Chapter 82: Smoker Vs Luffy
The rain had stopped.
The clouds still churned overhead, grey and angry, but the downpour had reduced to a mist that clung to the streets of Loguetown like a second skin. Water dripped from rooftops, from awnings, from the tips of swords and the ends of cigars. The square was empty now. The civilians were gone. The pirates were gone. The Marines who weren't smart enough to flee had been ordered back by their captain.
Only two figures remained.
Luffy stood in the center of the square, his straw hat hanging against his back, his fists raised. His clothes were soaked through, his hair plastered to his forehead. Water ran down his face, dripped from his chin, pooled at his feet. His eyes were locked on the man across from him.
Smoker stood twenty feet away, his white Marine coat billowing despite the lack of wind. His cigars burned steadily, twin trails of smoke rising into the damp air. His jitte was held loose in his right hand, the Sea Prism Stone tip pointed at the ground. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes never left Luffy's face.
"You're still here," Smoker said. His voice was calm. Measured. "Your crew is gone. Your ship is gone. You have no backup, no escape, no plan."
Luffy's lips curled. Not quite a smile. "I have a plan."
Smoker raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"Hit you until you stop moving."
For a moment, Smoker stared at him. Then he laughed. A short, harsh sound that cut through the mist. "You think hitting me will work? I've taken hits from pirates twice your size. I've walked through cannon fire. I've…"
Luffy moved.
He crossed the distance between them in two strides, his fist already cocked back. Smoker's body dissolved into smoke, the punch passing through empty air. Luffy's momentum carried him forward, and Smoker reformed behind him, jitte swinging.
The Sea Prism Stone tip caught Luffy in the ribs.
Pain exploded through his side. His rubber body went slack for a moment, the stone's effect draining his strength. He stumbled, caught himself, rolled forward as the jitte came down again. The tip scraped against the stone where his head had been.
Luffy pushed off the ground, putting distance between them. His side throbbed. His breathing was ragged. The Sea Prism Stone had hit him solidly, and his body was still recovering.
Smoker watched him, smoke curling from his shoulders. "You're fast. But you can't touch me, and I can hurt you. This fight is already over."
Luffy straightened. His hand went to his ribs, pressing against the bruise forming there. "You talk too much."
He charged again.
Smoker dissolved, smoke billowing outward. Luffy's fist passed through the cloud, and then Smoker was behind him again, jitte raised. This time Luffy was ready. He twisted, his other fist coming up. Smoker saw the punch coming, knew it would pass through him, and didn't bother to dodge.
Luffy's fist connected with his jaw.
The impact snapped Smoker's head to the side. His eyes went wide. Blood flew from his lip. He stumbled, catching himself on one knee, his hand going to his face.
"What..." He touched his lip, looked at the blood on his fingers. "What did you do?"
Luffy didn't answer. He was already moving.
His fist came down. Smoker threw himself sideways, the punch shattering the stone where he'd been kneeling. Luffy followed, his kicks and punches coming in a blur. Smoker dodged, blocked with the jitte, tried to dissolve into smoke. Each time he reformed, Luffy was there, fists swinging.
Not every punch landed. Most didn't. Smoker was fast, experienced, his body flickering between smoke and solid unpredictably. But when the punches connected, they connected hard. Luffy's fists were steel wrapped in invisible armor, and each hit drove the breath from Smoker's lungs.
Smoker countered with the jitte. The Sea Prism Stone tip caught Luffy's arm, and his strength drained again. Smoker followed up with a kick to the chest that sent Luffy crashing through a market stall. Wood splintered. Canvas tore. Luffy rolled, came up with a handful of debris, and threw it at Smoker's face.
Smoker dissolved, the debris passing through smoke. He reformed behind Luffy, jitte swinging.
Luffy dropped, the weapon passing over his head. He swept Smoker's legs, drove his elbow into the Marine's stomach. Smoker coughed, blood spattering on the wet stone. His smoke flickered, unstable.
"How..." he gasped. "How are you hitting me?"
Luffy pulled his fist back. "I told you. I hit you until you stop moving."
Smoker's eyes hardened. His smoke surged, propelling him backward across the square. He landed hard, skidding on the wet stone, but he was up in an instant. His jitte was raised, his stance was solid, his eyes were burning.
"Sea Prism Stone doesn't work on you," Smoker said slowly. "Not like it should. You're a Devil Fruit user, but you can still move. Still fight. Still..." He touched his bleeding lip. "Hit me."
Luffy wiped blood from his own mouth. The jitte had caught him twice more in the exchange, and his body was screaming. "I've been training. A lot."
Smoker's eyes narrowed. "That's not training. That's something else."
He lunged.
This time there was no smoke. No dissolving. Smoker came at Luffy like a brawler, his jitte swinging in wide arcs, his fists and feet following. Luffy met him head on.
They crashed through the square like a storm. Smoker's jitte caught Luffy's shoulder, and Luffy's strength faltered. Smoker's fist followed, cracking against Luffy's jaw. Luffy spun, his leg sweeping Smoker's feet, driving him to the ground. He was on top of the Marine in an instant, fists raining down.
Smoker's smoke exploded outward.
Luffy was thrown back, tumbling across the square. He crashed into the base of the execution platform, the impact cracking the stone. He struggled to his knees, coughing, blood dripping from a cut above his eye.
Smoker rose slowly, smoke curling around him like a living thing. His lip was split. His cheek was bruising. But his eyes were clear, and his jitte was steady.
"You're stronger than any pirate I've faced in this town," Smoker said. His voice was rough, but there was something new in it. Respect, maybe. Or recognition. "But you're still learning. Your power comes and goes. Sometimes you can touch me. Sometimes you can't. And when you can't..." He raised the jitte. "I can touch you."
Luffy pushed himself up. His body was a map of pain. His ribs screamed. His arm was dead where the Sea Prism Stone had struck. But he was standing. He was still standing.
He raised his fists. "I'm still standing."
Smoker's lips twisted. Not quite a smile. "For now."
He came forward again.
The fight moved across the square. Smoker's smoke filled the space between them, blinding, choking. Luffy punched through it, felt the solid resistance of Smoker's chest, drove him back. Smoker's jitte caught Luffy's leg, and he collapsed, and Smoker's boot connected with his ribs.
Luffy rolled, came up, stretched his arm to a lamppost and yanked himself forward. His fist caught Smoker in the side, and the Marine went flying into a building. The wall collapsed. Stone and dust exploded outward.
Smoker emerged from the rubble, coughing, blood running from a cut on his forehead. His smoke was erratic now, pulsing with his breathing. But he was still standing. Still fighting.
He charged.
Luffy met him in the center of the square.
They traded blows. Fist against fist. Jitte against rubber. Smoke against invisible armor. Smoker's experience was a wall that Luffy couldn't breach consistently. Every time Luffy's Haki flickered, Smoker was there, his jitte finding flesh, his fists finding bone.
But every time Smoker thought he had Luffy, thought the boy was done, Luffy found something. A burst of speed. A punch that shouldn't have landed. A kick that came from nowhere.
Smoker drove Luffy into the base of the execution platform again. Stone cracked. Luffy's head snapped back. He tasted blood.
"You're stubborn," Smoker growled, pressing his advantage. His jitte came down. Luffy rolled. The stone shattered.
Luffy's leg swept Smoker's feet. The Marine went down. Luffy was on him, fists swinging. Smoker's smoke exploded again, throwing Luffy back. He hit the ground hard, skidding to a stop at the edge of the square.
They rose together.
Blood dripped from Smoker's lip, his forehead, his knuckles. His coat was torn, his cigars long since lost. But his jitte was steady, and his eyes were burning.
Luffy stood across from him, chest heaving, cuts covering his arms and face. His rubber body had absorbed most of the damage, but the Sea Prism Stone had left marks. Bruises. Blood. Pain that wouldn't fade.
Smoker pointed his jitte at Luffy's chest. "This ends now."
Luffy raised his fists. His hands were shaking. His legs were shaking. But his eyes were clear.
"I'm not done yet."
They charged.
The square exploded with the force of their collision. Smoke billowed. Stone shattered. And two warriors who refused to fall kept fighting, kept pushing, kept bleeding on the stones where the Pirate King had died.