Smoker took another drag from his cigar, then slowly exhaled the white smoke as it blended into the evening air. He didn't seem in a hurry. His gaze remained fixed on Yogiri—calm, yet piercing.
"You're not saying anything," he remarked in a low voice. "Good. Most people in your situation start talking, begging, or running. You… you just stand there. I like that. It means you know what you're doing."
The marines had finished forming their semicircle. They were about fifteen meters away now—close enough to react quickly, but still far enough not to provoke any sudden movement. Their hands rested on the hilts of their sabers or on their rifles, ready, but not yet raised.
Nami took a small step forward, her voice tense but clear.
"Captain, please… We don't want any trouble. We just arrived. We were looking for a ship, that's all. We haven't done anything against the Marines here."
Smoker finally turned his head slightly toward her, though most of his attention remained on Yogiri.
"The orange-haired girl… You're with him?"
"Yes," Nami answered without hesitation. "He's traveling with me."
Smoker slowly nodded, as if taking note of the information.
"Then you should advise him to surrender calmly. Thirty million is a high bounty. But if what they say about him is true… I'd rather take him in alive and find out what he really is."
The wind picked up for a moment, making the lantern flames flicker and lightly lifting the marines' coats.
Yogiri finally spoke. His voice was low, flat—almost too calm for the situation.
"You're really going to try to arrest me?"
Smoker gave a faint smile around his cigar.
"Yes. I'm going to try."
A long silence followed. No one moved. The marines waited for an order. Nami could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Yogiri, on the other hand, remained perfectly still, his eyes still locked on Smoker.
Smoker eventually removed the cigar from his mouth. Holding it between his fingers, he gave a small nod toward his men.
"Don't fire just yet. Let's see what he can do."
Two marines began to move forward slowly, their sabers half-drawn. They approached with caution, step by step, as if walking on glass.
Nami clenched her teeth.
"Yogiri…"
Yogiri didn't look at her. He kept his eyes on Smoker.
The wind continued to blow softly. The lanterns swayed. Night had now fully fallen over Loguetown.
And in the middle of that quiet street, the confrontation felt inevitable.
Nami felt her heart pounding hard in her chest. She took one more step forward, her hands slightly raised, her voice trembling but determined.
"Captain Smoker, I beg you… please don't do this. We don't want a fight. If you let us go, we'll leave Loguetown tonight. We won't come back. We won't cause any trouble for the Marines. I don't want things to get any worse."
Smoker remained silent for a long moment. The smoke from his cigar rose slowly into the night air. He observed Yogiri with a cold, almost clinical gaze.
"You talk a lot for someone traveling with a monster," he finally replied. "But he's the one who decides, not you."
He gave a small nod toward his men.
Two Marines advanced cautiously, their swords half-drawn. They approached slowly, step by step, as if walking on glass.
Nami clenched her teeth, her voice more urgent.
"Yogiri… please… don't kill them. If we kill Marines, the entire Navy will hunt us down. We'll never be able to sail peacefully again. I'm begging you…"
The two Marines suddenly charged, swords raised to strike at his arms and shoulders, intending to disarm him.
Yogiri spoke. His voice was calm, almost too calm for the situation.
"Death."
He didn't aim at their chests or heads. Only their legs.
The two Marines collapsed violently in the middle of their charge. Their legs simply stopped working, as if every nerve, muscle, and bone below the knees had been cut clean. They screamed in pain as they hit the ground, unable to get back up. Their legs were now lifeless, paralyzed for life.
Their cries echoed through the deserted street.
The other Marines froze, shocked. Some took a step back, their hands trembling on their weapons.
Nami brought a hand to her mouth, horrified.
"Yogiri…! I told you not to kill them!"
"I didn't kill them," he replied simply, without any emotion in his voice. "They're still alive. But they won't be able to walk anymore. Never again."
Smoker slowly removed the cigar from his mouth. His gaze had hardened. Smoke escaped between his clenched teeth.
"…You just permanently paralyzed two of my men."
A heavy silence fell. The two Marines on the ground continued to groan, vainly trying to move their lifeless legs.
Nami turned toward Smoker, her voice desperate and trembling.
"Captain… please stop this. If you continue, he'll do the same to all your men. I don't want things to escalate any further. We just want to leave. Please let us leave the city…"
Smoker remained silent for a long moment. He looked at his two men writhing in pain on the ground, then back at Yogiri, who still hadn't moved an inch.
The wind continued to blow gently, making the lanterns above them sway.
Smoker slowly put the cigar back between his lips. His voice was low, almost a growl.
"…You're far more dangerous than I thought, kid."
He made a slow gesture with his hand to his men.
"Fall back. Don't attack him anymore."
The Marines obeyed immediately, stepping back several paces while keeping their weapons pointed at Yogiri. The atmosphere remained extremely tense.
Nami let out a long, trembling sigh, a mix of relief and terror. She looked at Yogiri, her eyes still wide.
Yogiri, for his part, remained calm. He stared at Smoker without blinking.
Night had now completely fallen over Loguetown.
And even though no blood had been spilled, the confrontation had just marked a point of no return.
Yogiri didn't look at her. He kept his eyes fixed on Smoker.
The wind continued to blow softly. The lanterns swayed. Night had now fully fallen over Loguetown.
And in the middle of this quiet street, the confrontation felt inevitable.
Smoker slowly removed his cigar from his mouth and crushed it beneath his boot. He stepped forward, his voice low and firm:
"I'll handle this myself."
Nami stayed silent for a moment. She glanced at the marines tightening their circle, then at Smoker, who was already beginning to emit smoke. She understood there was no way out anymore.
She clenched her teeth, then exhaled slowly. When she spoke, her voice was harder, more resolute:
"…Alright. We don't have a choice anymore. They won't let us leave."
She turned slightly toward Yogiri, her gaze determined despite her fear.
"Yogiri… they're going to attack. We have to fight. Do what you have to do."
Smoker smirked faintly.
"Finally, some sense."
The smoke thickened rapidly around him. His body blurred, turned translucent, then fully transformed into a dense, swirling mass of white smoke. Tendrils of smoke spread through the street, advancing toward them like heavy, living serpents.
Nami, who had just accepted the fight, suddenly felt her confidence waver. Her eyes widened as the smoke grew denser, almost solid in places.
"Yogiri… wait," she murmured, her voice suddenly less certain. "I… I'm not sure anymore. Look at that… He's turning completely into smoke. I don't know if your power can reach him. What if he becomes intangible? What if he suffocates you from the inside before you can even speak? I don't know how it works on something that doesn't have a body anymore…"
Smoker's smoke lunged straight at Yogiri. It nearly engulfed him entirely—dense, heavy, trying to fill his lungs and immobilize him.
Nami stepped back, her voice shaking with fear:
"Yogiri! The smoke is all over you! I don't know if you can do anything! I thought you could kill anything, but this… this is different! He doesn't have a body anymore! I don't know if—!"
At the same time, the marines charged, sabers raised.
Yogiri spoke. His voice was calm—too calm:
"Death."
He targeted the marines' legs first.
They collapsed instantly, screaming. Their legs stopped functioning altogether, paralyzed for life.
But Smoker's smoke kept advancing, tightening its grip around Yogiri.
Nami screamed, terrified:
"Yogiri! It's still there! It's completely surrounding you! I don't know if you can reach it! I don't know what to do anymore!"
Yogiri spoke again, just as calmly:
"Death."
This time, he targeted the fruit itself.
The smoke surrounding Yogiri suddenly froze. It lost all cohesion, breaking apart into light, scattered wisps that dissolved into the evening air as if they had never existed.
Smoker abruptly reappeared in human form, dropping to his knees on the pavement. He clutched his throat with both hands, coughing violently. His power was gone. The Moku Moku no Mi had been killed—neutralized forever.
Nami stood frozen, breath caught in her throat. She looked at Smoker on his knees, then at Yogiri, then back at the smoke that was no longer there.
"You… you did it?" she whispered, still in disbelief. "Even against smoke? Even when he was completely transformed?"
Smoker coughed again, spitting a bit of saliva. He forced himself back to his feet, his eyes filled with shock and restrained rage.
"My power… it's gone…"
Nami grabbed Yogiri's arm, her voice still trembling:
"Come on. We're leaving. Right now. We're not staying here."
Yogiri let himself be pulled along without resistance.
They began to back away slowly. The marines still standing made no move to stop them. They were too busy helping their paralyzed comrades and their captain, now stripped of his power.
Nami walked quickly, almost running, without letting go of Yogiri's arm. Her breathing was uneven.
"I was so scared… I really thought he was going to suffocate you. I didn't know what to do anymore… I didn't know if your power could reach something like that."
Yogiri simply replied:
"It worked."
Nami let out a nervous laugh, still shaken.
"Yeah… it worked. But we're leaving. We're getting out of Loguetown tonight."
Behind them, Smoker stood with difficulty, watching the blue-haired boy's silhouette disappear around the corner of the street.
The wind kept blowing.
The lanterns still swayed.
But for Smoker—and for the Marines—nothing would ever be the same again.