Damn. Aren't you cheating?
—In mid-air—
Gawain stared at the white smoke dissipating in the distance, then glanced at the fist wrapped in Armament Haki. His lips twitched slightly.
It had taken him several months to master Armament Haki. He'd even risked his life in a duel against Hawkeye. And yet… Smoker had caught up in a fraction of the time?
"You're making my broken system look like a joke," Gawain muttered.
Still, his expression sharpened in the next instant.
Smoker's Armament Haki/enhanced combat strength had skyrocketed—far beyond what he ever displayed in the original timeline. But Gawain knew: his own growth had been even faster.
You've got Armament Haki?
So do I. And not just that…
Hiss—!
Huff...
Gawain inhaled deeply, then slowly exhaled.
His surging aura quickly receded. As he dropped toward the ocean, just before touching the surface, he stomped down hard—
Boom!
A massive column of water shot skyward, reaching dozens of meters into the air.
Riding that force, Gawain's falling speed abruptly shifted into an explosive acceleration.
He activated both sub-abilities of Super Speed and Flash Step simultaneously. His physique, now several times stronger than before, combined with the perfect bodily control granted by his inner harmony, pushed his speed to a terrifying peak.
He even heard the crack of a sonic boom in his ears. A layer of white vapor condensed in front of him—he was nearing the sound barrier.
At the same time, Seikō Masamune became wreathed in a dark layer of Armament Haki, and a silver light—the symbol of the "Extreme Soldier"—began to glow faintly.
Armament Haki to break elemental defenses.
Silver light to amplify cutting power.
Together, this configuration could pierce through the defenses of even Vice Admirals, or the most durable of the Seven Warlords.
Smoker...
You can't stop this.
"I'll defeat you in one move."
Gawain's voice reached Smoker's ears.
The Marine's stunned expression had no time to fully form before Seikō Masamune's blade, gleaming with power, tore through the white smoke—even the Haki-enhanced parts of it.
His precious Observation Haki, which Smoker considered his trump card, didn't even trigger until Gawain was right in front of him—bringing with him a chilling sense of death.
Escape! Escape! Escape—!
Too late.
Before Smoker could react, a cold edge had already sliced through his body.
Swish!
A mist of blood burst from his chest. A massive gash stretched from his right shoulder down to his lower abdomen, tearing through muscle, bone, and vital organs. Blood poured freely from the wound.
The smoke around him dispersed. Smoker's body, now limp, dropped from the sky.
His eyes remained fixed on the figure behind him—Gawain.
He had trained relentlessly for months under Zephyr's guidance. Risked his life. Mastered Haki, which he'd only barely touched before.
He thought he might not be able to crush Gawain—but at least he could win.
And this… this was the result?
An overwhelming sense of defeat filled him.
Plop.
Smoker's broken body hit the turbulent sea. His fate—unknown.
Meanwhile, Gawain landed smoothly on the deck of the warship.
He paid no attention to the fear etched into the faces of the Marines. With a casual swing, he sliced the mast in half, destroyed the warship's power system, and then turned to leave.
No one dared stop him.
Even Tashigi, sword in hand, stood frozen—her eyes locked on the blood-soaked blade of Seikō Masamune. She couldn't speak.
When Gawain's ship finally disappeared over the horizon, it was as if time resumed.
Tashigi looked down at her trembling sword.
No… it wasn't the sword that was shaking.
It's me.
Her grip tightened. Her lips pressed into a thin line.
I gave it my all… and still, I couldn't even draw my sword in front of him?
How can a monster like that exist in the East Blue?!
Only when the urgent shouts of the surrounding Marines reached her ears did she snap back to reality.
"Move!"
"Divers! Get in the water and save Colonel Smoker!"
…
…
When Smoker regained consciousness, night had already fallen.
The wound on his chest had been stitched up by the ship's medic, but it throbbed with a fiery pain—a clear sign of infection.
Out at sea, infection often meant death.
Even with Smoker's constitution, dizziness clouded his vision.
Cough, cough…!
Seeing Tashigi at his bedside, he exhaled in relief.
"Knight Gawain… he didn't attack the crew, did he?"
Tashigi blinked, then slowly shook her head.
"After defeating you, he destroyed the ship's power system… and left."
"Should I thank him for sparing me, then?" Smoker said, laughing bitterly.
This battle had begun unexpectedly—and ended even more so.
Now that he looked back, all he felt was an overwhelming sense of helplessness.
Turning to gaze out the porthole, he saw only the endless sea, dotted with the occasional leaping sea beast.
Gritting his teeth, he muttered, "I've finally mastered Haki. I'm strong enough to rival a Vice Admiral… and yet I couldn't even take one strike from him."
"Like it or not… that man is a monster."
"The East Blue can't contain him. Not even Paradise will. He belongs in the New World."
He instinctively reached into his coat for a cigar—but felt only air.
Only then did he realize his uniform had been removed and replaced with patient clothes. The cigar lay on a nearby table, soaked through—completely unusable.
Smoker lowered his hand to his chest, clenched it into a tight fist. Veins bulged. His knuckles cracked audibly.
"Tashigi… this is our failure."
"We should've been the ones to stop him. But now, we don't even qualify to stand on the same battlefield."
"I need power. Real power—undeniable and absolute. Power to defeat any pirate and enforce justice!"
"Report this to HQ. Request reinforcements from the nearest branch base. And… report everything about Labute and Lachet."
Tashigi gripped the hilt of her sword tightly. She could feel a faint strength flowing from the blade. Her gaze hardened.
"Yes, sir!"
Elsewhere—
A small pirate ship raced toward the Red Line at full speed.
On the deck stood Gawain.
Next to him, Kuro's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
"That power… the blackened sword that can even strike a Logia user's real body—that's Armament Haki, right?"
Kuro, visibly excited, added, "I knew something was off! You were way too familiar with Haki."
"I even managed to awaken Observation Haki by copying your training methods."
"So you'd already mastered it all along?"
"And that fight on Para Island—when I thought I was finally catching up to you… you were just pretending to struggle, weren't you?!"