"Useless, useless!"
Watching the blood-red fist hurtling toward him, a flash of unabashed contempt flickered in Smoker's eyes.
"I ate the Plume-Plume Fruit! I'm invincible!"
That's what he wanted to say.
But then—
Thunk!
His stubbled jaw took the full brunt of the crimson punch. The force behind it was so immense it nearly dislocated his jaw on impact.
The next second, Smoker's head snapped to the side violently.
A wave of dizziness surged through him, and his eyes rolled back involuntarily. That was the telltale sign—he was about to black out.
Under Trace's full-powered strike, Smoker's body was sent flying like a cannonball, ejected straight out of the dense white smoke zone and launched across the deck.
Boom!
Before the wide-eyed Marines, Smoker smashed into the battleship's railings and crumpled onto the deck like a sack of wet mud. A glaring, blood-red imprint of a fist was stamped across his cheek.
"Smoker… lost…"
"You're kidding, right? That's impossible! He's a Logia user!"
"What the hell happened inside that smoke?!"
As the Marines struggled to contain their shock, the thick white mist that had shrouded the deck abruptly cleared—revealing Trace standing alone in the center, breathing heavily.
Some of the more experienced Marines first glanced at Trace's blood-soaked right hand, then looked over at the still-unconscious Smoker lying in a heap, their eyes full of disbelief.
There was only one reason the smoke would dissipate like that.
In most cases, a Devil Fruit ability stops functioning for only one reason: the user has completely lost consciousness.
In short—
Smoker was down for the count.
What exactly had happened inside that cloud of smoke just now?
The Marines stared at Trace with a mixture of surprise, confusion, awe, and even reverence as he calmed his breathing.
"Apologies, everyone."
Trace raised his blood-soaked hand in a mild gesture, offering a calm, relaxed smile.
"I need to tend to my injuries real quick.
"If possible, could someone help carry Mr. Smoker to the infirmary?
"I might've… overdone it a little."
Low murmurs rippled through the crowd.
As he finished speaking, Trace turned toward Hina—who wore a worried expression—and mouthed "I'm fine" with a small shake of his head before walking off the foredeck.
He had to treat the wound on his palm quickly—otherwise…
[Primal Body] might decide to "heal" it on its own!
---
In the highest-ranking office aboard the ship—
Zephyr, arms folded, silently watched Trace's figure disappear into the crowd before suddenly speaking.
"What do you all make of that battle?"
"Smoker was too careless!"
"The Plume-Plume Fruit doesn't make him immune to every non-Haki attack!"
"For the top recruit in the training camp, he hardly demonstrated any of his real strength—how embarrassing!"
The officers offered their blunt assessments.
Rear Admiral Strawberry also chimed in: "Among the Logia Fruits, the Plume-Plume Fruit isn't especially formidable. It requires a user to hone their basic combat techniques as well."
Zephyr listened silently until they finished. Then, he asked again:
"What about the other one? That kid?"
The officers exchanged quick glances.
"Footwork—messy. Swordplay—shallow."
"His punches are powerful, but lack finesse."
"Combat fundamentals? Poor."
And then, one of them suddenly added:
"But he's got incredible natural talent. Full of spirit, too. He made full use of all his strengths to instantly defeat an opponent he shouldn't have been able to beat!"
Because they were observing from afar, none of them had noticed Trace's greatest advantage—his breathing technique. Still, their overall evaluation was quite positive.
Their consensus was clear: a raw, unpolished gem.
…Well, perhaps not entirely accurate.
After all, this "raw gem" had already clashed head-on with Kaido of the Beasts.
Zephyr nodded slightly, then returned to his desk and gave a series of orders.
"Smoker disrupted training camp discipline—sentence him to one week of deck-cleaning duty."
"As for Trace Felte… he intercepted Kaido on Zombie Island, and now he's defeated the top recruit in front of everyone. While his fundamentals are lacking, in light of his contributions—let's teach him one of the Rokushiki."
The officers immediately understood.
Instructor Zephyr was going to personally train the latecomer recruit.
And truthfully, it was well-deserved.
If anyone had a problem with it, they were welcome to try taking on Kaido themselves!
One of the officers asked, "Chief Instructor, which move should we teach him?"
Zephyr paused in thought.
"Let him choose."
---
Trace had no idea a golden opportunity was about to land on his head—one he had dreamed of: the Rokushiki!
Right now, he was tending to his "injury" back in his cabin.
Which essentially meant: turning on the faucet, rinsing off the blood from his hand, drying the water droplets—done.
Yep.
In just the short time it took to walk back from the foredeck, the palm wound that had been bleeding profusely was already healed—leaving only a faint white scar.
And in less than half an hour, even that scar would be gone.
"So this is the terrifying regenerative power of an EX-rank [Primal Body]? I really underestimated this Trait…"
Trace stared at his fully healed palm, clicking his tongue in amazement.
To avoid unnecessary suspicion, he grabbed a clean roll of bandages and rewrapped his recently recovered right hand—transforming it once again into a classic "bandaged hand."
Disguise complete, Trace took a deep breath and opened his system panel.
Defeating the top recruit of the training camp hadn't just earned him some abstract intimidation points—there were real gains as well!
[You have defeated a Marine elite with an overall rating of D!]
[EX-rank skill Fishing passive effect triggered!]
[You've obtained a D-Rank Victory Bait!]
That's right!
Victory Bait!
And it was D-Rank!
Staring at the system notification, Trace's eyes gleamed with ambition like never before.
He'd thought you had to kill an enemy to get Victory Bait.
Turns out, defeating them was enough.
And what did that mean?
It meant Trace could now grow stronger through battle!
Let the strongest across the seas become the fertilizer for his growth.
More importantly, this kind of "nourishment" was green, sustainable, and renewable.
Which made it all the more terrifying.
Trace took a deep breath and buried this grand strategic concept deep in his heart, saving it for the day it could truly take root.
For now, it was time for his first-ever D-Rank fishing!
Before casting his line, Trace glanced at his Luck stat.
"Luck D… yeah, figures. Well then—"
O mighty and turbulent Goddess of Fortune—hear my call!
With his finger as a rod, and will as the line—the fish bites!
[Fishing Result: Skill Trait]
[D-Rank Trait: Smoke Form (Sokefor)]
[Origin: Dungeons & Dragons – Békefan Elementals]
[Trait Description: A mass of black smoke dances through the breeze, shifting its form like rolling clouds. Then, suddenly, the smoke erupts—transforming into a devilish creature wreathed in wind and smoke, complete with massive bat-like wings.]
Effects:
[1. Flight – In smoke form, you gain flight speed of 80 km/h with exceptional maneuverability.]
[2. Immunity – Immune to all standard physical attacks below D-Rank.]
[Evaluation: Demon of the Mist!]