Chapter 32: Gao Wen vs. Smoker! (Tuesday Data PK Recommendation Slot, Requesting Follows!!!)
Click!
After hanging up the phone, Gao Wen lifted his gaze toward the distant sea.
Thick smoke churned, completely obscuring vision, while the roar of engines grew ever closer.
The natural-type’s influence over the environment was now displayed in full force—far exceeding Gao Wen’s previous understanding.
His Observation Haki had just awakened and was not yet fully mastered, so he could not apply it in combat.
But even by instinct, Gao Wen could sense the ferocious, beastlike aura hidden within the fog.
The Kensei in his grip had already begun trembling with excitement—clearly, Krieg had not satisfied him at all, but this opponent absolutely would.
No need to sense.
Gao Wen could immediately judge the man’s strength: on par with his own, a bronze-tier anomaly in the East Blue.
“Here he comes!”
Gao Wen’s gaze sharpened as a towering figure burst forth from the blinding white smoke, wielding a Sea-Prism Stone jutte.
Who else but Smoker?
Using the thrust from the thick smoke billowing behind him, he accelerated abruptly—so fast his form nearly vanished from sight.
The exaggerated Sea-Prism jutte lunged forward with the momentum.
His opening move was a killing strike!
Clearly, he had absolute confidence in his combat power.
“Truly… arrogant.”
A faint smile curled Gao Wen’s lips; his rising battle spirit tightened his grip on the Kensei until tendons bulged on his knuckles.
Smoker was the strongest opponent Gao Wen had ever faced—even excluding the seemingly unbeatable natural-type, for a man trained by Zefa himself at Marine Headquarters could hardly be ordinary.
His poor showing in the original story? That was in the New World, where monsters walked everywhere—not the East Blue.
“This performance truly lives up to the title White Hunter!”
Gao Wen sighed inwardly, yet his long blade shot out like a living serpent, deflecting Smoker’s jutte.
Shhh—!
Steel met blade; sparks flashed through the air.
Their eyes met.
Smoker’s gaze held only grave seriousness—he had instantly recognized a shocking, yet expected truth:
This man was a being of another dimension compared to all other pirates in the East Blue.
He had launched this attack with momentum, seizing the initiative—and yet Gao Wen had deflected it so effortlessly.
Someone capable of this? Even in the Grand Line, his name would be known.
“How could someone like you exist in the East Blue?!”
Gao Wen smiled faintly:
“Didn’t a monster like Roger once appear?”
“Roger was a unique case, different from everyone else.”
Smoker’s gaze turned icy; he refused to waste more words. Seeing his first strike fail, he swung his Sea-Prism jutte like a blade in a horizontal arc.
After Gao Wen sidestepped, Smoker pressed forward, the jutte whirling through the air into a curtain of black shadows, raining down upon Gao Wen!
The jutte was designed specifically to counter swords and blades; this one had been custom-made for Smoker’s ability.
The Sea-Prism Stone embedded at its tip not only nullified ability users but was also hard enough to withstand blows from famous swords.
In the next instant:
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
…
A barrage of strikes fell like rain, shattering the floor beneath their feet.
Yet amid this relentless assault, Gao Wen’s expression remained unchanged—only his body and spirit warmed, his latent combat instincts fully awakened by Smoker’s attacks.
Compared to Krieg, Smoker was the true opponent worth fighting.
“Come!”
With a roar, Smoker’s downward assault abruptly halted—Gao Wen’s blade now moved faster, blocking every one of his aerial strikes.
Sparks flew through the air; both men, their battle spirits ignited, swung their weapons by instinct alone.
At such speed, thought or hesitation were merely burdens slowing down their strikes.
Only by surrendering entirely to instinct—to the will to fight—to the burning desire to win—
could one find the fleeting opening for victory in the escalating carnage.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
…
With every collision, Smoker felt his arms trembling uncontrollably—and an unsettling realization surfaced in his mind:
“What’s going on?!”
“He’s faster—he’s now at least thirty percent quicker than when he started.”
Alongside Smoker’s confusion came a complete reversal of momentum…
Hss!
A sharp whistling sound cut through the air—the Kensei slashed across Smoker’s face, nearly cleaving it in two.
Yet no blood flowed; only white smoke swirled, the wound sealing instantly.
“Of course—natural-type elementalization is a pain.”
!
Gao Wen sighed, but his blade pressed on relentlessly, carving countless wounds across Smoker’s body—all evaded by elementalization.
This near-total immunity to physical attacks made natural-type the highest-floor among the three Devil Fruit types; without Armament Haki, victory in a surprise encounter was nearly impossible.
After this battle, Armament Haki must be prioritized.
A flicker of seriousness appeared in Gao Wen’s eyes.
This ability—where only I can hit you, and you can’t hit me—is practically cheating, and worse, it’s infuriatingly frustrating.
“So you know about natural-type abilities.”
“Without Armament Haki, even if you can outmaneuver me, you cannot land a single wound!”
Smoker’s face remained expressionless, but his mind reeled at the combat power Gao Wen displayed.
He was no East Blue native—he was a Marine elite, trained from childhood by Zefa himself.
His rightful battlefield should have been the Grand Line and the New World—not the East Blue, where he was now being forced to rely on his ability just to hold ground?!
If Tashigi or his peers found out, he’d be hung on the wall!
“You’re too dangerous. I won’t let you continue.”
Smoker’s gaze darkened further—he had decided to kill.
“White Smoke Emitter!”
He drew a deep breath from his cigar and activated his Smoke-Smoke Fruit ability.
Rolling white smoke spread outward, coalescing into countless serpentine smoke columns that surged toward Gao Wen!
“White-Snake!”
Gao Wen leapt back, his blade slicing through the air—silver blade energy shot forth, instantly scattering all of Smoker’s smoke.
Without Armament Haki, the intangible smoke lacked sufficient destructive power.
Yet only after the surrounding smoke fully dispersed did Gao Wen realize Smoker had vanished—his head snapped up.
There, the tip of the jutte loomed larger in his vision…
“Got him!”
Mid-air.
Smoker’s lips curled into a smile.
Smoke may be weak in damage—but in the East Blue, where Observation Haki was still rare, it was unmatched as a feint!
“Don’t be a pirate in your next life!”
(End of Chapter)
End of Chapter
