One Piece: Failure’s Road to the Pirate King

Sage smiled and looked at the man, "You seem quite angry with me? I don't recall someone like you."

"East Sea, Log Town!"

The man said in a deep voice, "After I left, you took over Log Town, which should have been my post. I've been thinking about you!"

Sage was taken aback, sizing the guy up and suddenly remembering, "Smoker?"

Smoker slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, "Although my target is the Straw Hat Kid, I can't let a dangerous element like you go!"

Monkey D. Luffy brought Smoker a shock to his soul, the kind that makes one face death calmly on the execution platform and even smile, reminding him of Roger's execution he watched as a child.

A guy like that, if not captured, could cause unimaginable danger.

But Norton Sage was different; he was already very dangerous!

"A criminal responsible for the destruction of four kingdoms, with a bounty of 270 million Belly, 'Natural Disaster' Norton Sage!"

Smoker raised his fist, "Let me see what gives you such a high bounty!"

His raised arm emitted thick smoke, enveloping the entire arm. No, it wasn't just enveloping; the whole arm transformed into smoke.

"Ugh!"

Miote let out a low growl, showing a threatening demeanor.

Sage waved his hand, stopping Miote from moving forward, "You're not his match yet; let me see what this so-called natural ability is."

He stepped forward two paces, smiling, "Just how capable are you?"

Smoker coldly replied, "I am a smoke man who has eaten the Smoke-Smoke Fruit. As for how capable I am, you can try for yourself!"

Whoosh! Smoke billowed from his cigar-clenching mouth, and at the same time, the misty arm shot out a burst of smoke, "White Fist!"

The thick smoke elongated like a pillar, with the tip being his fist, quickly striking forward. Sage opened his hand, ready to catch the fist.

Bang! Although the sound of impact echoed from his palm, the fist transformed into smoke upon colliding with Sage's hand, dispersing into the surrounding mist that enveloped Sage.

"Oh, so it can hit people, but it's a fist that is also natural, so it can't be physically touched. Is this what elementalization is?"

Sage felt the sensation in his hand, nodded slightly, and looked at the smoke swirling around him.

"The smoke surrounding me is naturally produced, lacking that impact feeling; it's a standard natural phenomenon that can suffocate and confuse vision."

Before he could finish, the smoke enveloping him suddenly shot out in a pillar, striking at his side. Sage raised his palm to block, and the smoke flowed through his hand, transforming into a stick-like form, spraying towards his chest.

Bang! Bang! Bang! The smoke's spray also produced a series of muffled sounds.

"It seems you don't need to deliberately condense it into a fist; the dispersed smoke can transform into your power at any time, possessing considerable striking force. However, compared to that, your actual fist is still more powerful."

Sage said inquisitively, showing no concern for the hits to his chest.

This kind of power was too weak for his increasingly strong body.

Even Ennio's fist was stronger.

Seeing that his technique was ineffective, Smoker said coldly, "So you're a physically strong guy? No wonder you're so fearless, but you underestimate me too much! White Snake!"

The smoke that had sprayed onto his chest suddenly wrapped around his back, condensing into a massive cloud of smoke, entangling his entire body like a white snake, firmly binding him.

Sage's arm moved slightly, trying to break free, but the white smoke clearly had a force and was solidified, like a tightly bound iron chain. Besides the strength, there was also the suffocating quality of the smoke; if it went on for too long without breathing, one would gradually tire and eventually fail.

However, Sage exerted force, breaking free from the smoke, but only penetrating through it without causing any change to the smoke itself.

He looked at Smoker's silhouette beyond the thick fog, "Not bad. Most people encountering someone like you would just get strangled."

"Hmph, you will be the same. No matter what kind of attack, it can't truly hit me!"

Smoker snorted coldly, "Since you know about the natural type, you should understand the power of elementalization. You may have a strong body, but in the face of the suffocating smoke, capturing you is just a matter of time!"

He bit down on his cigar and exhaled smoke, his expression gradually relaxing.

"Someone like you is worth 270 million? The people at headquarters must be slacking off."

The smoke's enveloping can block breathing; this guy inhaling the smoke would only choke. How long can he hold his breath?

"Hehehe."

Sage let out a low laugh, his hand moving back and forth through the smoke, slowly saying, "You natural types can also be restrained, just like water restrains fire, and fire restrains wood. The smoke can be restrained by wind; just find a big blower, and it can be blown away. But it doesn't need to be that complicated."

Suddenly, his penetrating hand dropped down, and as his fingers spread wide, he forcefully squeezed the smoke that was entangling him.

Crack! It was as if he had grabbed something. Smoker's pupils constricted, revealing a look of pain as the smoke entangling Sage's body suddenly burst apart, and the smoke arm quickly solidified into a physical arm.

His right subordinate clutched his left elbow, the entire arm trembling uncontrollably, as if it had gone numb.

"You..."

Smoker looked incredulously at the area shrouded in smoke ahead.

The smoke lost control and transformed into a normal natural phenomenon, gradually dispersing in this open space.

As the thick fog slowly cleared, Sage's figure emerged, maintaining the grasping motion of his five fingers, smiling at Smoker, "So it turns out I hit your elbow."

In Smoker's eyes, that right hand was covered with a layer of pitch-black! "Haki."

Smoker gritted his teeth, "So that's it, the power of Haki. No wonder you're so confident!"

He knew what Haki was; he had once wielded Haki himself.

Controlling momentum, killing intent, and fighting spirit—these invisible feelings could be transformed into weapons through willpower, and that was Haki.

But if the will weakened, Haki would also diminish or even disappear.

As a natural type Ability User, Smoker being in the East Sea was itself an unreasonable thing. He just felt that the higher-ups were wrong, and he was sent to the East Sea as punishment for resisting orders.

Staying there, dealing with the small pirates of the East Sea day in and day out, over time, his willpower was worn down, and he naturally lost Haki.

If it weren't for the appearance of the Straw Hat Kid, which sparked a shock in his soul and a determination to capture him, he might have stayed in Log Town until he grew old.

"Oh? You can see Haki? Is that something you were born with?"

Sage expressed surprise but then thought it made sense.

If he remembered correctly, this guy seemed to be Zefa's disciple, so it was reasonable for him to have Haki.

After all, it was just a matter of controlling willpower; whether he had once possessed it or had always mastered it, once he came into contact with Haki, he would naturally be able to see it.

However, "It's not about capturing the entity; it can only be considered an attack." Sage looked at his palm, deep in thought.

Haki cannot capture natural types, just as Sage cannot capture water or fire with Haki. Otherwise, wouldn't it be more convenient for him to use Haki to grab the wind? Wind is also natural.

Similarly, he couldn't capture the natural smoke that Smoker was spreading around.

Otherwise, there wouldn't be a certain Emperor of the Sea who was dumbfounded after using a flame attack, nor would another Emperor of the Sea, who was immune to flames, say something like relying on willpower, not Haki.

In the end, it was just a manipulation of willpower, not Sea-Prism Stone, which cannot turn elementalization into physicality, but it can attack the natural type Ability User itself.

The smoke that entangled his body was essentially Smoker's arm, and Sage's Haki struck his arm, but as for which part was hit, with the smoke being so long, only heaven knows.

In terms of effect, it hit his elbow's secret acupoint, causing numbness.

"Well, I guess I've tested it out." Sage smiled.

Ordinary Haki, even if it captures the entity of a natural type, is merely a simple attack, with the specific power determined by the level of Haki.

But Sage's Haki, infused with Big Dipper Fist Fighting Qi, can target secret acupoints like Fighting Qi. Even for natural types, once hit in the entity, it cannot escape this point.

Since mastering Haki, he had wanted to find a natural type to test it out. After all, the bodies of Ability Users change with their abilities. Although he could confidently see most secret acupoint locations, natural types were different.

Essentially, they are elements, natural phenomena.

But now it seems to still be effective against natural types; as long as he hits the entity, he can target the secret acupoints within.

It's just that the location of the secret acupoints is not easy to determine. If it's like Smoker, who stretches and expands the smoke, then hitting anywhere counts.

"That kind of thing doesn't matter."

Sage smiled at Smoker, "Do you want to continue fighting? If not, step aside. I'm here to enjoy myself; don't delay my banquet."

Smoker glanced at his left hand, which was in a strange state of numbness, while his right hand still gripped the Ten Hands behind him. His body slightly hunched as he said in a deep voice:

"I am Navy, you are a Pirate; capturing you is only right! White Smoke Emitter!"

The lower half of his body transformed into a mass of thick fog, as if infused with some power, quickly spraying towards Sage. The front end of the Ten Hands thrust forcefully, attacking Sage's throat.

Smack.

The rapidly thrusting front end of the Ten Hands was caught by Sage's palm, his left hand blocking in front, smirking at Smoker.

"Not an Ability User?!" Smoker was taken aback.

The strange numbness in his left hand made him think Sage was also an Ability User, but seeing his ease, it was clearly not the case.

"Very hard at the tip, is it Sea-Prism Stone? Even if I were an Ability User, this level of Sea-Prism Stone..."

Sage moved his left hand outward, pulling the iron rod away while drawing Smoker's body closer.

"That won't work!"

He clenched his right fist, Haki covering it, and suddenly swung a punch.

Boom! Just as the fist was about to hit Smoker's abdomen, a mass of white smoke rapidly materialized, causing his body to quickly disperse into thick white mist, allowing Sage's fist to penetrate the smoke.

There was no sensation of hitting an entity.

"Did he actively elementalize? I thought it was just a hole in the body; turns out he can also quickly disperse to turn the hit area into ordinary smoke, making it impossible to hit."

Sage grinned, "Good judgment, but unfortunately..."

The fist penetrating the smoke unleashed a burst of pitch-black flowing fire, and as he spread his five fingers, it erupted violently.

"Heavenly Break, Living Kill!"

Full-force External Release!

Boom!!

That mass of white mist was entangled by the Black Fire, as if it had been blown apart by a shell, directly scattering the smoke and sending a figure rapidly shooting out, creating a dent in the ground.

Smoker's body lay in the pit, trembling for a moment, his complexion changing as he spat out a mouthful of blood.

The violent External Release of Haki impacted his recently dispersed body, directly hitting the physical entity of his abdomen, sending him flying.

"Good luck."

Sage shook his head, the Haki in his hand dissipating like flowing black fire.

Even though he still couldn't use External Release and Internal Destruction simultaneously, the power brought by Heavenly Break, Living Kill was enough to pierce Smoker's secret acupoint, inflicting even greater damage.

If he had Internal Destruction, this blow could have shattered Smoker.

"Considering you helped me test it out, I'll let it go."

He adjusted his Fur Cloak behind him, not even looking at Smoker as he passed by him, walking forward.

Buzz! But just then, a Ten Hands pointed at him from the side.

Sage stopped, glancing over, looking down at Smoker in the pit, "Still not unconscious, huh?"

His chest was rapidly rising and falling, his head slowly turning towards Sage after a struggle, raising the Ten Hands towards him, letting blood flow from his mouth, gasping heavily, gritting his teeth, "I... I have my own justice, and I won't let you go!"

"Justice."

Sage glanced at the word 'justice' covered in dust on Smoker's coat, a hint of mockery in his eyes, "The weak have no right to speak of justice, Smoker."

"Whether it's justice or evil, you can't find a standard throughout the Sea. You think I'm evil, but I have my own justice. In the end, such things can only be discussed by the victors; those who lose have long sunk into the Sea, whether they are people or islands."

Just like Ohara. His gaze shifted from Smoker to the roof of a nearby building, where it finally stopped, speaking slowly, "You agree, right? The one watching the show."

On the rooftop, a man with his upper body bare and wearing an orange cowboy hat squatted there, watching Sage with great interest.

In the comic, active elementalization is depicted as creating a hole in the body to avoid attacks, but that was to give readers an intuitive feeling; as a novel, it won't follow that.

Of course, if we were to argue about it, then you would be right.