"That appearance…"
"His hair… it's moving?!"
Not far away, the Marines who had been blinded by the intense flash slowly regained their vision. As their sight cleared and they beheld the transformed figure of the Headquarters Rear Admiral, shock spread across their faces.
A Colonel's adjutant from Headquarters inhaled sharply, awe flickering in his eyes.
"That's Seimei Kikan… Life Return. I've only witnessed it twice before. I never imagined Rear Admiral Ghost Spider would be forced to use even this against Ghost Hand Rowan."
"Then… this battle is about to end."
Several Marines murmured in low voices, their expressions filled with reverence and certainty.
On the battlefield
Ghost Spider stood like a demon born from legend.
His long hair writhed unnaturally, coiling and condensing into six spider-leg-like appendages. Each appendage gripped a blade, while his hands held two more forming a terrifying Eight-Sword Style.
His entire presence had transformed.
No longer merely a Marine officer
but a true embodiment of his epithet: Ghost Spider.
"What you witnessed earlier… was only my Two-Sword Style."
His voice dropped, cold and monstrous.
"But now… this is my full power."
"Eight-Sword Style!"
The moment his voice fell, he vanished.
Soru!
In an instant, he appeared before Rowan, all eight blades descending in unison. The slashes overlapped, interweaving into a dense web of cutting force that fell like a net from the sky.
At the same time, he launched into the air
"Rankyaku!"
Two compressed air blades shot downward, merging with the sword web to create a layered execution strike.
A killing formation.
"Chaotic."
Rowan's voice remained calm.
The power of the Warp-Warp Fruit surged through his arms as he raised both hands and grasped the descending web of slashes directly.
Zzzzt !
The Sword Qi writhed violently in his grip, resisting like living creatures.
But Rowan twisted his arms outward
and tore it apart.
"Technique without control is nothing more than noise."
He stepped forward through the collapsing attack, his gaze steady.
"Blades wielded by hair will never surpass those guided by true intent."
In the next instant, he closed the distance.
Ghost Spider's twin blades met Rowan's fists head-on, while the remaining six swords struck from every angle head, neck, ribs, and spine.
"You talk too much."
Ghost Spider's voice was savage.
"These six are extra… and you only have two hands!"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A storm of blades engulfed Rowan.
Even with Kami-e (Paper Art), complete evasion was impossible under such density. Several strikes slipped through
Slash!
His coat tore apart.
Thin lines of blood appeared across his body.
Yet
the wounds were shallow.
Warp distortion subtly bent the trajectories, weakening the impact.
Still, as time passed, the number of cuts increased. Blood stained his clothes, trailing down his arms and chest.
Across from him, Ghost Spider was no better off.
One blade held by his hair had shattered completely.
Two others were chipped and fractured.
Only three remained intact.
His arms trembled faintly strain building under the relentless force of Rowan's warped strikes. Maintaining both Seimei Kikan and Busoshoku Haki simultaneously was pushing his body toward its limits.
"Why do you still resist?!"
Ghost Spider roared, his assault growing more violent, more desperate.
"To fall beneath Justice is your fate!"
"Justice?"
Rowan's voice was quiet.
Cold.
"Don't insult the word."
Punch after punch
He advanced relentlessly, shattering incoming slashes, dispersing Sword Qi, forcing Ghost Spider backward step by step.
Blood covered his body
but his mind grew clearer.
Calmer.
Still.
Like a mirror without ripples.
Gradually
Something changed.
In Rowan's vision, the chaotic storm of blades slowed.
No
not slowed.
Clarified.
Each strike gained a trajectory.
Each movement revealed intent.
The randomness… vanished.
He could see it.
Feel it.
Predict it.
Without realizing when it began
Ghost Spider's blades no longer struck him cleanly.
Then
they barely grazed him.
Then
they no longer touched him at all.
Rowan moved like flowing water, seamlessly combining Soru and instinctive evasion. Every step, every shift, every counter
perfectly timed.
No wasted motion.
No hesitation.
Ghost Spider's pupils contracted.
"This…!"
A chill ran through him.
"This is "
"Kenbunshoku Haki…!"
Realization struck like lightning.
Rowan had not possessed it before.
That meant only one thing.
"He awakened it… in battle?!"
Disbelief flooded Ghost Spider's mind.
Such awakenings did exist
but only among monsters of the Grand Line.
Not in the West Blue.
Not here.
Not now.
And yet
it was happening before his eyes.
From that moment onward
The tide shifted.
What had been suppression became resistance.
What had been resistance became equilibrium.
And then
Dominance.
The subtle vibration of Rowan's Warp Power accumulated with every clash, infiltrating Ghost Spider's arms, his muscles, his bones
Destabilizing him from within.
Like cracks spreading through glass.
Ghost Spider realized too late.
His arms had gone numb.
His grip weakened.
His movements slowed.
Bang!
Rowan's fist collided with his blade once more
and this time, the Busoshoku Haki coating shattered.
The blade warped
and cracked.
The balance was broken.
Completely.
"It seems…"
Rowan stepped forward, his voice steady, devoid of emotion.
"…your justice ends here."
He struck again.
CRACK!
The sword in Ghost Spider's left hand shattered into fragments.
"Damn you !"
Ghost Spider roared, reaching for another blade
but Rowan was faster.
Another strike landed.
His remaining weapons were blasted from his hands.
The strain on his body reached its limit. Even with Life Return, his muscles screamed in protest, barely responding.
Before he could recover
Rowan stepped in.
One final motion.
Bang!
Steel shattered.
The remaining blades those held even by his hair were crushed under the force of warped space.
Then
Rowan's foot came down.
Pinning Ghost Spider to the deck.
"Rear Admiral Ghost Spider!!"
The Marines cried out in horror, panic overtaking discipline.
But Rowan did not look at them.
His gaze remained fixed on the defeated officer beneath him.
There was no arrogance.
No excitement.
Only
calm.
Cold, unwavering calm.
"Listen carefully."
His voice carried across the silent warship.
"How you define justice… has nothing to do with me."
"I never cared."
He applied slight pressure.
The deck beneath Ghost Spider cracked.
"But the moment you chose to impose that justice on me…"
His eyes sharpened.
"…you made a mistake."
"A fatal one."
CRACK.
The sound of breaking bone echoed.
And across the warship
Silence fell.