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An overwhelming burst of Haoshoku Haki surged up, and in Rowen’s eyes and the world instantly changed color. Everything slowed down immensely, be it time or space.
“Is it that move again?”
The last time they fought, Rowen was defeated by this very move. The image of the ocean arching like a crown still lingered in his mind.
A few years later, when faced with this move again, Rowen felt that he… well, at least he wasn’t completely powerless.
Roar!!!
Hesitating any longer would result in being torn apart by the sword’s light, so Rowen immediately unleashed all of his power. The Thunder Cloud Dragon pattern engraved in his body filled with a massive amount of lightning, unleashing a deafening dragon roar.
Haoshoku Haki surged wildly, causing waves to appear in this world that was as murky and sticky as a swamp.
Like a dragonfly skimming the water, the ripples spread.
They were weak but present.
A flash of surprise crossed Shanks’ eyes. No one had ever been able to affect the world of his Haki in this way.
Even other Yonko could only protect themselves during its execution, differing only in the extent of their injuries.
“This pressure, it’s more than just Haoshoku.”
It was the mixture of two forces that caused the disturbance in his Haki world.
Frowning silently, Shanks didn’t hesitate.
Even if Rowen could cause ripples in the Haki world, it only meant that he could withstand the mental effects of Haoshoku.
The last time they fought, strictly speaking, he had only used half of that move, and Rowen couldn’t even withstand the mental impact. He wasn’t qualified for Shanks to use the second stage.
Now, the second stage was coming!
In the dark world, lightning suddenly flashed, sword shadows floated in the air, and endless Haoshoku Haki shook the space. Stones and sand defied gravity, rising up and merging into a white streak of light that vanished in an instant.
Clang!!!
Sparks erupted in the void!
The piercing sound of the sword made heads spin, and the four others fighting stopped in surprise. They knew Shanks’ methods well, and they were astonished because Shanks hadn’t used that move in years since losing an arm.
What could have caused Shanks to disregard his physical condition and unleash the heaven-shattering, earth-shattering Overlord Sword?
The answer soon became clear.
Whiz…
Boom!!!
The figure draped in the Justice Cloak was blasted away like a cannonball, burrowing into the ground at a 5-degree angle, carving a deep trench as it went, effortlessly breaking through the hard stone layers.
When it finally stopped, a deep, bottomless chasm appeared before everyone, stretching across most of McKinley Island.
“Ugh!”
Embedded in a cliff face several meters above the ground, Rowen spat out a large mouthful of blood, the massive gash in his abdomen penetrating his cavity, blood and guts spilling freely, painting the stone wall behind him red.
A terrifyingly fatal injury had been inflicted in a single move!
Hualala!
On [The Red Force], the members of the Red-Haired Pirates cheered in unison at the sight of their captain’s display of strength.
Lucky Roo and Yasopp laughed and raised their hands, cheering their captain’s prowess.
“That’s just reckless, Shanks!”
Beckman grumbled quietly, chewing on his cigar.
But the upturned corners of his mouth indicated that he was in a good mood.
“This is really… terrifying!”
Kizaru’s pupils suddenly shrank, as if recalling some unpleasant memories.
Admirals and Yonko were on the same power level, but the Yonko possessed certain special abilities that gave them an advantage over Admirals.
With the exception of Rowen, they had never had much of an advantage over a Yonko in one-on-one combat.
But now, even Rowen, who had killed Big Mom, couldn’t withstand Shanks’ Emperor Comes?!
“No, he blocked it!”
Whitebeard’s narrow eyes scanned the scene, noting the blood seeping from Shanks’ hand, and a smile tugged at his lips. “I see, though I don’t know how the boy did it, Emperor Comes was indeed broken, leaving a chance for survival.”
“The wounds on his body were probably inflicted when Shanks seized the opportunity to break free from the Haki world.”
As a legendary figure from two eras, Whitebeard’s insight was keen.
Even without witnessing it firsthand, he could infer what had happened from the results.
On one side was Rowen, who had just broken free and was in a dazed state, and on the other was Shanks, whose move had been broken but whose momentum was high.
It was only natural that such an opportunity would lead to this result.
“You… how is that possible?!”
Sure enough!
For the first time, a look of shock appeared on Shanks’ face. Rowen, who seemed to be completely powerless, had managed to block his strike with the thunder halberd at the last moment.
This was something even other Yonko had failed to do!
### Is Rowen stronger than the Yonko?
Impossible!
As the pinnacle of the world, the Yonko represents a peak, an ultimate limit.
If Rowen were stronger than the Yonko, Whitebeard wouldn’t have lasted until they arrived.
So it’s absolutely impossible.
“Cough Cough…”
On the cliff, new flesh was rapidly growing together at the wound site, and Rowen’s pale skin was gradually turning rosy as strength slowly returned to his body.
While waiting for the wound to heal, Rowen carefully reached out a finger and placed a blue crystal in his pocket.
Immediately, a massive current surged out, and with a “bang,” half of the cliff collapsed, shattered by lightning.
“Phew… that was close, I almost got my head chopped off.”
As Rowen landed on the ground, he wiped non-existent sweat from his forehead and, noticing the stares from afar, grinned.
“What’s so strange about that? I’m a Devil Fruit user!”
“Is that… Sea Crystal?!”
“Such a large piece of Seacrystal? How much is that worth?”
“Don’t you know? Soryu is a trillionaire!”
Rowen’s movements were not subtle. In fact, his caution made them seem slow, so many people saw the Seacrystal.
But the focus wasn’t on Rowen having such a large piece of Seacrystal; it was on…
Shanks raised his head in shock, unable to believe it. “You actually used Seacrystal to break free of the influence!”
“Madman!!!”
He had always thought that Rowen broke free from the Haki world of Emperor Comes by using a mixture of two types of Haki. He never imagined that it was through this method…
It was like a person who was about to faint from blood loss stabbing himself in the leg to prevent unconsciousness.
The effect of these two forces on the Haki world only gave him enough strength to grab the Sea Crystal.
The same principle applies to the spiritual world.
For a Devil Fruit user, the weakening effect of the Sea Stone is much more severe than that of the Haoshoku. The stronger the Devil Fruit user, the more pronounced the effect.
The sudden weakness would take over everything, allowing them to break free of Emperor Comes’ control, essentially fighting poison with poison.
The key, however, is that the timing must be extremely precise and quick!
If you grab the Sea Crystal a bit too early, the overwhelming Haoshoku effect that even other Yonko can’t resist will render you unconscious instantly. The result would be fatal.
On the other hand, if he let go a little too late, he would have to endure the second stage slash of the Emperor Comes-Overlord Sword in a weakened state, which would undoubtedly be fatal.
That’s why other Yonko wouldn’t do it. They would face the attack head-on in a stronger state to minimize the damage…like Kaido.
Betting his life on finding a glimmer of hope to avoid decapitation in a single blow.
Rowen’s actions left Shanks stunned.
(End of Chapter)
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