Luo Chen took a light sip of the sweet and sour juice, his eyes glinting.
'Smoker? This is indeed a bit troublesome.'
He had not yet learned Armament Haki, so it would be difficult for any of his attacks to pose a threat to a Logia user in their elemental state.
However, it was also impossible for Smoker to defeat him.
With the Six Powers' "Shave," there was no way Smoker, at his current level of strength, could touch him.
Just then, Buggy put down his cup and stood up, preparing to leave.
Luo Chen also drained his juice, called Nami over, and followed behind the three.
He would make his move as soon as they left the tavern.
Buggy didn't know how much treasure he had, but he himself was worth 15 million Berries.
'It's a little low, but every little bit helps.'
Luo Chen thought with some resignation.
There were too few powerful pirates in the East Blue, so he didn't have many targets for collecting bounties.
As for entering the Grand Line, Luo Chen felt he wasn't strong enough yet.
He needed to master at least an introductory level of one type of Haki and increase his strength to the level of a Marine Rear Admiral before he could enter the Grand Line. That way, he would barely have the power to protect himself and Nami.
Luo Chen and Nami, pretending it was a coincidence, followed Buggy's trio toward the tavern door.
Buggy reached out, just about to open the door.
The sound of a wind chime tinkled as the tavern's wooden door was forcefully pushed open from the outside.
With a bang, Buggy cried out in pain, clutching his nose as he fell and sat on the floor.
Mohji and the other crewmate immediately helped him up.
"Which bastard dares to run into your great Captain Buggy?!" Buggy, emboldened by the alcohol, roared as his anger flared, forgetting to hide his identity.
He looked toward the tavern entrance.
His two subordinates also had unfriendly expressions.
Luo Chen, standing a few meters away, also looked up, his expression turning slightly strange.
Outside the door was a tall Marine with short, silver-white hair. His jacket was open, revealing his chest muscles. He had two cigars clamped in his mouth, and his expression looked ferocious.
Behind him stood a female Marine with delicate features, short blue hair, red glasses, and a long sword at her waist.
The tall, silver-haired Marine looked down condescendingly at Buggy on the floor.
In an instant, Buggy's body stiffened as if he'd been frozen in place.
He let out a sharp shriek, "Smoker!"
His head, hands, and feet separated from his body in fright, fleeing in different directions.
Smoker snorted coldly, reached out, and grabbed the nearest part—Buggy's torso—slamming it heavily onto the ground.
Two meters away, Buggy's head let out a painful scream and fell to the floor. His limbs were still instinctively trying to escape.
Smoker's entire body turned into thick white smoke. Like a ghost, he swept through the tavern.
When he returned to his original spot, he had already caught Buggy's head and limbs, pinning them to the floor with his foot.
"Ow, ow, ow! Get your smelly foot off me!" Buggy's head grimaced, the pain unbearable.
"The Chop-Chop Fruit. Buggy the Clown. It really is you."
Smoker's voice was raspy, like a smoker's, deep and hoarse.
He exhaled a puff of white smoke and ordered, "Tashigi, get the Seastone Cuffs. Arrest him."
"Yes, sir," the blue-haired, delicate-looking female Marine said, taking a pair of black cuffs from her waist.
She bent down to cuff Buggy and said with admiration, "Captain Smoker, you're as strong as ever. Buggy the Clown was defeated in an instant."
Smoker said nothing. In his eyes, a 15-million-Berry pirate was no different from a child.
Besides, running into Buggy the Clown today was purely good luck.
He hadn't left Loguetown to capture Buggy the Clown.
He was here for the Marine traitor from the East Blue's 16th Branch, Luo Chen.
"It seems Luo Chen isn't here either." Smoker's gaze shifted from Buggy at his feet and slowly lifted.
When his eyes met Luo Chen's, they suddenly froze.
Smoker's eyes visibly widened, and a look of astonishment appeared on his face.
"Luo Chen!"
Seeing Smoker's expression, Luo Chen knew the man had recognized him. And the reason he had left Loguetown, the important gateway from the East Blue to the Grand Line, was likely to capture him.
Smoker suddenly strode forward, not even caring about Buggy under his foot anymore.
Tashigi hadn't even fastened the Seastone Cuffs yet. Buggy immediately seized the opportunity to escape, making a dash for the tavern exit.
"Stop!" Tashigi shouted anxiously. She hadn't expected Captain Smoker to suddenly lift his foot.
Buggy escaped with surprising speed, rushing out of the tavern in the blink of an eye.
Tashigi looked anxious. The pirate she had in her grasp had actually escaped.
Just then, outside the tavern, a giant tree suddenly rose up, its branches lashing out like whips, accurately and swiftly wrapping around Buggy.
Tashigi was stunned.
Then, as if remembering something, she looked back inside the tavern.
In front of Captain Smoker stood a young man in a black trench coat, with a handsome face and a gentle temperament, like a well-mannered young nobleman.
She abruptly pulled a wanted poster from her pocket.
"The Fallen Marine Major, Luo Chen! Bounty: 80 million Berries! A Logia-type Woods-Woods Fruit user."
Tashigi compared Luo Chen to the image on the photo. Behind her red-framed glasses, her eyes widened slightly in astonishment.
She never thought she would run into Luo Chen here. No wonder Captain Smoker had completely ignored Buggy the Clown, whom he had right in his grasp.
Buggy the Clown was worth 15 million Berries.
But Luo Chen was worth a whole 80 million Berries.
In the East Blue, this was likely the highest bounty there had ever been.
The pirate known as the ruler of the East Blue, Don Krieg, only had a bounty of 17 million Berries. The average bounty in the East Blue was only a few million.
Just how terrifying would an 80-million-Berry Luo Chen be... Tashigi fumbled to stuff the wanted poster back into her pocket. She had to be on her highest alert, ready to support Captain Smoker at any moment.
But the more flustered one gets, the more likely things are to go wrong.
The wanted poster in Tashigi's hand fell, was blown by a fan inside the tavern, and landed in front of a table of patrons.
At this moment, the tavern was much quieter than before, with only some whispering. Some patrons had already run outside in fear. After all, everyone could see that the two Marines were preparing to make a move on the young man in the black trench coat. He was definitely a pirate.
To avoid getting caught in the crossfire, some were leaving. But before they could even get out the door, they heard several terrified screams from a table.
"An 80-million-Berry bounty?!"
"How can it be so high!"
"The Fallen Marine Major Luo Chen! Why have I never heard of him?!"
All the patrons, whether they were drinking and watching the show or heading for the exit, froze.
As if petrified, they stood with their mouths agape, their gazes uncontrollably falling upon the young man in the black trench coat.
How much?
80 million Berries?!
This young man, who looked completely harmless, had a bounty of 80 million Berries?!
Looks of terror and alarm instantly flooded everyone's faces.
Tables and chairs were overturned in a clatter. The departing patrons broke into a sprint, and the brave ones who had been planning to watch the show threw down their cups and also fled madly out of the tavern.
You have to be kidding! For a pirate with a bounty of a few million, they might dare to watch the show, especially with two Marines present. The silver-haired Marine, in particular, looked quite formidable, having easily defeated Buggy the Clown.
But for a major villain worth 80 million Berries, they really didn't dare to stay any longer.
In the East Blue, at least in their generation, they had never heard of such a high bounty!
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....patre0on.c0m/talecrafter]