Chapter 123

"And so, here we are."

Maynard gazed at the view in front of him.

With a grim expression, he mumbled, "In the past, I heard how Dressrosa is a land full of passion. Its flower fields, mighty-looking battle colosseum, and the legend of fairies. Though I didn't get to visit here during my time under Fleet Ad—Sakazuki, it doesn't take much wit for me to know—"

In front of Smoker and Maynard, there existed nothing but gray. Gray factories, gray gases, soils that lost their richness, and remnants of the old Dressrosa.

"—that something is wrong here."

Maynard sighed. He then turned toward Smoker, who impassively examined the situation around them,

"If one of the twenty countries that established World Government is in a state like this, then what of much weaker ones—"

At the next moment, a bullet suddenly came in flying toward Maynard. However, with an angered expression, Maynard caught the flying bullet with his huge hand.

"H-Huh?!"

One member of Beast pirates who was holding a smoking pistol expressed his shock before Maynard threw the bullet right at him. With widened eyes, this individual fell to the ground with a bleeding hole right on his forehead.

However, this pirate was simply one of many. Away from Smoker and Maynard, numerous members of Beast pirates, all wearing the iconic demon-like black uniforms, revealed themselves with their respective weapons.

"They're simply two guys, while we are many!!" One pirate standing among them shouted with a devious grin on him. Holding his blade up, he said, "Catching a bullet? In New World, anyone can do it! Don't let yourselves be intimidated... and..."

Said pirate's voice became smaller and smaller during his talk. His eyes wavered as they found Smoker,

"W-White Hunter...?"

Boom. Then, Maynard, jumping all the way from Smoker's side to the group of Beast pirate's front, towered over them with his gigantic form. Having realized just how dangerous two enemies are, the Beast pirates all froze on their spot, unable to move as Maynard's huge hand reached out for one pirate.

"You will tell me," Grabbing the front-most pirate's face with his crushing grip and lifting him up, Maynard growled, "everything about what happened in this kingdom."

'Seems like Dressrosa is tightly guarded, for them to have located us this fast,' Thought Smoker as he watched Maynard's action, 'He should be fine by himself.'

Smoker directed his gaze at the distant building, before his body morphed into wisps of smoke. This smoke, travelling and merging with the cloud of dark smoke that was fumed out of factories, sneaked its way into the central factory that seemed bigger than others.

'Factories, arms. Kaidou is preparing for a war.'

The plan is to 'draw the attention.' At the same time, he needs to ensure the safety of civilians. To do so, Smoker deduced that collecting information is a step required prior to the 'draw the attention' phase.

Silently, Smoker's body reformed at the dead bottom of the factory. Surrounded by crates, Smoker operated his Observation Haki,

'One, but negligible.'

Casually, Smoker began walking without making any sound.

'And now,'

Surprisingly, as he began to walk, he turned invisible from head to toe—until he was completely gone from sight.

'The particles that compose me during my gaseous form reduce their sizes, to an extent where there is enough gap for light to pass through instead of being scattered.'

It required an extremely fine control over the ability of Smoke Smoke fruit. However, for Smoker who achieved the nigh-perfect mastery over this fruit, this task was no longer impossible.

Walking out of the corner, Smoker's eyes roamed over the civilians in tattered clothes. With their bruised bodies, they all partook a role in building firearms that were stored in crates. With a grimace, Smoker continued moving.

"Hey, you!!"

One member of Beast pirates then shouted with his whip lifted up high in the air. The person in which said pirate was glaring was none other than an elderly man who seemed nearly at the end of his life.

"Haven't I told you to move?! MOVE, idiot!!"

"Huff... huff..." The elderly man, malnourished and scrawny, stared at the pirate; he didn't seem to have any energy to speak back.

"This world is all about strengths! And for you weaklings... disobedience means death—eh?"

One woman suddenly entered the scene, standing between the pirate and the elderly man with her arms open. With dishevelled pink hair and multiple bruises across her exposed skin, there was no doubt that she was one of these workers in the factory. Her body seemed to be trembling from the underlying fear, but her eyes firmly glared at the pirate.

"Do you have no shame?" This woman gritted her teeth, "He isn't in a state to work!! Can't you tell?!!"

"P... Princess..." The elderly man, with widened eyes, whispered in a hoarse voice. He seemed to be trying to shake his head in denial, but his body didn't respond.

"Ha?! Who are you to order me around, bitch?!"

The pirate, obviously annoyed, didn't hesitate to slam his whip onto the woman—except that the whip which he was holding onto was no longer existent except for the handle, which the pirate realized after swinging his arm.

"...What?!" Turning around, the pirate saw that there was a trail of smoke in the air, one that seemed to resemble the shape of a whip. In panic, the pirate then looked to his left and right as his left hand reached out for a pistol that was in a holster. However, he froze right after, as his eyes met another pair of eyes—hazel-coloured—that gazed back at him.

Thud.

With whitened eyes and mouth foaming, this pirate fell down to the ground, unconscious. The pink-haired woman, elderly man, and many other civilians around them were rendered confused.

"What just..."

"Princess Scarlett!!" One civilian quickly made her way and held the pink-haired woman's hand, "Thank goodness... I thought..."

'Scarlett?' Smoker, still invisible, raised an eyebrow, 'Where have I read that name before again? It's got to be somewhere in the Dressrosa arc, but—'

"Mom!!"

Then, a small, pink-haired girl suddenly revealed herself from behind one machine and ran toward the woman named Scarlett. Smoker immediately realized,

'—Rebecca.'

"Rebecca! Go back into hiding right away!" Scarlett cried, "Have you forgotten what I told you?!"

'Scarlett. The woman who feigned his death to marry Kyros, who is civilian-born. The daughter of King Riku Doldo III and mother of Rebecca.'

In the book, Scarlett died because of Donquixote pirates, but here, it seemed that Beast pirates' invasion ended up revealing that she is alive and living.

'Then the question is, where are Riku and Kyros? Dead? Captured and taken elsewhere?'

Smoker couldn't sense any presence that lacks malevolence but is packed with sufficient strength. Nonetheless, one thing was certain, that Scarlett likely has all the information he needs.

"Huff... cough cough..."

The elderly man suddenly coughed out blood, causing people nearby to flinch. Scarlett immediately leaned down with Rebecca next to her.

"Ronnie..."

The elderly man made a slight yet genuine smile,

"Princess Scarlett... cough... it seems that..."

His eyes were lingering on the trail of smoke above the unconscious pirate, one that began dispersing.

"The god of... justice... did not leave us..."

And he spoke no more after that.

The group of civilians who gathered were placed under silence as the elderly man closed his eyes peacefully. However, the peace did not last for long, for the other pirates, who found the scene strange, began approaching the civilians.

"Hey! What is going on over there?!"

Scarlett, with a pale expression, quickly stood up and looked at the approaching group of pirates. She looked down and saw that Rebecca was holding her leg tight with her body trembling. The other civilians too realized that they were in a tight situation the approaching Beast pirates saw the unconscious state of their crewmate.

"What the fuck..." One pirate growled as he stopped in front of said unconscious member. In anger, he drew a pistol from his holster and aimed it at the group of civilians who were slowly backing off.

"WHO DID THIS?!"

Smoker, standing right in between the group of civilians and a group of pirates, scratched the back of his head.

In horror, the civilians backed off until their backs reached a wall. Pirates, numbering around fifty at minimum, seemed eager to draw blood.

One pirate among the group then spoke up, "How about we play a game? A game where one person dies every second until the culprit confesses..."

Then, abruptly, said pirate swayed, expressing dizziness. Immediately after, his eyes whitened out and he flopped to the group, face-first.

"H-HUH?!!"

In confusion, pirates cried. In panic, they looked around their surroundings, only to see nothing. The civilians too had their eyes widened in shock, unable to believe that miracle happened once more.

"Fuckers,"

Then, out of nowhere, a man—Smoker's—voice was heard.

"You disgust me."

Pirates, engulfed by the fear of the unknown, began their retaliation against the invisible threat.

"W-Who is this guy?!!"

"Where are you hiding, coward?!! Reveal yourself!!"

BANG! Then, one pirate abruptly shot a bullet toward a civilian with a shaky grin on his face,

"It's got to be one of them. Did you think you can trick... me..."

The bullet bizarrely slowed down during its flight, and by the time it was right in front of Scarlett, it was nothing but a harmless lump of white smoke.

Thud.

One pirate within the group then fell, much to the fear of other pirates.

"W... hat..."

As if the souls left their bodies, the pirates, one by one, lost grip over their weapons and fell without any resistance.

"H-HIBIKI-SAN!!" A pirate cried out as he shivered in terror. This cry garnered the attention of everyone in this factory. The aggressive voices of other pirates died down in an instant, and all pirates who were monitoring the factory gathered around the scenery.

The civilians were left bewildered. They had no idea what was going on. However, with a gulp, they gained a hope that perhaps, this torturous life full of despair would change.

The Beast pirates, amounting to hundreds, placed themselves in a caution. With a bam, the door of the office within the factory was kicked open, and the man with spiky red hair, Hibiki the 'Carnivore', revealed himself with an annoyed expression on his face.

"And now, what the hell is going on," Growled Hibiki as he made his way to the center of the scene.

Smoker, on the other hand, was left in amusement, for Hibiki stopped right in front of him.

"Hibiki-san! Our crew members suddenly fell down without any attack! This all began ever since those civilians grouped up, so we thought this has to be their doing..."

The pirate who explained the situation to Hibiki fell down, unconscious, giving a demonstration of what he just explained.

"IDIOTS!!" Hibiki barked, before pointing his finger at Scarlett and other civilians, "If that's the case, what are you doing?!! KILL THEM ALREADY!!!"

"Y-Yes, Hibiki-san!"

The remaining pirates all complied with Hibiki's order, or they tried to. At the next second, their bodies suddenly became flaccid and they fell on top of the already unconscious members of the Beast pirates. Hibiki, even he was left in confusion about this phenomenon. Taking a step back, he revealed his sharp teeth.

'This isn't the feats of Conqueror's Haki! I couldn't, and didn't sense anything! My Observation Haki tells nothing either, so what even—"

Hibiki couldn't think any further as he felt a crushing sensation on his face. Although invisible, there surely was something in front of him, holding onto him.

"Carbon monoxide. Seems like a success, eh,"

Then, in everyone's view, a man materialized. White-haired and hazel-eyed—it was within seconds that everyone managed to recognize who he is,

"White... Hunter..."

Hibiki's eyes widened as Smoker, holding onto the former's face, chuckled.

'This... is..."

A huge volume of carbon monoxide was being directly injected into Hibiki's face from Smoker's palm. Hibiki's heart began to race. His vision started to get blurry. His head hurt. He knew that something was happening from Smoker's hand that was in contact with him, and he had to do something to get out of this situation.

"GRAHHHHH!!!"

And therefore, he, before the situation worsened for him, morphed his body into a gigantic form of a Tyrannosaurus rex, breaking through the ceiling of the factory and standing at his full might.

"Kyaaa!!!"

BOOM! One by one, the crumbles of the ceiling struck the ground below. Civilians quickly ducked and covered their heads, but in contrast to their worries, no harm was done to them—thanks to the mystical white smoke that freely swam around and cushioned the falls of those crumbles.

But that was that, and this was this. The mighty form of Hibiki as a T-rex was enough to invoke a fear of death from civilians. They knew that his sharp teeth, gleaming against the sunlight, were sufficient enough to tear them apart with one bite.

"Two strangers..." Hibiki, having recovered from the effects of carbon monoxide, growled in this state, seemingly lamenting over his previous laziness, "To think White Hunter will be here out of all places... but so what?!"

Lifting his head, Hibiki roared. The entire factory tremored from the sheer force behind the roar, and civilians covered their ears in an attempt to protect them.

Then, looking back down and glaring at Smoker, Hibiki formed a complacent grin, "With this power that is personally given by Kaidou-san... I am invincible! Even you, White Hunter, are nothing but an average human in front of the ancient creature!!"

The huge head of T-rex descended at Smoker and the civilians behind him with its mouth wide open, revealing sharp teeth.

In grimace, Scarlet hugged Rebecca tight. The other civilians curled up and tried to pretend as if the threat in front of them didn't exist. In this state, Smoker was the sole one standing without any hint of fear whatsoever.

Then, the T-rex's agape mouth reached Smoker and engulfed him, with Smoker showing no resistance—

Boom.

There was a muffled noise of an explosion within T-rex's mouth. T-rex, or Hibiki, then began bleeding from all the holes in his body as his mouth was opened back up, emitting loads of smoke and Smoker who seemed unscathed. Hibiki then began falling toward his left as his body shrunk back into his normal, human form, and,

Thud.

Everyone was in a state of disbelief, for it took less than an hour for the lives of Dressrosa civilians to take a 180-degree turn—by one man.