"So this is Udon? Completely different from Hakumai."
Smoker puffed on his cigar and frowned.
Udon and Hakumai were entirely different places. If Hakumai was a coastal port city, then Udon was a resource-intensive city — and one whose resources had been depleted at that.
Though in recent years, Udon's economy had undergone a transformation. Aside from a few remaining large prisons, many areas had been converted into entertainment facilities. The underground world roller coaster at Miku Land was extremely popular.
But these facilities were only open to Inazuma's own citizens.
Visitors from other provinces had never seen such unique scenery, so while Udon's finances weren't exactly flush, they rarely ran a deficit. And although Ren had taken Udon's mineral veins, a portion of the revenue still went to Udon.
At night, Udon's amusement park had shut down. The wind blowing from the empty wilderness poured into the deep caves, producing a desolate, mournful wail — like the cries of ghosts.
If an ordinary person had come to Udon in the dead of night, they might have been scared half to death.
But Smoker and Tashigi, as rising stars of the Marines and two of the most capable in this generation, naturally wouldn't fear things that didn't exist.
They merely lamented the gap between Udon and the sleepless city of Hakumai.
"There's not a shred of security here — Tashigi went on high alert for nothing, how embarrassing!" Tashigi puffed on her slender ladies' cigarette and stamped her foot in frustration, her long, slim legs venting her displeasure on the ground.
"That's because Vice Admiral Garp and Mr. Kuzan are up ahead drawing the guards' attention," Smoker said in a low voice. The cold wind blowing from Udon's riverbank could still be felt all the way here.
The temperature across all of Udon had dropped by several degrees today — even Kuri had been somewhat affected.
"Udon's daimyo should be Kujo Yayoi. Right now, she and her sister, Kujo Qiyue, should be leading their forces to fight Mr. Garp and the others. I hope it doesn't escalate into an irreversible situation."
"Kujo Yayoi and Kujo Qiyue? Those two were major pirates under Inazuma's banner a few years ago, weren't they? So they're Inazuma's daimyo? Tashigi is surprised!"
"They go by the titles Crow Tengu and Dragon Demon. And it's not just the two of them — Kuri's daimyo is also a former Harbinger. Against ordinary Vice Admirals, several of them wouldn't stand a chance."
Smoker described Inazuma's terrifying power, leaving Tashigi wide-eyed and slack-jawed.
They tallied up Inazuma's total combat strength and realized it was practically on par with Marine Headquarters. No wonder the World Government saw Inazuma as such a major threat.
"Hey — sneaking in and still smoking? Isn't that a bit too dismissive of us?"
Suddenly, a slightly hoarse voice drifted through the wind. Smoker and Tashigi's expressions changed, and they spun around in an instant.
Atop a small rocky hill not far away stood a tiny figure.
"Kid?"
"Who are you?"
Although the figure before them appeared to be just a child, Smoker warily grabbed his weapon — a jitte. And the tip of that jitte was forged from Sea-Prism Stone.
To use such precious Sea-Prism Stone to craft a weapon like this — one had to admit, Smoker had some serious backing.
"That's what I should be asking you," Sabo replied, gripping his Supreme Great Water Pipe. In the black of night, he ignited like a torch. "Never mind — it doesn't matter who you are. My job is to kill you here."
"Tashigi won't be looked down upon by some brat — Tashigi is angry!"
Just a kid, and he was talking about killing them? That was beyond disrespectful.
But Sabo didn't waste any more words. He charged forward, his lower body transforming into flame like a rocket thruster, launching himself through the air.
"Rocket thruster!"
"A Logia user?" Smoker's pupils contracted. Logia users were universally acknowledged as difficult opponents. While Armament Haki could touch Logia users, they were still harder to deal with than non-fruit users.
And this kid's strength clearly exceeded his expectations. In the span of dozens of meters, Sabo arrived before Smoker in the blink of an eye, the pipe gleaming with reflected firelight smashing straight down at Smoker's head.
Smoker quickly drew his jitte to block.
When their weapons collided, both felt the tremendous force emanating from the other's grip.
Lighter in weight, Sabo was immediately sent flying backward. Smoker retreated two steps, the web of his hand gripping the jitte throbbing with dull pain.
"What kind of monstrous strength does this kid have?!"
"You're pretty good yourself," Sabo praised. In the training grounds, even many adult samurai were no longer his match. Smoker could actually match him in raw power.
But being complimented by a kid like this left Smoker's pride a little bruised.
"Take this next move — Fire —"
"Awase Habaki!"
Sabo was about to press his attack when Tashigi's voice suddenly rang in his ears. Immediately, two black iron bars materialized and charged toward Sabo's position like a runaway train.
"Another ability user?"
Sabo flipped backward to dodge. Before he could even catch his breath, he saw that the woman wreathed in rose-colored light now held several black metal spears in her hands!
Her slender, delicate frame possessed incredible power, and with a flick of her wrists, she hurled the spears at Sabo!
"Black Spear Barrage!"
Sabo leaped and twisted through the air, dodging the incoming spears. Each one was undoubtedly created by her ability — and every single one was incredibly hard!
Under Tashigi's throws, they instantly pierced through the solid rock beneath his feet!
The nearly two-meter-long black spears had embedded more than halfway into the stone. If he were hit, his entire body would be punched clean through.
But Sabo quickly realized the woman didn't know how to use Haki very well.
Or rather, she hadn't yet learned to imbue Haki onto thrown weapons.
If that was the case, then what was there to fear?
Sabo abandoned all pretense of dodging or blocking. His entire body transformed into a fiery tornado that shot into the sky before diving back down.
"Flaming Meteor — Assault!"
"Watch out, Tashigi!" Smoker rushed forward and hurled his jitte with all his strength, slamming it into Sabo's head.
The searing flames in the sky instantly dissipated as Sabo was sent crashing away.
"Hmm — what just happened?"
Sabo lay sprawled on the ground, clutching his head, thoroughly bewildered.
That jitte strike shouldn't have caused much damage, so why had he been knocked flying? And for a split second, he had felt his entire body go weak.
[
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