49. You're Crazy, Aren't You?

Spike remained motionless as the smoke swiftly engulfed him. Despite his efforts, he found himself unable to escape its grasp.

Every time Spike dispersed the smoke, it returned instantly, akin to struggling in water with no respite.

Gradually, Spike began to struggle to breathe, gasping for air as he opened his mouth wide, his tongue protruding.

The sailors witnessing this spectacle erupted with excitement, shouting enthusiastically:

"It's happening! Colonel Smoker's most powerful technique!"

"Anyone ensnared by Colonel Smoker's trick won't break free, no matter who they are!"

"...."

Al frowned slightly as he listened to the marine's enthusiastic comments.

The most troublesome aspect of Logia fruit users is their ability to transform into elements, rendering them immune to physical harm! Without knowledge of Armament Haki, confronting Logia users can leave you extremely vulnerable.

In the early stages of One Piece, Logia Devil Fruit powers seemed invincible due to imperfect settings.

The only methods to defeat a Logia user were to submerge them in the ocean or employ seastone.

"If only Spike knew Armament Haki," Al thought to himself.

Watching Spike trapped within the smoke, Al silently resolved to find a way to train in Armament Haki as soon as possible!

Otherwise, battling Logia users in the Grand Line would prove exceedingly challenging!

Just as Al prepared to retrieve the seastone handcuffs from the system space to restrain Smoker, Tom, who had been hiding behind him, suddenly darted forward wielding a mace.

However, the outcome was disappointing. Like Spike, no matter how vigorously Tom swung the mace, he couldn't dispel the smoke.

Even Tom himself began to show signs of being engulfed by the smoke.

Witnessing this, Al didn't hesitate for a moment. He swiftly retrieved the seastone handcuffs he had acquired from the black market and golf club through the system backpack.

Utilizing the tracking ability of the golf club, he aimed precisely to strike with the seastone, enabling him to engage the Logia fruit ability user.

With this plan in mind, Al boldly confronted Smoker.

"I've got a little gift for you!"

The moment the seastone made contact, its effect was immediate!

In the blink of an eye, the smoke that ensnared Tom and Spike vanished completely.

Tom's rush to save Spike was met with success.

In that moment, Spike couldn't help but shed tears of emotion.

Who would have thought that when Spike fell to the ground, Tom's initial reaction wasn't to assist him back up.

Instead, he made a beeline for his beloved cat fur coat!

This action infuriated Spike, who glared at Tom as if he wanted to devour him.

Observing the two behaving like bickering jesters once more, Al suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him.

But...

Al didn't bother to intervene; after all, this pair of friends had been at it more than once or twice before.

"Seastone?" Smoker questioned, tossing the seastone handcuffs aside with a peculiar expression.

He eyed Al warily, prompting disbelief from the sailors nearby who had witnessed Smoker's smoke form being dispersed.

"Where did this guy get those seastone handcuffs?"

"The seastone is under the control of the Marines. How did he manage to obtain it?"

...

As they discussed, a keen-eyed marine couldn't help but gasp upon noticing the engraved words on the seastone.

Immediately, the image of him stealing the seastone handcuffs and selling them to the underworld flashed through his mind. However, everyone's focus remained on Al, and they failed to notice the shift in his expression.

But Carina, who lurked in the shadows, caught sight of it all!

"You're clever, but with a seastone handcuff, and..."

Before Smoker could finish his sentence, Al interrupted, pulling out two sets of seastone handcuffs with a smile.

"And what?" Al replied calmly, meeting Smoker's gloomy expression with composure.

Smoker's face grew even darker, resembling a volcano on the verge of eruption. 

Internally cursing, he clenched his fists, a chill flickering in his eyes.

"Even if I refrain from using my fruit ability, I'll stake my reputation as a White Hunter. I won't allow you to enter the Grand Line alive!"

"Then give it a try," Al responded defiantly.

The corner of Al's mouth twitched slightly as he completely disregarded Smoker.

His sights were set on the monsters of the New World! 

Being halted in East Blue by someone like Smoker would be utterly absurd.

Just as Al was about to pass the seastone handcuffs to Tom and Spike...

Only to find that Tom and Spike were locked in a heated skirmish.

Al: "..."

Upon seeing them blatantly disregard him, Smoker's inner volcano erupted instantaneously.

"Go to hell!"

Tom and Spike exchanged glances before delivering a furious kick to Smoker, sending him airborne without employing his elementalization.

That expression seemed to convey: "When adults fight, children don't interfere!"

After kicking Smoker away, Tom clapped his hands and retrieved a cigar from behind.

Once it was ready to be lit, Tom gazed at the cigar in his hand, a light bulb seemingly appearing above his head.

In the next moment, Tom's trademark wicked smile spread across his face.

When Spike caught sight of Tom's sinister grin, he couldn't help but freeze for a moment, a hint of fear crossing his features.

As he pondered what sort of scheme Tom might be plotting against him, Tom suddenly produced five cigars from his back, cramming them into his mouth and lighting them up.

However, immediately after the first puff, Tom began to choke and cough, his eyes reddening with blood.

"Is the cat an idiot?"

"Be confident. This cat is an idiot!"

"..."

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