"Are you my roommate?"
Orl was still a bit dazed.
Rowan looked at him and continued, "So this is how Marine Headquarters welcomes people? That doesn't sound right. At the very least, Lomi never told me the training camp was this 'enthusiastic.'"
He tilted his head slightly. "And the way you attacked so openly, someone must have told you to do it, right? Looks like Kuzan has quite the reputation among you Marines."
The moment those words fell, Orl, who had still been shaken and slightly fearful, suddenly regained his composure.
Mud began to flow across his body, bubbling as it moved. He was already in a state where he could attack or disperse at any moment.
"Your Haki is strong, but someone like you doesn't deserve to be a Marine. You dare to call Vice Admiral Kuzan by name. You know exactly how you got here."
Rowan covered his forehead and laughed. The sound was sharp and mocking.
Then he lowered his hand and looked at Orl. "And then? What are you trying to say? Do you think Marine Headquarters shouldn't follow the World Government's orders, that Fleet Admiral Kong should rebel, or that he should march on Mary Geoise with a pile of mud like you?"
"Shut up!"
"Whoosh!"
With a roar, Orl's body surged forward, mud rising into the air to engulf Rowan.
Rowan didn't dodge.
He slapped the mud aside in one motion.
"I told you not to dirty my sheets. I just changed them."
As he spoke, Rowan stood up.
In the next instant, he appeared right in front of Orl and drove a knee into his body, sending him crashing into the doorway.
"Pfft."
Blood sprayed from Orl's mouth.
Even as a Logia user, he couldn't avoid that attack.
It was too fast.
He had sensed it, he had felt the incoming attack, but he still couldn't react in time.
Rowan yawned slightly. "The reason Logia users can ignore physical attacks is because their opponent doesn't have Armament Haki."
He walked forward slowly. "Once the opponent has Armament Haki, the fight depends on both Armament and Observation Haki. If you can disperse the part of your body that's about to be hit at the last moment, you can nullify the attack."
He stopped in front of Orl, looking down at him. "But clearly, your Observation Haki can't keep up with my speed. You can't even react. Even if you preemptively turn your body into an element, I'll just grab your real body every time. It's meaningless."
Pain spread through Orl's entire body.
Since eating the Swamp Fruit, he had never experienced something like this.
In the Four Seas, very few people had Haki. Logia users were invincible there.
But today…
He coughed violently, struggling to stand. "Why… would someone like you choose to be a dog for those people? Vice Admiral Kuzan… will become an Admiral, the Marines strongest force!"
With a shout, his fist hardened with Armament Haki and struck forward.
"Bang."
Rowan caught it effortlessly.
Both were using Armament Haki, yet Rowan crushed his fist with ease.
"Ahhh!"
Orl screamed as he was thrown into the wall.
Rowan stepped forward again, his tone still mocking. "Your admiration for Kuzan pushed you this far, you've even started awakening Haki, but do you know something? Admirals are just dogs of the Celestial Dragons too."
He crouched down, meeting Orl's eyes. "If everyone is a dog, then what's wrong with me being one? And if someone isn't even loyal as a dog, wouldn't that make them worse than one?"
"Don't question it," Rowan continued. "Garp never wanted to become an Admiral, and this is exactly why. The Marines belong to the World Government and the Celestial Dragons. To be an Admiral, you have to accept being their dog."
"Cough…!"
Orl spat blood, his anger overwhelming him. His head tilted, and he passed out.
Rowan blinked.
That was quicker than expected.
The Swamp Fruit… if used well, it could store massive amounts of supplies. A Logia with that ability was too useful to waste.
Plant the seed now, and in the future, he might join the Revolutionary Army.
For now, his belief was tied to Kuzan.
Either recruit Kuzan first, or shatter Kuzan's image in his mind and rebuild it with the ideology of the Revolutionary "spark."
Make him understand one thing.
The justice he seeks does not exist in the Marines.
Outdoor training ground.
A Major hurried over to Zephyr and reported quietly, "We just received the dormitory monitoring report. Orl lost, and it was a complete defeat."
Zephyr raised his head slightly. "Rowan is only fifteen, if I remember correctly. At that age, he has already awakened Haki and can use Armament to capture a Logia user's real body. That means he has also mastered Observation Haki."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
It was the joy of discovering talent.
Since losing his family, this training camp had become the place he spent most of his time. The Marines who graduated from here were extensions of his will.
These young recruits, not yet tempered by the world, were everything to him.
"Go call him over," Zephyr said, standing up. "A young man who has awakened Haki must have his own beliefs. What he needs is no longer the same as these brats."
The Major's expression turned serious.
He had also realized Rowan's age.
But…
"Teacher, based on the Kuzan incident, his stance is questionable. We might be training someone who will become part of CP in the future."
Zephyr replied calmly, "The Marines' duty is to eliminate pirates. I don't like everything he did in the West Blue, but it proves he is still a Marine."
"As for the World Government and CP, the Marines have always belonged to them. Don't say such things again."
The Major nodded and decided to personally go to the dormitory.
Zephyr remained standing, lost in thought.
Sengoku was the same, following the World Government's orders while eliminating pirates and protecting civilians.
A man who acted as a bridge to maintain balance in the world.
From a certain perspective, that was also correct.
So…was Rowan the same kind of person?
----------
Patreon Advance 30 Chapters: patreon .com/OneFic