Smoker's Move

About an hour earlier.

A man entered Loguetown through the northern entrance.

He had silver-white hair, wore a touristy beach shirt, and sported a pair of sunglasses.

Most striking of all were the cigars tucked into every pocket on his body, in varying numbers, totaling several dozen.

The man also had two freshly lit cigars clenched between his teeth.

As a Smoke-Smoke Fruit user, Smoker had quite a serious smoking habit, but today was the first time he had felt such an urgent need to smoke.

The reason was probably that man—

Lynn Barek.

Whenever he thought of that name, Smoker felt waves of irritation.

"Rescuing people from pirates is obviously the Marines' duty. What right does a wanted criminal have to interfere?!"

With cigars in his mouth, Smoker furrowed his brow.

All around him was a familiar sight—

Loguetown.

Returning here once more brought back memories Smoker could not help but recall.

Many years ago, in Loguetown, he had personally witnessed that man's execution, as well as the opening of an era by that man's own hand.

When that era's revelry began, Smoker had looked at the people consumed by frenzy and felt a deep fear in his heart.

After that, he joined the Marines to fight against that fear.

Perhaps it was because of what happened back then, or perhaps it was his duty as a Marine.

Whatever the reason, he simply found the man named Lynn Barek irritating!

That irritation was by no means hostility or hatred. It was simply disapproval of Lynn's actions and character.

Though some of his Marine colleagues said Smoker took life far too seriously, he clearly had no intention of changing, because that was simply the kind of person he was.

That was why Smoker had never expected Lynn to cooperate with him from the start. He had long prepared himself to rescue the Foosha Village hostages alone!

As a Logia Devil Fruit user, Smoker had that confidence.

"I can't let him look down on the Marines!"

Smoker took a drag from his cigar and looked out over Loguetown's bustling streets.

Protecting the peace of these seas was the Marines' duty. He would never allow pirates to trample this beautiful scene so easily!

"First, I need to find the pirates' hideout."

Smoker exhaled a plume of smoke and began silently searching the streets on his own.

The pirates had not arranged a meeting place with Lynn, so they had likely stationed lookouts throughout Loguetown to prepare for his arrival.

Smoker's first task was to find them, then force them to reveal where the pirates' main base was.

Yet after several dozen minutes, Smoker had found nothing.

Just as he was about to switch to another street and continue searching, a sudden series of shouts caught his attention.

"Hey, hey, hey! There seems to be a fireworks show at the western harbor!"

"Hurry and watch it! If you're late, you won't get to see it!"

Led by those cries, the crowd gradually began moving toward the western harbor.

"Hm?"

Smoker sensed something strange. He carefully observed the people shouting and found that they were mysterious figures dressed as civilians, yet wearing hats and cloaks to conceal their identities.

After shouting, they quickly slipped into the crowd, hiding their presence completely in the blink of an eye.

Pirates?

Smoker thought about it and felt that something was off.

Just from the way they directed the crowd, he could tell that those mysterious people were highly trained, their coordination comparable to Marines from the same unit.

"Tch, it looks like more troublesome people have come to Loguetown."

As Smoker watched the mysterious figures secretly guide the crowd, one question kept turning over in his mind—why were they doing this?

Then Smoker suddenly noticed several people running against the flow of the crowd, heading toward the eastern side of Loguetown.

They looked somewhat vicious and made no attempt to conceal their presence. They were clearly not with those mysterious people.

Who were they?

Smoker's gaze shifted slightly, and he quickly made his decision. He would follow them and take a look.

Lynn had landed at Loguetown's western harbor, while Smoker himself had lost quite a bit of time changing clothes and patrolling in secret.

Judging by Lynn's usual speed, he should not still be lingering at the western harbor. Moreover, the people flooding toward the harbor had not let out any cries of alarm or screams, so things there should still be peaceful.

Smoker stopped a passerby and asked, "Where does the eastern side of Loguetown lead?"

The passerby replied, "The back streets, but don't go there, sir. It's a mess over there. A lot of thugs and hooligans live there."

That was the place!

Smoker's eyes narrowed. He did not know what that pirate named Kuro was planning, but everything along the way pointed to one thing—

Something was definitely happening in the east!

Given Lynn's personality, perhaps he had those mysterious people guide the crowd west to keep them from getting caught up in the fighting, Smoker thought. But who are those people?

Though his heart was full of doubts, Smoker was ultimately a man of action. He did not dwell on it any longer and began running toward the back streets in eastern Loguetown.

Along the way, Smoker came across several disturbed areas. He heard that people had gotten into fights, and those who had been beaten were still lying on the ground, their fate unknown.

The direction was right!

Smoker was delighted. To increase his speed, he jumped onto a rooftop, then used his Devil Fruit power to transform into smoke, darting across the rooftops in a straight line toward the back streets.

When he was not far from the back streets, Smoker could already hear the commotion—people roaring and objects smashing apart.

Have they already started fighting?

Smoker frowned and accelerated again.

But at that moment, a dark shape on a rooftop suddenly caught Smoker's attention.

Smoker focused his eyes and found that it was merely a pile of junk. Yet upon closer inspection, he discovered that someone was hiding within it!

Night had already fallen, and visibility was poor.

Smoker quietly drew closer and finally saw more clearly.

A purple-haired man in heavy black armor was hiding among the junk. He held a long-barreled sniper rifle aimed toward the back streets.

Who was he? Friend or foe?

Using his ability, Smoker moved closer still and finally saw the man's full face. He recognized him at once.

The pirate with a bounty of 17 million berries, Commodore Krieg!

Smoker had seen Krieg's Bounty Poster while organizing intelligence files.

In the East Blue, this man's name was notoriously infamous.

Although Smoker often found Lynn irritating, he also believed that Lynn would never associate with such an infamous pirate.

In that case, he was an enemy.

Was he hiding here with a sniper rifle to ambush Lynn?

Smoker slowly lowered himself, searching for an opportunity to strike.

The instant Krieg adjusted his posture to aim again, Smoker transformed his right arm into smoke, clenched his fingers into a fist, and struck decisively!

White Shot!

Smoker had practiced this Elementalization-powered heavy punch countless times. Even the beasts of an Uninhabited Island could rarely withstand it. Its purpose was to subdue an enemy swiftly in a single blow.

Yet the moment Smoker's fist hit Krieg's armor, a sudden feeling of weakness coursed through him.

"Urgh!"

Smoker's eyes widened as he instantly identified the material used to make that armor—

Seastone!

Addicted to cyberpunk. Luckily, I had chapters saved up...

Ah, no need to panic at all. Yep!