One Piece: The Cryo Doctor on the Straw Hat Ship

V was speechless.

"Could it be that spending too much time with Luffy has infected me with his troublemaking nature?"

The thought flashed by in an instant.

At that moment, Smoker and Tashigi also successfully turned around.

For a moment, the four of them stared at each other.

The entire shop fell silent instantly, with only the swaying wind chimes making a "ringing" sound.

"what!"

Tashigi suddenly let out a strange cry and quickly flipped through the magazine in her hand.

Because she was in such a flustered state, her glasses were accidentally knocked off by the edge of the picture frame.

Thanks to the superhuman eyesight of his prosthetic eye, V naturally saw it long ago...

The picture in the magazine was clearly of all the members of their Straw Hat crew.

"This is troublesome~"

V shook his head slightly, then patted Zoro, who was staring in disbelief.

“I know she looks a lot like your best friend, but she isn’t.”

"She is Sergeant Tashigi from Loguetown."

“I didn’t expect…” Smoker said as he pulled out his Jitte from behind him, “that a mere pirate would know so much about the Navy’s intelligence.”

Upon hearing this, V turned and smiled.

"There's nothing we can do about it; there aren't many cultured people in the entire pirate crew."

As he spoke, V looked around the shop again and suggested:

"They need to do business, so let's not fight here."

"How about we go find a spacious place outside?"

Chapter 44 focuses on one point, reaching the pinnacle (please continue reading!).

In Rogge, on a relatively quiet street corner at the edge of the central square.

The road here is paved with large bluestones, and there are old warehouses that have been closed on both sides. In the distance, you can faintly hear the noise from the direction of the port, but here it is so quiet that only the sound of the wind can be heard.

On one side are V and Zoro, and on the other side are Smoker and Tashigi.

Smoker exhaled a thick cloud of smoke, his eyes sharpening through the swirling smoke:

"They didn't take the opportunity to escape?"

"I really don't know whether to call you arrogant and conceited, or ignorant and pathetic?"

He slowly drew out his handcuff-shaped personal weapon—the Ten Hands.

This is a silver weapon made of two thick steel bars twisted together, with a sharp end that gleams with a cold luster.

At the top of the jitte is a Seastone that is particularly effective against Devil Fruit users.

"Hahaha……"

"The most troublesome naval captain in the East China Sea, 'White Hunter' Smoker, you don't actually think you can scare us with your reputation, do you?"

V chuckled softly, but his eyes were fixed on Smoker with a frenzied gaze.

Logia type, Devil Fruit user!

After sailing for more than a month, he finally encountered his first heart-fluttering ability.

"As expected, how can I come to the world of One Piece and not experience the joys of Logia-type Devil Fruits!"

Thinking of this, V couldn't help but grin with an uncontrollable excitement, and his aura instantly became extremely aggressive.

"Zoro, this guy is not someone you can handle right now."

"You'd better move aside."

V didn't seem to care much about Zoro's feelings and spoke directly.

"……what?"

Zoro, who was about to draw his sword to fight, paused for a moment.

His belligerent nature made him instinctively want to say something.

But when he noticed V's gaze, all his words were swallowed back down.

“V’s expression…”

Zoro was startled.

Having known V for so long, this was the first time he had ever seen him so serious.

Although no one says it, everyone knows...

V's strength far surpasses that of the other members of the Straw Hat Pirates.

Even Luffy, who has already mastered Gear Second and Gear Third, would never be his match.

And now, he's actually interested in a naval officer?

"I understand."

Zoro didn't try to be brave and immediately nodded and stepped aside.

"Tashigi, you step back too!"

Smoker suddenly frowned.

V's undisguised excitement made him feel uneasy.

That almost greedy scrutiny made it seem as if they were a precious treasure waiting to be dissected.

There was none of the panic or provocation that pirates show when facing the Navy.

He snorted coldly, his ten hands held horizontally in front of him: "You pretentious charlatan."

Om-!

The moment he finished speaking, thick white smoke surged out from under Smoker's feet like a tsunami, instantly engulfing most of the block.

The billowing smoke obscured the view and carried a pungent smell of tar.

"Natural type, Smoke Fruit..." V stood still, without taking a single step back. His azure prosthetic eyes flashed with clear data in the smoke, rapidly analyzing the surrounding environmental parameters, smoke density, and flow direction.

"What a wonderful ability... possessing both fluidity and materiality, and the ability to freely manipulate smoke to pollute the air..."

His words sounded more like he was talking to himself, filled with the researcher's admiration.

"What are you babbling about?"

A cold, low shout came from deep within the smoke, and Smoker's figure had completely merged into the white smoke.

"White Fist!"

Before he could finish speaking, a giant fist formed from condensed smoke tore through the thick fog and slammed into V's face at an astonishing speed!

The smoke and gusts of wind pressed down the surrounding air, creating a piercing whistling sound.

However, V merely turned slightly to the side, and the dark blue markings on his right arm suddenly lit up—

It's sizzling!

A high-voltage current burst from his palm, instantly piercing the center of the smoke fist!

The smoke disintegrated under the impact of the electric current, but immediately reformed.

"It's no use!" Smoker's voice came from all directions. "Logia-type Devil Fruit users can become elemental; physical attacks are ineffective against me!"

"Thank you so much for your explanation!"

V's smile remained unchanged as he sensed the movement of the air and sparks suddenly erupted from beneath his feet.

Sizzle!

V's figure vanished like a ghost, leaving only crackling arcs of electricity leaping in the air.

The next instant, he reappeared to the side of the source of Smoker's voice.

"Truly textbook arrogance."

V's voice carried a hint of mockery as he suddenly thrust his hands forward.

Before Smoker could react, his arm suddenly deformed.

A rapid, mechanical clicking sound came from the joints, and the lines on the palm spun rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a giant hand cannon.

The eerie blue light within the cannon's muzzle rapidly collapsed, as if all energy had converged at a single point.

The air emitted a piercing shriek, and space seemed to be distorted by an invisible force of gravity.

"Try this, White Hunter!"

V's voice pierced through the billowing smoke.

boom!!!

The next second, intense flames suddenly burst forth from the muzzle of his arm cannon.

Ammunition modified from the Pakistani bullet formula unleashed a power far beyond what was appropriate for this battlefield at this moment.

"What!?"

Smoker's eyes widened suddenly as he sensed a deadly threat.

Before he could even comprehend the meaning of the roar, a burst of intense heat exploded at the core of his smoky body!

Focus on one thing, and you'll reach the pinnacle!

When artillery fire capable of easily destroying several streets is detonated in a small area, the resulting impact multiplies exponentially.

Even more terrifying is...