Immediately following.
Smoker's expression turned grave as he bellowed at the crowd around him:
"Everyone in the plaza, get out of here now! No one is allowed to stay!"
The onlookers, who had been frozen in shock, snapped back to their senses at his words. In an instant, they scrambled frantically to flee.
"It's that man! The one they call 'Madman' Will!"
"Is this the guy with a 650 million Berry bounty? He looks terrifyingly strong!"
"Run! Get out of here quick!"
"Even 'White Hunter' is here! Looks like these two are about to have a fight to the death!"
"A battle between two powerhouses? Man, that's thrilling!"
"What are you still standing around for? Run!"
Amid the chaotic sound of footsteps and the cacophony of shouts echoing around them, neither Will nor Smoker paid the commotion any mind.
Their gazes locked onto each other, neither willing to break eye contact for even a moment.
As the tension between them mounted, their auras surged higher and higher.
Only when the plaza had completely emptied, with every last person gone, did Smoker finally speak. "They're all gone."
Will's lips curled into a slight smirk. "Then let's get started."
Whoosh—!
Without wasting a single word, Smoker thrust his right arm forward. In an instant, it transformed into a stream of smoke that shot toward Will.
The fist at the forefront of the smoke aimed straight for Will's chest.
Watching the white smoke barreling toward him, Will's face lit up with intrigue. With a slight tilt of his body, he effortlessly dodged the attack.
But the smoky fist suddenly veered midair, abruptly changing course to charge at him again!
Will, however, seemed to have anticipated this. His feet never stopped moving, and with a smooth pivot, he dodged the strike once more.
This time, the smoke didn't turn again. Instead, it exploded outward, splitting into several thinner tendrils that spread out in all directions.
It was as if Smoker intended to ensnare Will entirely within the smoke.
Seeing this, Will's voice carried a hint of amusement. "Now that's interesting."
Before his words even settled, Will vanished from his spot in a flash, launching himself high into the air.
"Don't think you can escape!" Smoker's eyes narrowed as he bit down on his cigar. His other arm shot out, transforming into smoke and blasting toward Will in midair.
In the air, with no way to maneuver, Will should have been a sitting duck. Yet, with a preemptive twist of his body, he effortlessly evaded the smoky assault.
As if he'd predicted Smoker's attack all along.
Using gravity to his advantage, Will plummeted downward, his leg swinging out with ferocious force, aiming a brutal kick at Smoker's chest.
Swish—!
The moment his attack connected, Will felt no resistance whatsoever. A flicker of surprise flashed in his eyes.
His leg had passed straight through Smoker's chest, slicing through half of his body.
Where the kick should have landed, there was nothing but a cloud of smoke, now sporting a gaping hole from Will's strike.
Will smoothly retracted his leg, spinning to land steadily on his feet. He cast a thoughtful glance at Smoker. "So this is the elementalization of a Logia Devil Fruit. Pretty interesting."
After this deliberate test, he quickly came to a conclusion.
Without using Haki, fighting a Logia user was indeed a bit troublesome.
After all, if you couldn't even hit your opponent, how could you possibly defeat them?
No wonder in the original story, Luffy had been utterly powerless against Smoker in Loguetown.
If Dragon hadn't swooped in at the last moment to save him, Luffy's journey as a pirate might have ended right then and there.
By now, the hole in Smoker's body had fully reformed. His brows furrowed slightly. "Madman Will. The man who took down two Marine Headquarters commodores and members of CP9. Your strength can't possibly be this simple."
Will slowly pulled his hands out of his pockets, his tone serious. "Sorry, I was a bit curious about your Logia abilities, so I was just testing the waters."
"But the warm-up's over. Let's start the real fight!"
"Hm?!" Smoker's eyes sharpened.
Only now did he notice that Will's hands had been in his pockets the entire time!
In that split-second of distraction—
Shave!
Whoosh—!
Will's figure vanished from the spot, a gust of wind trailing in his wake.
"What?!"
Smoker's expression shifted dramatically. Before he could elementalize, a powerful impact slammed into his right arm.
Boom—!
With a dull thud, Smoker was sent flying sideways. The spot where he'd been standing was now occupied by Will, who had appeared in a flash.
After tumbling twice across the ground, Smoker came to a stop. The cigar he'd been clenching was long gone, flung somewhere into the dirt.
He sprang to his feet, his face tinged with surprise. "You… you actually know the Six Powers?!"
He'd read about it in Will's intel beforehand, but until he saw it with his own eyes, he'd harbored a sliver of doubt.
Then, as if reasoning aloud, he muttered, "Besides Shave, you probably know Moonwalk too, don't you?"
"That's how you managed to wreak havoc in the Kingdom of the Bridge and escape unscathed!"
But before he could finish—
Whoosh—!
Will vanished again, completely ignoring Smoker's musings.
Smoker's eyes widened in alarm. Instinctively, he threw himself to the side.
Just then, Will reappeared beside him, his fist grazing past where Smoker had been.
Boom—!
The punch didn't stop, slamming straight into the ground with unrelenting force. A deafening explosion rang out.
Crack, crack, crack—!
The ground, unable to withstand the impact, shattered. Countless fissures spread outward like a spiderweb.
Smoker rolled to his feet and leaped back, creating distance while staying ready to elementalize at any moment to dodge further attacks.
Only after he felt prepared did he speak again, his voice heavy with astonishment. "You even know Iron Body? And you can use it while moving?!"
"Madman Will, you're making me more and more curious about you!"
In his memory, the only people who could use the Six Powers were high-ranking Marine officers and members of the World Government's CP organizations.
He'd never seen CP agents in person, but he'd heard stories from others.
The members of that organization were supposedly all masters of the Six Powers.
But since Marine Headquarters had already investigated Will, it seemed unlikely he was a rogue Marine officer or CP agent.
So where had he learned the Six Powers?
Surely he hadn't developed them on his own.
Smoker shook his head inwardly, dismissing the absurd notion.
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