Whoosh!
All four of them used Shunpo at the same time, slipping out of the smoke with ease.
Even the bag in Hanatarō's hands was held steady, not spilling a single thing.
"So fast! Was that Soru? Doesn't quite feel like it…"
Smoker's heart skipped a beat.
That kind of high-speed movement was something only the elite of Marine Headquarters could pull off.
And here in the East Blue, he'd just run into four of them at once!
There was no way he could let them set foot in the Grand Line now.
"Don't think you can run!"
Smoker stomped hard on the ground, body shooting out like a released arrow.
Soru!
At the same time, the upper half of his body turned into smoke, cranking his speed up another notch.
"Come quietly and accept investigation at the branch!"
In the blink of an eye, Smoker appeared right in front of Oguro, his right hand grabbing toward his shoulder.
"How dare you!"
Rukia and Rangiku's expressions turned cold with fury.
This bastard… he actually dared to lay a hand on the Soul King!
Unforgivable!
Both women drew their Zanpakutō in the same instant, slicing fiercely toward Smoker's wrist.
But Smoker didn't dodge. He didn't even flinch—just kept reaching for Oguro as if their blades weren't even there.
Whoosh!
Their swords passed cleanly through his arm, like cutting through thin air.
"So this is the 'elementalization' His Majesty mentioned… troublesome indeed."
The same thought flashed through both women's minds.
"Hadō #1: Shō!"
A shockwave burst from Oguro's fingertip, scattering Smoker's smoke-formed body apart.
Seizing the moment while Smoker reformed, Oguro used Shunpo again, pulling back to open up some distance.
"Was that martial arts… or some kind of Devil Fruit power?"
Smoker didn't rush to attack. Instead, he calmly analyzed the move.
As a Logia-type user, he was practically invincible in the East Blue.
No one had ever managed to even hurt him before.
The woman called Rukia Kuchiki was said to control ice and snow, but Smoker wasn't worried in the least—
after all, the Logia-type Ice-Ice Fruit had already been eaten… by his superior!
Since hers wasn't a Logia, there was nothing for him to fear.
"Give it up. Against my elementalization, your attacks are completely meaningless!"
Smoker's tone carried smug confidence.
"You're speaking too soon."
Rukia's eyes turned cold. She raised her Zanpakutō horizontally and whispered—
"Dance… Sode no Shirayuki."
The pristine, elegant blade of Sode no Shirayuki appeared before Smoker, momentarily stunning him.
"So the fruit user isn't her—but that sword?"
The thought made Smoker smirk slightly in disdain.
No matter how strong a Devil Fruit was, it depended on how the user developed it.
Feeding it to a sword might avoid seawater's weakness, but it also meant losing the ability to truly evolve the power.
Which meant this woman's strength was nothing to worry about.
Rukia, unaware that Smoker had already labeled her as "weak," slowly swung her blade.
"First Dance: Some no Mai, Tsukishiro."
In an instant, a pale light flashed beneath Smoker's feet, and frost began spreading upward from the ground.
Smoker immediately turned to smoke and shot into the sky, dodging the freezing surface.
"Heh. The reports say you can freeze an entire mountain—impressive, sure. But up here, your power's useless."
He shook his head, a bit disappointed.
If she'd eaten the fruit herself, maybe she could have developed it better.
But since it was on a sword, that was probably all she could do.
Yet Rukia only gave a cold smile.
"Who told you I can only freeze the ground?"
The moment she spoke, the air turned deathly cold.
Within Tsukishiro's range, both ground and sky froze alike, a massive ice pillar shooting straight toward the heavens!
Smoker hadn't expected the attack to reach the air.
He hastily dispersed into smoke and fled outward with all his strength.
"Whew…"
He let out a shaky breath, half of his body still reforming from mist.
Had he reacted even a split-second slower, he would've been frozen solid.
"Wait… something's wrong!"
Looking down, he saw the half of his body that had reformed was coated in frost, biting cold seeping deep into his bones.
Seeing that, Oguro smiled faintly.
He had suspected from the start that Shinigami powers could counter Logia users.
"The strongest force in this world is Conqueror's Haki—it's a power of the soul.
In a way, it's akin to Reiryoku. No wonder it works so well."
Oguro was more than satisfied.
This meant that when he summoned Captain-level Shinigami in the future,
he wouldn't have to worry about them being restrained by Marine Admirals.
Smoker's face darkened.
Their power had far exceeded his expectations.
If these people entered the Grand Line, they'd become a grave threat to the Marines within years.
"All units—capture them!"
At his command, a swarm of Marines poured into the street, completely surrounding the area.
"What a pain."
He just wanted to buy a Log Pose, and now things had blown up like this.
Oguro flashed beside Nami, scooped her up by the waist, and ordered calmly—
"Rangiku, take point. Hanatarō, follow. Rukia, you cover our retreat."
"Understood!"
Rangiku drew her Zanpakutō and called out,
"Growl… Haineko!"
The slender blade turned into a cloud of gray ash, forming a roaring tornado that swept toward the Marines blocking the road.
"Damn, another ability user?!"
Smoker's eyes widened. The regular Marines couldn't possibly stand up to that!
He instinctively tried to charge forward—
But a cold voice echoed beside his ear.
"Second Dance: Tsugi no Mai, Hakuren!"
A wave of blinding white frost ripped through the air, threatening to freeze even the void itself.
Danger!
A sharp, stabbing sense of crisis hit Smoker like needles to his skull.
He didn't dare push through—ducking aside just in time.
That brief delay was enough.
Rangiku's attack hit squarely among the Marines.
"Ahhh!"
"Watch out!"
Screams erupted as dozens of Marines were hurled like leaves in a storm,
slamming into rooftops and the street.
The blockade was instantly torn wide open.
"Stop right there!"
A slim figure stepped into their path—short hair, square glasses, a standard-issue Marine saber gripped tightly in her hands.
It was Smoker's subordinate, Tashigi.
Even knowing the massive gap in strength, she still stood her ground without flinching.
***
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