The battle with Garp back then had always carried shadows of suspicion, enough to trigger investigations from all sides. Eventually, many forces uncovered his forbidden move, Black Prison: Thunder Realm.
Because of this, Rowen had spent countless hours racking his brain, searching for a way to lure Kurozumi Orochi into a trap. The reason he hadn't struck earlier, beyond the simple fact that there had been no need, was precisely this.
And yet, what did he discover instead?
Kurozumi Orochi was the one trying to lure him in?!
Falling for the same trick, in the same place, twice over… that level of idiocy utterly shattered Rowen's understanding of the so-called shogun.
"Seastone powder!!!"
Rowen's figure flickered with pale white phosphorescence as Orochi's reptilian features twisted. His serpent's face remained cold, but the horror in his eyes betrayed him completely.
Seastone, the natural enemy of all Devil Fruit users!
No matter how mighty their power, Seastone stripped it away.
A trace of it was tolerable, merely irritating, like salt spray stinging the skin. But in sufficient measure? It stripped away everything.
And here, inside the Black Prison: Thunder Realm, a magnified version of Raigo: Thunder Greeting, an Awakening domain where lightning itself chewed ceaselessly at the body, if his powers faltered, if he were shackled by Seastone in that instant…
A shiver crawled down Orochi's spine. The mere thought was suffocating.
"Bastard!!"
He tried to pull back desperately, anything to tear away from Rowen's grasp.
But he forgot. Rowen's claws were already clamped around one of his heads.
Crunch!
With merciless strength, fingers like iron spears dug in. With a savage yank, Rowen stretched the serpentine neck taut, dragging Orochi back across the ground. His clawed feet scrabbled for purchase, but it was useless.
"Don't run! Can't we have a nice little chat?"
Rowen's muscles rippled as he invoked Life Return, a secret Rokushiki art, increasing his grip's crushing force. A cold smirk cut across his face as he hauled Orochi closer, squaring his chest.
"See? I'm not even defending myself. Try it, maybe you'll get lucky and kill me."
The words slid into Orochi's ear, like the whisper of a devil.
His slit pupils dilated. Panic and desperation swelled. Then, with a vicious hiss, one of his other heads lunged forth, fangs gnashing, jaws aimed not at Rowen but… at the neck Rowen gripped!
He was willing to sever his own flesh to break free!
"Tch. Not falling for it, huh…" Rowen's mocking chuckle made Orochi's blood run cold.
Before he could react, Rowen's free left hand lashed out. Faster than lightning itself, he seized not one, but two more serpent heads.
And then,
"Raigo: Thunder Greeting - Planet!!"
BZZZZZTTTT!!!
Thunder screamed. The void itself shook as black spheres of lightning, small and impossibly dense, congealed within Rowen's palms. Under Orochi's terrified gaze, Rowen slammed them mercilessly into the eyes and jaws of two heads.
BOOOOOM!!!
The world convulsed with sound and fury. Flesh and scale burst apart, but under the annihilating thunder, scraps disintegrated into dust long before they hit the ground.
Two headless necks collapsed heavily, steaming blood flooding the floor of the prison domain.
"Two plus two makes four. That leaves four heads."
Rowen's merciless gaze bore into Orochi. Then, with a light step, his figure drifted back, swallowed by the darkness of the Thunder Realm.
"Y-you… bastard!"
For the first time, true terror twisted across Orochi's serpent faces. At last, he grasped the weight of his mistake, the calamity born of his own choices. If he had known that one day a monster like Rowen would rise within the Marines, he would never have betrayed Kozuki Oden.
Oden's vision of "Opening Wano's borders" had already won many followers. He had sailed with Roger, seen the seas, and knew what Wano lacked. His ambition carried sincerity; he wanted to usher in change.
But change meant the end of Orochi's rule. His fragile throne as Wano's shogun would crumble. So he conspired in the shadows, joining hands with Kaido. Together, they slaughtered the Kozuki clan.
That… that had been his fatal mistake.
He never should have chosen Kaido.
To invite such a god was simple; dismissing him was impossible. With Kaido came chains. With Kaido came ruin. Wano had ceased to belong to him; it had been dragged into a war fueled by the ambitions of monsters… and now, one of those monsters had come to collect the price.
A dreadful silence pressed down, broken only by the crackle of lingering thunder. Finally, Orochi's voice trembled out in panic.
"W–wait a moment!!"
His wild eyes darted toward every shadow, every spark in the darkness.
"Soryu, I was wrong! I never wanted to go to war with the Marines, believe me! Before the official declaration, I even traded again with the Government! I've never wanted to oppose you, I'm just a businessman!"
"Oh? Is that so?"
Rowen's voice slithered through the domain from every direction, a whisper that felt like it was coiling around Orochi's neck.
"So you're saying… you intend to surrender?"
"That's right!" Orochi blurted desperately. "I don't want to die! Why should I fight you to the death, only to end up a corpse, while those other fools live freely? What benefit is there for me?!"
Relief rushed into his eyes. Rowen was replying, there was room to talk!
His trembling voices overlapped, each head spitting words in tandem:
"Kozuki Oden was a wanted man, condemned for sailing with Roger! Killing him holds no weight for you, does it? Now, I will serve as a witness, a tool for you! Help me live, and I will help you bring down Kaido!"
"Interesting."
The thunder hissed, and suddenly Rowen was right before him, stepping out of the shadows, eyes narrowed.
"You're certain you want to betray Kaido?" Rowen asked softly, dangerously. "Aren't you terrified of him? You know if you fought him, you wouldn't last a heartbeat."
Orochi's remaining four heads shrank inward, coiling tightly around his body. Yet, through quivering fangs, he hissed:
"But… Kaido isn't your match either… is he?"
"All his boasts of being 'the strongest in the world', you shattered them." His voices overlapped, heavy with calculation, despair, and trembling hope. "He had to sever his own arm just to crawl away from you, and since then, he hasn't dared retaliate. His reputation, his 'myth,' has already rotted in the eyes of the sea… And the sea respects only one law, strength."
"Well said. On these seas, power is everything. Without it, even the noblest ideals are nothing more than castles in the air, grand in vision, yet forever out of reach."
Rowen inclined his head in mock approval, then smiled thinly. "Tell me, then, how do you intend to prove your worth? Let me judge your value. Because if it doesn't outweigh the benefit of killing you here and now…" His lips curled into a sneer. "Heh."
The threat sank in, sharp as a blade. Orochi swallowed hard, all four heads nodding vigorously.
"Understood, understood!"
He hurried to speak, words tumbling over each other.
"It's like this, Kaido's most elite forces are currently stationed on the West coast of Wano. His personal monstrosities, heavily modified cyborgs, each one armed like a battleship! They're a great threat to the Marines… but I know their exact location. I can even move with you and strike them down myself."
Rowen's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Kaido's secret forces…?" He nodded once, voice unreadable. "Not bad. But… not enough."
Orochi's teeth clenched.
'Greedy, vile bastard!' He cursed inwardly, but not a flicker of hesitation touched his face.
"There's also Orrick," he pressed quickly. "He dug an underground chamber beneath his mansion. He hides things there, treasures, weapons, documents. He thinks I don't know… but nothing in the Flower Capital escapes my spies. I can lead you to it!"
Still, Rowen remained unmoved. Orochi forced on a tighter smile. "And Kaido's armory! You can seize it yourself. No exchange, no gold, give it straight to the Government. Imagine how much funding they'll save. The Celestial Dragons and their Lords will sing your praises!"
As Wano's infamous arms broker, Orochi knew exactly how much profit the Government poured into his coffers every quarter. That, he thought grimly, was his true bargaining chip.
But Rowen only shook his head slowly.
"In the end… you still don't dare step into the light, do you?"
Orochi blinked, confusion flickering. Then Rowen's sneer sharpened like a knife.
"All your offers keep you in the shadows. Secret trades. Hushed whispers. Why not go further? Why not help us directly lure out Orrick or Kaido themselves, kill them at the root, cut off the problem once and for all?"
'They'll kill me for certain if I do that!'
Terror rocked Orochi's body. His mouths opened, desperate to refuse, but Rowen's icy, merciless stare froze the words in his throats. His lips twisted, and instead:
"Y-yes… yes! As long as you guarantee my life, I'll cooperate."
"Liar!!!"
Rowen's sudden roar cracked like thunder itself. The entire Black Prison shook as a tide of lightning erupted outward, tearing the void into blinding brilliance.
His voice lashed across Orochi like a whip: "You think you can hide my presence in Wano from Kaido and Orrick? You knew it was impossible. Yet still, you nodded because you're clinging to false hope! Hoping that when the chance comes, you'll betray me, join forces with them, and strike me down together! Isn't. That. Right?!"
Orochi's pupils shrank to pinpoints. His serpent bodies went rigid as ice, every nerve locking in place.
How does he know what I was thinking?!
(End of Chapter)
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