One Piece Thundergod Marine

The 'Death God' may not fully embody all of Hawkings' 'Pursuit Cards,' but its lethality is undeniably the most fearsome.

Even someone as formidable as Smoker, a monster in the eyes of ordinary folk, has now been rendered extremely weak, let alone the others.

On the flagship deck, Koby received a call from the Den Den Mushi. All personnel aboard a nearby Battleship had collapsed, and before he could inquire about what had transpired, a sudden thud echoed from the other end of the Den Den Mushi, followed by an eerie silence that sent chills racing down his spine.

"Those soldiers are undoubtedly dead... Why?!"

Having awakened Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki) during the Summit War, Koby's ability to sense life force far surpassed that of ordinary people, leaving him absolutely certain of this grim reality.

But through the thick fog, he couldn't discern what had occurred.

Only an overwhelming sense of dread washed over him, making him tremble uncontrollably.

Suddenly, two lines of bloody tears streamed down Koby's cheeks as he roared.

"Everyone, retreat immediately! Get out of the fog's range!"

He realized that the Battleships that had lost contact were the ones closest to the pirate fleet... These soldiers had sacrificed their lives to relay vital information about the enemy's attack range.

Following his command, the already panicked soldiers sprang into action, pulling up anchors and adjusting sails to turn the Battleships around.

Standing on the slowly moving deck, Koby gazed up at the fog-covered central area, clenching his fists.

"Vice Admiral, don't lose!"

Hawkings must have unleashed this move to deal with Smoker. If even Smoker were to fall, Koby doubted he could make any difference with his current strength.

...

Meanwhile, at the heart of the battlefield.

As the epicenter of the curse's outbreak, the pirates aboard the Pirate Ship were the first to succumb. They collapsed one by one, and within moments, their skin wrinkled, dying like desiccated husks.

"Heh heh heh, isn't it painful, Vice Admiral Smoker?" Seeing this, Hawkings, who usually maintained a calm demeanor, displayed a rare glimmer of satisfaction.

"Can you feel it? Your strength is draining away faster and faster."

'That's right!'

Hawkings laughed maniacally: 'The Death God transforms the life force it devours into sustenance for its own growth, continuously amplifying itself as time goes on!'

"If provided with enough living beings, it could even lay waste to a country in mere minutes!"

As if to validate Hawkings' words, the effigy's form grew visibly in mid-air, and the scythe that harvested lives became even more chilling and bone-piercing.

Within the hood, the straw-woven skull's eye sockets glowed with a faint red light, as if it had come to life, its expression vivid as it opened its mouth wide, devouring everything in sight.

"Your life is now on a countdown, Smoker!"

"If you don't want to die... beg me! I'll give you a chance to change your fate, 'White Hunter' Smoker!"

"I…"

Looking at his gradually shriveling skin, feeling his stamina ebbing away, and the weakening of his heartbeat, Smoker opened his parched lips and spoke.

"I... beg you."

'Huh?'

Hawkings was taken aback, then elated.

"What did you say? Louder, I can't hear you!!"

"I said, I beg you... cough cough, ugh Cough Cough Cough!!!"

Amidst a series of heart-wrenching coughs, Smoker shouted.

Looking at Hawkings, who was both surprised and disbelieving, Smoker grinned.

"I beg you... please…"

"Stop being so ridiculous!!"

"Nani?!!"

Hawkings' triumphant expression froze on his face. At the moment he thought he had made the famed White Hunter submit, Smoker's words hit him harder than a cannonball.

"You... are asking for death!!"

"Cough Cough Cough, really, you're hopelessly foolish, Hawkings…"

Smoker weakly propped himself up and sat on the ground.

The Death God's curse was undeniably terrifying. Even though he wasn't being drained directly and wouldn't die immediately, the loss of life force made it difficult for him to move, rendering him unable to launch any effective attacks.

But he still laughed wildly, tears almost streaming from his eyes.

"You've killed all the pirates around you, so what use are your Stand dolls now?"

"So what?!"

Hawkings angrily and suspiciously questioned.

The 'Death God' has this flaw— it doesn't distinguish between friend and foe once activated.

Even as its master, Hawkings had to use the Devil Conquering Phase to transform his ordinary flesh-and-blood body into a straw humanoid form to avoid being targeted by the Death God.

It wasn't that the Death God couldn't drain his life force, but rather that he had deceived its judgment by turning himself into a straw humanoid, making it perceive him as an inanimate object.

So, without any targets to transfer damage to, the hundreds of Stand dolls he had stored inside him were now useless, rendered obsolete.

'What can you even do now?'

Hawkings raised his sword, cautiously watching Smoker. Suddenly, as if he understood something, he decisively stepped back.

'That was close, I almost fell for it!'

"You wanted to provoke me into getting closer so you could sneak attack me, right... You still have some fight left in you, don't you, Smoker!"

If he had truly been provoked and didn't wait for the Death God to slowly drain Smoker's life force, but instead chose to get closer, then with the power of Smoker's Awakened Smoke-Smoke Fruit, delivering a fatal blow would have been effortless.

Without the Stand dolls, the outcome would have been obvious.

'But... there are no ifs in life!'

The wheel of fate had already foretold that this battle would be a life-or-death struggle! You didn't expect that, did you, Smoker? Before setting sail, I had already performed a divination for this operation. Your plan has been seen through by me!

Hawkings smiled as he looked at Smoker as if gazing at a struggling dog, filled with self-satisfaction and confidence.

"No, actually... well, forget it. You wouldn't believe me no matter what I say."

Seeing this, the mockery in Smoker's eyes became even more pronounced.

He weakly shook his head, took out two cigars from his chest pocket, and then, with trembling hands, pulled out a lighter, seemingly preparing to light them.

"So I've decided to let you experience firsthand just how foolish your decision was."

"Stop playing tricks! I won't fall for it, Smo…"

Before the syllable 'ger' could leave his mouth, Smoker pulled the trigger, igniting the flame.

The next second...

Boom!!!!!

A hundred-meter-wide explosion of fire suddenly erupted within the Fog World, the intense light accompanied by a powerful shockwave, instantly engulfing the entire fog-covered area.

The howling wind whipped up hundred-meter-high waves, pushing the Battleships that had retreated from the fog zone far away. The sea surface caved in, forming a crater-like gap, even revealing the bedrock at the bottom!

The violent tremors caused chaos on the decks, but fortunately, they were far enough away and had been pushed further by the waves before the shockwave hit, so they were unharmed.

Koby, drenched like a rat caught in a storm, climbed up from the deck and looked at the devastated sea, where not even a single wooden plank fragment could be seen, and roared: 'Vice Admiral!!!'

However, apart from the rolling waves, there was no sign of anyone.

"Cough cough, is something wrong, Lieutenant Koby?"

Suddenly, a familiar voice came from behind him.

Koby's eyes widened in disbelief as he turned around: 'Vice Admiral?!'

Yeah, it's me... Cough Cough Cough!

Smoker, still dressed in his open jacket, with two cigars in his mouth, looked at him with tired but sharp eyes, a faint smile on his lips.

"Gotta admit, Hawkings' ability is quite troublesome, but the man himself is a bit foolish."

He didn't even understand the properties of my smoke before revealing his trump card, trying to deliver a one-hit kill... Really, hopelessly foolish!

As it turns out... Koby.

Smoker patted Koby, who looked confused, ignorant, weak, and scared, on the shoulder and said.

The occult cannot surpass science!

Ever heard of a dust explosion?

The smoke produced by the Smoke-Smoke Fruit isn't water vapor, nor is it the residue left after tobacco burns. His smoking habit has nothing to do with his Devil Fruit ability!

He's just an old smoker who happened to eat the Smoke-Smoke Fruit.

In fact, Smoker could freely alter the form of his smoke, making it soft or hard to adapt to different attack methods. After Awakening, he gained the ability to constantly change its inherent properties.

So, if Smoker wished, these smoke particles could be flammable!

Think about it another way— as a Devil Fruit user, he couldn't produce water vapor, could he?!

So... he was just blown up by you?!

To be precise, not even ashes remained.

'What about us?!'

Koby suddenly bared his teeth and roared, slamming the table.

If I hadn't ordered everyone to retreat from the fog zone, wouldn't we have been blown up too?!!

This could've been fatal!

To this, Smoker looked annoyed.

"Relax, there's no point in thinking about 'what ifs'... I knew exactly whether you were within my Fog World or not! If I hadn't been sure you were out of range, I wouldn't have acted so recklessly…"

Hearing this, Koby stopped and looked at him with moved eyes: 'Really?'

Absolutely!

Then...

'Look me in the eyes when you say that, you bastard!!!!'

(End of Chapter)

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