The four of them broke free from Smoker's prized "White Cage" almost simultaneously and landed steadily on the ground as if it were nothing.
Smoker's expression became more solemn than ever.
As an elite from Headquarters, he knew exactly what that meant.
Breaking free from his smoke meant these four had reached an almost inconceivable level of strength.
"East Blue... produced monsters like this?"
Smoker tightened his grip on the Jitte, raising his vigilance to its highest level.
Although the main fighters had escaped, the "weaker group" in the rear was still in dire straits.
"Cough, cough... help..." Usopp rolled his eyes.
"Ah! Save me!" Nami was still struggling desperately, but the smoke only coiled tighter around her.
Seeing Ronan and the others standing there as though nothing had happened, Nami immediately panicked and shouted tearfully:
"Ronan!! Stop showing off over there! Hurry up and get this disgusting thing off me!!"
Ronan turned around and looked at Nami, who was dangling in midair from the smoke in a rather awkward pose.
He did not act immediately. Instead, he leisurely slung the Ebony Staff over his shoulder, a familiar, extremely "gentlemanly" smile appearing on his face.
"I can save you."
Ronan put on a stern face and raised one finger solemnly.
"But... it'll cost one million Belly!"
"Not only have I paid back what I owed you, now you owe me instead. That's fair, right?"
"..."
The entire scene fell silent for a second.
Even Smoker on the other side froze for a moment, clearly having never seen such a move before.
The next second, Nami's face instantly flushed red. Her fearful expression vanished, replaced by an even more terrifying fury.
Her mouth turned into sharp fangs, the kind of "aura" that only erupted when she was utterly enraged.
"You bastard,