Watching his fellow Marines being slaughtered one after another on the shore, Smoker's eyes turned bloodshot. He hated himself—why was he so weak? Why hadn't he trained his Haki? If only he had developed his Devil Fruit further, maybe he wouldn't be so powerless today.
"Buggy… STOP!!"
His furious roar was different this time. Conqueror's Haki burst forth from his body, whipping up violent winds that everyone present could feel.
At that moment, Buggy had been toying with the Marine elites, enjoying this one-sided slaughter. He wasn't in a hurry to kill them all—he relished crushing the weak.
"Oh? Smoker, even you've awakened Conqueror's Haki… Looks like what the 'curtain' said was true. You really might become an Admiral in the future. Better kill you now—save myself trouble later."
"One-Point Split!"
He compressed his splitting power into a single point and fired it at extreme speed. Even if Smoker turned into smoke, without Haki, he wouldn't be able to withstand it.
A future Admiral… was still not an Admiral.
Smoker felt himself being locked onto. There was no escape. He pushed his Smoke-Smoke Fruit to its limit, his entire body dispersing into smoke.
"Captain Smoker, dodge!!"
The Marines cried out in despair. They had already lost one Admiral—were they about to lose another future pillar?
The splitting force tore through Smoker's elemental body. He struggled desperately, refusing to believe he would die here. Without Haki, he could only rely on brute-force use of his Devil Fruit.
"Wind King's Spear!"
A violent blade of wind slashed across the battlefield, instantly tearing apart Buggy's attack.
A new figure appeared.
A blonde girl, her skin pale as snow, stood with both hands gripping an invisible weapon. Her emerald-green eyes burned with battle intent. Clad in silver armor, she looked less like a warrior—and more like a noble princess.
"Thank you… for the save," Smoker said, breathing heavily.
He had already been at a disadvantage. Without her intervention, he might have been torn apart on the spot.
"In this backwater of the East Blue… there's actually someone like you? Are you here to cause me trouble?" Buggy said, surprisingly taking a defensive stance.
A girl not even 1.6 meters tall… yet she made him wary.
If she sided with the Marines, this battle might actually turn around.
"My name is Artoria Pendragon. Today, I am the one who will take your life."
The blonde girl surged forward in an instant, charging at Buggy as if driven by fate itself.
"One-Point Disassembly!"
Before the Marines' shocked eyes, Artoria—without even using Armament Haki—blocked Buggy's splitting power head-on.
"How… is that possible?!"
"Without Haki… you can still resist my ability?"
For the first time, a crack of uncertainty appeared on Buggy's face. That invisible weapon of hers made it impossible to judge distance.
"Wind King's Barrier!"
Her blade, wrapped in raging wind, struck Buggy's true body—leaving a long gash across his chest.
The Chop-Chop Fruit, which normally nullified sword slashes… failed.
For the first time ever.
Even with Armament Haki coating his body, Buggy was still wounded. That meant only one thing—
Her weapon was extraordinary.
Buggy immediately retreated, widening the distance. Against someone immune to his Devil Fruit, close combat was suicide.
"What kind of monster shows up in the East Blue…?"
The Marines nearby were stunned.
"Amazing… she actually injured Buggy!"
"Why isn't she affected by Devil Fruit powers?"
Artoria answered calmly:
"Magic Resistance. One of my abilities. It neutralizes most Devil Fruit effects and removes negative states—without consuming stamina."
Her explanation left everyone speechless.
This ability… sounded even more absurd than Haki.
"Terrifying woman… I'm not playing anymore."
Without hesitation, Buggy turned and fled at top speed—faster than most could react. Only someone at Admiral level might be able to catch him.
The sudden reversal left everyone stunned.
The pirate who had just been massacring them…
had been driven off by a single swordswoman.
At that moment, a voice came from the sea:
"Someone… give me a hand…"
Vice Admiral Onigumo emerged, using Life Return to manipulate his hair into eight arms, dragging a massive chunk of black magma behind him—
It was Sakazuki.
The Marines rushed forward, pulling both men ashore. Onigumo collapsed, gasping for air—he had nearly drowned.
The black magma mass began to crack.
Molten lava seeped out.
Sakazuki stood up once more.
His head was split open, blood still pouring down. Without Armament Haki defense, he had taken a direct blow infused with Conqueror's Haki—losing consciousness for a moment.
As he fell into the sea, he had wrapped himself in magma. Once submerged, it cooled into a hardened shell—a coffin-like structure.
Without Onigumo's sacrifice, he would have sunk to the ocean floor before escaping.
Sakazuki scanned the battlefield.
Many familiar faces were gone.
The Marines had suffered devastating losses.
Buggy was nowhere to be seen.
And now… there was an unfamiliar blonde girl.
"Who… is she?"
To avoid misunderstanding, Smoker quickly explained everything. After all, someone capable of driving away Buggy—was not someone the Marines could afford to make an enemy of.
After hearing the account, Sakazuki gave a slight nod to Artoria—his highest form of acknowledgment.
But then—
Her next sentence left everyone stunned.
"If this island gets destroyed… you won't make me pay for it, right?"
A single strand of her golden ahoge swayed gently in the wind…
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