoc in the waters near Orange Town, leaving devastation in their wake. Yet, he had abandoned the suffering civilians to stand by coldly?!

If the pirates found out Momonga wasn't here, and only ordinary soldiers had come, then the pirate groups gathered near Orange Town would have no reservations. Instead, they would be enraged by the Navy's trickery.

At that time, "blood flowing like a river" would no longer be a mere description.

So Lowett couldn't understand, why?

"Blood debts must be paid with blood, Lowett! This is all your fault! If you hadn't spread rumors, how could the tragedy of Embyf Town have happened!"

"Ridiculous!"

"My fault? Then why would I do this? And why did I become a pirate?!"

Lowett said with a cold laugh.

"If you have the guts, go kill the Celestial Dragons, kill the Gorosei!"

"You raise your butcher's knife against the weak, but bow and scrape before the strong. What a righteous 'Justice'!!"

Momonga was instantly speechless, but soon looked up, his eyes bloodshot, and roared.

"But you are by no means innocent!!"

With that, he swung his sword with force.

"Fire cannons!!!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Whoosh! Whoosh whoosh!

Just as Lowett had predicted, if it were only Momonga, he would never have made the decision to let pirates slaughter.

The ambush tonight was not Momonga's will, but... a direct order from the World Government!

Don't forget that "Lowett" had also offended a government official. After being humiliatingly recalled, he had been keeping an eye on the East Blue.

Your greatest enemy always knows you best.

Who benefited from Momonga's departure?

The pirates!

Thus, he thought that Lowett's actions must have a deeper meaning. He had deliberately used the safety of the civilians as a gambit to force Momonga to leave Loguetown to suppress the pirates, while he himself took the opportunity to head to the Grand Line.

This calculation was not brilliant; any smart person could see it, and it was merely going with the flow.

But as his "enemy," did he really have a choice between protecting the civilians and eliminating Lowett?

At the same time, how could he persuade certain important figures to directly interfere with the Navy's actions?

Think about the reality of him colluding with pirates yet being able to return home. The World Government was already rotten to the core.

All these factors combined to create the current situation, a situation that Lowett didn't want to see, Momonga didn't want to see, and no one wanted to see.

"Roar!!"

As the warship broke free from the town's cover, this volley of shells became even more intense.

The two Black Knights, "Butler" and "Bodyguard," who had gained sentience, communicated briefly through their souls. Butler leaped to the left, slicing the cannonballs, while Bodyguard raised its enlarged, fleshy arm and swept to the right, smashing the cannonballs one by one.

Lowett stood in the middle, facing the bursting flames, unmoving.

After a moment, he lowered his hand, his tone of anger slightly diminished, replaced by a chilling coldness!

"So, there's nothing to discuss?"

"Nothing to discuss!"

Smoker, not Momonga, answered him.

White Punch!

With a roar, Smoker's arm extended dozens of meters, striking down at Lowett.

Black sand and white smoke collided and exploded. Lowett's gaze turned icy cold.

"This painful choice, this is the darkness we Marines bear!"

"Therefore, failure is absolutely not permitted!!"

Otherwise, they would have no face to show the elders and folks of the East Blue, no face to confidently speak of Justice while spouting "Pirates!"

Their actions were no different from pirates!

"So... I understand."

Lowett stood in the center of the battlefield, where cannon fire raged, enduring the bombardment from both warships and the Loguetown defenses. He slowly raised his palm... aiming towards the port.

"Since even you enforcers disregard the common people, what right do I have... to treat them as human."

"Not good!"

Hearing this, Momonga's eye sockets threatened to split. He roared, "Stop him!!"

He was too far away; even Geppo wouldn't be fast enough from this position. Only Smoker could stop Lowett.

White Gale!!

Smoker certainly wouldn't allow Lowett to act recklessly. He planted himself at the very edge of the port, extending both hands straight forward. Large masses of clouds surged from his sleeves towards the ocean.

But this time, the clouds didn't dissipate into mist. The moment they appeared, they formed a tenacious wall, sweeping mightily towards Lowett's location.

A full hundred-meter radius was engulfed by the smoke!

The advantage of a Logia-type in terms of attack range was evident.

"Trouble..."

Lowett's mind was clear, his brain racing.

The spell he was about to cast truly had no answer for such a solidified "wall."

Necromancy was extremely lethal to the living, but that didn't mean any random destructive spell could compare to elemental ones.

"But as I said, your move has too obvious a flaw."

A piercing sword cry rang out as a longsword with an indigo hilt was drawn from its white scabbard. One of the Fifty Great Grade Swords, its inscription: Shigure.

"I will never let you lay another finger on Captain Smoker! Never!"

Tashigi, dressed more like a girl next door than a soldier, swung her sword to block in front of Smoker.

Her pale lips were a testament to her knowing she was no match for Lowett. Her greatest role was to use her life to shield Smoker from the attack.

Her feet remained planted because she knew Smoker had argued with Momonga about tonight's ambush, and both had fought fiercely, causing them great pain.

"Are you crazy? Get out of here!"

Smoker was shocked; Tashigi suddenly stepping forward was unexpected.

"No! Even if it's just a little, I want to help Captain Smoker..."

"You idiot! You..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lowett's spell was ready.

"Crimson... Soul Splitter... Ash..."

"Taste this new spell I developed just for you, Smoker... I call it..."

"White Burial!"

White Burial, the whiteness that buries the sky!

Dyeing the sky white was the most fitting death for the "White Hunter" Smoker.

Buzzz!!

As his voice fell, Smoker had no time to think. He forcefully shoved Tashigi away with his shoulder. Turning back, surging energy poured into his body.

"Ah!!!"

"Captain Smoker!!"

"Vice Admiral Smoker!!"

Under the astonished gazes of countless people, Smoker gritted his teeth, his face turning red, veins bulging, enduring immense pain.

Yet, he still turned his head, his gaze offering comfort to the fallen Tashigi, his voice strained through clenched teeth.

"Quick... Run..."

And then...

Bang!!

He dissolved into a sky full of white smoke!

Great masses of thick white ash erupted from his chest, causing his limbs to gradually fade and decompose, like clumps of dry ice just sprayed from a fog machine, rapidly surging in all directions and scattering across the street.

After a few breaths, the entire Loguetown was dyed white.

"Cap...tain?"

Tashigi's pupils constricted, and she softly called out.

She seemed to hope this was Smoker's Elementalization, that he had used it to evade the attack.

But there was no reply.

A rain of ash fell from the sky, each particle exuding a deathly stillness and bone-chilling cold, making her teeth chatter.

"Captain!!!"

"Am I too late?"

Hearing Tashigi's shrill cry, Momonga on the warship couldn't help but tremble, giving his opponent an opening to retreat out of range.

Drip... drip...

Stopping against the wall, blood dripped from his fingertips onto the deck. The lingering chilling aura of the Underworld from his spell greedily devoured his vitality, causing the blood to emit smoke and quickly turn black.

Then...

Splat!!

Blood rained down in a straight line from Lowett's right chest to his lower left abdomen. The blade tore through his clothes, leaving a gash deep enough to see bone.

"Momonga!"

Standing steady with the Black Knight's support, Lowett, leaning on his broken staff, his eyes filled with gravity.

Such a fast blade!

Over fifty meters away, and he arrived in an instant!

He had only been unable to stop Lowett's first attack, and Smoker only needed to block his first attack.

That didn't mean he would be helpless against the second!

Thank you to the reader ~Just So Crazy~ for the 2000 reward! Thank you for your support!

I finally went to get medicine for the cold I've had for the past two days, but after taking it, my head felt groggy and I was sleepy all day. It's so frustrating.

Thank you to all the readers for your hard work voting this week. Next week, this book will be noticed by the editor and placed on the homepage's sixth channel. This is all thanks to you. The Great Tree bows in gratitude to all of you!

So please allow me to shamelessly ask for more votes!

Seriously, the votes can't stop!

Thank you everyone.

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