On the great sandy desert, countless gazes converged, all falling upon Luo Chen.
In mid-air, there was Crocodile and the captured Vivi on the sand platform.
Beside Nami were Robin, Carina, Chopper, and Usopp.
Surrounding Luo Chen and Nami were dozens of Marines.
And in the distance, Ace was in a fierce battle with four Marine Vice Admirals.
Robin's beautiful eyes were filled with astonishment. She thought, 'He actually dared to come. And he sent the Marine Vice Admiral Onigumo flying...'
Usopp's eyes were now as wide as saucers. He quickly wiped away the snot and tears of fear and hugged Chopper, cheering with joy.
"Wow! Reinforcements are here! Chopper, we're saved!"
Chopper's eyes were rolling back in his head from being shaken up and down.
Carina's body visibly relaxed. She let out a long sigh of relief, a smile appearing on her small, delicate face.
Luo Chen's powerful display was incredibly reassuring.
Holding his own against a Marine Vice Admiral was like a shot of adrenaline to Carina's heart.
In the air, Crocodile's gaze was deep as he stared intently at Luo Chen.
A glimmer of light was rekindled in Vivi's wide eyes.
Among the dozens of Marines, some were nervous, some were grave, some were angry...
Smoker, clenching a cigar, said in a low voice, "He really came. And his strength seems even greater than before."
Hina's beautiful face was filled with solemnity. "Terrifyingly strong. Vice Admiral Onigumo was actually at a slight disadvantage. Smoker, your previous defeat was understandable."
These Marines were all elites at or above the rank of Headquarters Captain. They could naturally see the extraordinary strength Luo Chen had just displayed.
"To prevent any interference, I'll deal with you all first."
Luo Chen's gaze fell upon the dozens of Marine officers surrounding him.
Onigumo had just gotten to his feet in the distance, his face contorted in pain, not yet recovered from that last kick.
And in the air, a menacing Crocodile was watching, holding the terrain advantage.
A massive battle was bound to break out.
Luo Chen had to deal with Smoker's group first to prevent them from attacking Nami and interfering with him.
Sensing his intention, the Marines all tensed up, assuming a battle stance.
"Wood Style: Wood Dragon Technique."
"Wood Style: Wood Golem Technique."
Luo Chen called out in his mind.
The great sandy desert rose up as if it were a surging sea.
A hundred-meter-long green Wood Dragon, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws, burst from the sand and flew out. It soared through the air, then dived down to attack.
As the many Marines' faces changed, a giant Wood Golem, with the force to overturn the desert, emerged from the ground.
The Wood Golem was a hundred meters tall. Its massive form blocked out the sun, casting a shadow that covered the many Marines.
The sudden dimming of the light was like the despair spreading in the hearts of the Marines.
"Are you kidding me? He can summon something this terrifying so easily?!"
A Marine cried out in terror.
It would be one thing if it were just ordinary wood.
But the aura emanating from the Wood Dragon and Wood Golem was incredibly terrifying, even stronger than some Marine Vice Admirals.
"Attack together! It might just be for show!" a burly Rear Admiral roared, his body taking on a steely sheen. "I'll use Iron Body to withstand the attack! You guys destroy it!"
As soon as his voice fell, the Wood Golem's giant foot came stomping down.
The Rear Admiral braced himself and used Iron Body, one of the Six Powers, to block it head-on.
With a soft splat, like a watermelon being crushed, red and white matter splattered out from under the Golem's giant foot, staining the nearby yellow sand.
The faces of the dozen or so Marine officers who had been charging toward the Wood Golem turned pale.
A Rear Admiral had been stomped to death with one foot.
This Wood Golem was definitely not a paper tiger. It truly possessed power comparable to a strong Vice Admiral.
On the other side, the hundred-meter Wood Dragon's giant tail swept across. Six or seven Marines screamed as they were thrown into the sky, their blood raining down on the desert.
"Everyone, be careful! The strength of the Wood Dragon and Wood Golem is no less than that of a Vice Admiral!"
Smoker, his body turned to smoke, was managing to hold his own thanks to his Logia advantage. He reminded everyone in a grave tone.
He stared at Luo Chen, his eyes filled with disbelief.
'How has this person's strength improved so quickly?!'
In Loguetown, he had only been able to barely defeat Rear Admiral Marcus.
Only about ten days had passed, and now his summons alone were a match for an average Marine Vice Admiral.
Luo Chen's own strength must be even greater.
Hina, nearby, barely dodged a tail swipe from the Wood Dragon, cold sweat dripping from her smooth forehead.
"Smoker, for you to have survived an encounter with Luo Chen that day, Hina is impressed."
Smoker gritted his teeth and cursed, "He clearly wasn't this strong before! This monster!"
In a short time, more than half of the dozens of Marine officers had been lost.
On the open seas, these men could have taken down a pirate with a bounty of around one hundred million. But at this moment, they were like weeds in a field, quickly and seriously injured, losing their ability to fight, some even dying.
Luo Chen felt no pity for this.
Since they had come to kill him, they should be prepared to die.
What's more, he needed to neutralize these officers in the first place, so his attacks were naturally not light.
If the enemy still had any combat power, they could pose a threat to Nami later and thus affect his own battle.
In a life-or-death struggle, Luo Chen could not hold back.
"Stop!" In the distance, Onigumo roared and charged over again.
He looked up at the sky and shouted, "Crocodile, help the Marines deal with this person!"
"Hm?" Crocodile raised an eyebrow.
He didn't like dealing with the Marines.
But Luo Chen was clearly with Nico Robin and the Straw Hat kid. It might be better to join forces with Onigumo and kill this person to avoid any complications.
Crocodile made his decision, but he did not rashly land to fight Luo Chen in close combat. Instead, he planned to assist Onigumo from a distance. After all, from what he had seen, Luo Chen was not weak. And he didn't know this person. It was necessary to observe him from a distance first.
"Desert Spada!"
"Life Return!"
Crocodile swung out a giant sand blade from mid-air.
Onigumo, meanwhile, skillfully used Life Return. His long hair condensed into six spider-leg-like appendages, each holding a longsword.
Combined with the two swords in his hands, he had a total of eight blades.
On a treetop not far away, Sanji lit a cigarette and joked, "Hey, moss head, is that Vice Admiral your master? The Eight-Sword Style."
Zoro's face darkened.
He grabbed Luffy, who was about to charge into the battlefield, and frowned.
"Don't be reckless. We're not strong enough to participate in this fight right now."
Seeing Luffy's unwillingness, Sanji also said, "That bastard Crocodile is even stronger in the desert. It's completely his home turf."
"And the Marine Vice Admiral might be even stronger than Crocodile. He's also not someone we can deal with."
"We can only leave it to Luo Chen."
Luffy punched the treetop in frustration and said dejectedly, "I had discovered Crocodile's weakness before. That bastard is afraid of water, but we were being chased by the Marines and didn't have time to prepare."
His expression was unusually resolute. "I have to learn Armament Haki as soon as possible to counter Logia users."
Zoro and Sanji nodded silently.
It was true.
First Smoker, then Crocodile.
In the future, they would probably encounter more Logia-type enemies. They had to master Armament Haki as soon as possible.
...
Meanwhile, Luo Chen, facing the combined attack of Crocodile and Onigumo, did not dare to be the least bit careless.
He threw Nami toward Robin, Carina, and the others.
"Help me look after Nami. I'll get you all out of here today."
Robin caught Nami, her beautiful eyes fixed on Luo Chen's back. She said nothing.
Nami, Carina, and the others looked worried, but at this moment, they didn't dare to speak, for fear of distracting Luo Chen.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]