Rowan's face was the same as always, a calm smile, as if he didn't understand Gold Lion's words.
But Gold Lion got even more excited.
"What made you become like this?"
He stroked his chin and thought for a moment.
"Is it the Four Seas Alliance?"
"No... The Four Seas Alliance has only been around for a few days. It probably hasn't even been a year. A person's behavior can't be formed in such a short time."
"I heard on the news that you're really the emperor from eight hundred years ago? Does that mean you were like this eight hundred years ago?"
"Heh ha ha ha ha, suppressing your true self for eight hundred years, it must have been painful every day!"
"Come on, anyway, it's just me here, and only thick fog. No one else can see."
"Let me see what kind of person is hiding behind that 'calm' of yours!"
Gold Lion's words were naturally a provocation, but Rowan remained unmoved.
Seeing this, Gold Lion frowned, his face full of helplessness.
"Ah... I wanted you to be serious from the start. That would have been great."
"Otherwise..."
Whoosh!
Before Gold Lion could finish his sentence, he leaped forward and charged towards Rowan's location again.
Clang!
The sharp blade struck Rowan's black spear again.
In an instant, apart from the small patch of ground where Rowan's body was, the ground hundreds of meters behind Rowan was cut open by the sharp sword energy!
Gold Lion grinned and laughed:
"Otherwise, if you weren't ready and I killed you instantly, the fight wouldn't be fun for me!"
Gold Lion's words were indeed true.
Because this time, the "serious" Gold Lion showed his true power.
Before, Gold Lion was just a swordsman who had lost his legs and tied two famous swords that he was used to on his legs.
In fact, what truly made Gold Lion famous in the sea was the Float-Float Fruit ability that could change the land!
At this moment, the entire floating island was already imbued with Gold Lion's Devil Fruit ability.
The blade and the black spear were in a stalemate.
Suddenly, Gold Lion's left hand suddenly exerted force and clenched tightly.
The surrounding land immediately responded to Gold Lion's call, and four huge lion heads formed from the front, back, left, and right.
Those giant lions made of dirt and rubble roared ferociously, heading straight for Rowan!
That was one of Gold Lion's most iconic moves—
Lion's Might: Earth Bind!
This move uses the Float-Float Fruit's ability to lift up the surrounding ground, then turn it into several huge lion heads to devour the enemy, burying them in earth and stones.
On land, this is definitely an extremely terrifying move.
After all, it was the power to control "earth"!
And more importantly, the Float-Float Fruit's ability can affect more than just earth and stones.
Snow, wood, iron, and even the greatest weakness of many ability users—seawater—can all be controlled by the Float-Float Fruit!
What terrifying power this is!
Because of this, in the Marine's records, there is such an assessment of Gold Lion's Devil Fruit ability:
"In a sense, Gold Lion's Float-Float Fruit ability has surpassed our understanding of Logia-type Devil Fruits!"
This is undoubtedly a very high evaluation.
But...
Regarding the evaluation of Ryan Rowan of the Golden Dawn, Garp also said:
"That guy is a great fighter!"
...
Yes.
This is indeed a very "Garp" style evaluation, but for Garp to say such a thing is enough to prove Rowan's strength.
But at the time, Garp didn't actually think that one day, Rowan would have a head-on fight with Gold Lion.
If he had known in advance, he would surely have fallen into deep thought.
The content of his thoughts was not the usual "who is stronger, who can win."
But—
Gold Lion's ability allows him to control the earth, while Ryan Rowan's Sand-Sand Fruit allows the earth to become his 'territory.'
So when they are both in the same place, who is the true master of the earth beneath their feet?
...
This is a clash about "Devil Fruit abilities."
Facing the ferociously roaring giant lion heads, Rowan sighed softly.
He tapped the ground with his staff, and a rustling sound came from the surroundings.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh...
Countless grains of sand began to spread over the surrounding ground, and hundreds of sand soldiers stood up from the ground.
A black grain of sand floated up.
Following it were dozens, hundreds, and finally countless grains of sand!
They floated up and attached themselves to the sand soldiers, forming a complete set of Armament Haki armor.
Thus, an army in a state of "full-body Armament Haki covering" appeared...
...
"Heh ha ha ha ha, a bunch of little ants, are you sending them to die!"
Gold Lion was surprised by the scene, but he didn't feel threatened at all.
An army covered in full-body Armament Haki would undoubtedly be an invincible and terrifying force in a large-scale battlefield.
But in this battle, there are only him and Rowan!
But soon, Gold Lion realized that his preconceived notions seemed to be wrong.
No matter how much those sand soldiers looked like "people," they were still a part of the Sand-Sand Fruit ability.
Like his earth lion.
Did he need to feed them meat? Ridiculous!
Those sand soldiers were, to put it bluntly, an extension of Rowan's "hands"!
Whoosh!
While thinking, the Armament Haki sand army had already begun their charge across the land.
It was a terrifying speed that humans could never reach!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...
In the blink of an eye, the sand soldiers had already passed through several earth lion heads.
Each time they passed through a lion head, the sand soldiers charged into it and shredded everything inside.
One lion head after another was destroyed by the sand soldiers.
Gold Lion watched this scene and couldn't help but open his mouth.
"This... this..."
Suddenly, a ferocious smile appeared on his face, and Gold Lion grinned evilly:
"Heh ha ha ha, this is so much fun!"
Bang!
Gold Lion suddenly activated his Float-Float Fruit ability, controlling his body to charge at Rowan.
He thrust out his sword, slicing through Rowan's body.
In Gold Lion's eyes, Rowan immediately turned his body into an element, dodging the fatal sword.
This move made Gold Lion very unhappy.
"Hey hey hey, can't you write this for real?"
Clink!
Suddenly, a crisp sound of something falling reached Gold Lion's ears.
Gold Lion looked around and discovered that one of Rowan's shoulder pads had fallen to the ground.
In front of him, Rowan's voice slowly came from within the sandy mist.
"It's been a long time since I've done this."
"But... after all, times have changed."
It was a tone with a slight chuckle.
Clink!
Clink!
Clink...
More and more armor fell to the ground.
When the sand cleared, the scene in front of him stunned Gold Lion.
The golden light armor on Rowan's body had been completely removed, replaced by Rowan's own body!
He smiled softly:
"I can be a little selfish sometimes, and no one will blame me, right?"
Sand – Armor Removal!
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