Because Yamato had never shown herself outside Wano and Rox had been wearing that demon-like Hannya mask during the Dressrosa incident, nobody in the wider sea recognized their true faces—except the members of the Beasts Pirates.
Rox's wanted poster still used that silly yellow Psyduck image, which was ridiculous but had an upside: it kept a lot of nosy, greedy people from pestering him for that 5-billion bounty.
Even with his current strength and Yamato at his side—enough to shrug off a Four Emperors' commander—unwanted interruptions would still spoil a good trip.
Rox held Yamato's slender waist as they descended from Sky Island all the way to Loguetown. They made no effort to hide themselves. Though no one recognized them, people still stared as the two walked down from the sky. Word reached a certain Marine captain posted at Loguetown: Smoker, wielder of the Smoke-Smoke Fruit.
"Huh—someone strolling down on air? Must be using a moonwalk-type Six Powers move," Smoker muttered, cigar between his lips, his face shifting.
The Six Powers are basic Marine martial techniques, but only a handful truly master them—and those who do are usually lieutenant commanders or higher; some even end up in CP9. Smoker wondered: was this another Marine colleague or a bounty-hunter pirate with a hundred-million bounty? He hoped for the latter—since the pirates passing through Loguetown lately had all been weak.
Smoker didn't know that Captain Kuro's homecoming hero, Garp, passed through here regularly—who in their right mind would dare show off in Garp's stomping ground?
"Want me to go check it out, Captain Smoker?" a thin, spectacled female Marine asked at his side.
"Of course. If it's a pirate, better for me." Smoker rose.
"Shall I call for marines, Captain?" she asked.
"No need." Smoker waved without looking back. "I can handle it alone."
The woman—Dasuki—ran after him.
They reached the execution platform where Gol D. Roger had once been executed. There stood a man and a woman: the man handsome and striking, the woman graceful and stunning. Smoker smiled—he didn't recognize them; they obviously weren't Marines. Anyone who came to watch Roger's gallows had to be a pirate.
"Hey—state your names. I don't arrest nobodies," Smoker said confidently, clenching his fists.
Rox and Yamato glanced at him. Yamato's eyes shimmered with a childish excitement.
"Marine's coming—should we run?" she whispered, eager to play.
This was Yamato's first real trip outside Wano and her first time seeing a Marine in person. In her mind, pirates should always flee when Marines approach—she couldn't wait to try that game.
Rox only nodded indifferently. He cast Smoker a single quick look, but his gaze lingered on the thin Dasuki. Don't be fooled by her current frailty—she'd bloom into something impressive in a few years. Rox had raised his fair-share of "golden canaries," but never a Marine nightingale; he'd like to watch Dasuki's growth—ideally, helped along by his own hands. Still, with Yamato beside him, he wouldn't act on the thought.
Smoker's expression soured. Yamato's whisper—"should we run?"—felt like an insult to his dignity as the famed White Hunter. Smoke curled thicker around him.
"You two…" Smoker bristled. "Don't get cocky."
Rox pretended not to hear. He didn't want to expose his true identity before the Marines and had no reason to linger.
"Let's go," he said, taking Yamato's delicate hand and sauntering toward the shoreline.
Smoker could hardly believe it. Those two—those pirates—weren't even taking him seriously!
"Damn it!" Smoker erupted, smoke billowing all the more.
Dasuki pushed up her glasses, proud: "Captain Smoker's angry! Those two pirates are toast!"
Then Smoker's legs dissolved into smoke; he swept forward with his jitte—tipped with Seastone—aiming to grab Rox and Yamato. He closed rapidly… then Rox looked over.
That glance—calm, lofty, impossible to misread—fell like a god's eye upon Smoker. Something invisible and massive surged from Rox like a mountain pressing down.
Smoker's face drained white.
His semi-ethereal smoke-form began failing under that crushing pressure.
"How… can this be?!" his heart thundered. One look—just one look—had basically broken his element state. The mountainlike pressure intensified; Smoker staggered, dizzy. His smoke-cohesion collapsed and he toppled to the ground with a thud.
"Captain Smoker!" Dasuki cried, utterly bewildered. She had no idea what had happened. He had rushed forward to arrest them—how did he just fall over?
She hurried to his side. Smoker's forehead was cold with sweat. He steadied himself on Dasuki and forced himself upright, but terror and stupefied disbelief shone in his eyes. As Rox and Yamato faded from sight, Smoker muttered, shocked:
"Conqueror's Haki that causes physical damage…? Who the hell is that man? And… what's his connection to Red-Haired Shanks?!"
Smoker had come to understand: the duo's composed manner wasn't arrogance—it was born of absolute capability. Even ten Smokers stacked together would not compare to this person's finger.
Dasuki heard his whisper and finally realized what had happened. She stood frozen, stunned. In the world, there could be people a hundred or a thousand times stronger than Captain Smoker! One look—one surge of presence—had almost unmade him.
Meanwhile, not far from Loguetown in the East Sea, a single-person sailboat cut along the waves. A man with a black blade on his back and hawk-like eyes shivered, his gaze snapping toward Loguetown.
"That Haki…"
The world's greatest swordsman—Dracule Mihawk—felt a ripple of shock and puzzlement cross his eyes.
"If it weren't for the difference in tone, I'd swear it was Shanks," he murmured.
Before coming to the East Sea, Mihawk had been warned by Red-Haired Shanks: if you ever encounter the so-called Near-Sea King, death could follow. Mihawk searched the East Sea for such a figure but had found no trace—no pirate worthy of that title.
Today, however, he finally sensed an overwhelming presence that even made him feel threatened. This might be the infamous Near-Sea King.
Without hesitation, Mihawk turned his boat and gave chase. He had locked onto that person's aura.
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/ZoroTL442