Chapter 94: Snake Pit (5)

'Smoker.'

Into the Tarai Current—a huge spiral ocean current that flows between the World Government's three major facilities: Marineford, Impel Down, and Enies Lobby—numerous Marine ships entered.

Standing atop one ship was Garp with his arms crossed.

'In the past... I came to resign. After learning the true face of the World Government, I concluded that an incomplete peace under the oppression of the Government's tyranny was better than a world full of war and chaos.'

He's been through the deaths of many comrades. He's been through many sufferings, but was able to come on top of them only thanks to his belief in the 'justice.'

And then, that fateful day in the God Valley. Garp saw the Celestial Dragons torturing other humans whom they considered slaves. Upon the arrival of the calamity named Rocks D. Xebec, they immediately revealed that of a fear, before ordering him to fight the pirates and get them out of there.

During that day, he chose the 'fake peace' and complied with their orders. After the event passed by, he wondered over and over, up until the present, if he should've left them to die.

<But...> He thought back then, <All my comrades' fights for justice, if I were to let the Celestial Dragons die, would've been for naught.>

Justice, in a way, was the ideological manifestation of the 'fake peace.' Garp believed that this is who he'll be until his death... before Smoker came into the picture, that is.

<I defy the very idea of justice itself, Garp-sensei.>

Smoker—the fellow whom Garp has no idea where he came from—completely shattered his reluctant belief. Although young and weak, Garp knew from the start that something was different about him.

<Am I in the right? I don't know.>

That white-haired kid, his eyes brimmed full of dream unlike his withered self.

<I may appear to be the most idiotic individual in the eyes of others. And you know what? They may be right.> Smoker, gazing at the sky where the mesmerizing clouds brought forth a pleasant rain, said back then,

<But will that stop me? Heh, the answer is no.>

Perhaps it was from that moment, that Garp's heart began beating once again—finding hope in the future of the Marine.

"...Heh."

Back in the present, Garp grinned as he gazed ahead at the Gate of Justice that was barely visible by sight.

'What will happen here from now on, Smoker?'

Sengoku, Tsuru, Zephyr, other Vice Admirals, Marine Officers, Marine Platoon Soldiers, and many more—all of them were heading to the Impel Down. Some may be favourable to Smoker, while some may contain ill intents along with a notion that Smoker is just a criminal.

In this situation, Garp could tell one thing. Through this uproaring event in the Impel Down today, the so-called 'fake peace' of the world will start to crumble.

__________

Petty. Trivial. Worthless. Such were the thoughts that Blaise initially held in regards to Smoker.

<...Brother, watch out. That man... something is different about him.>

The warning from his younger brother, Bayard, was perceived as insignificant by Blaise.

<Watch out? Me?> Blaise snorted back then, <Against that worm who thinks of himself as a snake?>

However, in contrast to his confidence back then,

BOOOM!

he was currently in the process of receiving Smoker's fist right onto his cheek.

"Tch...!" Blaise, with his back sitting on one vertical plain with evident cracks, wiped a trail of blood that ran down from the corner of his lips. Clicking his tongue, he narrowed his eyes—ones that continued to process the information acquired from 'Observation Haki: Future Sight.'

'...Left!'

Pushing his feet against the wall behind him, Blaise motioned his arms forth, causing the said wall to morph into jackets piled up against one another and surround his sides—

Tap.

—and then, Blaise was once again filled in disbelief as Smoker was already past the jacket wall, placing his palm on the former's exposed chest.

"Huff, huff, huff," Although huffing rapidly to the extent that he was practically gasping for air, Smoker's eyes didn't lose the light in them.

"Black Impact."

The penetrating black smoke produced a synergistic effect with 'Armament Haki: Internal Destruction.' Breaking through Blaise's Armament Haki and reaching his inside,

BOOOOM!

Blaise's eyes became bloodshot as the blood dripped out of his parted lips.

And that was just the beginning, with Blaise's defense having completely gone down by said strike.

BOOOOM!

Black Blow.

BOOOOM!

Black Ball.

BOOOOM!

Black Flow. Black Snake. Black Gun. Smoker punched, kicked, blasted, and bombarded Blaise with all techniques that he was capable of—not giving his foe any time to retaliate. His gaseous blood circulated around his body at an unbelievable speed, and his heart continued beating at a speed that resembled a steam engine.

"Huff, huff, huff, huff, huff,"

Utilizing Geppo to quickly propel himself further up, Smoker flew right at the airborne Blaise above with his right fist cocked back. Blaise, with his eyes narrowed grimly in the midst of pain coursing throughout his body, immediately covered up the entirety of his body in the thick layer of Armament Haki: Emission.

Smoker, noticing Blaise's quick guard, sent forth a powerful uppercut.

BOOOOOM!

The fist didn't touch. Instead, the wave of black smoke, mixed with Armament Haki: Internal Destruction, blasted right onto Blaise's form, struggling to break Blaise's thick armour.

"G-Gurgh...!"

Blaise, unconsciously wincing with the veins popping out of his forehead, prevented the technique from penetrating through his innards with all his might. As a result, he was pushed upward before being slammed right at the ceiling of the current level.

BOOOOM!

Tap. Landing back on the ground of the sixth level, Smoker huffed with the evaporating wisps of sweat all over his body. His body trembled in stress, telling him to stop this self-destructive technique right now. However, simply grinning and raising his head back up, Smoker refused.

"Cough, huff... huff..." On the other hand, Blaise's head spun, bringing an extreme degree of dizziness onto him. His body was sweating all over, his orange hair was burned and disheveled, and his exquisite white attire was utterly ruined into filthy-looking rags.

'...Calm down.'

In this state, biting his lips and angrily wiping the blood off of it, Blaise clenched his hands tight.

'Calm down.'

Blaise, momentarily closing his eyes, took in a deep breath.

"Hu..."

Then, as he reopened them, he muttered,

"...Is that it, Smoker?"

Letting out a dull expression, Blaise remarked.

"Does this change anything? Does this ensure your victory? A temporary means of attaining a physical capacity beyond limit... it's akin to a double-edged sword, one that does more damage to yourself than your foe."

Blaise, with his eyes flashing in a cold rage, growled in a low tone, "In the end, you still are nothing but a worthless worm to me."

'...'

Smoker, holding his chest, thought, 'Thirty seconds. Either I win before then, or die trying.'

"Bwahaha..."

A weak laughter exited through his huffing lungs. Smoker then propelled himself upward, at Blaise who was still stuck at the ceiling.

"Ha...!"

Upon Blaise's will, the entire ceiling that he was stuck onto began to wriggle, transforming into a pile of jackets over a thousand in the count. Subsequently, millions of thin jacket snakes stretched out of said jacket wall in a frightening manner, swarming downward at Blaise's front—where Smoker was found with a dangerously swirling ball of white smoke on his left palm.

BOOOOM!

As the white smoke and jacket snakes clashed, the zipper formed on the jacket wall right behind Blaise's back and zipped open. From the pressure generated by the clash, Blaise was propelled upward into the cold environment of the fifth level.

SWOOSH!

Smoker, not wasting any time, utilized Geppo to propel himself up in midair, and accelerated his speed by morphing his legs into the pressure-producing white smoke. Simultaneously, Blaise motioned his arms in wide arcs, causing the entire fifth level to instantly morph into layers of jackets that rushed in and surrounded Smoker's flying form.

"..." Narrowing his eyes,

BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM!

Smoker didn't hesitate and sent his punch to the numerous jacket layers. Accompanied by the mix of his 'Steampunk'-enhanced physique, Soru, and Geppo, Smoker weaved through the countless jacket snakes, punching and kicking at an instance where he couldn't afford to dodge them.

SWOOSH!

In the meantime, Blaise dashed upward once more, zipping his way into the fourth level.

"Huff, huff, huff," Ignoring the sheer cold that intruded his body, Smoker immediately resumed his chase for Blaise who seemed to be set on running out of his range.

"..." Blaise, glaring coldly at Smoker with the outflux of blood stopped due to his subtle operation of Seimei Kikan, snapped his finger as he passed through the ceiling of the fifth level. In accordance, said ceiling wriggled in a similar manner, before the entire ceiling collapsed as a weak jacket that instantly ripped from the weight above it,

SPLASH!!

and Smoker, from down, saw—a huge volume of boiling blood, the well-known feature of the fourth level of the Impel Down—pouring down at him like a gruesome nightmare.

There remained a huge hole on the floor of the fifth level, and if the boiling blood were to be left alone, it will descend all the way to the sixth level and harm Gion.

"Huff, huff,"

Smoker, landing on the floor of the fifth level with his legs returned to their original forms, Gritting his teeth as he operated his fruit ability. Pumping a noteworthy volume of smoke out of him, he then quickly gathered all of the said smoke right on his right palm, forming a dense mass of 'White Ball' above it.

Swoo...

Then, he forcibly clenched it with his hand, bringing the size of the said ball to an even smaller size.

"Black,"

Tsss...

Encasing his smoke-holding right hand with the strong Armament Haki: Emission, Smoker shot out said hand,

"Roar."

BOOOOOM!

Immediately exploding upon Smoker's palm opening back up, the black smoke vigorously shot out as a wide beam of hot flame. Upon colliding against the descending mass of boiling blood, the crimson steam arose along with the metallic scent that emanated through the entire fourth and fifth levels of the Impel Down.

'...Roar.'

Gion, standing on the sixth level with her eyes shadowed, had her sword pointed at the neck of fallen and injured Shiryu. Shiryu, chuckling in defeat, thought,

'White Snake? Hah... more like...'

Blaise, while Smoker was effectively blocking the crashing wave of boiling blood, opened a gateway all the way to the first level of the Impel Down. Standing high in the air, he held his arms out wide, looking down at Smoker with a stern expression that held a subtle arrogance within.

"...I've seen the future."

And there, Blaise said. The walls and floors all around the Impel Down, just as he said so, morphed into countless jacket snakes that began to swirl around the orange-haired man.

"Exactly after our next clash, you will fall..." Blaise grinned, "...With your loss, that is."

Ba-Bump.

Smoker, without a single word of response, blasted himself up, mustering up all his will for one final time.

'Just one more time, my heart,' Thought Smoker, 'Endure it.'

Ba-Bump.

The countless jacket snakes merged and became one extremely large jacket snake—one that barely fit through the gap on each floor generated by the zippers. Said snake, hissing at Smoker's ascending form, stood aside Blaise,

"Basilisk."

and upon Blaise motioning his right arm downward, shot out at the white-haired man.

Ba-Bump.

Smoker's entire body swirled out an immense volume of smoke. Merging with the crimson steam that used to be the boiling blood, as well as the previously generated smokes from multiple clashes, Smoker willed them to morph into a gigantic snake of white smoke,

'Raging Serpent.'

BOOOOOOM!

Two gigantic snakes crashed against one another.

…

And right upon said contact, Smoker instinctively felt, that his technique was weaker.

'...Hah.'

So this was it, Smoker thought. And he smiled—

—as the jacket snake from above obliterated the snake of white smoke, plummeting Smoker all the way back to the floor of the sixth floor.

BOOOOM!

The cloud of dust arose, and from the sheer impact, the cracked walls of the sixth level shivered. Then, from one crack, a stream of water began to pour in—indicating that the level will soon collapse.

"SMOKER!!!" Gion, shrieking in a pale expression, left the nigh-dead Shiryu and ran toward the cloud of dust.

Blaise, witnessing his victory with his very own eyes, gazed at the scenery in caution.

"...But this time around,"

Then, he closed his eyes and remarked,

"it seems that you won't be standing back up."

The cloud of dust cleared, and in the pool of his own blood, Smoker lied with whitened eyes. Gion, quickly reaching the man's side, shook him in an attempt to wake him back up, but to no avail. Pale face and dying heart... it seemed that Smoker's life was about to come to an end.

...And so, was this it? Was this the end of him?

"Yes, it is," Growled Blaise, feeling a sudden shiver down his spine for no particular reason. Placing his eyes off of Smoker and Gion, and wiping a sweat on his forehead, he formed a zipper on the ceiling of the first level and exited the ruined Impel Down, out onto the blue sky.

"...Oh?"

There, he saw, one Marine Warship that sat on the sea in front of him.

In the ship, there were the former marines—Aramaki, Rosinante, and Hina, along with Senor Pink, whose faces held that of urgency. They, having sailed in secrecy up until now, were not aware of the live broadcast of Smoker and Blaise's battle.

"...Former Admiral Blaise?" Rosinante whispered in confusion.

"Hina... has a bad feeling about this." Hina grimaced, raising her caution against Blaise's casual self.

"...What the hell are you doing here, former Admiral Blaise." Aramaki, standing at the frontmost section of the ship, asked stoically, ready for combat at any time.

'...5 more inside, though they seem to be insignificant relative to these four.'

"On my way to return after completing my mission, of course." Blaise, in amusement, stated.

Aramaki frowned, "…And what may that mission be."

Blaise smiled wickedly,

"Assassinating 'White Hunter' Smoker."

Immediately after he said so, he found four individuals attacking him at the same time.

__________

"...Smoker?''

In the huge screen of Sabaody Archipelago, the gruesome scene of Smoker's blood oozing out of his still and lying body was on display. Koala, the little girl standing among the civilians, trembled in tears as she hugged herself.

"…Lost?"

The man whom Koala believed to be invincible, was lying still.

"N-no...!"

And she couldn't accept it. No, she believed that there was no way that her saviour could've lost.

Out of anguish, Koala screamed, with tears freely pouring down from her eyes,

"STAND BACK UP!!! SMOKER!!!"

"…!"

Jolting up from trance by Koala's scream, one by one, people resonated.

"White Hunter...!"

"Smoker-san!"

"My saviour... one who freed us from the inevitable slavery..."

"""DON'T DIE!!!"""

One by one, the world began to chant the name of one man—one who was seconds away from death.

<I want to save them—the helpless ones who are unable to do anything in front of ruthless power.>

"...Smoker," Bastille, slowly taking his mask off and gazing at the screen with gritted teeth, mumbled, "Look how many are calling out your name. Before reasoning, before logic and plan whatsoever, your resolve has reached them."

<I don't seek to conform. Whether someone is right or wrong—I won't make any judgment until I get to experience that person personally. Sometimes, the pirates may be the innocent ones. Just like Barthur, there certainly exists the corrupted marines. Nothing is absolute in this world, and there always are exceptions.>

That's right. Since the very start... Smoker never strayed from his words.

"So get back up, idiot, and prove it to me,"

Bastille clenched his hands in hope, reminiscing what Smoker said back then,

"that you are capable of changing this world."

Plop.

The sky—it swirled and shifted as the clouds rapidly stormed in. Slow yet speedy, one by one, the droplets of rain plopped down to the ground. The sensation upon Bastille's skin was cold, but at the same time, for some reason, warm.

Plop.

And back in the Impel Down, Gion witnessed the middle of the Eternal Hell that was slowly being filled with pouring-in seawater,

Swoo...

of all the surrounding smokes bizarrely entering Smoker's wounded body.

Plop.

"...H-huh?" Taking a step back, Gion watched in teary expression.

Plop.

The pool of blood around Smoker's form began to ripple, even though Smoker produced no movement whatsoever.

Plop.

What was the cause? What was happening? Gion began to think with a rapidly beating heart, along with a strange sense of hope that suddenly invigorated her.

Plop.

And then, she saw... a twitch of Smoker's finger.

The plopping sound, along with the ripple—they were of no more. The noise of seawater pouring in, and the groans from prisoners of all floors—they were of no more. There only existed silence, and in this state, Smoker slowly opened his eyes back up—ones that were crimson in colour, along with thin rings around their irises.

Holding the dominance capable of sending its opponents down to their knees, one will never agree such eyes to be that of a mere snake. Rather,

they were akin to the eyes of a dragon.