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‘What in this world can make one feel threatened nowadays?’ Rowen fell into contemplation.
Fellow peers of equal strength? There were none here.
Seas where even Ability users would drown? It was not here either.
Other things like Underground rivers… It wasn’t that Rowen was arrogant, but with his current power, even the mighty Niagara Falls could be vaporized in an instant, despite any limitations of the lightning’s conduction process, which might not be suitable for widespread heating.
So, the answer was quite apparent.
“Seastone!”
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
As Rowen uttered those words, he instantly looked up.
From the vast expanse of the cavernous ceiling, specks of white streaked down, painting the sky a pale gray.
The workers remained oblivious to the danger above, busying themselves with their tasks until they noticed the flickering electrical currents around the nearby piles of gold, prompting them to scramble away.
Under the influence of the electrical currents, tons of gold melted rapidly, then, as if imbued with life, flowed and twisted, surging skyward.
Thunder Metallurgy!
Rowen’s eyes flickered with electric light as he melted and manipulated tons of gold, instantly forming a golden disc above his head to deflect the attacks.
Immediately, a tempest-like barrage of strikes followed.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Although the canopy blocked the lethal attacks, the inertia of the attacks was tremendous. The thunderous strikes against the golden disc produced deafening reverberations in the enclosed environment of the Underground.
Weaker-bodied workers soon found themselves coughing up blood, clutching their ears in agony as they collapsed to the ground.
Rowen turned his head, noticing some overlooked pieces on the ground.
“Seastone can be modified to such a fine state?!”
Those objects stuck in the ground looked familiar to Rowen. While learning Rokushiki·Shigan, Zephyr had tailored a training program for him to enhance his finger dexterity and control over his hand muscles and bones.
It was called “Threading the Needle.”
Zephyr had prohibited him from using Devil Fruit abilities to cheat, Rowen had to use a sewing needle and solely rely on his hands to pass through over a hundred pre-made holes within thirty seconds, without pausing in between.
The difficulty increased gradually until Rowen could perfectly control both of his hands and execute the most qualified Shigan.
Yes!
Those objects stuck in the ground were unmistakably shaped like sewing needles!
One must understand that Seastone was hailed as the most durable substance in the world, with an incredibly high level of difficulty in processing!
Even creating handcuffs and chains from Seastone was considered the limit, including for the World Government. Small factions would struggle even with raw Seastone ore, causing prices for Seastone products on the Black Market to remain exorbitantly high.
Rowen knew about the craftsmen from Wano Country, the same artisans who had crafted the Poneglyphs. They could even turn Seastone into nails.
But these sewing needles far exceeded the limits of even that group!
“Who could possess such forging skills?” Frowning in contemplation, Rowen suddenly raised an eyebrow and grinned mischievously. “Don’t you know that gold is an excellent conductor of electricity?”
Zap! Zap!
Below the golden disc, there was a pillar, as thick as three people hugging, supporting the golden disc like a tree trunk. Now, as Rowen exerted his strength, lightning serpents slithered straight and true, adorning the golden trunk with dazzling brilliance, shimmering like neon lights.
“Ahh!!!”
It was beautiful, yet it was accompanied by Killing Intentions.
The electric light on the disc suddenly surged, and the golden tree blossomed, the piercing screams echoing through the cavern, telling the tale of its owner’s agony.
Thunder Metallurgy · Gold Cage!
Without hesitation, Rowen continued, pressing his hand onto the golden floor beneath his feet, serving as a conductor, and controlling the electric currents to melt more gold.
The enemies on the disc were roasted by the electric currents, their bodies charred and numb. At this moment, hot golden pillars, agile and orderly, twisted and entangled upwards, swiftly binding the group of individuals securely.
“Done!”
Rowen clapped effortlessly, the monstrous creatures that posed an extreme danger to ordinary people and even Billion-Belly pirates were nothing before him.
The golden disc blocked the space above, forcing them to land on it.
And Rowen, being in control of the disc, was quick to notice this.
“But still, some preparations are necessary.”
With this thought in mind, the disc above his head quickly disintegrated amidst a flurry of electric currents. The black monsters, bound tightly, were thrown heavily onto the ground, unable to move.
Rowen controlled the disintegrating gold, his forehead shimmering with the Thunder God symbol.
Although his control had skyrocketed after Awakening, and he no longer needed the Thunder God symbol, as the ultimate technique of the “Overload” system, its meticulous observation capabilities were still quite handy.
With Rowen’s movements, semi-solidified golden masses slammed onto the stone walls, spreading and diffusing like ink in the horrified eyes of the workers.
Before long, the entire Underground space was covered by a thin layer of gold.
Thunder Metallurgy · Gold Dome!
“This is a nice arrangement! Not everyone revealed themselves at once; there are still some hiding in the ceiling.”
Under the close cover of gold, any slight discrepancies that could evade Rowen’s Observation Haki were magnified infinitely. He smirked, raising his hand to unleash Thunder Pillars one by one.
200 million Volts · Rice Spike Thunderstrike!
Bang! Bang!
The monsters disguised as rocks on the ceiling instantly turned into ash, without even a chance to utter a cry, scattering into the air under the terrifying heat of the electric current.
After completing these tasks, Rowen casually clapped his hands, turning to look at the bewildered workers. “Stay calm. I’ll restore this place later, and moving out the treasure is still your job.”
He wasn’t the Gold Emperor; covering the cave with gold like this was already the limit of Rowen’s increased control after Awakening. Moreover, this place was nearly a kilometer away from the outside, so controlling so much gold to move it out would be a massive undertaking!
The workers looked at each other, and finally, the temporary commander reacted first, squeezing out of the crowd. “Yes, Vice Admiral Rowen! We will obey your orders!”
“Very well! Then…”
With the Thunder Dragon Crescent-Sided Halberd in hand, Rowen stepped closer to the bound monsters, his Killing Intentions palpable.
“Who wants to speak up? Raise your hand.”
The monsters remained silent, motionless like corpses.
Pū Chī!
The cold blade pierced through a body, causing one of the monsters, wrapped in a black substance, to tremble frantically as if electrocuted. Its hardened shell quickly peeled away, revealing the human features beneath.
“A corpse?”
Rowen frowned slightly as he looked at this.
Just like in the stories, these monsters were once human.
But the body of this monster was as dry as a mummy, meaning that the human inside had died long before he made his move.
Rowen couldn’t believe that anything could survive in such a mummified state.
The energy they used for movement probably came entirely from the black shell on their bodies, which was now punctured by him, causing their equilibrium to be disrupted, and thus they simply died off completely.
So…
“If they’re corpses, it means they lack consciousness, right?”
Rowen regretfully scanned his captives.
He had hoped to extract some information from them, but it turned out they were just a bunch of animated corpses.
But then again…
This tomb space was so sealed off, with no second exit whatsoever. These creatures had been inside for at least 300 years. Even if there was enough food, their lifespan wouldn’t be enough to sustain them.
“Forget it, it’s none of my business.”
Rowen shook his head self-deprecatingly, lightning crackling in his palm, preparing to execute them on the spot.
But at that moment…
“Wait! We can speak!”
The voice was rough and hoarse, like the wind blowing over a sand dune. One of the petroleum monsters raised its pitch-black head in an inexplicable mix of grief and indignation.
“You said to raise our hands, didn’t you?”
“Give us a chance, at least!”
With that, the petroleum monster rolled over on the ground and turned around, revealing its tightly bound hands behind its back.
Rowen: “…”
Sensing the workers’ discreet glances behind him, Rowen’s mouth twitched uncontrollably, letting out a cold snort. “If you could speak, why didn’t you speak up earlier? Tell me, what’s your purpose?”
“Well… Marine sir.”
Another petroleum monster nearby spoke softly. “It’s a misunderstanding! We haven’t spoken to anyone in a very, very long time, so we momentarily forgot we still had the ability to speak.”
In the timeless Underground, the petroleum monsters had no concept of how much time had passed on the surface.
“Indeed, my cousin’s nephew’s uncle had a tumor in his mouth and couldn’t speak for several years. After it was cured, it took him several months to speak again.”
A worker nodded confidently, stroking his chin.
Then, feeling a sudden chill, he retreated nervously into the depths of the crowd.
Rowen: “…”
(-ω)▄︻┻┳══━一
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(End of this chapter)
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