บท 107: Chapter 101
"Captain." Dan spoke in a solemn tone.
Rowan's face was in a grim disposition, as the Prominence continued to head towards the Marine Base G-8 ahead of them.
"It's just like G-11 we've encountered in the past." Carina stated with her eyes locked onto the Log Pose she was holding, "The marines occupied one whole island—knowing that in this vast sea, sailing in accordance to the Log Pose or Eternal Pose is the only method of navigation."
"Three." Rowan spoke up seriously, "I sense three notable individuals within that base. Among three, two are exceptionally strong—probably the strongest we've ever encountered so far."
Turning to Carina, Rowan stated, "Carina, while we clash against them, do sneak in the base and seize the Pose that we need for further navigation. With no clue of how long it will take for our Log Pose to record the island, that's our only option."
Carina nodded with a determined gaze, "Got it!"
"Don't worry, captain." From Rowan's back, Dan said with his sharpened eyes staring at the Marine Base ahead of them, "Our plan will have to be reactive rather than proactive, but..."
*Pazz*
A short-lived noise of electricity was heard, as Dan's head began to crackle in electricity, "It won't be much of a problem."
Rowan broke into a confident smile of his own, as he noticed his other crew members, Carmen, Cavendish, Alfred, Farul, and even Robin, all staring back at him with a resolution of their own.
*SPLASH*
As Prominence reached the nearby shore of the Navarone island of the Marine Base G-8, three marine officers, Garp, Kuzan, and Jonathan, have shown themselves as they casually walked towards the Prominence.
Subsequently, many marine ships have begun to move out from the base before surrounding the Prominence from all possible angles.
Upon noticing Kuzan, Robin's eyes widened in horror,
"Aokiji..."
"Bwahahaha, so you are the Grimheart Rowan I've heard of for years!!" Garp laughed out loud, "850 million Beli in the Paradise, bwahaha! Sengoku surely has gone paranoid!!"
Kuzan sighed with his hands in his pocket. With a slouched posture, he raised his eyes towards Robin, "Nico Robin. To think you would have joined them... that was quite unexpected of you. Did you give up on hiding?"
Robin, with a conflicted expression, was about to speak up but was prevented from doing so, as Rowan gently patted her shoulder before stepping forward.
Putting on a grin and casually leaning on the rail, Rowan spoke up, "It is quite nice to meet the three formidable marine officers of the sea."
Jonathan keenly observed Rowan's face which had the blindfold on, for it was something they were not informed with.
'Should I take off my blindfold?' While speaking out aloud, Rowan's mind was in turmoil. 'Immortal... will he recognize my eyes? Is it possible to defeat them without utilizing my full capability?'
"Garp the 'Hero,' a dude with a brown mustache, and... an ugly looking ice bastard." Rowan's casual tone slowly morphed into a ferocious growl as the atmosphere began to turn intense. From some distance away, the other marine soldiers, aboard the ships that surrounded Prominence, were gulping with a notable nervousness on their faces.
"Hmm, can't you be a little nicer?" Kuzan replied with half-lidded eyes, scratching his head lazily while doing so.
"Bwahaha, did you hear that, Kuzan, Jonathan?! I'm the 'Hero,' and you two are nobodies to them!!" Garp laughed once more, causing Jonathan to stare at him weirdly.
"Captain Rowan." From Rowan's side, Alfred said in a low tone, "The last member of the three is known as Vice Admiral Jonathan, who used to serve under one of the current Admirals, Sakazuki."
Dan observed the surroundings keenly, "Their plan seems quite straightforward: crush us with force, without allowing us to touch the base even once. Take out the exceptionally strong members of our crew with those three, while all the other marine ships bombard Prominence."
"Like..." Robin said with a slight shakiness in her voice, "...Buster Call."
"Hehe, that's funny." Carina said with her eyes flashing dangerously, "There is no such thing as a weak spot in our crew."
With the situation in deadlock as Rowan impassively faced off against three marine officers, Rowan called out, "Carmen. Dan."
Upon hearing Rowan, the duo grinned,
"Hmph, it's about time."
"Roger that."
At the next moment, Carmen and Dan began to rise from the Prominence, with one encased in an orange-coloured flame, while the other crackling in blue-coloured lightning.
The marine soldiers' jaws opened wide.
"Lightning?!!" Jonathan's eyes narrowed upon sighting Dan's ability.
Kuzan's raised his eyebrow as the casualness in his face was gradually lost.
"Bwahaha, you think we will let you guys freely attack us?!" Simultaneously, Garp crouched down from his spot, ready to blast off.
Watching Garp's behaviour, Rowan immediately ordered, "Leave the 'Hero' to me, and prepare to engage."
The other members of the crew nodded, as Carina flipped out a knife, Cavendish unsheathed his sword, and Robin crossed her arms.
"Flame Empress: Sea of Flames." The torrent of orange-coloured flame began to fill the sky above them. On top of Carmen's control,
"40 Million Volts..." Dan whispered with his index finger pointing up to the sky, "Discharge."
*Pazzz*
A thin stream of electricity emitted out of Dan's finger, before spreading all over the torrent of flame that was created by Carmen.
"Interesting." Jonathan said with his hand on his chin, "Using the oxygen above as a fuel to keep the flame afloat, and discharging electricity into the clouds to produce the combination of flame and lightning."
"Oh... how intimidating." Kuzan remarked in a mix of laziness and seriousness. The surrounding around Kuzan slowly became chill, to an extent where his breath became visible due to extreme coldness.
Carmen stared at Kuzan haughtily with her chin lifted up high, before waving her hand in a downward motion,
"Flame Ediction: Calamity."
Dan chuckled at Carmen's antics before snapping his fingers as well.
The marine soldiers stared at the scene in disbelief, upon seeing that the huge torrent of flames began to descend with the crackling electricity noticeable within. It seemed as if they became ants in front of such a domineering view.
Kuzan watched the technique with narrowed eyes, "Quite magnificent in terms of view, but impractical." His raised his right arm, which began to transform into solid ice.
"Ice Block: Pheasant Beak." From Kuzan, a massive ice pheasant emerged, and ascended to clash against Carmen and Dan's techniques.
*BOOOOOOM*
As flame, lightning, and ice collided in midair and blasted altogether, causing the marine soldiers to cover their eyes, Rowan and Garp both leapt from their positions.
'Garp... with my blindfold still on, I can't afford to hold back any more than that.' Rowan thought to himself as his right hand began to turn into metallic-black colour due to the Armanent Haki.
Garp flew towards Rowan with a grin, as his right fist was similarly imbued with Armament Haki.
"Twenty-Five Layers Convergence: Juggernaut Blast."
*BOOOOOOOOOOM*
A shock wave exploded from Rowan and Garp's collision, causing several smaller marine ships to be pushed back due to the sheer force that was generated from their strengths.
After few seconds of stalemate, Rowan and Garp were blasted to the opposite directions, and with the end of their struggle as a cue, Dan and Carmen flew towards Kuzan, while Cavendish, Alfred, Farul, and Robin began to face against many numbers of marine ships around them.
However, what caused Jonathan to widen his eyes wasn't any of those behaviours, but Carina, who flashed away from the scene. With an instant realization, Jonathan clicked his tongue as he quickly spoke to another marine officer behind him, "Rear Admiral Yukimura, you will take over in my stead."
Yukimura nodded strictly, "Understood, Vice Admiral Jonathan!"
'Garp-san... it's all up to you.' Giving Garp the last glance, Jonathan immediately flew towards the Marine Base G-8 without any hesitation.
________________
Having moved away from everyone else, Rowan and Garp were standing on a huge rock that stood in midst of the water, engaging themselves in extremely close combat, with their fists, and in the case of Rowan, legs too, imbued with Armament Haki.
*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*
The exploding noises consecutively blasted in all directions, as Garp continuously threw punch after punch towards Rowan, who clenched his teeth as he met Garp's iron-hard punches with his own.
"Bwahaha, you brat, you surely are quite strong, alright!!" Garp said with a grin on his face.
*BOOM*
Rowan didn't have time to return Garp's words, as he was busy parrying and defending against Garp's strikes by predicting the latter's moves with his Observation Haki.
"Bounce Art: Soksa." Rowan, at a blinding speed, slammed his knee onto Garp's face,
*BOOM*
Only to find that Garp blocked his technique by imbuing his whole face with Armament Haki.
Immediately twisting his body downward to dodge Garp's punch, Rowan blasted his kick upwards to Garp's chin,
"Bounce Art: Baek Rok."
"Heh!!" Garp met Rowan's kick with a headbutt,
*BOOOM*
Rowan felt his body shake slightly from the recoil of Garp's strike.
Subsequently, gaining a premonition of Garp's strike, Rowan quickly pushed himself off of the ground he was standing on.
*BOOM*
The whole portion of the large rock that they were standing on was destroyed into ruins.
"Bounce Art..." Finding an opportunity with Garp's back facing him, Rowan slammed his right foot on Garp, "Hanra."
*BOOOM*
Much to Rowan's dismay, Garp didn't falter, having blocked Rowan's attack with his Armament Haki once again.
As Garp stared at Rowan with a hint of goofiness, Rowan's eyes blazed up as he began to bombard Garp at an extreme speed.
"Arang, Baekdu, Halla!"
*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*
Rowan's inconceivable kicks slammed down on Garp, but unfortunately, Garp grinned in excitement as he continued to throw punches at Rowan.
*BOOM*
Rowan felt a gush of wind on his side as Garp's punch skimmed his cheek, before blasting a kick towards Garp yet again,
"Goryeo-"
*BOOOOOM*
At the next moment, Rowan found himself blasted back by Garp's another punch, with the latter having sustained no damage from many attacks that Rowan dealt.
*BOOM*
Rowan quickly regained his composure and prevented himself from flying any further by bouncing off the air.
"...So this is Marine Hero." Wiping a slight amount of blood that trailed down from his lips, Rowan began to bounce himself up high. "No devil fruit. No technique in particular. His Observation Haki isn't as excelling as mine either. However, his Armament Haki, along with his innate physical prowess... those two factors are on a whole different level."
"Oh? So you want to play a cat and mouse game now?" Garp chuckled as he watched Rowan ascending to the high sky, before beginning to approach the latter through the use of Geppo.
Taking a deep breath, Rowan calmed his mind down before combining his two Haki-imbued hands into one, and lifting them above his head, ready to slam down.
Garp watched with interest as Rowan's hands began to glow in orange colour, and the immense heat began to emanate from them. Cocking his back, Garp too readied himself for another clash,
"Nine Layers Convergence, Twenty-Hit, Entropic Imbuement: Heat Drive!!"
In the next moment, Rowan's hands slammed down onto Garp's fist at an incredible speed.
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*
The whole air shook as two sides struggled to win against each other, and to Garp's surprise,
*BOOOM*
Rowan's technique, for the first time, managed to overcome Garp's strength, sending him to crash into the sea underneath and causing the large volume of water to erupt.
"Not good." Rowan said to himself in a cold sweat. The combination of convergence, consecutive hit, and entropic imbuement was his trump card, and he was forced to use it against Garp this early. Also, he felt as if the latter was still hiding something.
In the next moment,
*BOOOM*
Another round of water eruption occurred, before Garp blasted out of the water and positioned himself in midair, right in front of Rowan with a grin on his face.
"Bwahahaha, it's getting more and more fun!" Garp laughed boisterously as he stared at Rowan as if he has taken a liking, "If only you were a marine, we could have sparred every day!!"
Rowan returned Garp's claim with a smirk of his own, "Maybe we can if you are to become a part of my crew."
"Bwaha-" Garp was about to laugh again, but stopped in midway, before pushing one of his nostrils with his finger and blowing his nose, expelling water out of his other hole, "Ah, there. Much better now."
Under Rowan's watch, Garp cracked his knuckle, and subsequently, his Haki-imbued hands began to give off the reddish glows, earning Rowan's cautiousness.
'What... is that?!' Witnessing Garp's add-on to his already Haki-imbued fists, Rowan's senses screamed of danger.
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