Chapter 148: Roger and the Navy Arrive
Outside the palace's barrier, the once-lush grassland was now a battlefield scarred with craters and gashes.
Koda stood beside the pit Luo Han had made, still frozen in place. His reddened eyes flickered as sweat rolled down his face. He was clearly in shock.
After Luo Han had withdrawn the Pink Flame, Koda snapped back to consciousness—and straight into confusion.
His mind couldn't process what had happened. He just stood there stiffly, arms still wrapped around Big Mom.
Big Mom, however, had no such hesitation. Sensing that Koda had regained his senses, she let out a furious roar: "You bastard!! How long do you plan to keep hugging me?!"
BOOM! She punched Koda in the chest with Armament Haki-infused force.
CRACK! The punch launched him 500 meters through the air. As he landed, Kama and the others rushed to his side. Koda had returned to his human form.
Cough! He spat blood as he got up and clutched his chest—his sternum had clearly shattered. Big Mom's rage-powered blow was no joke.
"What… why was I on top of that crazy woman?" Koda muttered, still baffled.
Kama and the others hesitated. How could they possibly explain it? They couldn't just say, "You tried to ravage Big Mom!" No—he was ravaging her, just unsuccessfully.
In the end, Kama simply said, "It was Blue Demon. He put something in your body. You lost control and went berserk on Big Mom."
"Yeah, yeah!" the others chimed in, tossing all the blame on Luo Han. To be fair… they weren't wrong.
Still, Kama and the others couldn't quite shake the awkwardness. The memory of what they saw… it wouldn't go away.
Just as Koda was about to speak—
CRACK! The sound of shattering glass drew everyone's attention.
They turned to see—
A massive figure, who had been pounding on the barrier the entire time—unfazed by Luo Han's chaos or Koda's madness—still striking it with absolute focus.
Everyone was stunned.
"That's… some insane concentration," someone whispered. It was Cole. Through sheer dedication, he had broken the barrier alone, without any help from Luo Han or Whitebeard.
Huff… huff... Cole panted heavily as he withdrew his fist. Through the shattered shield, a collapsed figure could be seen near the palace gate—likely the CP0 Commander, exhausted from maintaining the barrier.
Cole turned and grinned at Luo Han in the sky. "Haha! Han-ge, the barrier's down. You can go get what you want now!"
"…Yeah…" Luo Han twitched. Could you not word it like that?
But it was too late. Everyone had heard. Golden Lion and the others turned to stare at him, eyes sharp. What exactly did Luo Han want?
Ecks and his crew were even more intense. They believed Luo Han's goal was the same mysterious object Rocks had been seeking. They gathered closely, clearly ready to block his path.
Thud! Luo Han returned to the ground. His spiritual sense locked onto the Devil Fruit case and the map. But he didn't move—he didn't want to provoke a group attack.
Especially not with Ecks and the others already convinced he was going for Rocks' prize. If Rocks showed up and misunderstood, things would escalate fast.
"All I want is one Devil Fruit. Sure, it's a rare Zoan Mythical-type… but with my strength, that's not unreasonable, right?"
He tried to appeal to them. It wasn't anything special, really.
"Haha, sure, no need to explain, Blue Demon," John laughed. But his eyes remained fixed on Luo Han, clearly unwilling to let him proceed without revealing his intentions.
You've got to be kidding me! Luo Han groaned. Why does everything spiral out of control like this?
At first, the situation had been simple. They could've wiped out the World Government forces instantly and gone to retrieve the treasure.
Instead, everyone had stood around watching Rocks fight—like they were there for entertainment. Even Luo Han had ended up spectating.
Then at the palace barrier, everyone could've just teamed up and broken through. But again, Golden Lion's group just… stood there.
And now? With the barrier gone, everyone was suddenly suspicious of him—because of one line Cole said.
Enough! Luo Han's fury erupted.
"You morons!! Whether I want the same thing as you or not—why the hell are you staring at me?! Go inside and grab it before the Navy gets here!!"
Then he froze.
He stretched out his spiritual sense.
"…Oh crap. The Navy is here."
Luo Han cursed. Am I cursed or something? Everything I say just keeps coming true.
Through his spiritual sense, he confirmed it: the Navy had arrived outside the mountain range—led by the Fleet Admiral, with Garp and other top brass in tow.
And not just them.
"Roger?! That bastard's here too?!"
Luo Han was stunned. This mysterious force controlling fate had gone too far.
Moments after the Navy's arrival, the Roger Pirates appeared from the opposite direction. Together, they flanked the entrance to the island, forming a perfect angle with Luo Han's group.
At full Moonwalk speed, they could cover dozens of kilometers in moments. There was no more time.
Luo Han's eyes hardened. He released a wave of pressure. His Psychic Armament Mode activated. In the sky above, vortexes and golden spears materialized once again.
Golden Lion, Ecks, and the others instantly tensed up, dropping their amused expressions.
"The Navy has arrived. They're on the island now, and the Roger Pirates are closing in too," Luo Han said coldly. "So I'll ask one last time… are you really going to stop me?"
Golden Lion and his crew were momentarily stunned.
If the Navy really was here, there was no point in stopping Luo Han anymore. If Rocks' goal was inside the palace, they could just go in and look for it themselves.
But… could the Navy have arrived so quickly?
They had flown here nonstop, and it had taken them four or five hours. How could the Navy catch up so fast?
Without advanced Observation Haki, they couldn't confirm it themselves.
Ecks, however, didn't hesitate. He locked eyes with Luo Han and said firmly:
"Doesn't matter who shows up. Until Captain Rocks arrives—no one enters the palace."
(END CHAPTER)
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