Chapter 112

The next day, after bidding farewell to Dōli and Buroki.

Luo En and the others boarded a ship and followed the river toward the ocean.

As they exited the river mouth, the sea ahead suddenly surged upward.

"What's going on?"

Luo Bin adjusted the cowboy hat on her head.

Konis stared intently, then her eyes widened sharply: "What is that?!"

Seeing the colossal island-sized Shikijinnyu rise from the sea and open its massive mouth toward the ship, Konis, Luo Bin, and Kung Fu Sea Cow Xiaoqi were frozen in shock.

What… is this?!

"We're done for! We're going to be eaten by a monster!"

Kung Fu Sea Cow Xiaoqi was terrified.

"W-what do we do, Captain?"

Konis looked at Luo En in panic.

Before Luo En could speak.

A loud voice rang out beside them.

"That's the Shikijinnyu. Every ship that left this island in the past was swallowed whole by this thing."

The crew on the ship turned their heads.

There, on either side of the river mouth, stood the giants Dōli and Buroki, draped in massive gray cloaks, weapons in hand.

Dōli glanced at Buroki and said: "For the sake of my friend Luo En, I'll reluctantly team up with you. Don't hold me back."

"Wahahaha! I should be the one saying that!"

Buroki laughed loudly, grinning at Luo Bin and the others on the ship: "Just keep sailing forward—we'll clear the way for you!"

Luo Bin was about to thank them when she heard Luo En's voice.

"Thank you, but… no need to trouble yourselves."

Saying this,

Shuuu!

Luo En vanished from the deck and reappeared above the sea ahead, directly facing the giant fish's open mouth, his body surging with blazing crimson steam, waves of qi radiating outward.

In his right hand, a black blade wrapped in dense crimson sword intent had appeared.

"Armament Color Haki, Hardening!"

Luo En murmured.

Zzzz!

A flash of purple-black light surged along the black blade, Akisui, making the entire sword sharper and harder, its surface flickering with purple-black blade aura that sliced through the air.

In Dōli and Buroki's stunned gazes,

Luo En, standing in midair, raised Akisui—his overwhelming sword intent surged skyward, whipping up a storm around him. Before the blade even fell, the sea below had already split apart.

"Flame Breathing Secret Technique: Hellfire."

As Luo En brought the blade down,

The sea ahead was cleaved in two.

A vast, black flying slash, wreathed in blazing crimson hellfire, cut across the ocean and sliced clean through the giant fish.

In the stunned gazes of Buroki, Dōli, Luo Bin, Konis, and Kung Fu Sea Cow Xiaoqi,

The colossal fish was split cleanly in two.

The two massive halves crashed into the parted sea, sending up towering waves that propelled the Traveler's ship forward at speed.

"Goodbye, Dōli, Buroki."

Luo En, holding Akisui, exhaled and waved to the two giants behind him, who stood frozen in awe, then stepped on Moon Step like an arrow released from a bow, racing to catch up with the ship heading into the distance.

The ship soon vanished from sight.

Only then did Dōli and Buroki snap back to reality.

They exchanged glances, both wearing bitter smiles.

"Looks like we weren't needed at all."

"That guy Luo En… he's been hiding such immense power…"

"We just couldn't force him to show his true strength. This guy… is truly a monster."

They shook their heads and turned back.

"By the way, that slash… did it carry a hint of King's Haki?"

"Did it? I didn't feel anything. But if it's Luo En, awakening King's Haki wouldn't be surprising."

"True—he's the kind of monster who can match strength with Giant Clan warriors…"

104, Luo Ge Town, Sign In: King's Haki! (Combined)

After leaving the Ancient Island,

They soon reached the Red Line.

Passing through the Red Line, Luo En's group arrived in the East Blue.

In the East Blue, the weakest of the Four Seas, few pirate crews had bounties exceeding 30 million Berries.

Any pirate ships they encountered along the way were left to Konis, Kung Fu Sea Cow Xiaoqi, and Luo Bin to handle.

Luo En did not interfere.

When they reached the island near the entrance to the Grand Line—the town known as "The Beginning and the End," Luo Ge Town—

Konis and the others had already defeated five pirate crews attempting to enter the Grand Line, the highest bounty being a 17-million-Berry Animal-Type Fruit user, easily defeated by Konis.

Luo Ge Town.

The instant Luo En set foot here.

The system notification sounded in his mind at once.

【Beep! Detected host's location — Luo Ge Town, meets sign-in conditions. Sign-in successful will grant sign-in rewards. Sign in?】

"Sign in."

Luo En answered without hesitation.

【Sign-in successful. Obtained sign-in reward: Qi and Blood +10.

Obtained sign-in reward: Conqueror's Haki.

Current Conqueror's Haki: lv1.】

Feeling that unfamiliar power within his body, Luo En's eyes were full of excitement and pleasant surprise.

The reward was actually Conqueror's Haki!

With this, the three colors of Haki were finally complete!

"What's wrong?"

Noticing the change in his expression, Luo Bin looked at him.

"No, nothing. Just thought of something interesting."

Luo En's smile was hard to hide.

"Is that so."

Luo Bin suspected nothing further.

"Luo Bin, come quick and look, this thing is really interesting."

Already drawn in by Luo Ge Town's bustling streets and shops, Konis waved at Luo Bin and called out.

Luo Bin was drawn over.

In a good mood, Luo En also took little Qi wandering around.

A black-haired youth with delicate, harmless looks, yet a black sword hung at his waist, walking with a strange animal wearing a steel vest — this odd pair drew plenty of curious glances and second looks on the street.

A sneaky fellow spotted the black-haired youth's long blade at his waist, and a glint flashed through his eyes.

"That sword… looks like it'd be worth some money."

He said to his underlings beside him: "You lot stay here and watch, I'll go tell the captain."

"Got it."

Not long after.

A group of people cornered Luo En and Kung Fu Sea Cow little Qi in a sparsely populated alley.