Chapter 154: The Birth of Ellis
At the center of the massive crater, Whitebeard and Cole stood beside Luo Han 's "corpse." Not far from them lay a box that had just jumped out of the magma on its own.
The box now rested quietly, and Whitebeard and Cole exchanged puzzled looks.
"Cole, was that box… the one that just made a noise?"
"Seems like it was."
Whitebeard looked at Cole speechlessly. That box came out of your mouth—what do you mean 'seems like'?
Plop! Suddenly, the box jumped again. Both Whitebeard and Cole immediately focused on it. Plop! Plop! The box kept jumping, more and more violently, until—bang!—it burst open.
Out from it came a small… woman?
Though only ten centimeters tall, the tiny woman had the full proportions of a mature adult. Her waist-length dark green hair shimmered, and her delicate features were accentuated by slightly long, pointed ears. Her warm, amber eyes gave her a gentle, approachable aura, and her rosy white skin looked as flawless as that of a newborn. She wore a dress and top seemingly made from green leaves—like a tiny forest fairy.
The moment she emerged from the box, the little fairy flew straight to Luo Han , landing quickly on his chest.
Cole's expression changed drastically. He shouted angrily, "Get off of him!" and reached to grab the strange little woman.
Whitebeard was briefly stunned, then realized—Luo Han 's "corpse" couldn't be moved anymore. He was just about to intervene—
"You back off! Luo Han -nii is still alive!"
The fairy's crisp voice stopped them both in their tracks.
"Alive?!" they both exclaimed. Sharing a glance, they approached with uncertainty.
"You're… Lady Divine Tree?" Cole asked cautiously.
Divine Tree? Lady?
Whitebeard was filled with question marks, casting a baffled look at Cole.
"Mm." The little fairy—Ellis , the spirit of the Divine Tree—replied casually without turning around. Her tiny brow furrowed slightly. Luo Han 's body was nearly dead. Only a faint trace of life remained in his heart, and his mind and spirit still showed the weakest of fluctuations.
She needed to preserve that final spark of life and slowly nourish his body back.
Ellis sat on Luo Han 's chest, placing her hands over his heart. From her palms, glowing green light surged forth, streaming into Luo Han 's chest and flooding into his heart.
Whitebeard and Cole stood silently, guarding her from either side. Though they had many questions, none were more important than saving Luo Han .
After stabilizing the last thread of life in Luo Han 's heart, Ellis remained seated in her healing posture and said, without turning, "Little Cole, I'm taking Luo Han -nii to the mountain. Want to come?"
"But… Han-ge's body can't be moved. If he's moved, he'll…" Cole trailed off.
"I'm using my power to carry Luo Han -nii. He'll be fine. We can't heal him here," Ellis replied, already floating Luo Han gently into the air. She remained seated on his chest as they floated away.
"Uh…" Cole had wanted to protest, but seeing Luo Han remain intact, he happily followed after them.
"So… I'm just left behind?" Whitebeard stood alone in place, dumbfounded. Cole and Ellis 's entire conversation hadn't involved him at all. They hadn't even glanced back when they left.
"So this is what family feels like… how nice." After standing still for a while, Whitebeard let out a sigh.
Just as he was about to follow, something caught his eye—the box from before. He hesitated, then decided to pick it up anyway, despite the drool it had from Cole.
Then he set off after them. Luo Han couldn't endure any more shocks. Without someone protecting him, even a stray shockwave could finish him off.
After all, this was still wartime—not a safe zone.
...
Backtracking to the moment after Luo Han was struck down, Rocks hovered five kilometers above God Valley. He looked down and could no longer sense any trace of life with his Observation Haki.
"So, he really did die…" Rocks muttered, withdrawing his gaze. He glanced at his own Haki—and his face darkened.
"Damn you, Luo Han ! You brat… You drained more Haki than I expected. At this rate, I can only use one more low-tier Haki Ignition attack."
Now, the extension of his Haki barely reached thirty centimeters. Rocks hadn't expected such massive consumption. Still, he recalled that slight delay during the strike—the momentary pause had wasted so much energy.
"I still don't know how that brat managed it. It's the first time someone's ever withstood that kind of Haki attack from me."
But no matter how he did it—he was dead now. Rocks' eyes gleamed coldly as he began descending.
Time to take control of the Celestial Dragons.
On the ground, Aikes and the others were in a standoff with Garp and the navy. The Celestial Dragons were being shielded by marines in the middle.
"This is bad…" Kodak muttered.
"Yeah. Who'd have thought the blast would send them straight to the navy?" Aikes said with a headache. At first, all they had to do was break the CP0 commander's barrier, and they could've captured the Celestial Dragons. But their own captain's shockwave ended up saving them.
"In any case, we just need to delay them. Don't let the Celestial Dragons escape—Captain will be here soon!" Aikes ordered firmly.
"Understood!" Kodak and the others responded in unison, keeping their eyes fixed on the Celestial Dragons.
The navy hadn't moved yet either. After all, their orders were to prioritize evacuating the Celestial Dragons.
Just then, the Celestial Dragons finally woke up. They'd passed out from the spatial distortion earlier, but had been protected by the CP0 commander. Without him, Aikes and his group would've already captured them.
Seeing them wake, the CP0 commander quickly urged, "Lords, please, leave this place at once!"
But the Celestial Dragons didn't answer. They got up, looked around at the surrounding navy, and counted the soldiers. After confirming there were enough marines, their arrogance returned.
The lead Celestial Dragon pointed at Aikes' group and shouted, "Navy! Arrest these filthy peasants!"
Garp and the others were dumbfounded. The Celestial Dragons didn't look like people who needed saving…
The CP0 commander was speechless again and was about to say something when—
BANG! A figure landed behind Garp's group, and a domineering voice rang out: "Who do you think you're capturing, trash?!"
Everyone turned around. Rocks stood there casually, but an overwhelming pressure spread instantly. Everyone tensed.
"Rocks, what happened to that brat Luo Han ?" Garp asked in a deep voice.
They hadn't been close enough to see Luo Han lying in the crater earlier, so they asked.
Rocks was a little surprised. He glanced at Garp, amused that a marine would show concern for a pirate.
"That Luo Han brat? Of course, he's dead," Rocks said offhandedly.
Dead? Garp couldn't believe it. After fighting alongside Luo Han for over half a year, he knew how monstrous Luo Han 's speed and defense were. That kind of man—killed in one blow?!
"So Blue Demon really died…"
Sengoku and Zephyr both sighed. As much as they didn't want to admit it, that brat—at least as an enemy—had earned their respect.
(END CHAPTER)
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