Just then, Smoker walked in, carrying his Jitte. When he saw Luffy in the cage, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.
"Smoker! Candle Head! And Buggy!" Luffy yelled from the cage, pressing his face between the bars, then immediately said weakly, "Are you here to save us?"
Smoker's face darkened, staring at the Straw Hat crew he had been desperately pursuing, and Crocodile, the mastermind he had always suspected: "Good, everyone's here."
Crocodile slowly exhaled a smoke ring, his gaze turning to Smoker: "What, Smoker, playing house with these pirates?"
"Crocodile..." Smoker tightened his grip on his Jitte, scrutinizing the other's expression, trying to find a flaw, "This country..."
"It's him!"
Seeing Smoker's arrival, Vivi suddenly rushed to the cage, her voice trembling, "You're a Marine, right! He's the real culprit who plunged this country into chaos! Everything was planned by him!"
Crocodile chuckled, then set his cigar aside and took a sip of the red wine on the table, "What's the rush?"
"Just as I thought."
White smoke began to emanate from Smoker's body, and the tip of his Jitte glowed with the unique luster of Sea Stone.
Just at this tense moment, Mr.3 suddenly jumped out, his back to Crocodile, then aimed his hands at Smoker: "Boss! I'll help you stop this guy!"
Perhaps this is my chance to atone for my sins! As long as I perform well, the boss will surely forgive me!
Mr.3 thought with inner ecstasy, his hands already beginning to secrete wax liquid.
Smoker didn't even give him a proper look, dodging the spraying wax liquid with a sidestep, his Jitte whistling as he swung it down.
"Bang!"
Mr.3 fell to the ground, his glasses flying far away, immediately losing consciousness. And at this moment, Buggy the Clown, seeing Mr.3 instantly taken down with one blow, immediately tried to flee backward, but was again knocked to the ground by Smoker's stick.
"You're next." Smoker finished off the two, his gaze fixed on Crocodile.
Crocodile calmly stood up, revealing his identity: "I am one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, a great pirate recognized by the World Government. Are you sure you want to make a move, Smoker?"
"Who cares what those old geezers say!" Smoker roared, his entire body transforming into a white smoke and rushing forward.
"White Out!"
His arm spewed thick smoke, using the recoil to deliver a powerful blow. However, Crocodile's body instantly turned to sand, and the attack merely passed through him, leaving a deep pit in the wall behind him.
"Are you getting soft from staying in the East Blue, Smoker?" Crocodile's voice, drifting in the air as sand, carried clear mockery, and he glanced at the mark on the wall behind him, "Did you forget I'm made of sand?"
Smoker didn't answer; his true killing move was hidden behind the smoke, the Sea Stone tip of his Jitte thrusting directly at Crocodile's chest!
"Not completely stupid yet." Crocodile's golden hook firmly parried the Jitte, the two weapons clashing with dazzling sparks.
At this moment, Crocodile's other hand also began to turn into sand, forming a scimitar-like blade.
"Desert Spada!"
The sand blade instantly grew massive, slicing down with an all-cleaving sharpness. Smoker's smoke body was easily dispersed, and even more terrifying, the Jitte in his hand snapped in half!
"What?!" Smoker stared in shock at his weapon, broken into two pieces.
"It seems your smoke isn't very effective."
Crocodile picked up the broken Sea Stone Jitte tip, toying with it in his hand, "You haven't even developed your Devil Fruit ability to its fullest, Smoker, you're truly getting weaker."
Before he finished speaking, Crocodile suddenly exerted force, thrusting the broken stick fiercely at Smoker!
"Ugh!"
Smoker grunted, the effect of the Sea Stone instantly draining his strength, causing him to fall to one knee.
Luffy in the cage widened his eyes, gripping the bars, remembering how he was subdued by that stick-like thing in Loguetown, "Ah! Smoker! He can't smoke anymore!"
Nami, looking at the scene before her, also covered her mouth in horror: "How... even that Smoker can't win?"
Usopp, scared, squatted down with his hands over his head: "It's over, it's over, even the Marine is down, we're really going to die here!"
Crocodile controlled the broken Sea Stone stick with sand, pressing it firmly on Smoker. With his other hand, he slowly removed the cover from his hook, revealing the dimly glowing poison hook underneath.
"Alright, Smoker. I'll report to the World Government," his voice carried cruel pleasure, "that you bravely fought and sacrificed yourself to deal with the Straw Hat crew."
Then the poison hook drew an arc under the light, piercing Smoker's shoulder.
"Hahahahahahaha!" Crocodile's laughter echoed in the room, looking at Smoker collapsed on the floor, "Enjoy this, this potent poison."
Smoker's face quickly turned ashen, cold sweat soaking his uniform. He tried to struggle, but under the dual effects of Sea Stone and the potent poison, even lifting a finger became incredibly difficult.
"Desert La Graw."
However, Crocodile wouldn't give him any chance to resist. His right hand lightly touched Smoker's back, and water was rapidly drawn out.
Finally, Smoker's body shriveled at a visible rate, eventually losing consciousness completely and collapsing to the ground.
Crocodile's gaze swept across the room, at Smoker, Mr.3, Buggy the Clown lying on the ground, and the despairing Straw Hat crew in the cage.
A satisfied arc formed on his lips as he slowly walked towards the door. After pressing a button on the wall, he looked back at Vivi:
"It seems the Marine can't save your Alabasta either, Princess Vivi."
Finally, the large door slowly closed, cracks gradually appeared in the walls, water began to drip from the ceiling, and the humming of machinery echoed throughout the room.
Everyone in the cage fell into anxiety. Nami frantically shook the bars, "This is bad, this is bad, what do we do! Zoro and Chopper said they'd be outside to help, where are they now?!"
Luffy was still staring at Smoker on the ground, shouting loudly: "Damn it!!! Smoker!!! Get up!!!"
Watching the door close, Crocodile's departure, and his earlier words about the war having started, Vivi slid to the ground powerlessly, tears silently falling: "There's nothing we can do... it's all over..."
Just as everyone was sinking into despair, a familiar voice suddenly rang out:
"Hahahahahahaha! He definitely didn't expect that Buggy the Great didn't fall down at all!"
To everyone's surprise, Buggy sprang up with a carp-like flip, proudly patting his chest:
"I was faking it! Hahahahahahaha!"