At this moment, Smoker was standing not far away, listening to all this. He was also curious about what had happened. When he heard Tokikake say that she had married him, Smoker showed no expression at all.
Tokikake's strength was no joke. Though some of it was her own boasting, she definitely possessed the combat power of a Rear Admiral. Yet Tokikake, with Rear Admiral-level strength, had lost to a newcomer and had even been kicked unconscious by one.
She had always been a competitive woman, so she was now very curious about Mu Chen, especially those red eyes of his.
No one could understand what Tokikake meant. Did she mean that she had merely looked into Mu Chen's eyes and then believed that she had married Smoker?
Tokikake, were you dreaming?
Everyone was filled with doubts over Tokikake's words. Wu Shu stroked his chin, seemingly deep in thought. Those eyes of his... Just as Wu Shu had some idea and was about to voice it, someone else finished his thought. "It was an illusion. Those eyes can make people hallucinate."
Everyone looked over and saw that Kuzan had somehow arrived beside them.
"Kuzan, you think so too?"
"Yes. Back then, I wanted to fight him and test it out. I also wanted to know whether Mu Chen was a Devil Fruit user, but he refused to fight me."
Although Kuzan felt somewhat uncomfortable at being refused by Mu Chen, he was still very curious about Mu Chen's eyes.
"He isn't a Devil Fruit user."
Smoker suddenly spoke coldly from nearby.
When Tokikake heard that it was Smoker, a lewd grin immediately appeared on her face.
"Smoker?"
But Smoker ignored her completely.
"Tokikake isn't a Devil Fruit user?"
"Zhiyuan, how do you know?"
Wu Shu asked the question on everyone else's behalf.
Normally, there were only a few ways to determine whether someone was a Devil Fruit user: observing their attack methods during battle, or using seawater and Seastone to test them. After all, those were Devil Fruits' weaknesses.
Another way was for a Devil Fruit user to use Observation Haki to sense whether the other person was also a Devil Fruit user. Since Devil Fruit users possessed a special kind of energy, it could be detected through Observation Haki. However, doing so required proficiency in Observation Haki; one had to have mastered it skillfully.
Of everyone present, Kuzan was the only Devil Fruit user, but he had not tried. Besides, Kuzan's Observation Haki had only just begun, so he had not sensed anything at all.
As for Sengoku and the others, they had not activated Observation Haki while watching the younger generation fight, so they had overlooked it. Sengoku especially—since he was also a Devil Fruit user, he would have sensed it long ago if he had activated Observation Haki.
Observation Haki could actually be released passively, but in that state, it generally only sensed whether there was danger nearby. In dangerous circumstances, one could actively release Observation Haki and sense all the information one knew how to perceive.
But where was the danger at Marine Headquarters, Marineford?
They all understood this, but how did Smoker know?
Everyone felt that Smoker should not have been able to know.
Smoker wore a serious expression, then slowly said, "I heard it from Vice Admiral Garp." With that, Smoker turned and left without looking back.
Kuzan was left standing there with everyone else!
They stared wide-eyed at one another. "Ha!"
No one had expected the news to be delivered in such a simple and ridiculous way. They had thought Smoker was hiding something and had even wondered when he had become a Devil Fruit user. In the end, all they got was, "I heard it from Vice Admiral Garp." Good grief. They immediately felt like fools, each of them having thought up all sorts of possibilities, only for him to pull that stunt. "You've learned bad habits. Don't pause so dramatically next time, okay?"
Even the usually steady Wu Shu helplessly complained.
But once Smoker revealed this information, they were all dumbfounded. What? Mu Chen was not a Devil Fruit user? That was impossible. If he was not a Devil Fruit user, how had he made Tokikake lose her combat ability?
For the moment, no one could make sense of this news. But one thing was certain: the newcomer Mu Chen was strong. Even though he had ultimately refused to fight Kuzan, the special ability that had instantly stripped Tokikake of her fighting power meant Mu Chen could not be underestimated.
Meanwhile, Mu Chen had already been brought by Zefa to a two-person dormitory. The dormitory looked quite spacious, far better than his major's quarters in the East Blue.
"Mu Chen, you are now my, Zefa's, disciple. From this moment on, your rank will be raised..." Mu Chen did not care much about that. If he could learn Haki under Zefa, he could save some points.
"Okay, Teacher Zehua. Mu Chen, can you tell me what ability you used on Tokikake at the end?"
Zefa was now extremely curious about Mu Chen, as well as Mu Chen's eyes.
Mu Chen then briefly explained the abilities of the Blood Sharingan to Zefa. When Zefa heard that the Blood Sharingan possessed abilities similar to Observation Haki, he did not react much. After all, the world was vast and full of wonders. But the moment he heard that the Blood Sharingan could make people enter illusions, he instantly lost his composure. "What did you say? Genjutsu?"
Zefa's reaction to Genjutsu was no different from Garp's. He was utterly shocked. After all, Genjutsu was practically unheard of in this Pirate World.
"I've been a Marine for decades and have seen many things. I've been to valleys that killed people through illusions, and I've seen plants that killed people through illusions. I've even encountered strange creatures that could make people enter illusions."
Zefa recalled all kinds of experiences from over the years as he spoke. But those were merely external things. He had never heard of anyone being able to control Genjutsu, much less someone who was not a Devil Fruit user.
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