At the height of the banquet, Lin Yan suddenly set down his glass.
"We have a visitor."
"Hmm?" Ace sensed it too. "Marines?"
"Yes. An old friend, at that."
The Flame Emperor's crew immediately went on guard, but Lin Yan waved them off.
"Keep eating. I'll go meet him."
He used Geppo to fly toward the approaching Marine warship.
On deck, Smoker was already waiting, his Jitte resting on his shoulder and two cigars clenched between his teeth-he was particularly irritable today.
"Monkey D. Yan," Smoker said coldly. "You were behind all the recent upheaval in the East Blue, weren't you? Arlong, Buggy, Krieg... in just a few days, you've turned the whole East Blue upside down."
Lin Yan landed on the warship's railing and looked down at him. "So? Are the Marines here to arrest me?"
"If you resist arrest." White smoke began rising around Smoker. "Smoker, Marine Headquarters Colonel and user of the Logia Smoke-Smoke Fruit. I've been ordered to take you into custody."
Lin Yan smiled. "Ordered? By whom? Sengoku? Or... the World Government?"
Smoker's expression darkened. "You don't need to know."
"No, I do." Lin Yan jumped off the railing and stood face-to-face with Smoker on the deck. "Because if the order came from Sengoku, I'll go with you. But if it came from the World Government..."
His gaze turned cold.
"Then there's nothing to discuss."
The atmosphere abruptly grew tense.
The Marine soldiers aboard raised their guns and cannons, aiming at Lin Yan. Tashigi was among them, gripping Shigure tightly, her gaze conflicted.
Smoker struck first.
"White Fist!"
His right arm turned into smoke and extended rapidly, his fist coated in Armament Haki as it hurtled toward Lin Yan's face.
Lin Yan neither dodged nor ducked, raising a hand to catch it.
"Too slow."
He closed his fingers, and flames erupted from his palm, burning the smoke fist apart.
Smoker's pupils contracted-his Logia transformation had been burned apart by flames? How was that possible?!
"Your smoke is essentially solid particles suspended in gas," Lin Yan explained. "And my flames can reach temperatures high enough to vaporize those particles instantly. So..."
He snapped his fingers.
Snap.
All the smoke around Smoker ignited, turning into a sea of fire! Though it couldn't hurt Smoker's elemental body, the sight was tremendously stunning.
"Damn it!" Smoker canceled his elemental transformation, coated his Jitte in Armament Haki, and charged into close combat.
Clang, clang, clang, clang-!!!
The two exchanged blows at high speed on the deck, sparks flying as the Jitte collided with flaming gauntlets. Smoker's hand-to-hand skills were indeed good, but against Lin Yan, they fell far short.
After thirty exchanges, Lin Yan caught an opening and slammed a punch into Smoker's abdomen.
Thud-!
Smoker flew backward, snapped the mainmast, and spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Colonel!" Tashigi cried out.
"I'm fine..." Smoker climbed to his feet, his gaze even graver. "This guy's hand-to-hand skills... are no worse than a Headquarters Vice Admiral's."
He realized he couldn't win one-on-one.
"All hands! Fire!"
"Yes, sir!"
The cannons along the warship's side fired together, sending dozens of cannonballs toward Lin Yan.
Lin Yan didn't even move. His gaze merely sharpened.
"Get lost."
Voom-!!!
Conqueror's Haki erupted like a tsunami!
The cannonballs all exploded in midair, while every Marine soldier aboard except Smoker and Tashigi rolled their eyes back and passed out.
Only three people remained standing on the deck.
"C-Conqueror's Haki..." Smoker gritted his teeth. "You really do possess a King's Disposition."
Tashigi stared blankly at Lin Yan. She finally understood that back in Loguetown, he had shown her tremendous mercy.
Lin Yan walked toward Smoker. "Still want to fight?"
Smoker tightened his grip on his Jitte, but his arm was shaking-not from fear, but because his body was resisting. The pressure of Conqueror's Haki was an immense test of willpower.
Just as he was about to buckle, a hearty laugh rang out from afar.
"Hey! Isn't that Smoker? Picking on newcomers again?"
Everyone turned.
An enormous red ship was slowly approaching, its figurehead shaped like a giant dragon's head and its sails bearing a skull and red hair.
The Red Force!
The ship of "Red Hair" Shanks, one of the Four Emperors!
Shanks stood at the bow in a black coat, his left sleeve hanging empty, yet his presence was as deep as an abyss and as imposing as a mountain. Behind him stood Benn Beckman, Yasopp, Lucky Roux, and the other officers.
Smoker's expression changed drastically. "Red Hair... why are you in the East Blue?!"
"Just passing through." Shanks leaped off his ship and landed on the warship's deck, completely ignoring the tension around him. "So this young fellow is the 'Flame Emperor' everyone's been talking about lately?"
He looked at Lin Yan with an appraising gaze.
Lin Yan was neither servile nor overbearing. "Red-Haired Shanks. I've long heard of you."
"Hahaha! Interesting!" Shanks laughed. "Your Conqueror's Haki is very pure. Far stronger than Doflamingo's twisted kind."
He walked up to Lin Yan. The two were of similar height, and their eyes met.
Two invisible forces began colliding in the air.
Crack-crack-!
The warship's planks began to split, ripples spread across the sea, and a rift tore through the clouds overhead.
A clash of Conqueror's Haki!
Smoker and Tashigi were forced back repeatedly by the shock waves, their faces pale. Was this what a confrontation between the strongest looked like?!
The clash lasted ten seconds.
Then both withdrew their power at the same time.
Shanks's smile broadened. "Not bad! You've earned the right to become a 'disruptor' of this era!"
Lin Yan smiled too. "Red Hair, you didn't come looking for me just to say hello, did you?"
"Clever." Shanks took a straw hat from inside his coat-not Luffy's, but a replica. "This is for you."
Lin Yan took the straw hat and discovered an Eternal Pose hidden inside, pointing toward... a certain location in the New World.
"What's this?"
"A spare Eternal Pose for Laugh Tale." Shanks lowered his voice. "Captain Roger left it to me. He said to pass it on if I met a suitable 'successor.'"
Lin Yan's pupils contracted. "Are you sure you want to give it to me? This is our first meeting."
"Instinct." Shanks patted his shoulder. "Captain Roger said the D. Clan would ultimately lead the world toward dawn. And you... are the purest D. I've ever met."
He paused, then added, "But the Pose only points the way. Whether you can get there is up to you. Also..."
Shanks looked at Smoker. "Let this brat off the hook. He's not bad at heart, just too stubborn."
Lin Yan nodded. "I wasn't planning to kill him anyway."
Smoker's face was livid, but he didn't dare argue-in front of one of the Four Emperors, he truly had no right to act arrogant.
Shanks then looked at Tashigi. "Young lady, that's a fine sword. But remember, the true essence of swordsmanship isn't cutting down enemies, but protecting what matters."
Tashigi froze, looking thoughtful.
"All right, time to go." Shanks jumped back onto the Red Force. "Flame Emperor kid, I'll see you in the New World. When we meet... let's have a proper fight!"
"Absolutely."
The Red Hair Pirates sailed away, arriving suddenly and departing with carefree ease.
Only then did Smoker breathe a sigh of relief. He looked at Lin Yan. "You... what's your relationship with Red Hair?"
"There isn't one," Lin Yan said. "He's just a messenger."
He looked at the straw hat and Eternal Pose in his hands, a plan taking shape in his mind.
Laugh Tale... the blood of four members of the D. Clan...
Looks like I'll have to pick up the pace.
"Smoker," Lin Yan suddenly said. "A word of advice: don't put too much faith in the World Government. The justice you pursue and the 'justice' they define may not be the same thing."
Smoker frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Look into it yourself." Lin Yan turned and flew back toward the Flame Emperor, stepping through the air. "Look into Ohara, God Valley, and the Void Century. If you still insist on arresting me afterward, I'll be ready anytime."
His voice carried on the wind.
"Also, tell Sengoku-the Flame Emperor Pirates will enter the Grand Line in three months. Tell him to get ready for the tide of a new era!"
The Flame Emperor set sail, heading into the distance.
Smoker stood aboard the damaged warship, silent for a long time.
Tashigi approached him. "Colonel, we..."
"Back to base." Smoker gritted his teeth. "Then... we'll apply for access to the top-secret files."
"You're going to investigate..."
"Yes." Smoker looked in the direction Lin Yan had disappeared. "I want to know just what that 'truth' he spoke of really is."
Over the waters of the East Blue, the Double D Flag snapped in the wind.
The legend of the Flame Emperor had only just begun.
And the turmoil of the Grand Line was about to erupt in full.
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