[205] : The Era of Sky Sovereign Rowen! Whitebeard's Outburst!
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3 CHAPTERS TODAY :)
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BOOM!
Crimson-black lightning ripped through the skies above Marineford.
This terrifying Conqueror's Haki formed into a raging, tyrannical storm. Under this storm, the entirety of Marineford was dyed the color of Conqueror's Haki—crimson-black, an utterly chilling sight.
More horrifying still, before this Conqueror's Haki storm, countless Marine soldiers instantly went white-eyed and collapsed. Among them were numerous Rear Admirals and Commodores.
These renowned Marine officers, famous across various seas, under the horrified gaze of the entire world, fainted in droves...
What left the world utterly aghast was the sight of the battle-hardened, fearsome Marine HQ Vice Admirals, men who normally projected an aura of absolute security... Even they, under the sweep of this frightening crimson-black storm, collapsed in large numbers—
—These were renowned warriors who commanded respect across the seas. The absolute core strength of Marine HQ.
The strongest active forces below the Admirals. Even against the commanders of Emperor crews in the New World, these Vice Admirals could fight on equal terms.
But now—before the terrifying storm unleashed by Sky Sovereign Rowen—they fainted and fell...
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Sabaody Archipelago.
The citizens and reporters covered their mouths, staring in utter horror at the massive screen.
At this moment, the screen's color was no longer that of a normal sea battle—it was completely crimson-black!
A terrifying storm raged at Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Many citizens and reporters fearfully pointed at the fallen Marines on the screen. These were famous officers they recognized. Possessing immense prestige on the seas.
Before Sky Sovereign Rowen, they were so fragile. They didn't even possess the right to remain conscious...
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"HEY, HEY... ARE YOU SERIOUS?? THIS HAKI..."
Kizaru, engaged in a life-or-death struggle, momentarily pushing back the now somewhat suppressed Rayleigh, now had beads of sweat forming on his own forehead.
"Even some of the Vice Admirals couldn't withstand it and fainted... Is this the Conqueror's Haki of Sky Sovereign Rowen?"
This was the first time Kizaru had personally experienced the impact of Rowen's Conqueror's Haki, and he murmured in disbelief.
But then, he sensed something was wrong.
If Rowen possessed such Haki before, why would he need to resort to schemes to barely win against Aokiji?
Haki of this level... the mere storm it created put Kizaru under immense pressure. The Vice Admirals who had approached Rowen, trying to stop him from releasing his Haki—were all annihilated.
Even the Vice Admirals further away couldn't withstand it and fainted.
Conqueror's Haki of this caliber was at the absolute pinnacle of this sea.
It could even be compared to the Haki of that Emperor—the only non-Devil Fruit user among the Four Emperors, who, like Roger, relied solely on swordsmanship and Haki to achieve his Emperor status—The man hailed as the 'World's Most Dominant Haki User', Red-Haired Shanks!
Combined with Rowen's terrifying Devil Fruit abilities, Aokiji shouldn't have stood a chance.
It wasn't that Aokiji was weak, it was that this Haki was too frightening—even Gion and Chaton, two Admiral Candidates whose strength surpassed Marine HQ Vice Admirals, showed expressions of pain under this Conqueror's Haki storm!
Based on this deduction, did Rowen's Haki suddenly strengthen??
Did he... steal Aokiji's Haki??
But Aokiji didn't possess Conqueror's Haki... How did Rowen do it??
Kizaru's forehead was now also beaded with cold sweat.
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"Hahaha! What a powerful Haki!" Rayleigh laughed heartily.
Looking at the figure releasing the terrifying Conqueror's Haki, forming a crimson-black storm that enveloped the entirety of Marine HQ, his eyes held a hint of a daze.
Conqueror's Haki of this caliber reminded Rayleigh of his deceased life-and-death friend, Roger.
Roger's Conqueror's Haki surpassed even Whitebeard's in his prime. In that era, in terms of pure Haki, Roger was the strongest.
The only one who could somewhat compare was Garp from that era, who also relied solely on Haki and his Iron Fists.
"A new era, is it?"
Hearing Rowen's words, Rayleigh, far from feeling any negative emotions, instead smiled from the bottom of his heart.
Whitebeard and he were remnants of a bygone era. Even Rayleigh, whose body hadn't deteriorated as much as Whitebeard's, fully acknowledged this.
Stamina, energy, Haki—none were at their peak. Initially, he could gain the upper hand against Kizaru with Haōshoku Coating, but as the battle continued, his stamina and Haki declined. It was an inevitable consequence of old age.
Just as Rowen said.
This era no longer belonged to them!
Not to Whitebeard, not to him, and certainly not to the deceased Pirate King, Roger.
The man at the center of this era—
Rayleigh looked at Rowen and smiled.
Without a doubt... This era, at this very moment, had begun to bear the mark of the Sky Sovereign!
Will this era ultimately be named after Sky Sovereign?
Rayleigh's eyes sparkled.
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"U-UNBELIEVABLE! WHAT A RIDICULOUS CONQUEROR'S HAKI!"
Marco and the other commanders stared in utter horror at the terrifying Conqueror's Haki storm sweeping across Marine HQ, Marineford.
They were not inexperienced. They had followed Whitebeard in his prime, even clashed head-on with the Roger Pirates.
They had personally experienced the Conqueror's Haki of a prime Whitebeard and Roger—and they knew exactly what Haki of this level signified...
This was Haki capable of competing for the title of the Strongest in this era.
At this moment, Marco and the others looked at the fainted Vice Admirals, their eyes filled with uncontrollable horror—though not the first time they had witnessed Conqueror's Haki of this level, it still filled them with a terror that came from the depths of their souls.
These Vice Admirals couldn't withstand this Conqueror's Haki and could only faint. If it were unleashed against them, aside from Marco and a few others, the rest of the commanders would also be knocked out!
This was a true King of these seas!
When a true King released their Conqueror's Haki... their allies, even their own subordinates, would be immobilized, filled only with sincere reverence for this ruler of the seas.
High above all. Reigning over the seas like an Emperor!
This was the level of Rowen's Conqueror's Haki!
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"BASTARD!!" Sengoku was also drenched in cold sweat at this moment.
What incredible Conqueror's Haki... How did Rowen's Haki suddenly become so strong??
Sengoku had a very thorough grasp of Rowen's power—though previously, due to ignorance of Rowen's vicious ability to steal others' powers, his calculations were frequently wrong.
But ever since learning of this vicious ability, after factoring it into his Buddha Deductions, there shouldn't have been any more errors.
Rowen was strong, yes. But his strength lay in Devil Fruits, not Haki!
In terms of pure Haki, he was completely inferior to the Four Emperors who had reigned over the New World for years.
The title 'World's Strongest Devil Fruit User' also proved this point.
But what was happening now??
How did Rowen's Haki suddenly become so strong??
Sengoku's back began to break out in a cold sweat.
This shouldn't be possible... Even if he stole Aokiji's power, Aokiji didn't possess Conqueror's Haki—how could it directly make Rowen's Conqueror's Haki so strong??
On these seas, there was no power without a source. This was an ironclad rule of this sea. And Sky Sovereign Rowen's previous performance completely conformed to this rule.
He displayed horrifying Devil Fruit abilities, but his stamina consumption was also immense. After using that Super Electromagnetic Cannon that surpassed the limits of Devil Fruits to kill Aokiji, his stamina was greatly consumed, preventing him from taking further action for a time.
Sengoku had seen all of this.
Dispatching a unit composed of several Vice Admirals and a large number of Rear Admirals and Commodores to stop Rowen from releasing his Conqueror's Haki was not a suicidal act.
These were also Marine elites, Sengoku wouldn't let them be sacrificed so wantonly.
With his stamina depleted to such an extent, even for a powerhouse of their level, instantly killing HQ Vice Admirals was extremely difficult. According to Sengoku's calculations, these Vice Admirals would be severely wounded, but not killed.
And after Rowen stole Aokiji's power, he only displayed the Ice-Ice Fruit's ability, not recovering his stamina.
This meant that under that terrifying attack, Aokiji's body was annihilated, and his power completely dissipated into the sea, not obtained by Rowen.
All this conformed to the ironclad rule of this sea—no power appeared without a reason.
But who could have known...
Rowen's Conqueror's Haki suddenly became so strong.
Combined with the fact that Rowen had completed the Awakening of the Magnet-Magnet Fruit he had only just obtained a few days ago—It was almost certain that Rowen possessed another scary power unknown to them!
It was this power that allowed Rowen to gain something from Aokiji, thereby enhancing his Haki to such a level...
BASTARD! HOW COULD SUCH A PERSON APPEAR ON THESE SEAS?? HOW COULD SUCH AN UNREASONABLE POWER EXIST??
Veins throbbed on Sengoku's forehead.
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"GURARARARA! Navy. Your calculations have been completely overturned, haven't they, Sengoku?" Whitebeard, who had taken a strong blow from Akainu's Meigo and was kneeling on one knee, his head bowed, suddenly laughed.
Though severely wounded, under his astonishing willpower, Whitebeard laughed at this moment.
WHAT A POWERFUL HAKI!
Under this Haki blast, his own almost-dried-up inner power began to surge again. Even if he was old, his physical functions deteriorated to an unimaginable degree—he was still the absolute ruler of the previous era.
His heart hadn't stopped beating yet!
Under the full-power Conqueror's Haki blast of a powerhouse of the same level, his own heart began to pound... The glory of the past, like a revolving lantern, appeared in Whitebeard's mind.
A REMNANT OF AN OLD ERA?
I LIKE THAT!
Whitebeard's crescent mustache curved into an exaggerated arc.
The new era no longer had a ship that could carry him!
But he would prove it!
His decrepit body could still pave a new path for the new era.
Whitebeard's bowed head, his eyes began to shine with an astonishing crimson-black light.
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"BASTARD! SKY SOVEREIGN ROWEN!" Akainu's face was incredibly grim.
It's happening again.
This man's Haki has grown abnormally again.
No... THIS WAS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!
During the Enies Lobby battle, it was he who pushed Rowen to his absolute limit, forcing him to have an explosive breakthrough—and after unleashing all his Haki and power, Rowen was completely exhausted!
At that time, Rowen was digging into his body's full potential, using Haki and power beyond his normal level. In a normal state, Rowen couldn't possibly have that kind of Haki and power.
And Momonga was only painfully forced to his knees, not knocked out.
But now—
Rowen's Haki was released conventionally.
Meaning, Rowen had truly mastered this unbelievably terrifying Haki!
The previous Sky Sovereign Rowen was already incredibly annoying. Though his Haki wasn't as strong as an Emperor's, he compensated for this gap with the world's Strongest Devil Fruits.
'After dealing with Whitebeard, I have to join forces with Kizaru and capture him!' Akainu's eyes were filled with grim resolve.
The terror this man displayed made Akainu feel a chill, even a trace of fear he refused to admit.
This growth rate was too alarming!
And his body held too many unknown powers!
An archenemy of Justice... This man absolutely could not be allowed to leave Marineford alive.
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BANG!
The impact of Conqueror's Haki slowly dissipated.
Akainu focused his senses, preparing to deliver the final blow to Whitebeard, who had taken his Meigo head-on.
"Huh??"
Akainu's forehead was drenched in cold sweat.
The figure that had been kneeling on the ground, severely wounded by his Meigo, had suddenly appeared before him as if teleporting...
"Magma brat... You were having a lot of fun just now," Whitebeard's eyes blazed with an astonishing crimson-black light.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A terrifying punch arrived. Akainu, caught off guard, hastily defended, but was quickly overwhelmed!
"Damn it!" Akainu's face contorted.
"I—AM WHITEBEARD!"
Whitebeard roared, his fist slamming heavily into Akainu's abdomen.
Haōshoku Coating and the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit combined.
Horrifying energy erupted at this moment.
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