One piece: Dark Smoker

The two disguised marines were none other than Smoker and Hina.

After capturing Diamante, they had knocked out two unlucky navy soldiers, stripped off their uniforms, and dragged them into a storage cave to hide.

While Smoker kept shooting, he muttered, "What's going on? Why are they fighting?"

Hina whispered, "Isn't it normal for the navy to fight pirates?"

Smoker frowned in confusion.

That guy was definitely Diamante, and from the looks of it, he didn't seem to be enemies with Zean. Could it be that Zean didn't know his identity?

Impossible. A navy officer from the North Blue should definitely know about Doflamingo's top executives.

"I'm not sure. Let's keep our cover and see what's going on," Smoker said.

He had looked into Doflamingo's bounty, knowing that at this point in time, it was still 160 million berries—far from his peak strength, more like a rookie "Supernova" in power.

In terms of skill, Doflamingo was about on par with a navy rear admiral, but, of course, that depended on which rear admiral. If someone like Gion or Gake stepped in, they could definitely handle him.

Smoker watched Doflamingo move, and a thought crossed his mind.

[He's pretty cocky… Maybe I should take him down a notch.]

Smoker stared at Doflamingo, feeling the urge to spar.

In the past two years, the enemies I have encountered have been quite extreme.

It's either Garp or Zefa, or in the end it's a bonus.

Either ordinary pirates or fellow students,

Every time I fought, I either killed my opponent instantly or was killed by my opponent instantly. I never encountered a suspenseful life or death game.

Therefore, Smoker wanted to find an opponent who needed to go all out to test his level.

Smoker's urge to test himself against Doflamingo grew stronger.

On the beach, Zean and Doflamingo were locked in combat.

Using his fruit ability, Doflamingo gracefully dodged the rain of bullets fired by the navy soldiers, effortlessly moving through the air.

Smoker raised an eyebrow.

[Show-off, huh? Well, let's see how you handle this.]

He grabbed a few rifles, tying the triggers together with rope, mimicking what he had once seen Bellemere do.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang!"

With a single pull of the rope, several rifles fired simultaneously, catching the attention of the surrounding soldiers, who began looking for spare weapons to join in the action.

One of the nearby scientists observed Smoker's innovation and lit up with interest.

"Combining guns to enhance firepower? Not bad! But it's too complicated. A better approach would be to improve the bullets or the loading mechanism... Maybe an automatic loading system?"

The navy had no shortage of firearms, and soon, more and more soldiers were copying Smoker's tactic, unleashing a hailstorm of bullets that even Doflamingo couldn't completely avoid.

Finally feeling pressured, Doflamingo responded, attacking the soldiers with his infamous "Five Colored Strings."

But before the razor-sharp strings could reach the soldiers, Zean appeared in front of them, slamming her hands to the ground.

"Thorn Wall!"

Massive black thorns burst from the ground, weaving together to form a barrier. Though Doflamingo's strings cut through some of the thorns, they were ultimately stopped.

"You guys can't handle him! Get the scientists out of here! I'll hold him off!" Zeon shouted.

The soldiers didn't argue. After a quick response, they began to retreat with the scientists.

Smoker, still blending in with the crowd, continued to observe Doflamingo, thoughts swirling in his mind.

Hina tugged at his sleeve.

"Smoker... we should go too."

Seeing everyone else retreating, Smoker realized standing around made them stand out even more. Given that they were in disguise, it was better to avoid unnecessary attention.

Smoker had already drawn too much attention with his improvised gun tactics. Any more odd behavior, and someone might realize who he really was. Worse yet, they might be mistaken for Doflamingo's spies.

Not wanting to risk that, Smoker nodded and followed Hina in retreat.

[Fine, I'll just watch for now. I'll get my chance to fight him someday...]

Once everyone had left the beach, only Zeon and Doflamingo remained.

Zeon spat on the ground. "Same dirty tricks as always."

Doflamingo hovered in the air, his high mobility making him difficult to pin down.

"Fufufufu... Complaining about a pirate being underhanded? How naive!"

"Zeon, your Thorn Fruit is decent for attacking, but too bad... it's no good for defense."

In an instant, Doflamingo lunged towards some of the slower navy soldiers who hadn't yet made it far enough.

"Thorn Fruit?"

Hearing the name made Smoker's eyes widen.

Wasn't that the power of his old partner, Miss Doublefinger—Sara?!

So Zeon was the previous Thorn Fruit user...

No wonder he hadn't recognized her at first. Zean and Sara were worlds apart in both appearance and fighting style.

But Zean was clearly much stronger than Miss Doublefinger. How did she end up dead later? Was Doflamingo behind it?

Before Smoker could dwell on it, Doflamingo closed in on the fleeing soldiers, raising his hand with a wicked grin.

"I'll take care of you first!"

But suddenly, a sense of danger washed over him. He instinctively dodged, and at that very moment, several thorny spikes shot past him, tearing through his suit.

Cold sweat broke out on Doflamingo's brow.

That was too close. If he'd been even a fraction of a second slower, he'd have been impaled.

Zean stood with her palm outstretched, thorny spikes protruding from her hand.

"Didn't expect you to dodge that. So you've learned Observation Haki, huh? Looks like you haven't been slacking these past two years."

"If you're not afraid of being a pincushion, go ahead and attack my subordinates…"

"Sacrificing a few of them to take you down seems like a fair trade…"

As she spoke, Zean advanced toward Doflamingo, her body sprouting more thorns that arranged themselves like armor.

The navy soldiers, hearing Zean's words, were shocked. "W-What?!"

But Smoker noticed something. Despite their terrified faces, the soldiers hadn't eased their grip on their weapons one bit.

[Ah, I see... they're putting on a show. Impressive teamwork.]

After hearing Zean's threat, Doflamingo abandoned his pursuit of the soldiers, descending slowly to the ground instead.

"Fufufu... A new long-range attack? How annoying! But... Overheat!"

Doflamingo whipped a strand of his strings, turning it into a flaming whip that slashed through the sand, leaving deep trenches in its wake.

"Shave!"

Zean dodged with blinding speed, closing the distance between her and Doflamingo. Her thorn-covered fist shot forward, aimed directly at his chest.

Doflamingo, realizing his Armament Haki wasn't strong enough to block the blow, quickly manipulated his strings to pull himself out of range, while simultaneously binding Zean with his threads.

The friction between the strings and Zean's thorny armor caused a screeching sound, with sparks flying everywhere.

But Zean remained calm, and the armor on her body suddenly extended, pushing the threads apart. She swiftly broke free and continued her assault.

From a distance, Smoker and Hina watched in awe.

"Zean's power is impressive, adaptable for both offense and defense, and she even has ranged attacks... It's like watching a human porcupine," Smoker remarked.

Hina blinked. "A what?"

"Never mind, just someone I knew with a bone problem. Didn't end well."

"Oh..."

At that moment, an officer shouted, "Everyone, support Vice Admiral Zean!"

"Understood, sir!" the navy soldiers responded in unison, raising their guns and opening fire.

Doflamingo dodged a few bullets, glaring coldly at the navy. If not for Zean's interference, he could have sunk these weaklings into the sea in under a minute. But with Zean around, Doflamingo found himself unable to act freely.

Ignoring them while fighting Zean and dodging bullets was simply too risky—he might even end up losing here, an outcome he could not afford.

By now, Doflamingo had regained his composure. Realizing that continuing the fight wasn't in his favor, especially with his reinforcements still far off, he decided to retreat. Leaping high into the air, he landed on his string threads suspended in the sky.

"Heh heh heh, Zean, there are too many pests around here. I'll call it a day... Next time we meet, it'll be your end. Enjoy what's left of your life."

Zean scoffed. "Hah! As if I'm afraid of you!"

Doflamingo's expression darkened. "Just wait... I'll personally take your head and avenge Diamante!"

With that, he disappeared into the distance, leaving a bewildered Zean behind.

"What the... What happened to Diamante?"

The surrounding navy soldiers looked at each other, equally confused. "No idea…"

Zean's face darkened. Something was off. "Search the area! Tear this place apart if you have to, but find that bastard!"

"Yes, sir!" the soldiers responded, scattering to search the island.

Smoker and Hina moved toward the area where they had hidden the two unfortunate navy men. Smoker spoke to the other soldiers nearby. "We'll handle this area. You check over there."

"Roger that! Thanks!"

In this way, no one discovered that the two navy soldiers had been swapped. After hours of searching, the reports came in.

"Reporting in! No sign of the target!"

"Report! No abnormalities found!"

Diamante was nowhere to be found, leaving Zean deep in thought.

What could have happened? Did that idiot drown or something? There's no way he was captured, right?

As he pondered, Zean began to reconsider his alliance with Doflamingo. Sure, Doflamingo was generous with money, but he was unpredictable, and there was no telling when he'd stab him in the back.

After all this trouble, Zean felt mentally and physically exhausted.

"Forget it. Let's head back!"

The navy boarded their ships and sailed away. Smoker and Tashigi managed to blend in with the crowd and board unnoticed. As for the two navy soldiers they had replaced, they were still unconscious in the storage cave.

At least there was enough food to last them a while. And after a few days, they would surely discover the hidden Den Den Mushi that could call for help.

Once aboard the ship, Smoker and Hina slipped away from the group, stealing a Den Den Mushi and retreating to the lower cargo hold. Meanwhile, elsewhere, Jakie was at their gravesite, drinking heavily.

Suddenly, his Den Den Mushi rang. When he answered and heard Smoker's voice, he was so shocked he nearly fainted.

After confirming they were alive, Jakie was thrilled, but Smoker's next words quickly sobered him up.

"Jakie, I've got more to report..."

Smoker then detailed everything that had happened, causing Jakie to fall into a heavy silence. He was aware of the G2 Branch's secret mission involving the testing of new artillery, and he knew Zean well. If Zean really was in league with pirates, this was no small matter.

"Smoker, I'll report this to Master Zephyr immediately," Jakie said before quickly hanging up and rushing to find Zephyr.

In Zephyr's large office, he sat behind his desk, breathing heavily, his face tense with effort. He struggled to suppress a cough, his body trembling as if fighting against something. On the desk lay a spray inhaler. Zephyr was trying his best to resist using it, but eventually, his asthma overtook him. Reluctantly, he grabbed the inhaler and took a deep breath, finally finding some relief.

As he regained his breath, Zephyr gazed at the inhaler in his hand, a bitter smile forming on his lips. "To think I'm reduced to depending on this…"

Zephyr's health had taken a turn for the worse. Originally suffering from asthma, the exposure to toxic dust had exacerbated his condition.

Now, the doctors had diagnosed him with a combination of poisoning and illness, leaving him reliant on the inhaler for relief. But what pained him the most was the fact that, in the moment his students needed him the most, his illness had rendered him powerless.

"Damn it!" Zephyr slammed his fist on the desk, shattering the inhaler in his grip.

At that moment, a knock came from the door.

"Master Zephyr, it's Jakie. I have something urgent to report. May I come in?"

"Enter," Zephyr replied coolly.

Jakie entered, his expression grave. "Master Zephyr, there's something I need to report to you in person."

Zephyr frowned. "In person? What's so serious? Speak."

Jakie then relayed Smoker's entire report. Zephyr was overjoyed to hear that Smoker and Tashigi were alive, but his mood quickly darkened when he heard about the pirates on Zean's ship. Furious, Zephyr was ready to immediately sail out and deal with the situation personally. After all, Zean was one of his own students.

It took all of Jakie's efforts to calm Zephyr down. After all, Smoker's account was only one side of the story, and the true situation needed to be investigated before any action was taken.

And who better to conduct that investigation than the two who were already undercover?

Later that day, Smoker and Tashigi were back in the lower cargo hold, arguing with Jakie over the Den Den Mushi.

"What?! You're not coming to get us, and you want us to investigate Zean instead?!"

"Do you even realize we're on his turf?!"

"New identities prepared?!"

"It's not about the danger; I've never done this kind of mission before!"

"Don't hang up! Hey! Hello?!"

(End of Chapter)