The Dual Heavens of Ice and Fire

Although his smoke screen does cover a very large area, he still needs to use his Haki and abilities to sense the location of the smoke screen before launching an attack.

At this point, he could tell whether the smoke was inside his own people or the enemy's bodies, so that wasn't the reason he let the others leave.

The main reason was that he feared those navy personnel would die in the aftermath of their battle.

"I see."

Xi Yan nodded and did not continue the topic.

He then Haki himself in Haki, hoping to use Haki to prevent Smoker from applying his powers to his body.

'Inhaling smoke is unavoidable,' Xi Yan thought to himself. 'After all, I need to breathe during battle.'

Even someone like him, who possesses an immortal body, is no exception to this.

Therefore, trying to use Haki for defense is a good idea; now it remains to be seen whether Haki will be effective.

As he pondered this, Xi Yan focused his Haki on the appropriate points.

Just then, the surrounding smoke began to stir again, slowly spreading towards them.

Smoker himself charged towards them, enveloped in smoke.

"Go to hell, you bastard!"

As he spoke, Smoker raised his fist, which was brimming with Haki, and struck hard.

During the attack, the smoke around him also rushed towards Xi Yan.

Upon witnessing this scene, Xi Yan only hesitated for a moment before deciding to take Smoker's attack head-on.

The next moment...

"Clang!"

The heavy fist struck Xi Yan's arm, immediately producing a crisp, metallic sound.

Then, Xi Yan was enveloped in Smoker's smoke.

'It wasn't shattered by the shockwave.'

A hint of surprise flashed in Xi Yan's eyes. It seemed that Smoker was manipulating smoke to envelop himself while attacking.

As he thought about it, he raised his fist and threw a punch at Smoker.

And so, Xi Yan, braving Smoker's smoke, forced himself to engage in a fierce fight with Smoker right there.

A moment later...

"Light it!" Smoker shouted, having created some distance.

Unfortunately, no changes occurred to Xi Yan this time, as if Smoker's abilities had failed.

"So that's how it is," Xi Yan muttered.

When Smoker used his powers, he felt as if his Haki was intercepting something.

If I'm not mistaken, that was Smoker's intention or ability fluctuation as he lit the smoke.

Unfortunately, his own Haki was strong enough that the opponent's Haki could no longer have an effect on his body.

"What a monster," Smoker cursed.

He rendered his move ineffective simply by relying on his Haki...

He truly lives up to his reputation as a formidable character capable of fighting his way up to Mary Geoise; he is indeed a monster.

"Your abilities are indeed Lihai."

After casually brushing the dust off his shoulder, Xi Yan chuckled and said, "But as long as your Haki is strong enough, your abilities won't be effective inside my body."

Now he's figured out Smoker's abilities.

Its destructive power is decent, but it's not enough to target high-level combat forces.

At least when facing Haki opponent, this attack method is unlikely to be effective.

Of course, Smoker could also exploit an information gap to launch a surprise attack and eliminate the enemy.

The problem is... people in this world aren't very good at hiding their information!!!

Moreover, Smoker is Admiral Candidate in the Navy, and many people are interested in him.

After a while, someone will definitely find out what this guy's abilities are like.

Therefore, ambushing skilled opponents becomes unusable over time.

"It's not over yet," Smoker snapped.

He naturally knew that when fighting against a strong opponent, one's abilities weren't as effective as one might imagine.

However... since he has powerful moves, he must teach that bastard Blood-Eyed Ninja a lesson, otherwise he won't be able to swallow this insult.

Then, Smoker spread his arms wide, as if he were about to perform some mysterious ritual, leaving Xi Yan completely bewildered.

"What's the meaning?"

Embrace the sky?

You'll find out soon enough.

Smoker didn't waste any more words with Xi Yan and immediately began to focus on activating his abilities.

In some ways, this attack is even more difficult to execute than previous ones.

As he operated the device, Smoker recalled the words Dr. Vegapunk had once spoken.

"First comes compression," Vegapunk said. "The dispersed smoke is gathered together and forcibly compressed into a very small space. The outside does work on the gas, the internal energy rises, the internal temperature rises briefly, and the energy is stored."

"Because your body can Elementalization and you can precisely control every element in your body, this high-pressure, high-temperature gas can be stably contained and will not leak out prematurely."

"Then comes the release!"

"Freed from its constraints, the high-pressure smoke expands adiabatically towards the normal pressure environment. The gas does work on the outside, and without external heat replenishment, its internal energy decreases significantly, causing a precipitous drop in temperature."

"Finally, ice fog will form."

"The cooled smoke cools the water vapor in the surrounding air, causing it to liquefy into countless tiny water droplets that mix with the smoke, appearing as a cool white mist to the naked eye. If your abilities are improved enough, you can freeze the enemy in a very short time, but this is not a simple operation."

Vegapunk's words echoed in Smoker's mind, a question he had been pondering for the same three months.

Unfortunately, he was never able to fully understand Dr. Vegapunk's technical terms.

He only understood three words: compression, release, and formation of ice fog.

But it was precisely by relying on these three words that he developed this ability.

According to Dr. Vegapunk, it means having a brain full of muscles and a particularly outlandish way of understanding things.

But overall, it's not a bad thing.

"Um?"

With his keen senses, Xi Yan gradually noticed something was wrong. Why was the smoke, which had been extremely hot just moments before, now cooling down rapidly?

Could this guy be planning to fight me with ordinary smoke?

Or perhaps... he really developed the ability to control temperature Moku Moku no Mi?

Frozen smoke?

Is it a case of extremes, like fire and ice?

Smoker snapped out of his daze upon hearing Xi Yan's voice, then grinned and said, "Feel this power well."

As soon as he finished speaking, the smoke around Xi Yan stopped moving and then turned white at a visible speed, while also emitting wisps of cold air.

"I knew it."

Xi Yan revealed an expression of "I knew it," Smoker had really developed the Moku Moku no Mi to this extent.

Not only does it possess the high temperature of the Mera Mera no Mi, but it also has the low temperature of the Ice-Ice Fruit... I have to say, this guy is really amazing.

The next moment...

"Phew~"

A large amount of white smoke rushed towards Xi Yan, completely enveloping him and turning his entire body white.

"Um?"

Xi Yan, noticing the change in his body, paused for a moment, then chuckled, "Your temperature isn't good either."

He thought he'd be frozen solid instantly, but this is it?

But Smoker wasn't angry; he simply watched Xi Yan calmly while maintaining his powers.

"Click~"

"Click click click~"

"Um?!!"

Upon sensing the astonishing changes occurring on his body, Xi Yan's eyes widened in surprise. How could the temperature have suddenly dropped so drastically?

Just as he had this thought, his body was frozen into an ice sculpture.

"I never said my ability was to freeze you the moment I touched you," Smoker said calmly.

His remarkable ability lies in his ability to freely control the temperature of the smoke.

It can unleash extremely high or low temperatures in an instant, or it can allow the other person to gradually experience the temperature change.

This time, he chose to combine the two, hoping to make the bastard careless.

He turned out to be right.

After completely freezing Xi Yan, Smoker slowly walked over.

He was certain that his opponent wouldn't dare to use that immortality ability lightly, so he wasn't worried that his opponent would suddenly appear beside him and attack him.

'I wonder how long this bastard will be frozen,' Smoker thought to himself.

As he thought this, Smoker approached Xi Yan, tensing his muscles in preparation for his attack.

Although we're currently cooperating with Fujitora in this charade, it's still perfectly fine to collect some interest from that bastard, the Blood-Eyed Ninja.

Just then, the ice on Xi Yan's body began to crackle, and numerous cracks appeared on its surface.

This change immediately caught Smoker's attention.

"This is..."

Smoker stopped and frowned, saying, "So it wasn't that simple after all."

Whitebeard broke free from Kuzan's ice using his tremor ability, but what did that bastard Xi Yan rely on?

Is it Haki?

As he thought this, Smoker wrapped his fist with Haki.

At this moment, he clearly realized a problem: his abilities could only be used to harass someone like Xi Yan. If he really wanted to beat him up, he would have to use his Haki!

The next moment...

"Click!"

Xi Yan, laughing loudly, jumped up from the ground and landed on a rock as the ice shattered.

"Ha ha ha ha."

"Smoker, I have to admit you're a real talent." Xi Yan stared into Smoker's eyes and said, "To be able to develop a simple Moku Moku no Mi this extent is truly impressive."

In a sense, Smoker is a genius.

"It was just a good reminder from someone," Smoker said casually.

Although he secretly felt a little pleased to be praised by this bastard, he wouldn't show it on the surface.

Xi Yan didn't mind, after all, Smoker was a tough guy, and it was already quite impressive that he managed to squeeze out that sentence.

Then, Xi Yan said, "But you can't defeat me by relying on your abilities alone."

"I know."

Smoker calmly took out a cigar, lit it, and continued, "That old man Garp said that true powerhouses possess incredibly strong Haki, so I didn't expect to defeat you with my abilities."

According to old man Garp, Haki is the most powerful force in the world!

If you possess enough overwhelming Haki, then no matter what ability it is, it will be useless in front of you.

However, he may still have a long way to go before he reaches that point.

However... now that we have it, taking down that bastard Blood-Eyed Ninja shouldn't be a problem!

With that thought, Smoker's upper body flew up and he rushed towards Xi Yan.

This time, he plans to use his Devil Fruit powers along with his overwhelming Haki to give this bastard a good beating!

"Good timing!"

Xi Yan laughed loudly, "Let me see just how strong you really are, this Admiral Candidate!"

After saying that, Xi Yan also charged towards Smoker.

And so, the two resumed their battle in the smoke-shrouded area.

Meanwhile, on the other side...

While Xi Yan was fighting Smoker, Luffy and his crew were tricked into a cave by a bounty hunter, which put them in a life-or-death situation.

"Doflamingo?"

Seeing the figure emerge from behind them, Luo's face turned extremely grim.

Now that Ushi has stepped into the sea, if Doflamingo launches an attack, both of them, who are Devil Fruit users, will fall into the water and drown!

As for the Jette brothers?

Those two idiots crashed into the wall and are already passed out by the doorway.

"Fufufufufu~"

"The weak love to stick together," Doflamingo grinned. "Just like... you guys."

Hearing Doflamingo's words, Law's expression immediately turned even uglier. Was this bastard trying to mock him?

Thinking of this, he glared fiercely at Doflamingo.

But Doflamingo ignored his reaction and instead glanced down at the Seastone Handcuffs on Law's body.

"Looks like you didn't find the key to the handcuffs."

"Fufufufufu~"

"Why are you here, you bastard?" Luffy shouted.

As he spoke, Luffy threw a powerful punch straight at Doflamingo's head.

Seeing this, Doflamingo shook his head slightly and raised his hand to Luffy Luffy's punch, which was not imbued with Haki, away.

"Don't be in such a hurry," Doflamingo sneered. "I'm here to save you."

"Um?"

Luffy was taken aback. What did he mean by "coming to rescue them"?

"They just mentioned a shortcut, and you guys were foolish enough to fall for it..." Doflamingo said, "You're incredibly stupid."

"Fufufufufu~"

"Very well, let me save you and set you free."

"Fufufufufu~"

"Fufufufufu!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Doflamingo raised his right hand and launched a merciless attack on Ushi in the distance.

"Bullet String!"

"Whoosh~"

"Puff!"

One strike, and it pierced right through Ushi's body!

"Ushi!"