"Ha!"
The blade swept past Rowan's side.
The flying slash it unleashed split the villa's floor in two, shattering the entire wall.
But that also gave Rowan the opportunity he needed.
He leaped straight through the broken wall.
From the corner of his eye, he saw that Saint Figarland Garling, who had just erupted with overwhelming Haki, made no move to pursue him.
Instead, it was the person who had launched the sneak attack from behind that chased after him.
Garling slowly rose to his feet and walked outside.
He looked completely unconcerned with Rowan.
"Defy the will of the gods and death is the only ending awaiting you."
What boundless arrogance.
Ordinary Celestial Dragons were arrogantly foolish.
But Garling truly regarded Rowan as nothing more than an insect that could be crushed at will.
The pursuer closed the distance at incredible speed, swinging his sword at Rowan once more.
Pushing off the ground, Rowan shot toward another nearby estate.
But the next instant.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out.
Through his Observation Haki, Rowan twisted aside.
Behind him, the courtyard wall exploded open with a massive hole.
A man holding a golden short rifle stood in the distance, watching him leisurely.
"My, my..."
"My first shot was just a little slow."
"This rabbit that's been running around for twenty-one years has rather quick reflexes."
"But do you really think there are still those useless fools inside?"
Rowan's gaze shifted.
A dying ordinary guard was thrown out into the open.
His Observation Haki swept across the estate.
There wasn't another living person inside.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three more figures caught up from behind in an instant.
One of them laughed.
"What a waste of the trap we set."
"But at least this rabbit has finally given me a chance to shoot him."
"Come to think of it twenty-one years ago I only narrowly missed making the rankings."
The woman beside him smiled.
"So are you planning to ask Lord Garling for the prize you failed to win twenty-one years ago?"
"Hahahahaha!"
Inside the estate Rowan had just escaped from the dozen or so powerful presences he had sensed earlier all burst into laughter.
Casual.
Conceited.
Utterly full of themselves.
Yet Rowan no longer felt even the slightest anger.
Their earlier conversation had already given him his answer.
He was human.
They were not.
They weren't his people.
That reason alone was enough.
Only one side could survive.
This Shadow Clone had already accomplished most of its purpose.
Originally, the plan had been to kill three Celestial Dragons.
But the enemy's response had simply been too fast.
Now extracting as much information as possible was what mattered most.
"You treat ordinary humans like insects yet you also regard your fellow Celestial Dragons as trash?"
"If the people inside heard you say that they'd probably curse you out."
As Rowan spoke, his Observation Haki spread to its limit, remaining alert for attacks from every direction.
The woman who had spoken earlier laughed disdainfully.
"Fellow Celestial Dragons?"
"We're not the same family just because we're Celestial Dragons and even among those who share the same surname the people inside those ruins are—"
"Rulina Palace."
The man with the golden rifle suddenly interrupted her.
She immediately swallowed the rest of her sentence.
Rowan frowned.
Celestial Dragons weren't all the same.
Combined with what Garling had said earlier and this woman's refusal to acknowledge the others as her own kind there was clearly something much bigger hidden beneath the surface.
In Rowan's memories Doflamingo had once carried his father's severed head back to Mary Geoise, hoping to reclaim his status.
He had been rejected without hesitation.
Yet later after hijacking the Heavenly Tribute, he had threatened the World Government with the secret of the Celestial Dragons and secured himself a position among the Seven Warlords.
"Kill him!"
Rowan's thoughts had barely begun to race before they were interrupted.
Three bullets came flying toward him.
He instantly retreated, gradually falling back toward the edge of Mary Geoise.
Although losing this Shadow Clone wouldn't matter much now, he still wanted to test just how capable these so-called Holy Knights really were.
As he fought while retreating, every attack aimed at him was lethal.
Yet every single time, Rowan narrowly escaped.
Throughout the chase, only ordinary guards appeared across Mary Geoise.
Not a single Celestial Dragon could be seen.
Finally, the moment Rowan sensed his Flying Thunder God markers again, having stepped beyond the zone where teleportation was suppressed around Mary Geoise he suddenly stopped.
"Ha!"
A blade swept past him, carving through the ground.
Bluestone paving exploded into fragments.
"Oh?"
"Why'd you stop?"
"Have you finally chosen the place where you want to die?"
"Kill him!"
The mocking voices rang out from behind once again.
But Rowan remained perfectly still.
"...You....were deliberately letting me escape?"
As he spoke, Rowan looked at the five people pursuing him.
That's right.
More than a dozen powerful figures had surrounded the estate earlier.
Yet only five were actually chasing him now.
And the instant Rowan spoke all five stopped.
The ridicule and amusement that had been on their faces as they toyed with their prey vanished completely.
"I've been found out."
"Did we overact?"
"I've been continuously using Future Sight Observation Haki."
"There shouldn't have been any flaws at all."
"Operation: Hare Returns to Its Burrow... failed."
"Kill him."
Just as Rowan's Shadow Clone was about to say something else in hopes of drawing out more information a deafening gunshot echoed across the battlefield.
Bang!
The Shadow Clone burst into a cloud of white smoke.
The next moment behind the five pursuers, Saint Figarland Garling slowly walked forward, his gaze fixed on the spot where Rowan's clone had disappeared.
The Five Elders had been right.
The one who infiltrated Mary Geoise was most likely not the real body.
The tracking mark had already been planted.
But in the end their true objective had been discovered.
As a Celestial Dragon of the Holy Knights Garling indeed possessed the pride and arrogance to view all ordinary people as insects.
But unlike those foolish Celestial Dragons he wasn't an idiot.
Twenty-one years ago at God Valley he had already witnessed what those "insects" were capable of.
Though insignificant in some respects they were never to be underestimated.
"Accept your punishment."
"...Yes."
Half an hour earlier.
Aboard the massive twin-masted ship that had already reached the transfer island.
Rowan stood quietly, watching the people who had only just escaped their nightmare.
At this moment every facet of human nature was on display.
Some entire families had survived together and embraced each other while weeping.
Others sat alone in silence, having lost every loved one they had.
Some had been taken to Mary Geoise years ago and long since lost all contact with their families.
Now they could only stare blankly out at the sea, not knowing where to go.
There were children only seven or eight years old who still trembled in fear.
Many knelt on the deck, kissing it as tears of joy streamed down their faces, celebrating their escape from hell and then there was little Koala.
After climbing down from Tiger's arms she had somehow found a rag and had begun wiping the deck.
Tiger crouched beside her, speaking to her gently again and again.
But no matter what he said he couldn't stop her from scrubbing the floor.
Only then did Rowan walk over.
Busy as ever, Koala crawled all over the crowded deck, wiping every spot she could reach. Eventually, she bumped into Rowan.
She looked up.
A stiff smile was plastered across her face, but tears of fear streamed uncontrollably from her eyes.
Rowan crouched down and gently wiped away her tears.
"Want to hear some news?"
Koala didn't respond. The frozen smile remained on her face.
Rowan continued, "The man who rescued all of you... by now, he should have killed Saint Matas. The Celestial Dragon who beat you back at Mary Geoise. But after killing him... he probably won't be coming back."
The moment those words fell...
Koala's rigid smile froze.
Tears poured down her face as her body began trembling violently.
Seeing her emotional collapse, Tiger, who had just walked over, felt his heart tighten.
"Sir..."
Rowan waved him off and continued looking at Koala.
"If you stay like this for the rest of your life... then I think the life that man risked to save you wasn't worth it."
"Because he always believed that all life is equal. He believed you were a person, not a slave. You have your own thoughts. A child should be playing happily and learning."
"But from what I can see... you still believe you're nothing more than a slave."
Koala continued sobbing.
After Rowan stood up, Tiger gently picked her up into his arms.
A long while later Koala slowly raised her head from Tiger's embrace.
"S-Sir..."
Rowan looked back.
With tear-filled eyes, Koala looked toward the direction of Mary Geoise.
"I... I'm... not... a slave."
Just that single sentence seemed to drain every ounce of strength from the little girl.
She was different from Tiger and the other adults.
She had never seen Rowan's bounty poster.
She probably hadn't even fully understood everything Rowan had said back in the prison.
She only knew one thing.
The man had saved her and he hadn't left with them.
Rowan smiled.
Then he turned and walked away.
Not long afterward, Hancock, having finished comforting her two younger sisters, walked over.
"So even you lie to children, Sir."
Rowan smiled.
"I wouldn't call it lying."
"The younger a child is, the more clearly they can tell who truly treats them well and who doesn't."
"The fear she'd endured for so long made it impossible for her to live normally."
"But deep down... she already knew she'd escaped that place."
Hancock thought quietly for a moment.
"So... your clone stayed behind as their benefactor, making her understand that only by being brave and standing up again could she truly honor his sacrifice?"
Rowan continued gazing toward Mary Geoise.
"Not even close."
"The years ahead are the only medicine that can truly heal her and besides aren't you the same?"
Hancock froze.
She instinctively turned her head, as if she could feel the brand burned into her back.
The Hoof of the Celestial Dragon.
The mark carried by every slave of the Celestial Dragons.
Seeing her reaction, Rowan knew exactly what the future Pirate Empress was thinking.
The proud, arrogant woman from his memories who always looked down on others had only been wearing a mask.
When Blackbeard had grabbed her by the throat, she had remained composed, preserving the dignity of the Empress of Amazon Lily.
But after Rayleigh rescued her she had curled up against the old man's knee, trembling in fear.
After thinking for a moment, Rowan gently placed a hand on her head.
"Many people on this ship have the same mark."
"For example, the big guy who came with me to rescue all of you and even me."
"If that big uncle hadn't saved me when I was one year old my fate would've been even worse than yours."
Hancock slowly looked up.
"You too?"
"You were rescued by that uncle?"
"Just like how you rescued us today?"
Rowan shook his head.
"No."
"When I was one year old the Celestial Dragons called me the Hare."
"The prey in one of their hunting games."
"They carried out their hunt in my homeland but I was only a baby."
"My score value was too low."
"To them I wasn't even worth wasting a bullet on every three years they hold what they call a 'field trip.'"
"They choose an island and turn it into a hunting ground everyone living there including the king becomes prey."
His simple recounting left Hancock staring blankly at him.
Rowan continued planting the seed.
"Because I've seen a hell that truly exists in this world I want to change it."
"I told you before."
"I'm looking forward to your future because your talent may one day allow you to stand beside me."
"What do you mean... talent? Standing beside you?"
Changing this world making those disgusting, bloated parasites disappear!
At that moment, a brand-new conviction was planted deep within Hancock's heart, quietly waiting for the day it would blossom.
"I can do it..."
She murmured to herself, slowly clenching her fist.
"Sir... I want to stand beside you."
Rowan smiled.
"Mm."
At that moment, the ship reached shore.
Everyone disembarked in an orderly fashion.
At the same time the second Shadow Clone Rowan had left behind in Mary Geoise was finally destroyed.
The memories from its destruction flooded back all at once.
Rowan frowned, momentarily dazed.
Shadow Clones really weren't suited for combat in this world.
The Steel Body talent wasn't shared with them, and their physical abilities were far inferior to his true body.
The entire battle had been nothing but dodging.
He hadn't even been able to use Ryūjin Jakka.
But operation: Hare Returns to Its Burrow so they had been planning that from the very beginning?
And then there was the distinction between Celestial Dragons.
Those Celestial Dragons raised like livestock weren't considered their own kind.
Yet they also weren't referred to as insects or vermin.
Everyone from the ship gathered inside a large building on the island.
Rowan pushed those thoughts aside and walked onto the platform before the crowd.
His introduction was brief and straightforward.
He explained the Revolutionary Army's purpose.
Anyone willing to join could remain behind and undergo training.
Those who failed the assessment would not be accepted.
Those unwilling to join, along with most of the children who still had families waiting for them would be sent home by Kuma.
With only a single person's weight to carry, the Chicken Talisman could lift them high enough to cross over the Red Line.
After that, Kuma's Paw-Paw Fruit could send them directly back to their hometowns.
Soon the crowd split into different groups.
Kuma contacted one of the Revolutionary Army's training bases in the New World responsible for recruiting newcomers.
Those who chose to join would soon be transported there.
Hancock and her two sisters were still too young.
And Amazon Lily was an important destination in Rowan's plans.
Ignoring Hancock's dissatisfied stare, Rowan firmly insisted they return home.
"You're still too young to join us."
"When you're an adult I'll personally come to Amazon Lily to find you."
Only after hearing those words did Hancock finally smile.
She raised her hand, asking Rowan for a high-five.
"Sir even lies to little children let alone girls like me."
"So if you don't come find me after I grow up then I'll come find you instead."
Rowan sighed helplessly.
"Didn't I already explain that before?"
"Don't worry."
"I'll come."
"As long as you still remember our promise when the time comes."
Beside her, Sandersonia flicked out her snake-like tongue.
"By then, Sister will be very beautiful."
"Sir, don't fall in love with her, okay?"
"Ah!"
Blushing bright red, Hancock glared at her sister before secretly stealing a glance at Rowan.
But she found nothing unusual.
He was still wearing the same mask.
Even the look in his eyes hadn't changed.
Marigold tugged gently on Hancock's sleeve.
"Big Sister it's almost our turn."
Hancock looked toward Kuma.
The line had nearly reached the three sisters.
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