Over the past year, although Rowen beat him up every so often, Smoker had never given up on challenging him.
But this was the first time Rowen had actively wanted to grab the guy and give him a thorough beating.
"Did Vice Admiral Rowen obtain some incredible Devil Fruit? To awaken it immediately after getting it, that's seriously impressive!"
As he spoke, Smoker removed the jitte from his back.
"Perfect timing. I've fought Big Mom's sons several times recently, and Devil Fruit users are still affected by Seastone. I've made some prog—"
Boom!
Before he could finish speaking, Smoker's Observation Haki suddenly sensed an incoming attack.
He tried to react.
But all he saw was a fist growing larger and larger in his vision.
A flash of Haki appeared.
The jitte coated in Armament Haki shattered under a single punch.
The white smoke that had only just begun to disperse through elementalization was forcibly grabbed, its physical form seized, before being sent flying by another punch.
Bang!
Smoker shot through the air.
His mind felt like a bowl of mush.
How?
The force behind that punch felt like being struck by an entire mountain.
His Armament Haki had been smashed apart without the slightest resistance.
The gap...
It was only getting wider.
As those thoughts churned through his head, Smoker's eyes rolled back and he passed out.
Rowen clenched his fist.
"Not bad."
Beside him, Tina sighed.
Walking over, she kicked the broken wooden debris aside before heading outside to call two Marines to carry Smoker to the infirmary.
"It's always like this. He knows he can't win, yet he still insists on fighting."
Rowen continued feeling the changes within his body before replying,
"Haki awakens through willpower, but it grows through constant battle. Your Observation Haki and Armament Haki are already falling behind Smoker's."
Tina brushed aside her pink hair.
"Tina isn't weak either. Does Vice Admiral Rowen plan on beating Tina up once a day too?"
Rowen glanced at her.
"The way you said that sounded strangely suggestive."
"But seriously, thanks for today. Otherwise, my own body might've drained me dry."
"No need to thank me, Vice Admiral."
Tina hesitated for a moment before asking,
"So the state you were in earlier really was because of a Devil Fruit awakening?"
Rowen shook his head slightly and casually picked up the broken tip of Smoker's jitte.
There was no weakening reaction when it touched the Seastone.
Of course, it was also possible that a Devil Fruit user who had adapted to Seastone simply couldn't use their abilities while remaining unaffected otherwise.
"A second growth spurt. My bones, internal organs, and meridians all underwent a qualitative improvement."
"The compression had lasted too long. I didn't notice it building up, so when it exploded all at once, my body was nearly drained dry."
A second growth spurt?
Tina's eyes widened.
Her expression clearly said: If you don't want to explain, just say so. Don't bully me because I didn't study enough.
Vice Admiral Rowen was only twenty-one years old, but no matter how she looked at him, he wasn't at an age where a second growth spurt should happen.
"When you or Smoker encounter a pirate you can't deal with, you'll see the results of this improvement."
Rowen waved his hand and headed toward his quarters.
However, the moment he stepped out of the office, he found the corridor completely packed with Marines from G-5.
The crowd had even left an empty path right in the center.
"No wonder the people carrying Smoker arrived so quickly."
Looking at the gathered Marines, Rowen raised an eyebrow.
"What? You all want to test how much stronger I've gotten too?"
"Hahaha! Vice Admiral, you're joking. We just couldn't sleep and came to see if you still needed more food."
"That's right, that's right. Vice Admiral, you've worked hard today and need rest. We also trained all day and should go back to sleep."
"Sleep, sleep!"
"Good night, Vice Admiral!"
"We're not Lieutenant Commander Smoker."
"We've never been that hard-headed."
"Hahaha... Our heads are made of flesh. Only Lieutenant Commander Smoker's head is made of iron."
"Iron-Smoked Smoker, hahaha..."
The crowd threw out comments one after another before quickly scattering.
As for "hard-headed Smoker," the phrase had originally come from Rowen. Later, it gradually evolved into "Iron-Smoked Smoker."
Once everyone dispersed, Rowen returned to his quarters.
Late that night, several single-line Revolutionary Army communication channels within the waters around G-5 Base were activated.
The information they carried was largely identical.
[Marine G-5 Base Commander Vice Admiral Rowen is suspected to have awakened a Devil Fruit ability, causing his body to be completely drained. After a full day of consuming food, he has gradually recovered. Devil Fruit ability currently unknown. Potential recruitment target.]
Since this intelligence concerned the combat strength of a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral and the fourth monster produced by the Marine Elite Training Camp the reports were gradually consolidated and eventually delivered to Baltigo.
Dragon, who had only recently parted ways with Rowen in the East Blue, stared at the report in silence.
It wasn't because Rowen was one of their own.
Rather, in Dragon's opinion, a Devil Fruit would only add a weakness to someone like the Teacher—one that could be exploited through seawater and Seastone.
The trade-off simply wasn't worth it.
Before he could think further, the Den Den Mushi beside him rang again.
Buru Buru...
Click.
The call connected, and an anxious voice immediately came through.
"Commander! Captain Kaido has led his men in seizing an island within Big Mom's Totto Land territory. He's currently fighting Charlotte Katakuri, Big Mom's second son!"
Dragon rubbed his forehead.
"So things on Pudding Island can no longer be suppressed?"
The Den Den Mushi nodded nervously.
"Because of our arrival, the lives of the people on Pudding Island have improved dramatically. The taxes they pay are very low."
"In contrast, the citizens within Totto Land must surrender part of their lifespan just to continue living there. The psychological gap between the two sides has become too large."
Dragon frowned.
Pudding Island lay close to Totto Land.
Over the past year, Kaido, King, and a group of Revolutionary Army ideological instructors had established a new Beast Pirates.
In the New World, they had claimed a portion of territory.
Meanwhile, Kaido had earned the title Undying Beast thanks to his seemingly immortal body.
As for why he no longer used the Mythical Zoan Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon form, even the Revolutionary Army's upper ranks could only speculate.
Many people throughout the New World simply believed his immortality was a special ability of a Mythical Zoan.
The conflict with Big Mom had begun because many residents of Pudding Island had relatives who, more than a year ago, moved into Totto Land and became Big Mom's subjects, exchanging their lifespan for the right to live there.
At first, they had willingly accepted it.
Many people on Pudding Island had even dreamed of moving to Totto Land themselves.
After all, compared to the chaos of the New World where death could come from disasters or violence at any moment giving up one month of lifespan each year seemed like a bargain.
The problem was comparison.
The arrival of what appeared on the surface to be the Beast Pirates but was actually the Revolutionary Army's First Division in the New World allowed the people of Pudding Island to experience what a truly normal life felt like.
As a result, many people living within Totto Land wanted to leave.
But whenever someone chose to depart, the soul homies responsible for collecting lifespan taxes would take the remainder of their lives.
Anyone who attempted to leave died.
Their relatives had died.
The newly awakened people of Pudding Island were furious.
Over the past year, this island already filled with the tough, fierce temperament common throughout the New World had seen nearly twenty percent of its population awaken Armament Haki.
Wielding hoes, pitchforks, wooden clubs, and whatever weapons they could find, they were preparing to march into Totto Land and bring their families home.
This kind of reasonable, self-organized action by the civilians one that sought no outside assistance was something even the Revolutionary Army's instructors could not stop.
And as the captain of the Beast Pirates, Kaido was naturally unwilling to stand by while the relatives of the people living in his territory were being held captive.
His temper had never been good to begin with.
Recently, he had already clashed with the Big Mom Pirates several times and had managed to bring back quite a few people.
"As usual, have Kaido cover the retreat. Everyone, including King, withdraw."
"Once everyone has left, Spark can bring Kaido back."
"Understood."
The Den Den Mushi call ended.
Dragon looked down at the intelligence report in his hand.
Things had already reached the level of Katakuri.
If this continued, Big Mom herself would probably step in.
At present, the situation in the New World resembled a three-way balance.
Whitebeard remained above the fray, playing his game of nurturing the next generation while roaming the seas with a ship full of sons and adopted sons.
He didn't massacre civilians, but he did plenty of plundering particularly from other pirates.
Neither Big Mom nor the Beast Pirates went out of their way to clash with him.
Then there was Big Mom's Totto Land.
Through political marriages, she had already produced thirty-four children over the years.
Rumor had it she was currently pregnant with ten more at once.
According to Spark's description, she was practically a breeding machine. Give it five generations and she'd probably create an entire town's population by herself.
The Big Mom Pirates and Totto Land were one of the dominant powers of the New World.
Her second son, Katakuri, was no weakling.
His Observation Haki was roughly on par with Kaido's, though his Armament Haki was somewhat weaker and had yet to reach the level of external emission.
On Kaido's side, however, although his Haki had grown immensely and he had found a new purpose to anchor his will, the durability of his immortal body still wasn't quite enough.
As a result, the two often fought evenly.
The final major power was the Beast Pirates, backed by the Revolutionary Army.
Kaido, King, and the Revolutionary Army's First Division equipped with scientific weaponry and trained in both Armament and Observation Haki.
Relying on his immortal body, Kaido frequently chose to stand alone and cover the retreat of the First Division, swinging his massive iron club without hesitation.
Even if his body was blown apart, he would recover almost immediately and continue fighting.
During his first clash with Big Mom, she had shattered him with a single punch.
Yet his body simply reassembled itself from ashes.
Picking up his spiked iron club, he immediately smashed it down on top of Big Mom's head.
His arm exploded.
Big Mom didn't even lose a layer of skin.
Then she turned around and punched him again.
He shattered.
Recovered.
Swung his club.
Again and again.
Eventually, Big Mom's eldest son, Perospero, wrapped him in candy and locked him up with Seastone chains.
Unfortunately for them, Kaido's Edo Tensei body was completely unaffected by Seastone.
After the main force had withdrawn, he simply slammed his head into the ground, shattered most of his own body to escape, grabbed his giant black club, and started bullying the weaker opponents.
Only after the Big Mom Pirates were exhausted and had suffered countless casualties was he finally sealed again beneath layers upon layers of candy and mochi.
Even then, the seal lasted less than two days.
Rowen simply found time to visit and brought him back.
That was the current state of the New World.
Whitebeard stood apart from the conflict.
The Revolutionary Army's growth within his territory remained slow.
Meanwhile, Big Mom and Kaido fought every couple of months.
There were other rising newcomers as well, but none had yet reached the level of those three powers.
Dragon set the report aside.
After a moment of thought, he called Rowen through an anti-surveillance Den Den Mushi.
The call rang only once before he hung up.
One.
Two.
Three.
Three seconds later, Rowen appeared directly outside Dragon's office.
A three-pronged Flying Thunder God kunai hung on the wall beside the doorway.
"Something up?"
"Spark."
Dragon rose to his feet.
"Kaido's side has clashed with Big Mom again. In a couple of days, we'll need you to make a trip over there."
Rowen found a chair and leaned back into it.
"They're fighting again?"
"That old woman isn't easy to deal with. Has Kaido become addicted to getting blown to pieces?"
After obtaining the Steel Bone talent, Rowen had, for the first time, truly realized just how monstrous the top-tier powerhouses of this world really were.
His battle against Kaido in Wano didn't count.
Back then, Kaido had not yet reached the level of the future Emperor of the Sea.
Because not everyone was like the future Pirate King Luffy.
In just a little over two years, he went from being a small-time pirate in the East Blue to someone capable of fighting Imu.
"Undying Kaido."
"That's the title that's become popular recently. Even the Marines have started using it in his bounty notices."
"He likes it very much."
"And he recently said he wants to take a stroll through Marine Headquarters."
Dragon sighed.
"Although his ideological reform through the Revolutionary Army has gone very smoothly, that tendency to seek excitement hasn't really changed."
"Heh."
Rowen chuckled softly.
Seeking excitement didn't mean being stupid.
If that big fool were truly an idiot, then why hadn't he simply charged straight into Mary Geoise in the original timeline?
Even Rowen himself didn't dare test Imu's methods right now.
Let alone Kaido.
"Fine. I'll make a trip there in a few days."
"Anything else?"
Dragon hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Did you eat a Devil Fruit, Teacher?"
"No."
Rowen already knew that among the six units stationed at G-5 Base, most of them were Revolutionary Army personnel.
The information would inevitably reach Dragon.
"My strength increased a bit faster than expected."
"I haven't fully tested the extent of it yet."
"A Devil Fruit would be redundant for me."
"However, have our people in the North Blue and East Blue start searching for two Devil Fruits."
Dragon asked,
"Special abilities?"
"Very special."
"But they come with limitations."
Rowen tapped the desk lightly.
"The Paramecia Ope Ope no Mi in the North Blue."
"It can perform the Perennial Youth Operation at the cost of the user's life, granting immortality to another person."
"The immortality surgery itself doesn't align with Revolutionary Army ideology."
"But the Ope Ope no Mi's abilities concern the life and death of an entire nation's population."
After the turmoil in Wano, Rowen had come to understand that the spread and acceptance of ideas required the right environment.
For countries where people could still survive, most citizens would remain complacent and naïvely kind until they personally experienced the cruelty of the world.
As long as there was food on the table as long as their families could continue living...
They would not be willing to struggle.
They would not be willing to fight for liberation.
Because of that, over the past year, the Revolutionary Army had focused its efforts primarily on nations suffering under hardship.
Take Flevance the White Town as an example.
After leaving behind a Flying Thunder God marker there, Rowen had not interfered further.
Because no matter how eloquently he spoke now, nobody would believe that Amber Lead Syndrome would erupt little more than a year later.
The amber lead mines had brought wealth and prosperity to White Town.
As long as people enjoyed comfortable lives, even if a few citizens had already begun showing symptoms and dying from Amber Lead Syndrome, most would still refuse to abandon their peaceful and affluent way of life.
More time was needed.
Dragon picked up a pen and carefully recorded the information.
A Devil Fruit capable of affecting the fate of an entire nation was worth special attention.
Then Rowen continued,
"The second one..."
"The Gum-Gum Fruit currently being transported by the World Government in the East Blue."
"Inform the Revolutionary Army's Eastern Army."
"Have Ginny and Chameleon keep an eye out for it."
Dragon paused.
"The Gum-Gum Fruit?"
"Is it important?"
Rowen thought for a moment before answering:
"It is."
"But if you can't find it don't force the issue."
"That Devil Fruit doesn't need to be a major focus."
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