Chapter 105: The Secret of the Steel Balloon
Four days before Luo Han returned to Ring Tree Island, at noon — the sun blazing high — in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise.
The Five Elders had just returned from meeting Imu. Inside the vast hall, each of the five sat in their respective chairs. On the table in front of them lay a bounty poster pinned down with swords, along with two photos of Luo Han and Cole arriving at Hachinosu Island.
The room was silent, the five faces grim. They had been sitting like this for over fifteen minutes.
"It's still hard to believe — the two of you acted personally, and yet those criminals managed to escape!"
At last, the elder with the cane broke the silence.
"When we arrived, the island was already completely deserted."
"None of their daily belongings had been taken. It must have been a special Devil Fruit ability that evacuated them," the sword-wielding elder added, his eyes flashing sharply as he voiced his suspicion.
"We'll leave it at that for now. Let CP0 continue monitoring those two brats. Eventually, we'll find them.
Now, let's proceed with the plan. It's time to deal with Rocks once and for all!" said the elder with the long white beard, rising to his feet.
The five exchanged looks, then stepped forward to the table, staring at the bounty poster for Rocks, and spoke in unison:
"Then let it begin!"
…
Under a bright blue sky dotted with white clouds, two pirate ships drifted over the gently rippling sea.
It was Luo Han's crew. Thanks to Spoon-jie, they hadn't brought along the usual small fry this time, so the ship was unusually quiet.
Only Tucker's Green Fork Pirates followed behind.
So at the moment, the ship had only six people: Luo Han, Spoon-jie, Cole, the two supermodels Aishi and Sora, and — as of yesterday — Amatsuki Toki.
Right now, the ship echoed with heated debate. The two beautiful women — one with long hair, the other short — were arguing fiercely, neither backing down.
Luo Han and Cole were off to the side munching snacks, watching the drama unfold. Aishi and Sora stood to the side too, arms crossed, coldly observing Toki.
As the argument intensified, Toki realized she was outnumbered and decided to pull in the ship's captain for help.
"Well? Are we going to find the lanternfish first or go to Wano?" The two women now turned their gazes on Luo Han, bearing down on him with equal intensity.
"I… Can't we just look for both at the same time?" Caught off guard by their sudden questioning, Luo Han hesitated and countered weakly.
"Hmph!" Both women snorted in unison, then turned and walked to opposite ends of the deck, dropping the issue — for now.
"Cole, tell Tucker and the others to prepare some food. I'll be at the bow training — I'll eat afterward."
"Got it!"
Cole flew over to Tucker's ship.
Luo Han sat cross-legged on the bow deck, beginning the process of guiding his body to evolve toward the dazzling aura recorded in his mental sense.
He immersed his awareness into his physical body, focusing on that specific aura — one that leaned heavily toward defense.
Truth be told, ever since recording the innate aura of that massive serpentine Sea King, Luo Han hadn't encountered another body worth copying. Until, of course, he met Charlotte Linlin.
During their brief clash, he had sensed her overwhelmingly powerful physical defense and seized the opportunity to record it.
"Let's see what the so-called 'steel balloon' body is really like."
Luo Han felt a rush of anticipation and fully committed himself to guiding the transformation. With a clear mind and deep focus, a process that would normally take ages could be accelerated — even to the point of instantly matching Charlotte Linlin's physique.
"This must be because my body is already strong enough."
When he first began evolving his body toward the Sea King's attributes, it had taken nearly a year to complete. Countless battles followed, gradually strengthening his form.
Now, feeling his body rapidly changing, Luo Han estimated that he would complete the transformation tonight. Once done, he would have peak-level strength, defense, and speed — the only things left would be mastering Haki and developing his Devil Fruit abilities.
"Big Sis, is that how Lord Luo Han usually trains?" Sora asked, pointing at him in meditation.
"Really? That works?" Aishi looked doubtful.
Only Spoon-jie showed admiration. Watching Luo Han quietly seated, she recalled how, after meditating like that one morning, he had gone on to defeat everyone in the Roger Pirates — except Roger himself — and even Garp and the others had failed to stop him. After that, Rocks had given him his own crew to lead.
"You didn't see how he trained before. That's exactly how he grows stronger — and it's terrifying. After this boost, I don't think even Whitebeard or Garp can hurt him."
"So strong!" Aishi and Sora were equally stunned. They never imagined such terrifying strength was hidden within that modest-looking frame.
…
Night soon arrived.
Tucker's ship now sailed alongside Luo Han's. Wooden planks had been set up between the two, and everyone was busy passing food back and forth.
"Come on, bring more meat!"
"Pile it all around Boss Luo Han — he needs to taste our love the moment he wakes up!"
"Got it, you morons?"
"Haha! Aye, Captain!"
Tucker shouted orders while his crew laughed and responded eagerly.
Clatter! Clatter! Food was laid out all around Luo Han, just waiting for him to wake and dig in.
Meanwhile, Luo Han's body evolution was nearing completion. Through his mental perception, he finally understood what the "steel balloon" body really was.
"It's not that the body literally becomes a steel balloon. Instead, the cells evolve to generate a unique force field. When the user's consciousness is fully unified, all these cell-level fields combine into one cohesive defensive field. Then, by coordinating every ounce of bodily strength — voilà, the steel balloon is born."
"The stronger your body is to begin with, the more terrifying the defense once this special force field appears."
"But there's a weakness. If your consciousness loses focus, or you fall into chaos, the force field becomes unstable — and your defense plummets. You could start bleeding from something as simple as a fall."
After this full analysis, Luo Han completed the evolution. His body had reached a new level. There were no dramatic scenes, no fierce battles — just a simple, steady breakthrough.
This was the kind of power-up Luo Han had always dreamed of. A classic "cheat mode."
"Still hurts a bit when I flex… but not as bad as before." He opened his eyes, looking at his outstretched arm and mentally comparing the sensations.
"Han-ge! You're done!" Cole lit up when he saw Luo Han awaken.
"Boss! The meat's ready — and your favorite flatbread too!"
"Yeah! All set!"
…
(END CHAPTER)
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