"Roronoa, Black Leg Sanji."
Clutching the bloody wound that had pierced through his chest, Smoker stared gravely at the two men before him.
It had been a long time since they last met. Had these two really grown this strong?
The crew he had once chased around Loguetown could now make him feel threatened without even needing to send out the two aces on their ship.
The Navy Headquarters had indeed underestimated them.
"Impel Down has never been invaded before. Since you attacked it now, you can only be here for Ace," Smoker thought, his suspicions confirmed.
He had assumed the intruders were under Whitebeard's command, but he had never expected them to be the Straw Hat Crew.
A vague sense of dread stirred in his heart. What worried him most was whether the old man would go easy on his own grandson.
Shing!
Zoro planted his feet apart and stood straight. He swung both swords diagonally downward, flicking the blood from their blades onto the snow, then grinned.
"Our goals are none of the Navy's business. You just need to know you're going to lose here."
With that, he crossed his arms over his chest, holding Yuki and Onikiri upright at his sides, their tips pointing skyward.
His gaze turned cold. His sword intent erupted, and he bent his knees and sprang forward like a cannonball.
"Don't get too cocky, pirate!"
Smoker charged to meet him, drawing the two short jitte at his waist and spinning them a few times in his hands before gripping them tightly.
They were silver all over, with blunt, club-like blades and a hook curving inward along one side.
He was used to fighting with jitte, but these two had no Seastone at the tips. Instead, they were a pair of famous blades—
—[Fangbreak!]