Branch 157, Training Center
20x Gravity Environment
Inside a relatively small solo training chamber, a lone figure dashed back and forth at blistering speeds.
One after another, phantom afterimages trailed behind him, flickering like ghosts in the air.
Finally, after several minutes of continuous movement, the countless afterimages converged—condensing into a solid figure once more.
"Huff..."
Covered in sweat, Luo Lan exhaled deeply, releasing a long-held breath.
Among the Six Styles, if you asked which technique Luo Lan was least interested in, it would undoubtedly be Shigan (Finger Gun).
But if you asked which one fascinated him the most—it would, without question, be Soru (Shave).
It was also the one he had trained the hardest in, to the point of creating several of his own variations.
One of them, which he had just used, was Soru: Phantom Step—a technique entirely of his own design.
The principle behind Soru is deceptively simple: in 0.36 seconds, use explosive footwork to stomp on the ground dozens of times, generating enough recoil force to achieve high-speed movement.
But exactly how many steps is "dozens"?
In reality, there's a standard.
When first learning Soru, beginners usually manage around 20+ steps in 0.36 seconds—barely enough to activate the technique, but the resulting speed isn't impressive.
Advanced martial artists in the Navy, however, can manage 60 to 70 steps in that same timeframe.
Take Garp, for instance.
So even within the same 0.36 seconds, the actual performance of Soru varies dramatically depending on one's step count.
Luo Lan's Phantom Step demands not just a baseline of 40+ steps—it pushes further, requiring the user to chain multiple Sorus together without pause, each one accelerating further.
Only then can one achieve the kind of blinding afterimage speed he just demonstrated.
The first requirement—40+ steps—is already something only a few elite fighters can manage.
But the second—continuous Soru chains without rest?
That's a whole other level.
Even Garp himself would struggle to do it with ease.
Of course, Luo Lan didn't develop this monstrous technique just for close combat. Rather, it was designed to synchronize with his Gun-Fist style—creating an entirely new form of combat:
Phantom Gun Killing Formation.
Yes. That's the name he gave it.
But this formation still lacked one final piece of the puzzle.
And it was the most critical piece:
The third stage of Armament Haki—Emission.
Without that, the formation, while intricate, lacked true destructive power.
Especially when facing top-tier opponents—even with bullets enhanced several times over by Selas, the overall lethality remained limited.
That's where Armament Haki comes in.
According to Luo Lan's understanding, Armament Haki training is divided into four stages:
1. Coating
2. Extension
3. Emission (Outflow)
4. Internal Destruction
The first stage, Coating, is straightforward: cover a part—or all—of your body with Haki to boost defense and offense.
The second stage, Extension, goes a step further: not only can you coat your own body, but you can also extend the Haki into external objects as long as they remain physically connected to you.
For example, a sword held in hand or clothes worn on the body.
But once you reach the third stage, Emission, things change drastically.
You can now detach Haki from your body, allowing you to project it onto weapons at range, enhancing even thrown attacks.
For sword masters, it gets even crazier.
They can infuse Haki into their flying sword slashes—combining it with ranged sword aura to devastating effect.
And as for the final stage—Internal Destruction—that's where things turn brutal.
Why?
Because no matter how strong one's external defense may be, the internal organs remain fragile.
Once your outer defenses are breached, you're vulnerable—and without internal Haki defense, you're done.
It's not that it can't be defended against—but to do so, you need to master internal Haki defense as well.
At the pinnacle, battles between top-tier fighters are essentially clashes of Haki.
Especially Armament Haki.
Think about the original story—can you name a single top-tier fighter with weak Armament Haki?
Not one!
Unfortunately, Luo Lan had only recently awakened his Haki.
His Armament Haki was still stuck at the first stage—Coating.
Reaching the third stage?
That wouldn't be possible any time soon.
---
After half a day of intense training...
Luo Lan returned to his villa, cleaned up, then headed to the division headquarters to deal with paperwork.
On his office desk sat the latest issue of the World Economic Journal.
He had given strict orders: every new issue must be delivered to his office immediately.
As he flipped through it, he muttered:
"Just as I thought…"
"Morgans chose to lead with this story, huh?"
"Well, it makes sense. The guy just stirred up a storm. No point airing out the World Government's scandals yet. This whole Shanks thing—it's perfect tabloid material."
His eyes landed on the bold headline sprawled across the front page:
[Shocking! Red-Haired Shanks Injured by a Whitebeard Pirate!]
Below the headline were a slew of editorial takes and follow-up pieces, like:
[Shanks Responds: "I Wasn't Caught Off Guard!"]
[A Hidden Monster Within the Whitebeard Crew—Lurking for 20 Years, Why Now?]
[Rumor: Blackbeard's Unique Body Could Make Him the First Dual-Devil Fruit User]
[Whitebeard and Blackbeard—A One-Letter Difference, or Something More...?]
Some of it was true.
Some of it was Morgans' usual mix of truth and dramatic fiction.
Still, the impact was undeniable.
A no-name pirate leaving three scars on Shanks' face—and not because Shanks was careless?
That alone was big news.
Luo Lan leaned back in his chair, holding the paper leisurely.
"Bet things are getting real lively over in the Whitebeard camp…"
---
New World.
Whitebeard Pirates — Main Ship
"What?! There's no way Teach is that strong!"
"I don't buy it. Morgans always starts with one picture and makes up the rest. This time, he didn't even have a picture!"
"Exactly. This could easily be some Navy plot."
"Ugh, will you all shut up?! Why don't we just ask Shanks himself?!"
The division commanders argued heatedly.
Finally, Marco stepped in and quieted the room.
"Pops. What do you think?"
Whitebeard took a swig from his massive sake cup and replied calmly:
"No need to ask. That Red-Haired brat…"
"...he's already here."
Everyone turned their heads.
Far in the distance, a ship approached.
Its sail bore a symbol they all recognized instantly:
The Jolly Roger of the Red-Haired Pirates.
"Jozu, call Thatch."
"Until we confirm what's going on, tell him to keep a close eye on Teach."
"Marco, are we really doing this? What if Teach is innocent?"
"If he is, I'll personally kneel and apologize. But until then... we can't take risks."
"Understood. I'll call him right away."
Jozu nodded and left the deck quietly.
What none of them realized at that moment was…
It was already too late.
---
A/N: Check out my new story in Ko-Fi:
One Piece: I'm Immortal, So I Maxed Out Conqueror's Haki First
https:// ko-fi.com/sami27