章 105: Chapter 99
"No, I refuse... to believe this..." Enel snarled with blood dripping from his mouth, as the large mass of lightning began to crackle around him,
"I'm GOD!!!"
However, Rowan didn't seem to be paying much mind.
'Kinetic energy, bounce... I've always used bullet as a medium to accumulate the energy and utilized it as Entropic Blast. However, now, with Armament Haki at hand...' The black-coloured Armament Haki slowly encased Rowan's outstretched left hand. Rowan raised his left hand up with his extended thumb and index facing each other.
Subsequently, the subtle sounds of consecutive bounce forces were heard between his thumb and index, and the heat began to emanate from the region of air between his two fingers. Rowan's eyes flashed in interest.
Witnessing Rowan's impassiveness, the lightning around Enel enlarged, resonating to Enel's fury. The lightning around Enel's body began to morph into a giant entity-like being, similar but inferior to how Crocodile built a sand titan in the past.
"Max Two-Hundred Million Volts," Enel declared, "Amaru (Thunder God)!!!"
The newly developed entity of lightning now stood in front of Rowan, with the staff Enel was originally holding now transformed into a lightning trident that crackled dangerously.
*PAZZZZZZ*
The lightning from the entity thundered all across the area, generating a terrific sound that was heard all the way to Skypiea and Upper Yard, instantly earning the residents' fears.
Rowan broke into a ferocious grin, "Now we are talking."
They were currently in the sky in the middle of nowhere, at a notable distance away from the sky islands and the blue sea. This meant that no one will witness their battle; a perfect chance for Rowan to test his capability without worrying about his eyes being exposed, except to Enel, who was already a dead man in his eyes.
Raising his hands up to his eyes, Rowan took off the blindfold, revealing his amber-coloured eyes that glowed brilliantly. And...
The experience was incredible for him. Every detail, even the slightest dust that floated in midair—Rowan could see and feel all the aspects that constituted his surrounding, and store those memories within his head.
*Crack*
At the same time, he felt as if something broke within him, a limit perhaps. His Observation Haki began to go haywire, and he began to attain flashes of scenery where he and Enel clashes-
'A future...?' Rowan's eyes widened in wonder, 'To think Observational Haki was possible of something like this...'
Enel, in his lightning-clad body, narrowed his eyes upon noticing that Rowan wasn't blind, but waved it off without much concern, thinking that he, with mantra, can achieve the same feat with a blindfold on.
Calming himself down and regaining his focus on the battle in front of him, Rowan thought to himself as he slowly cocked his right fist back, 'The power of Bounce Bounce fruit heavily relies on two factors.
One, immense physical strength. Basic bounce force correlates with how much force the individual is capable of mustering without the fruit.
Two, perhaps more important factor than physical strength: reflex. The timing of the bounce force must be very precise to achieve substantial damage. It is inherently blunt, so without an instantaneous burst of force at the right timing, it will simply 'bounce' the enemies away.
Additionally, my techniques ranging from consecutive bounce forces to convergence, all relies on my reflex, and now, since it has recently been enhanced by my eyes...'
*BOOOM*
With the powerful bounce from the sole of his feet, Rowan domineeringly flew towards Enel with his eyes glowing dangerously.
Enel gritted his teeth as he held his lightning-clad trident forward, ready to meet Rowan's blow.
"Amaru: El Thor!!" Upon Rowan entering the proximity, Enel shot his trident forward, blasting the lightning with the maximum voltage that he was capable of.
Rowan took in a deep breath as he saw a huge wave of lightning rapidly flying towards him. In the next moment, his whole body was imbued in Armament Haki.
"Twenty-Five Layers Convergence, Fifty-Hit,"
Rowan's Haki-imbued right fist began to heat up in orange-colour due to the subtle bounce forces that consecutively blasted within his hand like a vibration, to an extent where one could have mistaken that he ate Tremor Tremor fruit instead of Bounce Bounce fruit.
"Entropic Imbuement: Juggernaut Drive."
As Enel's lightning was about to crash over him, Rowan blasted his punch through.
What happened at the next moment was simply unbelievable in Enel's eyes,
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*
A sky-shaking noise thundered across the whole area, as the violent wave of force, with an orange-coloured hue, blasted from Rowan's fist at an incredible pace, crashing through Enel's lightning and destroying his body into ruins, before travelling beyond and splitting the whole sky open.
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*
Without a stop, the sky continued to explode repeatedly, and with each blast, Enel's body was scorched, tore open, and burst into pieces, showcasing just how fearsome Rowan's technique was. At its 50th explosion, the attack finally came to a stop.
"N-no. Me, with just one blow? How..." Enel weakly whispered as his detached head, which was helplessly flying in the air with his whole body reduced to ashes. He watched the sun that brightly shined through a gigantic hole in midst of the clouds, created by Rowan's attack, as his vision darkened.
Watching Enel's gruesome death impassively, Rowan placed his blindfold back onto his face, before inspecting the scenery that he created with slight exhaustion on his face, as the Armament Haki faded from his body and the steam was seen to be coming off of his right hand.
"How capable am I, against those Marine Admirals and Four Emperors?" Rowan asked himself, thinking of the infamous titles held by one of the most powerful individuals in this world.
<You've... slightly improved. However, you are still lacking the crucial piece.>
Suddenly, a voice rang within Rowan's head, but Rowan reacted as if he has gotten used to such a phenomenon.
"Did you... just answer my question?" Rowan's eyes narrowed, "What happened to blabbering about hating me and all that s***?"
As three years passed by, he would occasionally hear this voice, which has never failed to irritate him. He had no idea what this thing could be.
He tried meditation to see if he can enter his 'subconsciousness' just as he somehow did three years ago. He also tried to have this thing within be exorcised. However, none of those methods proved to be useful, leaving him with no option but to continue suffering from this pestering voice.
Setting such thoughts aside, Rowan vanished away from the scene.
_______________
[Eastern Coast, Jaya]
"Just what is going on?!" One man with a large jaw, with his overall facial feature resembling that of a monkey, cried in disbelief, "A large black-coloured storm at Mock Town for days, and now-"
His eyes were locked at the sky located at a far distance away, where a gigantic hole was created out of nowhere, with the sun brightly shining through.
"Freaking fifty consecutive explosions in the sky?!!!" This man was Montblanc Cricket, the descendent of the falsely accused 'liar,' Montblanc Noland.
Behind him and the other members of his Saruyama Alliance, there were piles of unconscious pirates, who ran away from the chaotic battle that occurred in Mock Town. They originally swarmed to Cricket's base, and upon noticing the golds Cricket was in possession of, attempted to steal those from him—only for their maliciousness to backfire.
Massaging his forehead in frustration, Cricket spoke up to two pirate crew behind him,
"Shoujou, Masira, and the rest of you, don't you dare to move out. I've got no idea what's going on here, but I am well aware that the current situation is not suitable for salvaging."
The two monkey-like pirates nodded while gulping in nervousness.
_______________
[Marine Base G-8]
"V-Vice Admiral Jonathan!" A man with a standard marine cap spoke up in a cold sweat.
"No need to speak any more, Lieutenant Commander Drake." Vice Admiral Jonathan, a man with short red-coloured hair, thick brown-coloured eyebrows, and a mustache, replied in a reserved manner. He slowly stood up from his desk and solemnly walked towards the opened window, before gazing at the sky above, which was clear without a sight of a single cloud.
(AN: This Drake is not the one with Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit, X Drake. He's one of those characters within G-8 arc, one of the filler arc. Don't get yourselves confused.)
"The explosions as huge and surreal as that..." Jonathan said with narrowed eyes as he casually placed his hand on his chin. "Booboobooming sound. My brain says...
Grimheart Rowan! What's the chance of those explosions being his work?"
"But Vice Admiral Jonathan, that's nearly impossible!" Drake refuted with certainty in his voice, "It has been confirmed that the Grimheart pirates didn't reach the Maple island, or haven't been found to have arrived any island nearby. It is most probable that they are still hiding somewhere in the Alabasta!"
"No no, you see, Lieutenant Commander, there is no such thing as 'absolute' in this Grand Line." Jonathan shook his head calmly before walking back to his desk and grabbing the Den Den Mushi. "We haven't experienced something like that for years, and know that such a work cannot be accounted as a natural phenomenon. Even if it wasn't the work of Grimheart, it will be from someone just as formidable—formidable enough to explode the whole G-8, haha."
"Purururu, purururu," The signature sound of Den Den Mushi was heard as Jonathan dialed a certain number. Without much wait, the sound ceased as the other end picked up the call.
"What." A grumpy voice was heard as Den Den Mushi's face became wrinkled into a frown.
"Hah, no need to be so tight, Admiral Sakazuki." Jonathan laughed casually, "How have you been?"
Drake's eyes widened and his jaw dropped in shock—Vice Admiral Jonathan called Admiral Akainu, who is known to be the scariest of the three, like nothing!
"Don't. Waste. My. Time. Get into the business already." Sakazuki's growl was heard, causing Drake to gulp in anxiousness as he stared at Jonathan, whose casual demeanour didn't falter.
"Okay okay. Hmph, same as always, can't even relax for one bit." Jonathan pouted comically, before speaking up in a serious tone with his eyes sharpened, "Say, what do you think it means when the whole sky above you suddenly explodes, fifty times in a row?"
"...What?" Sakazuki's asked in a low tone.
Jonathan is Sakazuki's protege, and the two of them knew each other for a long amount of time. Apart from Sakazuki's dislike for Jonathan due to the latter refusing the 'Absolute Justice,' Sakazuki knew that Jonathan would never bother to call him in usual cases, and when he does, there was a reason behind it.
"Well, all I could deduce from those loud booms, was that it's gotta be more than what G-8 can handle." Jonathan responded calmly. If it was Grimheart Rowan as he suspected, whose crew destroyed another base in the past, and killed another Vice Admiral along with one of the Seven Warlords, G-8 will end up facing a calamity as they did. "Are you busy?"
Den Den Mushi's expression remained grim, as Sakazuki seemed to be in deep thought. Eventually, he spoke up seriously, "Kuzan and... Garp are near."
"Oh, you are not coming yourself?" Jonathan exclaimed in a faked surprise.
"Quit joking, Vice Admiral Jonathan. Don't cross the line." Den Den Mushi gritted its teeth, displaying Sakazuki's displeasure, "With Kaidou rampaging here and there, you think I have enough time to spare?"
"Haha, alright. Hope they come fast enough, before all of us are done for!" Jonathan gave a hearty laugh.
"Hn." With a grumpy sound from the other end, Sakazuki broke the call.
Jonathan placed the dial down, and turned to Drake with a V-sign in a comical manner, causing the latter to fall down to the ground with sweat, wondering how Jonathan is able to maintain his composure.
_______________
"Dan, bring me the pineapple from the backroom." Carmen called to Dan, who was still busy writing down in his notebook, as she waved a cooking knife in her hand.
"What? Pineapple?" Dan squinted his eyes, "Didn't captain tell us not to purchase any more fruits?"
Carmen nodded, "I haven't bought any afterward. That pineapple is from Daifuku. It wasn't ripe enough before, so I couldn't afford to open it. Now should be about the right time, before it begins to rot."
Thinking momentarily, Dan nodded in agreement, "Fine. The pineapple better taste good though."
Watching as Dan walked away to retrieve the pineapple, Carmen went back to chopping the food ingredients, preparing for the meal of the crew members.
"What the f***?!!!!"
Suddenly, Dan's cry was heard from the back, causing Carmen to turn her head in confusion.
"What?" Carmen cried back to Dan, wondering what happened. Curious, she put down the knife and walked to the backroom of the ship, and sighted Dan, who was holding... a strange-looking fruit, that seemed to be a variant of a pineapple.
It had a trace of lightning around, which subtly crackled around the fruit. The fruit itself was cyan-blue in terms of colour, and upon sighting this fruit, Dan and Carmen both reached the same conclusion at the same time,
""Devil Fruit.""
At the next moment, Carmen found herself dumbfounded as Dan, at a blinding speed, took a bite from the fruit, before his face turned into a disgusted frown.
"Blurgh, this pineapple tastes like s***."
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