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Chapter 12: Mastering Rokushiki! Astonishing Talent
The moment he saw Tree Demon Lotte,
Garp immediately shifted his target to the youth.
After all, no matter how strong this kid was, he was still just a brat who had recently grasped Haki—taking him down would be effortless.
Garp glanced at the wooden figure.
Sure enough, behind it stood the youth Lotte, exactly as described in the intelligence.
"Hmph! Let's start by dealing with you!"
Garp sneered coldly.
With a powerful stomp,
He exploded forward using Soru from Rokushiki, arriving right in front of Lotte in an instant.
Just as he was about to unleash a punch,
The wooden figure followed like a shadow, stepping in front of the youth
And blocking his attack.
After a brief exchange of several blows, Garp's heart secretly jolted in surprise.
Though he hadn't gone all out,
The wooden figure's speed and power
Were actually keeping up with his punches.
It was even adapting to his moves at a visible rate.
Tsuru and Sengoku, who had caught up to Garp, saw this and their pupils contracted sharply, faces filled with disbelief.
They were well aware of Tree Demon's file.
As one of the pirate geniuses who should be "taken care of" with priority,
For a mere wooden clone to stall Garp's advance—even if it still appeared at a massive disadvantage—was already unbelievable.
They knew Garp's talent better than anyone!
Even in the talent-stacked Marine Headquarters,
Garp's raw potential ranked among the absolute best!
Especially in combat talent,
No one in Marine Headquarters could truly compare to Garp.
Yet even this Garp was being held back by a rookie pirate kid fresh out of the gate—
How could they not be shocked?!
Lotte was very clear on Garp's strength. From the start of the clash, he had no intention of defeating him.
After all, the current Garp—in pure hard power—
Was leagues above him, whose three-color Haki had only just reached proficiency!
The only reason he could stall Garp
Was the unique properties of the wooden clone created by Hashirama Cells.
Otherwise, it would have been destroyed long ago.
Thinking this,
Lotte silently opened his current attribute panel.
[Name: Lotte] [Age: 17] [Bloodline Ability: Hashirama Cells (Current Mastery: 28%)] [Skills: Wood Release (Current Power Limit: B+ rank), Three-Color Haki (Proficient), Flying Slash Swordsmanship (Beginner)] [Inventory: None] [Combat Power: 3500~4000] [Overall Evaluation: Host's strength has officially entered Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral level. Within the entire Rocks Pirates, he ranks just below cadre level. Relying on Wood Release's unique properties, he can engage Vice Admiral-level enemies.] [Special Remark: Reinvigorating pirate glory—our generation must rise to the task!]
Lotte glanced at his current stats.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
Reinvigorating pirate glory? He had almost been beaten to death by Garp just now.
To create a wooden clone capable of withstanding Garp's attacks,
He had basically abandoned using other Wood Release techniques.
He focused entirely on controlling this one clone to match Garp's speed.
But while clashing with Garp,
He was also learning the Marines' signature technique—Rokushiki. With his top-tier talent, plus some real combat exposure, mastering Rokushiki wasn't impossible.
"Hmph! Let's see how many more punches your wooden puppet can take!"
"This battle's outcome was decided from the start!"
Garp sneered coldly.
He had already seen through Tree Demon Lotte—the kid was using everything he had just to stall him.
The wooden figure's durability wasn't bad,
But thinking it could pin him here forever? That was underestimating him far too much!
"Hah!"
With a furious shout from Garp,
Advanced Armament Haki coated his fist. Carrying earth-shaking force, the punch roared toward the wooden figure!
Bang!
The wooden figure's legs stomped the ground more than ten times in an instant,
Using the reactive force to generate explosive speed—its figure vanished.
In the blink of an eye, it retreated several meters away.
The punch struck nothing but air!
When Garp witnessed this, his pupils contracted sharply.
This move—he could never mistake it!
Soru from Rokushiki!
"You bastard—where the hell did you learn Rokushiki?!"
Garp jerked his head up toward Lotte,
Clenching his fist and roaring.
Rokushiki was one of Marine Headquarters' signature techniques.
How could it be stolen so easily?!
"Just learned it."
"You basically taught me yourself."
Lotte looked at Garp with a slightly playful smile.
Hearing Lotte's words, Garp froze for a moment.
Taught him himself?
When had he ever taught this kid Rokushiki?
Unless... the brat had learned it on his own during their brief clash.
But how was that possible?!
Rokushiki was a trademark Marine technique.
Without sufficient talent, no one could even begin to learn it!
Let alone master one of its techniques—Soru—in such a short time
And apply it in actual combat!
Just how monstrous was this kid's martial talent?!
At this moment,
Steel Bone Kong—currently locked in fierce combat with Rocks—had an extremely ugly expression.
Though he was engaged in intense battle with Rocks, his powerful Observation Haki clearly captured everything happening between Garp and Tree Demon Lotte.
He never imagined
Tree Demon Lotte's talent could be this terrifying!
Not only in Haki, but especially in combat ability.
While Soru was the simplest of Rokushiki techniques,
It wasn't something one could grasp in moments!
If they let Tree Demon Lotte escape now, once he grew,
He would undoubtedly become a massive headache for Marine Headquarters!
A smile also curled on Rocks' lips.
He hadn't expected Lotte's talent to exceed even his expectations.
He had even casually stolen Rokushiki.
Give the kid a little more time,
And a cadre position would be his for the taking.
Rocks burst into loud laughter.
"Puhahahaha! Even Rokushiki got stolen right under their noses!"
"How embarrassing!"
"With trash like you lot thinking you can take on me—Rocks—you're making me laugh my ass off!"
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