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Inside the underground chamber whether it was Oden outside the cells, or Queen and King who were bound tightly in Seastone chains all of them were completely dumbfounded.
Queen twisted his large head back and forth, looking first at Kaido's corpse, whose chest wound was still smoking from being burned through then back at the completely naked Kaido standing outside.
What the hell was going on?
A living person appearing out of nowhere?
Beside him, King was equally stunned.
But compared to Queen, he was thinking much further ahead.
To perform something like this right in front of them it obviously meant the newly created Kaido was definitely not just someone with the same appearance.
But what kind of power was this?
To actually revive the dead?
No King and Queen looked at each other simultaneously.
At the same time, they both recalled Roger, who had fought Queen earlier on the battlefield.
That overwhelming burst of Conqueror's Haki...along with Observation Haki and Armament Haki that had clearly reached their peak combined with Rayleigh's attitude toward him that person had unmistakably been the real Roger.
But the entire world knew Roger had been executed at Loguetown four years ago.
Reviving the dead.
Controlling the dead.
So this was the method that monster had chosen?
"This place..."
The newly awakened Kaido looked somewhat confused.
After being pierced through the heart by the flaming blade and having all his internal organs burned away, the moment death ended and his consciousness returned he had appeared inside a room.
An extremely ordinary room.
There was a bed, a desk...and after stepping outside, he found himself within a long corridor.
Continuing farther out, there was a massive elevated platform.
And there was more than one such corridor.
Among the other passageways, one of them immediately revealed horrifying screams the instant its door opened screams so miserable that someone inside was even crying for their mother.
Even as a ruthless pirate, Kaido had never heard such pitiful screams and desperate begging before.
Following the sound, he found the prison cell.
Black flames enveloped a figure inside.
There were no visible wounds yet from the soul writhing endlessly on the ground, Kaido could sense pain beyond imagination.
And those black flames...instantly reminded him of the black fire hidden within the masked man's flames the very black flames capable of shaking his soul itself.
Under that instinctive suppression and fear Kaido unconsciously took a step backward.
It was not cowardice.
It was fear born from the natural suppression that those black flames held over souls.
The next moment Kaido's soul vanished from the prison space.
When his consciousness returned once again, he realized that there were no longer any Seastone restraints binding his body.
And standing right before him was the masked bastard who had killed him.
"Thunder Bag—"
Kaido had just prepared to smash Rowan with an attack when his entire body suddenly froze in place.
He...could not attack Rowan.
How was this possible?
"You want to attack me?"
Rowan chuckled softly.
"But as the one who revived you..."
"Did you really think I wouldn't leave behind any safeguards?"
Kaido's eyes widened.
"What kind of Devil Fruit ability is this?!"
"How is this possible?!"
"Reviving the dead... this is a power the entire world would never allow to exist!"
Faced with Kaido's roar, Rowan calmly replied:
"Haven't you already seen Roger?"
"Then why are you still doubting it?"
"Roger?"
Kaido froze for a moment, recalling Roger fighting Queen earlier the man who simply could not be killed.
So...
"That's right. Although your Devil Fruit ability has disappeared, the Haki awakened from your spiritual will still remains, so long as your conviction continues to exist."
Rowan continued,
"In this state, your body naturally can't compare to your original special physique. But at the same time, you now possess a body that cannot truly be killed, along with virtually endless stamina in terms of quantity."
At that point, Rowan looked toward King and Queen.
"One of you is needed in my research division, while the other is needed for aerial mobility and combat strength. As long as Kaido still exists, the two of you also cannot betray me."
"MADS was destroyed by the World Government, and the Lunarian race is a species they refuse to allow to exist."
"You already stand on the opposite side of the World Government. Combined with Kaido's situation... and this."
As his voice fell, the prison doors opened.
Rowan directly tapped both of them once.
Two black [Spark] marks descended onto them.
Rowan said,
"Don't try to remove them with Haki. The instant the marks begin disappearing, I'll notice immediately and define it as betrayal."
At this point, the gaze beneath Rowan's mask gradually turned cold.
"Believe me. In my hands, death is not the end."
"After a soul suffers endless agony before finally being erased into nothingness that is the true end awaiting those who die by my hand."
Rowan looked toward Kaido.
"You heard those screams earlier, didn't you?"
"The soul imprisoned in that corridor is Saint Rodenaz, the Celestial Dragon I killed earlier, along with one of the top fighters from CP0."
"He wanted to surrender, but I thought it'd be better for him to experience suffering first."
"That way, he'll truly submit."
Hearing that, Kaido recalled the scene he had witnessed inside the prison space earlier.
For a long time, he remained silent.
Just what kind of power did this bastard possess?
He could manipulate souls.
Those killed by him wouldn't even receive death as release their souls would instead suffer punishment beneath those black flames within that prison.
And one of those screaming figures...was actually a Celestial Dragon?
So that punishment capable of tormenting the soul itself was endless?
What sort of monster had he encountered?
If he couldn't attack Rowan and was completely controlled...then how exactly could he ever escape this control?
Yes.
Even now, the only thing Kaido was still thinking about was how to break free.
Those possessing Conqueror's Haki aside from oddballs like Roger who only wished to witness the future were not the sort of people who could truly be subdued through force alone.
Soon after, the prison doors opened completely, and the Seastone restraints were removed as well.
Looking at the three of them, Rowan arranged their futures.
"Queen will come with me to the research institute and work under Vegapunk."
"King and Kaido will leave Wano. I need you two to rebuild the Beasts Pirates in the New World."
"But every operational guideline must be reported to the Revolutionary Army's upper ranks."
"Operational guidelines?"
Kaido looked over.
"You think the New World is some peaceful paradise?"
"You think you can rebuild a pirate crew just by holding hands and singing songs?"
Rowan shook his head slightly.
"The Revolutionary Army has never been naïve."
"The New World lacks many things, but one thing it has in abundance is pirates just as evil as you once were."
At the side, King seemed to have accepted his current circumstances.
So he replied,
"No attacks against civilians, right?"
"And the rebuilt Beasts Pirates will serve as cover for the Revolutionary Army's expansion into the New World... perhaps even throughout the Grand Line."
"Correct."
Rowan continued,
"In truth, changing this world requires more than overwhelming military strength."
"A rotten order is still an order."
"When the old system completely collapses, if no new order rises to replace it, then the world may become even worse."
"And that is not something I want to see."
"As for the new order... how those who slay dragons avoid becoming new dragons themselves"
"That is exactly what the Revolutionary Army's shared ideology is preparing for."
"The Lunarians once lived atop the Red Line and were called a race of gods."
"But in the future envisioned by the Revolutionary Army, Lunarians will live no differently from ordinary races."
"They will not stand above others because of their power..."
"Nor will they be forbidden from existing because of it."
As he spoke, Rowan looked at the three of them.
Several decades ago, their fates had been no different from those miserable people who later joined the Revolutionary Army.
But they had chosen the path of pirates instead, and through unwavering willpower, they had reached their current heights.
Changing them completely would be difficult.
But controlling them?
That was not difficult at all.
Right now, the Revolutionary Army needed their strength.
As for the future...that would depend on their actions.
Ten minutes later, only Rowan and Oden remained inside the underground chamber.
Queen had already been sent directly to the research institute.
As for the Edo Tensei Kaido and King, Rowan had thrown them onto another island in the New World. Pirates were running rampant there recently, making it a suitable place for them to develop.
Meanwhile, Rowan himself still needed to remain in Wano for a period of ideological reform.
After walking out of the underground chamber, Oden once again entered that hesitant, wanting-to-speak state.
Only after returning to the surface did he finally ask:
"You're just letting their crimes go like this?"
"If they ever find a way to free Kaido from your control, they'll definitely betray—"
"I know."
Rowan looked toward Oden.
"But the moment he escapes my control... will also be the moment his soul begins suffering punishment."
"And besides, he won't be able to escape."
"Oden, the sins they committed in Wano and throughout the past are enormous."
"So they are not comrades of the Revolutionary Army."
"If they can spend the future atoning through their own strength, then that's simply another form of making use of waste."
"You've been to Laugh Tale."
"You know how powerful the forces we'll face in the future truly are."
One week later, Kaido and King began coordinating their actions through Den Den Mushi communications with Dragon, accepting supervision.
Meanwhile, the CP0 Chameleon who had screamed in agony for quite some time was also thrown into Corridor Number One.
After likewise being brought back through Edo Tensei, the man burst into tears and declared he would do anything, so long as he never had to return to that punishment again.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Under the Edo Tensei body, he smashed his head into the floor over and over again.
Despite the hollow eyes of the reanimated body, he somehow still managed to produce an expression full of tears and snot.
"My lord! As long as I don't have to suffer that pain again, I'll do anything!"
"I know a lot about CP intelligence! I know their operating habits!"
"I also know about a special abandoned passage within the Red Line!"
"Please... please spare me, my lord..."
Annoyed, Rowan directly assigned the man to the Eastern Army under Ginny.
His task would be mapping out all Heavenly Tribute transportation routes so operations could begin later.
As for the abandoned Red Line passage, Dragon and Kuma would personally verify it.
If confirmed, technical support would be requested from the research division.
Additionally, regarding CP pursuit operations, every Revolutionary Army regional commander could now contact this former CP0 operative directly.
Their goal was to identify the blind spots in the CP organization's search network as quickly as possible and further expand infiltration and underground development.
The emergency evacuation during the previous Five Nations Revolution had made every branch of the Revolutionary Army extremely cautious.
But now, with the assistance of this veteran CP0 agent, they could finally loosen their restraints slightly.
Wano Country Flower Capital.
On one of the bustling streets, a large stage had been erected three days earlier.
A Revolutionary Army instructor had already delivered one lecture there three days ago.
Today was his second speech.
"Everyone,"
"Last time, I explained what class is."
"Today, we will discuss what it means that all life is born equal."
"For a very long time, whether in Wano or the outside world, society has always been divided between nobles and commoners."
"Nobles stand high above, while commoners live like insects."
"So what gives nobles the belief that they are nobles?"
"That's right. Bloodline."
"A noble's child remains a noble. A commoner's child remains a commoner."
"But five hundred years ago... or even one thousand years ago..."
"Wasn't the earliest ancestor of those nobles also once a commoner?"
'The favor of the great lasts no more than five generations.'
"All life is born equal!"
"Those who stand above others do not possess the right to trample upon the lives of common people!"
"Five hundred years ago, was the Kurozumi Clan good or evil?"
"And what about Kurozumi Orochi, the man executed days ago?"
"Everyone, bloodline has never been able to inherit the virtues or sins of one's ancestors."
"Every generation will always produce different people."
The lecture continued.
Compared to three days ago, far more people had come to listen this time.
But clearly, although many among the Wano citizens below revealed thoughtful expressions, there were just as many who remained unconvinced.
Among some of the samurai, sharp glints occasionally flashed through their eyes.
All of this was observed by Rowan.
After taking a sip of tea, he let out a sigh.
As expected, the distorted samurai spirit of this country had now become the first obstacle to ideological reform.
They were different from children.
From the moment they were young, they had been educated to devote themselves to their lord, to the daimyo, and to the Kozuki Clan.
But that was not what Rowan wanted.
If thoughts could not be liberated, then it was not true liberation.
At present, this was only the second public lecture.
The schools had also only just begun teaching their first ideological classes to children.
The true transformation had not yet begun.
And besides he still had not played his trump card.
Thinking this, Rowan looked toward Oden, who was sitting across from him with his daughter.
Hm?
Where did that crafty little girl go?
The next moment, Rowan noticed his Asauchi move slightly.
Lowering his head, he discovered little Hiyori secretly trying to draw his sword.
After realizing she had been caught, the little girl immediately tilted her head up and acted cute.
If Rowan hadn't personally seen her kick Momonosuke flying more than once, he might actually have been fooled.
"If you want to play with swords, go play with your father's."
"My blade might decide to slash you on its own."
Hiyori gave a small bow before replying:
"I heard Masked Uncle's sword is the strongest."
"It even killed a dragon flying in the sky."
"That's why I wanted to take a look."
Seeing Rowan ignore her, Hiyori directly climbed into his lap.
Standing on tiptoe, she also looked outside toward the ongoing lecture.
After listening quietly for a while, she unexpectedly nodded.
"I think what he's saying makes sense."
"After all, if Momo really became shogun, it'd be a complete disaster for everyone in Wano."
Hearing that, Rowan pinched her cheek.
"You don't trust your own brother?"
"Heh."
Letting out a cold laugh, Hiyori crossed her arms.
"Would the whole country have to spend every single day finding ways to stop him from crying?"
"Every time something happens, he hides in Mother's arms."
"He even steals my spot!"
Uh... →_→
Across from them, Oden listened for a while before realizing something felt off.
So the real issue was that Momonosuke kept taking her place.
Rowan laughed softly and poked Hiyori's puffed-up cheek, deflating it.
If the only thing inherited through bloodline was the ability to communicate with Zunesha then that alone was nowhere near enough to qualify someone to become a ruler or decision-maker.
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