Just standing there made him seem terrifyingly powerful.
Feeling that sense of oppression, that their lives and deaths were no longer in their own hands, Smoker immediately broke out in a cold sweat. None of his earlier arrogance remained.
When Hina saw this, the cigarette in her mouth unconsciously fell to the ground, but she was indeed the first to react.
"Saint Austin!!!"
She gave a standard Marine salute, not because she was particularly loyal, but because she knew that if she did not, everyone might die.
That included the insubordinate Smoker, the Marine soldiers surrounding the area, and the civilians watching with weapons in hand.
Perhaps upon hearing that warning in her voice, the civilians all dropped to their knees, each of them trembling in fear.
Tashigi immediately gave a military salute as well.
Only Smoker, his expression ugly, did not turn around for a long while. Even as Hina frantically signaled him with her eyes, he merely turned his body around.
He looked at that tall figure, hands in his pockets and wearing an indifferent expression.
This was one of the people behind Crocodile's plot to destroy a nation and bring disaster upon Alabasta.
"Austin..."
Smoker gritted his teeth. The moment he spoke, he could no longer even get the words out clearly and had to swallow them back down.
A terrifying pressure instantly swept over his entire body. It was as though he had been struck by lightning; bloodshot veins burst into his eyes, and he fell to one knee.
He could not even passively transform into his elemental form. The immense pressure kept his head lowered, blood spilling from his mouth.
"Well... to be honest, I do rather admire tough guys like you."
A pair of black leather shoes stepped beside Smoker's lowered head. With just