Chapter 128: Fierce Close Combat
"Hmm! So we're finally getting into a real fight, huh?"
Seeing all the surrounding psychic vortexes vanish one by one, Roger paused for a moment. Then, noticing Luo Han's transformation, excitement began to stir within him.
After all, the earlier fight had been anything but satisfying—it felt like fighting air. All he'd done was knock away or dodge incoming golden spears. There had been no real interaction between fighters, making for an incredibly dull combat experience.
"So this is the new form Brother Kong mentioned? Doesn't look that special."
Watching Luo Han's current appearance, Garp recalled Kong's warning to be cautious. But to him, it didn't seem particularly intimidating—just a few extra arms and tails.
"Come to think of it, I've never really done much close combat. This time, I plan to enjoy every fist-to-flesh hit."
Luo Han smiled at the two, crack crack—he twisted his neck. His psychic armor mode resembled what he had used in the fight against Kong, only now his tail had transformed into nine separate appendages.
"Here I come!"
With a low shout, Luo Han shot toward Garp and Roger.
"Bring it on...!"
Garp and Roger responded in unison, and after a brief silence, they charged Luo Han together.
The moment the three clashed, Luo Han swung his right arm and, with the help of his psychic limbs, unleashed a three-punch combo at Garp.
Garp quickly retaliated with three punches of his own, hoping to deflect the incoming blows. Unfortunately—
Bang! A loud impact rang out, followed by a metallic grinding sound.
"What power!"
Garp felt an immense pressure bearing down on his fists. In that instant, he didn't have time to pull back and strike again—he had to hold his ground and endure the force.
"Not good!"
Only then did Garp understand why Kong had warned him. While their fists were locked, Luo Han's other two psychic arms came swinging—one toward Garp's left cheek, the other toward his ribs.
"This time, I won't give you any room to retreat like I did with Kong!"
Luo Han growled as he punched. Boom boom! Two heavy blows landed, sending Garp flying into the sea once more. The ocean surface exploded like it had been struck by a meteor, sending up a massive hundred-meter-tall splash.
Garp had now been punched into the sea by Luo Han several times already.
All of this happened in just an instant.
Using the momentum from his punch, Luo Han twisted his body left. Behind him, his nine psychic tails transformed into blades and swept toward Roger, who had followed closely behind Garp.
In terms of Moonwalk skill, Garp was better, so Roger arrived just a moment later.
Clang! Zzz zzz zzz!
Roger gripped his sword with both hands and swung vertically, blocking the nine blade-like tails. Black lightning crackled from the impact, and the shockwave split both the sea and sky beneath them.
"What power!"
Roger grunted as his arms bulged with strain, feeling the same overwhelming force Garp had felt.
"It can get stronger!" Luo Han roared, concentrating his physical strength into his tails and swinging harder.
Boom! In the end, Roger met the same fate. Whoosh! Another massive splash erupted on the ocean surface.
"So this is the strength I now possess..."
Luo Han silently marveled. By now, his body's raw strength and talent were among the highest. He had perfectly integrated the immense power of giant Sea Kings and Big Mom's natural iron-ball-like defense into his physique.
That was what gave him the ability to go head-to-head with Garp and Roger and knock them away with sheer force. If psychic power could infuse Haki, those punches would've drawn blood from Garp.
Splash splash! Garp and Roger simultaneously leapt from the sea and returned to the sky using Moonwalk.
"What an annoying ability."
Garp rubbed his cheek and ribcage, feeling the sting. It wasn't too bad otherwise. The strange ability combined with that absurd strength made it hard to defend and counter at the same time—a bit troublesome.
"So this is your true strength? I bet your physical body is incredibly powerful!"
"And why don't you use Haki? Is it because your Devil Fruit ability can't coexist with it?"
Roger's speculation was pretty accurate when it came to Luo Han's abilities.
"Haha! That's just how my fruit works. Nothing I can do about it!"
Luo Han laughed, not bothering to explain much. But he disagreed with the idea that fruit abilities and Haki couldn't coexist. It was just psychic energy that couldn't—yet. Maybe one day it would.
"Come on! Let's keep going!"
With that, Luo Han charged again toward Garp and Roger. Strangely, those two always seemed to end up fighting him side by side.
"Let's go, Garp."
This time, they didn't speak in unison. Roger said it first, and Garp didn't respond—he just dashed forward. Roger smiled and followed.
Bang! Clang! Clang!
In an instant, the fight resumed. This time, no one got knocked away. It had to be said—these were men blessed by the world, destined to defeat Rocks. Their ability to adapt to battle was undeniable. Though they struggled with Luo Han's overwhelming strength at first, they quickly learned to deflect and redirect, minimizing his advantage.
For a while, the three figures flickered across the sky, trading speed for speed. Each clash sent shockwaves through the air, stirring waves even fiercer than before.
Boom! Zzz zzz zzz!
Luo Han's punch collided with Garp midair. Before he could use his other psychic limbs to strike, his tails whipped around—clang!—and blocked Roger's incoming sword.
Boom! All three burst out with Conqueror's Haki at once. The sky dimmed as dark clouds began to gather overhead.
Bang! Luo Han spun, using his fists and tails to redirect both Garp and Roger's attacks, then backed off.
The three formed a triangle again, eyeing each other. It was clear none of them were easy to deal with.
"Good. I've recorded the thick, heavy aura from Roger's slashing waves."
Luo Han smiled slightly. In his spiritual sense, a new earthen-yellow flame aura had appeared—an aura he'd been tracking since the start of yesterday's battle. Because this was an attack-based aura, unlike those from innate talents or physiques, it took more time to record spiritually. But now it was finally complete.
With that, Luo Han had finished his tests in this unique area of aura manipulation.
"Next, I need to see whether psychic armament can incorporate powers outside my own."
This was something Luo Han had always wanted to test!
If his physical strength could be spiritually guided and integrated with psychic power to enhance defense and offense, then theoretically, external forces striking his psychic armor could be absorbed too.
"The key is to find the proper point of fusion. After all, it's the spiritual sense that provides the integration channel. If it can interface with outside forces, the merge should be possible."
"So now, I just need to carefully sense that fusion point during battle."
With these thoughts clear in his mind, Luo Han once again charged toward Garp and Roger. The battle reignited.
(END CHAPTER)
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