Rowan interrupted him.
"You know Wano's geography. The country is isolated. It's perfectly normal for information not to flow in or out. And it seems you haven't been paying much attention to Kaido's movements."
"For certain reasons Kaido did indeed set his sights on Wano. But the Revolutionary Army made a trip there and drove the Beasts Pirates out."
At present the Beasts Pirates' identity was merely a disguise for the Revolutionary Army's First Division in the New World. Rowan had no intention of revealing the truth.
He didn't want Whitebeard taking an interest in Kaido because of Izo and Oden. So he deliberately kept the explanation vague.
Even so the news still enraged Izo and Jozu. Kozuki Oden had sailed aboard Whitebeard's ship for many years. Whitebeard had regarded him as a younger brother.
He was the only person Whitebeard had ever treated that way instead of calling him a son. By that logic Oden had been Izo's lord, but he was also in a sense the "uncle" of Whitebeard's many sons.
Of course given the nature of pirates neither Jozu nor the still-young Marco back then would ever have actually called him "Uncle."
"That bastard Kaido!" Bang! Jozu slammed his fist onto the table. The coffee cups bounced from the impact.
Rowan looked toward Izo.
"So many years have passed. I think it's time you returned home. Kikunojo must miss her older brother very much. And Wano has changed tremendously."
Having achieved the effect he wanted Rowan finally revealed his true purpose. The Whitebeard Pirates under Newgate's influence rarely concerned themselves with the affairs of the wider world.
But if Izo wished to return home then perhaps he would carry these new ideas back with him.
As for Blackbeard Teach, until he obtained the Dark-Dark Fruit he would remain Whitebeard's obedient son. And by the time that fruit appeared he would no longer have any opportunity.
Izo stood. Then bowed deeply at a full ninety degrees. "My deepest thanks for helping Wano."
Rowan waved his hand.
"It's nothing. The Revolutionary Army has rescued many nations from the brink of disaster. Wano was simply one of them."
Having said that Rowan glanced at the time. Meanwhile Tiger, Jinbe, and even Arlong who had remained silent observers were all quietly reflecting on the conversation.
The Revolutionary Army really was helping every oppressed people in the world. Even the homeland of one of Whitebeard's commanders.
As for whether Rowan was lying the thought never even crossed their minds. Someone of his stature had no need to fabricate such things.
Just then there was a knock on the door. A young mermaid waitress spoke timidly.
"Mr. Human, Manager Shyarly has returned."
Rowan rose to his feet.
"You all stay here. Since I've come all this way it would be a shame not to meet someone with such a unique ability. Though I don't think any prophecy will have much effect on me."
Hearing that his younger sister had returned Arlong immediately followed Rowan out.
After thinking for a moment Tiger and Jinbe followed as well. The four of them walked to a room at the rear of the Mermaid Cafe.
After the waitress knocked they waited outside for a short while before being invited inside.
Shyarly glanced at her older brother.
"So this time you actually remembered to knock before coming in, Brother."
Although she addressed him politely there wasn't a trace of respect in her eyes. Instead they were filled with sarcasm.
Arlong glanced awkwardly at Rowan then lowered his head without saying a word. Originally he had thought following Rowan here might help him save a little face. After all he was Shyarly's older brother.
Instead her very first sentence completely shattered that illusion.
"I heard Boss Tiger had returned some time ago. I was planning to visit you myself. I didn't expect you would come to see me first."
Only fourteen years old, yet Shyarly was already puffing away on a smoking pipe, calmly exhaling rings of smoke.
She also instructed one of the waitresses to bring coffee before inviting everyone to take a seat.
Tiger had been away from Fish-Man Island for many years. Seeing Shyarly like this he frowned. "At your age you really shouldn't be using something like that."
Shyarly shot Arlong a glance.
"What choice do I have? When my dear older brother spends every day talking about nothing except fighting and killing, the stress is overwhelming, Boss Tiger."
Jinbe glared at Arlong. That was precisely why he always called his childhood companion an idiot. They had all grown up in Fish-Man District.
Yet compared to most of them Shyarly had done far more to give back to the children there.
Tiger sighed. Then introduced Rowan.
"This gentleman is my benefactor. And an honored guest of Fish-Man Island. Just call him 'Mr.' That's how all of us address him. The one who wished to meet you was him."
Shyarly looked toward Rowan and nodded politely. Her composed demeanor and emotional restraint made her seem nothing like an ordinary fourteen-year-old girl.
"Boss Tiger's benefactor is also Fish-Man District's benefactor. Mr., is there something you need my help with?"
Rowan smiled warmly. "I heard that you possess the ability to see the future. So I wanted to experience it for myself."
Hearing that Shyarly glanced toward Tiger and the others. Arlong immediately answered, "None of us told him. Mr. Rowan simply knows many of the world's hidden secrets."
His answer surprised Shyarly. Not because of Rowan, but because the way her brother spoke had changed. In the past he would never have spoken so politely. So the reason had to be this man.
After thinking for a moment Shyarly looked at Rowan. "Mr., do you believe in prophecy?"
Rowan nodded. Then shook his head.
"From what I know about you, your prophecies always come true. The only uncertainty is when they come true. But as for myself I would never allow a prophecy to shake my resolve."
"After all if I abandoned my own convictions simply because a prophecy predicted an outcome I disliked, that would be rather laughable."
Shyarly fell silent. After a long pause she stood and retrieved a crystal ball. "Then what would you like to ask?"
Rowan's eyes narrowed. For the first time he hesitated.
Truthfully his reason for coming to Fish-Man Island, or rather his reason for meeting the Shyarly who had once foretold the birth of the Mermaid Princess, had simply been curiosity.
A chance to meet someone he remembered. But now when the time came to ask a question his thoughts became tangled.
Ask about the Revolutionary Army's future? No. The Revolutionary Army's future should rest in its own hands. It should never be determined by a prophecy.
Even if that prophecy could never be wrong. If not the Revolutionary Army, then what should I ask?
Shyarly's prophecies were never completely precise. She could predict when the Mermaid Princess would be born.
Yet she couldn't foresee the full chain of events or even the exact timing behind Luffy's eventual destruction of Fish-Man Island.
After pondering for a while Rowan finally spoke. "In the future, will slavery still exist in this world?"
Shyarly shook her head slightly.
"The future isn't a single fixed point in time. A prophecy asked in that way might refer to tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. If that's the case..." She stopped mid-sentence. "Slavery?"
At the same time Tiger and the others all looked toward Rowan. None of them had expected that this was the question he wished to ask.
After a brief pause Shyarly continued. "And the world is far too vast. Mr., perhaps you could narrow your question."
Rowan nodded.
"In that case I want to know the time of one person's death. Saint Nerona Imu."
Tiger and the others exchanged glances. The honorific "Saint" meant little to Shyarly or Arlong. But Tiger understood it immediately.
That was the title used by the Celestial Dragons. And if Rowan had specifically named this individual then they were clearly no ordinary Celestial Dragon.
Tiger subconsciously swallowed hard.
Tiger swallowed hard. His eyes remained fixed on Shyarly.
"I understand."
Shyarly replied softly. She placed both hands upon the crystal ball. The next moment a crimson glow spread through the crystal. Shyarly frowned. She seemed to be straining, trying desperately to see something more clearly.
After a long while she slowly opened her eyes. Her expression was complicated as she looked at Rowan.
"Shyarly." Tiger's voice broke the silence.
Shyarly let out a slow breath. "I can't see it clearly. All I can see are raging flames. I can't make out anything else. The time is uncertain. The location is uncertain as well."
After saying that Shyarly stood up and bowed apologetically. "I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Rowan."
"You don't need to apologize. I only asked on a whim." Rowan waved his hand dismissively. Then he stood as well and smiled.
"Whether it was your prophecy about the birth of the Mermaid Princess which caused the Sea Kings to gather around Fish-Man Island, or the arrival of the Great Age of Pirates, the visions you've seen throughout your life have always been disasters. So what you just saw was another catastrophe."
Shyarly looked up in shock. Her emotions, which the fourteen-year-old girl had struggled so hard to suppress, finally broke through.
She had originally thought that this human had merely heard rumors about her ability. She never imagined he knew so much.
Eleven years ago she had foretold the birth of the Mermaid Princess. That prophecy itself concerned one of Fish-Man Island's greatest secrets. How could this man know so much? Shyarly's body trembled faintly.
Seeing her reaction Rowan immediately regretted showing off. He had only wanted to confirm something. Instead he had frightened the poor girl.
Feeling awkward he fell back on his old habit. He reached out and gently ruffled her purple hair.
"If my words frightened you then let me apologize. I'm truly sorry. My curiosity caused you unnecessary distress."
His hand had already withdrawn. Yet Shyarly's heart was filled with confusion. After hesitating for a long time she slowly raised her head. Their eyes met.
In Rowan's gaze she saw only sincere remorse. There wasn't the slightest trace of anger for her refusal to speak.
"Haha."
Rowan laughed awkwardly.
"If you don't want to say it then don't. Don't worry. Even if the end of the world were to come I wouldn't allow it to happen."
Tiger seemed to realize something. He was just about to persuade Shyarly to reveal what she had seen when Rowan shot him a glance. Tiger immediately fell silent.
"Sniff..." Shyarly quietly sniffled.
Rowan bowed slightly once more.
"I'm sorry for disturbing you today. Please forgive me." He then gently pushed Tiger along with Jinbe and Arlong toward the door.
Arlong wanted to turn around and ask something. But Rowan planted a palm squarely against his face and shoved him outside.
"At this rate it's going to look like I'm bullying a little mermaid. Don't make this any more awkward. Come on, out you go."
He herded the three burly fish-men out of the room. Before closing the door he smiled apologetically once again.
"Wait." Rowan stopped. Shyarly spoke softly.
"The world will sink beneath the sea. Scorching flames will boil away the ocean."
The world would sink beneath the sea. Rowan didn't press the young mermaid any further. He already knew that Shyarly's prophecies only revealed fragmented scenes.
Just because she had accurately predicted Shirahoshi's birth didn't mean she could precisely foresee the moment of Imu's death.
But the entire world sinking beneath the sea could that vision be connected to the weapon hidden atop Mary Geoise?
From Rowan's memories, after the Mother Flame appeared Imu had mentioned wanting to conduct an experiment.
And when choosing the Kingdom of Lulusia as the testing site Imu had given only a single reason. "It's close."
After Lulusia was erased a massive crater was left behind.
The entire world experienced earthquakes and tsunamis. Sea levels rose by one meter. That was probably the true reason the world would eventually sink beneath the sea.
After leaving Shyarly's reception room Rowan found a quiet place to sit. He frowned as he sorted through the fragments of memory in his mind.
Too much time had passed. Many of the finer details had already faded. Only the information concerning Mary Geoise remained vividly etched into his memory.
After all ever since the pain he had endured at the age of one, during his infancy in the Sorbet Kingdom, he had imagined countless times how he would one day make those worms in Mary Geoise scream in agony.
"Haa..." Rowan let out a slow breath. Hatred was no longer the most important thing to him.
By then Tiger, Jinbe, and Arlong who had been pushed out with him were all watching Rowan with concern.
They had heard Shyarly's words before the door closed. Now they understood what was weighing on his mind.
Arlong pursed his lips.
"Mr. Rowan, you don't have to take it too seriously. Maybe Shyarly only said that because I was there today. She might have just been making things up..."
"Idiot." Jinbe shot him a look, cutting off the absurd suggestion. That made the fourth time today he had called Arlong an idiot. For a moment, if Rowan and Tiger hadn't been present Arlong would probably have fought the "fat fish" to the death.
Tiger ignored the bickering between the two younger fish-men. Instead he looked at Rowan.
"Mr. Rowan, are you worried? But if that's the case, doesn't that mean Princess Shirahoshi's purpose still exists?"
Shirahoshi. That's right. This trip to Fish-Man Island had originally been based on the assumption that if Vegapunk successfully completed the energy barrier then it could withstand Imu's weapon.
If that happened the final battle would become a straightforward confrontation. King against king. General against general.
In that case the importance of Poseidon would be greatly reduced. So why was he still worried?
Wait. Shyarly's prophecies were destined to come true. Only the timing or the manner in which they unfolded could differ.
If everything truly proceeded according to plan then the vision of the world sinking beneath the sea should never have appeared.
Instead she should have seen Mary Geoise engulfed in blazing flames and Imu reduced completely to ashes by Rowan himself.
Vegapunk was already the Revolutionary Army's Chief Scientist. Logically speaking the Mother Flame should never have come into existence.
Which meant the problem still lay with the weapon hidden in Mary Geoise.
As for that weapon much of what Rowan knew was still speculation. The Mother Flame had been invented by Vegapunk and had also been used during the destruction of Lulusia.
But whether the Mother Flame itself was the weapon or merely its power source had always been Rowan's own deduction.
The reason he believed it was an energy source was because Dragon had once said Vegapunk could never create a weapon capable of destroying the world.
Combined with Vegapunk's lifelong dream Rowan had concluded that the Mother Flame was intended to be a vast, practically limitless energy source. Or perhaps a clean, reproducible source of enormous power.
After all long before Vegapunk created the Mother Flame, God Valley had already been erased. And another location with the same immense crater as Lulusia already existed.
Enies Lobby. A gigantic abyss that the sea itself could never fill. Rowan had visited Enies Lobby countless times.
He knew that terrain all too well. Besides the similarities were simply too striking.
Nuclear fusion had originally been pursued as a revolutionary energy source.
Only later did it become a weapon capable of destroying humanity. Its resemblance to the Mother Flame was uncanny.
That was why from the very beginning Rowan had believed the Mother Flame was an energy source rather than the weapon itself. The weapon was in Imu's hands.
But the amount of energy it could accumulate, or the upper limit of its destructive power Rowan's thoughts suddenly came to a halt.
That's it. Its destructive power. The force that erased Lulusia might not have been the weapon's maximum output.
At that realization Rowan's expression darkened. Destroying a single island had raised sea levels by one meter. To sink the entire world beneath the sea would require at least a hundred such attacks.
That colossal shadow hidden above the clouds in his memories Imu had chosen Lulusia merely because "it was close."
If the final battle began, would Rowan really allow Imu to fire that thing another hundred times? Absolutely not.
By the time he launched the campaign to liberate the entire world he would undoubtedly have made every necessary preparation.
If his goal were merely to destroy Mary Geoise then the Revolutionary Army's existence would have neither purpose nor meaning.
The hatred born from God Valley still remained. But now his ultimate objective was to change the world itself. Not simply to destroy Mary Geoise.
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