Chapitre 18: Chapter 18: An Unexpected Level-up.
The next day, Smoker came back to find Hiruma with heavy dark circles under his eyes, indicating that he had not slept all night.
"Hiruma-san, I've been thinking all night, but I still can't figure it out..." Smoker said.
Hiruma glanced at Smoker and reached out his hand, saying, "Give it to me."
"What?" Smoker didn't understand.
"A cigar, didn't you bring one?" Hiruma's eyes revealed a dangerous glint.
"I... I forgot it," Smoker said.
Hiruma stood up, stretched lazily, and said, "No problem if you didn't bring one. Come, let me teach you a few moves."
Smoker was excited to hear this. He knew that Hiruma was powerful, but he didn't have a specific understanding of how strong he was.
However, with just a casual remark from him, he could learn a lot, so he must have at least the strength of a Rear Admiral, or even a Vice Admiral.
Smoker had overestimated Hiruma's strength. His current level of combat power was only about the same as Luffy when he had just set sail ten years later, and he was only slightly stronger than Smoker now.
Smoker had this illusion due to his memories of his past life and his foresight of the future.
"I will suppress my strength and fight against you, and as for you..." Hiruma said.
Smoker nodded in agreement. In his opinion, if Hiruma didn't suppress his strength, he would have no chance of fighting him.
"...you should also suppress your strength," he continued.
Smoker: "..."
What was the point of suppressing both of their strengths?
"You just need to control the power of the Smoke-Smoke Fruit. Well, control it to one-tenth of its power," Hiruma said.
He didn't actually want to suppress his own strength. He said that to highlight his image as a hidden master. As for asking Smoker to suppress the power of the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, it was to guide him in developing his fruit power and, on the other hand...
It was purely because his Armament Haki level was too low to support an evenly matched battle.
It had to be said that the power of Logia-type Devil Fruits was quite overpowered in the early stages. Without Armament Haki, one could not even touch the opponent, let alone defeat them.
Hiruma had intended to emphasize his image as a hidden master, but to Smoker, everything was completely different.
"I see. Hiruma-san wants me to first control a small part of the fruit power, and then gradually master all the power," Smoker said.
Hiruma and Smoker were about to fight, and Ace and Luffy, who were training on the side, surrounded them.
Even the Dadan family moved over with small stools, sitting in a row.
"Here it comes!" Curly held a big watermelon, punched it, and opened it directly.
Hiruma was used to these guys' audience tendencies.
Although these guys were not particularly strong, they were loyal.
Even when the navy was investigating everyone before, no one betrayed him by revealing that he had a devil fruit that allowed him to swim.
Smoker bowed deeply to Hiruma: "Hiruma-san, sorry..."
Ha! Gotcha!
Bang!
But Hiruma took advantage of Smoker's bowing and directly attacked him with a Dragon Claw Fist, sending him flying.
Hiruma flicked the non-existent dust off his clothes corner, "Since we've decided to fight, we have to be prepared to die. Don't take your eyes off me and still dare to bow."
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for upgrading the sub-skill: Rukoshiki: Soru to level 2.]
Smoker lay on the ground, his original confusion gradually disappearing.
Yes, if it's a fight, you have to go all out.
Luffy and Ace also carefully considered Hiruma's words. They felt that he was not only speaking to Smoker but also to the two of them.
"Ah woo~" Luffy took a bite of watermelon and then spat out the seeds on Curly's face. "Shanks said the same thing."
"You brat! How can you be so rude and spit on my face!"
Smoker got up from the ground, and his whole demeanor changed.
"White Fist!"
Smoker's arm directly transformed into smoke, and his clenched fist hit Hiruma hard.
Observation Haki!
Hiruma instantly activated Observation Haki and then immediately deactivated it.
There was no other way, his level was too low, and he had to save energy.
Although it was only activated for a moment, he had already predicted the angle of the opponent's attack and his next move by sensing Smoker's breath and emotional changes.
Seeing the smoke pushing the fist toward his face, Hiruma stood still and only slightly shook his head.
The fist grazed Hiruma's hair, but ultimately did not hit him.
"Crack!"
Hiruma's right hand shot out like lightning, with a strand of Armament Haki attached to his palm, he directly gripped Smoker's arm in its smoke form.
"Your speed is too slow, and your strength is not enough. With your current state, you can become a Lieutenant? It seems the navy is in trouble," Hiruma said. He then pulled Smoker over with great force.
As Hiruma threw a punch, he activated his Observation Haki again.
"Bang!"
Despite Smoker's best efforts to dodge, he couldn't escape Hiruma's fist hitting his face.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining +5 strength by opening yellow-grade loot]
"Try to use your Devil Fruit power to unleash its maximum potential!" Hiruma reminded Smoker while making a quick move.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining +3 strength by opening yellow-grade loot]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining +5 speed by opening yellow-grade loot]
...
Smoker was repeatedly knocked out, but he stood up every time.
As the fight continued, and with occasional advice from Hiruma, a flash of inspiration appeared in his mind.
However, it was extremely vague, and he couldn't grasp it.
"Bang!"
Another punch hit Smoker's chest, and he was thrown into a tree, causing leaves to fall on him.
"Okay, let's stop here today," Hiruma said, not wanting to continue the fight. It wasn't because he didn't want to get more loot, nor was it because he cared about Smoker. It was because his Armament Haki had been exhausted and needed time to recover.
With a thought, he opened the last yellow-grade loot that had fallen on the ground and turned to walk toward his rocking chair.
Just as he was about to take a sip of his drink, he suddenly heard a notification from the system.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining +6 speed by opening yellow-grade loot]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host. Your speed attribute has surpassed 100. As a result, Observation Haki level has increased.]
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone