"Heh. Not bad — you've got some brains after all."
Ron gave a faint nod, his tone laced with both approval and disappointment.
To think Smoker was relying on something as underwhelming as the Smoke-Smoke Fruit…
Did he truly believe this low-tier Logia could suffocate him?
The thought almost made Ron laugh.
He shook his head slightly.
He'd been planning to end this fight soon — to show Smoker what real power looked like.
But just as he gathered his strength, the familiar chime of the system echoed in his mind.
[Ding!]
Host has witnessed the Elemental Transformation of Logia-type ability user: Smoke-Smoke Fruit!
[Ding!] Elemental Bloodline Factor detected — awakening in progress…
[Ding!] Awakening halted! Matching rate extremely low — ability too inferior to integrate!
"What?!"
Ron froze.
Elemental Bloodline Factor… awakening?
And it was interrupted… because the ability was too weak?
For a brief second, he was speechless.
Then the realization hit him.
The Smoke-Smoke Fruit was… too low-grade for his body to accept?
That was absurd — and yet, somehow, it made perfect sense.
Could it be?
Was his body capable of naturally awakening Devil Fruit abilities — without even consuming one?
The very idea shattered his understanding of the world.
He had never desired a fruit's power.
Every ability came with the same curse: weakness against the sea.
A Devil Fruit user could never swim again, forever bound to land and ships.
To Ron, who loved the freedom of the ocean, that was unacceptable.
But this new possibility… changed everything.
If his body could awaken such abilities on its own, then perhaps it came without the curse of drowning.
Perhaps this was the true advantage of his so-called divine physique.
"Still," he muttered, "if smoke doesn't cut it… what does?"
Lightning?
Magma?
There were far more powerful elements out there.
If his body rejected this one, then the threshold must be extremely high.
He began to think deeper.
"'Elemental Bloodline Factor,' huh?"
That phrasing hinted at something else — if there was an Elemental factor…
Then what about Zoan? Paramecia?
Could his body potentially awaken all three categories?
The thought made his pulse quicken.
That would make him a being beyond Blackbeard himself — a man capable of wielding multiple Devil Fruit abilities at once.
If true, it was a power that defied everything known in the world of pirates.
Even for someone like Ron, the realization was staggering.
All of this raced through his mind in just a few seconds.
Outside, Smoker's smoke still coiled tightly around him, forming a suffocating sphere of fog.
To onlookers, it looked as if Ron had finally been subdued.
"Ha! Captain Smoker got him!"
"Of course he did! No one escapes Smoker in Loguetown!"
The crowd erupted in cheers, their voices echoing down the street.
Even Smoker himself began to relax slightly, confidence returning to his stance.
"Even if you can hold your breath," he said coldly, "how long can you really last?"
He clenched his fists, determined to end it.
Tashigi hesitated.
Her brows furrowed as she stepped closer.
"Captain…" she said quietly. "Do we really have to kill him?"
Her voice trembled slightly.
"I… I don't think he's the kind of criminal the bounty posters describe."
She remembered the man from the weapon shop — calm, confident, courteous.
Not a villain, but someone whose presence drew people in.
A warrior with an aura stronger than any she'd ever met.
But Smoker's voice was firm and cold.
"The orders are clear — capture or kill. No exceptions."
His words struck like steel.
Tashigi fell silent, guilt and conflict swirling inside her.
Then — a quiet chuckle broke through the mist.
It came from Zoro, who had been leaning lazily against a nearby post the whole time.
He looked utterly relaxed, as if watching a play.
Smoker's eyes snapped toward him.
"What are you laughing at?"
"Don't rush it," Zoro said with a half-smile. "You'll regret interrupting him."
Smoker glared.
"Once I finish him, you're next, swordsman."
Zoro shrugged. "You can try."
Inside the smoke, Ron's eyes slowly opened.
Enough was enough.
He had let this drag on long enough for curiosity's sake — but now it was time to end it.
His hand reached back.
The steel sang as he drew one of his blades from its sheath.
A flash of light tore through the fog.
The air itself seemed to still.
For one suspended heartbeat, even sound ceased to exist.
Then came the strike.
A single slash — slow to the eye, yet faster than lightning.
The blade cut through the air, through the smoke, through the world itself.
A dazzling arc of swordlight roared skyward, carrying with it an overwhelming surge of power.
The wind howled.
The ground split open beneath his feet.
Smoker froze.
For a brief instant, he felt it — that suffocating pressure, as if standing before a god.
The smoke that had trapped Ron solidified in midair, frozen in place as though time itself had stopped.
Zoro's lips curled into a grin.
"Guess that's my cue," he murmured. "Told you, Captain — you picked the wrong fight."
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