"How many more times can you use a slash that explodes with that kind of extreme speed?"
Navalta looked at Rowan.
According to the World Government's analysis of the Cloaked Man, his Haki had not yet reached the level of the sea's top combatants.
In fact, there was still quite a significant gap.
After the battle at Sabaody Archipelago, Marine Headquarters candidate Admiral Borsalino had provided comparison data, and many members of CP0 had conducted their own analyses.
Navalta had naturally been one of them.
After all, the Cloaked Man's three appearances had all targeted Celestial Dragons.
Under those circumstances, the probability of CP0 eventually encountering him was extremely high.
"Now that all those fancy abilities of yours have been countered, your fundamental weaknesses have been exposed."
The moment he finished speaking, Navalta surged forward.
He had deliberately chosen the instant when Rowan's blade had not yet returned to its sheath.
Bang!
The Asauchi rose to block.
The two black blades, hardened by Armament Haki, crashed together.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Rowan's Observation Haki barely kept up.
And even then, it was difficult.
He also knew exactly what his opponent was doing.
Navalta feared both Drawing Slash and the power of Ryūjin Jakka's Shikai.
If Rowan started reciting the release command, this man would immediately retreat without hesitation.
A Flying Thunder God marker moved silently beneath Rowan's feet.
Ha!
Shave.
With a powerful push, Navalta retreated.
His famous blade swept horizontally.
A section of the deck was pried loose and sent flying.
The Flying Thunder God marker attached to it disappeared into the sea.
"Cloaked Man..."
"Your Observation Haki is far inferior to mine."
"Every movement you make is under my watch."
"How exactly are you going to fight me?"
Neither side rushed to continue the assault.
After nearly an hour of battle, both men had become wary of each other.
Rowan searched for an opportunity to finish the fight with either Shikai or Drawing Slash.
Meanwhile, Navalta searched for a chance to land a killing blow.
"You can't kill me."
Rowan returned the blade to its sheath.
The sight caused Navalta's pupils to contract slightly.
That strike capable of unleashing overwhelming speed in an instant clearly required the sword to be sheathed beforehand.
At the same time, he understood exactly what Rowan meant.
With teleportation like that, unless the surrounding space could somehow be sealed, nobody could truly kill him.
When it came to survival, this ability ranked among the very best.
"The chaos in Wano Country a few months ago..."
"That was your doing too, wasn't it?"
Rowan did not answer.
Whether he denied it or admitted it, his opponent would gain information from the response.
Drawing Slash!
Whoosh!
His body exploded forward.
The moment the Asauchi left the sheath, the blade was already upon its target.
"I told you..."
"It's useless."
The words had barely left Navalta's mouth when a scene flashed through his mind.
Future Sight.
Moonwalk!
Already suspended in midair, Navalta instantly kicked off the air again and rose even higher.
In the next instant, two slashes crossed beneath him.
That's right.
There were still four others.
The Cloaked Man belonged to the Revolutionary Army.
And those people were Revolutionary Army members as well.
A massive figure charged straight at him, swinging an enormous palm toward him in a sweeping strike.
BOOM!!
Blade and palm collided, the shockwave stirring the sea into towering waves.
"The realization of a strategic objective has never been about a one-on-one fight."
Rowan spoke as he sheathed his sword once more, gathering strength for another strike.
"When a group beats one person, do you really think you'll be able to keep this shipment of Heavenly Tribute?"
Navalta frowned.
His gaze remained fixed on Rowan, but his peripheral vision watched the three newly arrived figures with equal caution.
Two of them wore masks and carried swords.
Judging from the Haki they had displayed earlier, neither was weak.
"You people..."
"You're all completely insane, Revolutionary Army!"
There was a trace of madness in Navalta's voice.
"Do you even know what you're doing?"
"The Cloaked Man is a lunatic, but are all of you lunatics too?"
"Do you understand what it means to lay your hands on the Heavenly Tribute?"
Kuma answered in a deep voice,
"If we want to change this world, then the rotten system must be torn down."
"We understand better than anyone why we exist."
Masked Roger and Chameleon remained silent.
At the same time, both deliberately maintained a moderate distance.
This was something Rowan had specifically instructed before the operation.
Their identities were simply too sensitive.
"There are people who have spent so long as dogs that their slavery has become rooted in their bones."
"They can no longer stand upright."
"But the progress of the times is something nobody can stop."
Rowan looked directly at him.
"Those who stand high above everyone else have long ceased to regard themselves as human."
"They see all other people as insects."
"So they have already placed themselves on the opposite side of humanity."
"What do you understand?!"
Navalta roared.
"You're just a fool who happened to gain a few flashy abilities!"
"You think you understand this world?"
"You think you understand what the descendants of the gods represent?"
"Dogs? Yes, we're dogs."
"But ninety-nine point nine percent of the people in this world are insects who aren't even worthy of being dogs!"
Before he could finish speaking, Rowan suddenly drew his blade.
Rowan knew his opponent was already on guard.
But this attack had never been intended to hit.
As expected, the Drawing Slash that erupted with extreme speed was avoided.
But at that exact moment, Chameleon's strike arrived.
BANG!
The two blades collided.
Chameleon's sword shattered instantly.
His weapon lost all support and was knocked away.
The opposing blade severed his shoulder.
Whoosh.
The sea wind scattered the ashes.
Yet in the next moment, they gathered together once more, restoring his body.
With a flash of movement, Chameleon caught the falling sword again.
At the same time, Kuma's giant slap arrived right on schedule.
The blade collided with his palm.
The ship beneath them cracked even further.
And then Roger smiled.
His figure vanished instantly and appeared beside Navalta.
BOOM!!
A slash exploded outward.
Navalta was blasted away.
Roger's right arm also turned into ash before rapidly reforming.
While the Voice of All Things might not be as useful in combat as Future Sight, Roger was still Roger.
Even with the limitations imposed by his Edo Tensei body, his previous attacks had forced openings that allowed this strike to connect despite Navalta's Future Sight.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Using Moonwalk to remain airborne, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, Navalta looked at the group before him.
At that moment, a yellow cloud swept across the sky.
A woman descended onto the deck as well.
"There's a warship approaching from the southeast."
"There are also three merchant ships to the north."
"They'll discover what's happening here in about an hour."
Ginny looked at Kuma and Rowan.
"If we can't kill this guy quickly, then once we're discovered, this operation won't achieve its optimal outcome."
Rowan tightened his grip on the Asauchi.
"Understood."
"We'll finish this as quickly as possible."
Then, Rowan exchanged a glance with Roger.
"Ha!"
Roger suddenly exploded forward, bringing his blade down in a powerful overhead slash.
The flying slash tore through the air, only to be dodged by the enemy. Kuma descended from above, striking down with a palm at the same time, while Roger and Chameleon moved to block off every route of escape.
Even with Future Sight-level Observation Haki, Navalta had no choice but to pick one direction and force a breakthrough.
Bang!
Two blades collided.
Roger's arm shattered apart, and he immediately retreated. Chameleon followed up with another slash.
In midair, the three-against-one battle intensified, their combat experience allowing them to seal off every possible avenue of evasion.
On the deck below, Ginny looked at Rowan.
"It's already been fifteen minutes. We need to reserve at least ten minutes to lift the transport ships into the air. Otherwise, we'll have no choice but to leave this guy behind."
Rowan's gaze remained fixed on the battle overhead.
He understood exactly what Ginny meant.
The moment the transport ships took flight, especially after the incident involving Olivia's exploration vessel, the World Government would inevitably connect the dots and suspect the Revolutionary Army.
The hooded man's identity already carried the blood of three Celestial Dragons on its hands, but the Heavenly Tribute was different. If this operation succeeded, the World Government would realize future shipments could be targeted as well.
After all, the Celestial Dragons could choose not to visit Sabaody Archipelago. The sea was vast enough that the chances of Rowan running into them again were relatively low.
But the collection of Heavenly Tribute was unavoidable.
This shipment represented the Revolutionary Army's future growth and infiltration efforts. If the World Government increased its level of vigilance, their long-term strategy would inevitably suffer.
Within another hour, three merchant ships and a naval vessel would pass through this area. The Revolutionary Army's foundation was still in the East Blue. They couldn't simply slaughter the crews of East Blue Navy ships and civilian merchant vessels.
"I know."
Rowan's voice was calm as his Observation Haki fully enveloped the battlefield above.
Compared to the monsters of this world, Edo Tensei bodies were still too fragile.
Every ten explosive exchanges would be limited by the body's durability.
Roger's Observation Haki was also top-tier, but every successful strike merely created opportunities. Chameleon was even less capable in comparison.
As for Kuma, he hadn't yet reached the level he would possess twenty years later.
This operation had made one thing painfully clear to Rowan:
The Revolutionary Army still lacked sufficient top-tier combat power.
Their middle ranks grew rapidly thanks to their convictions, but there was still a limit to their potential.
As for his Zanpakutō, while its Shikai was terrifyingly powerful and could even kill Kaido under favorable circumstances like Onigashima, the combination of Flying Thunder God being countered and his attacks being avoided...
The tremendous energy consumption of Ryūjin Jakka's Shikai actually forced him into a position where he had to hold back.
Comparing Kaido and Navalta, who was stronger?
The answer was obvious: Kaido.
Without the six-thousand-degree core temperature granted by Shikai, Kaido could take a Fubu Slash head-on.
But Navalta wouldn't even dare to attempt such a collision.
And yet, despite being weaker, the man was single-handedly tying down everyone on their side, including Rowan himself.
Hm?
It's coming.
Rowan discarded every distracting thought.
His Observation Haki focused entirely on the battle above.
It's here!
In an instant, Chameleon's and Kuma's attacks sealed off every direction.
Roger swung his sword down from behind.
By now, Navalta had clearly figured out the weakness of the two masked swordsmen. He chose to charge straight toward Roger.
"All the sins of this world, turn to ashes... Ryūjin Jakka!"
The release command completed.
Rowan waited two seconds.
Then he vanished instantly.
The next moment.
Whoosh!
A flaming blade appeared directly behind Roger.
Without the slightest hesitation, it pierced straight through Roger's chest and stabbed deep into Navalta's abdomen.
Time difference!
Future Sight Observation Haki was not something that could be activated continuously without interruption. At the same time, Rowan had no way of knowing exactly when his opponent had seen the future.
And the amount of time visible through Future Sight varied, usually between one and three seconds.
The moment Navalta chose to break through Roger's position, however, his special Observation Haki ability had undoubtedly already been activated.
A two-second time gap.
Combined with the fact that the Flying Thunder God mark had long been placed on the back of Roger's neck, Roger's body blocking the line of sight, and the sheer decisiveness of stabbing straight through his ally's chest...
There was one thing Navalta had never anticipated.
An arm shattered in battle could recover.
But a heart pierced through by that blazing blade could recover as well.
That possibility had never crossed his mind.
After all, with several people surrounding him and Rowan waiting for an opportunity, there had never been a situation desperate enough to require sacrificing a comrade in order to kill him.
At this moment, the value of intelligence was displayed perfectly.
The instant Ryūjin Jakka pierced into his abdomen, a violent eruption of flames exploded inside his body.
Navalta could feel the scorching heat spreading through his internal organs.
It didn't hurt.
Because he could no longer feel pain.
The nerves connected to his brain had already turned to charcoal. Even his brain hadn't yet managed to process what had happened.
A mouthful of blood had only just reached his throat before it was burned into smoke.
He lowered his head and looked at the flaming blade lodged in his abdomen.
Then he raised his head.
Roger's upper body had already turned to ash. The mask on his face shattered apart, briefly revealing a familiar face before it too was consumed by the flames.
"Ro... Roger?!"
The next moment, the ashes began gathering together nearby once more.
That sight made Navalta understand far more than he ever should have.
But there was no time left to say anything.
The heat in his abdomen surged through his entire body.
Flames engulfed him completely.
Several seconds later, he had become nothing more than charcoal. His body fell from the sky and shattered into black fragments upon impact.
Rowan released Ryūjin Jakka's Shikai.
The steam rising from the sea below gradually dispersed.
There was still enough time.
"Sir, you nearly scared me to death just now!"
After landing, Roger patted his chest with lingering fear.
Rowan simply handed him a new mask.
After putting it on, Roger twisted his right arm experimentally.
"We still suffered from a lack of raw physical strength. Otherwise, I would've cut that guy down with the first strike."
Chameleon stood respectfully behind Rowan, remaining silent.
During the life-and-death battle just now, aside from deliberately protecting his mask, he had already demonstrated his worth.
"Uncle Kuma, let's begin."
The next moment, all five Heavenly Tribute transport ships slowly rose into the sky.
The sea beneath them was dragged upward before crashing back down.
Five minutes later, viewed from the ocean below, the ships had become nothing more than five black dots in the heavens.
Kuma then floated into the air as well.
One palm strike after another.
He sent all five transport ships flying toward the predetermined destination.
The operation was over.
Everyone finally relaxed.
However, Roger noticed that Rowan seemed to be in a rather poor mood.
As someone who had once stood at the very peak of the seas and traveled across the entire world as the Pirate King, Roger quickly understood why.
Counting the years since his resurrection, he was more than thirty years older than Rowan.
And after having Ace, he had gradually learned what it meant to be a father.
At this point, Kuma and Ginny needed to leave with Chameleon.
Although transporting the Heavenly Tribute through the sky was relatively safe, such an enormous amount of wealth still required protection.
Furthermore, how this money would be distributed and utilized required careful planning.
They had to depart immediately.
As someone intimately familiar with the World Government's operational habits, Chameleon also needed to accompany them.
Thus, after Kuma and Ginny said their farewells and Chameleon respectfully bowed to Rowan, the three of them headed toward the five transport ships.
"Want to come to my place for a while, Sir?"
Roger laughed heartily.
"Now that the Heavenly Tribute has been stolen, the World Government will definitely contact the Navy. That old bastard Garp's vacation is certainly over. Hahaha!"
Ever since hearing Garp's earlier misunderstanding, Roger had found himself unusually pleased whenever the old man suffered a setback.
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