Luo Chen didn't hide it either. After all, the crew would come into contact with Haki after entering the Grand Line.
He smiled. "This is an ability called Armament Haki."
As he spoke, Luo Chen raised his right hand, and a thin film of black slowly covered his arm.
"With this, you can hit elementalized ability users."
Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji looked on in amazement.
Nami, Carina, and Usopp also leaned their heads in to observe.
Armament Haki?
What a foreign term.
Luo Chen explained, "In the Grand Line, especially in the New World in the second half, basically everyone with any combat ability can use Armament Haki."
Carina said in astonishment, "The New World? The sea dominated by the Four Emperors? So there's such a power."
Even though they were far away in the East Blue, everyone had heard of the New World and the Four Emperors. The New World could be said to be the territory of the Four Emperors. As for the Four Emperors themselves, they were known as one of the Three Great Powers of the Grand Line, alongside Marine Headquarters and the Seven Warlords of the Sea. They were all powerful forces and individuals standing at the pinnacle of the world.
Luffy asked, puzzled, "The Four Emperors? What's that?"
Carina rolled her eyes at him and said concisely, "The Four Emperors are the four most powerful pirate crews in the New World. Among all the great pirates, they are the closest to becoming the Pirate King."
Luffy's eyes suddenly lit up. "The Pirate King? Then to become the Pirate King, do I have to become one of the Four Emperors first?"
Carina sighed. "You could say that. But the Four Emperors... even for you, Luffy, it will probably be a very long time before you can face them."
Sanji said in a low voice, "I heard that each of the Four Emperors can destroy an entire island."
Luffy's eyes widened in shock. "Destroy an island?!"
Right now, he still had some trouble even destroying a Marine warship, let alone an island.
Were the Four Emperors that powerful?
Luffy smiled. "I will definitely become one of the Four Emperors, and then become the King of the Pirates!"
Zoro smiled. "Although it's still a long way off, I will also become the world's greatest swordsman. I imagine there's not much of a gap between that and the Four Emperors."
Carina and Usopp looked at each other and sighed. "Your goals are really lofty."
The Four Emperors, the world's greatest swordsman... those were existences they wouldn't even dare to dream of.
Seeing Luffy and the others so excited, Luo Chen smiled.
"If you want to learn Armament Haki, I can teach you. Just consider it payment for the ride."
Armament Haki wasn't something particularly precious. It was fine to teach it. Besides, it wouldn't be easy for Luffy and the others to learn it. After all, their strength was still a long way from where it was in the original story when they learned Haki. Whether they could learn it was still an unknown.
Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji looked delighted.
Luffy laughed. "Luo Chen, you're a really good guy! I want to learn!"
Luo Chen smiled and nodded.
Just then, a small boat approached from the direction of Loguetown.
Luo Chen created a wooden bridge, walked onto the small boat, and met with the middle-aged Wood Clone.
"Main body, here's five hundred million Berries. I'll be keeping the remaining one billion," the middle-aged Wood Clone, now with a potbelly and a kind smile, said with the air of a successful businessman.
Luo Chen nodded, took the five hundred million Berries, and instructed, "I'll leave that one billion Berries to you to establish an intelligence network. We can make money by selling information."
"Also, take care of Nojiko in Loguetown for me."
The middle-aged man smiled. "Don't worry. The first thing I do when I make money, I'll deposit it for you."
Luo Chen smiled and returned to the Going Merry.
"Let's go. We can head to the Grand Line now."
Nami cheerfully carried the money into the ship's cabin. The money from Arlong had all been distributed to the villagers. Five hundred million Berries was a huge sum that even she had never seen before.
Carina's face was full of envy.
...
In a dark alley near the execution platform in Loguetown, the faint sound of a conversation could be heard.
"That Luo Chen is so strong. How did he end up with the Straw Hat crew?" a pleasant female voice said.
"I don't know, but with Straw Hat Luffy's naive personality, it's highly unlikely they're on the same path," a man's voice said in a low tone.
"Let's go. We'll head to the Grand Line too. Next time, we'll definitely get our revenge on Straw Hat Luffy."
With that, the man was the first to walk out of the alley.
The sunlight illuminated the face under the cloak's hood.
The man had a thin face, wore a black suit and glasses. It was none other than the pirate "Kuro of a Hundred Plans."
The beautiful woman who followed closely behind, dressed in a fiery outfit, was the pirate Alvida, who had eaten the Slip-Slip Fruit.
Their plan for revenge against Luffy had been ruined by a gust of wind and Luo Chen.
Before leaving, the two of them glanced at the large tree in the center of the execution platform square.
Numerous Marines were gathered there, seemingly trying to find a way to destroy the tree and free Smoker and the others. However, the tree branches were exceptionally tough. After working for a long time, they still hadn't succeeded.
"This bunch of useless Marines," Kuro's eyes behind his glasses glinted coldly.
Smoker, who was hanging in mid-air, seemed to sense something. He glanced in the direction Kuro had left but only saw a retreating back.
Smoker turned his attention back and said, "Stop trying to cut the tree. It's not something you can destroy. Give me the Den Den Mushi for Vice Admiral Onigumo."
On the ground, a Marine quickly handed over the connected Den Den Mushi.
"Smoker, this is Onigumo."
"Vice Admiral Onigumo," Smoker greeted.
"You haven't found Luo Chen in Loguetown, have you?" Onigumo's voice came through.
Smoker raised an eyebrow and looked at the Marine soldier who had handed him the Den Den Mushi.
The soldier looked troubled and whispered, "Captain, we haven't dared to tell Vice Admiral Onigumo yet."
Smoker sighed. "Luo Chen has already been to Loguetown. Rear Admiral Marcus was killed in action. The rest of the Marines in Loguetown and I have been tied up by Luo Chen's trees and have not yet escaped."
The other end of the Den Den Mushi suddenly went silent.
Smoker braced himself and continued, "Luo Chen has already left Loguetown with the Straw Hat Pirates. The Marine base in Loguetown was also destroyed by him."
"..." The other end was still silent.
But Smoker could clearly hear Onigumo's heavy breathing, like that of a beast about to fly into a rage.
"Smoker, when did all this happen!" Onigumo's furious voice rang out.
Smoker replied truthfully, "An hour ago. Luo Chen has mastered Armament Haki and a suspected teleportation ability. Neither I nor Rear Admiral Marcus was his match."
"Enough!" Onigumo's roaring voice came through, accompanied by a loud crash. It was unknown what he had smashed.
Smoker was silent.
A long time later, Onigumo's slightly calmer voice came through, but it had become hoarse, as if his throat was blocked.
His voice was icy and full of killing intent. "Luo Chen has entered the Grand Line now, right?"
"He should have. The direction he and the Straw Hat Pirates left in was toward Reverse Mountain, the entrance to the Grand Line," Smoker replied.
"Good. That's all from you," Onigumo clearly intended to hang up.
Smoker hesitated for a moment and said, "Vice Admiral Onigumo, could you dispatch a Rear Admiral to help us cut down the trees Luo Chen created?"
Onigumo's furious voice, accompanied by the sound of a cup shattering, came through:
"Smoker, I think you've been beaten stupid! What about your elementalization?!"
Smoker froze. He looked at the Seastone Cuffs on his wrist and silently hung up the Den Den Mushi.
He looked at the strange expressions on the faces of the surrounding Marine soldiers, a barely perceptible blush on his face. He said angrily, "Hurry up and cut this damn tree! Get these Seastone Cuffs off me!"
Smoker suspected that he really had been driven mad by Luo Chen. He had actually forgotten to have someone take off the Seastone Cuffs and then use his elementalization to escape.
Mainly, the result of today's battle was difficult for Smoker to accept. He was still vexed, replaying the process of his defeat in his mind.
A moment later, Smoker used his elementalization to break free from the tree branches.
He personally took a large sword and began to cut the tree for Tashigi and the other Marine soldiers.
"Tashigi, when we get back, pack your bags. You're coming with me into the Grand Line to hunt down Luo Chen," Smoker said in a low voice.
Tashigi pursed her lips. "Captain Smoker, we are no match for him... Even Rear Admiral Marcus was killed."
The strength Marcus had displayed earlier had left Tashigi completely shocked. But even such a powerful Marine had been killed by Luo Chen.
Smoker blew out a ring of smoke. "Next time, I will be mindful of his Armament Haki. There will be a chance to catch him."
Seeing his confidence, Tashigi took a deep breath and nodded emphatically.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]