The story in the world of One Piece is filled with passion and hope, an epic saga challenging fate and seeking freedom.
Rowen, who had experienced death once, was not easily moved by external matters. His perspective was different, and he saw a world filled with gun smoke and brutal slavery through those beautiful and pure wings of dreams.
He was not a compassionate saint, but a pragmatic visionary.
“I came, I saw, I conquered…”
That was all.
Having regarded this world as a forbidden fruit, he naturally couldn’t tolerate certain entities jumping too high.
“Straw Hat” Luffy was tolerable; he was an admirably naive guy, and now wasn’t the time to deal with him. But the other one, Rowen couldn’t wait to send him to Hell, to be with the dead.
The Ark returned, but Rowen used an official order to leave himself in the New World. Kizaru and Akainu glanced deeply at him but said nothing.
With CP0 possessing authority equal to that of the Marines, and a secret order imprinted with the emblem of the Celestial Dragons, Rowen had every right to stay in the New World, and the two Admirals had no right to object.
At this moment, on a ship that appeared to be a merchant vessel but was actually staffed entirely by CP0 agents, the walls with excellent sound insulation separated the rooms from the corridor. A group of men in white suits knelt half-bowed on the ground, respectfully bowing their heads away from the two.
Rowen sat beside Lirisk, holding a wine glass and remaining silent.
Across from him, Lirisk had been laughing for nearly three minutes.
“Hā hā hā hā!! And… not a single one of them survived! You didn’t see it, those guys went crazy trying to find the Dark-Dark Fruit, their brains seemed to have melted!!”
Lirisk was still dressed in the Celestial Dragons’ noble attire with golden threads, and he hadn’t stopped laughing since he saw Rowen.
Initially, it was out of curiosity that he ordered CP0 to cooperate in this act. “Since we’re idle anyway, we might as well have some fun.” This was the Celestial Dragons’ mindset that got involved. But unexpectedly, things developed so quickly.
The Gorōsei (Five Elder Stars), who knew the truth, remained silent. Instead, a group of government officials with various undisclosed purposes were dispatched to participate with their combat capabilities.
Now, in this not-so-large sea, there were members from the Revolutionary Army, Pirates, Marine spies, Underground World Hitmen, government officials’ trained elite, and various personnel. No matter which island they landed on, they might encounter a large group of hidden individuals.
The dim sea seemed to be hiding an unknown beast, devouring all living prey.
And the cause was just an imitation of the Dark-Dark Fruit.
This sense of superiority and absurdity, as if he alone was enlightened in the entire world, made Lirisk laugh heartily.
“Hā hā hā hā… Cough cough!!!”
Perhaps he laughed too hard, Lirisk coughed twice and stopped, then looked at Rowen with cold, animal-like eyes, asking, “Well… now that people have been lured here, what’s your plan?”
Marshall D. Teach!
An unknown name…
But after Rowen pointed him out as a target, Lirisk ordered an investigation into his past. Besides the mysterious meaning of the “D,” the only notable achievement he could bring up was that when the current Yonko, “Red Hair” Shanks, was young, he left three indelible scars on Shanks’ left eye.
As someone who was considered a senior member of Whitebeard’s ship, he couldn’t see any difference.
However, with just one sentence, Rowen dispelled Lirisk’s doubts and made him take this grand act seriously.
“You can think of him as a pirate version of me, Celestial Dragons Lirisk.”
The question of “Who is Rowen” didn’t need further explanation. Lirisk, as a dignified Celestial Dragon, was willing to befriend him not just because of the life-saving favor in the past, but also because of his deep wariness of Rowen.
Born in the household of the Nibelung Household, he always remembered the teachings of his ancestors.
“True strength lies in one’s own power!”
Actually, there was a second half to this ancestral saying.
“But there will always be someone stronger in the world!”
“So you either kill him or make sure he won’t kill you.”
Did Rowen have the courage to kill a Celestial Dragon? Just think about Doflamingo, who was locked up by him in an underground prison… To ensure that guy’s safety, the “Tyrant” Kuma’s consciousness erasure plan, which was approaching its scheduled date, was delayed and even going out was prohibited.
He knew too many secrets about Rowen, and Lirisk didn’t want to be the next target of Rowen’s actions. So, before he was sure he could kill Rowen, he had to make sure Rowen wouldn’t kill him.
To this question, Rowen responded calmly.
“There is no need to rush. Although everyone has come for the legendary and most dangerous Devil Fruit, ‘Dark-Dark Fruit,’ seeing is believing. We need someone substantial to help us inspect the goods.”
“Inspect the goods? Pū Chī!!!”
Lirisk was taken aback, and he spat out a mouthful of wine.
“Hā hā hā!! Rowen, you’re truly cunning. You’re playing Whitebeard for a fool!”
Zī Zī…
Waving his hand to dissipate the electromagnetic barrier blocking the red wine, Rowen rolled his eyes. “In fact, he willingly plays the fool.”
“With so many family members and such a large territory… He can’t help but play the fool.”
“So, do we need to…?”
Lirisk gestured at his throat. “Hm? After all, he holds a grudge against you, doesn’t he?”
“Do you want to start a war with the enraged Whitebeard?” Rowen shot him a glance as he asked.
If it weren’t for fearing Whitebeard, there wouldn’t be such a complicated setup. Without the Dark-Dark Fruit or the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, Teach, who was just at the strength of an ordinary Headquarter Vice Admiral, was at most slightly stronger than Momousagi and Chaton. The weaknesses of a pure martial artist were too obvious. Killing him would be no more difficult than exerting a bit of effort.
“Uh!”
Lirisk choked for a moment and weakly leaned against the soft sofa, sinking into it. “Alright, Whitebeard is indeed not someone to be trifled with… My father also said that the ‘Monster’ still possesses the world’s strongest power. We must not provoke him.”
“So, what do I need to do? It wasn’t easy for me to slip out!”
Lirisk stood up, showcasing his streamlined muscles.
Yes, he had ‘slipped out’! Since the last duel ended in a ‘draw,’ Orrick felt that Lirisk’s strength was too weak. So, although he didn’t restrict his external communications, he confined him to Mary Geoise.
This time, he took the opportunity to sneak out and come to the New World.
“You didn’t have a chance to take action in the plan anyway. Just be responsible for watching the show quietly. And protect yourself while you’re at it.” Rowen raised his wine glass and took a sip, calmly stating, “Many people will die in the New World next. I don’t have time to protect you.”
As a Marine serving the government, telling a Celestial Dragon, “I don’t have time to protect you,” the CP0 members lying in the distance shuddered all over but remained silent.
Especially Rob Lucci and a few former CP-9 members led by him, they wore bitter smiles on their faces.
When Rowen said this, it seemed… perfectly normal!
Lirisk wasn’t surprised at all by Rowen’s words. He was one of only three people in the world who knew the entire truth about this matter. Judging from the chaos in the plan, Rowen would only have time to protect him if there were doubts.
However…
“Why do I feel like you’re scheming against me?”
The sixth sense of a Zoan Awakening user was extraordinarily sharp. Looking at Rowen’s calm expression, Lirisk couldn’t help but feel a chill run down his spine, and goosebumps rose on his arm.
“No, you must be overthinking it!”
Rowen looked at him sincerely.
(End of this chapter)
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