"Damn Navy! I'm a big-shot pirate with a 130 million bounty on my head! Listen up"
"130 million?" Kisame interrupted with a sneer.
"That's not even enough for me to remember your name."
With that, he casually stepped back, revealing the white-haired young man at his side—Smoker.
"Smoker, this small fry's all yours."
"As your debut in the New World, make sure it's impressive!"
"Uh…"
Smoker had just landed and already had a black cloud forming over his head.
Debut?
Against someone worth over a hundred million?!
Was this guy trying to get him killed on his first mission in the New World?
"What? Too hard for you?"
"You're Zéphyr's prized student, aren't you?" Kisame asked, blinking in mock confusion.
"I…"
Smoker had no idea how to respond.
Should he just tell him the truth? That he was more like the chaos gremlin of the elite class?
That Zephyr-sensei probably threw a party when he finally left?
Should he admit the only thing he was really good at… was turning into smoke?
If he said any of that, this guy would probably kick him straight back to Navy HQ without a second thought.
And returning like that?
He'd be a joke for the rest of his life!
With that grim thought, Smoker steeled himself, clenched his jaw, and growled:
"No problem! Leave it to me!"
And with that, he leapt forward, flying straight at the pirate.
"You bastard! You dare look down on me?! Sending some brat to insult me!?"
Furious, the pirate whipped out his pistol and fired!
Bang!
The bullet sailed through a cloud of smoke.
There was no impact. No blood.
It was like shooting air.
"Bullets don't work on me… pirate."
Swirling with smoke, Smoker's expression had shifted—no longer awkward, but cocky and cold.
"A Logia-type Devil Fruit user?"
Seeing the bullet pass right through, the scar-faced pirate instantly became more cautious, muttering under his breath.
"At least you've got some brains," Smoker said, the cigar clenched in his teeth as his body reformed,
"I'm the user of the Smoke-Smoke Fruit."
His voice dropped to a dangerous growl:
"And today… you've reached the end of your line."
The pirate's face darkened. His grip on his weapon tightened as he snarled:
"You little punk… you've got a death wish!"
The man holstered his gun with a sneer and lunged forward with clenched fists.
Just as he closed the distance with Smoker, his knuckles suddenly gleamed—coated in a thin layer of black armor.
It was faint… but unmistakable.
"Armament Haki!"
The smug grin instantly vanished from Smoker's face, replaced by a flash of alarm.
Without hesitation, he dissolved into smoke and shot upward to avoid the strike.
"I'm a Logia-type Smoke-Smoke Fruit user! As long as I stay airborne, what're you gonna do—tickle me?"
Hovering in midair, Smoker took a drag from his cigar and gave a cocky, street-punk grin.
Down below, Kisame frowned sharply as he watched.
Logia-type Devil Fruits were hailed as the strongest—virtually invincible to most enemies.
But…
This pirate, despite only having a bounty a little over 100 million, could use Haki.
And what could Smoker really do—turn into smoke and float around?
"Heh… is that so?"
The pirate, Assam, looked up at the arrogant little Navy punk with a storm brewing in his eyes.
Then, slowly, he crouched—his legs beginning to morph.
In an instant, his calves twisted and transformed into tightly coiled springs.
"…"
"How fascinating."
Watching from the side, Kisame's eyes sparkled with interest.
This world really was full of wonders.
People turning into dragons, jelly… and now springs?
These Devil Fruits really did live up to the "devil" part.
"Mountain Cracker!"
With a sharp bang, Assam launched himself from the ground like a missile, spring-loaded legs propelling him into the air.
Both arms were black with Armament Haki, and he rocketed straight at Smoker.
Caught off guard, Smoker tried to dodge, but his speed just barely fell short.
BANG!
A pitch-black fist smashed into his side.
Ribs met ruin.
The pain was so sharp, it nearly brought tears to his eyes.
His thoughts turned frantic and grateful:
Thank God…It wasn't the lungs!
Otherwise, how would he smoke again?
Plummeting from the sky, Smoker gritted his teeth through the agony in his side as thick smoke began swirling around his entire body.
"Binding!"
White smoke coiled tightly around Assam, writhing and twisting like a swarm of pythons, constricting his limbs with vice-like force.
The pain raging in his body ignited his fury. With a snarl, he drew the Navy-issued longsword from his waist, not caring about the consequences—he was going to cut this bastard down.
He brought the blade down with a roar
CLANG!
The sound of metal crashing against something solid rang out.
"Shit!" Smoker cursed under his breath.
The searing pain had scrambled his brain—he'd completely forgotten the guy could use Haki.
BAM!
Another punch landed out of nowhere. Smoker's eyes bulged, and a second later, a spurt of blood burst from his mouth.
Thankfully, the guy's Haki wasn't that refined.
But then
BAM. BAM. BAM!
Three more hits in quick succession.
Assam, tangled in the smoke but fueled by rage and opportunity, unleashed hell.
He'd finally run into a Logia rookie—and wasn't about to waste the chance.
He pounded away with blackened fists, punching, kicking, thrashing.
Blood sprayed through the air.
Smoker had turned into a full-blown punching bag.
Totally overwhelmed. No counterattacks. Just pain.
Even the pirate himself hadn't imagined there'd come a day he'd get to pummel a Logia user like this.
And yet, even then..
The cigar dangling from Smoker's lips still hadn't fallen.
From the sidelines, Kisame's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
This was supposed to be the invincible Logia type?
"…That damned pirate… I'll kill you…"
Smoker, now thoroughly disheveled and half-pulped, snarled through clenched teeth. The cigar clenched tight, his bloodshot eyes locked on his opponent like a wild beast.
He'd never imagined his debut would go like this.
And right in front of his superior officer, no less.
"Hehehe…"
"Quit whining."
"If you don't have the strength, screaming won't help you."
Just then, a low voice rang out behind them.
Assam froze. His instincts screamed. He abandoned Smoker instantly and whipped around.
Just ten meters behind stood the calm, cold-faced Marine officer.
Kisame didn't even look at the pirate.
His gaze was locked on Smoker—who had effectively knelt down on his first outing.
To be honest?
Kisame hadn't expected the guy to be this weak.
And not only that… the guy was supposedly blessed with one of those legendary, invincible Devil Fruit abilities.
All that scolding earlier? Yeah, it had been directed squarely at Smoker.
"V-Vice Admiral…"
His body hurt like hell, but his pride? That stung worse. His face burned with shame.
"Starting today…"
"If you still want to stay on my ship—then you'd better train like your damn life depends on it!"
Kisame's voice cut like ice carried on a winter storm—frigid, sharp, and absolutely unforgiving.
Smoker said nothing. He could feel it. The man was furious—and all because of him.
Normally, Smoker's pride would've kicked in by now. The same stubborn streak that had made even Zephyr butt heads with him more than once.
But right now, for some reason,
That man standing a few meters away?
He radiated something terrifying.
Killing intent.
Yeah… that's what it was.
"What's the matter?"
"Beat up your underling, and now the boss comes out to play?"
Assam licked his lips with a bloodthirsty grin, eyes narrowing at Kisame.
Kisame's gaze finally shifted off Smoker.
He turned those shark-like eyes on the pirate—staring at him the way one might size up a corpse.
Then, a low, rasping chuckle escaped his throat—full of chill and malice.
"Heh heh heh…"
"Let's get one thing straight."
"I'm not stepping in to save him."
"If he got his ass kicked 'cause he's green? That's on him—he'd deserve to die. But…"
He took a step forward.
"You laid hands on my guy, right in front of me... like I didn't matter."
Boom!
With a sharp motion, Kisame unslung Samehada, his sharkskin-covered blade—eyes locked on the nearly five-meter-tall pirate before him.
He grinned, dark and deadly.
"I've decided…"
"Your legs?"
"Yeah—they're really pissing me off."
(End of Chapter)
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Sorry guys for the unplanned break, my laptop got broken 😭, currently uploading chapters from mobile, I'll try to upload chapters daily, meanwhile you can go ahead and checkout my patreon: beast0x1 to read it in advance, will try to conclude the story as soon as possible and probably buy a new laptop 🙂