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BOOM!!!
At the port of Loguetown, a cannonball with the logo of a red-nosed clown suddenly flew out, passing through layers of rain curtains and hitting a Marine battleship with pinpoint accuracy.
Immediately, brilliant flames rose above the battleship, and the fallen mast plunged into the sea, causing the ship to lose its ability to move forward.
The power of a single shot actually disabled a Marine battleship! However...
Compared to a massive Marine fleet, the loss of a mere warship would not have any significant impact.
"Damn it! Where did all these Marine warships come from?!"
Aboard the Going Merry.
Usopp hurriedly picked up another Buggy Ball and loaded it into the cannon.
After carefully aiming, the dark muzzle suddenly burst into flames again, sending an astonishingly powerful Buggy Ball into another Marine battleship.
Who could have guessed...
Usopp thought that by returning to the Merry first, he would be able to escape the pursuit of the Loguetown Marines and set sail directly after his crewmates returned.
Instead, before his companions could arrive, a large Marine fleet suddenly appeared on the sea behind them.
They shouted phrases like "Straw Hats, you are surrounded" and "Straw Hats, surrender to justice," then rushed angrily toward the Merry.
Usopp was so frightened that he almost wet himself.
He quickly fired an emergency signal flare into the sky for the Straw Hats' allies, then began using the Merry's cannon to fight off the Marine fleet.
So far, he had damaged about 5 or 6 Marine warships.
But at this pace, he could sink at most half the warships in the fleet before being besieged by Marines in Loguetown's port.
Yet this was all he could do at the moment!
'Hurry back! Everyone!!!'
Usopp screamed anxiously in his heart.
Fortunately, because the Merry was close to Loguetown's port, those Marine warships didn't dare fire cannonballs in the direction of the town...
Otherwise, the Merry would have sunk long ago under the barrage of artillery.
However, at this moment.
Just as Usopp was loading more ammunition, preparing to sink the next battleship...
Above his head, there was a sudden heavy impact sound.
...
THUD!!!
Smoker fell from the sky and slammed his jitte onto the deck of the Merry.
But just when he thought this blow would smash through the Merry's deck...
The swaying grass on the deck glowed with green light, absorbing most of his impact and only causing the ship to shake violently a few times.
Seeing this, a look of confusion flashed in Smoker's eyes.
But soon, his attention focused completely on capturing the pirates.
"Straw Hats! Your journey ends here!!!"
On the silent deck, the intimidating Smoker roared.
But in response, there was only silence.
"Won't you come out?!"
Smoker frowned, then cursed: "Cowardly rat!"
He was certain that someone was on this ship, otherwise so many warships wouldn't have been disabled.
Relying on his invincible Logia-type Devil Fruit ability in East Blue, Smoker walked directly toward the Merry's cabin without hesitation.
And the moment he pushed open the hatch...
"Sure-Kill: Lead Star Barrage!!!"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh...!!!
Usopp, who had been lying in wait, quickly fired six lead pellets, targeting Smoker's eyes, nose, throat, mouth, heart, and groin.
"Got him!"
Usopp shouted in excitement.
At such close range, he didn't believe his opponent could avoid his deadly attack.
However, the scene that followed made the joy on his face instantly disappear.
"Got me? What are you talking about?!"
Smoker said calmly.
All the lead pellets passed straight through his body without any resistance and continued flying behind him.
Apart from stirring up some white smoke, they had no effect whatsoever.
"You... you're a Devil Fruit user?!"
Usopp shouted in sudden realization.
This made Smoker, who was holding two cigars, look at him with surprise: "I didn't expect you to know about Logia types..."
Then, his eyes began to search inside the cabin.
It wasn't until he confirmed that there was no one else besides Usopp that Smoker frowned and asked:
"You're the only one here?!"
"Straw Hat Luffy isn't here?!"
"..."
Usopp fell silent and didn't answer.
After learning that his opponent was a Logia-type Devil Fruit user, his brain began working rapidly.
The body turning into smoke when hit by lead pellets...
This guy must be the hot-tempered Marine Captain Smoker that Red had mentioned, a user with the Smoke-Smoke Fruit ability! No!
He couldn't let this guy stay on the Merry, who knew what damage he might do to the ship.
An idea flashed in Usopp's mind, and he slowly raised his hands.
"Wait a minute! Mr. Marine, I surrender!"
"Hm?!"
Smoker looked at him sternly: "Pirate, what are you planning?!"
"No, no..."
Usopp showed a frightened expression like a scared rabbit, even throwing his slingshot to the ground to demonstrate his sincerity.
He immediately explained: "I know about people with Logia-type Devil Fruits!"
"It's impossible for anyone to beat that invincible ability!"
"Instead of struggling and then getting beaten up by you, I might as well surrender directly and suffer less physical pain."
"After all, I just joined their crew not long ago, and I haven't committed any crimes. At most, I'll only serve a short prison sentence."
Smoker's eyes narrowed.
Although he didn't believe the pirate's words, all his attention at this moment was focused on catching Straw Hat Luffy.
Usopp, who looked so weak, didn't even concern him!
"Stop playing tricks!"
"Come out!"
Smoker turned slightly sideways and motioned for Usopp to walk out of the cabin.
But his eyes remained fixed on the depths of the cabin, not missing a single detail.
However, Smoker never expected...
The moment Usopp passed by him, his hand quickly reached into his satchel.
"By the way, Mr. Marine..."
Usopp suddenly smiled cunningly and said:
"You Devil Fruit users are afraid of seawater, right?!"
"What does that have to do with you?!"
Smoker reflexively answered without looking at Usopp.
But then, he felt something was wrong.
By the time he reacted, it was already too late!
Usopp quickly pulled out a round device from his satchel.
Both in color and appearance, it was very similar to the ball device on Nami's Clima-Tact!
The only difference was...
The volume of this device was more than twice the size of the ball on the Clima-Tact!
And this was developed by Usopp himself...
A powerful tool specifically designed to deal with Devil Fruit users!
"Try this! Devil Fruit user!"
Hiss——
Usopp roared loudly, then immediately activated the mechanism and threw it at Smoker's face.
"Hm?!"
Smoker's expression barely changed in response to Usopp's sudden attack.
After all, he had expected the cunning pirate might try something.
However, just when he thought the ball would be some kind of bomb...
A large cloud of thick water mist suddenly sprayed out from the device, directly hitting Smoker's face!
"This... this is?!"
Smoker's expression suddenly changed.
The next second, he appeared poisoned. His body weakened and he fell directly to the ground.
"You..."
He tried to raise his finger to question Usopp.
But he was too weak and finally collapsed.
Usopp, who was also wet from the mist, remained completely unaffected.
Because the mist from this device was nothing special.
It was seawater that had been turned into fine mist by the device!
After learning about the various weaknesses of Devil Fruit users, Usopp had added a special counter-measure to his research projects.
This was the "Devil Buster (First Generation)" that he had carefully developed.
Although it was only a prototype and difficult to use in actual combat, Smoker's arrogance had given Usopp the perfect opportunity to use it at close range!
He had previously tested the Devil Buster (prototype version) on Luffy.
If the mist sprayed by this device touched Luffy's body, it would put him into a weakened state for more than ten seconds.
But if it hit the face directly and was inhaled, it could weaken a Devil Fruit user for more than thirty seconds.
Because he needed to consider factors like portability, quick response, and the ability to discharge a large volume of water...
The cost of such a small device was as high as 300,000 Belly!
The cost-to-performance ratio was extremely low, making it unsuitable for mass production.
After all, even if a Devil Fruit user was temporarily weakened, they would regain their abilities after half a minute.
For experienced Devil Fruit users, it posed no significant threat.
But that didn't matter!
Usopp's eyes gleamed as he immediately focused on Smoker's weapon, the "Jitte."
"Red mentioned when introducing Sea Prism Stone that the tip of your weapon seems to be made of something similar..."
"This is it!"
Usopp quickly pressed the tip of the Jitte against the back of Smoker's neck.
"With this, you won't be able to turn into smoke, right?!"
"Despicable pirate!"
Smoker, pinned to the ground, showed a fierce expression, but this did nothing to change his fate.
"Who's more despicable—the person who boards someone else's ship uninvited or me?"
Usopp responded with a victorious smile.
Who would have thought that a Marine Headquarters Captain would be defeated by him in just a few moves?
When Red returned, Usopp would definitely have him take a photo of himself with his captive, Smoker.
Taking advantage of Smoker's weakness, Usopp quickly tied up both Smoker and his Sea Prism Stone Jitte with chains.
Then he threw them directly into the tub that Luffy used for bathing after swimming in the sea.
Inside happened to be some bathwater that Luffy hadn't changed from yesterday! Of course, it contained sea salt!
In just a few minutes, a major threat to the Merry was easily resolved by Usopp.
But his battle wasn't over yet.
After dealing with Smoker, he immediately ran to the helm and continued his assault on the Marine warships.