Chapter 58: Iron Fist Bombardment! Haki Breakthrough
Despite the ominous premonition in his heart,
Steel Bone Kong still answered the Den Den Mushi and listened to the Marine's report from the other end.
"Fleet Admiral! It's bad!"
"Tree Demon Lotte and the Earthquake Man Newgate—they attacked the auction together! They stole the auction items and killed Celestial Dragon Saint Rosward!"
"Not only that! Tree Demon Lotte seems to have used some kind of method to make the giant trees all over the island go berserk!"
"A lot of our stationed soldiers are dead!"
Hearing the voice,
Steel Bone Kong's expression instantly darkened.
Sure enough, it was about Tree Demon Lotte and Whitebeard.
But since Admiral White Fox was on the island, together with Garp they should be able to handle the situation.
It was just this berserk forest…
That caught him off guard.
It seemed Tree Demon Lotte's ability wasn't limited to controlling trees he created himself—he could even draw power from the island's natural terrain!
In that case,
The potential of his Devil Fruit was even more terrifying than he had imagined!
Steel Bone Kong took a deep breath.
"First, prioritize your own safety. Don't let the rampaging trees cause more casualties. Leave Tree Demon Lotte to the Admiral."
"The Celestial Dragon's death is already a fact. Use warships to surround the island!"
"Absolutely do not let Tree Demon Lotte and the others escape!"
After giving the order,
A solemn acknowledgment came from the other end of the Den Den Mushi.
"Yes, Fleet Admiral!"
"But according to reports, it's not just the two of them. There's also a pirate from Paradise called Redfield assisting them in attacking the auction."
"He's currently fighting alongside Whitebeard against the Admiral."
Redfield?
Steel Bone Kong had no memory of such a pirate.
Had CP0's intelligence failed again?!
No matter what,
Since this person could assist Tree Demon Lotte and Whitebeard, his strength must be considerable!
Looks like things were really going to get troublesome now!
Steel Bone Kong's face grew grim as he hung up the Den Den Mushi.
He opened the familiar nautical chart again.
Even though Sabaody was close to Marine Headquarters, mobilizing warships from here would still take some time.
He could only hope White Fox and Garp wouldn't disappoint him.
Steel Bone Kong sighed.
The death of Celestial Dragon Saint Rosward would undoubtedly trigger a new storm.
Those Celestial Dragons really were useless from start to finish!
...
Sabaody Archipelago.
Clang!
The pitch-black iron fist clashed violently with the dual swords.
Sparks flew in all directions as Lotte's figure was forced back several steps. His arms bled scarlet from the sheer force of the earlier impact.
But under the regenerative power of Hashirama Cells, the wounds quickly healed completely.
Garp narrowed his eyes slightly upon witnessing this.
"What a troublesome guy."
After just a few short exchanges, though he held the advantage, actually defeating Tree Demon Lotte wasn't easy.
The boy's physical recovery far exceeded his expectations.
He had to end this quickly!
Lotte, gripping his dual swords tightly, stood in place. His eyes locked onto Garp as a smile crept across his lips.
"Garp, is this all you've got?"
"Don't disappoint me now."
He was now only one step away from breaking through to the next level of three-color Haki.
Though he had taken some damage in the earlier clashes with Garp, thanks to the powerful recovery of Hashirama Cells, it was nothing to worry about.
Then,
Garp heard this and sneered coldly.
"This is only the beginning. No one's coming to save you this time."
"Do you really think you're my match?!"
With his justice cape fluttering and eyes blazing with fury, Garp clenched his fist and unleashed his full power.
BANG BANG BANG!
Using advanced Marine Rokushiki techniques,
Garp's figure instantly appeared before Lotte once again. His Armament Haki-coated fist swirled with compressed air!
Then,
With a sonic boom exploding in the air,
Veins bulged on his arm as he unleashed a fist carrying the force of thousands of tons, tearing through the air with terrifying momentum!
In the blink of an eye,
That iron fist was right in front of Lotte's chest.
Lotte stared intently at the incoming blow. In that instant, something suddenly shifted.
[Ding! Host's current three-color Haki proficiency has broken through! Successfully advanced to Intermediate level!]
Just as Garp thought he had landed the hit,
Swoosh!!
Lotte's body suddenly swapped places with a wooden log.
The thousand-ton iron fist instantly shattered the log into splinters, the resulting shockwave shaking the surrounding branches violently.
Garp's expression darkened.
This kind of spatial displacement ability was straight-up cheating!
But in that brief moment, Lotte's aura had clearly grown even stronger.
What kind of monster was this kid?
At this moment,
Lotte stood atop a nearby tree, eyebrow raised as he looked at the scene.
As expected.
Combat truly was the fastest way to grow stronger—his three-color Haki had finally broken through.
Three-color Haki had always been his weakest area.
Compared to masters like Rayleigh or Garp, his Haki strength simply couldn't compete.
But fortunately, he possessed top-tier talent.
Otherwise, dealing with Logia Fruit users in the future would have been much more difficult.
Thinking this,
Lotte opened his attribute panel.
[Name: Lotte]
[Age: 18]
[Bloodline Ability: Hashirama Cells (Mastery: 47%)]
[Skills: Wood Release (Current Power Limit: A rank), Three-Color Haki (Intermediate 10%), Flame Dance Dual Sword Style (Proficient 95%), Sun Breathing (Mastery 37%), Voice of All Things (Mastered)]
[Inventory: Flame King / Shodai Kitetsu (Supreme Grade Swords)]
[Combat Power: 12500–14000]
[Overall Evaluation: With two Supreme Grade Swords in hand, the Host's current strength is already quite impressive—comparable to mid-tier Seven Warlords. With terrain advantage, combat power rises significantly more.]
[Special Remark: Lotte, yyds!]
Seeing the evaluation,
Lotte couldn't help but narrow his eyes.
As expected, breaking through Haki had raised his strength again in just these few days.
Though his Haki was still far from matching masters like Garp, for someone focused on improving Hashirama Cells, it was already sufficient.
At the very least, killing Silver Axe after returning would be no problem.
He looked up at Garp and spoke calmly.
"Garp, no need to go this far."
"Do you really think just you and an Admiral can keep us here?"
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