Marine Mad Dog

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"

Krieg's face was contorted with rage.

He had been doing perfectly fine in the East Blue, commanding a fleet of thousands, and even planning to visit the Grand Line in the future. How carefree and unrestrained he had been.

But then, a while ago, Kuro had summoned him, and they formed the Pirate Alliance to take down a Wanted Criminal with a bounty over 100 million.

If that were all, it would be one thing, but that madman Kuro had actually roped in the World Government and the underworld's JOKER as backers, even trying to profit from their conflict.

If he had known things would escalate this much, wouldn't it have been better to just stay the local emperor of the East Blue?

Now, he found himself with no way out.

He had to complete the tasks assigned by the World Government and JOKER, or death would be his only fate!

The Seastone bullet he had just fired was originally intended as a last resort against Lynn Barek.

No matter how powerful a Devil Fruit User was, if they were hit by a Seastone bullet and it lodged inside their body, without external help to remove it, the user would have no choice but to surrender.

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

But now, this precious Seastone bullet had been forced upon some damn Marine who had appeared out of nowhere!

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

The more he thought about it, the angrier Krieg became. He cast his rage-distorted gaze upon Smoker before him.

Smoker was not in good shape.

He had been hit in the right shoulder by that Seastone bullet. While not a fatal wound, the Seastone bullet remained lodged in his body, effectively shackling him with Seastone!

Waves of weakness kept washing over him, and Smoker felt it was a struggle just to remain kneeling.

He tried to force himself to stand, but before he could even get halfway up, he was sent flying by a Great War Gun!

Bang!

Smoker's body crashed into a pile of debris, finally coming to a halt.

Krieg dragged the Great War Gun along the ground, the metal scraping with a piercing screech.

He walked up to Smoker, raised the Great War Gun with one hand again, the blade pointed at Smoker's head.

"There's no mysterious earthquake to save you this time. Once I lop off your head, I'll deal with Lynn Barek!"

Lynn Barek?

Lynn Barek!

Him again!

Upon hearing the name, an inexplicable anger surged from the depths of Smoker's heart.

During their training on the uninhabited island, Lynn had once beaten him to a fierce beast they were both fighting over a piece of grilled meat.

And just now, Smoker had clearly seen the cause of that mysterious earthquake – it was Lynn Barek again!

He had already been indirectly saved by Lynn once due to his carelessness and lack of strength. Was he going to wait for someone else to save him again now?

What kind of Marine who protects others would that make him!

"Lynn Barek, I owe you for that favor just now... but I don't need you to save me now!"

Smoker muttered to himself as he pushed himself up from the debris.

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

After all, his teacher, Zephyr, had warned him more than once not to rely too much on his Devil Fruit abilities.

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

Smoker gritted his teeth, his eyes fixed on Krieg. He raised his head and said softly, slowly:

"Does that mean I can't be a Marine without my Devil Fruit ability...?"

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

A low roar, filled with Smoker's full effort, echoed from the rooftop: "How could that be!"

"Huh? Are you talking nonsense?"

Krieg was momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter. "Stop pretending. The Seastone bullet is still inside you, right? Without that troublesome Devil Fruit ability, you're just an ordinary person with no combat power!"

"Huh? An ordinary person?"

For the first time since the battle began, Smoker grinned widely, his expression terrifyingly ferocious.

If his Marine colleagues saw this scene, they would surely exclaim: that poker face could actually make such a frightening expression besides frowning!

Smoker looked at Krieg and said:

"Do you know? After I ate my Devil Fruit, people started calling me 'Smoker' or 'White Hunter'."

He picked up the cigar that had fallen nearby, took a deep drag, and exhaled white smoke, as if reminiscing about the past.

Seeing this, Krieg's anger flared. He raised the Seastone Great War Gun high, aimed it at Smoker's head, and then swung it down with all his might!

"Die!"

Suddenly, a hand tightly gripped the barrel of the Great War Gun.

Smoker leaped forward, seizing the Great War Gun before it could fall!

Since his body was already restricted by the Seastone bullets, further contact with other Seastone weapons wouldn't have as much of an impact.

Using the Great War Gun as leverage, Smoker propelled himself upwards, positioning himself directly above Krieg.

In that instant, Smoker's roar erupted on the rooftop.

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

Bang!

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

This strike was pure physical strength, devoid of any Devil Fruit ability!

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

Only Smoker's roaring voice echoed in his ears.

"Seastone? Ah!"

"Bullets? Ah!"

"Armor? Ah!"

Smoker poured every ounce of his strength into his attacks, fighting against the powerlessness brought by Seastone, his fists landing on Krieg's face again and again.

Finally, Smoker grabbed Krieg's shoulder pauldrons, lifting him entirely before slamming him heavily onto the ground!

This was by no means a display of unbridled rage; it was Smoker's calm judgment of the current situation.

No matter what, his strength was already suppressed by the Seastone bullets within him, his power reduced to less than a tenth of its usual level.

The only reason he could pin Krieg down and beat him was by catching him off guard and stunning him.

Since that was the case, he absolutely couldn't let Krieg recover his senses. He had to press his advantage and finish him off!

Combo! Combo! Combo!

Not a second to spare!

What he hit, or how he hit, no longer mattered.

If Krieg regained his composure, he would be the one to lose!

Smoker let out a roar, clenching his fists and smashing them forcefully into Krieg's chest.

Boom!

Crash!

With the sound of shattering stone, the entire rooftop was blasted with a large hole by Smoker's impact, and he and Krieg plummeted through it!

Beneath the rooftop, shrouded in mist, was Loguetown's famous hot spring bathhouse.

Just ten seconds prior, a young man with long blue hair, wearing only a towel, had stepped into the bath and sat down.

The rising steam brought him a wave of comfort.

"Ah... it's so good to take a break once in a while. My subordinates should be preparing a barbecue feast right now. Once I'm done with my bath, there'll be delicious grilled meat!"

Buggy, having rarely taken off his makeup, thought to himself.

Ten seconds later—

The ceiling was smashed.

Krieg and Smoker fell through, one after the other!