Chapter 388: Captain, I Want to Become Stronger!

The crowd, already starving and thirsty for a fight, swarmed forward all at once, engulfing Smoker; they displayed not a shred of martial honor, directly ganging up to beat him.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Smoker nimbly dodged the crowd's attacks amidst the throng.

Countless fists rained down like drops upon the ground, smashing out one depression after another, even causing the floor to crack completely apart!

This scene made Smoker's heart pound with terror.

Those appearing within the camp were merely ordinary soldiers of the City Guard, not officers.

Yet the combat level these soldiers displayed already far surpassed that of the elites at Marine Headquarters.

Even if one were picked at random and sent out, they could command a bounty of a million, or even over ten million, in the East Blue.

Such individual quality is simply unbelievable!

How was this achieved?

Smoker fought while retreating, intending to observe the crowd's fighting styles, yet within them he saw traces of the Six Powers.

Some soldiers stomped the ground dozens of times in an instant with their legs to gain explosive speed.

Moon Step, which treads on air to float briefly; Iron Body, which hardens muscles and blood to gain resistance to blows; Finger Pistol, which pierces an opponent's body like a bullet...

Immediately, more of the Six Powers were unleashed one by one in the hands of the crowd!

"This is... Soru?"

Smoker's face was filled with extreme astonishment; he raised his hand to block the incoming fist, his shoulders sinking slightly, while the floor beneath his feet shattered from the force of the attacker!

"The Six Powers!"

"This is absolutely the Six Powers!"

Smoker never expected that the Six Powers, which he himself, a former Commodore of Marine Headquarters, had not fully mastered, would actually be seen in their entirety here all at once.

Although most of those present had only learned the rudiments, there was no doubt that it was indeed the Six Powers.

A burly man cracked his neck and attacked Smoker, explaining as he spoke:

"This is a secret technique passed down by my lord Gao Wen."

"It is said to have been obtained from Marine Headquarters; for him it holds no significance, but for us, it is an exquisitely profound combat art beyond imagination."

"It has now become a mandatory course for all Britannicus recruits."

Boom!

Smoker raised his hand and punched the attacker, sending him flying, his mind now clear.

The Six Powers leakage incident that caused an uproar within the Marines two years ago was actually not baseless rumor; but who was the one that leaked the Six Powers?

"Ah-la~!"

"I nearly forgot, I have already abandoned that identity of being a Marine."

"Who leaked the Six Powers is a headache that Marine Headquarters and the World Government should deal with."

"Besides, the Captain obtaining the Six Powers is not necessarily a bad thing!"

Smoker cast aside the cluttered thoughts in his heart, looked up at the group of burly men attacking him again from afar, and a smile curled the corner of his mouth:

"I have roughly gauged your level; then, the time for playing around should about now come to an end."

Boom—!

Endless white smoke erupted from around Smoker's body, spilling out in all directions.

The crowd could not dodge in time and were instantly engulfed within it; while shocked, some also realized this was the ability of a Devil Fruit.

"This guy is... a Devil Fruit user?!"

"White smoke? Is he a Logia?!"

"This is troublesome now; I haven't mastered Haki yet, isn't this cheating?!"

While the crowd marveled, the white smoke permeating the surroundings changed once more, intertwining and condensing to form huge fists in mid-air!

But what truly terrified the crowd was the jet-black Haki coiling around those fists!

"White Snake - Shinra Senju!"

The great white smoke hands gripped all the burly men present; had Smoker possessed killing intent, all these people would have been crushed to death just now.

In merely an instant, Smoker subdued all the burly men present.

His combat power was already far above what it was two years ago; even among Marine Vice Admirals, he could be counted as an outstanding figure.

Such combat power was sufficient to earn him a reputation in the New World; even within the Marines, he deserved to be addressed as a high-ranking official.

If not compared with Gao Wen, Smoker felt a degree of pride regarding his own growth speed.

Even at Marine Headquarters, those capable of undergoing a complete transformation and growing to this extent within two or three years were extremely rare.

Every single one of those individuals was either an elite Vice Admiral or even an Admiral of Marine Headquarters!

Yet on Smoker's face, the one who had achieved all this, there was not a trace of a smile at this moment.

He lifted his head.

There, atop the tall building in the center of the camp, a tall young man clad in silver armor with a cold expression was looking down at him indifferently.

This fellow... is very strong!

Smoker's gaze became extremely Solemn.

After awakening his Observation Haki, the things he could perceive were far greater than before.

In Smoker's perception, although the man before him revealed no hostility and emitted no aura from his body, that sense of calm and Haki was something he had only seen on existences like Fujitora and Zephyr.

In other words, even if this fellow was not equal to Admiral-level powerhouses like Fujitora and Zephyr, he was not far from them.

Waiting for him at the Kingdom's guard camp at this point in time, the identity of the visitor was obvious—

The Third Seat of the Round Table Knights, the Hawk Knight - Bevil!

"White Hunter Smoker?!"

Beville nodded slightly at Smoker and said indifferently:

"Lord Gao Wen mentioned you before; he said you have an explosive temper, are single-minded, rigid in your ways, and lack flexibility."

"Logically, such a person tends to offend superiors."

"You..."

Smoker's face stiffened; recalling certain unpleasant memories, he subconsciously wanted to retort, yet after opening his mouth for a long while, not a single word came out.

"It seems I hit the mark?!"

Beville chuckled, and laughter erupted from all around as well.

Smoker's old face turned red:

"You don't understand the affairs of the Marines; stop talking nonsense."

The crowd's mocking laughter paused for a moment, then immediately burst forth even louder.

"That's enough!"

Smoker's defenses collapsed on the spot; only after the words left his mouth did he realize the corners of his lips had unknowingly curved upward slightly.

Beville continued:

"However, the Captain also said that your heart is warm and that you can empathize with the suffering of others."

"Most of the time you adhere strictly to your principles, but once those principles conflict with justice, you will follow the guidance of your inner self."

"It was so back in Raven Port when you saw through the maladies of the World Government, and it was so again when you joined the Neo-Marines."

"If I am not mistaken, this is also the reason the Captain was willing to accept you."

Smoker was momentarily stunned.

He could not help but recall that battle in Raven Port years ago.

At that time, Gao Wen was just rising in power; his combat strength was far from the nearly invincible state he holds on the seas now, so even though Smoker could not defeat him, he was not instantly killed.

It was also that battle which made him realize that some pirates in this world are ultimately different.

But what truly exceeded Smoker's expectations was that even back then, Gao Wen had already seen through his character so thoroughly.

With such insight, even without that terrifying combat power, merely acting as a mastermind behind the scenes would be enough to stir up the entire sea!

At this moment, Smoker's heart was filled with complex emotions.

There was guilt born from admiring Gao Wen's magnanimity, and also a faint, indescribable joy at being understood and accepted.

Whether it was Tashigi and Hina, who grew up with him since childhood and chose to remain at Marine Headquarters when the Neo-Marines split,

or his close friend Aokiji, who holds a high position, none had ever given him such a feeling.

But Gao Wen achieved it.

Gao Wen... is different.

"Overall..."

"You barely count as a good person."

A smile appeared on Beville's face as he said:

"Your strength is also passable."

"There is still some distance to the Gold Rank, which is the lower limit for the Knights of the Round Table; you are approximately at the upper tier of Bai Yin Rank."

"But as a combat force for maintaining order within the Inner Sea and the territories of Britannias, it is already sufficient."

"Bai Yin Rank?"

Confusion appeared on Smoker's face; after Beville roughly explained, understanding dawned on Smoker, and he asked:

"If I am at the upper tier of Bai Yin Rank, then what about you? Which rank are you in? And which rank is Issho in?!"

"As for me, I am currently at the peak of Gold Rank; as for Issho..."

Beville's gaze condensed slightly:

"He has already entered the Legend, which symbolizes the top-tier powerhouses of the sea."

"To use a term you can understand, it means combat strength equivalent to a Marine Headquarters Admiral."

"Just as a side note, Kuro and Ah Jin, the two monsters who followed the Captain earliest, are also at this level!"