After defeating "Golden Lion" Shiki, William gained a new feat from the Plaza of Fate—Heart of Iron.
Heart of Iron: Through rigorous training and battle experience, your will becomes as strong as steel, transforming into tangible power when you need it.
William hadn't systematically learned Haki, but having fought against Shiki, who could use Haki—especially Armament Haki—he believed that the power granted by the Heart of Iron feat was indeed Armament Haki.
Dampier and his crew had been busy strategizing and outsmarting Garp and other Marines. Meanwhile, William, though imprisoned, hadn't been idle. He continuously studied the power of Heart of Iron. He had already begun understanding it before entering prison, and during his time there, he further refined his insights.
Being a Logia Devil Fruit user himself, William had a deeper understanding of the threat posed by Armament Haki to Logia users.
If ordinary people are like ice blocks, then Logia Devil Fruit users can be seen as pools of water. When subjected to external force, ordinary people react as a whole, while Logia users, upon elemental transformation, can divide their bodies into countless natural elements to evade attacks and dissipate force.
Punching a pool of water results in splashes, but when the water regroups, it remains unchanged, with no lasting "scars" from the punch. In contrast, an ice block, once shattered, retains cracks even if pieced back together, unable to return to its original state.
Armament Haki is an energy that instantly transforms water into ice upon contact.
It doesn't strip a Devil Fruit user of their abilities but causes the natural elements at the contact point to lose their ability to scatter and evade force, allowing the full impact of a punch to affect the Logia user as if they were a regular person, causing damage.
In other words, Smoker could preemptively transform into smoke, reshaping himself to dodge William's attack. But when William's Armament Haki-imbued fist landed on Smoker, the affected area felt as if Smoker had been hit solidly, like before he ate the Logia Devil Fruit.
William reabsorbed the steam he had released earlier into his body, activating Overheat. Veins bulged on his forehead, his exposed skin turned red, and with each breath, white vapors shot out from his nostrils like swords.
He stepped forward, prompting several Marines to instinctively open fire. However, as the guns fired, William vanished from their sight. The next moment, he appeared in front of the Marine ranks, delivering a punch.
This punch incorporated techniques from Fish-Man Karate. Though it didn't physically touch any Marines, it caused the air to ripple. Then, a powerful steam burst from William's fist, crashing into the Marines ahead.
Screams rang out as the Marines were blasted away by the steam. Their exposed skin swelled and reddened visibly, suffering severe burns from the high-temperature steam. Meanwhile, the shockwave derived from the "Karate Chop" technique injured their internal organs, leaving blood trickling from their mouths.
Smoker watched, his eyes wide with rage, struggling to stand from the rubble and shouted, "You can't beat him! Fall back to the port!"
As Smoker had retreated to the prison earlier, he had already notified Vice Admiral Dalmatia, the strongest Marine currently in Kalmar City, who was rushing over from the port.
The Marine soldiers retreated as instructed, while Smoker charged toward William.
William glanced at him, his right leg whipped out like lightning, creating a series of sonic booms that caused the surrounding civilians to cover their ears. Simultaneously, a vacuum slash wave rolled toward Smoker.
Rankyaku!
Boom!
Smoker immediately elementalized, transforming into two plumes of smoke, allowing the vacuum slash to pass between them. The smoke then expanded, enveloping William.
Meanwhile, Gin had reached the civilians, directing them to move away from William's battlefield.
"You and I are both Logia Devil Fruit users," William said calmly as the smoke began to surround him. "I know, and you should know, that large-scale elementalization is convenient against weaker foes, but against equal or stronger opponents, the size of the elemental form isn't necessarily better."
As William spoke, Smoker emerged from the smoke behind him.
Smoker's upper body remained in normal form, his Jitte aimed at the back of William's head. Although he couldn't use Armament Haki yet, the tip of his Jitte was embedded with a small piece of Seastone, allowing him to attack William's physical form.
However, just as Smoker struck, William turned as if he had eyes on the back of his head, his right hand forming a knife-edge and stabbing toward Smoker's right chest.
Heightened Alertness allowed William to sense Smoker's attack in advance, while Lightning Reflexes and the speed boost from Overheat enabled him to effortlessly evade Smoker's strike.
Smoker had no time to react as William's knife-hand pierced his chest.
William's Armament Haki was still rudimentary, learned through unorthodox methods, and didn't significantly enhance his attack power. It merely allowed him to grasp the physical form of another Logia user. However, with the strength of William's Overheat state, even without Armament Haki's enhancement, Smoker was no match.
Smoker involuntarily spat blood, some of which splattered onto William's face but was instantly vaporized by the high temperature.
William didn't use "Viper" to inflict secondary damage with high-pressure steam. Instead, his knife-hand withdrew from Smoker's chest, his blood-stained hand gripping Smoker's throat and lifting him single-handedly.
The smoke enveloping William dissipated, and the remaining Marine soldiers fled while Smoker delayed.
William glanced at the retreating Marines, then focused on Smoker, easing his grip slightly. "As long as they remain in this city, they can't escape. You're wasting your efforts. But don't worry, I don't intend to kill you."
"I don't need a pirate's mercy," Smoker replied defiantly, despite his bloodied mouth and disheveled appearance.
"It's not mercy. I genuinely admire you. With your character, you should join me instead of enduring the frustrations within the bloated and corrupt Marine system," William said sincerely.
Smoker spat more blood, struggling to muster a mocking smile. "Are you dreaming?"
"What a pity."
As William spoke, he snatched Smoker's Jitte, swung it in a wide arc, and with a piercing whistle, struck Smoker's temple viciously.
Despite his earlier words about sparing Smoker's life, the blow seemed lethal. Smoker was sent flying, rolling twice before lying motionless. His temple bore a massive wound, revealing bone, and blood flowed continuously.
"Morgan William!"
As Smoker was sent flying, a voice roared from the sky.
(The previous chapters after Chapter 305 had incorrect titles. Thanks to the reminder from friends in the group, they have been corrected. Apologies for any confusion caused. Also, "I'm back," I'm backヽ(°◇°)ノ, is a classic line from the Terminator by the Governor.)
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