Night, prison space.
As he stepped into the corridor, Rodenaz, who had already accepted the rules of the prison, was like a crawling insect, begging Rowan for mercy.
When he was alive, he had feared the miserable state of Samit's corpse. Now, he had thought he had fallen into hell, only to realize that even his soul was under the control of that devil.
From birth, he had been taught that he stood above all others, a descendant of gods, different from ordinary people.
Everyone else was a lowly insect. Everyone existed to serve him. The Navy, CP, even the World Government's army on the Red Line were nothing more than dogs.
But that belief had been shattered by Samit's corpse, carved apart piece by piece.
Only when facing this devil did they lose their superiority, because he did not care about their bloodline, nor did he care about their status as Celestial Dragons.
And now, death was not the end. It was only the beginning.
Outside the cage, Rowan looked at the begging Rodenaz, while the scene from God Valley eighteen years ago surfaced in his mind.
The civilians had been treated as prey. Even infants had been marked with points and turned into hunting targets.
That baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes, had mistaken the gun pressed against its forehead for a toy, laughing as it reached out to play with it.
When the gunshot rang out, it was followed by this bastard's unrestrained laughter.
All for points. A life that had just entered the world, shattered for nothing more than a score.
And now, that same Celestial Dragon who had laughed so wildly eighteen years ago was kneeling in a cage, begging for mercy.
"Rodenaz."
Rowan raised a hand and removed his mask, revealing his true face.
"Look at this face. Do you think a survivor of God Valley from eighteen years ago can accept your apology?"
Rodenaz froze.
Eighteen years ago, God Valley.
Among all the islands destroyed during their so-called study trips, that place had been the most special, the one he remembered most clearly.
But he remembered it because of the pirates' interference, not because of how many "insects" they had killed.
"You…"
Rowan exhaled slowly.
"I know you won't remember. But before you experience true pain, you should know this is revenge from God Valley."
True pain?
Rodenaz collapsed to the ground, then suddenly lunged toward the cage, begging frantically.
But Rowan ignored him completely.
Six hundred and twenty thousand crime points. Even if used slowly, it would take more than a year to burn through.
However, there was an unexpected gain this time.
Rowan turned his gaze to another cell in the corridor.
The corridor holding Celestial Dragons had extremely high crime values. And that CP0 operative, an Admiral-level fighter with a Zoan-type Devil Fruit, code-named Chameleon, was also imprisoned here.
Sin value: 123,000.
Adding everything together, along with what remained after opening the diamond chest earlier, the total now stood at 1.39 million crime points.
Three Celestial Dragons had died at Sabaody. Now that Seastone had no effect on him, hunting elsewhere would not be so easy.
There were plenty of big targets in Mary Geoise, but there were likely those with Observation Haki advanced to the level of future sight. Perhaps even the Five Elders themselves possessed it.
Nothing was certain.
The most important point was that attacking Mary Geoise would mean a complete declaration of war. If Imu in the Room of Flowers directly carried out a purge, then even if Rowan himself remained unharmed, the Revolutionary Army would be wiped out.
Ninety-nine percent of the ordinary people involved would die, and that was not a result Rowan was willing to accept.
"Executioner… Rowan?"
Inside the cell, the CP0 agent's soul trembled, his eyes filled with disbelief.
His voice pulled Rowan back from his thoughts.
With a wave of his hand, black flames engulfed Rodenaz. The begging stopped instantly, replaced by agonized screams that shook the air.
The black flames burned directly into the soul. Until the crime value was completely drained, he could neither faint nor shatter. He could only endure the pain.
Rowan walked toward the adjacent cell, ignoring Rodenaz's howls and curses.
"You know me?"
The CP0 agent seemed to realize something.
"So you already knew Sabaody was a trap from the very beginning, and your intelligence came from us. CP9 Spandam… that man, right? You're his operative. From the moment you were promoted…"
Rowan cut him off.
"Do you think someone at the core of the Revolutionary Army would belong to CP? He was just a pawn I used. After all, whether it was food supplies or the special equipment Vegapunk needed, everything had to pass through him to move freely."
Those words made the chameleon's expression change drastically as realization dawned.
"So Vegapunk was abducted by the Revolutionary Army. That's why those five nations were taken over so easily. The transport of supplies and weapons, all of it was you…"
"Wait. The reason you stayed behind to fight me and Borsalino… the real reason…"
Rowan finished his sentence.
"To give the Revolutionary Army in those five nations time to evacuate completely, and take everything of value with them. Let me think. Nearly sixty thousand people, along with the wealth of the royal palaces."
Silence fell.
He had never imagined that this man, praised within CP as a future Admiral candidate planted within the Navy, would actually be a core member of the Revolutionary Army.
After a while, Rowan yawned.
"Anything else you want to ask? If not, we'll begin."
The chameleon glanced at Rodenaz in the next cell, screaming in agony, and recalled the rules of this prison that had been forced into his mind. He shuddered.
"I… I can join you."
Rowan let out a faint laugh.
"Join? I don't think you meet the conditions to join the Revolutionary Army. Your will never belonged to the majority of people in this world. You're used to being a dog."
"It is only by treating the Celestial Dragons' supremacy as absolute truth that your Armament Haki reached its current level. For you to preserve your strength, you would have to treat me as that same absolute truth. Otherwise, the will you have relied on would collapse."
Mockery filled Rowan's eyes.
"If you adapt, you're still just a dog. If you can't, you're a toothless dead dog. So… you have no value."
Under such ridicule, the CP0 chameleon did not give up.
Because from those words, he had heard something else.
This person could bring him back. Even after death, he could still be revived.
At Sabaody, in the final moment, he had even used Rodenaz's corpse as a shield. To survive, he would do anything.
"I… I can be a good dog. Believe me!"
"From today onward, you are the only truth! You are the one above all! I can do it! Believe me!"
Looking at the man kneeling before him, Rowan asked,
"I remember you being quite tough when you died. Didn't you say you would be waiting for me down there?"
The chameleon remained kneeling, but his thoughts were already surging wildly.
Over the years, he had grown accustomed to flattering Celestial Dragons, but the person in front of him, the one holding his chance to live, was not a fool like them.
Executioner Rowan, a man who had climbed step by step from the West Blue, advancing carefully at every stage, even setting his sights on Mary Geoise. How could someone like that be comparable to those idiots?
"When I thought death was the end, I could say anything, couldn't I, sir? Acting tough back then was nothing more than lying to myself."
Still kneeling, the CP0 agent continued, "I know many secrets within CP. I'm also a Great Swordsman, and my Armament and Observation Haki are both at the top tier…"
Rowan waved his hand.
"I'm not interested in CP's secrets. You probably don't even know the details of those five old monsters in Mary Geoise, let alone Imu in the Room of Flowers. Finished?"
"No!"
Just as Rowan was about to ignite the black flames, the chameleon hurriedly spoke.
"I know the arrangements for collecting Heavenly Tribute. And… and there's also a special route that was abandoned due to distance. A hidden passage that crosses the Red Line!"
"The Revolutionary Army needs funds. You have Vegapunk, so the machinery for the transport cable system won't be a problem. That location is extremely concealed. The army rarely searches that area!"
Rowan fell silent.
Perhaps he had misjudged this man's will. It was not blind worship of the Celestial Dragons. It was survival.
If that was the case, then reviving him with Edo Tensei might allow him to retain his Armament and Observation Haki.
His swordsmanship might decline due to lack of physical strength, but as a tool, it would still be sufficient.
The information about Heavenly Tribute and the abandoned passage would not remain hidden under the black flames anyway. But his understanding of CP was something the Revolutionary Army currently needed.
A high-level combatant had already been lost, and with Rowan's teleportation ability, the five old men in Mary Geoise would inevitably grow wary of both him and the Revolutionary Army.
Unless Rowan directly attacked Mary Geoise alone, Imu would not initiate a full purge. But the World Government mobilizing most of its power to investigate the Revolutionary Army was inevitable.
In that case, a dog that could not betray, a dog with teeth that would serve its master without reservation, might still have some use.
With that thought, Rowan made his decision.
In the next instant, black flames erupted, engulfing the man inside the cell.
"AHHH!!!"
The shrill scream overlapped with Rodenaz's wailing as Rowan turned and left the corridor.
The moment the passage sealed shut, silence finally returned.
If survival was his core belief, then he needed to understand whose hands his life belonged to. Burn him for three days first. Only then would this dog truly obey.
And obedience alone was not enough. He needed to be useful.
A new day began.
After Smoker was sent flying once again, Rowan picked up his blade and resumed training.
At noon, he devoured enough food for twenty people in the Navy headquarters cafeteria, leaving the trainees staring in shock once more.
Before long, someone sat down beside him.
"Back already?"
Rowan did not even lift his head. He already knew it was Kuzan.
"There was trouble at Sabaody. Borsalino was summoned for questioning by the World Government, and I was called back too."
Kuzan's gaze was deep as he spoke. The thick book in his hand made him feel like he should be doing something.
But at a time like this, he knew nothing about what had happened there. And ever since that incident, the cloaked man had not contacted him again.
For some reason, after returning, he found himself coming straight to Rowan.
It had to be said that within Marine Headquarters, Rowan's reputation was already terrible. He was often called a lackey of the World Government, and that title had originally come from the South Blue incident where he exposed Kuzan.
Because of his old friend Lomi, Kuzan had always felt that something about Rowan's persona was off. There were coincidences, and there was the Rowan he had personally observed. But he could never quite grasp what exactly was wrong.
"Sabaody? Did something happen to the Celestial Dragons again?"
Rowan turned his head, his gaze meeting Kuzan's.
That's it.
Kuzan frowned slightly.
Celestial Dragons?
No. The first thing this guy thought about was trouble involving the Celestial Dragons.
Yet linking it to Borsalino made it seem perfectly natural.
Kuzan lowered his voice. "Another one died. This time Borsalino and a high-level CP agent worked together, but it still didn't matter. One of them died too."
Rowan's brows furrowed tightly. He immediately tossed aside the bone in his hand. "I'm going to Enies Lobby."
With that, Rowan left the cafeteria at once.
Behind him, Kuzan kept watching his back.
Rushing off to Enies Lobby like that, it should be to find CP9's Spandine again. That fits his established persona. But why does it still feel off?
The next afternoon, Kuzan found Rowan again, just after he had beaten Smoker.
"You went to see CP yesterday?"
Rowan glanced at him. "You and I aren't even on the same side. Once I get promoted to Vice Admiral, we won't even have a superior-subordinate relationship anymore. Why are you watching me every day?"
Kuzan paused for a moment, then said, "Because your attitude toward pirates isn't like the World Government's. Or rather, it's very different from CP. Lomi was a close friend of mine from the same class. I don't believe someone he recommended would be a loyal dog of the World Government."
Rowan stopped briefly, then waved his hand. "Something happened with CP9 too. That guy is busy now, probably because of what you mentioned yesterday."
At that moment, Rowan's thoughts shifted slightly, and Kuzan smiled.
"I've never been a loyal dog. I just use whatever helps me achieve my goals. The World Government helping me rise in rank, that's the biggest reason."
After the meal, perhaps because of what had just been said, Kuzan started following Rowan around.
That made Rowan give up on his plan to head to the East Blue. If Kuzan casually hit his shadow clone on a whim and it turned into smoke, everything would be exposed.
"Rowan, I remember you were an orphan, right?"
"People at the bottom live very hard lives, don't they?"
"After gaining power, have you ever thought about changing all this?"
"The suffering we've seen, does it make you uncomfortable? Like it reminds you of your own childhood?"
"Do you think that just staying alive is already them giving everything they have?"
----------
Patreon Advance 30 Chapters: patreon .com/OneFic