Upon hearing those words, Will couldn’t help but speak with a hint of surprise:
"What’s that? From the sound of it, you’re not planning to keep chasing , Smoker?"
"..." Smoker’s face darkened slightly at the question, but he responded with a serious tone:
"There’s no point in wasting any more ti. Right now, I don’t stand a chance of defeating you, so there’s no need to keep trying."
"You’ve won, Madman Will. My life is yours to take whenever you want."
"But I’m asking you to spare the Marines lying on the ground. If you’ve got a problem, take it up with ."
"Those guys are nothing like the corrupt scum in the Marines you’ve killed before."
Though he secretly admired his opponent and didn’t believe Will was truly evil, Smoker knew these were just his own opinions, not necessarily the truth.
So, in his heart, Smoker had already prepared himself for the possibility of dying at Will’s hands.
As long as he could protect the lives of his n, that was enough.
Seeing Smoker take on this "I’ll bear the consequences alone" stance, Will couldn’t help but shake his head with a faint smile.
The next second—
Whoosh!
In an instant, Will vanished from where he stood, moving at a speed far beyond Smoker’s ability to react. Before Smoker could even blink, Will was right in front of him.
Standing on one leg, Will’s right leg swept out in a flash, delivering a crushing blow to Smoker’s abdon!
Boom!
A dull impact echoed through the air!
Smoker’s eyes widened as he let out a pained "Urgh!" spitting out a mouthful of blood. His body curled inward as he was sent flying backward.
Crash!
He slamd into the wall of a nearby building, only then fully registering what had happened.
Struggling to free himself from the crater his impact had left in the wall, Smoker collapsed to the ground, dropping to one knee. He looked up at Will, his eyes filled with shock.
"That bastard... during our entire fight... he wasn’t even using his full strength..."
The speed of Will’s attack just now had been so overwhelming that Smoker hadn’t even had ti to react.
He couldn’t even muster a basic defense before he was sent flying.
It hit him imdiately—Will had been holding back during their earlier battle.
Seeing Smoker now kneeling in pain, Will slowly lowered his leg with a satisfied nod and spoke coldly:
"Let teach you a truth today, Smoker."
"In this world, strength is everything!"
"Anything else is just an illusion!"
"So don’t think that just because you’re different from other Marines or the Celestial Dragons, I won’t kill you."
"And telling not to kill the Marines lying on the ground? Do you really think you have the strength to negotiate with ?"
Hearing this, Smoker showed no trace of fear. Clutching his stomach, he shakily stood up, his voice low and strained as he forced out a response:
"You’re... wrong...!"
Blood still trickled from the corner of his mouth as he glared at Will, growling through gritted teeth:
"Even if my strength is less than yours... I still believe... there’s justice in this world...!"
Will let out a cold laugh at that. "Hah, how pathetic."
"If I killed you right here and now, and you didn’t even survive the next second, how would you know there’s justice in this world?"
He pointed off into the distance, his tone laced with disbelief as he countered:
"Justice? When the people of the Conomi Islands were being oppressed by Fish-n and the Marines, where was justice then?"
"When those disgusting Celestial Dragons act without restraint, where’s justice then?"
He pulled his hand back, clenching it into a fist with a sharp crack, and declared sternly:
"So-called justice isn’t sothing you just talk about—it’s sothing you fight for with your fists!"
"Rember this: strength is what matters!"
"The victor is justice!"
"You..." Smoker’s heart trembled with shock at those words.
Instinctively wanting to argue back, he found himself at a loss for words.
Worse, upon reflection, he realized he almost found himself agreeing with Will’s logic.
Seeing Smoker’s conflicted expression, caught between wanting to speak and holding back, Will wasn’t particularly surprised.
Smoker’s stubborn, independent nature, with his clear sense of right and wrong, set him apart from most Marines who turned a blind eye to the truths staring them in the face.
Will began walking slowly toward Smoker, intending to share a certain thought that had been on his mind.
"Hm?"
But before he’d gone far, Will suddenly stopped, his eyes flashing with a hint of surprise as he glanced toward a rooftop near the plaza:
"Another master?!"
If he hadn’t just expanded the range of his Observation Haki, and if the other party hadn’t accidentally let their presence slip, Will might not have noticed soone lurking nearby, watching in secret.
At that mont, standing atop a building near the plaza, Dracule, hidden beneath his hood, couldn’t help but show a trace of surprise on his face:
"Detected that quickly, huh?"
"This man’s Observation Haki is impressive too."
After a mont of silent admiration, Dracule decided there was no point in hiding any longer. With a gentle wave of his right hand—
Whoosh!
Amid a gust of howling wind, he lded into the breeze and vanished from the rooftop.
The next second—
Dracule reappeared on a relatively intact patch of ground in the plaza.
"First ti eting you, ’Madman’ Will," he said.
"I never would’ve guessed that the Conqueror’s Haki just now ca from you."
Looking at the man who had surprised him multiple tis, Dracule couldn’t help but flash a grin, his deep, resonant voice filled with intrigue.
But before Will could respond—
Smoker, already on high alert, felt his heart skip a beat. His expression turned grave as he growled:
"It’s you! Monkey D. Dragon!"
"Why the hell are you here?!"
Dragon turned his head slowly, his browless face carrying an imposing air.
"I’m here for personal matters, so no need to get so worked up, Smoker."
"Personal matters?" Smoker’s brow furrowed tightly.
As if he’d believe such an obvious lie.
Despite his exhaustion, Smoker forced himself to stand tall, saying sternly:
"The World Governnt’s been itching to take your head, you know."
"They’ve even called you the ’World’s Worst Criminal’! And you still dare show your face here—"
Before he could finish—
Will cut him off with a cold snap: "Enough! What’s with all the pointless chatter?"
"You’re already half-dead and still running your mouth. Hurry up and get those guys on the ground out of here!"
With that, he turned his gaze back to Dragon, a flicker of excitent in his eyes:
"What’s coming next isn’t sothing soone of your level can handle!"
Both Dragon and Smoker were montarily taken aback by his words.
"Damn it..." Smoker’s face twisted in frustration, but he knew Will was right.
Given Will’s battle-hungry nature, a fight with Dragon was entirely possible.
And when that happened, neither he nor the others lying in the plaza would be safe from the fallout.
For the sake of his n’s safety—
Smoker chose to follow Will’s orders. Silently, he transford his lower body into smoke and floated over.
His hands turned into twin streams of smoke, wrapping around the fallen Marines.
Using what little strength he had left, he dragged them all toward the edge of the plaza.
--
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