The Beast's Territory.
"Damn that old bastard!"
Kaido swung his club, pulverizing a group of underlings along with their newspapers into a bloody pulp. His face was twisted with uncontrollable rage. It was bad enough that Rowan had humiliated him repeatedly, but now even the news agencies were treating him like a joke. Did they truly think Kaido of the Hundred Beasts was made of clay?
"Sooner or later, I will make you pay it all back with interest! Marine Godfather... Rowan!"
Totto Land.
Charlotte Katakuri, the head of the Four Sweet Commanders with a bounty of 1.057 billion Berries, stared at the headlines. He glanced at Charlotte Linlin, whose expression was dark and brooding, and narrowed his eyes, lost in thought.
Dressrosa Palace.
Sugar, a mber of the Donquixote Family who looked like a small child, watched the battered and disheveled Doflamingo with deep concern. Doflamingo was staring fixedly at the photo of Rowan on the front page, the veins on his forehead pulsing like squirming earthworms.
"Rowan..."
Repeatedly toyed with and beaten like a dog. When had the Heavenly Yaksha ever suffered such a staggering loss?
"Just you wait. One day..."
Loguetown, East Blue.
"Captain Smoker! Look at today's paper! It's reporting on Mr. Rowan!" Tashigi burst into Smoker's office with a stack of newspapers, her face glowing with excitent.
"Yeah... I've already seen it," Smoker replied, gesturing to the paper on his desk while exhaling a thick cloud of cigar smoke. Looking at Rowan's image, a surge of reverence filled his heart. This is how Mr. Rowan was ant to look...
Cocoyasi Village.
Nami carefully cut out the picture of Rowan from the newspaper and placed it in a picture fra. Her big eyes crinkled into crescents, and the dimples at the corners of her mouth were adorable. Watching her, Nojiko recalled Mr. Rowan's visit and felt a wave of relief.
For the past few days, nearly every conversation across the ocean revolved around the man who had shaken the world: Rowan.
The Main Actor
At Marine Headquarters, under the reverent gazes of countless soldiers, Rowan walked into his office. Seeing the mountain of newspapers piled high on his desk, he shook his head with a wry smile.
"These guys..."
He sighed and walked to the window, squinting at the vast sea. He took a long puff from his pipe and whispered to himself:
"For the era to co, it's about ti I took the lead role..."
The ocean is vast. Even if soone throws a mountain into the sea, creating waves a hundred feet high, after a while, not even a ripple remains. Though the continuous reporting had made Rowan the eye of the storm for weeks, the echoes of the "Great Incident" eventually began to fade from the public's imdiate mory.
People still felt a stir of emotion when they saw his face, but the initial frenzy had cald.
One month later. On a deserted island not far from Marine Headquarters.
Several Marine warships were anchored at the shore. Aside from a few guards, most of the crew had moved onto the island. The guards, however, weren't watching the sea; they were perched on the crow's nests with binoculars, their faces flushed with excitent.
On this barren island, tremors shook the ground every few minutes. Occasionally, a flash of yellow light would streak across the sky, followed by a thunderous explosion that rivaled a miniature sun.
"Kizaru, how many tis have I told you? No matter how strong your fruit is or how well you've developed it, personal physical combat (Taijutsu) is always the core. The Glint-Glint Fruit is top-tier even among Logias, but over-relying on it will only cap your true potential."
Rowan's reprimanding voice echoed across the island. Admiral Kizaru's silhouette turned into a beam of light, attempting to move away at high speed.
But before he could reposition, a whip-kick appeared abruptly on his right. Kizaru's expression tightened as he hurriedly raised his right arm, coated in Armant Haki, to block.
"You said it yourself—'speed is weight.' Let's see how you handle the weight of this kick."
As the shout rang out, the kick connected. Kizaru was sent flying like a literal bolt of lightning.
BOOM!
A massive explosion followed as the yellow beam smashed into a hillside. The mountain face shattered, sending dust and debris everywhere. The observing Marines gasped in unison.
That was Admiral Kizaru! The man heralded as the fastest in the world due to his Logia fruit was being outpaced and suppressed in his own specialty by Mr. Rowan!
"Is... is Admiral Kizaru okay?"
The dust began to settle, and the sound of footsteps erged. A tall, lanky figure walked out from the haze.
"It's Admiral Kizaru!"
The Marines stared. Kizaru looked uncharacteristically disheveled; his yellow-and-white striped suit was torn in several places and covered in dirt. Patting the dust from his hair, he looked at Rowan helplessly and raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.
"Mr. Rowan, your strength is just too monstrous I give up"
Kizaru couldn't refute Rowan's words. Logia fruits were the strongest category of the three, and having the Glint-Glint Fruit allowed him to dominate almost anywhere. Combined with his Haki and Taijutsu, he had been called a "monster" since his recruit days. He had soared through the ranks, eventually becoming an Admiral alongside Aokiji and Akainu.
Aside from the Four Emperors, there were few who could challenge him. And a huge part of that power ca from his fruit.
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