Chapter 37: Drink! Iron Block! Ah—

"Hah! Iron Body! Ah—"

"These aren't ordinary water balloons; they're seawater balloons~"

Cui Ze stood in place with a grin, blowing the faint trail of smoke from the muzzle of his short flintlock pistol.

"The Smoke-Smoke Fruit, which manifests in the form of dust-like particles, is inherently susceptible to liquids. If that liquid is seawater, the weakness is magnified exponentially! Furthermore, bullets soaked in seawater are no longer ordinary projectiles. To certain arrogant Logia-type Devil Fruit users, seawater-tainted bullets are, at the very least, capable of 'breaking through their defenses.' In short, the Logia type is not truly invincible in the early stages!"

The surrounding naval soldiers erupted in an uproar. They never imagined that Cui Ze could injure Smoker, the elite top-tier talent of the training camp, using nothing more than two mundane items: "seawater" and "bullets." And this was precisely the "truth that seemed self-evident to commoners" that Cui Ze sought to dismantle.

A single seawater balloon and a flintlock. Combined with decent marksmanship, they could indeed pose a threat to Logia users! Of course, this only applied to a select few. Those with powers like Magma or Ice wouldn't be countered by a mere glob of seawater, and those with Light or Lightning would never be hit by one in the first place. When it came down to it, the Smoke-Smoke Fruit was just too lackluster!

Smoker stood his ground, wary, his legs having reverted from gaseous smoke back to flesh and blood. A bloom of crimson blood stained his blue naval uniform trousers, looking strikingly jarring. That bullet, which had shattered the balloon, had used the seawater as a medium to strike Smoker’s leg directly, inflicting significant damage. Smoker had not expected that his long-awaited second challenge would turn against him far faster than the first. He had been injured by Cui Ze in a single exchange—and by the very firearms he usually held in such contempt!

"Cui Ze! Here I come!"

This time, Smoker didn't recklessly shift into his smoke form. Displaying the prowess of the top soldier in the elite naval training camp, he executed a Soru with natural, practiced ease. The gunshot wound on his leg seemed to pose little hindrance to a physical monster like him. Cui Ze watched Smoker rapidly closing the distance, his eyes fixed. This time, he didn't use his teasing fishbone slingshot; instead, he gripped the seawater balloons with both hands and hurled them in quick succession toward the Smoker.

Aided by [Precision Shooting], Cui Ze’s aim was quite accurate; the seawater balloons rarely missed their mark on Smoker’s body. A barrage of balloons flew out, followed closely by ruthless bullets. The pierced balloons burst in mid-air, creating a "seawater curtain" over a small area. Fearful of the power of the seawater-soaked bullets, Smoker shifted into his smoke state and soared into the sky. The agile Cui Ze immediately launched more balloons into the air, detonating them one by one. Smoker dodged again.

Seeing Cui Ze force the training camp's top fighter, Smoker, into a corner with nothing more than a gun and a pile of seawater balloons, the elite marines were left completely dumbfounded. Catching a glimpse of the soldiers' signature "bulging eyes, agape mouths, and trembling tongues" of shock, Cui Ze felt his lesson had been successful and voluntarily stopped throwing the balloons.

Confused, Smoker remained in the sky, wary that this was another of Cui Ze's tricks. But when he saw how few seawater balloons were left in the wooden crate, Smoker felt he had discovered the truth. 'Cui Ze is out of ammo!' Smoker nearly laughed out loud. Unwilling to admit defeat, he once again transformed into a thick, viscous cloud of white smoke, diving from the sky straight toward Cui Ze.

"White Blow!"

With the power of the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, Smoker’s descent speed surged, accompanied by a "fist technique from the heavens."

"White Fist!"

Cui Ze, calm on the ground, looked up at the exhilarated Smoker in the sky. He looked like Ah Sing having mastered the Buddhist Palm, watching the Fire Cloud Cthulhu still struggling to practice the Toad Style.

Thud!

Cui Ze took a step forward, raising his right leg wrapped in [Clockwork Bandages]. A powerful, explosive force whipped through the air, meeting Smoker's "fist from the heavens" head-on.

Puff—

It was like a needle piercing a bubble. Cui Ze’s full-force front kick shattered Smoker’s fists, and along with his upper body, blasted him into a mass of formless, scattering white smoke.

"Nani?!!"

Smoker’s face emerged from within the white smoke, staring at Cui Ze in disbelief. The strength he took such pride in had actually lost to Cui Ze in a direct confrontation?! "How could this—"

Cui Ze was unwilling to give the Smoker any time to vent. He stomped his feet heavily on the ground, kicking up a circle of white snow dust. Leveraging the recoil, he leaped high into the air and delivered a ruthless downward axe kick! Smoker, who had only just managed to reform his silhouette, was blasted apart once more by this force, dissipating into a cloud of wispy smoke.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Cui Ze was like a tireless machine, continuously blasting Smoker’s body, forcing him to dissolve into formless smoke again and again.

"Cui Ze—"
"You—"
"Seriously—"
"Enough!"

After being blasted apart more times than he could count by Cui Ze’s leg techniques, the anger within Smoker finally reached its limit. As Cui Ze leaped high into the air once more, Smoker forcibly suppressed his Smoke-Smoke Fruit ability, refusing to enter his Logia state. With bloodshot eyes, Smoker glared at Cui Ze with immense resentment.

"This time, I will not be defeated so easily!"

Smoker roared, his blood surging through his veins like a river, his muscles bulging and hardening.

"Hah! Iron Body!"

Bang—

A violent collision, far more intense than the previous ones, echoed out. Cui Ze’s axe kick landed squarely on Smoker’s shoulder. Under the immense force of the [Clockwork Bandages], which were strong enough to snap steel bars, the "Iron Body"—boasted to have the defensive properties of steel—felt like nothing more than soft cotton.

Smoker managed to hold his stance for less than two seconds. His shoulder blade cracked under Cui Ze’s kick, the intense pain causing his eyes to roll back, and his body was sent flying directly into the thick snow, losing the ability to stand again.

Cui Ze landed on the snowy ground, his expression slightly peculiar. Of all things to block with, he had to choose Iron Body!