Boom!!!
At Loguetown Harbor, a cannonball painted with a red-nosed clown insignia suddenly tore through the curtain of rain, striking a Marine battleship with uncanny precision.
In the next instant, a brilliant explosion erupted across the deck. The shattered mast collapsed and plunged into the sea, robbing the warship of all maneuverability.
With the power of a single shot, an entire Marine battleship had been rendered useless!
And yet…
Compared to the sheer scale of the Marine fleet, the loss of just one ship meant nothing at all.
"Damn it! Where did all these Marine warships come from!?"
Aboard the Going Merry—
Usopp scrambled as he hoisted another Buggy Bomb and shoved it into the cannon.
After a quick aim, the dark muzzle flashed again, launching the devastating projectile straight into another Marine battleship.
Who could understand his frustration…
Usopp had thought that by returning to the Going Merry first, he could avoid the Marines hunting them in Loguetown. All he had to do was wait for his crewmates and then set sail immediately.
Instead of seeing his friends, however, a massive Marine fleet suddenly emerged from the sea behind him.
They shouted things like, "Straw Hat crew, you are surrounded!" and "Straw Hat crew, submit to the judgment of justice!" before charging straight at the Going Merry in righteous fury.
Usopp had nearly wet himself on the spot.
In a panic, he fired an emergency flare into the sky to signal the Straw Hat crew, then immediately began fighting the Marine fleet using the Going Merry's cannons.
So far, he'd already blasted through five or six Marine warships.
But at this rate, at best he could sink only half of the fleet before being completely trapped inside Loguetown Harbor.
Still, it was the only thing he could do right now!
"Hurry back already! Everyone!!!"
Usopp screamed desperately in his heart.
Luckily, because the Going Merry was so close to Loguetown's port, the Marines hesitated to fire cannon shots toward the town itself…
Otherwise, the ship would've been reduced to splinters long ago.
However, just then—
As Usopp carried more ammunition, preparing to sink the next warship…
A heavy impact suddenly sounded directly above his head.
...
...
Bang!!!
Smoker dropped from the sky, slamming his jitte hard into the deck of the Going Merry.
Just as he believed the strike would shatter the deck—
The grass swaying across the planks erupted with a green glow, absorbing most of the impact. The ship merely shook violently a few times instead.
Seeing this, a flicker of confusion crossed Smoker's eyes.
But quickly, his focus returned entirely to purging pirates.
"Straw Hat crew! Your journey ends here!!!"
On the silent deck, the ferocious Smoker roared.
What answered him was only a heavy silence.
"You won't come out!?"
Smoker frowned, then spat out a curse.
"Cowardly rats!"
He was certain there were pirates onboard—otherwise, so many Marine warships wouldn't have been sunk.
Relying on his invincible Logia powers in the East Blue, Smoker advanced without hesitation toward the cabin.
The instant he pushed the door open—
"Special Move—Sixfold Viper Star!!!"
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—!!!
The long-hidden Usopp fired six lead pellets in rapid succession, each aimed precisely at Smoker's eyes, nose, throat, heart, and lower body.
"I got him!"
Usopp shouted in delight.
At point-blank range, there was no way he could miss!
Yet the next moment wiped the smile straight off his face.
"Got me? What exactly do you mean?"
Smoker said calmly.
Every single pellet passed straight through his body without slowing down, flying out behind him.
Aside from a whiff of white smoke, there was no effect at all.
"Y-you… you're a Logia-type Devil Fruit user!?"
Usopp gasped in shock.
That made Smoker glance at him in mild surprise, two cigars clenched between his teeth.
"Didn't think you even knew about Logias…"
Then his gaze swept through the cabin.
Only after confirming that Usopp was the sole occupant did Smoker frown and question him sharply.
"You're the only one here!?"
"Where's Straw Hat Luffy!?"
"..."
Usopp stayed silent.
The moment he realized Smoker was a Logia user, his mind began racing.
Bullets turned to smoke upon contact…
This had to be the hot-tempered Marine Headquarters colonel Red had mentioned—Smoker, the Smoke-Smoke Fruit user!
No.
Under no circumstances could he let this man stay aboard the Going Merry. Who knew what he might do to Merry?
A spark of inspiration flashed through Usopp's mind. He slowly raised both hands.
"Wait! Sir Marine, I surrender!"
"Hm?!"
Smoker shot him a sharp look. "Pirate, what are you plotting!?"
"N-no, nothing!"
Usopp put on a terrified, desperate expression and even tossed his slingshot to the floor as a show of sincerity.
"I know about Logia Devil Fruit users!"
"That invincible power—no one can possibly beat it!"
"Instead of resisting and getting beaten half to death, I'd rather surrender and suffer less."
"I only joined them recently. I didn't even do much. At worst, I'll just spend some time in prison."
Smoker's eyes darkened.
He didn't believe pirates—but his attention was firmly fixed on capturing Straw Hat Luffy.
A scrawny weakling like Usopp wasn't worth worrying about!
"Don't try anything funny!"
"Move."
Smoker stepped aside slightly, signaling Usopp to leave the cabin.
His eyes, however, remained locked on the depths of the room, alert for any ambush.
Yet what Smoker never expected—
At the instant Usopp passed by him, his hand darted into his satchel.
"Oh, by the way, Sir Marine…"
Usopp suddenly said with a grin.
"You Devil Fruit users are really afraid of seawater, right?"
"What does that have to do with—"
Smoker replied absentmindedly, not even turning to look at him.
Instantly, a sense of foreboding surged in his chest.
But by the time he reacted, it was already too late!
Usopp whipped out a spherical device.
Its color and appearance closely resembled the orb mechanisms on Nami's Clima-Tact—
Except this one was more than twice as large!
This was Usopp's own invention…
A powerful tool designed specifically to counter Devil Fruit users!
"Taste this, you powered-up freak!"
Hiss——
With a roar, Usopp pressed the trigger and hurled the device straight at Smoker's face.
"Hm?!"
Smoker remained calm—after all, he never expected a pirate to behave honestly.
He assumed it was some kind of explosive—
But instead, a massive burst of dense mist erupted from the vents, blasting directly into Smoker's face!
"Th-this is—!?"
Smoker's expression changed drastically.
The next second, his body wobbled as if poisoned, then collapsed heavily to the ground.
"You—"
He tried to raise a finger and accuse Usopp—
But his strength gave out, and he slammed face-first onto the deck.
Meanwhile, Usopp, soaked by the same mist, suffered no effects at all.
Because what the device released wasn't ordinary vapor—
It was seawater, finely atomized into a dense mist!
After learning more about Devil Fruit users, Usopp had added an anti-powered-user project to his research list.
This creation was the result—
Devil Buster (Prototype).
Though still unfinished and not yet suitable for real combat…
Smoker's arrogance had given Usopp the perfect opportunity to use it at point-blank range!
He had tested the prototype on Luffy before.
If the mist touched Luffy's body, it could weaken him for around ten seconds.
But if inhaled directly at close range, it could render a Devil Fruit user powerless for over thirty seconds.
To meet requirements like portability, fast activation, and high output…
This tiny device cost a staggering 300,000 Beli to make!
Terrible cost-performance, and completely unsuitable for mass production.
After all, even weakened Devil Fruit users would recover shortly.
To experienced fighters, it wasn't much of a threat.
But that didn't matter!
Usopp's eyes flashed as he locked onto the weapon Smoker had dropped—the jitte.
"Red said your weapon's tip has Seastone embedded in it…"
"This is it!"
Still clumsy with it, Usopp pressed the jitte's Seastone tip against the back of Smoker's neck.
"That means you can't transform anymore, right?!"
"Despicable pirate!"
Smoker snarled from the deck—but his fate was sealed.
"Hey, who's the despicable one here?"
"Boarding someone else's ship without an invitation!"
Usopp replied with a triumphant grin.
Who would've thought a Marine Headquarters colonel would be taken down so easily by him?
When Red came back, he'd definitely have him take a picture—with Smoker as his captive!
Taking advantage of Smoker's weakness, Usopp quickly tied him up with chains, pinning him together with the Seastone end of the jitte.
Then he tossed him straight into the barrel Luffy used to resist seawater.
Inside, there was even yesterday's bathwater Luffy hadn't changed yet!
Of course—
It was salty seawater.
In just a few minutes, a massive crisis threatening the Going Merry was resolved—by Usopp alone.
But his battle wasn't over yet.
After dealing with Smoker, he immediately rushed back to the helm, continuing his assault on the Marine fleet.
(End of Chapter)