"You..."
Smoker stared incredulously at the area shrouded in smoke ahead.
The smoke lost control and turned into a normal natural phenomenon, gradually dispersing in this open space.
As the dense fog gradually dispersed, Sage's figure emerged from the fog. Maintaining the posture of grasping with five fingers, he smiled at Smoker and said:
"So I hit your elbow, huh."
In Smoker's eyes, that right hand was covered in a layer of pitch-black as ink!
"Haki..."
Smoker gritted his teeth and said, "I see, with the power of Haki, no wonder you're so confident!"
He knew what Haki was; he used to have it too.
Momentum, killing intent, fighting spirit... when you manipulate these invisible feelings, willpower can transform into a weapon, that's Haki.
But if your will weakens, Haki will also diminish and even disappear.
As a Logia-type ability user, staying in the East Sea was inherently unreasonable; he just felt the higher-ups were wrong, so he was exiled to the East Sea for defying orders.
While staying there, dealing with the small pirates of the East Sea daily, his willpower was worn down over time, and naturally, he lost his Haki.
If not for the appearance of the Straw Hat that shook his spirit and stirred the determination to capture him, he might have stayed in Logue Town until old age.
"Oh? You can see Haki, could you already use it?"
Sage expressed surprise but after thinking about it, he found it normal.
If he remembered correctly, this guy seemed to be Zephyr's disciple, so knowing Haki came naturally.
It was ultimately just control over willpower; whether it was once having it or always mastering it, once you encounter Haki, you naturally start seeing it.
However...
"It's not like catching a solid entity, just an attack." Sage looked at his palm, seemingly thoughtful.
Haki can't grab a Logia-type, just like Sage couldn't use Haki to grab water or fire, otherwise he could conveniently use Haki to grab flowing wind, couldn't he?
Wind is also natural.
Similarly, he couldn't grab the natural smoke spreading around Smoker.
Otherwise, there wouldn't be a Sea Emperor left stunned after using a flame attack, let alone another Sea Emperor saying it's due to willpower and not Haki in immunity to flame.
After all, it's just manipulation of willpower, not Seastone, unable to turn someone from elementalization to materialization, but it can indeed attack the Logia-type ability user's body.
The smoke coiling his torso was essentially Smoker's arm, and Sage's Haki struck his arm, but as to which part it hit...
The smoke is so long, so only heaven knows.
Based on the result, it hit the secret hole of his elbow, causing paralysis.
"Guess the experiment worked." Sage smiled.
Ordinary Haki, even if it catches a Logia-type entity, is merely a simple attack, with the specific power determined by the extent of the Haki.
However, Sage's Haki, imbued with the Qi from North Star Divine Fist, can hit the secret hole like Qi, even a Logia-type can't escape this if the entity is struck.
From the moment he mastered Haki, he wanted to try it on a Logia-type since an ability user's body changes with different abilities, even though he had confidence in seeing most secret holes, the Logia-type was different.
Essentially, they are elements, natural phenomena.
But looking at it now, it's still effective against Logia-types, as long as the entity is struck, the secret hole can be hit.
However, determining the location of the secret hole isn't easy; if Smoker extends the smoke like this, it's a matter of hitting wherever it lands.
"That doesn't matter."
Sage smiled at Smoker and said, "Still want to fight? If not, move aside. I'm here to spend money, don't delay my feast."
Smoker glanced at his left hand, caught in a strange paralysis, but he still held the jitte behind him with his right hand, slightly hunching his body as he said in a deep voice:
"I am the Navy, and you are a Pirate. Catching you is my duty... White Smoke Emitter!"
His lower body turned into a dense fog, seemingly powered by something, rapidly ejecting towards Sage, and he thrust the front end of the jitte forcefully, aiming for Sage's throat.
Smack.
The rapidly thrust jitte was caught by the palm of Sage's hand, who blocked it with his left hand, mouth curling into a smile at Smoker.
"Not an ability user?!" Smoker was momentarily shocked.
The strange paralysis in his left hand made him think Sage was an ability user as well, but seeing this ease, clearly not.
"The tip is very hard, is it Seastone? Even if I were an ability user, this level of Seastone..."
Sage shifted his left hand outward and with a pull, pushed Smoker's body closer.
"...is useless!"
With Haki covering his right hand, he swung a fierce punch.
Bang!
At the moment the punch was about to hit Smoker's abdomen, a blast of white smoke rapidly manifested, spreading his body, turning into a thick fog, letting Sage's fist pass through the smoke.
There was no sensation of hitting an entity.
"Voluntary elementalization? I thought there was a hole in the body, but turns out by rapid diffusion, the struck part can turn into ordinary smoke, preventing the hit."
Sage grinned, "Good judgment, but..."
Covered with the black flow of fire, his fist piercing the smoke clenched with a sudden explosive force.
"Tenha Kassatsu!"
A full release!
Boom!!
The white fog was entangled by the black fire, exploded like a cannonball, scattering the smoke, sending a figure shooting rapidly outwards, creating a dent in the ground upon impact.
Smoker's body lay collapsed in the pit, trembling, his face changed as he spat a mouthful of fresh blood.
The intense release of Haki impacted the body he had just dispersed, directly hitting the entity in the abdomen, sending him flying.
"Fortunate."
Sage shook his head, the Haki on his hand dissipating like a dark flowing fire.
Even if unable to use external release and internal destruction simultaneously, the power of Tenha Kassatsu is enough to pierce Smoker's secret hole, dealing even greater damage.
If internal destruction were possible, this strike could have shattered Smoker.
"Considering you helped with my experiment, forget it..."
Adjusting the fur cloak on his back, without looking at Smoker, he passed by him.
Bzz!
Just then, a jitte pointed over from the side.
Sage halted, glanced over, looking down at Smoker in the pit, "Not fainted yet..."
His chest heaved rapidly, and struggling, he turned his head slightly towards Sage, raising the jitte at him, blood flowing from his mouth, amidst heavy breathing, gritting his teeth as he said:
"I, I have my own justice too, I won't let you leave!"
"Justice..."
Sage glanced at the word "Justice" covered in dust on Smoker's coat, a mocking look in his eyes, "The weak have no right to discuss justice, Smoker."
"Justice or evil, there's no standard to be found across the sea. You think I'm evil, but I am my own justice. Ultimately, only the victors can speak of this, the defeated, long drifted into the sea, whether people or islands..."
Just like O'hara...
He shifted his gaze from Smoker upward, stopping at the rooftop of a nearby building, stating word by word:
"You agree, right, the one watching."
On the rooftop, a man with a bare upper body, wearing an orange cowboy hat, crouched there, watching Sage with great interest.