Chapter 152: Haki Ignition Mode
In the deep pit, as a familiar voice echoed, Aikes and the others immediately froze, turning toward the sound.
Above the pit, a figure floated silently in the air, looking down on Rocks and the others—it was Luo Han , who had now arrived. At this moment, he had activated his strongest psychic armament mode, channeling all of his psychokinetic energy into it.
Whoosh! Without giving Aikes and the others a chance to speak, Rocks shot forward the moment he saw Luo Han .
"Let's fight in the sky!"
Luo Han smiled and swiftly flew upward, dodging Rocks' incoming strike.
"As expected, this guy's speed is insane!" Rocks gritted his teeth in frustration. Even though he had moved incredibly fast, Luo Han was still quicker and avoided him.
"Captain…!" Aikes and the others below hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back.
High in the sky, Rocks waved a hand and glanced toward the nearby palace foundations. "I can handle this alone. You guys watch over the Celestial Dragons. Don't let them escape. Wait for me to come back." With that, he flew after Luo Han .
"Yes, Captain Rocks!" Aikes and the others responded, then rushed toward the Celestial Dragons.
"Mama…! Blue Demon and Rocks are about to fight. I can't wait to see this. Hope you don't die, kid—otherwise, I'll owe you one, and I hate being in debt," Big Mom muttered to herself, standing on the ground and watching the two figures closing in midair.
Golden Lion and the others also stood casually nearby, gazing skyward, once again turning into passive spectators.
Five kilometers above God Valley, surrounded by fluffy clouds that looked like cotton candy, Luo Han waited mid-air for Rocks' arrival.
Whoosh! Soon, Rocks appeared fifty meters in front of Luo Han —a distance they could both cross in an instant.
Looking at Luo Han , who appeared calm and composed, Rocks couldn't help comparing him to the young, naive boy from the beginning. He sighed and said, "The brat who looked like a child when he first set out has changed a lot over the past two years. But why did you have to kill my comrades? Otherwise… for Shaku's sake, I might have spared you."
Luo Han smiled and shook his head. "I didn't intend to kill them at first. They were just too weak. So they died—accidentally."
Luo Han 's nonchalant tone made Rocks frown deeply. Rage swelled in his heart as he stared coldly at Luo Han . "So you mean… I might accidentally kill you too?"
"If you can do it, Captain Rocks," Luo Han replied in a serious tone, fully alert.
Heh… Rocks let out a cold chuckle, raised his right fist back, and said darkly, "Then take this punch!"
Whoosh whoosh! The two shot toward each other at the same time. As Rocks' fist approached, Luo Han made no attempt to dodge. He met it head-on with his own punch.
BOOM! At the moment their fists collided, a deep, thunderous sound shook the island. Ripples of force expanded outward from their clash, pushing the surrounding clouds away and forming a fifty-kilometer-wide ring of white clouds in an instant.
"Oh! That kid Luo Han has already clashed with Rocks!" Roger, advancing nearby, looked up at the sky upon hearing the sound. Seeing the magnificent cloud ring, he couldn't help but smile—it was as if he had already foreseen this.
At that very moment, the two fighters shared the same thought:
"I blocked it!"
"I blocked it!"
They were both surprised. Rocks hadn't expected Luo Han to withstand the hit—it caught him off guard. Luo Han , on the other hand, felt relieved. He had finally managed to block Rocks' strike.
He hadn't trained in vain. For the past year, he had willingly served as a sparring partner for Garp and Roger, enduring Garp's concentrated Armament Haki and Roger's heavy shockwaves—all to strengthen his psychic defenses against powerful blows and intense Haki.
All of it was preparation for this very fight. Now, Luo Han had fused his psychic shield mode with his feather-cloak mode, integrating limitless defense and psychic combat armament into one.
Thanks to all this, he could now take on a standard punch from Rocks without being overwhelmed.
Crackle crackle. Rocks didn't believe Luo Han could really stand his ground and tried to force him back with more power. But Luo Han matched it. Their fists didn't directly touch—rather, it was a contest between their Haki-coated and psychically-armored fists. Neither could overpower the other for the moment.
"This brat… such strength—and tough defense, too."
Rocks finally realized that brute force alone wasn't enough to knock this kid away. He would need to rely on his most extreme Haki technique.
Boom! Rocks withdrew his fist and stepped back. Luo Han didn't press the attack either and pulled back, ready for whatever Rocks would do next.
"One-punch Admiral-level strength… this is gonna be interesting," Luo Han thought. His spiritual awareness was now vast. He had witnessed Rocks' battle with CP0 and the former admirals, even hearing the CP0 chief's final words.
The CP0 chief wasn't wrong. Luo Han focused his mind and saw it: the range of Rocks' external Haki had decreased from 2.5 meters when he landed on the island to just 1.5 meters. Clearly, the Haki Ignition Mode consumed immense energy—especially during his final blow against the CP0 chief and his group.
While Luo Han was deep in thought, Rocks activated his Haki Ignition Mode again. This was a technique similar to the Life Return's burn-your-life method—but Rocks burned his Haki instead.
Once activated, his power, speed, and defense surged dramatically. And just like burning life energy, his Haki would burn continuously as long as the mode was on.
"This mode eats away at Haki too fast. A few more uses, and I'll run out!" Feeling the steady drain of Haki, Rocks frowned.
Still—this was worth it. For his fallen comrades, Luo Han had to die!
Resolved, Rocks wasted no time. Whoosh! He instantly appeared above Luo Han and slammed a punch downward, trying to make Luo Han feel the same pain he felt from losing his crew.
BOOM! A massive shockwave of Haki plummeted from 5,000 meters up, striking the palace foundations below. CRASH! A ten-meter-wide crater formed, its bottom invisible.
"That kind of attack… if it hits, you're dead for sure!" Golden Lion broke out in a cold sweat. He had been the closest. The pure Haki wave had triggered massive danger signals from his Observation Haki—if it touched him, he would've died.
"I didn't expect Rocks to have such power… I wonder if that brat Luo Han managed to dodge it," Golden Lion marveled at Rocks' strength. Even though Luo Han 's defenses were strong, he didn't believe anyone could survive such an attack. The only option was to avoid it completely.
"This place isn't safe anymore." Golden Lion quickly moved to the edge of the battle zone between Luo Han and Rocks.
John and the others followed suit. And just as they reached the perimeter—
In the sky, Luo Han stood far from where the shockwave had struck, cold sweat on his back. Staring at Rocks, he muttered to himself, "Thank goodness I didn't get cocky. From the moment the fight started, I kept my bullet-time perception activated—and that's what saved me."
That attack had been deadly. Even if it hadn't killed him, it would have seriously injured him. Luo Han 's confidence in challenging Rocks one-on-one stemmed from this bullet-time technique. With it, his speed and reaction time reached inhuman levels—this gave him the belief that he could hold his own.
But he hadn't expected Rocks to accelerate again—faster than when he fought CP0. It was as if Rocks could adjust his physical parameters at will. It was terrifying.
(END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Bankai10