Chapter 34: The Response
Smoker's gaze was locked on Kyle. He was clenching his jaw so hard he practically spat the words through his teeth. "What do you want?"
The salty wind whipped across the pier, snapping the Marines' coats. The air was thick with a silent standoff. To Smoker, this made no sense. They hadn't gone to the Grand Line. They'd just... come back. They had to have a goal, and that unknown purpose hung over him like a dark cloud, fueling his rage.
Killua, the silver-haired boy, stepped forward, breaking the frozen tension. He wore a sly smile that didn't belong on a kid's face.
"This time," he announced, "you're fighting me."
Before the words even settled, Killua's arms tensed. A power surged, and his hands, from the fingertips down, were instantly coated in a deep, light-absorbing black. The unmistakable sign of Armament Haki.
Smoker's pupils contracted.
He remembered Killua's bounty: 20,000,000 Beri.
But seeing this kid also using Haki, a humiliating realization struck him. Their return... it all made a sick kind of sense.
"You..." Smoker's voice trembled with a profound, icy rage. He stared at them, and the words, heavy as lead, tore from his throat. "You're... farming me... for your bounties?!"
Behind him, Tashigi's eyes went wide with disbelief. She couldn't believe it. Were they really this arrogant? Using a Marine Captain as a stepping stone?
"You figured it out." Killua's voice was casual, but his blue eyes were sharp. "And just so you know... I'm not as gentle as Kyle."
The last word had barely faded before Killua vanished.
The stone pier barely even registered his movement.
Seeing the phantom-like approach, Smoker's rage finally exploded. He had never been so humiliated. He roared, his lower body dissolving into white smoke as he shot forward like a cannonball. "WHITE OUT!"
Killua was terrifyingly calm. His Haki-coated fingers extended, his nails sharpening into black talons—a combination of his Nen ability and Armament Haki.
The two figures blurred, closing the distance in an instant. Killua's arm became a black lightning bolt, stabbing straight at Smoker's chest.
Smoker, an experienced Logia, dematerialized, expecting the Haki-blow to pass through him.
But it was a feint.
At the last second, Killua's form blurred, his body moving with impossible, fluid agility around the edge of the smoke. Smoker's "White Bind" attack snapped shut on empty air.
"Above you!" Tashigi screamed.
Smoker looked up. Killua was already there, inverted in mid-air, a predator ready to strike.
"AXE DROP!"
Killua's Haki-coated right leg swung down like a black battle-axe, whistling as it tore through the air. The attack was too fast. Smoker, still re-forming, couldn't dodge.
THUD!
The heel kick smashed into the juncture of Smoker's neck and shoulder. The force was so great it knocked him out of his Logia state, slamming him into the solid stone pier with enough force to send spiderweb cracks through it.
"Koff!" Smoker coughed up blood. He tried to dissolve again, but a shadow fell over him. Killua was already crouched beside him, light as a cat, radiating lethal intent.
What made Smoker's heart freeze was Killua's right hand.
The black, Haki-coated claws were now sparking with bright, yellow electricity. The crackle of lightning filled the air.
"Not good—!"
"Lightning Palm!"
Killua's hand, wreathed in electricity, slammed mercilessly into Smoker's back.
An agonizing jolt shot through Smoker's entire system. His muscles convulsed, locking him in a full-body paralysis, scattering his attempt to turn to smoke.
In a flash, Killua was in front of him.
Smoker felt a cold, sharp pain at his throat. Killua's Haki-coated, razor-sharp black talons were resting on his larynx. A single drop of blood beaded and rolled down the tip of the claw.
Smoker froze. He had no doubt that Killua could have killed him in that instant of paralysis.
"You're... not killing me?" Smoker panted, his voice hoarse.
Killua slowly retracted his hand, the Haki and lightning fading. He stuffed his hands into his pockets. "We have no grudge. Why would I kill you?"
He paused, his blue eyes assessing. "I can tell... you can get stronger. But if you just rely on your Devil Fruit, without the physical conditioning and Haki to back it up... you'll never beat me."
Smoker was silent. He'd only started Haki training three months ago. He had a long way to go.
He watched Killua turn and walk back to his friends. As they casually headed for their ship, Smoker used all his remaining strength to roar at their backs:
"I WILL CAPTURE YOU! IN THE NAME OF JUSTICE!"
Kyle and Killua didn't even turn around. They just gave a lazy, dismissive wave, as their response.