Chapter 260: James Bond
Atop the highest vine-rooted cloud-island—
Clang! Clang!
Beneath the approaching noon sun, three massive figures darted and collided midair, producing thunderous impacts.
With each wave of pressure, the cloud-island rippled like a stormy sea, rolling white clouds in all directions.
Clang! Boom boom boom!
After another fierce clash, the three figures landed and separated.
"Cole , Akatsuki , how does it feel? Did anything click yet?"
The trio exchanging blows were Aishi , Akatsuki , and Cole in their enlarged forms.
The goal of the sparring was to use Aishi ' Chaotic Armament Haki as a guide—hoping that through battle, they might discover a personalized ratio of willpower, Armament Haki, and Observation Haki.
Only the most suitable blend would result in Chaotic Armament Haki.
At her question, Akatsuki and Cole both shook their heads.
"Nope."
"But…"
They exchanged glances—and both smiled.
"We each developed a new kind of Armament Haki!"
As they spoke, they first coated themselves in standard hardened Armament Haki.
Then, with a thought, a flowing form of Haki appeared—about half a meter thick—layered on top.
"Whoa!"
Aishi brightened. "That's the advanced flowing Armament Haki technique Luo Han told me about!"
Back when she was begging Luo Han to teach her Perfect Haki, he had mentioned a water-like Haki with excellent penetration.
This was a win in disguise. Though Akatsuki and Cole had hit the limits of their physical and hardened Haki development—
In just two days of dueling with Aishi , they had instinctively grasped the flowing form of Haki known in Wano as Ryuo.
"Let's try it again!"
Shing! Aishi smiled with excitement, fully coating herself in Chaotic Haki.
Akatsuki and Cole exchanged grins and charged forward.
They were eager to see how their flowing Haki compared to Aishi ' chaotic version.
As the two approached, Aishi dug her feet in and threw both fists forward.
Clang!
Akatsuki and Cole 's fists struck hers simultaneously.
But—
Their flowing Haki shattered in one second against Aishi ' chaotic current!
Only their base hardened Haki remained as they clashed.
Zzzz!
Despite their high Haki quality, her chaotic flow ground it down rapidly.
Boom boom!
The two retreated again.
"Sigh… the gap is still huge." Akatsuki was frustrated. They couldn't even scratch Aishi ' Chaotic Haki.
She had encountered this flowing Haki once—against Rayleigh.
Back then, even though Rayleigh had just grasped it, with his sword slashes, he had still managed to injure her despite her near-Big-Mom-tier durability.
Now she had this power—and still couldn't break through Aishi ' Haki at all.
That reaffirmed what Aishi had once said—mastering Chaotic Haki could put her on equal footing with Luo Han.
And it made Akatsuki even more determined. Whether it was Aishi ' or Luo Han's, she wanted it too.
"Hmm…"
Even Aishi was slightly dejected.
"No real improvement," she muttered.
"Of course not," Luo Han's voice came as he landed beside them.
"What do you mean?" Akatsuki asked as all three gathered around him.
"The flowing Haki Cole and Akatsuki are using is known as Ryuo in Wano," Luo Han explained.
"But the ultimate form of that flow… is your Chaotic Armament Haki, Aishi ."
"So you're saying… it's the highest evolution of Ryuo?" Aishi asked.
"Exactly," Luo Han nodded. "Which is why when they use Ryuo against you, it just melts away—like it met its natural counter."
"For you, they'd be better off using regular hardened Haki to defend themselves."
That clarified things. Akatsuki and Cole finally understood why Luo Han had said their new skill wouldn't do much against Aishi .
Compared to chaotic flow, regular hardening was more effective against that kind of power.
"Oh, right!"
Luo Han stepped aside, revealing the figure who had silently followed him the whole time—James Bond.
"This is James Bond," Luo Han said.
"Luo Han!"
"You actually did it?!"
Akatsuki and Aishi ignored his intro. Their eyes locked onto the figure behind him.
The stiff face, lack of expression… they grew confused. Was it a failure?
Their smiles faded. Thunder and Sea God hadn't looked like this...
And…
"Brother Han!" Cole walked over awkwardly. He felt dumb for failing to learn a new Haki after two days.
"Don't worry," Luo Han comforted. "Mastering Haki is a matter of long-term discipline."
"Look at Garp—he stuck with pure hardening and could still take on Rocks."
"You don't need to imitate me or Aishi . Find what works best for you."
The last part was directed at both Akatsuki and Cole .
"Okay," Cole replied simply. Akatsuki only gave a casual nod.
But their eyes drifted back to James Bond, curiosity growing.
"There's… your aura on him," Aishi said, frowning. "What's going on, Luo Han?"
The three looked at him again. Their Observation Haki was strong.
Especially Akatsuki and Aishi —they could sense that James Bond's spiritual presence was almost identical to Luo Han's.
Only a faint trace felt different. To most, they would be indistinguishable.
They hadn't even realized Bond was standing behind Luo Han this whole time because his aura was so similar.
"I won't explain everything now," Luo Han said. "Aishi , I need you to see if you can produce a seed from him."
He stepped aside and pointed to James Bond.
That was the true test—if Aishi could create seeds from him, then Bond could become a replicable vessel.
Otherwise, he'd just be another ordinary spiritual clone with limited usefulness.
"Fine."
Seeing that Luo Han wasn't explaining further, Aishi didn't press. She walked up to Bond. "Give me your hand."
Bond looked at Luo Han for confirmation. Luo Han nodded.
"Alright," Bond said flatly, extending his right hand.
Aishi clasped it with both of hers, channeling her natural energy to begin the seed-spawning process.
Beads of sweat soon appeared on Bond's face, showing visible pain.
Veins bulged across his body, his face pale.
"This looks like childbirth," Luo Han muttered, creeped out. "Why does he look like he's in labor?"
He remembered seeing her produce seeds from other trees without any reaction.
"Maybe trees just don't have expressions…"
But Aishi never looked like this when seeding herself!
Luo Han couldn't figure it out.
Ten minutes passed.
Pop!
A sound like uncorking a bottle rang out. Aishi extended her hand, revealing a golden scale seed the size of a volleyball.
"His body's changed. It's still tree in essence," Aishi explained.
"But creating a seed from him is like tearing flesh—any mistake could kill him."
She wiped the sweat from her face, mentally exhausted. She had maintained unwavering focus the entire time.
"Here," she said, handing the seed to Luo Han.
"You keep it," he replied. "Let's go plant it in the sea and see if it can act as Bond's linked clone."
"Alright," Aishi agreed. "Where?"
"Near Island No. 1," Luo Han said, then turned to Akatsuki and Cole . "I'm taking Aishi with me."
"Go ahead," they replied.
With a thought, Luo Han, Aishi , and Bond vanished.
...
Island No. 1.
Luo Han and Aishi arrived. After placing Bond on land, they dove underwater.
Using the same process, Aishi planted the golden seed.
BOOM!
A towering divine tree erupted from the ocean.
"It worked!"
Luo Han flew up, hovering in the sky, overjoyed at the massive tree growing beside Island No. 1.
"How is it?" Aishi flew in, holding another golden seed freshly produced by the new tree.
"Can it serve as a clone?"
"Not sure yet," Luo Han shook his head. "Let's return."
With another teleport, the two reappeared beside Bond.
"Wait a moment," Luo Han said, immediately entering Bond's mental world.
Switching perspective.
Taking control of Bond's body, Luo Han closed his eyes and tried sensing the divine tree.
"This little bastard…" Aishi muttered, sensing something remarkable.
Others might not notice, but she could detect Luo Han's spiritual signature entering Bond.
Her Observation Haki was sensitive enough to perceive mental fluctuations—even shifts in consciousness.
She clearly felt Luo Han's will transfer into Bond.
Inside Bond's spirit, Luo Han smiled.
"As I suspected!"
"Bie Tianshen functions like Poseidon's will-seeds. It can carry over to new generations!"
This meant the new divine tree and Bond were linked—both marked by Bie Tianshen.
And since Bond wasn't altered by a Devil Fruit like Aishi , his tree-based nature remained intact.
Even if he later ate the Door-Door Fruit, he could still absorb energy from the divine tree.
"The only problem left is how to transfer energy from the tree to Bond."
Luo Han's plan: use the spiritual world as a conduit—just like how Sea King energy reached him.
He reached out to the projected tree in his mind and sent a signal.
Moments later, a massive energy surge appeared in Bond's body.
"It works!" Luo Han grinned.
Everything marked by Bie Tianshen could share energy.
And now he realized—he could transfer Sea King energy to Sora too, if he just reformatted it for her body to absorb.
"With the transmission solved, the last step is letting Bond do it without me inside him."
But Luo Han had already planned for this. When designing Bond as his clone, he'd built in that capability.
Bond's consciousness would act like an admin, overseeing the energy reception.
"Bond, do you understand?" Luo Han asked mentally.
"Yes, Boss," Bond replied mechanically.
Luo Han exited his mind.
"Try it!" he said eagerly.
"Yes, Boss."
Bond activated the ability.
Luo Han felt the spiritual world ripple—another wave of energy reached Bond's body.
"It worked!" Aishi cheered. She had sensed two waves of energy entering Bond.
The second had come after Luo Han returned to his own body.
"Mhm," Luo Han smiled. "It's done. The vision of uniting the four seas isn't far off now."
"Aishi 's going to be thrilled!" Aishi said, a bit envious.
Heh.
Imagining Aishi 's joy, Luo Han smiled faintly.
"Alright, let's head back."
"Mhm!" Aishi nodded.
Together with Bond, they teleported back to Ark Island.
(END CHAPTER)
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