With his entire face buried in a pool of blood, Tesoro's heart was filled with despair.
In a world like this, even a one-for-one exchange was an impossible dream.
If it were a Celestial Dragon, what would you do?
There would never be such a coincidence.
Perhaps one day you will understand my words. When you can truly empathize, you will know.
At that moment, Rowan's words from the tavern resurfaced in Tesoro's mind.
He finally understood what he had once failed to comprehend. He wanted to kill that Celestial Dragon, even if it cost him his life.
This was the so-called one-for-one exchange. Yet even that remained a distant fantasy.
At the Sabaody Archipelago, he had witnessed countless people taken away after being chosen by Celestial Dragons. Back then, he had been nothing more than a bystander. Now, he could feel their rage and helplessness firsthand.
Click.
A crisp sound rang out as he pressed the button on a Den Den Mushi.
"Buru buru… buru buru…"
Click.
The call connected, and Rowan's voice came through.
"Tesoro? Do you need something?"
Pinned beneath a boot, Tesoro struggled to speak but could not utter a sound.
The CP agent stepping on him glanced at the Den Den Mushi and sneered.
"Calling for help? Do you think this is a gang fight, you filthy commoner? Do you really believe someone would be as foolish as you?"
"CP?"
From within the Den Den Mushi, Rowan's tone carried a hint of excitement.
After all, the sin value extracted from Saint Samite in the prison still left him more than two hundred thousand points short of a Diamond Treasure Chest. Accumulating that much would take a long time.
Unless another Celestial Dragon appeared.
Burning two together would nearly guarantee a Diamond Treasure Chest within half a year.
It seemed his decision to leave a Den Den Mushi with Tesoro had been correct.
"Oh? You actually know about CP?"
Rowan replied, "I believe I understand the situation."
Before another word could be spoken, blood sprayed into the air.
Rowan appeared beside Tesoro, a kunai dripping with fresh blood in his hand. He wore a cloak and a mask.
"You really are in a miserable state."
Thud.
The CP agent who had been standing arrogantly above Tesoro collapsed lifelessly at his side.
Tesoro struggled to turn over. His trembling hand pointed in a direction as he forced out broken words.
"Save… there's a… Celestial Drag—"
Before he could finish, he lost consciousness.
However, the moment the Den Den Mushi rang, Rowan had already guessed what had happened.
And from the previous incident involving a slain Celestial Dragon, the street-smart Tesoro had drawn his own conclusions.
Rowan smiled faintly, showing no urgency in giving chase.
After examining the bullet wounds on Tesoro's body, he chuckled.
"So many gunshots, and you're still alive. It seems this ordeal has awakened your true potential."
He reached out and touched him. Both vanished instantly.
Seconds later, Rowan reappeared after entrusting Tesoro to a doctor at a Revolutionary Army outpost.
With a sudden burst of speed, he propelled himself forward. In an instant, using Soru, he raced toward the direction of the Celestial Dragon.
And at that moment…
"Filthy commoner!"
The Celestial Dragon's whip lashed across Stella's body.
"That smile of yours is truly disgusting! Why aren't you crying? You should be wailing and begging me for mercy!"
Crack!
The whip struck again, tearing open another wound.
Yet Stella continued to smile. Though her eyes were filled with tears, she refused to scream in agony even as they streamed down her cheeks.
In a world where living was worse than dying, that young man was her only light. If she were to cry and beg, then losing that light would be no different from death itself.
Meeting him had truly been a blessing.
"Ah! Cry for me!"
The whip descended once more.
But at that moment, the man in the white suit standing beside the Celestial Dragon suddenly changed expression.
Clang!
A blade swept across, colliding with a kunai coated in Armament Haki.
"So they've strengthened the guards?"
Rowan, wearing a mask, smiled faintly. A black curse mark spread from beneath his feet, drifting toward the man and disappearing behind him.
"Not bad Observation Haki. And a swordsman too?"
Before he finished speaking, Rowan appeared behind him and thrust his kunai forward.
Bang! Sizzle!
The blade struck the kunai, sparks flying.
A fierce slash followed, but Rowan was even faster.
He vanished in an instant. When he reappeared, his attack was blocked again, and he followed up with a punch.
Boom!
Armament Haki, now capable of external release, sent the CP agent flying.
"Still a bit too weak."
Rowan turned his gaze toward the Celestial Dragon.
"Why are you running? Don't you want your slaves anymore?"
The moment Rowan had been intercepted, the arrogant Celestial Dragon who styled himself as a god had nearly wet himself upon seeing the cloaked figure.
The gruesome fate of Saint Samite flashed through his mind. Terrified, he ordered his guards to flee at once. As long as he could return to Mary Geoise, he would be safe.
He did not even care about the slaves he had just purchased.
"Filthy commoner! Bastard!"
Cursing loudly, the Celestial Dragon continued his desperate escape. Apart from one guard accompanying him, all the others remained behind.
In this situation, they had to stop Rowan at all costs.
"Admirable courage."
As soon as Rowan spoke, a streak of black light flashed past.
All twelve guards clutched their necks and collapsed simultaneously.
They were too slow. Without top-tier Observation Haki, they could only be killed instantly against such speed.
"But that is the only thing worthy of praise."
Stepping over the corpses, Rowan continued his pursuit of the Celestial Dragon.
At that moment, the leader of the guards, the man in the white suit who had been sent flying earlier, blocked his path once again.
"How did a lackey like you cross the threshold of a swordsman? Your persistence is truly annoying."
Blood sprayed as a wound opened. To stall Rowan, the CP agent abandoned evasion despite sensing the attack with Observation Haki, choosing instead to trade injuries.
"What a nuisance!"
"If Borsalino arrives, killing him will become truly difficult."
Within the span of two sentences, the two clashed seven or eight times. If not for the opponent's desperate tactics of trading wounds to stall him, Rowan would have already passed.
Whoosh.
A kunai shot through the air, but the CP agent, who had received intelligence from the Marines, did not hesitate. With a single slash, he knocked it aside.
"I will never let you pass!"
Rowan sneered. "Not bad, not bad. You really are a loyal dog. But even so, how long do you think you can hold me back?"
The CP agent replied, "As long as I can stop you until Marine reinforcements arrive, I will have succeeded!"
Thud!
A short blade pierced his heart.
Rowan appeared in a flash and withdrew the blade. "Such a beautiful day cannot be ruined by that monkey."
The true strength of the Flying Thunder God Technique had never been limited to using kunai as coordinates. Its real power lay in placing spatial markers directly on an opponent.
During the Ohara incident, when facing Sakazuki, if it were not for his exceptionally strong Observation Haki, Rowan would have had ample opportunities to launch a surprise attack once the mark was placed.
As long as the opponent did not notice.
In the world of Naruto, the spatial marker was fueled by chakra. In the world of pirates, its foundational energy was akin to that of Devil Fruits, relying on physical stamina.
Once Armament Haki reached a certain level, it could force Devil Fruit abilities out of the body.
For example, the Hobby-Hobby Fruit could turn enemies into toys upon contact, while the Return-Return Fruit could revert people to their childhood forms.
Even twenty years later, Doc Q's ability could transform Law into a woman. Yet such powers could be forcibly broken with sufficient Armament Haki, provided the user's Haki was strong enough.
With the last CP agent's throat slit and his soul harvested, Rowan once again moved toward the Celestial Dragon.
"Ah!"
A kunai cut through the air.
When the obese noble turned his head, Rowan had already appeared in front of him.
"Where are you looking?"
The sudden voice sounded like that of a demon from hell. The Celestial Dragon collapsed to the ground, trembling uncontrollably.
Being high and mighty did not mean they were fearless. In the past, even when facing pirates, they felt no fear.
They knew that no pirate would dare harm them. No one in the world could withstand the wrath of a Marine Admiral and the World Government.
Except the devil standing before him.
"N-No... don't kill me..."
He scrambled backward in terror, snot and tears streaming down his face inside the bubble helmet.
The mutilated corpse of Saint Samite, flayed as if by a thousand cuts, resurfaced in his mind.
At that moment, he cursed himself for deciding to come down here. Why was he so unlucky?
Others had descended before without incident. Why did he have to encounter this monster?
The next instant, a foul liquid spread across the ground.
Rowan frowned. "How laughable... Celestial Dragon. In this state, you must finally understand the fear of death."
"P-Please don't kill me. I... I have a lot of—"
Before he could finish, a kunai pierced his bubble helmet, drilling through his skull and pinning him to the ground.
"Samite is waiting for you below. I don't have time to chat."
Rowan pulled out the kunai and glanced around.
Because of the attack on the Celestial Dragon, the area was completely deserted. The CP agents and Marine reinforcements had yet to arrive.
"How quiet..."
Thirteen CP agents, along with a Celestial Dragon worth 560,000 Sin Points.
Total: 583,000.
With this, after some time, once these people were burned to ashes, he would accumulate 1,450,000 Sin Points.
Although Celestial Dragons yielded high Sin Points, extracting them took too long.
After rescuing Stella and the others and returning, Rowan was contemplating whether he could open two diamond treasure chests in the future when his Observation Haki interrupted his thoughts.
He looked up toward the sky.
"They've arrived. An old acquaintance."
Golden light gathered in the air, gradually forming into a figure. Borsalino glanced around and let out a sigh.
He was too late, and he knew he could not keep this man here.
"What a terrifying enemy..."
The radiance condensed into shape, and a beam of golden light descended, splitting the ground in two.
Rowan flashed to the other side and looked at Borsalino. "You know attacks like that are meaningless against me."
Borsalino dispersed the light sword in his hand and shrugged. "But if I simply watch you leave, those people will come looking for trouble afterward."
Rowan gave a slight bow. "It seems I've disturbed your routine of drinking tea, reading newspapers, and clocking out on time. My sincerest apologies."
Borsalino paused in surprise but did not dwell on it. Instead, he said, "Why not leave immediately after killing a Celestial Dragon? That would make things much easier for me to explain."
Rowan thought for a moment before replying, "In truth, you don't care about those vermin, do you? After obtaining the power of the Logia-type Glint-Glint Fruit, you once used light to entertain children. No matter how I look at it, you don't seem like someone who would become a Celestial Dragon's dog."
Borsalino fell silent.
After a long moment, he fixed his gaze on Rowan. "How do you know about my past? Were you the one who abducted Vegapunk?"
Rowan did not answer. Instead, he continued, "Ambiguous justice, is it? Coming from the lower ranks yourself, you should empathize with the world more than most. For instance, among the slaves this Celestial Dragon kept, could there have been children who once laughed with delight at your performances?"
Borsalino's brows furrowed deeply. The usual laziness in his eyes had vanished.
He knew he could not capture Rowan, who possessed teleportation abilities. But with the power of the Glint-Glint Fruit, he was equally confident that he would not be killed.
Within Marine Headquarters at Marineford, most Marines did not hold the Celestial Dragons in high regard, except for a few aligned with the World Government.
As long as his life was not at risk, he remained relaxed. Yet Rowan's words had shaken him, making him far less at ease.
"You bastard... you really know how to reopen old wounds."
Sensing that the World Government's forces were still some distance away, Borsalino spoke again.
"A man like you understands nothing. You act recklessly with your teleportation ability. This world holds too many secrets. So many that they cannot be changed, only maintained."
"And so?" Rowan asked.
With his Observation Haki, he sensed the approaching CP agents. He had gleaned something from Borsalino's words, but it was not yet clear. He wanted to know more.
But Borsalino did not continue. Instead, his leg transformed into golden light.
"Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?"
After the familiar opening line, the light erupted violently.
The attack was bound to miss.
With Observation Haki, Borsalino transformed into a beam of light and appeared behind Rowan at the spot where he had just teleported.
"If you refuse to leave, then stay here!"
Clang!
The kunai collided with a twin-bladed sword of light.
In the clash of Haki and raw power, Rowan was forced downward. Blood stained his shoulder.
Facing the strength of an Admiral head-on, he was still slightly outmatched.
The Glint-Glint Fruit did not grant true light speed, but Borsalino's speed far surpassed that of Sakazuki and Kuzan.
With the intelligence that Rowan relied on kunai coordinates for teleportation now exposed, being countered was inevitable.
"Ah."
Rowan vanished instantly, and the blade of light struck the ground, splitting it apart.
But in the next moment, Borsalino's radiance appeared at every detected kunai coordinate, unleashing a wide-area barrage like a rain of lasers.
"Boom! Boom! Boom..."
Countless beams of light bombarded the ground. Dust and debris rose into the air, yet the assault showed no sign of stopping.
After a long while, the golden radiance gathered and took shape. Borsalino frowned as he looked down below.
"Has he already left?"
Another Celestial Dragon could not be allowed to die. If that happened, Mary Geoise would undergo tremendous upheaval.
That was something he did not wish to see, nor did the entire Marine force.
"What a terrifying attack, Borsalino."
Rowan's voice came from the distance as he walked forward step by step.
At that moment, reinforcements from the World Government arrived, surrounding the area. Their guns were all aimed at Rowan.
The leading CP agent first glanced at the ground. The shattered bubble helmet and the skull pierced through sent a chill down his spine, causing his heart to nearly stop.
Another one had died.
Within such a short span of time, yet another Celestial Dragon had been killed.
He could already imagine the fury of the Celestial Dragons in Mary Geoise. CP would be blamed for failing to provide timely support, and the Marines would be condemned for their delayed rescue.
The Marines might fare slightly better, but as a loyal hound of the World Government, he would undoubtedly be held accountable.
"Kill him!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunfire erupted in a relentless barrage. Yet aside from scattering flashes of light from the body of Borsalino standing in the middle, Rowan had already vanished from within the encirclement.
At that moment, a hand landed on the shoulder of the leading CP agent, startling him into a cold sweat. He did not dare move an inch.
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