Marine Mad Dog

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"

Krieg's face had twisted with rage.

He had been living quite comfortably in the East Blue, with a massive fleet of thousands. He had even planned to take a stroll around the Grand Line someday. How carefree and glorious that had been.

Then, some time ago, Kuro had summoned him and formed a Pirate Alliance to go after a Great Wanted Criminal with a bounty exceeding 100 million.

That alone would have been one thing, but that madman Kuro had actually found the World Government and JOKER of the underworld as backers. He had even wanted to profit from the game between the two sides.

If he had known things would grow this big, wouldn't it have been better to just remain the local king of the East Blue?

But now, he had no chance of getting out of this.

He had to complete the tasks assigned by the World Government and JOKER. Otherwise, death was the only road waiting for him!

The Seastone bullet he had just fired had originally been his final measure against Lynn Barek.

No matter how powerful a Devil Fruit User was, once a Seastone bullet hit them and lodged in their body, they could only obediently surrender if no outside help was available to remove it.

And that was the main reason Kuro had demanded that Lynn come to Loguetown alone.

But now, this precious Seastone bullet had been wasted on some bastard Marine who had appeared out of nowhere!

"If that madman Kuro can't kill Lynn Barek, I'll be buried with him too!"

Growing angrier the more he thought about it, Krieg fixed his rage-twisted gaze on Smoker before him.

Smoker was not in good condition.

The Seastone bullet had struck his right shoulder. It was not a fatal wound, but the bullet remained inside him, practically the same as shackling him in Seastone!

Waves of weakness washed over him. Smoker felt it was already difficult enough just to keep himself half-kneeling on the ground.

He tried to force himself to stand, but before he could even rise halfway, an incoming Great War Gun sent him flying!

Bang!

Smoker crashed through a pile of clutter and barely managed to stop.

Krieg dragged the Great War Gun across the ground, metal scraping against stone with a piercing screech.

He walked up to Smoker and raised the Great War Gun one-handed once more, the blade on its barrel aimed at Smoker's head.

"There's no inexplicable earthquake coming to save you now. Once I chop off your head, I'll go deal with Lynn Barek!"

Lynn Barek?

Lynn Barek!

Him again!

The moment Smoker heard that name, a nameless fire suddenly rose from the depths of his heart.

During training on the Uninhabited Island, Lynn had beaten the beast Smoker had been fighting to a pulp first, all because of a piece of grilled meat.

And just now, Smoker had seen exactly what had caused that inexplicable earthquake—it had been Lynn Barek again!

He had just been indirectly saved by Lynn because of his own carelessness and lack of strength. Was he supposed to wait for someone else to save him again now?!

What kind of Marine would he be then, one who protected others?!

"Lynn Barek, I acknowledge what I owe you for just now... but I don't need you to save me this time!"

Muttering to himself, Smoker rose from the pile of debris.

The weakness caused by the Seastone bullet was still there, but Smoker could no longer afford to care about it. Or rather, he forced himself not to think about it.

After all, Teacher Zephyr had warned him more than once not to rely too heavily on the power of a Devil Fruit.

"Teacher Zephyr, I've learned another lesson today."

Smoker gritted his teeth, his eyes locked firmly onto Krieg. He raised his head and slowly said in a low voice:

"Without my Devil Fruit ability, can't I be a Marine...?"

Then Smoker clenched his right hand into a fist and slammed it into his left palm.

Smoker's all-out roar erupted from the rooftop. "How could that be possible?!"

"Huh? Are you talking nonsense?"

Krieg froze for a moment, then burst into laughter. "Stop forcing yourself! The Seastone bullet is still inside your body, isn't it? Without that troublesome Devil Fruit ability, you're just an ordinary person with no fighting power at all!"

"Huh? An ordinary person?"

For the first time since the battle began, Smoker broke into a wide grin, his expression incomparably savage.

If his fellow Marines saw this, they would surely cry out in shock: that poker face could make such a terrifying expression besides frowning?!

Smoker looked at Krieg and spoke.

"You know, after I ate a Devil Fruit, people started calling me Smoker or the White Hunter."

He picked up the cigar he had dropped from the ground beside him, took a deep drag, and exhaled white smoke as though recalling the past.

The sight immediately enraged Krieg. He raised the Seastone Great War Gun high above his head, aimed it at Smoker's skull, and smashed it down with all his strength!

"Die!"

Suddenly, a hand clamped tightly around the shaft of the Great War Gun.

Smoker had leaped up, grabbing it before its shaft could fall!

Since his body was already restricted by the Seastone bullet, coming into contact with other Seastone weapons would not affect him much more.

Using the Great War Gun's shaft, Smoker vaulted upward, rising directly above Krieg.

In that instant, Smoker's furious roar exploded across the rooftop.

"Before people called me the White Hunter, my nickname was the Marine Mad Dog!"

Bang!

Smoker's fist smashed hard into Krieg's face.

There was no Devil Fruit ability in that blow—only raw, solid physical strength!

Krieg's vision instantly went black, followed by a blur of white. His mind felt as if it had short-circuited.

Only Smoker's roar thundered in his ears.

"Seastone? So what?!"

"Bullets? So what?!"

"Armor? So what?!"

Smoker poured every ounce of strength from every part of his body into resisting the weakness brought by the Seastone, while his fists rained down on Krieg's face again and again.

Finally, Smoker grabbed Krieg's left and right shoulder armor, lifted his entire body, and violently slammed him into the ground!

This was not a berserk act born from losing his mind, but Smoker's calm judgment of the current situation.

No matter what, the Seastone bullet inside him had restricted his strength. He did not even have a tenth of his usual power.

The only reason he could pin Krieg to the ground and beat him senseless was that he had caught him off guard and stunned him.

In that case, he absolutely could not let Krieg regain his senses easily. He had to press the advantage and finish him completely!

Combo! Combo! Combo!

He could not stop for even one second!

What he hit and how he hit did not matter anymore.

The moment Krieg recovered, Smoker would lose!

Smoker let out a roar, clenched both fists, and hammered them heavily into Krieg's chest.

Boom!

Crash!

With the sound of shattering stone, Smoker smashed a huge hole through the entire rooftop, and he and Krieg fell through it one after the other!

Below the rooftop was Loguetown's famous hot spring bathhouse, hazy with steam.

A dozen or so seconds earlier, a young man with long blue hair had entered the bath wrapped in a towel and sat down.

Steam billowed around him, and the young man could not help letting out a satisfied sigh.

"Ah... Taking a break once in a while really is nice. The boys should be preparing the barbecue feast by now. Once I'm done soaking, there'll be delicious grilled meat waiting for me!"

With his makeup unusually removed, Buggy thought to himself.

A dozen or so seconds later—

The ceiling was smashed apart.

Krieg and Smoker came crashing down from above, one after the other!