“You cunning kid! Your tricks haven’t changed a bit!” Garp shook his head, fully realizing he’d been outsmarted.
Seeing this, he abandoned the idea of persuading Icey to join the Navy. The battle showed that Icey wasn’t particularly interested in the Navy’s Rokushiki techniques, so continuing to persuade him seemed pointless.
‘Should I use stronger techniques, demonstrate Conqueror’s Haki? Garp thought, but then dismissed the idea. Even if Icey had the potential for Conqueror’s Haki, it was still too far out of reach for him right now.
As Garp settled back into his seat, the sudden clash came to an end. Icey wasted no time discussing the damages to his restaurant with Garp, who laughed and passed the responsibility to Smoker, citing that he was on vacation and the Navy matters didn’t concern him.
Smoker’s face darkened, realizing he was the only one who got dragged into this mess as a bystander. Meanwhile, Aqua’s face lit up with a grin, enjoying the rare opportunity to demand compensation.
“Speaking of which, from what Luffy mentioned and from news reports, Aqua is a water-type Devil Fruit user?” Garp casually asked while munching on his donuts.
“I’m no Devil Fruit user! I’m a goddess, the Water Goddess!” Aqua corrected, hands on her hips.
“Strong powers affecting one’s mind, huh? Some Devil Fruits do have side effects like that,” Garp analyzed, seemingly ignoring Aqua’s claims.
“What do you mean by ‘mind defects,’ you old fart?! Are you looking for a fight?!” Aqua retorted, her anger flaring despite Garp’s overwhelming aura.
“Sure, Smoker, you spar with this lovely lady,” Garp suggested, pushing Smoker forward.
As a Smoke-Smoke Fruit user, Smoker could better test Aqua’s abilities. This was the second reason Garp had come to find Icey. The unique nature of water-based powers linked to the sea had piqued the interest of the Navy Headquarters.
Understanding the reasoning, Icey had prepared for Aqua to be under scrutiny. Fully concealing her powers would only raise more suspicions, so it was better to have Aqua display some of her abilities. Garp was more trustworthy than the World Government agents.
Smoker, more composed than the impulsive Garp, chose the second deck of the Infinite Dream for the battle. Some curious Marines, having finished dealing with the Krieg Pirates, gathered to watch this rare clash between Devil Fruit users.
“Even if you have a bad lung from smoking, I, the Water Goddess, won’t show mercy!” Aqua declared, her fists clenched, brimming with battle spirit.
“Don’t worry, come at me,” Smoker said calmly, chewing on his cigar.
“Here I go then!”
Whoosh!
Aqua’s right fist ignited with divine flames, a dazzling display of power.
“Not the water-type ability from the reports?” Garp muttered, surprised. “Or can she use both water and fire? Is it a Mythical Zoan?”
Aqua charged at Smoker, her fiery punch aimed at him. Smoker’s body and justice cloak turned into intangible smoke, nullifying her attack.
“Is this the Logia-type Devil Fruit user Icey mentioned?!” Aqua frowned, her punch passing harmlessly through the smoke.
Icey had explained the different types of Devil Fruits to Aqua and King, including the intangibility of Logia users.
Smoker didn’t give Aqua much time to be surprised. Reforming his smoke into a solid fist, he punched at Aqua’s head. Aqua’s divine intuition, enhanced by Observation Haki, allowed her to dodge the attack.
She then extended her right hand, emitting a sacred blue light that enveloped all the smoke.
“Purify!”
Aqua used her signature move to counter demonic entities. Smoker, finding his escape routes blocked by the blue light, instinctively created more smoke to shield himself.
But after a few seconds, nothing happened.
‘Purification magic doesn’t affect Devil Fruit users significantly…’ Icey concluded, recalling a similar ineffective result when they tested it on Luffy’s Rubber-Rubber Fruit.
The primary counter remained water.
“I didn’t ask for any special effects in this battle…” Smoker took a deep drag from his cigar, making a rare joke.
Confirming that the blue light posed no threat, Smoker’s legs emitted smoke to propel him toward Aqua. Shocked that her purification spell had no effect, Aqua quickly grasped her goddess staff, summoning streams of water to encircle her.
Water could counter Devil Fruit users, as Icey had told her!
Indeed, seeing the water, Smoker hesitated. He cautiously extended a stream of smoke towards Aqua. As soon as it touched the water, the smoke turned back into a gloved fist!
“This ability…”
Feeling the slight weakness transmitted from the fist, Smoker’s expression grew serious. Before he could pull back, Aqua seized the opportunity, raising her staff for a heavy blow.
Bang!
With a loud thud, Smoker’s fist was knocked away, landing on the deck!
The Marines, who had been expecting their captain to easily defeat Aqua, were left dumbfounded.
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