Chapter 16: Three Years Later
Time always slips by without us realizing it...
…
Three years passed, and not much had changed on Ring Tree Island. The villagers continued living their peaceful lives.
Only age had changed—Luo Han and Cole were now thirteen years old.
Brother Ryan had joined the hunting team a year ago, and several more injured uncles had started working with Uncle Witt.
Since discovering a practical training method for manifesting psychokinesis, Luo Han had truly felt his mind progressing.
It was a unique sensation, as though the Mind Fruit itself was guiding him toward manifesting his psychic abilities.
But today was one of Uncle Witt's special training sessions—for Cole. Luo Han wasn't involved. And it stung a little.
On the first-level plaza, Luo Han and the others watched Uncle Witt and Cole's intense father-son sparring match with full attention.
The rush of wind from their rapid movement and the booming shockwaves from their strikes echoed across the plaza. This fight had surpassed human limits.
Today marked Cole's final special training session with Uncle Witt. Over the past three years, Uncle Witt had passed on all the Six Powers (Rokushiki) he'd learned in the Navy.
And Cole's monstrous talent had let him master them all within a year.
There was nothing left to teach him.
From now on, Cole's growth would depend entirely on his own training. Further sparring wouldn't help much. His Fish Scale Fruit transformation had already completed over the past three years.
Now all he had to do was steadily refine his body, and he would grow stronger quickly.
Cole currently stood at an incredible three meters tall!
Though still rather round, like a mountain of meat, his entire body was made of solid muscle. What was more terrifying was how well he could control all that muscle mass.
This gave him explosive speed despite his size, and with overwhelming strength, only Witt and Uncle Kate could withstand his attacks.
Over the past few years, Uncle Kate had occasionally come down to guide Cole's training too.
Watching their battle, Luo Han reflected on his own past three years.
Sigh... everyone's improving.
Except for me. Over these two years, aside from exhausting the Fish Scale Fruit's transformation effects early on, I haven't achieved anything substantial in training.
Uncle Witt and Uncle Kate were both baffled.
Most Devil Fruit users experience some kind of transformation—at least a visible change. But for Luo Han, aside from his initial awakening of Observation Haki, nothing had developed.
They had seen him practicing strange training methods, but after three years with no visible results… they were beginning to doubt whether Luo Han was truly suited for this Devil Fruit.
Another thing that bothered them—Luo Han's height. He stopped growing after hitting 1.8 meters. Most others shot up to 2.5 meters or more after their transformation.
Luo Han had gone from 1.3 to 1.8 meters in one year—then nothing.
Uncle Witt and the others could only hope he'd develop his fruit ability soon.
As for his height, Luo Han didn't mind. As someone from Earth, he wasn't interested in becoming a giant. Being normal was fine.
What disappointed him was the Fish Scale Fruit's transformation. Though it had enhanced his potential, his physical strength didn't improve significantly.
The one silver lining was that Luo Han could now almost sense the "seed" of psychic energy—the core that turned mental force into tangible power.
Thanks to Cole's help, he could closely observe how physical strength transformed into invisible force with each punch.
Luo Han was quietly grateful to him.
Boom! A thunderous crash signaled the end of the fight.
Luo Han snapped out of his thoughts.
Seeing Cole and Uncle Witt stop, he walked over.
"Cole, you've done well. Keep training hard from here. Don't waste your talent or that Devil Fruit," Uncle Witt said with pride in his eyes. If Cole kept this pace, he might reach the level of a Navy admiral one day.
"From now on, focus on developing your Devil Fruit powers."
Still catching his breath, Cole replied, "Got it, Dad! Han-ge will help me!"
Uncle Witt gave Luo Han a complicated look.
Uh… Luo Han felt a bit awkward.
"Luo Han, when it comes to your Devil Fruit, no one can help you. You'll have to develop it yourself," Uncle Witt said, clearly troubled. He had no advice to offer.
"As for combat techniques, we'll wait another year. Once you eat another Fish Scale Fruit, if your physical strength is up to it, I'll consider teaching you the Six Powers."
"Okay! I'll definitely develop my Devil Fruit. I feel like I'm really close!" Luo Han replied confidently.
"Really? That's great, Han-ge! Haha!" Cole cheered. He knew how hard Luo Han had worked these three years.
"It's true! I'll blow your minds when the time comes. Haha!"
With that, Uncle Witt went off to his tasks. The other uncles on the plaza also began dispersing, leaving just Luo Han and Cole.
"Alright, Cole."
"Okay!"
Luo Han closed his eyes and stood beside Cole, who raised his fists and struck forward.
A cylindrical wave of invisible energy burst forth, warping the air with its concentrated force, forming a visible shockwave.
At the moment of impact, the air around Cole's fist seemed to freeze, and then the energy erupted outward.
Same as always. Luo Han still couldn't sense what caused the air to "freeze."
"How was it, Han-ge?" Cole asked.
"Still missing something… but I'm close. Just need that one last breakthrough," Luo Han shook his head. "It's like I'm right on the edge."
They continued like that—rest, punch, sense.
Now that Cole could unleash these strikes multiple times per day, thanks to his Zoan-type recovery ability, Luo Han could continue training until the sun dipped beneath the ocean.
After one last punch, the sky darkened. Luo Han and Cole wrapped up and headed home.
No need to carry Rainbowfish anymore—it no longer had any effect. Luo Han had stopped eating it two years ago. Cole had stopped just recently.
Back home, Granny Mo had already prepared dinner.
These days, with training taking up so much time, she usually cooked at night so Luo Han could eat immediately after coming home.
Seeing him return:
"Did you make progress today, Xiao Luo Han?" Granny Mo asked, like always.
"I did! Every day, a little more, hehe," Luo Han grinned.
They happily sat down and ate together.
…
(END CHAPTER)
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