Smoker glared at the trio, his resolve hardening.
No matter what, he had to bring this group to justice.
“White Snake!” he bellowed.
Smoker’s arms transformed into several ferocious, snake-like plumes of thick smoke, lashing out violently toward Carina and the others, intending to bind them tightly.
Carina immediately stepped in front of Kuro and Toniel, urging them rapidly, “You don’t have Haki, so you can’t touch his physical body at all.
He’s very difficult to deal with!
I’m a Logia, so I can hold him off.
I’ll block him first, and you guys take the chance to break out!”
“Kagero!”
Before her voice even faded, a massive amount of intense flames erupted from Carina’s arms.
The fire roared, instantly forming a long wall of flame that forcefully blocked the oncoming smoke snakes.
For a moment, the entire Execution Plaza was split in two by the competing elemental energies.
White smoke and orange-red flames clashed and collided frantically, sizzling as the heat waves and white mist intertwined, blurring everyone’s vision.
“I’ll help you!” Kuro called out.
Unwilling to let Carina fight alone, Kuro unleashed his Devil Fruit powers.
His fur grew rapidly and his body swelled.
In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a ferocious werewolf.
He lunged quickly toward Smoker, his sharp wolf claws tearing fiercely at the Marine officer.
Unfortunately, without Haki, he couldn’t touch the physical body of a Logia user.
His claws tore through nothing but a loose cloud of white smoke, dealing no actual damage.
Even so, the sudden assault successfully interfered with Smoker’s movements, causing his attack to falter for a crucial moment.
Beside them, Toniel clenched his fists.
He knew he couldn’t help much in this high-level clash without Haki.
Since he wasn’t a Devil Fruit user like Kuro, he decided to focus entirely on dealing with the surrounding Marines, keeping them from taking potshots at his crewmates.
Smoker’s expression grew increasingly grim as he said coldly, “Don’t think that just because you have the Mera Mera no Mi, you can stand against me!”
He turned his gaze to the werewolf-form Kuro, a flash of surprise in his eyes.
“I didn’t expect that you had eaten a Devil Fruit as well.
To think Captain Kuro was an ability user too.”
As he spoke, Smoker no longer hesitated.
He pulled the Seastone-tipped Jitte from his back and gripped it firmly.
Immediately after, a large amount of thick smoke erupted from his body, forcefully suppressing Carina’s flame offensive.
Simultaneously, a long arm condensed from white smoke gripped the Jitte and swung it violently toward Kuro with a sharp whistle of wind.
Kuro’s reactions were extremely fast.
He immediately used his Silent Step, barely managing to dodge the heavy weapon.
But Smoker was even faster.
Smoke itself was incredibly flexible, and he instantly circled to Kuro’s side, delivering a fierce side kick that slammed into the pirate’s ribs.
Bang!
With a muffled thud, Kuro was sent flying, crashing heavily onto the bluestone pavement of the plaza.
“Kuro!” Carina cried out, seeing her crewmate knocked away.
She instantly elementalized, and violent flames swirled and condensed around her, launching a massive assault toward Smoker that seemed to cover the sky.
“I’m fine,” Kuro said, slowly pushing himself up from the ground.
He shook his head, his tone firm.
“I’m a Zoan user, so my physique is naturally tough.
It’s not that easy to hurt me.”
He indeed had no serious injuries, just some superficial bruises.
The blood at the corner of his mouth was only from a slight bump.
With the recovery power of a Zoan fruit, he would be completely fine in a moment.
Kuro lunged at Smoker again, his sharp wolf claws carrying a fierce, cutting wind.
For a time, a fierce exchange erupted in the plaza once more.
Large amounts of smoke and fire collided frantically, while the Seastone Jitte and wolf claws clashed again and again.
The sounds of impact—Bang!
Bang!
Bang!—echoed constantly through the square.
Kuro was knocked back by Smoker’s attacks repeatedly, falling heavily to the ground, yet he crawled back up every time without fear.
He lunged at Smoker again and again, entangling him like a madman and giving the Marine no chance to focus on Carina.
“Damn it!” Smoker roared in anger, frustrated by the stubborn duo.
He really had no way to quickly take them down.
Although he was a Logia user, Carina was a Logia too, and her Mera Mera no Mi was the perfect counter to his smoke abilities.
Combined with a Zoan assistant who had incredible recovery and no fear of death, he couldn’t defeat the two of them in a short time.
“Even if you are a Mera Mera no Mi user, how long can your stamina hold out?” Smoker muttered, biting down on his cigars as his eyes fixed on Carina.
“Once your energy is exhausted, I’ll deal with you one by one!”
“Then you just try and see who gives in first!” Carina retorted.
She gritted her teeth and held on, fine beads of sweat already seeping from her forehead.
Her fire offensive was weakening slightly, but her tone remained defiant.
She knew very well that with Moge’s strength and speed, he must have seen the commotion here and was already on his way.
Overwhelming Strength
Carina’s guess was entirely correct.
Moge had already arrived while they were in the middle of their fierce battle with Smoker.
He stood far off at the edge of the plaza, watching quietly.
This was a rare opportunity for Carina and Kuro to become more familiar with their Devil Fruit abilities, so he didn’t intervene immediately.
He wanted to wait until the two of them could no longer hold out.
It wasn’t until he saw Carina’s fire offensive clearly weaken and show brief pauses that Moge stopped waiting.
“Soru,” he muttered.
His figure flashed instantly, leaving only a faint afterimage in place.
When he reappeared, he had already landed right beside Smoker.
Moge’s right foot instantly turned pitch-black as he coated it in Armament Haki, and he swung a devastating whip kick.
Bang!
Smoker didn’t even have a chance to react before he was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing heavily into the ground.
Moge followed closely behind.
Almost the instant Smoker hit the dirt, Moge rushed over and stepped heavily onto the Marine’s chest.
The force was far beyond what Smoker could withstand.
Crack!
The sound of breaking bones was clearly audible.
The stone pavement beneath Smoker was forcefully crushed inward, and spiderweb-like cracks spread rapidly across the square.
Blood continuously welled from Smoker’s forehead and the corners of his mouth, and his breathing became faint.
“Moge, you’re here!” Carina shouted in surprise, a look of relief washing over her face.
“Armament Haki…” Smoker wheezed, looking up at Moge with difficulty, his eyes filled with utter disbelief.
“Arnos Moge…
a bounty of only 17.8 million Berries…
and you’re their Captain?”
He had seen Moge’s bounty poster before.
In his view, the man was just another ordinary East Blue pirate, but he never would have imagined that Moge had mastered Armament Haki—a technique that even high-ranking Marines in the Grand Line struggled to learn.
The pirate captain had completely defeated him in just two moves.
Smoker inwardly cursed the Marine intelligence personnel.
For such a powerful monster to only have a bounty of 17.8 million Berries was absolutely absurd.
“It’s me,” Moge said with a faint nod.
He pulled a cigarette from his pocket and calmly lit it.
“My partners have been in your care, so I appreciate the warm welcome.”
Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps approached, and someone came running over, panting heavily for breath.
Seeing Smoker covered in blood under Moge’s foot, Tashigi immediately drew her long sword and pointed it at the pirate captain, her face flushed with anger.
“Let go of Colonel Smoker right now!” she cried out.
“To think I thought you were a good person when we met earlier.
I never expected you to be a pirate!
I’ll never give a sword like Yubashiri to someone like you!”
“Tashigi, don’t come any closer!
Stay back!” Smoker shouted urgently.
He knew very well that Moge’s strength far exceeded his own, and Tashigi was completely out of her league.