Sanji stared at Zoro in disbelief.
"Hey… how the hell did this idiot survive that?!"
"No idea. Don't ask me."
Luffy swaggered toward Zoro and Sanji with his hands on his hips, walking with an exaggerated Doflamingo-style strut.
His goofy laughter never stopped.
Clock Tower.
Smoker took one deep look at Luffy and shouted loudly:
"All units!"
"Surround every pirate here!!!"
"YES SIR!!!"
With Smoker's command, the Marines who had already been lying in wait around the execution platform rushed out all at once.
In moments, they formed a circular encirclement, sealing every escape route while steadily tightening the net.
Smoker exhaled a cloud of smoke as the earlier scene replayed in his mind.
Did Straw Hat Luffy know he would be saved?
No…
At that moment, he had genuinely believed his life was about to end.
And yet—
he smiled while accepting death.
Smoker was very familiar with that expression.
Twenty-two years ago, when he witnessed Pirate King Gol D. Roger's execution in Loguetown—
Roger had worn the exact same smile.
No…
To be precise—
the smile of Straw Hat Luffy and Gol D. Roger were practically identical.
"Commodore."
"Aren't you going to arrest the pirates?"
Smoker ignored the question and asked calmly:
"Have you ever seen a pirate laugh on the execution platform?"
"How could that be?"
"No matter how powerful someone is, when facing death, they turn pale and die in despair."
"But that straw hat brat smiled."
"Just like the Pirate King Gol D. Roger…"
"who smiled on that same execution platform twenty-two years ago."
"Commodore…"
Smoker took a deep breath.
At that moment—
he realized Straw Hat Luffy was far from ordinary.
"Where's the Straw Hat crew now?"
"They're heading toward the harbor!"
"What about the men stationed there?"
"They should've already blown up the Straw Hats' ship."
"Uh…"
"because of the sudden rain, none of the gunpowder would ignite."
"Forget it."
"It doesn't matter."
"I'll handle it myself."
Loguetown Plaza.
"It's the Marines!"
"The Marines are here!!!"
"RUN!!!"
Marine soldiers quickly clashed with the subordinates of Buggy and Alvida.
The entire plaza descended into chaos.
"Luffy!"
"We can't stay here any longer!"
"That's White Hunter Smoker!"
"He's a Marine Headquarters Commodore!"
"We can't beat him!"
Luffy swallowed nervously.
"That smoke guy…"
"The same uncle we met in Shells Town?"
"That's right. Him."
Sanji nodded seriously.
"Exactly."
"White Hunter Smoker is famous throughout the East Blue."
"No pirate has ever escaped from him."
Luffy gulped.
He immediately got the feeling he definitely couldn't win.
"Then let's run!"
"Getting to the Grand Line is more important!"
The three quickly reached an agreement.
Zoro soon spotted a weak point in the Marine formation and waved them forward.
"THIS WAY!"
"The Straw Hats are escaping!"
"Catch them!"
"Don't let them get away!"
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Sanji kicked several Marines flying with powerful kicks, clearing a path forward.
"Hmph."
"So that's why they've been acting so recklessly…"
Smoker inhaled deeply and removed all the cigars from his mouth in one motion.
Then—
"White Smoke: Choking Formation!"
PUFF!!!
A highly compressed sphere of smoke shot toward Luffy and the others.
The moment it touched the ground—
it exploded.
Dense white smoke instantly swallowed the trio.
"Cough! Cough!"
"What is this?!"
"I can't see anything!"
Sanji covered his nose and shouted:
"It's Smoker!"
"He's finally making his move!"
"It's smoke?"
"No problem!"
"Watch this!"
"Gomu Gomu no… BIG SUCK!"
Luffy opened his mouth wide and inhaled rapidly.
His body inflated like a balloon.
Even Smoker was stunned.
This idiot…
Was he actually trying to inhale the smoke?!
Was he in such a hurry to die?!
"White Smoke: Suffocation."
Under Smoker's control, the smoke Luffy inhaled rapidly condensed inside his throat.
Then it compressed violently—
completely blocking his airflow.
"Ghk—!"
"I— c-can't—!"
Luffy's face rapidly shifted colors.
White.
Red.
Purple.
Black.
He clawed desperately at his throat as if trying to force air into his lungs.
"LUFFY!!!" ×2
Sanji rushed over immediately.
"How bad is it?!"
"Damn it!"
"Zoro!"
"He's suffocating!"
"If we don't save him now, he'll die!"
"How are we supposed to save him?!"
"Cut open his throat?!"
Click.
Smoker landed lightly on the ground before them.
Looking calmly at Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji, he spoke indifferently:
"Stop resisting."
"Surrender peacefully."
"For Vice Admiral Garp's sake…"
"I'll spare his life."
"What did you do to him?!"
Seeing Sanji glaring at him furiously, Smoker sneered disdainfully.
"Smoke Clone."
Large amounts of smoke poured from Smoker's body.
In an instant, two humanoid smoke constructs formed beside him.
Taking fighting stances—
they charged straight at Zoro and Sanji.
Zoro's eyes sharpened.
He slashed at one of the smoke clones.
The blade effortlessly split the smoke body apart—
but what was the point?
Was he supposed to cut smoke to death?
"Useless!"
"Capture the leader first!"
Dodging another smoke attack, Zoro leapt into the air and lowered his stance.
"Three Sword Style…"
"Oni Giri!"
XING!
Zoro's figure flashed past instantly.
Smoker didn't even bother moving.
Young people these days…
Too reckless.
"How is that possible?!"
Sanji looked speechless.
"Haven't you spent years hunting pirates for Marine bounties?"
"How do you not know he's a Logia-type user?!"
"Logia?"
"What's a Logia?"
Sanji: "…"
"Finished fooling around?"
"Then now it's my turn."
SWOOSH—
Smoker vanished instantly.
The next moment—
his fist smashed directly into Zoro's head with a heavy thud.
"Gah—!"
Then Zoro collapsed immediately.
A massive bump rose on his forehead.
As for Sanji—
under the joint assault of the smoke clones, he quickly found himself overwhelmed.
Soon after—
he was beaten unconscious as well.
"The Straw Hat Pirates…"
"None of you are escaping today."
Smoker slowly walked toward the unconscious Luffy.
But suddenly—
violent winds erupted.
A man wearing a green cloak appeared directly in front of Smoker.
"Commodore Smoker."
"Good day."
"Y-You are…?!"
After seeing the face beneath the cloak, Smoker's expression changed drastically.
Revolutionary Army Supreme Commander—
Monkey D. Dragon.
Why was he here?
Wait…
He was Straw Hat Luffy's father.
Actually, his appearance here made perfect sense.
Dragon smiled faintly.
Taking advantage of Smoker's brief shock, he lightly patted Luffy's back.
Luffy immediately coughed up a dense mass of white smoke.
Then weak breathing slowly returned.
"My apologies for the spectacle."
"I happened to be passing through."
"And no matter what…"
"that boy is still my son."
"I can't exactly stand by and watch him die…"
"…right?"
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