"Gulp…"
After finishing a large bowl of meat soup, Rowan wiped his mouth. "No need to talk about all that."
Yanichi was momentarily speechless. After thinking for a bit, he asked directly, "I saw that the ships of those big figures from Headquarters have already started leaving the port. So you chose not to transfer to Headquarters, right?"
Rowan replied, "I will return to Marine Branch 80 in the West Blue. I am not going to Headquarters."
"I see."
Yanichi looked somewhat disappointed. After exchanging a few polite words, he turned and left.
Clearly, the real goal of the man who executed Roger alongside him was Marine Headquarters.
As for whether it was to join the elite training class or simply to reach the Grand Line, that was unknown.
Rowan did not think much about it. After eating his fill, he headed toward a blacksmith shop on the commercial street.
He still had many things to handle. Last night, he had already contacted Dragon through a Den Den Mushi and asked him to wait three more days.
After obtaining the Flying Thunder God Technique from the Gold chest, many of his plans had become much easier to carry out.
Using physical stamina in place of chakra, he could form spatial coordinates and attach them to objects or people, achieving instantaneous teleportation.
He did not know the exact principle, but when power from another world manifested here, the rules simply worked that way.
Coordinates could even be moved over short distances and attached to enemies.
In his memory, Minato had once left a mark on Obito that remained even after death, only disappearing after Obito became the Ten Tails' host.
For now, it was unclear whether Haki could erase such a mark. After all, the coordinates were formed using stamina, similar to a Devil Fruit ability.
And Haki could counter Devil Fruit abilities.
Soon, Rowan, wearing a cloak and mask, arrived at the place where he had previously commissioned custom kunai.
…
"This kind of weapon is the first time I have seen it. The forked, three pronged design can block enemy weapons, but it is short. It looks more like a throwing dart."
The blacksmith, a middle aged man, was not highly skilled but had long experience making tools in Loguetown.
Two days ago, Rowan had paid him to rush three custom kunai by today.
Rowan took the finished product and tossed it lightly in his hand.
As expected, a tool made by a small town blacksmith in the East Blue did not meet the standard of ninja tools. At the very least, its balance was not great.
Still… it met the basic requirements.
At this moment, something seemed to flow within Rowan's body. A black fluid extended from his palm and spread onto the handle of the kunai.
[Kindling]
Two square shaped characters formed into a seal and settled in place.
At that moment, Rowan could clearly sense the coordinate point. By consuming stamina, he could instantly move to that location.
"About the payment… you said there would be another 100,000 Beli if it was finished today."
Rowan flipped the kunai and stored it, then tossed over a bundle of money.
"Fair trade."
As he turned to leave, Rowan paused and glanced back at the blacksmith, who was still counting money.
"Loguetown is near Reverse Mountain. The Marine branch already has records of you making weapons for pirates. Consider this part of your payment. Think carefully."
The ambiguous words made the man freeze.
Had the Marines already noticed him?
How was that possible?
There were so many weapon shops in town. Selling weapons to pirates was practically necessary for survival. Why target him alone?
Panic filled his eyes as he hurriedly began packing, preparing to flee.
Rowan smiled slightly and left.
…
Back in the basement of the grocery store.
After sending his shadow clone away to maintain appearances, Rowan, wearing his cloak and mask, arrived again.
"Oh? It is rare to see alcohol here."
He sat down across from Dragon.
Dragon replied, "That is for you. I heard you have visited every decent tavern in Loguetown. This is wine from the South Blue. You can try it."
Rowan said, "That was just for appearances. Also, making you wait three days at a time like this, I do have something important to give you."
He placed three custom kunai on the table.
Dragon picked one up, examining it, his gaze stopping at the two square characters on the handle.
"This is a weapon?"
He looked puzzled. If it were just three strange weapons, it would not be worth waiting three days.
After all, the booklet Rowan had given him earlier had already been incredibly valuable.
"These are not weapons."
Rowan explained, "The characters on them are spatial coordinates. I want you to help me produce one thousand of these. Also, take these three with you."
"Spatial coordinates?"
Dragon looked at him. "Your Devil Fruit ability seems to have many applications."
Rowan continued, "I can move between these coordinates. And… depending on my stamina, I can carry items or even people."
Dragon froze.
Transporting items or people.
That alone elevated the strategic importance of this ability to an entirely new level.
The world was divided by the Red Line and the Calm Belt into four seas and the Grand Line. For the Revolutionary Army, transporting supplies between seas was extremely difficult.
Whether using Marine routes or crossing Reverse Mountain, every attempt carried risk.
Even someone like Shiki, the Golden Lion, was not executed after being captured because the Marines did not want such mobility abilities to exist freely.
"Bang."
Dragon slammed his hands on the table and stood up.
"Rowan. Come with me."
"You said it yourself. Your position is the same as mine."
"Now it is not just ideology. The creation and the future of the Revolutionary Army need you."
"With your abilities, the Revolutionary Army will have a voice in this world. No one will be able to ignore it."