East Blue, Loguetown.
The "town of beginnings and endings" was especially grim that day. Almost no civilians remained on the streets; fully armed Marines had taken their place. Five warships lay in the harbor, all their main guns aimed at the harbor entrance.
In the office on the top floor of the Marine Base, Smoker frowned deeply at the encrypted document in his hands.
Document title: [SS-class alert: Response plan for the "Double D Pirates"]
The contents were brief and to the point:
1. "Flame Emperor" Monkey D. Yan was confirmed to possess Logia flame powers (suspected superior variant of the Flame-Flame Fruit), physical combat abilities at Headquarters Vice Admiral level, and advanced Haki.
2. "Fire Fist" Portgas D. Ace was confirmed as the Flame-Flame Fruit user. Bounty pending (recommendation: starting at 80 million Beli).
3. Both carried the name "D." and had connections to Gol D. Roger (pending investigation).
4. Orders: The Loguetown branch must prevent them from entering the Grand Line at all costs. A Buster Call may be requested if necessary.
Smoker slammed the document onto the desk. "What is Fleet Admiral Sengoku thinking? Requesting a Buster Call for two rookies?"
His adjutant, Tashigi, said quietly, "Captain, apparently these orders came directly from the World Government..."
"The World Government..." Smoker lit two cigars and took a deep drag. "What exactly are they afraid of? The name D.?"
An alarm sounded outside the window.
"Reporting!" A communications officer rushed in. "Target vessel sighted! Flying the Double D Flag! It's heading toward the harbor!"
Smoker grabbed his Jitte. "They're finally here. Tashigi, proceed as planned."
"Yes, sir!"
The warships in the harbor began adjusting their guns, and Marines established defensive lines along the shore. All of Loguetown braced for a formidable enemy.
Aboard the Flame Emperor, Ace whistled at the forces in the distance. "Wow, such a grand welcoming ceremony?"
Lin Yan stood at the bow, his expression calm. "Looks like Smoker received absolute orders."
"Are we forcing our way through?" Ace rubbed his hands together.
"No." Lin Yan shook his head. "You're going alone."
"Me?"
"Yes." Lin Yan looked at Ace. "This is your trial. Smoker has the Logia Smoke-Smoke Fruit, which counters your flames. But if you can overcome that disadvantage, your strength will make a qualitative leap."
Ace grinned. "Got it! Leave it to me!"
The Flame Emperor docked. Ace leaped down, landing in an open space on the pier.
The Marines immediately surrounded him, guns and cannons aimed.
Smoker emerged from the crowd and stared at Ace. "Fire Fist Ace, where's your older brother?"
"My brother said I was enough to handle this on my own." Flames ignited in Ace's hands. "Come on, White Hunter!"
"Arrogant!" Smoker's right arm turned to smoke. "White Fist!"
The battle erupted in an instant.
Flames and smoke collided in the air with a sizzling hiss. Ace's flames burned at extremely high temperatures, but Smoker's smoke could dilute them, scattering and extinguishing them.
"It's useless!" Smoker said coldly. "Smoke can cut off oxygen. Your flames can't burn!"
"Then try this!" Ace clasped his hands together. "Fire Fist: Flame Sun!"
A massive flaming fist blasted out, but Smoker neither dodged nor evaded. His body transformed entirely into his element, the smoke dispersing and gathering again. The flames passed through him, scorching only the buildings behind him.
"I told you, it's useless." Smoker appeared behind Ace and brought his Jitte down hard, coated in Armament Haki.
Clang!
Ace turned in time, blocking with a bracer formed from flames, but was still driven back several meters, his arm numb.
"Armament Haki..." Ace gritted his teeth. "This is trouble."
Watching the battle, Tashigi tightened her grip on Shigure, her gaze conflicted. She remembered Lin Yan saving the merchant ship at sea, then recalled his words: "The true essence of swordsmanship is protection."
What... should I believe?
The battle continued for ten minutes. Ace gradually fell behind. Though his flames were fierce, they could not hurt the Logia user Smoker. Yet he had to endure Smoker's Armament Haki attacks head-on.
"Fire Fist: Rapid Fire!"
"Smoke armor!"
The flaming projectiles were blocked and scattered by the smoke. Smoker seized an opening and drove his Jitte into Ace's abdomen.
"Urgh!" Ace spat blood and staggered back, dropping to one knee.
"It's over." Smoker raised his Jitte. "Arrest him!"
The Marines surged forward.
Just then-
"I said..."
A calm voice came from above.
Everyone looked up.
Using Geppo, Lin Yan hovered a hundred meters in the air, looking down at the battlefield below. No one knew when he had left the Flame Emperor. Nobody had noticed.
"My brother's fire isn't yours to extinguish."
He slowly raised his right hand.
His entire arm instantly swelled and extended, transforming into a gigantic flaming arm ten meters in diameter and eight hundred meters long! Jet-black Armament Haki coated it, and crimson-gold magma patterns flowed across its surface.
"Flame Emperor Body: City-Piercing Fist."
He punched downward.
Not at Smoker, nor at the Marines.
Instead, he struck Loguetown's iconic city wall-the twenty-meter-thick stone wall that had witnessed the rise and fall of countless pirates.
BOOOOOM!!!!!!
The deafening crash seemed to shatter heaven and earth.
The gigantic flaming fist pierced the wall, punching in through one side and out the other! A massive hole fifty meters in diameter appeared in its center. All the stone around its edges melted into crimson magma, flowing down in torrents.
A ring-shaped shock wave spread outward, knocking down everyone within five hundred meters.
Smoker barely kept his footing. He looked up, his pupils trembling violently.
An eight-hundred-meter flaming arm... punching straight through the city wall... "Vice Admiral level" couldn't begin to describe this power!
Lin Yan retracted his arm and slowly landed beside Ace. Without so much as looking at Smoker, he helped Ace up.
"You all right?"
"Y-yeah..." Ace wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "Bro, wasn't that move a little over the top?"
"A demonstration for you," Lin Yan said. "There's more to using fire than temperature."
He looked at Smoker. "White Hunter, still want to fight?"
Smoker tightened his grip on his Jitte, his arm trembling. It wasn't fear. His instincts were telling him-he would die. If he kept fighting, he really would die.
But he still stepped forward. "Marines have no reason to back down."
"You've got guts." Lin Yan nodded. "So I'll give you a choice: take your men and leave, and I'll spare your lives. Or... all of you stay here."
Tashigi rushed forward. "Captain! You can't..."
"Shut up!" Smoker growled. "Tashigi, take everyone and retreat."
"But-"
"That's an order!"
Tashigi gritted her teeth, turned, and shouted, "Everyone, retreat! Fall back to the base!"
As though granted a reprieve, the Marines quickly withdrew, supporting the wounded.
Only Smoker remained on the pier, facing Lin Yan and his brother.
"Now we can fight." Smoker took a fighting stance.
But Lin Yan smiled. "Do you think I'm the sort to take advantage of someone in a vulnerable position?"
He turned toward the Flame Emperor. "Ace, let's go."
"Huh? We're not fighting?"
"No need." Lin Yan didn't look back. "Smoker, pass a message to Sengoku for me-"
He stopped and turned his face to the side.
"The Flame Emperor Pirates' target is neither the Marines nor the World Government."
"It's to end eight hundred years of lies."
"If the Marines keep getting in our way... next time, I won't hold back."
With that, he jumped back aboard the Flame Emperor.
Ace glanced at Smoker, then followed.
The Flame Emperor set sail toward Reverse Mountain.
Smoker stood motionless for a long time, until Tashigi returned to find him.
"Captain..."
"Tashigi," Smoker suddenly said. "Submit a request to access the top-secret files designated 'D.,' 'God Valley,' and 'Void Century.'"
"What?! Those files require Admiral-level clearance-"
"Then submit the request!" Smoker turned, his gaze resolute. "I want to know... what exactly they're hiding."
Meanwhile, aboard the Flame Emperor.
Ace asked excitedly, "Bro! That eight-hundred-meter Fire Fist was so cool! How did you do it?"
"Compression and release," Lin Yan explained. "Compress the flames to their limit, then use Armament Haki to hold their shape and release them instantly. The principle is similar to your 'Flame Sun,' just on a slightly larger scale."
"Slightly?" Ace rolled his eyes. "More like a billion times larger!"
[Ding-] [Loguetown declaration mission completed] [Obtained: Smoker (Smoke-Smoke Fruit) template fragment ×1] [Obtained: Conqueror's Haki proficiency +10%] [Obtained: Renown "Famous across East Blue" (recognition within East Blue reached 80%)]
Lin Yan checked the system. He could fuse the Smoke-Smoke Fruit fragment, but after some thought, he decided to keep it for now.
"Bro, where are we going next?" Ace asked.
"To take care of something first." Lin Yan looked toward the Marine Base. "Steal a few things."
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