Chapter 272: Roger's Natural Enemy—Garp!
The latest incident had clearly left the Five Elders somewhat displeased with Sora.
If her position weren't so critical, they wouldn't have let it slide so easily.
"Yes, understood," Sora replied seriously, having caught the tone of discontent.
"There's one more thing," came the heavy voice from the Den Den Mushi.
"Last night's events must not be made public. Fleet Admiral Kong is already handling the lower-ranked Marine witnesses."
"Make sure nothing leaks on your end either. No one is to know Kizaru was captured."
"Yes!" Sora affirmed again.
"Good. That's all."
Click!
The line disconnected.
"They still suspect me," Sora thought, smirking coldly.
"They'll probably try confirming things with Stussy… but it's too late for that. Heh…"
The intelligence department had long been infiltrated.
That's why they were able to obtain intel on Vegapunk almost at the same time as the Navy.
However—
Sora's heart sank slightly. The Five Elders weren't fools. This time had passed, but the next?
If something like this happened again, they definitely wouldn't believe her.
For a spy, a single slip could be fatal. Two mistakes? That was basically confirmation of betrayal.
Luckily, she thought, there shouldn't be any more situations that required Luo Han's personal involvement.
With that, she turned the ship around and headed back to Evernight City.
...
Meanwhile
At the Marine Headquarters hospital, in a private room—
Sengoku lay in bed, completely bandaged, his eyes dull and lifeless.
Beside him stood Garp, Zephyr, and Tsuru.
"Was he really that strong?" Garp asked, voice heavy. "Even you couldn't withstand one punch?"
Sengoku's gaze shifted toward Garp, and the image of Luo Han's blow flashed through his mind.
In that moment, he felt his Devil Fruit had been utterly nullified—as if struck by seastone. It provided no defense at all.
"He must have mastered a type of Armament Haki as powerful as Rocks," Sengoku muttered. "My Devil Fruit was useless."
"Rocks, huh…"
At his words, the room fell silent.
Garp had seen it firsthand during the God Valley incident—Luo Han had broken through Rocks' Haki.
And that had only been his fruit ability at the time.
Now his Haki was at Rocks' level…
No one could defeat him in a one-on-one fight anymore.
And when they considered his mysterious Devil Fruit…
Garp and the others could only grimace.
"How has Marine intelligence not figured out what fruit Luo Han ate after all these years?" Garp couldn't help but complain.
Tsuru explained, "At first, the World Government thought it was a forbidden fruit—one so rare even its name was unknown. Only Kong might know it."
"But later CP0 confirmed it wasn't that one. Still, they haven't identified which fruit it is."
She sighed. "His abilities are too bizarre. It's hard to categorize him."
"Exactly," Garp nodded. "His powers never made sense."
First was that inexhaustible telekinesis.
Then the long-range teleportation ability confirmed in recent years.
It went far beyond any known Paramecia power.
Sigh…
Already strong, paired with far-reaching Observation Haki and perfect Armament Haki?
It was unbeatable.
Even a war of attrition wouldn't work. Against Rocks, yes—but Luo Han could teleport away in an instant.
"How could even Kizaru be captured?" Zephyr asked. He couldn't believe it.
Even though Kizaru relied more on his Devil Fruit than physical strength, his teleportation speed was unmatched.
Even Luo Han shouldn't have been able to catch him.
"Kizaru…"
Sengoku grit his teeth.
"That fool charged in alone. Before I could stop him—he was already turned into a lightbulb!"
"Not even Kizaru's speed could escape?"
A calm, cold voice asked from across the room.
Sengoku looked past Garp and saw two towering silhouettes by the wall.
One wore a red floral shirt, the other a blue short-sleeve. Both watched silently.
Akainu and Aokiji.
The future admirals.
To Akainu's question, Garp answered instead.
"Luo Han's Devil Fruit is absurdly powerful. One ability is telekinetic armor—completely invisible."
"So the moment someone's Haki fails to resist it, they get locked in."
"Even Logia types like Kizaru can't escape."
"He was compressed into a basketball-sized orb. Now he has to stay in light form constantly, or he'll be crushed to death."
He turned to both young men.
"You two—don't overestimate your Devil Fruits. If you meet Luo Han, you won't even get a chance to fight back."
Hmph.
Zephyr joined in.
"Kizaru brought this on himself. I told him to train in close combat and Haki, but he didn't listen."
"Relying solely on fruit powers—he was instantly captured by someone like Luo Han."
"Against monsters like that, only Haki matters."
"Train your bodies. Strengthen your Haki. Don't end up like that fool."
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
Akainu and Aokiji replied together.
They took the warning seriously.
Still—
What amazed them most was how powerful Luo Han must be to:
Instantly defeat Sengoku and the CP0 ChiefCapture Kizaru in one move
They swore to become stronger—stronger than even Sengoku.
Poor Sengoku, lying in bed, had unknowingly become the benchmark for strength.
In mathematical terms:
If you're way stronger than Sengoku, you might be almost equal to Luo Han.
"Well, you rest now," Garp said. "We'll visit another time."
They left. Everyone had their duties.
Roger's crew had returned to the first half of the Grand Line and were near Sabaody Archipelago.
That's the only reason Garp had time to visit Sengoku.
His main job was chasing Roger.
But this time, he had learned from his past failures.
Everyone who accompanied him in battle now was a powerhouse—Aokiji, Akainu, and others.
That was why Roger was having such a hard time.
He had to leave the New World early to try and shake Garp off by rallying powerful allies again.
To Roger, Garp was his natural enemy.
Back when Roger fought Rocks, it felt like luck was always on his side.
But not with Garp.
Wherever Roger went, Garp followed—like he had a Vivre Card to Roger's soul.
So while Roger had disappeared from the New World, the constant battles between him and Garp became legendary.
Whenever Roger prepared to return, the entire world tensed.
Especially the New World.
Evernight City remained neutral—non-expanding, non-invasive, and focused on trade.
Whitebeard and Golden Lion were powerful, but traded heavily with Evernight City.
So things had remained stable.
But Roger's return would stir everything up again.
His crew rivaled Whitebeard's in strength.
And with Roger's explosive personality, trouble was inevitable.
Every major force was bracing for the storm.
...
As for the World Government—
After much deliberation, they agreed to exchange three Devil Fruits to get Kizaru back.
But with one condition:
No one must know he was captured.
They would pretend the incident with Vegapunk never happened.
Luo Han agreed readily.
He didn't care about credit. He was beyond that stage.
As long as he got the fruits, that was enough.
And so...
(END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Bankai10