Smoker immediately recognized Kazu as a Logia Devil Fruit user.
"So you managed to get your hands on a Logia Devil Fruit too."
"All of you, stand down. This man is beyond your ability to handle."
After giving the order, Smoker drew his Jitte and fixed Kazu with a sharp gaze, a trace of gravity entering his eyes.
"Well, well, looks like you're going to handle this personally, officer."
Smoker ignored Kazu's remark. His lower body turned into white smoke while his upper body remained human, and he charged over at tremendous speed, Jitte in hand.
"Die, Her Kazi."
Gripping his Jitte in his right hand, Smoker thrust its Seastone tip down hard, straight at Kazu.
"It would be rude not to return the favor. I suppose I'll get a little serious too."
Kazu drew the Demon Sword Muramasa and raised it to block Smoker's Jitte.
Then he knocked it aside with force, coated his blade in Armament Haki, and slashed horizontally.
Although Smoker had not awakened Observation Haki, his combat instincts set alarm bells ringing in his mind, and he hurriedly pulled his body back several meters.
But Kazu's slash was incredibly fast. Smoker had dodged quickly enough, yet Muramasa still left a cut across his chest.
Blood stained Smoker's chest red. His open-front coat was as good as ruined.
Smoker paid no attention to the wound on his chest. He stared fixedly at Kazu, his expression more grave than ever.
After all, Smoker was a man who had served at Marine Headquarters and had seen plenty of powerful fighters, such as his friend Aokiji.
Although the man before him did not exert as much pressure as Aokiji, the strength and slashing speed he had just displayed were still beyond anything Smoker could match.
This was serious trouble.
"Hey, young Marine, state your name. I, Kazu, don't kill nameless nobodies."
Of course Kazu knew his name was Smoker, but asking that felt so good, and it did not seem out of place either.
"I'm the Marine captain stationed in Loguetown-Smoker."
"The fight isn't over yet. Who lives and who dies remains to be seen."
With that, Smoker put aside his unease. He did not lack courage, and he would not back down before a pirate.
Just as in the original story, even when he was no match for Doflamingo, he would still fight.
"White Blow."
Smoker once again separated out his upper body, white smoke jetting from beneath it as he rushed toward Kazu. This was his fastest means of acceleration.
Smoker swung his Jitte rapidly, launching more than a dozen attacks in succession, but Kazu easily dodged every one.
"Damn it."
"White Fist."
Smoker put some distance between them. His left hand turned into a fist of white smoke and shot toward Kazu's chest.
"Do you still not understand?"
"In the face of an absolute gap in strength, everything you do is futile."
Kazu coated his left hand in Armament Haki and punched Smoker's White Fist.
The white fist immediately turned into a cloud of white smoke and dispersed in the air.
"Space Collapse."
A crack appeared in the space before Smoker. Before he could turn into his element, more than a dozen wounds were sliced into him.
"What is..."
Frightened, Smoker hurriedly retreated. He had not even registered how the attack had hit him.
"Space Swap."
Kazu swapped the space one meter in front of Smoker, instantly appearing right before his face and throwing a punch.
Smoker had no chance to react. The punch struck his face, sending him flying dozens of meters.
"Captain Smoker!"
The surrounding Marines could no longer worry about their orders. A few ran over to help Smoker up, while the rest surrounded Kazu despite their immense fear.
Clearly, the soldiers Smoker had trained still had some fighting spirit.
"Captain Smoker, are you all right?"
Smoker slowly opened his eyes. Intense pain spread throughout his body, twisting his face somewhat.
"You... you all..."
"This guy is a monster..."
"Don't fight him. Hurry back to base and contact headquarters."
"Go!"
Even someone as proud as Smoker now had to admit that he was no match for his opponent.
If these soldiers did not run, they would only become a few more souls who died for nothing.
The most important thing now was for someone to escape back to base and contact Marine Headquarters immediately. Only by having a Vice Admiral, or even an Admiral, take action would there be a chance to protect the civilians of the East Blue.
Tap, tap, tap, tap~
Ignoring the soldiers before him, Kazu slowly took a few steps forward.
"Young Marine, I admire your courage."
"But challenging me was itself an act of recklessness. Recognizing the difference in strength between both sides is an important lesson too."
"Class dismissed. You should get some rest."
Conqueror's Haki instantly erupted from Kazu, and the dozens of Marine soldiers were not the only ones to collapse immediately.
Even Smoker, due to his severe injuries, failed to withstand the impact of Kazu's Conqueror's Haki. His eyes rolled back, and he fell asleep like a baby.
"Tsk, being young really is great. You fall asleep the moment you lie down."
"Unlike me. I always have to keep busy for a while before bed."
Kazu took a cigarette out of his independent space, pulled out a lighter, and lit it.
Phew~
Having a smoke after showing off, with an audience behind me too-this felt so damn good.
Behind him, Carlmand looked as though he had swallowed a fly.
He could not stand show-offs like Kazu-unless he was the one in the spotlight.
"S-so cool, Captain Kazu!"
For some reason, Behrens's eyes sparkled as he cheered for Kazu from the deck.
"Ah, poor kid. He's only just left his village and hasn't seen much of the world."
Seeing Behrens like that, Carlmand could only shake his head helplessly.
"Hahahaha, let's go. Let's take a look around the town where the Pirate King's story began and ended."
Kazu casually made a few arrangements using the Space-Space Fruit's powers, and the group left the harbor.
"Hey, let's carry them inside so they can rest."
"Right. They've always been brave whenever pirates showed up."
Only after seeing Kazu and his group leave did the nearby civilians work up the courage to come over and check on the situation.
All these Marines were still breathing. It seemed they had merely passed out.
Smoker was the most seriously injured. Covered in blood, he had already been carried to the nearest hospital by the civilians.
Although Smoker was not good with words, he was a decent person and a righteous Marine.
He treated civilians well, did not harm ordinary people, and hated pirates with a passion. This had kept Loguetown very peaceful lately, which was why the local residents worked so hard to rescue Smoker and the others.
"So this is the Pirate King's Execution Platform. It really is impressive."
Carlmand looked at the towering platform before him, as though the scene of Pirate King Roger's execution all those years ago were unfolding before his eyes.
"Yes. Whether Roger was right or wrong to usher in the Great Pirate Era is something we'll only know when the final mystery is revealed."
Kazu had read the original story and knew that Roger had long planned to usher in the Great Pirate Era, using the last of his life to accomplish that one thing.