Bāng!
As if knowing what he was thinking, Rowen flicked Koby on the forehead and lifted his chin.
"To me, it doesn't matter either way, but to you, it's a different story."
Hearing this, Koby rubbed his head and looked up: "What do you mean?"
"The straw hat crew and Moria are fighting, so your Nami Aneki is probably in there too, and she might be in danger… Aren't you going to save her, Koby?"
Koby froze for a moment, then lowered his head.
"I'm a Marine, and she's a pirate— Aneki or whatever, it's doesn't matter to me."
"But… the Information force said Caesar is with the Straw Hats, and I'm afraid he's already fallen into Moria's hands!"
At this, Koby straightened up.
"We have to take Caesar back— it's our master! Right, Master?"
"I'll head in first!"
Bang!
As soon as he finished speaking, Koby stomped heavily on the ground, using Geppo to leap over the chaotic first-floor hall and rush into the villa from the second-floor balcony.
"Tch, all talk but still soft-hearted— such a hassle…"
Seeing this, Rowen speechlessly waved his hand and summoned the soldiers.
"Don't interfere no matter how much those guys beat each other's brains out— just surround this place and don't let anyone escape!"
"Understood!"
He truly had no reason to step in, and it wasn't a joke— the unique geography of Thunder God island limited the space where living people could stay to just a few areas, and in this valley, as long as they blocked the exits, capturing them would be a piece of cake.
"Next…"
Rowen stood up, ignoring the zombie soldiers skulking on the outskirts nearby, trembling all over upon seeing him rise, and tossed a grape into his mouth.
"Moria seems to be preparing something— what could it be?"
"This building, with his sense of aesthetics, shouldn't be something he could've built…"
Looking at the extravagantly luxurious villa in front of him, Rowen quietly narrowed his eyes.
"I've got a feeling I'm about to discover something interesting!"
…
Boom, Boom, Boom!
In a lower room of the villa, Moria ran quickly, frantically pushing open the door.
"Damn it, I knew there was something off about that guy we killed earlier—it turns out he was from the Assassination Force's Information team!"
Though his appearance was different from before, the only possibility for attracting the Blue Dragon was this.
"Moshimoshi, can you hear me, Hogback?" He packed his belongings while pulling out a Den Den Mushi and quickly dialing.
"I can hear you… ah… It's Moria Sama. What's the matter?"
From the other end of the Den Den Mushi came a neurotic response— jumpy and erratic, his tone shifting between low and normal, sounding very much like a madman.
"We can't stay here any longer— hurry up and retreat, and let that guy loose!"
"Ah… huh? Which guy?"
"That Monster with two heads— I think only it can hold off the Soryu. Remember to leave before unlocking the shackles… moshimoshi, are you listening, Hogback?"
"Oh, I'm listening… but Moria Sama, what if I've already unlocked it?"
Moria: "…"
"Then you can go die, asshole!!"
POI…
Moria furiously hung up the phone, and suddenly, the entire villa shook.
Bang… Bang, rumble!!
"It hurts…"
"It hurts so much, Mommy… my whole body hurts…"
A strange cry spread from the Underground room along the passage, echoing through the villa's enclosed space.
Suddenly, an overwhelmingly intense sense of oppression swept through the hall, and Luffy, who was clearing out the obstructing zombie soldiers, stopped in shock, looking at the zombies collapsing to the ground one by one, scratching his head in confusion.
"What's going on? I haven't even hit you yet, and you're falling— are you trying to scam me?"
"No, I don't think they're doing it on purpose."
Suddenly, Rowen's voice sounded from his side.
Looking at the fallen zombie soldiers on the ground, Rowen noticed that a dark, shadowy mass was crawling out of their mouths, like shadows without substance, moving swiftly across the floor.
Their direction was straight toward the depths of the villa, where the voice had come from.
"So gross— what is that?"
Luffy couldn't help but rub the goosebumps on his arm— those things exuded an intensely ominous and filthy aura, and to someone with sharp senses like him, it was like a trypophobe seeing the warts on a toad's back.
"I don't know— it's probably related to Moria's Shadow-Shadow Fruit… Also…"
As he spoke, Rowen raised his left hand and slammed a fist into Luffy's face.
"Stop getting in my way!"
Whoosh… Bang!
"So fast!"
Luffy keenly sensed the danger of this punch, but his speed was far too inferior to Rowen's thunderous punch, so despite noticing the attack, he couldn't mount an effective defense.
His head crashed into the wall, and Luffy struggled to pull himself out, turning around with bared teeth and roaring, "What was that for?!"
Rowen glanced at him sideways and grinned: "Koby went in to grab Nami— he wants to take her back to the Marines. Instead of causing trouble for me here, why don't you go stop him?"
"Nonsense! Nami won't go back with you— she's my companion!"
"But she can be taken by force, can't she? Just like how you took her."
Luffy fell silent, paused for a moment, then went to the corner to help up Robin, who was gradually regaining consciousness.
"Hey, thunderous Oji San…"
"What is it?"
"Ace— do you think he was a qualified pirate?"
Hearing this, Rowen turned his head in surprise, about to say something, when suddenly, the first-floor floorboards exploded, and a massive fist came slamming toward him without mercy.
Bang!!!
A tremendous force whipped up a storm, blowing everything around away, the terrifying fist wind tearing and compressing the air, creating a Sound Explosion cloud that engulfed Rowen.
"Big uncle!"
"Pirates shouldn't worry about Marines, kid."
At that moment, Rowen's calm voice came from within the dust cloud.
Bang!
A powerful Haki shockwave rippled through the space, unrelenting, dispersing the dust.
In place, Rowen maintained his downward-smashing punch stance, clashing with that enormous fist, veins bulging on his arm.
It looked foolish, like a mantis trying to stop a cart, but this disproportionately small fist managed to halt the thick arm in its tracks, pinning it at the center of the floor.
"Not bad strength— I almost got caught off guard."
With that, Rowen turned his head. "To be fair, no…"
"But on the day of his execution, whether it was Whitebeard, Teach, or Ace, they were all undeniably pirates!"
Hearing this, Luffy froze for a moment, then lowered his head.
"Is that so? I see…"
"That's enough for me!"
Luffy clenched his fists, brimming with Battle Intent as he looked at him: "Just wait— someday, I'll send you flying!"
"I'll declare war on you, for Ace's sake too!"
"Then you'd better hurry up— my lifespan is very, very long…"
Under Luffy's bewildered gaze, clearly not understanding, the owner of the thick arm seemed to grow angry, letting out a furious roar as its other hand burst through the floorboards.
Rowen stepped aside to dodge the sudden attack, and a massive figure followed, emerging from the ground, breaking through the villa's second floor and exposing itself under the sky full of thunder.
Waving a hand to stop the soldiers from advancing, Rowen stared at the figure, his pupils suddenly shrinking.
"This is…"
"Edward·Weevil!"
(End of Chapter)
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