After the Revolutionary Army's high-level meeting ended, Rowan left Baltigo and returned to Marine Headquarters with his main body.
This time, the evacuation of the five islands from Oykot Kingdom didn't require many people.
Kuma, Dragon, and Ginny were enough.
Ginny would use the cloud as a high-altitude observation point.
Kuma and Dragon would eliminate the CP agents monitoring them at the first moment, and then the evacuation could begin.
Ships would be transported in advance to nearby waters tonight using floating abilities and Kuma's power.
At the same time, ideological preparation had to be carried out for all members.
Including the families who didn't yet know the full situation.
Three days…
Since Mary Geoise had set a trap again at Sabaody Archipelago, even using real Celestial Dragons as bait, it was obvious they wanted to capture him there.
Three days should be enough to delay them.
At night, Rowan sat cross-legged in his room with the Zanpakutō placed on his lap.
But no matter what, he couldn't calm down.
His mind was filled with the Celestial Dragons of Mary Geoise, the God's Knights he saw at God Valley, and that man with hook-shaped hair.
The five monsters in the Room of Authority.
And Im in the Flower Room.
And that single strike that destroyed Lulusia Kingdom.
Late into the night, Rowan sighed, put down the sealed blade, and chose to sleep.
Seems like this thing… can only be left to fate.
The next morning, Marine training camp sword class.
The moment he entered, Smoker, who had been waiting, immediately followed him and sat beside him.
"I realized yesterday that I could already sense your attacks. Let's try again today!"
Rowan glanced at him.
"Don't leave after class."
Smoker's bruised left eye still hadn't healed, but he nodded firmly.
"Alright. This time I'll definitely dodge."
Their short exchange made Hina behind them unable to hold back.
"Smoker, it's already been more than ten times. You say that every time."
She glanced at Rowan, then leaned closer to Smoker and whispered,
"I heard that since Zephyr started teaching, only four monsters have appeared in the training camp. The first three are already Admiral candidates, and there are even rumors they'll soon be promoted."
At this point, Hina couldn't help looking at Smoker's swollen eye.
"If he hits your right eye today, I think you won't even need to come tomorrow."
Smoker replied casually,
"I wasn't planning to rely on swordsmanship anyway. I heard the headquarters has Seastone embedding technology. I'm planning to…"
"Planning to use Seastone to deal with ability users?"
Rowan interrupted him directly, his tone mocking.
"So your goal has shifted from defeating me to just dodging my attacks? Even if you dodge, so what? You can't even break my defense."
"So trash belongs in the trash heap. Wasting a Logia fruit like that, your potential really is this limited."
That one sentence was full of ridicule.
The white-haired teenager nearly exploded with anger, his face turning red. With one eye swollen shut, he looked even more intimidating.
"What? Can't win so you're about to explode on the spot? Even if you did, you wouldn't hurt me. You just barely grasped Armament Haki and you're already planning to give up? Calling you trash is already generous."
Rowan glanced at him again.
"Trash can only get angry. I think you should just go back to East Blue and play pirate games there. Your Seastone weapon might actually make you look strong there. Sounds good, right?"
This was the first time Rowan had spoken this much to Smoker.
And it almost gave him a heart attack.
Hina thought for a moment, then added another stab.
"Zephyr-sensei said Haki is the foundation of strength. You shouldn't rely too much on Devil Fruit abilities."
Rowan smirked.
"Even a little girl understands more than you. Idiot."
At this moment, Gion, who was explaining swordsmanship on the platform, glanced over.
Rowan smiled at her, while the two rookies beside him immediately fell silent.
After a brief explanation, it was time for slashing practice again, and Smoker came looking for him.
One punch.
His right eye swelled shut.
Rowan turned and went back to practicing his sword.
In the end, Hina helped Smoker to the infirmary.
This time, he really couldn't open his eyes.
"Vice Admiral Rowan."
Rowan turned his head to glance, then continued his full-force slashing.
"Vice Admiral Momousagi needs something? If it's a date, you can wait a bit."
Gion frowned.
"I just think that hitting a child like that isn't a good thing."
Rowan didn't stop his training.
"I think if a Logia user gives up training Armament Haki, then he might as well go back to East Blue."
That made Gion fall silent for a moment.
This batch of trainees had returned to normal.
There were no geniuses worthy of the "monster" title, but there were still many strong candidates.
Among them, Smoker, as a Logia user, had attracted a lot of attention early on.
That was why she had stepped in.
After all, the reputation of the young Vice Admiral in front of her was well known throughout headquarters.
But although Rowan's words were harsh, they weren't wrong.
Without Armament Haki, even a Logia user could only survive in the Four Seas.
In the Grand Line, relying on Logia alone would only get you killed.
Thinking this, Gion said nothing more and turned to leave.
Rowan glanced at her.
Her sword carried another meaning, and she addressed Tsuru as her senior.
After finishing with Kuzan, he would need a new target.
Gion's personality leaned toward justice, and with Tsuru's connection, she could become a new source of intelligence.
This time, the Revolutionary Army being noticed by the World Government…
If he hadn't gone to Judicial Island on a whim, the five bases in Oykot Kingdom would have suffered heavy losses.
Among the older generation of Marines, Monkey D. Garp had always been unreliable.
For Sengoku, the only person he could truly discuss major matters with was Tsuru.
Looking at the sword in his hand, Rowan sighed.
In its sealed state, it was no different from any other blade, and he could still carry it openly as a Marine.
If this sword could go straight to Bankai, why would he need to worry about all this?
Marine Headquarters, Fleet Admiral's office.
"The World Government has ordered the Marines to cooperate in an operation. They specifically named Kuzan, but the timing hasn't been set. Also, Borsalino has been ordered to remain on standby at Sabaody Archipelago."
Sengoku handed the report to Tsuru and continued,
"Also, intelligence shows World Government personnel have gone to the North Blue. They seem to be contacting the Germa Kingdom."
"Germa?"
Tsuru looked up.
"Borsalino is there to guard against the cloaked man. The cooperation order is likely for a coordinated encirclement, though the exact target is unclear."
"As for Germa… they are also an affiliated nation. Even though the World Conference is approaching, it's not yet time to summon the kings."
She paused for a moment.
After thinking, she continued,
"With Vegapunk missing, research on lineage factors has stalled. Back in MADS, there were two other leading scientists. One is Germa's king, Judge. The other is Caesar."
After connecting the dots, Sengoku finally let out a breath.
The last time, the Buster Call destroyed Ohara.
This time, with the Marines ordered to cooperate, he had originally thought another island was going to be wiped out.
Eighteen years ago, the Celestial Dragons would destroy one country every three years as part of their "field trip" hunting games.
Compared to that era, things were already better now.
After notifying Borsalino via Den Den Mushi, the office fell into silence.
After a long while, Tsuru stood up and walked out.
"Sengoku, all these years… it feels like this sea hasn't really changed at all."
Her voice fell, and she had already left.
Sengoku remained seated, his brows tightly furrowed.
He, Monkey D. Garp, Zephyr, and Tsuru were the pillars of the previous generation of Marines.
When they were young and joined the Marines, they believed they would eliminate all criminals and change this world.
But decades had passed.
After Gol D. Roger ignited the Great Pirate Era, the sea had only become more chaotic.
Bang!
The office door was kicked open.
Without even looking, Sengoku already knew which old bastard it was.
Then he saw the senbei in his hand, and instantly exploded.
"You old bastard! You dare steal my senbei!"
Garp tossed the last piece into his mouth, crunching loudly, then shook the empty bag to show there was nothing left.
"If nothing's going on, I'm heading back to East Blue for vacation. Haven't been back in almost a year."
Sengoku nearly crushed the armrest.
"In your dreams! The number of pirates has skyrocketed this past year, and you still want a vacation?!"
"The World Government just sent orders. You're not allowed to take leave!"
Garp shrugged.
"I'm just a Vice Admiral. They control Fleet Admirals and Admirals. Has nothing to do with me."
Having delivered his message, Garp slipped away, leaving Sengoku fuming in the office.
"Burū burū… burū burū…"
After picking up the Den Den Mushi, Sengoku's ugly expression softened instantly.
"Gion, what is it?"
"You really want to go?"
"Your file was removed from Marine records long ago. Only Tsuru and I know about it."
"If you insist…"
"Your Devil Fruit ability is excellent, but be careful. If anything goes wrong, you have permission to withdraw."
After hanging up, Sengoku looked worried.
The sea had already fallen into chaos in the four years since Roger's execution at Loguetown.
Ambitious figures were becoming active everywhere.
Letting out a breath, Sengoku returned to handling the mountain of work before him.
Two days later, Ginny informed Rowan that preparations for evacuating the five islands were complete.
They could move at any time.
It was one day ahead of schedule, which made Rowan relax slightly.
As long as he appeared at Sabaody Archipelago to draw attention, the surveillance personnel around those five islands would be eliminated, and the evacuation could begin before any response.
But that also meant this time he couldn't just kill and leave.
He had to stall for time.
After finishing the morning swordsmanship class, the shadow clone stayed behind.
The real body, wearing a mask and cloak, appeared directly at Sabaody Archipelago.
He first wandered through the lawless zone.
Only after letting the World Government notice him did Rowan slowly head toward the auction house.
Ever since Rowan's purge of Sabaody nearly two years ago, human trafficking organizations had quieted down for a while.
But after the auction house in Area 1 reopened without issue, the slave trade had begun to flourish again.
Still, compared to before, it remained much more low key.
After all, the first group to test the waters had survived just fine.
So everyone assumed the cloaked man was either gone or had already been captured.
Area 1 of Sabaody Archipelago.
Where the Celestial Dragons passed, everyone knelt.
No one dared raise their heads, especially beautiful women.
This was a lawless zone.
But even pirates chose to stay far away.
"Finally my turn to come down and have some fun."
"My brother's already come down twice, and I've only had one chance."
"This time I'm definitely picking something more interesting. Those two women last time were too fragile, died way too quickly."
The Celestial Dragon wearing a helmet grew increasingly irritated as he spoke, directly raising his gun and aiming at both sides of the street.
Very quickly, his eyes locked onto a striking blonde figure.
"Bang."
The bullet fired, but due to poor aim, it struck the shoulder blade instead.
The woman by the roadside remained kneeling, enduring the intense pain without daring to move.
Life in the lawless zone was already miserable, but why did the Celestial Dragons still come here every day?!
Was she going to die?
Her husband had almost saved enough money. They were so close to moving out of this place. Why…?
"Mom!"
"Mom, you're hurt… sob… sob…"
"Mom, you're bleeding!"
"Waaah…"
The woman immediately pressed her daughter down, ignoring the pain in her shoulder as she covered her mouth.
But it was already too late.
The Celestial Dragon, confident in his shooting skills, grew even more irritated after missing his first shot.
And now someone dared to move?
"Bang!"
Another bullet was fired.
But this time, the mother blocked it with her body, tightly hugging the little girl.
"Damn lowly trash! You dare block my shot?!"
Furious, the Celestial Dragon kept pulling the trigger.
Every bullet hit the woman's back.
Blood quickly pooled across the ground.
Gradually, the woman lost the strength to hold her child.
"Waaah…"
The tearful little girl was released, her hands instantly stained with blood as she reached out.
"Kneel… kneel… don't… don't… speak…"
The woman's pupils began to lose focus as her body collapsed to the ground.
The little girl, crying uncontrollably, threw herself forward, trying to cover the bullet wounds with her hands.
But there were too many.
Kneeling there, she looked around.
Everyone was still kneeling.
No one dared to raise their head.
"Please… please help my mom!"
"Is there a doctor? I have money, I have money…"
As she spoke, the girl pulled out a few crumpled bills from her dress.
It was her saved pocket money.
She had only come out today to buy flowers.
Flowers for her mother.
"Please… uncle… uncle… auntie… please save my mom…"
She reached out to the man beside her.
But he avoided her and pushed her away, still kneeling, not daring to move.
Not just him.
Everyone on both sides of the street remained kneeling, motionless, not daring to intervene.
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