"Long live Mr. Rowan!"
"Hahaha, as expected of Master Zephyr's teacher, his strength is just too overwhelming!"
"I declare, from this day forward, old Mr. Rowan is my lifelong idol!"
"No wonder he could train disciples as powerful as Master Zephyr, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, and Vice Admiral Garp. Mr. Rowan looked so cool just now!"
"I knew it! How could old man Rowan be an ordinary person? He probably didn't want to be an Admiral before. Otherwise, how could he have retired with only the rank of Vice Admiral?"
"I hope that one day, I can become someone like Mr. Rowan."
"Keep dreaming!"
"..."
As Rowan's words fell, a series of intense cheers erupted from the surrounding crowd. Almost everyone was shouting at the top of their lungs for him.
[Host defeated Edward Weevil, gained Ain't favor: Belief Points +4][Host defeated Buckingham Stussy, gained Binz's favor: Belief Points +3][Host defeated...]
Hearing the constant system notifications ringing in his mind, Rowan was slightly surprised. He took a look at his total Belief Points and did a quick calculation. This single intervention had increased his Belief Points by nearly two thousand!
That was a significant amount. To put it in perspective, he had spent just over two thousand points to max out his swordsmanship earlier. This one event had almost entirely replenished the points he'd invested. Seeing the number return to five digits, Rowan nodded with satisfaction.
Outside the battlefield area, as soon as Rowan finished off "Whitebeard Jr.," Ain immediately supported Zephyr and walked toward Rowan.
"Little guy, how are you feeling now?" Rowan asked gently, looking at Zephyr, who was covered in bandages and limping.
Zephyr let out a hearty laugh, waving his hand in a lighthearted manner. "Don't worry, Master. Just minor injuries. It'll take more than this to kill me."
Seeing his lifelong greatest enemy dealt with by his own teacher, Zephyr felt an immense sense of relief. Even the physical pain seemed to have lessened at this moment. Seeing the genuine, joyful smile on her teacher's face, the corners of Ain't mouth couldn't help but curve upward as well. How long had it been since she'd seen him this happy?
She looked at Edward Weevil, who lay motionless on the ground like a dead dog, and then at Rowan, who was pulling out his tobacco pipe and walking toward Luffy and Zoro. Even now, Ain felt a sense of unreality.
The monster who had been showing off his might just moments ago, threatening to kill Master Zephyr and all of them—just like that, he was unconscious? The memories of seven years ago, of that near-one-sided slaughter, were still vivid in her mind. That freak with horrific strength and stamina had been solved by Rowan in just a few moves?
If that was the case, just how terrifying was old man Rowan's true strength? Ain didn't even dare to imagine.
Suddenly, a few white shadows flitted across the sky. They were News Coos.
"Ain, you haven't bought today's paper yet, have you? Get one now; I want to see if anything's happened recently." Zephyr said, tearing his gaze away from Rowan's back.
Ain hurriedly waved a News Coo down, took out a coin from her pocket, and exchanged it for a newspaper. But when Zephyr took the paper and saw the headline splashed across the front page, he froze. The smile on his face slowly solidified.
"Big News! Former Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral, the Legendary Marine Rowan, will face the World's Greatest Swordsman and Warlord 'Hawkeye' Mihawk in one month! Will Mihawk defend his title, or will the Legendary Marine experience a second spring? We shall wait and see in one month!"
Looking at the report, Zephyr's expression gradually turned to one of disbelief.
"Hawkeye Mihawk... wants to challenge Master?!"
His first reaction was that this was fake news. Hawkeye challenging his teacher? What kind of fairy-tale joke was this? But then, remembering the Peerless Swordsman aura his teacher had radiated while holding the blade just now, Zephyr felt a sense of clarity.
If his teacher's swordsmanship was truly that powerful, then it wasn't impossible for Mihawk to seek a duel. However, why did the paper say Mihawk initiated the challenge? Did Hawkeye believe his own swordsmanship was inferior to Master Rowan's?
Zephyr thought about it and felt confused. Mihawk was the one who held the title of World's Greatest Swordsman; he stood at the very top. Zephyr, who knew nothing of the deeper intricacies of swordplay, felt like his head was spinning.
On the other side, Rowan took a few deep puffs from his pipe and then brought out his flask to take several long swigs of strong liquor. Only then did he put it away and approach Zoro.
"Zoro-boy," Rowan asked with a smile, "How much did you grasp of the two moves the Old Man just showed you?"
Zoro slowly opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing through them for an instant. But then, he sighed with a bit of disappointment. "Master, your disciple is dull-witted. I only grasped a tiny bit of the surface."
"A tiny bit of the surface?" Hearing this, Rowan couldn't help but laugh out loud. "What, is that not enough? Little fellow, don't be too greedy."
His two moves—the "Dominant Style" (Mountain Breaker) and the "Soft Style"—were the absolute peaks of swordsmanship. One used a majestic pressure to crush the opponent with absolute power; the other used a gentle approach to redirect force, achieving the effect of "four ounces to move a thousand pounds."
Either one was incredibly difficult to comprehend. Even a surface-level understanding would be of immense benefit to Zoro. If Zoro had grasped them fully in one go, Rowan wouldn't even need to show up in a month; Zoro could just walk up to Mihawk and cut him down himself.
"It is far from enough," Zoro said with a solemn face. Even though he had benefited greatly, he didn't think this small growth was enough to warrant being smug.
Knowing Zoro's personality, Rowan couldn't help but laugh and scold him. "You brat, don't expect to become a fat man with one bite. The path of the sword must be walked step by step, with your feet on solid ground."
"Don't go thinking you can ascend to the heavens in a single leap."
After saying this, Rowan turned around and shouted to Zephyr, who was holding the newspaper. "Zephyr-boy! Pack things up. We're leaving together."
"Leaving? Where is Master going now?" Zephyr asked, putting the paper away.
"Where? To Marine Headquarters, of course!"