" Ace, you need to be careful too..."
I'll handle him.
Ace interrupted Luffy and tapped Luffy's Luffy Straw Hat one last time.
" Luffy, you will become the Pirate King—I've always believed that."
"Also, it looks like the navy is catching up. You guys go first, I'll hold them off for a while."
As soon as he finished speaking, a cluster of flames ignited beneath Ace's feet.
The orange-red flames spread upwards along his legs, enveloping him in a warm halo.
Luffy looked up, and the usual playful smile was gone from his face beneath his Straw Hat; instead, there was a seriousness that even Zoro rarely saw.
" Ace--! Next time we meet, I'll be stronger than you--!"
His shouts echoed across the square, startling a few desert birds that were dozing on the rooftops.
Ace had flown far away, but his laughter echoed from the distant sky, muffled by the wind, yet Luffy heard it clearly.
Luffy looked up at the sky until the ball of fire completely disappeared into the clouds before lowering his head.
His fingers pressed against the Vivre Card through his Straw Hat, and he couldn't suppress the smile on his lips.
"They're gone."
Zoro straightened up from the tree trunk and re-tied his three swords. "There are still formidable enemies waiting for us ahead."
Luffy and his crew set off again.
Meanwhile, Smoker, who had chased after them out of the tavern, had already caught up again with the Navy.
"Don't run away— Straw Hat Boy!"
Smoker's body turned into white smoke, gliding along the ground at high speed.
As he transformed into smoke, he faced no air resistance whatsoever. Pedestrians and vendors on both sides of the street were startled by the sudden chase and scattered in all directions. Fruit stalls were knocked over, scattering dates and figs all over the ground.
Luffy glanced back, grinned, and called to his crew to leave.
He believed that Ace's strength was more than enough to stop the Smoke Man.
" White Gale--!"
Smoker's Jitte, wreathed in white smoke, trailed a straight path through the air as it aimed directly at Luffy's back.
The attack was extremely fast, but Luffy and his crew completely ignored it.
When the Jitte were less than half a meter away from Luffy's back, a wall of fire cut in from the side.
The wall of fire cut off the entire street horizontally, and the orange-red flames surged to form a barrier more than two meters high. Jitte were plunged into the flames, and the intense heat caused them to emit a metallic wail.
Smoker instinctively withdrew his Jitte and slid back a few steps to steady himself.
"Who--!"
"I won't let you bully my brother in front of me, Smoke Man."
Ace emerged from a side alleyway on the side of the street.
His right hand was still in his pocket, a flame was burning on the index finger of his left hand, and he had a nonchalant smile on his face.
The brim of the cowboy hat curled up slightly in the heat of the flames.
Smoker's expression darkened.
" Fire Fist Ace, Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. Do you really want to stand in my way?"
"There's nothing I can do; I'm his older brother."
"Protecting my younger brother is a given!"
Ace walked to the wall of fire, raised his left hand, and pulled the fire barrier back into his palm.
The flames condensed into a fist-sized fireball in his hand, then he casually crushed it, turning it into a wisp of smoke.
Luffy had already taken advantage of the moment to run far away. As he ran, he turned back and shouted.
" Ace! See you next time!"
After shouting that, Straw Hat and the others had already disappeared around the street corner.
Ace shook his head and chuckled. This kid didn't even say thank you.
But as he laughed, his expression turned serious.
He saw that Smoker's body was turning back into smoke, not aimed at him, but trying to bypass him and chase Luffy.
" Fire Pistol."
Ace flicked his left index finger forward, and a beam of fire, as thick as a finger, shot out from his fingertip, precisely piercing the edge of Smoker's smoke-like body.
The flames brushed past the smoke, forcing Smoker to retreat from his smoke form.
"I've already said, if you want to arrest my brother, you'll have to get past me first."
Smoker clenched his teeth.
The Whitebeard Pirates ' captain-level combatants are enough to make anyone swagger around in the New World.
With the strength of a naval captain, he has almost no chance of winning in a head-on confrontation.
But he wasn't willing to let the Straw Hat Boy go like that.
" Tashigi! Go around her!" Smoker roared.
Tashigi gritted her teeth, drew Shigure from her waist, and tried to go around to the other side of the street to catch up with Luffy.
She moved quickly and swiftly, bypassing the wall of fire in the blink of an eye.
But as soon as she took a step, Ace's gaze swept over her.
In that instant, those eyes no longer resembled those of a gentle older brother, but rather those of the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.
The sheer weight of her gaze froze Tashigi in place; her fingers trembled, Shigure's sword quivered slightly.
It wasn't murderous intent.
Ace didn't use any Haki.
That was simply the oppressive feeling brought about by a pure difference in strength.
Tashigi felt as if her legs were nailed to the ground.
She had met Rear Admiral from the Marine Headquarters and the Vice Warden of Impel Down, but the gaze of this young man was on a completely different level from those people.
Smoker made his move while Ace was distracted.
His body transformed into dozens of tiny smoke tentacles, attacking Ace simultaneously from different directions.
This is his favorite tactic—using smoke to distract the opponent, then launching a real attack from a blind spot.
Each wisp of smoke was as thin as a finger, winding and twisting in the air, surrounding Ace from all directions.
As long as even one tentacle wraps around Ace's body, he can deliver a fatal blow with the Seastone Jitte.
But Ace didn't even try to dodge.
A layer of orange-red flames suddenly surged from his body, and he instantly became a burning fireman.
The smoke tentacles were instantly vaporized by the high temperature upon contact with the flames, and the white smoke hissed and dissipated in the air.
" Fire Pillar!"
Ace stomped his right foot on the ground, and a Fire Pillar, over a meter in diameter, shot into the sky from beneath his feet.
The flames, accompanied by waves of heat, spread outwards, scorching the walls of the buildings on both sides of the street.
Smoker was forced back by the Fire Pillar.
Although his Smoke-Smoke Fruit makes him immune to physical attacks, high temperatures affect the density of the smoke—the higher the temperature of the smoke, the faster the particles move, and the weaker his control becomes.
Faced with flames of Ace's caliber, his smoke dissipated several times faster than usual.
"No need to risk your life, Smoke Man."
Ace extinguished the flames and stood in the middle of the street with one hand in his pocket.
The air around him was still slightly distorted from the intense heat, but he had already regained his nonchalant demeanor.
Luffy has already run far ahead; you can't catch up with him.
"Save your energy—your Alabasta mission isn't about catching a petty pirate, is it?"
Smoker fell silent.
Ace was right; his and Tashigi's purpose in coming to Alabasta was to investigate Crocodile's movements.
The Straw Hat Boy was just a side effect.
" Fire Fist Ace ".
Smoker pulled his Jitte back to his waist, his tone filled with suppressed anger.
"Your Whitebeard Pirates are causing trouble here; this isn't over yet."
I will report to headquarters truthfully.
"Report whatever you like."
Ace turned around and waved to Smoker with his back to him.
I'll play with you again next time.
"Goodbye!"