Bang!
As soon as Rowen appeared, a deafening thunderclap split the sky above the speeding Qilin.
At the bow, Coby's face lit up in pure, panicked relief when he saw his mentor.
"Master!" He yelled desperately.
The newcomer was, of course, Rowen. The Marine Dictate Headquarters was distant, but the battlefield wasn't far from the Red Line. Rowen had known exactly what was unfolding below. He hadn't intended to intervene, the Holy Land had enough headaches of its own.
But just as he had with Kizaru moments ago, when he noticed the Qilin rampaging through the battlefield like a mad dog, he took a closer look and instantly grasped the terrifying truth:
The Qilin's brakes were completely broken. It literally could not stop!
At this realization, Rowen's expression darkened. He fixed Coby with a deadly glare, then raised his hand.
"Drink!"
Boom!!!
A deafening impact shook the sea. The Qilin's massive hull shuddered violently, fragile parts shattering and scattering into the waves. On the deck, several unlucky soldiers were flung high into the air, their screams echoing briefly before they splashed into the ocean.
Fortunately, everyone was already wearing life jackets and mentally prepared to abandon ship, so mass panic was avoided.
Amid the intense tremors, Coby back-flipped to avoid the shockwave. Rowen's strength was utterly monstrous; with a single palm strike, the charred, attached Sea King beneath the ship was pulverized into ash, leaving Coby momentarily stranded.
"Master, watch out!" Coby yelled, terrified, watching Rowen single-handedly brace against the runaway warship.
"Hmph! I'll deal with you later!" Rowen barked.
Planting one hand on the Qilin's bow, his muscles bulged, veins standing out like thick, pulsing cables beneath his skin.
Shua…! Splash!
With a piercing, twisting screech of metal against water, the Qilin began to visibly slow down, but it was still moving far too fast.
"All hands, abandon ship!"
Rowen roared the command. As the remaining soldiers threw themselves overboard like madmen, he clamped his right hand onto the hull and pressed down.
Zzzzzzz…
Lightning crackled wildly over his body, illuminating his fierce, sinewy frame. His fingers sank deep into the metal of the Qilin's figurehead as he let out a thunderous roar, his entire waist and back flexing with terrifying, concentrated power…
Splash!
Before the eyes of countless stunned onlookers, the colossal Qilin, which dwarfed any human in comparison, leapt out of the ocean!
Everyone was dumbstruck as Rowen gripped the figurehead, twisted mid-air, and with a guttural roar, smashed it downward.
Boom!!
The ship flipped a full 180 degrees in mid-air and came crashing down flat upon the sea surface. Water exploded into a towering white mist, droplets raining down over his body as Rowen stood, one arm gripping the bow, his feet treading the air, his presence majestic and godlike.
Beside him…
The Qilin was stopped. Stopped completely, by Rowen's raw, brute strength alone.
Buzz…!!
The engine's roar at the stern suddenly faltered and weakened. Below the deck, mechanics who had resigned themselves to death stared, dumbfounded, as the power core in front of them suddenly began to "heal" itself. Chunks of warped metal compressed and locked together unnaturally.
Clang!
The metallic collision sealed the engine shut. The repairmen exchanged glances, and after a moment, someone asked hesitantly:
"So… it won't explode now, right?"
"Of course not!" An old crewman snorted, flicking his finger against the newly fused metal shell. "It's a solid iron ball now. What's it gonna blow up with?"
He then pulled out his pipe, puffed a few times, and sighed regretfully. "Still, what a waste of a fine power engine. I heard it was personally designed by Vegapunk himself. I've never seen craftsmanship like it… Just the materials alone cost hundreds of millions of Belly!"
The others collectively internally raged: You weren't saying that when it was about to explode, old man! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻)
Creaaak…!
Suddenly, they felt the ship start to shake again, and their faces went pale.
"What's happening? Why is it still moving?!"
The engines were completely dead, how could it still move?
The answer was clear to everyone outside.
The Thunder Giant, ten meters tall, stood upon the air itself. Lightning erupted around him, its sheer force pressing the sea below into a vast crater.
Rowen had melted part of the Qilin's metal hull into a massive handle, and was now carrying the entire warship on his shoulder.
He glared up at the floating, wide-eyed Coby and smiled, a promise of pain.
"Come on, stick your head out. I'll give you a buff!"
"A permanent, free-of-charge one!"
Coby: "…"
Let's… talk this out, Master. Just… maybe put that mountain down first!
…
When Akainu and the others finally reached the battlefield, it was already half a day later. Countless soldiers stood there, stunned, staring at the massive, mutilated hulk of the former Pluton-class battleship in the makeshift harbor.
No, could you even call that thing a ship anymore?
Their throats went dry.
But just as the saying goes: You watch the scenery from the bridge, and those on the bridge watch you.
With a dark vein pulsing on his forehead, Akainu stormed ashore, pointing at the monstrous wreck, the Qilin, which now looked like an oversized, scorched ping-pong paddle.
"Why… why does the Qilin look like that?! Who did this?!"
Forget that it was Rowen's flagship, irreplaceable and immensely valuable, any active War Behemoth-class vessel was a Marine treasure. As Fleet Admiral, Akainu's heart ached just looking at it.
Just as Tsuru was hurrying over to "receive the visitor," she happened to hear those words. Her expression instantly turned strange as she said in a faint, eerie tone:
"Someone who can manipulate such a massive amount of metal, who do you think that could be, Fleet Admiral?"
Akainu: "..."
"Tch!"
With his face darkening to hide his embarrassment, Akainu quickly regained his stern composure and asked, "How's the situation at the front line?"
Rolling her eyes and choosing not to expose his blunder further, Tsuru replied, "We're barely gaining the upper hand. The forces have already surrounded and trapped the Sea King army in the center, slaughtering them from all directions. The seawater is filled with underwater bombs… but even so, it's far from optimistic. The cost of this encirclement is simply too high."
The casualty ratio was nearly one to ten, no, one to twenty. And the losses weren't measured in soldiers, but in battleships! Every time a battleship exploded, hundreds of crew members went down with it.
This was after Rowen had casually wiped out a batch himself, before receiving an urgent call from Kong about another matter, forcing him to return early.
After finishing her report, Tsuru shot a glare at Momousagi, who had rushed over with a fawning smile to help her up by the arm, and asked:
"How's the Pluton's combat performance?"
"Absolutely magnificent!" Momousagi declared, eyes shining. "One can only say, it truly deserves to be called an Ancient Weapon! Even those Sea Kings that know Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki) could only wail miserably under its cannon fire!"
Bald Zero walked over with an unpleasant look on his face and said coldly, "Sea Kings that can use Armament Haki?"
Tsuru turned around in shock. "That's impossible!"
Sea Kings have awakened Armament Haki? Has the world gone completely mad?!
Just imagining that vast race of Sea Kings, all of them mastering Armament Haki, made Tsuru shiver uncontrollably. If that day ever came, the so-called "strongest nation of the New World," the warrior village of Elfa Buff, wouldn't even count as anything at all!
"It's just a special ability of one Sea King. She can control some of them to awaken Armament Haki, but not all… The details can wait," Akainu interrupted, seeing Tsuru's mounting concern. Now wasn't the time for small talk.
"Vice Admiral Momousagi," he barked, glancing toward her, "I'm ordering you to set off immediately and reinforce the battlefield!"
"Yes, sir!"
Then he turned to Tsuru. "And send a message to the front line, tell them the Pluton is an ally, so they don't attack it by mistake."
Especially to prevent any intentional "friendly fire!" Even the smallest fairies have their own dirty tricks. Every power has its filthy corners.
Tsuru nodded. "Understood. I'll make sure precautions are in place."
"Then I'll leave it to you!" Akainu, true to his military nature, was quick and decisive.
He then turned around and addressed the Gorōsei member, Bald Zero. "As for us… let's take this opportunity to pay a visit to the Holy Land and have a nice little chat with Lord Saint Dragon, about the rules."
Bald Zero: "..."
Gritting his teeth, Bald Zero sneered, "He's no longer a Marine Admiral, which means he should be an even greater role model for the world!"
"Then… we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?" Akainu crossed his arms, glaring back with equal hostility.
"Hmph!" ×2
The two locked eyes for a few seconds, then both snorted coldly and turned away in opposite directions.
Left behind, Masked Zero sat down on a stone block, fingers steepled near his lips. He glanced left toward Bald Zero, then right toward Akainu.
After waiting a moment and seeing neither of them return, Masked Zero sighed helplessly.
"I mean… there's only one port here. It's right behind us. Where exactly do you two think you're going?"
Are they seriously that stupid?!
Bald Zero & Akainu: "..."
"Can't a guy go to the bathroom?!" Bald Zero glared furiously at this disgrace of a former CP0 Chief.
But before he could retort, Akainu sneered coldly:
"Then my apologies, but the restroom's this way. Or perhaps Chief-sama prefers to relieve himself right here? That would be… quite against the rules."
Bald Zero: "..."
Damn it!
(End of Chapter)
This novel is finished, and I have posted all the advanced chapters on my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395