Chapter 12: Unexpected Encounter!

"Hey! It seems that we have encountered some trouble~" Ace, who had long sensed the presence of the people behind him, slowly turned around, wearing a playful look on his face.

"Unexpectedly, I encountered pirates when I first came to LogueTown to report. It seems that there is indeed a big problem with the management here!"

A sturdy middle-aged man emerged from the smoke, his eyes fierce like a hungry predator. 

Smoker, Captain of the Navy Headquarters, a Devil Fruit user with the ability to produce and control smoke. 

For some reason, he was recently dispatched to the LogueTown Naval Base in the East Blue Sea, responsible for guarding the entrance to the Grandline.

"Captain Smoker, no information has been found on this person. He should be a new pirate!" Beside Smoker, an intellectual beauty with red square eyes reported, holding a stack of wanted orders.

"Oh~ I see, it seems you are really unlucky!" A fierce smile appeared on Smoker's lips. His fists clenched together, and his joints made a crisp sound as he approached Ace.

Ace smiled as he backed away, raising his hands in front of him. "Hey, uncle, don't be so impulsive! We will leave here as soon as we finish the supplies..."

"Leave?" Smoker chuckled, "How much do you look down on me for still thinking about such stupid things? Me, a naval captain?"

"Go to prison and reflect on it!" 

The battle was about to break out!

Puff! 

There was a muffled sound. Smoker stepped heavily, and his lower body turned into thick white smoke. His body surged forward, attacking Ace fiercely with his spiked fists.

"What a violent character!" Ace's eyes narrowed slightly, and his face became serious. He stared at the flying fist, showing no fear, and said calmly: "It's just that your fist is too slow!"

His figure swayed like a phantom, easily dodging the incoming fist shadow in an instant. 

Dodged!? 

Smoker's pupils suddenly shrank, realising that the person in front of him was definitely no ordinary pirate.

But... he is no ordinary marine! 

Puff! 

The billowing white smoke enveloped everything, and Smoker's figure appeared behind Ace. He raised his smoke fist again and roared, "Don't underestimate me!!!"

The heavy fist cut through the air, causing the wind to moan, rumbling in Ace's ears. Ace grinned, "Navy, such a fist can't stop a man who yearns for the sea!"

As the son of Roger, the Pirate King, Ace not only inherited Roger's reputation but also inherited Roger's terrifying talent. Even without devil fruit, his strong strength gave him ultimate confidence.

The faster fist shadow flashed past and bombarded Smoker's body! However, the next second, Ace's expression froze! His fist had passed through Smoker's body as if hitting the air.

Smoker's eyes were stern, a shadow appeared on his face, and he sneered: "You arrogant brat, you'd better reflect on prison!"

Peng! 

The heavy punch hit Ace's face without any hindrance. In an instant, Ace's body flew out like a cannonball, slamming into the wall behind him, causing spider web-like cracks.

"It seems that I really look down on the sea." Ace frowned, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and slowly stood up from the ground. He patted the dust off his body, and his eyes became more solemn and surprised.

Smoker walked over calmly, slowly pulling out his weapon stuck in the ground. Looking at Ace's expression, he mocks: "You don't even know about logia Devil Fruits. The East Blue Sea is indeed the weakest sea."

Thinking that he was sent away from the Navy Headquarters because he was dissatisfied with the World Government's way of doing, Smoker felt very upset. All he wanted now was to vent violently.

Uh-huh! 

Pointing his jitte weapon directly at Ace, Smoker said: "Kid, give up. With your current strength, it is impossible to defeat a logia Devil fruit user."

"Be obedient and surrender. If you behave well, I will allow you to join the navy!"

Faced with a pirate without any criminal record, Smoker still hoped that he would change his ways and embark on the right path in life. What's more, Ace's reaction speed and strength just now shocked Smoker, and he couldn't help but feel a love for talent.

"Logia type? Devil fruit?" Ace frowned and said to himself: "What an unlucky encounter…should I run?"

Due to his personality, the word "run" is what Ace hates the most in his life. When he was a child, he suffered a lot because of his personality. As he grows up, although he becomes more rational, he still feels unwilling.

"Are you already thinking about how to escape?" At this moment, Smoker suddenly showed a mocking smile, as if he had seen through Ace's heart.

"Tch~" Ace spat softly, but his clenched fists suddenly unclenched, his dark eyes stared forward, and he said slowly: "Your personality is really annoying, big man! You must not have many friends right?"

"Ah!? How did you know!" Tashigi on the side suddenly covered her mouth and asked in surprise.

"Hey!" Smoker said with a black line, "Don't talk nonsense to me, Adjutant Tashigi!"

Glaring at Tashigi angrily, Smoker waved his weapon to Ace.

"It seems that you are not going to surrender. In that case, I will beat you until you can't stand up first, and then let's talk about other things!"

With a muffled sound, Smoker's lower body suddenly turned into thick smoke again, and his body flew into the air. White smoke wrapped around the tip of his weapon, and with a flash of light, he stabbed Ace fiercely.

"Don't think you're the only one who can use elemental attacks! You bastard!"

Ace roared and waved his arm suddenly: "Charizard, use flame vortex!!!"

As soon as he finished speaking, an orange dragon suddenly appeared in front of Ace. 

"What!?" 

Smoker seeing it looked shocked, and his body suddenly stopped in mid-air.

The mythical dragon actually exists!? 

For a moment, Smoker was stunned for a few seconds from shock leaving him open.

"Cha!" 

The fire-breathing dragon, which appeared in a fighting posture for the first time, didn't care whether the enemy was stunned or not. It took a big breath when it came up. The surging flame energy in its body instantly gathered in its mouth, and its eyes bloomed with a fierce light.

The next moment, the blazing flames surged out. The flames were like a whirlpool on the sea, spiralling up with terrifying momentum, and instantly enveloped Smoker's body.

"Captain Smoker!?" Tashigi looked at the flames dyeing the sky red in fear and shouted worriedly.

"I'm fine!" In the flames, Smoker's patient voice came out. His rich combat experience allowed him to quickly mobilize all his strength and turned it into a huge wave of white smoke.

"Ah——!!!" 

Smoker let out an angry roar, and a huge wave of white smoke suddenly swept outwards. Thick white smoke temporarily suppressed the flames.

Then a wisp of white smoke drifted by, and the elemental Smoker escaped from the flames.

"Cough!" Smoker coughed twice and blew out two puffs of black smoke. At this time, there were burnt marks on his hair and clothes, and he was in a miserable state.

"Ah hahaha, I knew it!" Ace laughed and said, "How can a devil fruit resist a powerful creature from another world!"

At this moment, he showed deep disdain for devil fruits. He was also thankful in his heart that he didn't eat the devil fruit. 

Seeing how the ability user Smoker became so embarrassed just by the power of Charizard's casual blow, Ace immediately made up his mind: whenever he saw a Devil Fruit in the future, he would exchange all of it for points! ! !

"Boy, what kind of monster is that!?" Smoker, who escaped from the flames, asked with a solemn expression and puzzled.

"Cha!? (Monster? I'm a Charizard!!!)" After hearing Smoker's words, Charizard suddenly became furious. He hasn't trained in such a long time, and he's really suffocating! Now this guy who delayed his training dared to call him a monster. He was really angry!

"Ma ma, bear with it, bear with it..." Ace comforted Charizard with an apologetic smile, and then looked at Smoker.

"Hey! Big man, you'd better apologize to my brother, otherwise I can't guarantee what will happen!" Also, you are smoke and we are fire. Smoke is obviously not as good as fire. Why don't we each take a step back and ignore that we see each other?"

It's not that he is afraid. In fact, quite the opposite. If Charizard hadn't come out, Ace might have really fought him to the end. But once the fire-breathing dragon appeared, with its terrifying destructive power, half of the town would be wiped out in a real fight. Ace didn't want this to happen.

However... what he didn't expect was that his concession, which went against his heart, actually became an insult in Smoker's eyes.

Smoker's expression changed instantly: "Damn pirates, don't underestimate the navy!"

"White snake!" The angry Smoker suddenly waved his hands forward, and in an instant, his arms suddenly extended forward, It turned into a giant white smoke snake and charged towards Ace.

"What a weird-tempered guy," Ace frowned slightly and sighed in his heart, "Well, since we must fight, let's control the damage to the minimum." Seeing the strong white snake attack, Ace stretched out his hand to another direction while standing directly on the back of the fire-breathing dragon.

"Charizard, let's go to the beach first, find a suitable venue, and get to know this guy!"

"Cha!" Charizard's eyes were like fire, and he jumped into the air, waving his wings, and immediately flew into the air, towards the coast flying away.

The white-eyed giant snake lost its target and bombarded the ground, making two large craters on the marble floor. Withdrawing the smoke, Smoker immediately turned to look at the retreating figure: "Don't think you can run away!"

After a light roar, Smoker's body suddenly emitted a huge amount of smoke, and with the help of the power of the repulsion, he also flew high into the sky, chasing after the figures of Charizard and Ace.

"Hey! Captain Smoker! What should I do?!" On the ground, Tashigi looked at the two people + Dragon flying away with a helpless look on her face. She put away the information in her hand and quickly caught up with them in small steps.

...

...

…

In LogueTown, Dues, who had just purchased supplies, raised his eyebrows and looked up, just in time to see two figures, one red and one white, flying towards the port.

"Ace, Charizard, and..." "What's that thing following them?"