Chapter 293: Smoker's Hunch

(T/N: There is now a p.atreon for this work, and any new work I add will be dropped there first. check it out for an early release of up to 30 chapters edited smoothly. https://www.p.atreon.com/INeedRest)

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It was a squad of marines.

Each Marine soldier stood in line, holding a musket.

Smoker, with two cigars in his mouth, stepped out from the crowd, glaring at Colt and Nami with hostile eyes.

"If I had known you were a pirate, I wouldn't have let you go so easily back then."

"Just surrender, 'Wandering Colt!'"

Colt looked exasperated.

"If we drop that nickname, we could still be friends."

Why did the Marines give him that nickname? What did they base it on, was it because he was moving through the east blue and visiting different places?

Smoker's face twisted with disdain.

"Who wants to be friends with you? I only regret not bringing you to justice when I had the chance before!"

Smoker was frustrated.

The last time, he had a good impression of Colt, thinking he was a young man with his head on straight.

But when Smoker saw Colt's wanted poster — marked for the crime of killing a Marine Captain (Nezumi)— his anger boiled over.

As the marine captain of LogueTown, Smoker had no jurisdiction over the Cocoyasi Village situation, but LogueTown was the gateway to the Grand Line.

So, Colt was definitely going to pass through it.

Finally, today, circumstances had given him the chance to act.

"I don't remember having a bounty on my head the last time we met," Colt said casually, patting Nami's head.

She was visibly tense, and if Colt hadn't been there, she likely would have fled already.

Smoker clenched his fists.

"That may be true, but you're under arrest now, Colt!"

His right arm transformed into a swirling cloud of smoke, launching a smoke fist toward Colt with immense force.

"White Fist!"

The surrounding Marines relaxed, confident that the fight was already over.

"It's finished. Captain Smoker is serious, using his powers right from the start."

"Yeah, tough luck for that pirate — running into someone like Captain Smoker."

"Feels like we're just spectators at this point..."

The Marines conversed lightly, fully expecting Colt to be captured.

After all, Smoker was a Logia-type Devil Fruit user, and no normal attack could harm him.

Because of Smoker, few pirates made it past him to enter the Grand Line from East Blue.

"Seems like I can't avoid this fight," Colt sighed, raising his arm.

A powerful wave of repulsion surged out, causing Smoker's fist to stop as if it had hit an invisible wall.

Crack!

A sharp sound echoed as Smoker's arm broke from the sudden backlash.

"What... what is this power?"

In pain, Smoker instinctively turned his body to smoke, trying to avoid further damage but it didn't matter.

Boom!

A cloud of white mist exploded into the air, demolishing the nearby buildings.

"Captain Smoker!"

The Marines were stunned by the sudden turn of events, while Tashigi, Smoker's second-in-command, drew her sword and charged at Colt.

"Don't, glasses." Colt easily dodged her attack and flicked her on the forehead, sending her crashing into a building.

She disappeared into the rubble, unconscious.

Nami gasped.

"Colt... you didn't kill her, did you?"

Colt waved her concern away.

"Relax. It looks worse than it is. She'll just be bedridden for a few days."

As he spoke, Colt appeared next to Smoker, who had reformed into his human body after dispersing as smoke.

"Urgh!" Smoker grunted, barely able to react before Colt's fist coated in haki slammed into him, smashing him into the ground again.

Colt placed a foot on Smoker's chest, pinning him down.

"Don't worry, I'm not a real pirate, so I won't kill you. But if you really stand for justice, then you should look into what Captain Nezumi has been up to and why he died. And make sure to compensate the civilians for the damage you've caused this time."

With that, Colt turned his back on Smoker and walked back to Nami.

"Let's go."

The Marines stood frozen in shock, watching helplessly as Colt and Nami walked out of the encirclement and disappeared into the distance.

After several moments, the soldiers snapped out of their stupor and rushed to help their injured Captain.

Tashigi was also pulled from the wreckage.

"Damn it!" Smoker cursed, furious at his helplessness.

Watching pirates walk away so brazenly was like having his pride stomped on.

As for what Colt had said, for now, he did not pay it any mind, he wasn't so foolish to believe the words of a pirate.

"How could such a monster exist in the East Blue?" Smoker muttered to himself.

The level of power Colt had displayed — mastery of haki and that strange repulsive force — was unheard of in the East Blue.

Even on the first half of the Grand Line, few could boast such strength.

"Cough, cough"

Smoker started coughing and wiped the blood from his mouth.

"Captain! We need to get you to a doctor!"

"Forget about that, I'm fine… Let's go back to our base," Smoker growled.

"We need to report this information immediately."

Despite his fury, Smoker knew deep down that Colt's strength was far beyond anything he could handle.

Normally, Smoker wouldn't rely on the Navy Headquarters, but this was no ordinary case.

Colt was a menace that needed attention from the higher-ups. He had tested his power himself, and his intuition was that Colt had just been playing with him…

He was not one to ignore his guts, as that was what made him successful in catching pirates for so long.

As Smoker was being helped back toward the Marine base, he couldn't help but look back.

'I have a feeling that he's going to become famous…'

His instincts told him that as Colt entered the Grand Line, the entire world was going to change.

The seas were about to become a lot more dangerous.