Chapter 95: Armored Flesh Mode
High in the sky, Luo Han broke into a cold sweat after ending his meteor barrage in Infinite Firepower Mode.
"Got careless…"
He had overheard Rayleigh and Jabber's conversation—again thanks to his spiritual sense—and it reminded him of something crucial he had almost forgotten.
"My telekinesis barely consumes physical stamina. With attacks like those stone serpents, I could go on for ten days and nights."
"Today I got a little too excited. In the past, my telekinesis wasn't strong enough to threaten powerful enemies—it was more useful for disruption. Now that it can cause damage… I got a bit carried away."
Not good. Luo Han smacked himself in the head, trying to regain some clarity.
"Right now, my survivability has improved, but if I come up against someone with a special Devil Fruit, I'd still be in serious trouble. With the World Government's resources, I should avoid drawing too much attention."
He murmured under his breath, reminding himself: You're not at the show-off stage yet.
He glanced toward Cole, Tucker, and the others. By now, they had pulled far enough away from the island. "They probably can't see any details from here," he muttered.
Then he looked toward the Rocks Pirates around him, and a glint of wariness flashed in his eyes.
"With how closely the World Government monitors Rocks, I bet a bunch of these so-called crew members are spies."
He only realized later how suspicious it was that Garp and the navy always seemed to find Whitebeard and Golden Lion so easily—or how CP0 had ambushed him like they knew exactly where he was going.
"Hard to believe there aren't any moles. But Rocks doesn't seem to care…"
Luo Han tilted his head, dismissing thoughts about Rocks. What mattered now was that those spies must not learn about the true strength of his body.
Bit by bit, he withdrew his telekinetic constructs. The floating stone sphere behind him began crumbling and falling as if he was running out of stamina. It was a bit forced, but it was the best he could do.
"Hm… looks like Luo Han's running out of energy," Sister Shao muttered softly, visibly concerned. She turned to Cole. "Cole, come with me—we're going to back him up."
Cole scratched his head. He wanted to say that Luo Han still had plenty of energy… but then glanced at the others.
"Guess I better not say anything," he thought.
As he hesitated, Sister Shao launched into the air with Moonwalk toward the island.
"I'm coming too!" Cole declared, following right behind.
Under the moonlight, a few seemingly cheerful pirates still on the ship suddenly changed expressions the moment Sister Shao and Cole left.
"He powered up that much in one night? I need to report this." One pulled out a special, sparrow-sized Den Den Mushi and whispered into it.
"That brat's probably at his limit. Using that level of Devil Fruit power for this long is already impressive."
Elsewhere, seeing the stone sphere behind Luo Han collapse, everyone—except Rayleigh and Jabber—assumed he was exhausted. Quiet smiles spread across their faces.
"He's hiding something, isn't he?" Rayleigh whispered, stroking his chin. "But what exactly? His strength? Or something else?"
Thud, thud, thud! With the barrage over, the Roger Pirates regrouped around Rayleigh to prepare their next move. Even without Infinite Firepower, Luo Han's Mind Force Armament was still active—and under the moonlight, that glowing blue figure in the sky made it impossible for anyone to underestimate him.
"Sir Rayleigh, what should we do?" asked the giant fish-man, his left arm still scorched from taking a hit earlier.
"Wait for him to come down. In the air, he has full mobility—we don't. It's harder to move up there, and easier to get hit."
Rayleigh glanced at his comrades—those who had tried to reach Luo Han in the air were all injured. He sighed.
Finally, he said gravely, "There's not much we can do against him right now. We'll see if he has any strength left. If he does…" He looked at the one-armed swordsman with hesitation. "Then we withdraw by tomorrow morning. If Golden Lion shows up, we're in real trouble."
"No need to worry about us, Vice Captain," the swordsman replied coldly. "The pride of a swordsman can only be reclaimed by the sword."
"Then let's see how far this kid can go!" Rayleigh smiled, relaxing a little. They all turned their eyes to Luo Han.
Up in the sky, Luo Han was counting, "1… 2… 3… 4… 60. That should do it."
Grinning, he looked down at Rayleigh and the others.
"Time to activate Super Telekinetic Armament Mode… aka: Armored Flesh Mode!"
With a thought, he fused all his telekinetic energy into himself, forming a glowing blue energy sphere about five meters in diameter, encasing his body.
It resembled Charlotte Linlin's Iron Balloon technique—a defensive style where Luo Han merged physical strength into his telekinesis to focus purely on defense.
Whoosh! He descended in an instant, floating half a meter above the crater in front of Rayleigh's group. Right now, he looked like a giant blue balloon—light and puffy, seemingly harmless.
Tap. Tap. Sister Shao and Cole landed beside him.
"You alright, Luo Han?" Sister Shao asked cautiously, eyeing his new round form.
"I'm fine," Luo Han replied. Then, curiously, "Why are you two here?"
"Well, I thought you might be running out of stamina…" she began, then turned to glare at Cole. "You knew, didn't you?! You didn't say anything and made me worry for nothing!"
Heh… Cole scratched his head and gave an awkward laugh.
On the other side, Rayleigh and the others were itching for a rematch.
"He's coming!" Luo Han said softly. He looked over his shoulder at Rayleigh's group… then vanished.
Rayleigh only saw a blue flash. He instinctively brought his sword up—Clang!—and blocked Luo Han's incoming strike. The impact forced him backward, but he held firm.
During the brief opening, Jabber and the others struck at Luo Han's blue sphere. Ding! Ding! Ding! Their attacks rang out like metal striking steel. The energy sphere rippled with glowing rings but remained intact.
Whoosh! Luo Han blasted through their formation and soared into the air again, hovering above the battlefield—now riddled with craters.
"Beautiful work," he muttered proudly. Then he dove toward Rayleigh and the others again.
…
What followed was a wild brawl between Luo Han, Sister Shao, Cole, and the Roger Pirates.
But in truth, most of the attacks landed on Luo Han's energy shield.
The battlefield rang with a thunderous ding ding ding, like a forge of blacksmiths hammering away. The mighty first mate and elites of the Roger Pirates had become Luo Han's unwilling smiths.
Watching the round, blue iron balloon bounce around like a pinball, Rayleigh and the others seethed.
"Even his defense is this ridiculous?!"
"Rayleigh's full-strength slash could crack it," Jabber admitted, "but Luo Han's Observation Haki is too good. Even when we do break it, he dodges."
"And that shield recovers instantly," Rayleigh added grimly. Looking around at his exhausted crew, he thought to himself…
"It might be time to retreat."
(END CHAPTER)
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