Chương 165: Chapter 155
"You sure about this, captain?!" Urouge, as he held onto the steering wheel tightly, asked Rowan who was sprawled on top of the deck, still unable to move his body, "You saw how dangerous that storm was as we navigated around it!"
"Heh, it's one way or the other." Rowan replied with a weak grin, with his breathing having returned to normal, "And I'd rather try something new, you know? Dan, what time is it?"
Dan, who was sitting in exhaustion, chuckled while shaking his head, "Adventure time... if it applies here as well."
Prominence was rapidly heading toward the chaotic storm that lied just ahead. Its ferociousness was greater than any other that Rowan breezed through in the past; the Grimheart pirates couldn't guarantee their survival within such a disaster.
However, they were being chased by an extremely huge dragon of flame, Kaidou, who madly flew with the intention to destroy the crew.
"Flame... in front of me?!" Carmen angrily bickered as she gazed at Kaidou from her back. Raising her hands up, she attempted to control the flame dragon with her ability, however,
"...I can't?!!" Carmen exclaimed in shock as Kaidou's flame dragon didn't budge to her call.
"Look closely." Robin, who stood right next to her, pointed it out, "It isn't the simple flame. It is the mixture of his flame and Armament Haki: Emission; of course you won't be able to control it."
"Carmen!!!" Urouge shouted with a sweat, "Captain told us to speed up even more!!"
"What?!!" Carmen frowned questioningly.
Cavendish answered in Rowan's stead, "Carina said if we don't go fast enough, Prominence will be shredded even before managing to enter the current!"
Currently, the sounds of air screeching, the turbulent movement of winds, and the constant pouring of rain droplets from the sky above, were continuously intensifying. Just up ahead, the violent storm of an immeasurable size lied.
Even Kaidou, who was severely injured due to Rowan's attacks, couldn't guarantee his survival in the storm like that, especially since the storm within the ocean tended to pull up the water from the bottom. Simply put, the eye of the storm that remained as the calmest area of the storm on the land, was the most dangerous zone for the storm in the sea.
Kaidou knew that once the Grimheart pirates manage to reach it, he won't be able to chase after them any further.
"Death is what completes a person!! Grimheart... don't you think for a second that I'll let you have such a miserable death!! Face it like the man that I approved!!!"
In the next moment, from the agape jaw of Kaidou's flame dragon, an intense cluster of pressurized air began to gather.
"Demolition Gust!!!!"
Then, the air was swiftly shot out as the sharp wind blades with each having the potential to sever the whole Prominence into two—in a form of a consecutive barrage.
"...Leave it to me." Cavendish, who already unsheathed his sword, stated while standing at the edge of the Prominence, facing off against the approaching wind blade, "Carmen, no matter what happens, don't stop the flame on the engine!!"
"I know!" Carmen replied with a serious nod.
Placing the tip of his sword, Durandal, right where the frontmost wind blade was coming from, Cavendish readied his stance. Then, as his sword began to shine brightly, Cavendish thrusted it forward,
"Beautiful Sword: Light Ray!"
One small yet fast beam of light was shot out instantly, severing the wind blade before it could reach its target.
And Cavendish wasn't done, for many more wind blades were subsequently approaching.
*Swoosh*
Another ray of light pierced through the wind blade. Then, in an instant,
the whole sky was filled with the series of light beams that destroyed all the wind blades simultaneously.
However, Kaidou's Demolition Gust was non-ending. With the adamant will to kill the Grimheart pirates, Kaidou continued to blast them at pace that was gradually becoming faster.
Naturally, Cavendish was forced to slash his sword non-stop, parrying Kaidou's wind blades with the maximum that he was capable of.
Due to his attention being entirely on Kaidou, he didn't notice that he was now airborne, about to slip away from the Prominence.
Robin, having seen the situation that Cavendish was forced within, quickly grew the chain made by her hands from the side of the Prominence and pulled the latter back.
Now, Prominence was seconds away from entering the storm.
Rowan, in surprise to everyone, began to stand up wobbly.
"Urouge. Leave the wheel and get everyone in the Tempest." Rowan ordered with half-lidded eyes. His condition was poor, and based on his state, there was no way that he could withstand the storm.
"No... *Huff*..." Carina refuted with narrowed eyes. Although she was still sitting with her back touching the wall, she, for once, refused to listen to Rowan's order, "If you stay, *Huff*... we... stay."
Prominence's figurehead began to shake violently as it has touched upon the surface of the storm,
Kaidou, who maniacally shot out the wind blades non-stop, roared crazily as he let the rage consume himself.
"Hnnngg!!!" Cavendish gritted his teeth as he blasted the rays of light at an incredible speed, matching Kaidou's consecutive attacks before they reach the Prominence. If looked closely, one will see that he was already quite exhausted, for each and every strike from Kaidou contained the Haki of his own.
"If we decide to hide inside, *Huff*, who will protect Prominence?" Carmen, who was huffing due to the continuous supply of the flame for the prolonged time, within the dense air packed with the water droplets, retorted to Rowan's order, "You know us well enough, captain!"
Rowan, who was met with the determined demeanours of his crew, ended up smiling as the Prominence's rails began to creak due to the extreme gust.
"Fine. If so..."
"GRIMHEART—"
Kaidou's voice was cut from the ears of the Grimheart pirates as the Prominence fully entered the storm, before being wildly thrown powerlessly due to the extreme pressure of the air.
"hold... on... tight!!!" Rowan, while gritting his teeth, began to operate his fruit ability once again, not caring for the fact that he was critically injured.
*BOOOOM*
Using his bounce, Rowan began to utilize his Observation Haki to blast away all the approaching debrises that he was capable of blocking.
*BOOOOMBOOOOMBOOOOM*
Carmen, letting go of the engine, enveloped the whole Prominence around the veil of unburning flame, which provided heat to the whole crew in midst of the water-filled cold environment.
"I... *Huff*... can still help as well." Cavendish, whose arm was hanging around the creaking rail, muttered in exhaustion before brightening up his right hand, providing the source of light within the world where only darkness and chaos existed.
*BOOOOOM*
Some threats that Rowan failed to sense due to his exhaustion, Urouge quickly punched them away with the huge fists of his.
Robin took hold of all the existing systems within the Prominence. While controlling the steering wheel with her grown hands, she also used the flame dials attached at the bottom of the Prominence at a frightening accuracy.
Dan and Alfred, who were already exhausted from the battles of their own, too stood up and began to aid. While Dan used the magnetic force generated from his fruit ability to snipe the solid matters that Rowan failed to catch, Alfred quickly took hold of Carina before the latter has fallen off from the ship.
Occasionally, a member of the crew may come close to being flown away out of the ship due to the violent gusts. Farul, who was standing by, was the one who would quickly react and support every time such a dangerous situation happened.
With the collaboration made by the whole crew, they were miraculously managing within the storm that would've instantly ended the life if someone else entered instead.
"The sails... *Huff*..." Carina stated as she stood up, "We have to cut them off of the Prominence."
Rowan agreed while bouncing away the dense blasts of water from all sides, "Do… it…"
*BOOOM*
Just as an entire chunk of huge boulder was blasted away this time, and as Prominence continued to spin helplessly within the violent tide of the storm,
Carina, without any hesitation, cut the poles that connected all the way to the sails, detaching them away from the Prominence.
'Sorry, Prominence... we'll get you fixed up for sure.'
Then, she turned around to the crew and quickly stated, "Listen!!"
She was seen to be just as exhausted as any other members of the crew, but she continued to speak nonetheless, "We are rapidly being sucked to the eye of the storm! For the sea storm of this type, its centre is filled with the dense flow of the ocean, and we can't afford to have Prominence reach that point!"
Turning to Carmen, Carina stated, "Carmen, re-ignite the engine! We have to gain the stability! Dan, don't you dare use your fruit ability and electrocute us!! Cavendish, replace Carmen in producing heat for us!"
Then Carina shifted her eyes onto Rowan with a gaze full of trust,
"Rowan."
Rowan, although sweating profusely and his legs wobbling and his face pale, grinned confidently. Nothing more had to be said from Carina, for Rowan perfectly understood what she was asking for.
"Who do you think I am?"
And just as he said so,
*BOOOOOOOOOOM*
The entire surrounding of Prominence exploded, pushing away all the objects at once. Rowan, going beyond his limit, began to produce the consecutive bounces all around the ship non-stop.
*BOOOOM*
The veins were popping off of his forehead. He fell on one knee, feeling an exhaustion that he didn't get since the Summit War of Marineford. However,
*BOOOOM*
he persevered. He was the captain of the Grimheart pirates, the strongest of them all, and the leader who always took the front.
*BOOOOMBOOOOMBOOOOM*
"It's... *Huff*... *Huff*... *Huff*... easy as hell..." In contrast to his worsening state, Rowan's eyes were blazed up brighter than ever.
"Engine... got it." Carmen, releasing the veil of flame, breathed heavily in fatigue as she placed her shaking hand on top of the engines, before re-supplying them with the vigorous flames.
Cavendish, who stood at the middle of the deck, took a deep breath as his whole body began to brighten up in light, serving as the heat source and a source of vision at the same time.
Robin, while biting her lips, generated several pairs of Haki-imbued arms below each and every member, and gripped onto their ankles to keep them intact on the Prominence.
"We're rapidly approaching the eye of the storm! *Huff*... *Huff*... Keep speeding up, Carmen! Rowan, when the time arrives, we need you to bounce the dense body of water just when we are about to skim through it! Urouge, we need you at the front, blocking the potential blasts that may be damaging to the ship, *Huff* *Huff*... can you... *Huff*... do it?!"
Carina, who momentarily gazed at her Log Pose, where its needles all went haywire, quickly stated with a loud voice.
"LEAVE IT TO ME!!!!" Urouge shouted at his lung as he positioned himself at the left-most side of the Prominence.
*BOOOOOM*
Rowan was barely holding on, and it wasn't even clear if he was awake at this point. The only evidence that he was clingling onto his consciousness at this point was the consecutive bounces that blasted in every direction at once.
Those bounces forces were potent to an extent where a dome-like shell was formed around Prominence. And now,
"Here... it comes...!!!" Just as Carina said so, the Grimheart pirates saw,
*VROOOOOOOOOOOOOM*
the gigantic pillar of water that shot above in midst of the chaos. Prominence was circling around the vast circumference of the pillar at an incredible speed, with Carmen continuously supplying the engine with what she was capable of.
Prominence, every time it revolved around, was closing onto the surface of the water pillar that skyrocketed to the sky. Everyone in the Prominence could see; if they get sucked into that body of water, it was an instant game over.
"Rowan, now!!!"
Just as Urouge's exposed front was slammed with the concentrated blast of water, Carina stated in an urgent tone.
Rowan, whose eyes were becoming hazy and unfocused, suddenly gained the light as his surrounding exploded in a potent black lightning of Conqueror's Haki.
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*
And incredible blast occurred at the left side of the Prominence. After a brief tanking by Urouge and Rowan's propulsion against the current, the incredible power of engine supplied by Carmen pushed Prominence out of the flow of the gust.
Without stopping, Rowan clenched his fists and endured like he never has, as he began to focus all of his bounce forces at the back of the ship, adding the momentum toward the already-fast Prominence.
Robin, whose arms were trembling from extreme stress, maintained her arms in a crossed position, adamantly holding onto the ankles of the all members of the crew.
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*
Within the incredible storm, one shining ship was driving its way out of storm. It was an unbelievable sight, which only came possible with the teamwork of the Grimheart pirates.
And finally,
Prominence has escaped from the turbulent storm and came in sight to the dark and gloomy sky where the lightnings were continuously pummeling over.
*SPLASH*
Not being able to maintain its flight, Prominence plummeted to the sea, and just as it did so, all members of the Grimheart pirates were knocked out from exhaustion.
*PAZZZZZZ*
The lightnings continued to strike over and over. Although they were out of the immense danger, they weren't even in safety either, and there seemed to be no one to defend against those lightnings—
*Tap*
Rowan, who didn't seem to be conscious with his eyes whitened out, wobbly stood up from his spot.
The blood was trickling from his lips, his broken right arm was powerlessly hanging, and his face was pale. His clothes were tattered, and around him, the other members of the Grimheart pirates were lying by.
*PAZZZZZ*
Another lightning struck onto the surface of the water right next to the Prominence.
As Prominence was facing another threatening situation,
"Stop."
One word was muttered from Rowan's mouth. Immediately following,
an incredible Conqueror's Haki dominated the whole surrounding. Although there was no one to spectate,
the turbulent weather ceased instantly. The clouds disappeared without any trace. The lightnings ceased. Now, there existed only the bright sun that shone above the damaged Prominence without the sails. On top of such a ship,
*Thud*
Rowan finally fell face-first, leaving nothing but a calm sea that embraced the crew with warm light.
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