96 Chapter 95: Soaring Dragon (1)

Cracked, withered, and damaged by the intense battle between Smoker and Blaise previously, there were huge holes spanning all the way from the sixth level to first level of the facility. Numerous prisoners were found dead—whether by the boiling blood, falling, or more. In addition, the seawater was leaking into the sixth level, and eventually, the locked-up prisoners will meet their end by drowning.

However, something was strange. In this devastating situation, the entire Impel Down was in silence. And said silence didn't seem to be done out of free will. Many prisoners, with their faces paled up, seemed to be having a trouble in breathing properly—as if being oppressed by an invisible force.

Swoo...

Their eyes followed the ghastly movement of smokes, which behaved as if they were alive and conscious. Those smokes slowly circulated around the form of one lying man, Smoker.

<STAND BACK UP!!>

<SMOKER!!!>

Once more, his hand twitched. Then, his body jolted—

—RUMBLE! The thundering noise boomed throughout the entire Impel Down, sending shivers down to all the witnessing prisoners.

Vrooooooom...

Next, the floor shook. The rubbles bounced up and down from the vibrations underneath. There was no doubt—that the man whom the prisoners thought to have died, Smoker, was exhibiting his Conqueror's Haki, to a magnitude that they couldn't fathom.

RUMBLE!

Many couldn't help but think,

'What exactly was the Smoke Smoke fruit, for its awakening to generate an abnormality of this extent?'

'Was there a reason why it was named as such?'

'...Was it truly the Logia in the first place?'

Just like the lightning, Smoker's heart rumbled in a thunderous manner. Each beat of it caused the prisoners to wince and grimace in horror—for the booming noises struck right into their corrupted souls.

His prisoner's uniform, his filthy and messy long white hair, and his blood-filled appearance—they mystically morphed into the soft-looking gray smokes. They flowed gently, and upon the rumble of his heart, blazed up ferociously.

The snake—it has shed its skin. And beyond the layer, there lied… a dragon ready for its flight.

"...Ah?"

Smoker's crimson eyes slowly moved, perceiving his surrounding. He mumbled,

"I'm... alive...?"

He wasn't operating Seimei Kikan, and yet, his previously dripping blood was once again gaseous, mingling among his body that was physical and smoke-like at the same time.

Gion, falling down to her butt in relief, sighed, uncaring the fact that the water was soaking her bottom, "Huff, huff, damn you... you had me worried there…"

Smoker, inspecting himself and his surrounding in wonder, came to chuckle.

"Wahahaha…"

Placing his hand over his face, his body shook in laughter. He replied to Gion,

"I was damn close to breaking my promise there, huh. Now that's infuriating."

Gion deadpanned, "You don't seem angry at all!"

"Wahaha! Is it?"

His form then flowed like smoke does, and in a split second, he was standing with his head facing up at the ceiling of the first level.

'This elevated feeling in me... how mysterious. And this appearance of mine, pff… it's not like Smoke Smoke fruit secretly was a Mystical Zoan like Gum Gum fruit, is it? How ridiculous must that be?'

He had no way of telling, and you know what? He decided not to focus on the explanation behind the current phenomenon. Instead, with thanks that another chance has been granted to him, and with the newly rising determination in him, he raised his hand up at the ceiling he's been staring at.

'...I know. I'll call this,'

Smoker's crimson eyes shimmered brilliantly,

'Arcane Drive.'

Puff!

The ceiling of the first level morphed into that of a smoke, and stretched all the way down to the sixth level where Smoker stood—like a rope. As Gion watched such a scene with widened eyes, Smoker's hand abruptly stretched and held Gion by the hem of her shift. Furthermore, from said hand branched out a tiny smoke-made arm that gripped onto the Den Den Mushi sitting at the corner,

"Hold on tight. We're getting out of this hell."

"Ah?" Gion raised her eyebrow, "But I'm not holding onto annNNNYYYTHINGG—AHHHHHHH!!!"

The two humans and one snail-like creature shot up in an instant, rising all the way up from the depth of the hell to the surface of the overworld.

__________

Ten minutes. Within said span of time, Aramaki found himself lying on the deck of their Marine Warship, with the vines wrapped around the wound on his abdomen, pressuring it to stop the blood loss.

"Ugh..." Rosinante, leaning on the rail with sunken eyes, was evidently injured—quite severely.

Senor Pink, with his sunglasses shattered and his waist stuck on the deck, was slouched—having gone into that of unconsciousness.

"Y-you..."

And Hina, she was currently being strangled with her feet up in the air. Her neck was held under the tight grip of Blaise, one who looked at her with cold eyes.

"Betraying the Marine and siding with the worst criminal that Marine ever gave birth to..."

With a sigh, Blaise stated,

"Oh… just how disappointed must your deceased grandfather be at you, former Ensign Hina."

"DON'T MOCK MY GRANDFATHER, SCUM!!!" Hina, with her hands desperately trying to get Blaise's hand off of her, roared in rage.

"Sahahaha!"

Blaise seemed to be enjoying the current situation, genuinely. He laughed wickedly, with his chin raised up, his back arched, and his free hand on his stomach.

Then, the laugh abruptly died from his face, and he, with a lazy expression, said,

"Funny really, to be called a 'scum' by a scum herself... I am getting quite an experience today."

"You..."

Hina bit her lips, unable to hide the swelling emotion of sorrow in her. Before the physical pain she was undergoing, before their devastating loss against Blaise, the fact that Smoker died... she felt useless. She regretted—though she didn't know what 'exactly' said regret came from. If only,

'If only...'

"Hey,"

Then, a voice was spoken. It was from Aramaki, one who was still in a lying position at the deck. He, grinning in delight, spoke,

"Can you hear that?"

'...Hear?' Hina was rendered confused. From her sight, she saw that Aramaki had his eyes closed and arms spread out wide.

"Hear what?" Blaise, narrowing his eyes, said, "The reaper calling out your name?"

There was no response from Aramaki, who was immersed in a bizarre sense of anticipation. Sighing in boredom, Blaise dropped Hina from his grasp, causing her to fall to her knees.

"Well then."

Raising his index finger up, Blaise pointed it at Hina,

"It was a nice dessert from my side, but it seems that the time for us to part has come. I'm a busy man, you see."

Hina's breathing quickened, facing the intense nervousness born out of the approaching death.

'Listen.'

And yet, she decided to close her eyes, directing her thought elsewhere.

'Listen.'

She concentrated on her sense of hearing. There was the rushing sound of wind as Blaise prepared a dramatic Tobu Shigan in front of her. In addition, the waves crashed—nothing unusual. Then...

RUMBLE!

There was the thunderous noise of lightning crashing down, causing Hina to jump in shock. Opening her eyes, she saw that Blaise was sweating profusely, and his index finger aimed at her was shaking uncontrollably.

Plop Plop Plop.

Then, there was a rain all of a sudden—all over the Impel Down.

"...What?" Blaise, raising his head up in disbelief, viewed the abrupt rain. Numerous and thin droplets of...

...Smoke?

"...No." Blaise's face paled, and he took a step back in horror, "This can't be." Gritting his teeth, he shouted,

"THIS CAN'T BE!!! HOW?!!"

"Rahahaha! I knew it!" Aramaki, lying at the back, embraced the white rain in a jovial manner, "There's no way you'd lose against trash like that, right?! Smoker-san?!!"

...Aaaaaaahhhhhh—

Subsequently, a female's scream—muffled by environmental factors—entered Hina's ears. Gulping as she felt the soft sensation of white rain landing on her skin, Hina then witnessed,

"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

Smoker, who was covered in gray smoke all over, flying out of the smoke-turned ceiling of the Impel Down—with Gion and Den Den Mushi attached to his smoke-made arms. Hina, finding her eyes become moist in relief, cried,

"SMOKER!"

Smoker's eyes widened as he sighted his defeated friends and subordinates, looking beaten and wasted.

"Hina…!"

He felt a joy of his own, feeling thankful upon realizing that,

"…You've come all the way here to save me, haven't you?"

Tap. Landing on the deck, and placing Den Den Mushi and Gion down—who immediately went to the side to throw up, he stood right in between Blaise and Hina.

"...But why did you bring kids with you?" At the same time, Smoke thought, 'And above all, what the hell is Law doing here?'

Hina, immediately lowering her head in embarrassment, muttered, "D-Don't ask Hina. It just happened, you know—hey! That's not the point!"

Pouting, she turned away from Smoker, trying to hide her tears,

"I-If you were alive, you should've come out sooner!"

"Wahaha! My bad!"

"Yo, Smoker-san," Aramaki then said from the back, in a joking manner, "How was your experience in the world's number one hotel?"

"Been doing well, Aramaki?" Grinning, Smoker said, "Was terrific on my side."

"Hey... ugh... Smoker-san..." Then, Rosinante waved from the back, barely managing to lift his arm up.

"Stay down, Rosie." Smoker, quickly glancing the beaten form of Senor Pink, then called, "Law! Drake! Get your asses up here and give a hand in treating these five up here!"

"...Huh," Meanwhile, Gion who was finished with her personal business, was looking at the Den Den Mushi brought up, "You're still broadcasting? Ne... quite a strong one even among your kind, aren't you?"

<<PuruPuru!>>

The Den Den Mushi simply huffed, trying to appear strong.

…

"...Impossible."

And in this suddenly lax atmosphere, Blaise stood frozen, lost in disbelief. His eyes fell onto the strange form of Smoker, mentally frightened by the fact that yet again, the latter stood back up... as if he was invincible.

Creak—. The doorway to the inner floor of the ship opened, and two boys revealed themselves from within: Law and Drake.

"Smoker!" Law initially smiled widely, but quickly hid it under a broody look of his.

"Vice Admiral Smoker!!!" Drake, on the other hand, shouted in tears, "I knew it!!! I knew that you'd be alive!!! There's no way that the man who destroyed that Crocodile can be beaten!!!"

"Good to see that you look fine." Smiling, Smoker pointed his index at the doorway behind, "And yeah, keep those three inside there. It's still dangerous out here, you know."

BAM! Law immediately nodded and closed the door shut,

"AWW!!"

and from behind, a girl's scream was heard—causing Smoker to sweatdrop. But nonetheless, as Law and Drake quickly dragged Aramaki, Rosinante, and Senor Pink back, Smoker took in a deep breath and turned around.

"And so," Smoker, finally turning to Blaise, said, "Shall we continue, dear Chief of CP0?"

Blaise, dazed and dumbfounded, found his feet glued to the deck of the ship.

"Over and over again..."

His eyes then gleamed murderously, feeling humiliated and at the same time, helpless for some reason.

"No matter how many times I beat you down..."

Blaise, clenching his shaky hands tight, growled,

"You continue to stand back up!!!"

Taking a hard step forward, he glared at Smoker in contempt,

"How many times is it going to take for me to actually kill you?!! How come you aren't going down like the last time around?!! Who—no, WHAT EVEN ARE YOU, SMOKER?!!!"

"...Wahahaha,"

Smoker simply laughed at that,

"There, you just said it. I'm Smoker. I'm me. Period."

"Do you think I'm joking?!!"

SWOOSH!

At an incredible speed, Blaise dashed at Smoker, daring to strike the latter with the combined attack of his Haki-imbued fist and the jacket snakes that arose from Smoker's exposed back. And in this state, Smoker simply held his hand up and clenched it,

and Blaise was unable to move anymore.

"...Huh?"

Raising his eyes up, Blaise saw that there was a gigantic hand extending out from the storming cloud above, which descended all the way down and gripped onto his entire body. And the jacket snakes at the back... they were now the snakes of white smoke instead, freely swimming around Smoker without any sense of hostility in them.

Then, Smoker swung his fist in a leftward direction, and in accordance, the gigantic hand of white smoke lifted Blaise up from his spot and quickly shot at the open sea, trying to drop the orange-haired man into the ocean.

"ROKUOGAN: GOLDEN ROAR!!!"

BOOOOM!

Blaise quickly blasted a potent wave of Haki-mixed Rokuogan, blasting away the smoke-hand that was holding him tight. Utilizing Geppo to move away from the dispersed volume of smoke, Blaise operated his 'Observation Haki: Future Sight' once again, trying to predict the upcoming move from Smoker—

"...What?"

Blaise stopped. With widened eyes, he gazed forth, and there, right above the ocean... there was a huge cyclone of white smoke, mingling with the rising surge of ocean water. It spun and grinded the air in its pathway, and while travelling toward Blaise, it gradually became even larger and larger.

Smoker, still standing on the deck with a grin on his face, realized,

'The world is my canvas.'

Looking up at the shocked state of Blaise, and with his friends exhibitng a similar state of disbelief from his back, Smoker announced the name of his technique,

"Arcane Storm."