"When you no longer have an enemy worthy of fighting, you'll make the same choice I did."
As if he knew what Akainu was thinking, Rowen said calmly.
Akainu froze for a moment, then recalled the reports coming in from all over the world. His face filled with killing intent.
"Then I'm afraid… You won't live to see that day!"
Especially Kaido and Vegapunk, those two had somehow gotten mixed up together, repeatedly escaping Marine encirclements.
Rowen had no interest in personally dealing with them, but the blood debts they carried were something the Marines absolutely had to collect.
"By the way, how's the Revolutionary Army doing?"
According to their agreement, at this point in time, the Revolutionary Army should know exactly what to do.
At that, a flash of anger crossed Akainu's eyes as he snorted coldly.
"They've formed a coalition state based on the White Soil Island and are applying to join the World Government. Chief Commander Kong is handling the matter."
After all, even the Red Line now had a massive breach. The New World and the first half of the Grand Line were completely connected. The Holy Land was gone, so the news of the Celestial Dragons' annihilation could naturally be made public, and the Heavenly Tribute… was no longer necessary.
As a result, Sabo immediately rallied the already independent nations to form an alliance and apply to join the World Government as a whole.
This left Akainu extremely dissatisfied, with a suffocating feeling as if someone had taken advantage of him.
After all, abolishing the Heavenly Tribute system had never been planned for the near future. With it collapsing ahead of schedule, the government now had to pour all its effort into dealing with the aftermath to prevent widespread chaos.
So it wasn't just that they couldn't fight,
They weren't even able to fight.
Akainu's frustration was perfectly understandable.
Even Tsuru held quite a few grievances against Sabo, the new leader of the Revolutionary Army, only backing off because Dragon had turned himself in.
But that…
Was no longer something Rowen cared about.
Civilization, in the end, was centered on people.
Not gods.
After carefully thinking everything through and confirming there were no loose ends, Rowen stood up and took the silver-white mask from Ain's hands, fastening it over his face.
"Then… that's how it'll be."
He looked up. The enormous conference hall was filled with figures whose mere stomps could shake the seas.
Rowen spoke calmly:
"I said it before, this world doesn't need the existence of gods. Including myself."
"After I leave, follow the plan and announce the existence of Imu and Shi Ji to the world. Especially Raftel… make sure the tickets are priced high."
The Marine officers twitched at the corners of their mouths, their expressions strange.
But they had to admit, this really was a ruthless move, one that completely cut off pirates' so-called 'righteous' motivation for going out to sea.
Coupled with the continuously expanding transportation networks, the gradually changing social climate, and the removal of the oppressive Heavenly Tribute system, over time they even began to wonder whether they'd still be able to find enemies on the seas at all.
This was very Rowen.
When dealing with enemies, cut the weeds and uproot them completely.
"For the universe, we're ultimately too small."
Rowen raised one hand, and a phantom of a deep-blue planet appeared in his palm. Then the view pulled back, revealing a vast, boundless starry sky.
"I hope that one day, you, or your descendants, will come and tell me that our goal is the sea of stars."
"Where… are you going?"
Wrinkled-faced Tsuru couldn't help but ask.
It was what everyone else wanted to know as well. The being before them, this god… no, the Soryu (Azure Dragon), whether from emotion or from the bigger picture, none of them truly wanted him to leave.
Rowen raised an eyebrow.
"Don't overthink it. I probably won't feel like leaving for the next few decades. I'll be heading to the North Blue later…"
As he said this, Rowen took Ain's hand.
"I once made a promise to a woman, that once this war was over, I'd return to her hometown and marry her."
Ain smiled shyly.
Suddenly,
"However, I heard that the Germa Kingdom in the North Blue intends to withdraw from the World Government. Vinsmoke Judge has already annexed most of the surrounding countries and built up a formidable military, uh, sorry."
Koby bowed at a perfect ninety degrees without hesitation, even though he himself didn't know why he did it.
Behind the mask, no one could see Rowen's expression.
But everyone could clearly see that the face of Queen Dante, the "Marine Ghost Sword" and one of Rowen's closest confidants, instantly darkened.
"You're tired, Dante."
The calm voice sounded out.
Dante: "..."
Clang!!
The Soul-Cleaving Inscribed Blade left its sheath. Killing intent surged as Dante asked coldly,
"When is the wedding?"
"I don't know yet, but unless something unexpected happens, it'll be this year."
"Understood!"
Taking a deep breath, Dante turned and left, murderous aura rolling off him. Everyone along the way hurriedly stepped aside, unwilling to provoke this god of slaughter.
"Well then… poor Vinsmoke."
Kizaru puckered his lips in his usual sleazy manner, ka-cha, snipping off a fingernail, blowing on it, and voicing what everyone was thinking.
...
Meanwhile, deep in the West Blue, in an uninhabited sea.
Inside a crude underground laboratory, its walls clearly gouged out by brute force, Kaido drank as he glanced behind him. There, Vegapunk had been busy for days and nights on end.
They had agreed on three days.
Three days became another three days.
And then another three days.
Unable to hold back any longer, Kaido snorted angrily.
"Are you actually capable or not, Vegapunk? If this happens again, I'm not sticking around!"
A layer of translucent, fine-scaled armor surfaced over his body. With Imu's death, the abilities of all Devil Fruit users, including Kaido, had weakened to the extreme.
His physical body showed no weakness at all, but his Devil Fruit ability had degraded to a level even weaker than when he had first eaten it.
The powerhouses within the Marines were in the same situation, but they had numbers and manpower on their side.
Coupled with the revival of the three Ancient Weapons, Kaido no longer dared to act as recklessly as before. All he could do now was run.
"Almost… it's almost done!"
Vegapunk replied without even turning his head.
Like Kaido, he had been placed on the Marines' must-kill list. It had nothing to do with their value, blood debts had to be repaid in blood.
"Imu wasn't a God born of this world. He had his own homeland… If we can find the method he used to cross time and space to reach this planet, we can escape the Marines' pursuit."
"Hmph, you left out one sentence."
Kaido muttered.
"In theory!"
"But aside from me, no one else could even discover the feasibility of that theory!"
Vegapunk said proudly. Turning around, he held a device in his hands. Suspended at its center was the Heart of the Ocean that Rowen had once lent him, rippling with blue light.
Buzz!
The surging particle fluctuations made Kaido feel uncomfortable. The weakening of Devil Fruit abilities had its upsides, if it were before, the waves emitted by this Seacrystal alone would have made him miserable for quite some time.
Now, although it was still uncomfortable, that overwhelming suppressive effect was gone.
Looking at the beautiful, star-like ribbon of light floating around the Heart of the Ocean, Kaido asked curiously,
"What's that?"
"A teleportation gate."
Vegapunk replied proudly. Casually, he picked up a pencil and tossed it into the ribbon.
Buzz!
A flash of blue light, and the pencil vanished into the ribbon.
Though his Devil Fruit was gone, his physical senses remained. Kaido swore with his 2.0 vision that the pencil hadn't been annihilated by energy fluctuations, it had passed straight through.
And vanished without a trace!
"Then what are you waiting for? Hurry up and take me with you!"
Kaido said excitedly.
Vegapunk said nothing. He picked up another pencil, this time dragging it sideways across the ribbon.
Chi, !
The middle portion of the pencil disappeared as well, but the back half remained in Vegapunk's hand.
"Hiss…!"
Kaido sucked in a sharp breath. Such a terrifying cutting effect?!
"The troublesome part is…"
Vegapunk sighed.
"With the resources I have on hand, I can only open a spatial gate this large."
Then his gaze turned fiery as he looked at Kaido.
"If I could clone your body like a Pacifista, it would provide enough energy."
"Don't even think about it. Next plan!"
"Tch!"
Pouting, the two exchanged a look, then spoke in unison.
"Rob them!"
Rob what?
Naturally,
¡Rob the Pacifistas!
From the Marines!
(End of Chapter)