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New World! Whitebeard Pirates' Territory!
Aboard the Moby Dick!
"Red-Hair... You reckless brat, wantonly unleashing your Haki here—" Whitebeard rumbled, looking at Shanks, who had approached him, radiating Conqueror's Haki that had caused some of the weaker members of Whitebeard's crew to faint.
"Still as overbearing as ever, Red-Hair!" The Whitebeard Pirates commanders, looking at the man before them, also felt an immense pressure.
"My apologies. Force of habit—can't help but make an entrance when boarding an enemy ship," Shanks replied, looking up, an astonishing crimson-black light flaring in his eyes, radiating immense power.
"Oi! Red-Hair! What are you doing here?!" Marco demanded, glaring angrily at Shanks, noticing the comrades who had collapsed under his Haki.
"Ah, Marco! Care to join my crew?" Shanks grinned, casually extending an invitation to Marco.
"Don't be ridiculous!" Marco's eye twitched.
This man, even after becoming an Emperor, was still unpredictable. However, it seemed Red-Hair hadn't come to fight.
Marco breathed a sigh of relief.
'Pops... his health really isn't what it used to be.' Marco looked at Whitebeard, covered in IV drips, and sighed inwardly.
"I brought some healing water," Shanks said, sitting down before Whitebeard's colossal form.
Though Shanks seemed diminutive compared to Whitebeard's over six-meter frame, he exuded a more vibrant, commanding aura than the now aging Emperor.
Shanks produced a large gourd of sake, first filling a giant bowl suitable for Whitebeard, then tossing the gourd to him.
"Sake from the West Blue? Not exactly top-shelf stuff, is it?" Whitebeard commented after taking a sniff, a seasoned drinker's assessment.
"It's from my hometown. Try it," Shanks replied with a smile.
Gulp! Gulp!
Whitebeard tilted his head back and drank deeply. "Not bad. Seeing your face, brat, makes that damn scar he gave me ache again! GURARARARA!" Whitebeard looked at Shanks and let out his signature booming laugh.
"About that... it's one of the reasons I came," Shanks said, pulling out several news reports from his coat.
"Hm?" Whitebeard took the reports, his eyes narrowing as he read.
"GURARARARA! GURARARARA!" Whitebeard threw his head back and roared with laughter, the sound so powerful it made the very atmosphere above them churn and shift!
"Pops? What is it?" Diamond Jozu, the 3rd Division Commander, asked, his pupils constricting as he watched Whitebeard's unrestrained laughter.
"Aokiji! That brat—was defeated?!" Whitebeard's thunderous laughter made Marco and the other commanders stare, their eyes wide with shock, jaws agape, as they looked between Whitebeard and Shanks.
Marine Admiral Aokiji—DEFEATED?? By WHOM??
A powerhouse of that caliber... even Pops would have to go all out...
And Pops now, with his failing health—even he couldn't guarantee victory against an Admiral... This formidable fighter defeated?!
Marco and the other commanders were utterly stunned. Who could have done it? Kaido? Big Mom? Or perhaps... Red-Hair himself, right here?!
But soon, they got their answer from Whitebeard's booming laughter.
"Sky Sovereign Rowen! I used to think he was just an arrogant brat with a fancy title! Never imagined even Aokiji would fall to him! And the Rumble-Rumble Fruit... fell into his hands too, did it?"
"And in the Holy Land, Mariejois, through some unknown means, he wantonly unleashed Conqueror's Haki—making Celestial Dragons faint, throwing Mariejois into chaos!"
"What an audacious brat! The Navy 'clarifying' the Alabasta incident must be related to this too!"
"That bastard hiding in Mariejois who gave me this aching scar—he must have had a rough time because of this too! GURARARARA!"
"The Fifth Emperor? The title's a bit premature, but not entirely undeserved! GURARARARA!" Whitebeard roared with laughter, looking at the latest news reports in his hand.
....
World Economic News Agency - LATEST SPECIAL EDITION!
[SKY SOVEREIGN ROWEN! RAMPAGES THROUGH HOLY LAND MARIEJOIS!]
[UNCONSCIOUS CELESTIAL DRAGONS! THE RAGING SKY SOVEREIGN!]
[RUMBLE-RUMBLE FRUIT USER! WORLD GOVERNMENT'S STRONGEST COMBATANT! MARINE ADMIRAL AOKIJI—DEFEATED!]
[THE FIFTH EMPEROR OF THE SEA! SKY SOVEREIGN! ROWEN!]
....
The World Economic News Agency had released several front-page exposés! These reports would completely ignite the seas!
"!!!" Marco and the others' pupils constricted violently.
Aokiji... that terrifying powerhouse—defeated by Sky Sovereign Rowen?!
That super rookie who had recently emerged on the seas?!
NO!
He couldn't even be called a Supernova...
Supernovas were rookies who, after first entering the Grand Line, reached Sabaody Archipelago with bounties exceeding 100 million Beri.
Though Rowen's bounty was over 1.1 billion, he hadn't even reached Sabaody... He hadn't even completed the first half of the Grand Line... hadn't entered the New World—yet he could already defeat Marine Admiral Aokiji?
Was this world going crazy??
But for Red-Hair to personally bring this news—Marco and the others had no doubt about its authenticity.
This man would have confirmed its veracity through various channels...
Sky Sovereign Rowen had really defeated a Marine Admiral. In terms of power—this man already possessed strength comparable to the Four Emperors, the rulers of the sea!
The Fifth Emperor of the Sea!
The title was incredibly audacious. But even they, Whitebeard's Division Commanders, couldn't refute it.
This was a man capable of defeating a Marine Admiral...
And he possessed the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, one of the Logias hailed as nearly invincible—as members of the Whitebeard Pirates, especially Marco, they knew all too well what a powerful Devil Fruit could mean—
He himself was the user of the rare Mythical Zoan, which elevated his combat strength significantly.
And among the Four Emperors—aside from Red-Hair before them—Pops, Kaido, and Big Mom were all powerful Devil Fruit users.
Kaido, with his Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon, was called the World's Strongest Creature, unbeatable in a one-on-one.
Pops, with his Tremor-Tremor Fruit, was called the Man Who Can Destroy the World.
The Rumble-Rumble Fruit's overall capabilities were in no way inferior to Pops's or Kaido's fruits—It was absolutely a power standing at the pinnacle of all Devil Fruits!
And this man could also use Ace's Flare-Flare Fruit ability—another extremely powerful Logia...
Considering Rowen's horrifying feat of defeating Aokiji—who could dare say he didn't deserve the title 'Fifth Emperor'???
Even they, Whitebeard's crew, had no right to object!
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"Indeed. Hawk-Eyes also met him. An astonishing young man," Shanks commented, looking at Whitebeard, his own eyes filled with awe.
Because of Luffy, he had been paying attention to this man early on.
Hawk-Eyes had even encountered him in the East Blue, even clashing Conqueror's Haki. That incident made the man famous across the seas, earning him a bounty over 100 million!
Hawk-Eyes even said Rowen might possess even greater Haki than Shanks himself in the future... Shanks too, eagerly anticipated this new era—
—But even Shanks hadn't expected the new era to arrive so quickly! Sky Sovereign Rowen defeated Aokiji before even reaching Sabaody Archipelago!
Aokiji's level of combat strength—Shanks himself would have to go all out, couldn't afford to underestimate him in the slightest...
This terrifying growth speed was utterly shocking.
'Genius' was no longer sufficient to describe Sky Sovereign Rowen. Because this man was no longer just a genius!
He was a True Emperor.
Without a doubt, Sky Sovereign Rowen now possessed the qualification to converse with him, Whitebeard, Kaido, and Big Mom as equals, to be discussed by the world in the same breath!
The Fifth Emperor of the Sea! Based on his terrifying feat of defeating Aokiji, based on his strength alone—no one would object to this title.
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"So, you came all this way just to tell me this news?" Whitebeard asked, looking at Shanks.
"Of course, it's not just about Sky Sovereign Rowen's news. There's also... Ace," Shanks's expression turned grave.
"Hm?" Hearing Ace's name, Whitebeard's expression also hardened.
"Throughout my many years of fighting on these seas, only this scar... still aches," Shanks said, touching the claw marks over his eye.
"It was caused by Blackbeard Teach. It wasn't because I was careless. Do you understand what I'm saying? That man hid under your name, even refusing a commander position, biding his time. Now, he's acting on his own will, aiming for the top—to take your place!" Shanks stated grimly.
"TEACH! THAT BASTARD BROKE THE ULTIMATE RULE! HE KILLED A COMRADE!!" Whitebeard roared with fury.
The atmosphere between the two Emperors instantly tensed.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The very sky above them began to churn violently under the pressure of their clashing wills!
"These seas—are already in upheaval because of Sky Sovereign Rowen!" Shanks continued.
"Ace is strong, but he's not Rowen! Now is not the time for him to confront Teach! Don't let these seas descend further into chaos! STOP ACE! Don't let him encounter Blackbeard Teach! This is what I came to ask of you!" Shanks declared, looking directly into Whitebeard's enraged eyes.
WHOOSH!
The gourd of sake Shanks had brought was hurled violently towards him. Shanks, still seated cross-legged, seemed to teleport, effortlessly dodging the projectile.
"Anyone who boards my ship is my child! Any mistake—I can forgive them!"
"But Teach! Killed a comrade! He broke the ironclad rule that absolutely cannot be forgiven!"
"That line of honor—absolutely cannot be crossed!"
"Teaching Teach that lesson.. isn't that my responsibility?!" Whitebeard thundered.
"Gulp! Gulp!" Shanks's expression darkened. He downed the giant bowl of sake before him in one go.
"This rampaging era—will become unstoppable!" Shanks slowly drew his sword, Gryphon.
"Nothing to be afraid of! Even that brat Rowen dares to turn the world upside down! I—AM WHITEBEARD!" Whitebeard roared, his right hand shooting out, gripping his naginata, Murakumogiri—one of the 12 Supreme Grade Swords! The IV lines connected to him snapped!
CLANG!
The blades of the two Emperors clashed violently!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The sky above them—split apart!
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Somewhere on the seas, a pirate ship was engaged in plunder.
Its Jolly Roger depicted nine snakes coiled around a skull—a symbol that made countless people on these seas tremble in fear.
Because this... was the mark of the Kuja Pirates! Led by one of the Seven Warlords! The Pirate Empress!
"Elder Sister!" Sandersonia, with green hair, rushed in frantically, clutching several news reports. Behind her, Marigold, with orange hair, followed, her face equally horrified.
"Hm?" A supremely graceful figure slowly turned, revealing a face of breathtaking, world-shattering beauty.
—The woman hailed as the most beautiful in the world, the Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock.
"Elder Sister! Please look at this report!" Sandersonia handed the papers to Hancock.
"Hm?" Hancock, seeing her sisters' unusual distress, frowned slightly with her perfect eyebrows and took the reports.
"This is...?!" Hancock's beautiful eyes widened dramatically.
"Marine HQ Admiral, Aokiji! DEFEATED!"
"By that rookie pirate. The man with a bounty over 1.1 billion Beri—Sky Sovereign Rowen!"
"The World Economic News Agency is calling him—the Fifth Emperor of the Sea!"
"A-And even more terrifying!" Sandersonia's pupils constricted with extreme fear, as if recalling an unbearable memory. "S-Sky Sovereign Rowen... through unknown means, caused chaos in the Holy Land Mariejois! He used Conqueror's Haki—to knock out countless Celestial Dragons! This man—trampled upon the descendants of the Creators!" Sandersonia's voice cracked.
"!!!" Hancock's eyes constricted tightly, staring blankly at the report in her hands, at the wantonly domineering face depicted on it.
This man defeated Marine Admiral?
But what left Hancock even more incredulous—Those beings no one dared to defy, the source of her and her sisters' greatest nightmare... the Celestial Dragons. This man had the audacity to suppress them with Conqueror's Haki??
No one could possibly understand the cataclysmic upheaval Hancock, who had endured the darkness of Mariejois, felt in her heart at this moment.
"Elder Sister... Y-You're crying?" Marigold asked hesitantly, looking at Hancock.
"Hm?" Hancock looked down at the tears dripping onto the newspaper, pressing her lips together. "Was I... Was I crying?"
Hancock looked at her trembling hands, upon which her tears slowly fell.
"The Celestial Dragons... were trampled upon?" Hancock's voice trembled.
Hancock stared at Rowen's face on the newspaper, her fingers gently caressing the image.
Her beautiful face, for the first time since becoming the Pirate Empress, showed an expression of utter vulnerability, heart-wrenchingly beautiful.
"Sky Sovereign Rowen..." Hancock whispered softly.
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Countless News Coos scattered the snow-like newspapers to every corner of the world.
Marine HQ Admiral Aokiji—DEFEATED!
Sky Sovereign Rowen—THE FIFTH EMPEROR OF THE SEA!
Sky Sovereign Rowen—RAMPAGES THROUGH HOLY LAND MARIEJOIS! TRAMPLES COUNTLESS CELESTIAL DRAGONS WITH CONQUEROR'S HAKI!
This news, spread through Morgans's insane network, shocked the entire world!
Countless people trembled as they read the reports in their hands.
Not only was one of the World Government's Strongest Combatants, Aokiji, defeated...
But even the descendants of the Creators, the Celestial Dragons were trampled by Sky Sovereign Rowen—
And in Mariejois, the stronghold of the World Government, no less!
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