Storm Clouds

Inside the New Recruit Camp restroom, Luo Sa repeatedly splashed cold water over his face.

"Phew, phew, phew... That Sakartam, I have to make him shut his mouth!" Luo Sa's expression darkened.

Still, he was not too worried about his ability to use water being exposed. After all, no one had seen him truly wield the power of water.

But while he was not afraid of thieves, he was afraid of being watched. If Vegapunk took notice of him, that would be no small trouble!

"Luo Sa, are you okay?"

At that moment, Hina walked over, her voice carrying a hint of concern.

"Ah, I'm fine. I'm just a little tired from the earlier fight."

"What about you? Is your match over?"

Luo Sa wiped his face and sat down on a chair nearby.

"It's over. I lost."

Hina shrugged and naturally sat down beside Luo Sa.

She had long expected her defeat. Or rather, if Luo Sa had not helped her obtain the Kankan Fruit, she would have struggled even to reach this stage.

"You should get a bye in the next round, and if nothing unexpected happens, you'll face Smoker, who came in third."

Hina began analyzing the situation for Luo Sa. Since the last incident, the relationship between the two had become very subtle.

Luo Sa nodded after hearing that. He had thought he would have no chance to fight Smoker, but this arrangement suited him perfectly.

"A Smoke-Smoke Fruit user?"

"Back in my previous life, some One Piece fans speculated that the Smoke-Smoke Fruit was a lesser version of the Wind-Wind Fruit. Now I can test that theory first!"

With a smile in his heart, Luo Sa temporarily cast Sakartam, that piece of trash, out of his mind.

By the time Luo Sa and Hina returned to the arena, the fourth round had just begun. Luo Sa, ranked first, received a bye, while Drake, ranked second, was the first to fight!

"Luo Sa, I'll be waiting for you in the finals! This time, I'll definitely wash away the humiliation of my previous defeat!"

Drake paused before Luo Sa, his presence imposing.

"Fine. I'll be waiting." Luo Sa replied calmly.

At once, Drake and Luo Sa's exchange stirred up an uproar across the arena.

"What does that mean?"

"Did they fight before, and Drake lost?"

Disbelief appeared on a recruit's face.

Although Luo Sa had proven his strength in the previous battle, they still believed there was a considerable gap between him and Drake or Smoker!

Now, the conversation between the two completely overturned everything they thought they knew!

"Could it be that the reason the two of them were carried back together before was because of the outcome of their fight?"

Someone recalled a few details from the Survival Trial.

"Th-this can't be true, right?"

Some recruits' faces reddened. They were deeply embarrassed by the ridicule they had previously directed at Luo Sa.

"Ahahaha, that's right, that's right! Damn it, I've been holding it in forever! Now that they've said it themselves, Sengoku, you old bastard, it's time to lift that gag order, isn't it?!"

Garp immediately burst into laughter, looking immensely pleased with himself. Clearly, he had long wanted to brag about this matter!

"Who are you calling an old bastard?!"

A vein bulged on Sengoku's forehead as he punched a certain overexcited fellow in the face.

After accepting Drake's challenge, Luo Sa immediately noticed another gaze filled with fighting spirit.

"Smoker?"

"I'm really looking forward to this!"

"Luo Sa, are you confident?"

Hina looked somewhat worried. She knew Luo Sa's situation; taking first place would not be easy.

"Well..."

Luo Sa paused, then looked up at the dark clouds drifting slowly in the distance.

"It feels like it's going to rain, Hina. You'd better prepare an umbrella. It wouldn't be good to get soaked."

"Oh, okay."

Hina froze for a moment, then glanced at the dark clouds on the horizon and nodded.

"Oh, right, you still haven't answered me."

Luo Sa grinned. "I wasn't very confident before, but now I'm one hundred percent sure!"

"Huh?"

Hina froze where she stood, then her little face suddenly flushed red. Who knew what she had thought of.

After another round of battles, the top four of this Ranking Tournament were finally decided.

And the next match was between Smoker and Luo Sa.

"You've developed the Bird-Bird Fruit to this extent. You really are a true genius!"

Smoker stood before Luo Sa with some emotion. In terms of Fruit development alone, he admitted he was inferior.

"Want to learn? Maybe I can give you some advice."

In Luo Sa's understanding of Smoker from his previous life, Smoker had always been in a very awkward position.

Though he possessed the immensely powerful Logia Smoke-Smoke Fruit, Smoker's development of it had truly been terrible.

Smoker was stunned upon hearing this, and it seemed he was actually seriously considering Luo Sa's words.

"You can think it over carefully. But before that—"

"Let's finish our battle first!"

Luo Sa smiled amiably. Smoker's temperament suited his tastes quite well. If he could help him within his means, Luo Sa would not mind lending a hand.

"Alright, then excuse me!"

Smoker nodded, his expression turning solemn.

"White Fist!"

Smoker made the first move. Starting from his wrist, his arm turned into smoke as he viciously smashed it toward Luo Sa!

"Smoke?"

A strange smile appeared at the corner of Luo Sa's lips as he instantly transformed into a Winged Gull and flew into the sky.

"Raise Wind!"

With a flap of his wings, fierce winds swept through heaven and earth.

The next moment, a whirlwind formed and blew toward the smoky fist.

Under the powerful winds, the smoke forming Smoker's fist immediately began to tremble. Wisps of smoke started spilling uncontrollably in every direction.

In the end, just as the White Fist was about to strike Luo Sa, it had already shrunk to the size of an egg and was casually scattered through the air by a flap of Luo Sa's wings.

"How is that possible?!"

Smoker stared in dumbfounded disbelief. Even the cigar clenched between his teeth fell to the ground, yet he did not notice.

"Damn it, take my White Snake!"

Smoker could not accept reality. He drove his body to transform into even more smoke, surging toward Luo Sa in the sky.

"Raise Wind!"

Luo Sa used Raise Wind once more, this time with even greater force.

Just like before, White Snake was ripped to shreds by the whirlwind in midair, unable to mount even the slightest proper resistance.

"What's going on?"

"Why does this Smoker feel so weak?"

"With attacks like that, he can't even compare to Sakartam's mud from before!"

Confusion appeared on the spectators' faces as they began whispering among themselves.

"Could it be that Luo Sa is just too strong?!"

Third update today. I'll keep it up tomorrow—please recommend and bookmark!