Observation Haki Radar: Two Key Advantages
The Observation Haki Radar has two major strengths.
First, it can detect anything that possesses life.
Second, it can distinguish the relative strength of each target — specifically, their physical vitality.
Now, some might ask: What about those who focus solely on developing their Devil Fruit powers and neglect physical training? Won't that throw things off?
Well, according to One Piece canon, activating a Devil Fruit ability still consumes stamina. In other words, no matter how fruit-focused one is, the body still plays a key role.
As for the scene where Zephyr criticizes Kizaru for slacking in physical training, that doesn't mean Kizaru is physically weak. On the contrary, none of the three Admirals have poor physical conditioning. Zephyr simply believed that Haki and physical prowess should be the foundation, with Devil Fruits as a secondary aid.
That's all.
So while the radar may not provide a perfect measure of someone's true power, it will never mistake a powerhouse for a weakling.
And that's more than enough.
At this moment, on the screen in front of Luo Lan, the 25 brightest signatures each indicated a presence at least equivalent to a standard Marine Vice Admiral.
Among them, one particularly massive presence stood out, and Luo Lan had a good guess as to who it belonged to — likely the Navy.
Why?
Because there were seven Vice Admiral-level signatures, along with over twenty others who, though slightly weaker, still seemed to be at least Rear Admiral level.
All clustered aboard three massive sailing ships, housing over a thousand personnel.
With such firepower and scale, Luo Lan couldn't think of any faction other than the Marines.
What he didn't know was who the Navy had sent this time.
He could have deployed a drone to investigate… but chances were it would get taken down immediately, wasting a rare, irreplaceable advanced UAV.
Definitely not worth the cost.
There were also two other factions — Luo Lan was fairly certain one of them was Doflamingo's crew.
The other… he couldn't yet identify.
Still, that made four interested parties, including himself, all aiming to play the waiting game and swoop in for the kill.
---
"Zoro, how about we head to the island for a walk?"
"No problem," Zoro replied as he stood up.
He'd been stationed at Branch 157 for over two months now, focusing intensely on training. It was finally time for some action.
"What about you, Ace?"
"Duh. Of course I'm coming."
"Good. Nami, you're in charge of the bridge. Follow the plan. Let's go!"
With that, Luo Lan led Ace and Zoro off the bridge.
Nami took the captain's seat and gave the next order.
"Surface now. The moment those three are off the ship, initiate emergency dive!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
---
According to the rules set by the black market, each participating faction could only send three representatives onto the island. Violators would be permanently blacklisted.
As for funds, all invited factions were long-time partners of the black market and flush with cash, so there was no need to bring beli for verification. Payment was expected within three hours of winning an item — money for goods, clean and simple.
Luo Lan's trio all wore masks and used Geppo (Moonwalk) to land on the island.
They were immediately stopped.
"Halt, you three! Identity verification is required before entry."
The man was dressed in a black suit and white gloves, looking every bit like a butler.
Luo Lan instinctively used Observation Haki to assess him.
Hmm. Not bad — at least 3,000 Doriki. That's solid. Who says the black market doesn't have strong personnel?
This level of strength was already top-tier in the first half of the Grand Line.
"Faction: Jun Lin. Three attendees."
"Confirmed. Please, proceed."
The suited man checked his list, gave a polite bow, and gestured them forward.
Another black-suited man — clearly a grunt — took the lead and guided them.
The "butler," however, narrowed his eyes slightly.
As a key figure in the black market, he was well-informed.
He knew why Doflamingo had offered such a massive piece of seastone for auction — it was bait, and the true target… was Luo Lan.
Of course, Doflamingo had promised not to make a move on the volcanic island.
Whatever happened after the auction — well, that was none of the black market's business.
So long as their interests weren't harmed, they didn't mind tipping Doflamingo off in exchange for some added benefits.
But truth be told, they didn't know much about Luo Lan.
Which is exactly why, now that they'd finally seen him in person, they took note.
"Heh… All three are strong. One of them even surpasses me by a wide margin."
"Doflamingo might find this target tougher than expected."
"Still, it's none of our business."
---
After roughly five minutes of walking, the group arrived at a massive tent — clearly the auction venue.
Inside, over a dozen factions had already arrived.
Some came solo, some in pairs, but most — like Luo Lan's group — arrived in threes.
Nearly everyone wore masks.
Luo Lan scanned the room — and immediately spotted several familiar faces.
In particular, three figures sitting in the back row.
Two men and a woman.
The man in the middle wore a black fur coat, exuding an air straight out of an old-school Italian mafia flick.
Next to him sat a muscular man dressed like a monk, with snakes embroidered on his robe and a large One tattooed on his chest.
And the woman?
Tall, elegant, and dressed unmistakably like someone fans of One Piece would instantly recognize.
Who else could it be but Nico Robin?
The two men, equally recognizable, were Crocodile and Daz Bones.
Well damn — these three showed up too?
Looks like another mission just got added to the list.
You ask what kind of mission?
Isn't it obvious?
Capture Nico Robin!
She's a key asset — her knowledge, her power. If he could bring her over…
She'd be perfect as the head of Luo Lan's future intelligence division, taking over from Ian.
Perfect.
As for Ian — he could focus on logistics from now on. That would also save Luo Lan from Baby 5's constant assassination attempts, all because Ian was too busy to spend time with her...
Yep. Operation "Recruit Robin" was officially on.
The other two? No rush.
Once this mission was over and they secured the seastone, Luo Lan could swing by Alabasta en route to Skypiea.
Maybe strike a deal with King Cobra while he's at it.
---
Thirty minutes passed.
Ten minutes remained until the auction began.
Then, another group entered — and Luo Lan froze.
That woman?!
Leading the trio was a tall woman with long legs and a spider tattoo on her thigh.
If that wasn't Vice Admiral Gion (Momousagi), who else could it be?
Behind her were two elite Vice Admirals Luo Lan also recognized:
Doberman and Komil (Yamakaji).
Please don't notice me. Just act like I don't exist. Most importantly — don't use Observation Haki on me!
They'd seen each other not long ago, and Luo Lan was genuinely worried that she'd recognize him.
However, just as he silently panicked, a strange, invisible force wrapped itself around him — effectively blocking all external Observation Haki from detecting him.
When Momousagi scanned the area, she frowned.
She'd sensed everyone else clearly — except for one group.
Specifically, Luo Lan's trio.
It was as if they weren't even there — utterly unreadable.
Strange.
Meanwhile, Luo Lan had no idea that his personal data — visible only to forces beyond his awareness — had just shifted again.
> Current Awakening Progress: 47%
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A/N: Updates will now be only 2x a day. You can read more advance chapters on Ko-Fi if you want.
https:// ko-fi.com/sami27