Kapitel 140: Chapter 131
YOUTH! Feeling hyped for no reason today.
Hope y'all enjoy this chap, and have a nice day!
(P.S. You prolly noticed by now that I'm frequently shifting the scenery in this arc. If you dislike it, please bear with me for a bit longer. As Rowan's crew reunites, we're straight off going to focus on his perspective.)
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[Grove 1]
*Creak*
Within the pleasant atmosphere of the auctioning house, the intruders stepped in. They were none other than Rowan and Nojiko.
Law, on the other hand, decided to remain outside.
"G-Grimheart?!!!"
One bidder whispered in disbelief.
"Ah-" One person, who almost let out a scream subconsciously, quickly covered her mouth.
The whole place fell silent, not even daring to let out the slightest sound of breathing.
While Nojiko simply took her spot on one of the luxurious seats nearby,
Rowan walked forth, completely ignoring the panicked audience.
*Tap* *Tap* *Tap*
His footsteps resounded through the quietened area, and eventually, he stopped in front of a wounded Fish-man, who had a choker on his neck as he gazed at the front lifelessly. This fish-man was the slave to be auctioned on the current round that they were in.
"H-h-h-h-hello…"
The host of the auction, Disco, whimpered as Rowan stopped in front of the Fish-man.
"W-w-w-w-would y-you like to j-j-join…? Recently, w-we've been getting g-g-good amount of Fish-men—"
*Thud*
Without any further words, Disco fainted due to Rowan's Conqueror's Haki.
"Speak."
Instead, Rowan met his eyes with the Fish-man's,
"What have they done to you?"
The seemingly lifeless Fish-man opened his mouth in a robotic manner,
"A strong human invaded our land and wreaked havoc. I escaped and was caught by the other humans. Now, I'm about to become a slave."
Rowan felt the sincerity from the man's words.
*Crack*
Breaking a choker before anyone could foresee,
*Boom*
Rowan easily suppressed the explosion from his hand, before throwing it away to the side.
"Then go."
Everything felt clearer to Rowan now. Just as he and the other villagers of Cocoyasi grew hatred toward the Fish-men after the years of mistreatment, the Fish-men here were experiencing something similar.
Although that did not justify the actions of the Arlong pirates or weaken the extent of Rowan's fury toward them,
"Heyyy, get out of the stage, you mongrel!! Can't you see that the auction is still ongoing, mufungh?!!!"
he now had a clearer idea of what he should be doing here. He already destroyed a strikingly-similar Arlong Park in the past. Sabaody Archipelago? Same thing.
"A stupid-looking helmet, with that weird attire…" Rowan muttered as he turned around and began to approach Charlos, who was staring at Rowan with widened eyes, while his body unconsciously trembled.
He never felt fear in his life, and therefore, such emotion was novel, unfamiliar, and unpleasant to him. Out of instinct, Charlos called out,
"W-where are my guards—eh?!!!"
only to see that his guards all fell unconscious with foams on their mouths. Subsequently, he saw a shadow looming over him.
"…You are a Celestial Dragon, aren't you?"
Rowan, upon arriving in front of Charlos, spoke grimly.
In Rowan's eyes, Charlos seemed to be nothing more than a spoiled man-child. Hell, the latter wasn't even capable of distinguishing between right and wrong. Charlos didn't view the humans as humankind, but merely as the bugs who stood below them. To the Celestial Dragons like him, killing humans was no different from killing bugs.
"I-I…"
Just by one glance alone, Rowan was able to make a thorough assessment of this individual. His conclusion? Disappointing. Perhaps his expectation was too high.
"I have a question to ask, oh-so-great god from heaven."
Therefore, Rowan no longer had any interest in this Celestial Dragon. Instead, he decided to quench his inquiry. He, whose eyes turned into deep purple as he leaned closer to Charlos, whispered into the latter's ear,
"Have you heard of the name Vasilia before?"
"Ehh..." Charlos's eyes widened, "You mean those demons that will come from the hell to eat me when I don't listen to my daddy and mommy?!!"
It seems that the name of Vasilia, to them, was nothing more than the mythic creatures that parents used to frighten their children.
'Immortal... and more perhaps. Judging by the behaviour of this man, most of the Celestial Dragons may not be a threat.'
Rowan's eyes closed as he backed off from Charlos,
"I see."
His business was done here.
"Now hand over that Fish-man, you... you... you dumb... person! I am being really kind of generous here!!" Charlos shouted out loud, having immediately forgotten that his guards were lying down. There was no one to protect him, and yet, he lacked a sense of awareness.
Rowan gazed at Charlos with narrowed eyes, before stating, "How generous of you. However, unfortunately for you, I'm not feeling generous right now."
"H-hey, what is Grimheart about to do now—" One man muttered in a shaky tone, only to see,
*SWOOSH*
Rowan vanishing from his spot and appearing right in front of Nojiko.
"Let's go."
Rowan said casually as he walked out of the building.
Subsequently,
*BOOOOOOOOOOOM*
"W-wha..."
Saint Charlos exclaimed as he saw his body limbs flying up in the air. Looking down, he saw Disco, whose lifeless body was staring back at him. Shifting his gaze to the mirror nearby, he saw his bleeding head gazing back at him.
"AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"
Charlos screamed in total shock before he crashed back down to the ground.
*PUK*
He was dead.
"Just one more thing, Rowan." Nojiko said as she lit up her index finger with a green flame, before transferring it onto the wooden wall of the building.
Hence, the building began to corrode away at a rapid pace. Nojiko, without looking back, followed Rowan back to the outside.
And as they exited,
"AHHHHHHHH!!!!"
"G-get out of here, fast!!!"
"C-call my guards!!!"
The panicked bidders began to scream in realization as they stormed out—in a direction different from the exit that Rowan and Nojiko took.
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[Marineford]
"Moshi moshi~ Borsalino here~ what is it~?" Borsalino, who was sitting in his office with an eyepatch over his left eye, answered the call.
"A-Admiral Borsalino? I thought this belonged to the Fleet Admiral Sengoku—"
"Oh~ the former Fleet Admiral Sengoku officially retired a day ago, along with the Vice Admiral Garp."
"I-I'm sorry, but what..."
"It seems that the information flows quite slow to the Sabaody Archipelago at the current moment. Hmm~ is it due to the arrival of Grimheart?"
"Yes! Regarding that matter..."
The voice from the Den Den Mushi hesitated in fear.
"Go ahead and report~ after all, I'm the only Admiral available right now."
"S-sorry?!!"
"Well... Admiral Sakazuki and Kuzan... they left to the Punk Hazard to determine who will succeed the position of the Fleet Admiral~"
The voice from Den Den Mushi ceased. However, the officer on the other end was clearly shocked, with the Den Den Mushi's mouth opened wide and eyes bloodshot, mimicking the officer's facial expression.
"It... seems that we are in an extremely troublesome situation, A-Admiral Borsalino..."
"Ho? And why would they be—"
"Purururu, purururu,"
Then, another Den Den Mushi began to ring.
"This call..." Borsalino's lone eye sharpened, "...It's from Mariejois."
"They already..." The voice from Den Den Mushi muttered in a shaky tone, before speaking up slowly, "Admiral Borsalino. P-please listen well.
Grimheart... he killed Saint Charlos!!!"
"...Oh~ pardon?"
Borsalino lost all playfulness in his tone as unconsciously placed his hand on his eyepatch in shock.
"Purururu, purururu,"
The continuous crying of the other Den Den Mushi began to give Borsalino a dread.
'Why is a Celestial Dragon in the Sabaody Archipelago at this period of time?!!' Borsalino placed a hand on his forehead as he began to sweat profusely.
"I see..." Borsalino managed to mutter a word out, "I'm... going to end the call momentarily. Stand by."
"Sir, yes, sir!"
Hanging up the call, Borsalino gazed at the other Den Den Mushi that cried non-stop.
The Marine too was having a hard time at the current moment. The retirements of the two pillars of the Marine, a troublesome and aggravated opposition between two Admirals, lack of force to subdue the pirates who managed to escape from the Impel Down, and now... the death of one Celestial Dragon.
Borsalino knew that they had to avoid the wrath of the Celestial Dragons somehow. They weren't even able to send a necessary force to punish the killer... and that killer too was none other than Rowan. Therefore,
"Moshi moshi~ Borsalino here~!"
He decided to play innocent.
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[Water Seven]
"Guahahaha, praise me more, you mortals!!!"
"""Shut up, you light-headed moron!!!"""
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[Alabasta]
"Rowan and his crew…" Vivi could 't help but drop the newspaper in her hand out of shock, "1.9 billion Beli… I can't believe it."
Turning to her father, king Cobra, Vivi asked, "Is this true, father?"
"Yes, Vivi." Cobra replied grimly, "The news accentuates Rowan's feat within the Marineford War, although the specifics aren't labeled. To many, he is now known as the fourth Emperor who succeeds Whitebeard."
"He has officially become a prominent threat in the eyes of the World Government. When the secret behind his name is revealed to the public…" Vivi gulped, "the whole world will be subverted."
"A great war will arise. War greater than any other. During then, will we see the rise of Joy Boy? Will the supposed Immortal triumph in the end? Or… will the true heir of Vasilia, end everything once and for all, just as the stone tablet prophesized?" Cobra gazed above at the ceiling of the castle in worry, before letting out a sigh.
Everything was becoming unsettling. Cobra could see the demolition of the supposed balance of the world. Soon, everything will fall into chaos. But...
"It's pointless. There is no point in thinking, especially when they are out of our hands."
Cobra smiled at Vivi, who smiled back at him.
"No need to worry, Vivi. After all, Alabasta Kingdom is stronger than ever."
Vivi nodded, "Yes, we are. And I know that we can handle the future."
Raising her hand up, Vivi and Cobra witnessed a small amount of sand swirling on top of her palm. And that wasn't the end.
Subsequently, looking back, Vivi gazed at the strictly-standing guards…
who used to be the former Baroque Works agents.
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[In the Middle of Nowhere, 3 Days After]
Teach gazed off at the horizon in vain, unable to believe his current circumstance.
"…Laffitte."
He was trying to recruit a doctor, but instead, ended up losing a skilled navigator.
And interestingly enough, no one seemed to be worried about Laffitte at all.
"Weehahaha!!!" Burgess laughed boisterously as he bumped his fists together, "Where are we going now, captain?!"
Teach grimaced.
In which direction do the Blackbeard pirates go? They didn't even have time to coat their ship in Sabaody Archipelago. They can't get past the Red Line as of the current moment.
If so, which island? Back to Banaro? How?
They had no navigator. They had no Log Pose or Eternal Pose to guide themselves to the next island.
And three days passed by... Teach was quite confident that they were lost in the sea. And losing one's way in the Grand Line was extremely dangerous.
"Hmm… I think we should try going that way." Shiryu stated as he pointed his sword in a random direction.
"I… I think…. that way." A giant fellow, Sanjuan Wolf, pointed in a different direction.
"Toputopu!! Just go anywhere, and we will get somewhere!!!" Vasco Shot laughed as he chugged down the barrel of alcohol next to him.
"Zehahaha…" Teach laughed in a cold sweat as he assessed just what kind of situation they were lied upon.
From the crow's nest above, Van Augur dropped down to the deck.
"Captain, I think there indeed is one island nearby. However, it's a bit weird."
"H-huh?!! An island you say?!" Teach's eyes widened in delight, "Well, what are you waiting for?!! Guide us there—"
"I think it's Kuraigana."
"…What did you say?" Teach froze.
"Kuraigana, you mean…" Shiryu spoke up knowingly, "…the island where Dracule Mihawk lives by?"
"Turn away!!!!" Teach shrieked in panic, "Turn away right now!!! Get away from here!!!"
"Oh my. You surely are loud, captain. Murunfufufu!" Devon chuckled in mockery, which Teach ignored.
And in Teach's misery, Burgess and Augur were the only ones to listen to his order.
'...Where did it start to go wrong?' Teach placed a hand on his forehead, feeling nauseous, 'I was supposed to be sailing in the New World by now, collecting all islands that lost the protection of Whitebeard!! And yet...'
Teach clenched his fist as his lone eye gleamed.
'...So be it. Zehahaha... it seems that I may have to adjust my plan.
Give up on Tremor Tremor fruit... at least for now.'
He had to be flexible here. If he couldn't take a step forward, then he will take a step back. He won't stop until he achieves his goal, for that's who Marshall D. Teach was.
"Devon. Calm the f*** down."
Teach said in a low tone as the wisps of darkness emanated from his body.
Everyone within the ship froze as the whole ship momentarily shook, with Teach's Conqueror's Haki domineeringly blasting forth.
"...Ho?" Devon raised her eyebrow in a pleasant surprise.
'It seems that you still are worthy of following, Teach.'
Eventually, she bowed in compliance, "Your wish is my command, captain."
"Shiryu."
Shiryu gazed at Teach silently, before momentarily pulling his cigar away from his mouth as he responded, "Yes, captain."
"I'm using your sword for a second." Teach ordered as he sighed, "Haa... navigation... we're going to have to start from the basics."
With a missing eye and hand, and the loss of two important crew members, the future of the Blackbeard pirates has become seemingly bleak.
However, in contrast, Teach looked more determined than ever.
AUTORENGEDANKEN 
BravoBuds
BravoBuds Gomu Gomu no... King Cobra!!
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein