Chapter 17: A Visit.

For the repulsive Smoker, Hiruma didn't mind him too much. After all, it was impolite to speak ill of someone behind their back. Seeing Smoker squatting to suckle milk from a bottle with a pitiful look, Hiruma didn't tease him any further.

"Listen closely, I said it before and I'll say it again. While Devil Fruits can be strong or weak, what's most important is the user's ability to utilize the power of the fruit."

"Weaklings, even with the strongest fruit, won't be able to wield its power to its fullest potential. Strong individuals, on the other hand, can make use of even the weakest fruit, and even if they don't have the power of a Devil Fruit, they can still be formidable."

"You should know this very well. Isn't Luffy's grandfather the best example? Even without a Devil Fruit, his pair of fists can be powerful enough to garner respect."

Smoker nodded in agreement as he continued to suckle from his bottle.

Indeed, this was true. The power of a Devil Fruit may shorten the time it takes for someone to become strong, but it cannot transform a cowardly weakling into a powerful warrior.

Hiruma took a sip of his drink and continued, "Your Smoke-Smoke Fruit is theoretically weak among the Logia-type fruits. However, it has unique advantages. In order to unleash its true potential, you need to first understand the essence of smoke."

Hiruma held nothing back; he was truly prepared to teach Smoker everything he knew.

He wanted to create a powerful opponent for Luffy, one who could push him to grow even stronger.

Upon hearing Hiruma's words, Smoker froze, forgetting to continue suckling from his bottle.

What is the essence of smoke?

It was a question he had never thought about before.

But he didn't need to think about it any longer; Hiruma continued, "Smoke and mist are different. The essence of mist is small droplets of liquid, while the essence of smoke is solid. It consists of countless tiny solid particles that are invisible to the naked eye."

"However, no matter how small they are, they are still solid!"

"If you can manage to turn every tiny particle in smoke into a weapon, each one into a bullet or a razor blade, what kind of effect would it have?"

A moment of enlightenment!

In that instant, Smoker had an epiphany.

Yes, if he could truly develop his powers to that level, he wouldn't just be able to gather all the tiny particles and form a powerful attack.

He could even control these particles and attack his opponents from inside their bodies!

This...

A gleam of light appeared in Smoker's eyes as he quickly finished drinking from his bottle and raised it high. "Thank you, Hiruma-sama, for your guidance today!" Smoker bowed solemnly to Hiruma and turned to leave. He was eager to start practicing in this area.

"Are you leaving already? I haven't finished talking about the other aspect of smoke's nature," Hiruma's indifferent voice came, causing Smoker to stop in his tracks.

"Please go on, Hiruma-sama!" Smoker exclaimed excitedly. He felt that Hiruma was the wisest person in the world.

Although he usually acted as if he was not serious, every word and action seemed to have a deep meaning.

Even when he looked at people through his nostrils, the mocking that no one could tolerate seemed to have some intention.

"Squeak~"

Hiruma swayed in his rocking chair: "The other essence of smoke is...., which is also the most important essence."

"What?"

Smoker was completely confused and did not know what Hiruma meant.

"Idiot, the cigar! This grandpa's cigar is almost finished!" Hiruma cursed angrily.

Smoker suddenly realized: "Oh, I understand, I will bring some cigars tomorrow."

Although he agreed on the surface, he was bleeding in his heart.

He was broke.

He had already received two months' advance salary, and it seemed that he would have to continue to receive it.

Moreover, he himself might not be able to afford even cigarettes for a long time in the future.

"I have to go find where there are more cigarette butts."

Smoker was already prepared to pick up cigarette butts to smoke in the coming days.

In the afternoon, as usual, Hiruma had just beaten up the two little guys, and two guests came to the Dadan stronghold.

"Makino, I miss you so much!"

Luffy was covered in bruises from Hiruma's Haki-imbued fists and rushed over to Makino and the village chief, complaining to her.

"Cough cough!" The village chief was a little unhappy and knocked on Luffy's head with his cane. "You little guy, did you only see Makino and not me?"

"Huh? Village chief, you are here too?"

Village chief: "..."

As expected, he was being ignored.

Makino brought a lot of delicious food for Luffy and Ace, as well as some cloth to make them new clothes. She also thoughtfully brought a lot of wine, the kind that Hiruma liked to drink back when he was in Fusha Village.

While taking their measurements, Makino said, "I'll tell you this, it was the village check who was worried about you, so he wrote to Garp-san asking where you were sent."

Luffy turned to look at the mayor and said, "If he hadn't stopped me from becoming a pirate, I would have still liked him."

The kind expression on the village chief's face instantly turned to anger. He raised his cane as if to hit Luffy and said, "You little brat, becoming a pirate would bring shame to our village!"

Luffy made a face and ran away.

Hiruma laughed as he drank the wine that Makino brought.

Although the old man often said that Luffy becoming a pirate would bring shame to the village, in reality, he cared very much about Luffy.

"Hiruma-san, why don't I take your measurements too?" Makino said with a smile, and as always, he was charmed by her sweet demeanor.

Every time he saw her, Hiruma had the urge to take her back to Shanks's crew.

"Ah, it's okay, I don't need new clothes," Hiruma certainly didn't need new clothes.

From top to bottom, inside and out, his clothes never wore out or got dusty.

Seeing Hiruma refuse, Makino didn't insist and looked around before asking in confusion, "Garp-san said there were three little guys here, why didn't I see them?"

As soon as Makino finished speaking, Luffy, who was hiding from the village chief, stopped in his tracks.

"Bang!"

The village chief's cane hit Luffy's head hard.

Seeing the tears on Luffy's face, the village chief panicked.

"Don't cry, Luffy, you're a rubber man, how can you feel pain?"

Hiruma looked up at Luffy and Ace and sighed, "Sabo... left here for a while."

Makino also felt the unusual atmosphere and seemed to understand something.

"Luffy, you've grown up, don't cry anymore. Didn't you say you wanted to become strong enough to protect the people around you?"

Makino bent down to wipe away Luffy's tears.

"Also, you still owe me a lot of juice money. Didn't you say you would use the pirate treasures to pay for it, so you should grow up faster."

Luffy tried hard to hold back his tears and nodded vigorously with a sob, "Yeah! I'll definitely pay with the ONE PIECE treasure!"

The cute and adorable look dispelled some of the gloom in everyone's hearts.

Makino and the village chief said their goodbyes without staying too long.

"With Hiruma-san teaching them, we can all rest assured. Thank you for your hard work, Hiruma-san. I'll bring you some wine later."

Hiruma waved his hand, "Remember to bring more, the bill is on Luffy."

The village chief was not very happy and muttered, "I really don't know what Garp was thinking, letting that bandit teach Luffy. If this continues, the village will be ashamed."

Hiruma didn't mind, the old man who had knelt down without hesitation to save Luffy from his hands in the past, and was even willing to give up all his possessions, he was still worthy of respect.