Chapter 62 Defeat

The navy warship surged through the waves.

In the command room, only Zephyr and Smoker remained.

Earlier, the Celestial Dragon had been too preoccupied with choosing slaves to insist that Zephyr accompany him. Taking advantage of the moment, Zephyr boarded Smoker's ship instead.

Although he was furious about Smoker's actions, it was still better than staying with the Celestial Dragon.

Once they were alone, Zephyr's anger boiled over. "Smoker, what the hell are you doing?!"

In the past, whenever the Celestial Dragons or the World Government came up, Smoker's disdain and indifference were obvious—reactions too instinctive to fake.

But now, his behavior was completely different.

Hearing Zephyr's accusation, Smoker used his Observation Haki to ensure no one else was nearby. Once certain, he released a wave of darkness.

From within, the father and daughter slowly emerged.

Zephyr's eyes widened in shock. "What's this?!"

"Apologies, Zephyr-sensei," Smoker said calmly. "The situation was urgent, and I had to act on my own."

The father and daughter, initially confused, froze upon seeing each other. Then, without a word, they clung to each other, sobbing uncontrollably.

Earlier, Smoker had swallowed them along with a pocket of space. Though unharmed, they had been trapped in pitch-black nothingness, unable to see or feel anything.

Even someone as tough as Diamante had been mentally broken after a few days in that state. For these two ordinary civilians, even less than an hour felt like an eternity.

The middle-aged man, despite his pain, hugged his daughter tightly, tears streaming down his face as he whispered words of comfort.

Finally, he turned to Smoker, his voice choked with emotion. "Thank you... Thank you so much!"

"I'm sorry for the rough handling," Smoker said, his tone steady. "It was the only way to fool those people. But you can't stay here anymore."

The man looked down at his daughter, his gaze filled with tenderness.

"It doesn't matter. As long as we're together, anywhere can be home. Thank you, sir. Truly."

Smoker walked over to a cabinet and pulled out some food, water, and candles.

"Apologies again. I'm still busy, so you'll have to endure the darkness a little longer."

The man nodded. "We'll leave it to you."

The little girl looked up at Smoker with wide, teary eyes. "Thank you, Mister Navy…"

Knowing she could stay with her father gave her courage, even in the darkness.

Smoker nodded and absorbed them back into his body.

Releasing them now would be too dangerous. With so many government agents around the Celestial Dragon, Observation Haki could easily detect them. He would wait until the Celestial Dragon was far away.

One by one, Smoker released the other injured villagers. He explained the situation briefly, tended to their wounds as best he could, and then absorbed them back into the dark space.

Zephyr watched silently, his eyes softening with relief and admiration.

A few hours later, a knock came at the door.

"Admiral Zephyr, we've spotted the Fang Pirates ahead!"

"Understood. Let's move," Zephyr ordered.

"Yes, sir!"

Smoker followed Zephyr onto the deck.

In the distance, several dark specks on the water marked the pirate ships. They were close enough now to give chase.

Zephyr's expression darkened as he stared at the ships.

"Smoker, I'm sorry about Or..."

Smoker's thoughts flashed to his old friend, always smiling and trying to steal cigarettes. His gaze darkened, and his voice grew cold.

"The pain they caused Or... I'll pay them back tenfold."

Zephyr nodded solemnly. "You're in charge of this mission. Even I'll follow your orders."

"Understood," Smoker replied without hesitation, immediately beginning to issue commands.

"All hands, target the Fang Pirates! Full speed ahead!"

"Yes, sir!"

Smoker turned sharply. "Hina!"

"Hina here!"

"You'll lead the charge on their flagship. Keep their officers occupied—don't let any of them escape!"

"Hina understands!"

"The rest of you, prepare for battle!"

"Yes, sir!"

Hina transformed into smoke and flew toward the Fang Pirates' fleet.

At the same time, the Fang Pirates were sailing at full speed.

Their captain, Bend, was furious.

"Damn it! We finally found a wealthy island, and now the navy's on us so quickly."

"It's all because of that strange bird marine! We wasted too much time dealing with him. Otherwise, our haul would've been so much bigger!"

The vice-captain, Mocha, spoke calmly. "There was no other choice. None of us are good at handling flying enemies..."

Bend snorted in frustration. "And now the navy's chasing us. What do we do?"

"Our ships aren't as fast as theirs. It's only a matter of time before they catch up."

Mocha drew his curved blade and ran his tongue along its edge, his eyes flashing with bloodlust.

"But they've only got one warship. All we need to do is sink it!"

Suddenly, loud noises came from the deck.

Bend and Mocha were startled and rushed outside.

The deck was shrouded in thick smoke. Pirates lay sprawled everywhere—some with caved-in chests, others with gaping wounds in their necks.

A strikingly beautiful marine with pink hair stood in the middle of the chaos. She held a pirate by the collar, and as Bend and Mocha approached, she casually snapped the pirate's neck and tossed him aside.

"Well, well," she said coolly. "Bend and Mocha. Looks like Hina's luck isn't bad—finding the flagship right away."

"You damn woman!" Bend roared, raising his gun and firing.

The shot went wide, grazing Hina's shoulder.

Hina raised an eyebrow. "That close, and you missed? Even a dog could aim better."

Before she could react further, another bullet struck her in the back.

"?!" Hina stiffened in surprise.

"Ha! Fool!" Bend sneered. "I ate the Bend-Bend Fruit. I'm a Bend Human! Even bullet trajectories obey me!"

He grabbed a long iron rod and swung it toward Hina with all his might.

Hina raised her arm to block, but the iron rod bent into a loop, wrapping tightly around her.

Bend smirked and barked at the pirates scattered on the deck. "Get up, you lazy fools! Guard this woman—she's a valuable hostage!"

Before he finished speaking, there was a metallic clang, and the iron loop fell to the ground.

Hina had already transformed into smoke and escaped.

"Interesting ability," she said with a smirk. "But it's useless against Hina."

"Rankyaku!"

Hina launched razor-sharp air blades with a kick.

Bend quickly touched the iron plating on the deck, bending it upward into a shield to block the attack.

"Shigan!"

Hina closed the distance in an instant, her finger piercing through the iron shield and into Bend's shoulder.

Bend let out a scream, clutching his wound as he collapsed to the ground.

"Don't worry," Hina said coldly. "Hina won't kill you. But your fate will be worse than death..."

Before she could finish, a flash of steel swept past her, slicing her neck in two.

It was Mocha, who had taken the opportunity to strike.

Hina turned her head toward him, smoke rising from the wound as it instantly healed.

Touching her neck, Hina said icily, "Hina underestimated you. So, you can use Haki."

Mocha didn't reply. He simply raised his curved blade again, his gaze fixed on her.

It was unusual. Bend, with a bounty over 100 million, couldn't use Haki. But Mocha could.

Rare, but not unheard of.

Thankfully, Hina had kept her Observation Haki active, allowing her to avoid a fatal blow by transforming into smoke just in time.

With a roar, Mocha leaped high, swinging his blade down toward Hina's head.

Hina calmly raised her arm to intercept the strike.

"Tekkai!"

The blade struck her arm with a metallic clang, as if hitting steel.

"Your Haki's not bad," Hina said with a smirk. "But it's far too weak."

She retaliated with a punch, sending Mocha flying. His blade shattered from the impact.

With both enemies defeated, Hina looked around the deck.

Thick white smoke began to billow from her body, enveloping the entire Fang Pirates' crew.

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