A Shot Rings Out

After eating that Logia Devil Fruit, Smoker's teacher, Zephyr, had clearly told him not to rely too much on his Devil Fruit ability.

At the same time, Zephyr explained a series of weaknesses and limitations of Devil Fruit Users to Smoker.

Among these was that special stone – Seastone.

This stone contained the power of the sea, and once a Devil Fruit User touched it, it was as if their entire body had sunk into the sea. While they wouldn't drown or suffocate, they would instantly lose their combat ability.

Smoker had personally touched Seastone and experienced that feeling, so when his fist struck Krieg, the familiar sensation made him instantly realize –

The black armor that man was wearing was actually mixed with Seastone!

"Is this their trump card against Lynn Barek?"

Smoker retracted his fist, his brow furrowed.

Both he and Lynn were Devil Fruit Users, and facing an enemy with Seastone armor, they were at a disadvantage from the start.

The commotion in the distant street continued.

Meanwhile.

Although Smoker's punch didn't land fully due to the effect of the Seastone armor, Krieg still stumbled from the sudden blow.

He turned his head and saw a man with silver-white hair standing on a nearby rooftop.

The man had two cigars in his mouth and was looking at him with a frown.

"Who!"

Krieg roared.

Was this Lynn's accomplice?

Didn't Kuro say Lynn came to Loguetown alone? This wasn't how the plan was supposed to go!

Unlike Kuro, who could adapt to circumstances, Krieg didn't understand any schemes or tricks, but he was still quite confident in his combat strength.

Therefore, he just wanted to eliminate all interfering factors and continue with the original plan.

Krieg hoisted his black great war hammer and looked at Smoker, tilting his chin.

"Hey, this is none of your business. If you don't want to die, get lost!"

Upon hearing this, Smoker cracked his knuckles, producing a series of crisp pops.

"Admiral Krieg, I am arresting you in the name of the Marines!"

"Marines?!"

Krieg immediately took half a step back, but when he saw that Smoker was wearing ordinary clothes and there was no one else around, he sneered:

"Oh, what's the matter? You must be a Marine on vacation in Loguetown who stumbled upon me by chance, right?"

Smoker retorted, "Does that have anything to do with you?"

"Of course it does."

Krieg grinned widely. He was afraid of being surrounded and attacked by a large group of Marines, but if it was one-on-one, he had no reason to be afraid!

Smoker's eyes were fixed on Krieg, as he contemplated how to deal with the troublesome Seastone armor.

Krieg probably hadn't realized he was a Devil Fruit User yet, so he had to attack Krieg's head, which wasn't protected by Seastone, before he found out, and finish him in one blow!

With that thought, Smoker leaped up, drew his Jitte from behind, and charged at Krieg.

To avoid Krieg discovering he was a Devil Fruit User, Smoker didn't rush to elementalize. Instead, he planned to get close to Krieg using pure physical combat first.

However, what greeted Smoker was Krieg's great war hammer, weighing a ton!

Krieg laughed, swinging his great war hammer with one hand, aiming it directly at Smoker's head.

Normally, a weapon of this weight would be easily blocked by Smoker's simple elementalization.

However, now, due to the restriction of Seastone, Smoker was forced to use his Jitte to forcibly block the attack.

The Jitte was a special weapon designed to counter swords. When facing a heavy polearm like the great war hammer, it was bound to be at a disadvantage.

Smoker took the blow head-on, and his right hand immediately felt numb, his tiger's mouth almost cracking from the impact.

But in return, Smoker had used that attack to close the distance between himself and Krieg!

Just a few more steps, and Krieg's head, exposed outside his helmet, would be within the range of his elemental attack.

Without any hesitation, Smoker bent down and charged forward again.

Krieg, seeing the other party charging at him head-on, felt that something was wrong.

He couldn't let him get close!

Immediately, Krieg swung his great war hammer with one hand, the tip whistling through the air.

"Marine! I don't have time to play with you today, and I don't plan on causing trouble in Loguetown. Let's both back down, and I'll pretend I didn't see you!"

Krieg roared.

The silver-haired man before him was no ordinary Marine; he had the strength to stalemate him, and it would take some time to defeat him.

But he still had to keep an eye on the situation in the backstreets. This was a matter of his life, and he couldn't afford to delay!

However, Krieg was destined to be disappointed. Setting aside the fact that Smoker came to Loguetown specifically for them, even if Smoker were truly on vacation, given his stubborn nature, he wouldn't let any pirates he discovered get away.

"Tch, what a pain!"

Smoker took a deep drag from his cigar and suddenly threw his Jitte at the Great War Spear that was being swung.

The Jitte struck the tip of the Great War Spear. The sudden force caused Krieg's arm to momentarily lose balance, and his previously impenetrable defense revealed a slight opening.

Seizing this opportunity, Smoker instantly elementalized his right arm, turning it into white smoke, and punched towards Krieg's head!

However, the next second.

Krieg suddenly ducked his head, his shoulder guards closing in simultaneously to protect his head.

This sudden turn of events caught Smoker off guard. His pupils constricted, and just as he was about to retract his hand, Krieg's hand had already grabbed his fist.

Seastone came into contact with skin, and a sense of powerlessness washed over Smoker's body. He could only kneel and struggle to maintain his stance with all his might.

"Hahahaha, this armor is truly a great thing, it has no blind spots at all."

Krieg grinned and then looked at Smoker, who was kneeling on the ground.

"Marine, so you're a Devil Fruit User too, no wonder you're so confident. But now..."

Krieg raised his Great War Spear and aimed it at Smoker's head.

"It's useless now!"

Before he could finish speaking, the one-ton Great War Spear was already smashing down towards Smoker's head!

At the same time, what happened was—

A person flew through the air.

Over at Number Five Backstreet not far away, Linley, carrying the large man named Barik, leaped into the air and then slammed him hard onto the ground.

Boom!

The massive roar and the tremor from the ground made Krieg pause for a moment, distracted.

It was precisely because of this momentary distraction that Smoker managed to break free from Krieg's grip with all his might. He then roared and swung his elementalized fist at Krieg's head again.

White Punch!

Bang!

The fist landed on Krieg's face, and the elementalized smoke then swirled around the Seastone armor, attempting to completely engulf Krieg's head.

Just as the victory was about to be decided, a second sound rang out—

Bang!

It wasn't the sound of a fist hitting a face, but the sound of a gunshot.

It was the flintlock pistol in Krieg's hand.

The dark muzzle was emitting smoke, and the white smoke swirling around Krieg's head slowly receded.

The elementalization was forcibly dispelled, and a wave of powerlessness spread through Smoker's entire body.

He touched his right shoulder and found that blood was flowing.

"This..."

In contrast, Krieg had already gotten up from the ground, carrying the Great War Spear on his shoulder, his expression grim.

He had to kill the Marine in front of him!

Because of him, the last safeguard against Linley—

The only Seastone bullet had been used up!