Chapter 156

Luo En's eyes flickered slightly.

Boom!

The mountain that had buried Huang Yuan was pierced through by a laser beam, and countless photons gathered in the air to form Huang Yuan's shape—only his clothes were slightly dirty.

Luo En took a deep breath, and the Armament Haki coating his black blade Qiushui surged violently, breaking through the shockwave unleashed by Xiong Zhang and forcing the bear's figure back several steps.

Then he sheathed the black blade Qiushui, hardened both arms with Armament Haki, and slammed them hard into the ground.

The earth quaked violently, and enormous cracks spread outward from where he had struck.

Countless massive boulders floated up from the ground.

"Want another go?"

Huang Yuan grinned lecherously and raised a finger.

In an instant.

Countless laser beams shot from his fingertip, shattering those giant stones one by one!

But the shattered debris still hung suspended in the air.

And began to spin rapidly, transforming into a terrifying debris tornado that swept toward Huang Yuan—each fragment, fast as a bullet, piercing straight through his body.

"Attacks like this without Haki are useless against me…"

The words were not yet finished.

A pebble grazed his cheek, drawing a thin line of blood.

Huang Yuan reached out and touched it, gazing at the fresh red blood on his fingertip, his eyes narrowing slightly.

A pebble laced with Haki hidden among the countless fragments, was it…

"You think a little trick like this is enough to deal with me? Aren't you being a bit too naive?"

Huang Yuan brought his hands together, and a radiance as dazzling as the sun began to glow between his palms.

"Yata no Kagami."

The light in his palms bloomed fully.

Countless flashes of light shot out in all directions, like the sun illuminating the earth!

Those fragments of stone were completely pulverized by the even more numerous flashes, reduced to fine dust that scattered across the heavens and earth!

When Huang Yuan broke through this strike and looked toward Luo En, he found that he had already vanished.

Even with Observation Haki deployed, he could not find any trace of him.

Landing on the ground, Huang Yuan stood to the side in front of the bear, hands stuffed into his pockets, gazing at the abyss ahead and curling his lip:

"So he took the chance just now and escaped, did he…"

…………

Ten thousand meters above the ground.

The Voyager was heading toward the Sabaody Archipelago.

Luo En lay sprawled on the deck, gasping for breath.

"That yellow monkey really can fight…"

139. Farewell to Lei Li, Xia Qi's Soul Question

Although the subsequent battle was not broadcast live, when the news that Luo En had successfully escaped from Huang Yuan and the others spread, it still set the entire sea abuzz.

"To escape in that kind of situation… how astonishing!"

"Traveler Luo En! The legend of the new era continues!"

"But his companions should have all…"

"They might be dead—that's the Warlord of the Sea, Tyrant Bear, after all. Brutal and cold-blooded."

"If that's the case, what will Traveler Luo En do next? Will he take revenge on the Marines and Tyrant Bear for killing his companions?"

"Could he possibly create another earth-shaking incident?"

"Compared to this guy, those newly emerged Supernovas really don't measure up at all."

"That's right."

……

That same day.

The 'Big News' published its latest newspaper, and the front page featured a photo of Luo En holding his black blade, surrounded by Huang Yuan, the Bear, and Vice Admiral Dauberman.

The youth in the photo had cold, sharp eyes, black hair flying, and not a trace of fear in his brow—domineering and aloof.

The main headline: 【After Six Months, the Traveler of the Empty Calamity Reappears on the Grand Line! The Marines' Countermeasure!】

Two sub-headlines: 【The Female Swordsman Who Defeated a Vice Admiral! The Terrifyingly Powerful Tyrant Bear! A Great Crisis for the Traveler of the Empty Calamity!】

【Traveler Luo En Faces Marine Admiral Huang Yuan and One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Bartholomew Kuma, Alone—and Successfully Escapes!】

Behind it were some photos of Drum Island after the great battle, and those scenes of the aftermath left many people unable to stop themselves from gasping in astonishment.

It was hard to imagine this had been caused by a battle between just a few people…

As the sea was thrown into an uproar.

Marine Headquarters.

Sengoku furiously gave Huang Yuan a harsh scolding.

He was equally furious that the Bear had sent Kuina and the others flying instead of capturing them.

But since things had already happened, there was nothing to be done.

They could only look for another chance next time.

Although the mission had failed, Huang Yuan hadn't come away empty-handed this time either—gaining intelligence on Luo En's abilities and strength, as well as his awakening of Conqueror's Haki, was no small gain for the Marines.

The live broadcast of this battle stirred up a great storm among ordinary people and pirates alike.

But in the eyes of true powerhouses, it amounted to nothing.

……

The New World, aboard the Moby Dick.

"If you can't even handle one Yellow Monkey and can only run away, then the whole 'Fifth Emperor' thing really is a pipe dream."

Whitebeard said, hooked up to an IV on one side and drinking sake on the other.

Hearing his words, the other commanders nearby all wore wry, helpless expressions.

Borsalino isn't strong... that's only from your perspective, Pops!

Marine Headquarters Admiral Borsalino, a Logia Glint-Glint Fruit user—his strength is absolutely at the pinnacle of the sea. Anyone who can trade blows with him and successfully escape is already seriously strong, okay?

"Pops, although this guy called Luo En isn't quite at the top tier in raw strength right now."

Ma Erke, wearing glasses, looked at the newspaper and said in a low voice: "The fact that the Marines and Sengoku take him so seriously and are so wary of him isn't just because of his strength—it's mainly because of his terrifying potential. The guy is only seventeen this year."

"Mm…"

Whitebeard opened his eyes, thought for a moment, looked at Ma Erke and said: "Come to think of it, it's been a long time since we've had any decent young bloods on our ship, hasn't it."

Ma Erke was briefly stunned.

Indeed.

Right now, the main commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates were all thirty-five and up—there weren't any impressive young bloods.

"But Pops... what does that have to do with what we're talking about right now?"

"Gurararara! Indeed, nothing at all."

Whitebeard took a swig of sake and laughed heartily: "I just think it's time we picked up some young sons! Gurararara."

"When the old era passes, the new era begins!"

……

More than ten days later.

On Sabaody Archipelago.

Having arrived here, Luo En met up with Xia Qi, Rayleigh, and Kuina and the others, safe and sound, at Xia Qi's Rip-Off Bar.

According to Luo Bin, it was Kuma who told her to bring Kuina and the others here to wait for Luo En.

That day.

Xia Qi closed the bar's doors and suspended business.

"In just three years, you've already been able to trade blows with that Borsalino. The speed of your growth in strength is truly astonishing."

Rayleigh said with a smile to Luo En.

Luo En, however, shook his head: "I was just getting beaten up. My speed, my strength, my ability—none of it worked on him."