Momousagi and Chaton, although not given much screen time and later being overshadowed by Fujitora and Ryokugyu, the two words “Admiral Candidates” are enough to indicate their strength.
Out of the 16 Headquarters Vice Admirals who have sufficient Military Merit qualifications, why are only Momousagi and Chaton referred to as “Admiral candidates”?
The answer is simple…
Their strength surpasses the other Vice Admirals by far!
But their power is not enough to challenge an Admiral yet…
That is why they are not yet Admirals, but are still recognized as “Admiral candidates”!
Rowen’s strength, excluding techniques that require time to hone proficiency such as Armament Haki and Life Return (Seimei Kikan), is not inferior to the other Headquarters Vice Admirals.
This is not only the basis for his confidence in being appointed as the new G-10 branch Base Head, but also a reflection of his lack of experience.
If he was strong enough, the Marine Headquarters would have assigned him a more important job than just being the Base Head of the G-10 Brance in the First Half of the Grand Line, just like Momousagi and Chaton, who were left at Headquarters and given important tasks by Sengoku.
He would have been forced by his greedy boss Sengoku to work as an Admiral, earning Military Merits and gaining enough strength to suppress all pirates.
Or he might be overshadowed by others…
His battle with Shanks may have been a test, which will make Rowen even more aware of what he needs to do.
To grow stronger!
To grow stronger without stopping!
If Rowen still has to rely on the original Luffy to witness everything in this world, he will only despise himself.
…
Newland Island, a small town port.
“Mr. Marine, thank you so much!”
“Thank you, everyone, so much!”
“Take care of yourselves!”
The port’s weathered cobblestones were crowded with townspeople who had come to see off the Marines who had rescued them from the oppression of the Scissor Pirate gang. The townspeople were sincerely grateful to the Marines and they were showing all their thanks that they could at this moment.
One by one, the recruits were holding the souvenirs presented by the residents, and their eyes were a little red.
The recruits hugged the local specialties given to them by the residents, their eyes reddened with emotion. They felt they hadn’t done well enough in this real-life exercise, and many sacrifices could have been avoided if they had not been afraid, weak, and nervous during the operation.
Nonetheless, the townspeople showed their warm enthusiasm, digging out their most precious gifts from their not-so-affluent homes, which made the recruits feel guilty about receiving the gifts.
Zephyr didn’t order them to put down the gifts but let them keep them as a reminder of what they did there and what more they could have done.
Only by knowing shame can one work harder to erase it.
These gifts were not only a witness to their first real-life battle, but also a whip that lashed them into progress.
“Rowen, are you sure you don’t want to come back with me?” Zephyr looked at Rowen beside him, who had not boarded the ship and had arranged for soldiers to prepare for departure with Ain and Shuzo.
Rowen nodded at the question. “The Headquarters’ abandoned Drilling Square is too small. It’s impossible for me to develop my Devil Fruit abilities there, let alone simply train there.”
In the One Piece world, except for lifespan, everything else including the battle strength could really break through the sky, there was no limit to how strong someone could get here and if there was then Rowen hasn’t seen it!
Since arriving here, Rowen’s strength had increased tremendously, and even a single punch of his was too much for the Drilling Square to bear.
“Indeed, even if you come back with me to practice, we won’t be able to use our full strength, and that won’t produce any results in our training!” Zephyr agreed and nodded.
Marine regulations were very strict in this area, and the incident where Rowen and Garp were thrown into prison was well understood.
Now that Rowen’s strength was getting stronger and stronger, continuing to stay at Marine Headquarters’ Drilling Square would inevitably lead to a shortage of training space, not to mention the damage Rowen could cause if he somehow lost control of his strength.
Three hundred miles to the east of here was a deserted island, called the Wild Island. It was said that the Marines had planned to establish a branch there, but due to the ferocity of the island’s wild beasts, they had to give up.
The area was large enough, the wild beast’s strength was strong enough, and the island’s resources were abundant enough for someone to become self-sufficient, making it a rare training place.
“Well then!” Zephyr made a decision. “I’ll go back and arrange for the recruit camp. After I’m done with them, I’ll come to see you. Remember to bring your Den Den Mushi with you and let me know if there are any problems.”
“Understood!”
At that moment, Rowen noticed someone approaching him from behind. When he recognized who it was, he lowered his eyelids and pretended not to notice.
Click!
A strand of hair was plucked out of his head.
“It hurts a lot, Sister Ain!”
Rowen rubbed his hair in frustration while Ain rolled her eyes and collected his hair with a handkerchief.
“Oh, yeah!” Suddenly, Zephyr’s eyes lit up as he realized something. “Oh, I see now! Rowen, have you ever made a Vivre Card?”
Rowen was speechless: “…”
HeHe!
Under Ain’s meaningful gaze, Battleship slowly left the town. Despite the friendly invitations of the townspeople, Rowen refused and instead gave them his Den Den Mushi number before floating away.
…
Shanks rescued Ace, but only a few people knew about it. Sengoku ordered the information to be kept a secret and only allowed it to be circulated within the Marine Headquarters and that too to limited personals.
The Gorōsei (Five Elder Stars) were furious about the fact that their planned Shichibukai was taken away, greatly damaging the World Government’s reputation.
However, they didn’t issue a strict order for Sengoku to capture Ace and Shanks as they knew that would be impossible. Instead, they continued to offer the Shichibukai position to Ace as long as he agreed.
Rowen speculated that this was because they discovered Ace’s true identity, but they couldn’t confirm it yet. They tried to lure him in and keep him under their control.
In addition, the fact that Rowen was able to emerge unscathed from his fight with Shanks didn’t go unnoticed by certain individuals.
Zipper Thunder, which is associated with Supercharged Travel, was difficult to conceal and could be seen moving from a long distance.
When Zipper Thunder’s path coincided with the location of the Red Force, some interested and nosy people started to investigate the situation.
Shanks attacking the Marines was one thing, but Rowen fighting Shanks was another thing altogether.
In the eyes of most people, it wasn’t surprising for Shanks to attack the Marines.
After all, he was one of the Yonkō (Four Emperors) and a person who is closest to being the pirate king.
Why wouldn’t he oppose the Marines? So there was nothing weird about that.
But the fact that Rowen was able to emerge unscathed after fighting Shanks and appearing next to Zephyr the next day was shocking to many.
They naturally didn’t know Shanks personally but what they did know is that no one would be stupid enough to immediately attack him because they knew that the Yonkō (Four Emperors) were not to be trifled with.
Only a Yonko could wage war against a Yonko. Anyone else doing it just inviting death on their doorsteps.
Despite all this, Rowen was able to fight Shanks and escape alive from his clutches, this fact alone spoke volumes about Rowen’s abilities.
With some people fueling the rumors, the news quickly spread across the sea. The whole world was in shock.
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