Chapter 153: Fire Fist – Luo Han Falls
Elsewhere in the sky, Rocks furrowed his brow. "This brat… he's gotten even faster. Damn it," he muttered to himself.
What neither of them knew was that they were both secretly impressed by each other.
Just a moment ago, when Rocks threw his punch, Luo Han shifted left at the last second, narrowly dodging the attack.
Rocks didn't give chase. He stopped, frowning inwardly. If he couldn't land a hit, meaningless pursuit would only waste more Haki.
But it wasn't like he didn't have options—he was just weighing whether it was worth it. That mode… even a single second of use consumed Haki at an extreme rate.
Whoosh! Even as he was thinking, Rocks once again appeared above Luo Han at lightning speed and swung a punch—whoosh! Luo Han dodged using the same maneuver.
"Dodged again, huh…" Rocks withdrew his fist, halting the shockwave just in time to avoid wasting more Haki.
He had only tried again out of frustration, hoping to maybe land a hit. But the result proved it again—pointless chasing would do no good.
"Looks like I have no choice. I'll have to use it."
Rocks made his decision. His Haki surged skyward—not in a simmering form like before, but a transformation resembling a Super Saiyan. His hair stood on end, and his Haki exploded outward like a blazing aura.
From a distance, Luo Han stared wide-eyed. This form… this Haki… Could Rocks be someone who traveled to the Dragon Ball world, learned all the skills, then died and reincarnated into One Piece?
As Luo Han was thinking that, his expression suddenly changed. Rocks had vanished from his spiritual perception—vanished even in bullet time!
Whoosh! Rocks had completed his transformation and wasted not a moment, instantly appearing above Luo Han once more.
This time, he was so fast that Luo Han 's body had no time to react—his senses barely registered it even in bullet time.
"Fire Fist!!" Rocks roared, his burning Haki-packed fist crashing down like a miniature sun against Luo Han .
BOOM! The moment of impact made Luo Han 's eyes bulge, his face contorted in pain. With all his remaining strength, he whispered, "Mind Shift."
Instantly, space twisted violently, rippling outward in all directions. The clouds above God Valley dispersed in an instant. The sea twisted, mountains crumbled, tidal waves rose. Everyone on the island felt their surroundings warp. Those with weaker bodies coughed up blood. The Celestial Dragons and their slaves passed out completely, overwhelmed by the dizziness of the spatial distortion.
"Hrngh… Die, brat!!" Even through the warped space, Rocks felt his attack stall momentarily. Though it lasted only a second, he found it unforgivable. With a roar, he poured even more Haki into the punch.
Luo Han ultimately couldn't withstand the massive force. The mini-sun of Haki engulfed him and smashed downward like a falling meteor, piercing through the center of the palace foundation. Space twisted along its path, rippling like water behind it.
"What is that?!"
Just as Roger, Garp, and the others neared the massive palace, they felt a jolt in their hearts and froze, looking toward the source.
They saw a red mini-sun, about ten meters in diameter, streaking straight down from the sky. A moment later, a blinding sphere of light burst across their vision, like a true sun falling upon the island. The flash was so intense that even shielding their eyes did nothing—they saw nothing but white.
BOOOOM! The deafening roar followed. A scorching shockwave of Haki blasted out from the foundation center, hurling everyone and everything—including treasures—away in all directions. In moments, molten gold and silver splashed across the island.
...
As the light and smoke cleared, everyone climbed out from the scattered debris and brushed themselves off. Looking ahead, they were stunned into silence.
The original ten-kilometer-wide foundation had become a twelve-kilometer-wide crater, over a hundred meters deep. Within the crater, the slopes were filled with molten rock and magma, thick smoke curling upward like hellfire.
"Did that brat… die?"
Golden Lion and the others approached the edge of the crater and looked down. A charred black figure lay motionless in the smoldering lava, chest no longer rising and falling. Everyone silently speculated.
After a while with no movement, the crowd turned away and began collecting the scattered treasure, waiting for Hank to arrive with the pirate fleet. Some had their own ships and forces, and once they had vessels, they could start hauling the treasure away.
After Golden Lion and the others had left, a space distortion rippled next to Luo Han , and Cole stepped out.
"Han-ge…"
He kept repeating the words, unsure what to do. He reached toward Luo Han , then quickly pulled back. His hands trembled with hesitation.
He'd never faced something like this. Should he pick Luo Han up? Or not touch him at all?
Because right now, Luo Han had no heartbeat—no signs of life. He looked like the admirals who had died earlier. His entire body was charred and cracked like charcoal. Cole was terrified that even a touch might crumble him into ash.
In the end, Cole carefully pushed away the magma around Luo Han and simply sat beside him in silence. He didn't speak or cry. He just sat there.
Thud! Suddenly, someone landed behind Cole, splashing a few drops of lava. Cole instinctively shielded Luo Han from the splatter.
"Cole, how's Roha—" Whitebeard had arrived late. As he walked toward them and began to ask, he stopped himself mid-sentence.
"This can't be… Luo Han , that brat—how could this happen?!"
Whitebeard's voice trembled. He had seen many friends die before his eyes, but this was still hard to believe. Luo Han 's terrifying defense and monstrous physical strength—even stronger than his and Big Mom's—should've survived that blow. But he didn't.
"Is that man… truly invincible?" Whitebeard thought of Rocks' terrifying figure, his face darkening with helpless disbelief.
"Cole, you—" Whitebeard started to offer comfort, but then turned and urgently asked, "What's wrong with you?!"
Cole was clutching his own throat, mouth wide open, tongue sticking out, gasping hoarsely.
Whitebeard stepped forward and lightly patted Cole's back. "Did you choke on something?"
Cole just pointed at his throat, eyes bulging like they were about to pop.
With a sigh, Whitebeard realized light taps weren't helping. He gave Cole a hard slap on the back—THUMP!—and finally, something flew out of Cole's mouth… a box?
Whitebeard blinked. Did Cole just swallow a box? It wasn't even that big—how did it get stuck?
Plop! The box fell into the magma beside Luo Han . A sharp, piercing scream echoed from inside, startling both Cole and Whitebeard.
(END CHAPTER)
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