I'm Not Interested in Devil Fruits

As the battle erupted, Smoker transformed into a billowing cloud of smoke, surging from the high wall straight toward Giorno, who stood amidst a circle of women.

For the past few years, Smoker had trained relentlessly, enduring grueling hardships to hone his Haki. And yet, this bastard had spent his days lounging around, surrounded by beautiful women?

He hoped Giorno had sharpened his skills— otherwise, this would be a humiliating loss.

That's what Smoker thought.

And that's exactly how he lost.

All he could see was the ground in front of him, smoke curling around his vision. A "black hand" had forced his head down, pressing him into the dirt. Half his head had turned to smoke, but the part touching the "black hand" remained solid, immobilized. It took Smoker two full seconds to process what had just happened.

He had rushed in, turning into smoke, with his jitte in hand, aiming straight for Giorno.

A moment ago, Giorno had casually glanced up and greeted him, completely unguarded.

And now, Smoker was eating dirt.

Smoker's jitte had been inches from the back of Giorno's neck— a strike that would have incapacitated an ordinary man. He hadn't expected it to take Giorno down, but he also hadn't expected—

What?!

A "black hand" had appeared out of nowhere, slamming into his face. Smoker hadn't even seen Giorno turn around. Before he could react, he was already pinned to the ground.

He couldn't slip free even with the help of his Logia powers.

It was Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki). Giorno's hand was coated in it, nullifying Smoker's elemental transformation.

The pressure lifted slightly, and Giorno's voice came from above. "Hey, you good?"

Laughter rippled through the air as the women around them moved on, engaging in battle. Their fists and weapons clashed with their foes, the skirmish escalating around them.

Smoker reformed from smoke, standing stiffly in front of Liam. He clenched his cigars between his teeth and exhaled sharply. "So it's Haki. And not just Busoshoku… Did you use Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki) to predict my attack?"

"Isn't it obvious? Do you really need to ask something so obvious?" Liam said, eyeing the three large cigars protruding from Smoker's mouth. "Are those real cigars, or just some Smoke-Smoke Fruit trick?"

"Huh?" Smoker inhaled deeply, the tips glowing red before he exhaled a thick cloud. "They're real. I'm no pirate who relies on cheap tricks!"

"Sheesh, relax. You smoke too much," Liam smirked. "If I take your Devil Fruit, how will you puff your 'real' cigars then?"

He turned to joke with the women, but only Hancock was nearby, eyeing him with a frown. She pondered whether the Marine's powers were somehow related to Giorno's, given how similar the Smoke-Smoke Fruit and Gasu Gasu no Mi (Gas-Gas Fruit) appeared. 

The others had already engaged their opponents, and Robin, ever the observer, kept her distance.

"I told you, I smoke the real thing!" Smoker growled, lunging forward and thrusting his jitte at Liam.

Liam yawned, uninterested in further banter.

The jitte's surface suddenly darkened, the tip becoming as black as ink.

"You think you're the only one who can use Busoshoku Haki?" Smoker's voice was firm, but reality would prove otherwise.

Liam casually caught the jitte mid-swing, bringing Smoker's momentum to an abrupt halt. Smoker gritted his teeth— Giorno's strength was terrifying. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't wrench the weapon free!

Liam leaned in slightly. "Yeah. You're way behind."

With a flick of his wrist, he lifted both the jitte— and Smoker— off the ground.

'This is utterly humiliating!'

Smoker's legs tensed as he thought of this before he dissolved into smoke, refusing to be left dangling like a fool.

"You've gotten stronger, Smoker."

It was true.

In the pirate world, power levels shifted dramatically. The Straw Hat Pirates, for example, had only spent a few months traveling before reaching the Sabaody Archipelago. 

Yet in that time, their combat skills had skyrocketed with each battle. Zoro, a training fanatic, was either pushing himself to the limit or sleeping off his exhaustion. Luffy, a battle genius, gained strength with every fight.

The same Luffy who had reached Sabaody was far stronger than the one who fought at Enies Lobby. The Luffy from Enies Lobby could easily surpass his past self at Skypiea. And so on, all the way back to the reckless rookie who first set sail.

The same principle applied to Smoker.

The Smoker of today could probably crush the Liam of years past with one hand.

"That's impressive, Smoker. I should give credit where it's due." Liam met Smoker's glare with an easy smirk before continuing. "But I'm even more impressive."

With a casual flick, Smoker was sent flying— his smoky form streaking across the battlefield.

"Smoker?!" Captain Hina's voice rang out. She had just arrived, her gaze following the trail of smoke as it reformed into Smoker against a wall.

Smoker panted, barely upright, when—

Xiū Xiū Xiū!

A black shadow shot toward him.

Thud!

Smoker didn't dodge. He couldn't. The object passed through his smoke-formed head and embedded itself in the wall.

His jitte.

Sweat beaded at his temples.

The strength of this 'Chopper-na' Giorno…

The gap between them was immeasurable.

"Damn it!"

Smoker ripped the jitte from the wall, ignoring Hina's calls, and surged forward in a trail of smoke, charging at Giorno once more.

Hina sighed. "Really…"

She flicked a cigarette between her fingers, the ember glowing briefly before she discarded it. As it spun through the air, she charged into battle, clashing with a green flying serpent.

The Marines struggled against the Kuja warriors, their attacks failing to land.

"This is Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki)!" One soldier shouted. "These Kuja Pirates… Just like Vice Admiral said, they all have it!"

Hina coughed lightly. Cigarettes were such a bother.

Meanwhile, Sandersonia watched her with intrigue. She had read about the Cage-Cage Fruit in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia back on Weatheria. Seeing it in action now, she found it amusing. Maybe she'd ask Giorno to bring it back to Kuja for fun…

Hina, however, was irritated. Her "cages" weren't working well against the slippery serpent.

Smoker wasn't faring much better.

That 'Chopper-na' Giorno wasn't even taking him seriously!

'Even if I'm not as strong as you…'

'At least treat me like a real opponent!'

Then, Smoker caught sight of something— a blade slicing through the air toward Giorno's exposed back.

'Vice Admiral Momonga!'

He had been waiting for the perfect moment. One strike and it would be over.

Or so he thought.

Smoker's eyes widened as he saw a figure descend from above, intercepting Momonga's attack with effortless grace.

In the next instant—

Vice Admiral Momonga turned to stone.

(End of Chapter)

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