Logia Devil Fruit User

The heavy riches were carried aboard the pirate ship. The ship had originally been meant to be called the Asura, but the name did not sound very nice, so it was changed to the Hell. After all, they wanted the name to sound as imposing as possible.

Simon took Jerry to wash up and change clothes. He had grown used to thick sweaters and still wore a fluffy coat in the same style as Donquixote Doflamingo's, though in a different color.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

When Billy saw another stranger, he did not react warily like other dogs. Instead, he led Jerry into the place where the treasure was stored, looking as though he were telling him to pick whatever he wanted.

Rogge had just stepped out of the kitchen when he saw this, and he nearly died of anger. This dog was getting more outrageous by the day. If they left it guarding the ship, would it not lead enemies straight to their money?

Yet Jerry liked Billy very much. First, the dog was fluffy and unafraid of the cold. Jerry himself could communicate with animals, but he had not expected this dog to be so difficult to communicate with. That only piqued his curiosity further and made him even more determined to conquer the dog.

Billy, meanwhile, felt that this person was wrapped in a fluffy sweater and covered in fur, so he was obviously one of his own kind. The man and dog immediately started acting like sworn brothers.

"Hey, Rogge, something's happened." Not long after the ship left Earthfire Island, while Rogge was still eating, Cook's voice came through the speaker overhead.

"What is it?" Rogge stopped eating and stood up. After hesitating for a moment, he grabbed a huge chunk of meat from the table and walked out.

"Look over there." Cook pointed ahead.

"The Marines again? Have they got their eyes on us?" Rogge asked helplessly.

"This is enough time for the Marines to arrive. But since they could not come immediately, they obviously aren't from a nearby Marine base. They must have come from somewhere else as reinforcements. After all, we wiped out a fleet of Marine Warships yesterday." Ham sat on the railing as he spoke.

"So annoying. Are they going to catch up to us again? Cook, this ship is no good. Doesn't it have external propulsion? Why can't it just go 'boom' and fly up?" Rogge asked Cook through a mouthful of meat.

"Then you build me a pirate ship that can go 'boom' and fly into the air. This is what we have. Take it or leave it. If you don't want it, I'll smash it, and we can all sink into the sea together. Let's see whether a fish-man like me can drown in the ocean." Cook had been repeatedly mocked by Rogge and had long since grown sick of him. He picked up a massive iron hammer, ready to strike.

"You people have no idea how miserable it is being captain!" Rogge shouted while chewing his meat.

"Shut your mouth. Isn't that giant piece of meat enough to plug it? Do you know how expensive meat is these days?" Jelly snapped.

"What do we do? Do we take a detour?" Simon asked.

"I think we should take a detour. There's no need to clash with the Marines. We had no choice when we encountered that fleet before, but they're still far away now. We have a way to escape, and the Marines probably have powerful reinforcements this time," Ares said.

"Can't you be a little bolder?" Rogge asked.

"W-Who are you calling cowardly?" Ares shouted.

"Ugh. Simon, can you see who's on the Warships?" Rogge shook his head and sighed.

"They're Marines. How would I know any of them?" Simon spread his hands.

"Screw them! One after another, they keep pushing their luck. Do they think I'm easy to bully?" Rogge ground the bone in his mouth to pieces and swallowed it in one gulp.

Ham looked at Rogge. "Are you sure you want to fight? We'll be fighting the Marines at sea again. That isn't a good habit."

"We can't exactly go back and fight them on the Ice Plain, can we?" Rogge spread his hands.

"Let's run for now. The next island isn't far from here. We can get there in one day," Simon said.

"That's pretty close. No wonder the Log Pose only needs a few hours to set," Rogge said in surprise.

"The next island is uninhabited, and it isn't very large. The Marines spotted us, and we also took all that treasure, so they won't let us go. They probably already know our route, which is why they're confident enough to intercept us so openly," Simon said.

As the Marine Warships gradually closed in, they could only flee. This time, it was not five Warships but a full ten. Rogge took the sniper telescope from Simon's hands. Simon had polished it himself, and it could see an extremely long distance.

Through the telescope, Rogge saw the people on the Warships. When he spotted the two men standing on deck, he was somewhat surprised.

"It's actually him..." Rogge said in astonishment.

"You know that Marine?" Simon asked curiously upon hearing Rogge's words.

Rogge nodded. "I'm not confident I can beat that guy."

"Is he that strong?" Jelly and the others' expressions darkened. If even Rogge was not confident, did they have any chance of winning?

"I don't know whether he's strong or not, but he's also a Devil Fruit user." Rogge returned the telescope to Simon.

"A Devil Fruit user? We have three on this ship. What's there to fear? Don't tell me he's a Logia user." Jelly relaxed after hearing that. They feared no Marines below Vice Admiral rank. But if it were Doberman, who had nearly killed Rogge before, then they truly would have to run for their lives.

Rogge stared at Jelly. "You got it right. He's a Logia Devil Fruit user."

"Damn, it can't be one of those three monsters, can it?" Jelly's face changed drastically.

"You're overthinking it. How could it be one of the three Admirals? It's Smoker, the White Hunter, user of the Smoke-Smoke Fruit," Rogge said.

"You scared me. If it were one of the three Admirals, we could surrender without resistance right now. A Smoke-Smoke Fruit user? That doesn't sound like a particularly impressive ability." Jelly patted his chest in relief.

"Smoker, the White Hunter... I've heard of him. He's a rear admiral from Marine Headquarters, but he seems to be a thorn in their side. He has disobeyed orders many times while carrying out missions," Simon said.

Rogge nodded. Smoker's rank had risen and fallen repeatedly. When he first appeared, it had been in Loguetown, and he had only been a Marine captain. Yet how could Smoker's strength possibly have been merely that of a captain? He was the strongest among the Marines of his generation, after all. He was a Logia Devil Fruit user.

He was a rear admiral now. He would probably be demoted to captain again before long. However, Rogge did not know that Smoker was actually still a captain at present.

Rogge was not confident in dealing with him because of his Logia Devil Fruit ability. Without Haki or Seastone, Rogge could not think of any way to defeat the Smoke-Smoke Fruit. His Observation Haki did not seem useful either. They would retreat strategically for now.