After retiring from the Navy, I became a doting husband.

Upon noticing the fire in the backyard, Quick-Punch Sanko turned around to check, and was so shocked by what he saw that his jaw dropped.

He saw countless petals moving among his men, like countless sharp blades piercing through their bodies, leaving behind bloodstains, sweeping over pirates and devouring their lives relentlessly.

"What exactly is this?"

Quick Fist Cohen felt his brain short-circuit, and in that moment of distraction, he was enveloped by countless pink cherry blossoms.

He was then pierced by countless petals and collapsed in a pool of blood.

The navy personnel were dumbfounded.

No one expected things to turn out this way.

These pirates, who were originally vicious and wanted to kill the Navy, have now all been killed inexplicably.

Is it thanks to those petals?

"There's no mistake, it's definitely thanks to those petals."

"Are those flower petals really what they are?"

"Those are killer flower petals, there's no mistake."

Will these petals attack us?

The naval soldiers looked at each other in bewilderment.

Tashigi was stunned, watching in disbelief as the petals gradually disappeared, while Smoker, who arrived late, stared in astonishment at what was happening before him.

"A Devil Fruit user?"

Smoker landed next to Tashigi and asked a question.

"It should be, otherwise it doesn't make sense."

Tashigi nodded silently.

"So, there's a Devil Fruit user nearby. Why would he kill a pirate?"

Smoker couldn't quite understand it.

He immediately surveyed his surroundings. If this was the work of a Devil Fruit user, then the perpetrator should be nearby.

"After chasing for so long, I've finally gotten my revenge!"

An elegant voice came from behind.

"Who?"

Smoker, Tashigi, and the others immediately looked in the direction from which the sound came.

On the opposite rooftop stood a man in a black cloak, with a knife strapped to his back. His cloak fluttered in the wind, and he wore a black mask.

"My name is Elegance, and I come from the Grand Line."

"Some time ago, he committed a massacre in White Mist Town on the Grand Line. I traveled thousands of miles to hunt down these pirates and have been tracking them recently. Now they have all been wiped out by me."

The cloaked man was speaking in a Western-style building, his cool voice deep and magnetic.

"Thank you, Mr. Elegance."

"Thank you, thank you for saving my life."

"Sir, you are absolutely wonderful!"

The navy personnel were filled with gratitude, and some shouted loudly.

Tashigi looked at the other party with great gratitude. The battle had just been very critical, and it was thanks to the other party's intervention that the situation was turned around.

If it weren't for this person's help, the navy would have suffered heavy losses.

The opponent must be very powerful, seemingly a Devil Fruit user.

"You just used a Devil Fruit ability, didn't you? May I ask what kind of Devil Fruit user you are? I've never seen this kind of ability before."

Smoker asked loudly.

"It's not convenient to talk about... Goodbye everyone, the pirates have been wiped out, and my mission is complete."

After saying that, the man in black turned and left.

"Wait!"

Smoker transformed into a wisp of smoke and leaped into the air, landing on the rooftop and blocking the masked man's path.

Martin, dressed in all black and wearing a mask, smiled slightly upon seeing this, thinking to himself, "The fish has taken the bait..."

Chapter 23 Battle Against the Smoker

"Major Smoker, what do you mean by this?"

Martin calmly sized up the other person.

Smoker has short silver hair, wears a large coat with the word "Justice" written on the back, and has goggles around his neck. His weapon is a Seastone Jitte.

Smoker possesses great strength, but he is a lone wolf who often disobeys his superiors' orders. His strong sense of justice makes his path to promotion extremely difficult.

In addition, he was a heavy smoker who loved cigars and could smoke more than two at a time. He even carried many cigars with him.

This was the first time the two had officially met, but Martin knew everything about Smoker and had even anticipated that he would be intercepted.

"You say you're from the Grand Line? Why haven't I heard of you before?"

Smoker was full of confidence.

He found it very strange that this elegant gentleman was wearing a mask, and even though the man had just rescued the navy, he had to find out more about him.

"Major Smoker, you'd better not block the way."

Martin's voice was full of warning.

"With your abilities, you wouldn't remain unknown. The fact that you're wearing a mask makes people suspicious."

Smoker's face was icy cold as he raised the ten-handed sword made of seastone high, pointing it directly at the other person: "I suspect you're also a pirate in disguise!"

"What if I were a pirate?"

Martin asked provocatively.

"Then I will arrest you now."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Smoker suddenly swung his ten-armed iron club and launched an attack, targeting Martin's mask.

Martin drew his sword to block the attack, and the blades of the Totem swords clashed together, sparks flying.

Martin shook his head slightly: "Smoker, you're definitely an impatient young man. Even if you're a Devil Fruit user, I can't indulge you..."

"Scatter, Senbonzakura!"

As the blade in his hand emitted a pink light, it instantly transformed into countless cherry blossoms that attacked Smoker.

The petals came too fast; Smoker had no time to dodge and was pierced through by countless petals, leaving numerous holes in his body.

Martin was not surprised by this. Smoker is a user of the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, which allows him to turn any part of his body into smoke. Even if his body is destroyed by a purely physical attack, he can instantly reassemble it with smoke.

The amount of smoke that can be produced and the range of its expansion are directly proportional to the strength of the user.

Simply put, like most Logia Devil Fruit users, Smoker is absolutely immune to physical attacks unless countered by a corresponding ability or Haki attack.

"These petals are all penetrating, like tiny sword blades."

Smoker stared at the holes in his body, his pupils constricting, unable to figure out what kind of Devil Fruit power this was.

"Major Smoker, my Devil Fruit is called the Petal Fruit, which allows me to manipulate objects like petals to attack."

Martin began his performance.

Everything is currently under his control, the plot is unfolding as he sees it, and even Smoker's reaction is within his expectations.

Smoker is a man who hates evil and is also a man who takes things seriously. Such a man will not let any pirate go, even if he has just rescued the Marines.

Tashigi and the other marines were on edge. This mysterious person had just rescued them, so why was he now fighting with Lieutenant Commander Smoker over nothing?

This left the navy personnel present completely bewildered.

They also wanted to bow and say thank you for saving their lives.

As a result, the major wanted to arrest his savior, which seemed like a betrayal after using him, making him so embarrassed he wanted to scratch his toes.

Smoker's eyes turned cold. Without thinking twice, he suddenly threw a punch. His left arm flew like a rocket, trailing a puff of white smoke, and slammed hard towards the mysterious man's face.

The hand was also claw-shaped, as if it wanted to scratch off the mask on the other person's face.

Martin sidestepped his opponent's arm, raised his hand to manipulate countless petals to envelop his opponent, completely wrapping and enveloping Smoker's body.

Faced with endless, intricate attacks, although Smoker's body could transform into smoke and ignore physical attacks, the petals followed him, and he was rendered stiff by the constant attacks.

He discovered that no matter how he moved, the petals remained around him, constantly piercing his body and keeping his body in a state of repair, thus interfering with his movements.

I'm being held captive by these flower petals!

This guy has experience dealing with Devil Fruit users.

Smoker realized something was wrong. Seeing the other man turn to leave, he immediately yelled at Tashigi, "You sword-obsessed girl, stop him! I suspect he's a pirate..."

Tashigi hesitated slightly, but then leaped onto the balcony of a nearby building and used the momentum to reach the rooftop where the two were fighting.

"Sir, please cooperate with us, otherwise... I will have to apologize!"

Tashigi blushed slightly, pressed her right hand on the hilt of her sword, and assumed the starting stance for a draw slash.

This mysterious and elegant gentleman had just saved the navy, and now he was turning on her, demanding a thorough investigation and forcibly taking her down. She felt that this was somewhat unreasonable.

Major Smoker's suspicion that the other party was a pirate is not unreasonable, but this approach is too inhumane.

Ugh!

No sooner had Tashigi finished speaking than an elegant gentleman dressed in black appeared in front of her in a flash. Before she could react, he extended his finger...

Sneak attack!

Tashigi was terrified and quickly drew her sword, but countless cherry blossoms blocked her blade.

At that moment, the other person flicked their finger, sending her glasses flying off her nose.

Suddenly, everything blurred before her eyes, and the elegant gentleman instantly became a black shadow. Her severe nearsightedness left her completely bewildered.