028 oppressive Logia!
With Lin Mu charging forward, the seastone-tipped jitte taken from Smoker's hands also pierced straight into the thick mass of white smoke, forcing Smoker's dispersed body to materialize within that area.
Just ahead!
Lin Mu's eyes flashed coldly as he sensed the exact position, his speed surging once again as he drove the seastone jitte straight forward in a decisive thrust, leaving Smoker with no time or space to evade, the weapon striking him directly!
In that instant, Smoker's Devil Fruit powers were completely suppressed by the seastone, the Moku Moku no Mi losing all effectiveness, making it impossible for him to remain intangible even for a moment!
His body, which had been fully elementalized, was forcibly condensed back into solid flesh in midair, transforming into a physical form once again!
The moment Lin Mu saw this, he reacted instinctively and launched a powerful kick, striking Smoker directly in the abdomen. Having lost the protection of his Logia intangibility, Smoker could only endure the blow head-on!
Under the terrifying explosive power of Hulk's strength, Smoker's body was blasted away like an artillery shell fired from a cannon.
Accompanied by a dull "bang," Smoker smashed violently into the ground, skidding along the earth and carving out a long, cracked trench, the shattered ground vividly displaying the sheer force contained in Lin Mu's kick!
After taking that blow, Smoker immediately spat out a mouthful of blood, his internal organs violently shaken, his combat effectiveness instantly dropping by nearly half.
After all, ever since becoming a Logia-type Devil Fruit user, there had been very few people capable of landing direct attacks on him, especially in a place like East Blue, where he had almost never faced opponents capable of threatening him, so his endurance against raw physical damage was relatively weak!
Seeing this, Lin Mu did not pause at all. His figure flashed once more as he crossed dozens of meters in an instant, appearing right in front of Smoker's fallen body, the seastone jitte in his hands naturally pressing toward Smoker's abdomen.
"Colonel Smoker!"
Smoker's defeat had happened far too quickly, so fast that Tashigi, who was watching from the side, had barely processed what was happening before she cried out in alarm. Drawing her sword from its scabbard in one smooth motion, she rushed forward and slashed toward Lin Mu!
Facing Tashigi's attack, Lin Mu neither dodged nor retreated, allowing the long blade in her hands to strike directly against his body without any attempt to evade.
"clang!"
With a clear metallic ring, Tashigi's sword struck Lin Mu squarely, but her expression instantly froze in disbelief: "This is... how is this possible!!"
The blade in her hands, which could easily cut through steel and had never failed her in battle, could not even break the surface of Lin Mu's skin. Instead, his skin faintly glowed with a subtle green light, so tough that it was almost inconceivable!
At this moment, Tashigi's heart was flooded with complex emotions—anger, frustration, shock, and deep-seated self-doubt...
Could it be that the gap between herself and these pirates was truly this vast?
No!
A firm light emerged in Tashigi's eyes as she forcefully steadied herself, pulling her sword back and launching another slash toward Lin Mu with renewed determination!
Seeing this, Lin Mu's gaze turned cold. He generally had no desire to strike a woman, but that did not mean he would hesitate to teach a painful lesson when necessary!
The steel talons burst out from his hands as Lin Mu swung directly toward Tashigi's sword, meeting her attack head-on.
"clang!"
With the sharp sound of steel colliding with iron, Lin Mu's steel talons crossed and firmly clamped down on Tashigi's blade, stopping it completely in midair.
The long sword in Tashigi's hands shattered with a sharp cracking sound, breaking into several fragments that scattered outward, and it actually managed to sever one of Lin Mu's steel claws directly!
For a swordsman, there is no greater humiliation than witnessing their blade break in direct confrontation!
Staring at the broken remnants of her sword, Tashigi fell into a dazed and stunned state, her normally composed and beautiful face now filled entirely with disbelief and shock!
The toughness and sharpness of Edman alloy were far beyond what ordinary people in this world could imagine!
Unless the opponent was using Armament Haki to reinforce their weapon, or wielded one of the world-famous blades forged at the pinnacle of swordsmithing—such as the Twenty-One Great Grade swords known throughout the seas—there was simply no way to cut through Lin Mu's hardened steel claws head-on!
Aside from those legendary weapons, any ordinary long blade that collided with Lin Mu's steel claws would inevitably meet the same fate—being cleanly cut off or shattered!
Having fallen into a momentary stupor, Lin Mu no longer paid attention to Tashigi and instead shifted his gaze back toward Smoker's body.
At this moment, as long as Lin Mu wished, he could easily take Smoker's head and claim the fifteen hundred万 bounty resting on him without any resistance.
Under the suppression of seastone, Smoker was weaker than an ordinary man, not to mention that he had already suffered severe internal injuries from Lin Mu's earlier attacks.
However, Smoker was not just an ordinary Marine officer. He had classmates and close companions, one of whom was among the three current Marine Admirals, known by the codename Green Bull. Smoker and Green Bull had shared a deep bond since their youth, and Lin Mu estimated that if he truly killed Smoker here, Green Bull would immediately turn his attention toward Alabasta without hesitation.
Facing an opponent of an Admiral's level at this stage, Lin Mu still lacked confidence. He needed to reach a higher level, acquire greater abilities, and accumulate enough strength before having the qualifications to challenge someone like Green Bull.
And all of that required time!
In a very short moment, Lin Mu made his decision in his heart.
However, even if he chose not to kill Smoker directly, Lin Mu had no intention of letting him off easily. Smoker needed to remember this defeat for the rest of his life!
A cold glint flashed through Lin Mu's eyes as he raised his arm and swung it down violently, striking the top of the seastone jitte embedded against Smoker's abdomen.
With the terrifying force of that blow, the seastone jitte was driven straight through Smoker's body and slammed deep into the ground beneath him!
Like an enormous iron nail, Smoker's body was forcibly pinned to the earth, completely immobilized!
Scarlet blood sprayed outward as Smoker let out a painful, hoarse roar, and the surrounding Marines and onlookers, including Tashigi, all fell into stunned silence.
As for Lin Mu, the instigator of everything that had just occurred, he merely straightened his clothes calmly and then strode away without looking back, his posture relaxed and indifferent.
And no one present not even Lin Mu himself noticed that atop a distant tower, a shirtless young man wearing an orange hat was squatting quietly, watching the entire scene unfold with great interest.
.....
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