~ As Usual. Bonus Chapter Every 300 Powerstones :)
~ 18 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon!
<><><><><><><><>
THUD! The door leading into Laboon's stomach burst open violently, and two figures tumbled out.
"Luffy!" Seeing one of them was Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji, who were waiting on the Merry, called out joyfully.
WHOOSH! Following closely behind was Rowen, the lower half of his body transformed into swirling smoke, his smoke-arms securely holding both Nami and Vivi.
"Rowen! Nami!" Zoro and the others grinned.
The comrades were all reunited.
"Kyaa! What is this?!" Vivi cried out, startled, as the smoke held her fast. 'Is this... a Devil Fruit power?! And this ability...' Vivi's eyes widened in shock.
"Zoro! Sanji! Usopp! It's great you guys are okay!" Luffy beamed from mid-air. "But... could someone maybe save me first?!" Luffy looked down nervously at the ocean-like stomach acid below. 'There's seawater in there!'
WHOOSH!
A tendril of smoke shot out and grabbed Luffy.
"Saved! Thanks, Rowen!" Luffy grinned gratefully at Rowen.
SPLASH!
Mr. 9 wasn't so lucky, plunging directly into the sea-like stomach fluids.
FWOOSH! Activating his Smoke-Smoke power, Rowen tossed Luffy onto the Merry's deck, then propelled himself, Nami, and Vivi down beside them using smoke jets.
"You guys look energetic," Rowen commented with a smile, looking at Zoro and the others.
"Doing okay. There was a weird old guy here, dunno where he went," Usopp replied, pointing vaguely.
"By the way, who's this?" Zoro asked, gesturing towards Vivi, whom Rowen had rescued.
"You damn idiot Moss-Head! Don't be so rude to a lady!" Sanji immediately yelled upon hearing Zoro.
"What did you say?! Shitty Curly-Brows!" Before Sanji could even approach Vivi properly, Zoro, forehead veins bulging, lunged at him with swords drawn.
The two instantly started brawling.
Ever since Rowen started training him in Haki and gave him that same 'you idiot' look he sometimes gave Luffy, Zoro had become incredibly sensitive to being called an idiot.
And Sanji, knowing this, frequently used the word just to provoke him.
As a result, their fights occurred even more often than in the original story.
"Th-This is..." Watching the smoke that had saved her coalesce back into the body of the man before her, Vivi felt cold sweat form on her brow.
She knew this kind of ability all too well.
It resembled the power possessed by the very reason she had infiltrated Baroque Works as an agent—the organization's boss, the man responsible for throwing her country, Alabasta, into chaos.
One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea: Crocodile!
That man possessed a similar ability to transform into an element—the Logia-type Sand-Sand Fruit!
With that power, Crocodile was practically invincible in this part of the sea.
Could this man... also be a Logia Devil Fruit user?!
Vivi swallowed hard, looking at Rowen.
Logia users—were like gods in this sea.
"H-Help! Save me!" Just then, Mr. 9 surfaced from the stomach acid, screaming desperately.
"Mr. 9!" Vivi cried out.
"Shut up, you annoying bastard," Zoro muttered, irritated by Mr. 9's yelling. He broke off his fight with Sanji and casually tossed one of the Merry's oars towards Mr. 9.
"S-Saved!" Mr. 9 gasped, scrambling up the oar onto the deck, panting heavily.
"Alright then, who are you two? Mr. 9? Is that your name? Sounds familiar..." Zoro asked, turning towards them with a predatory grin.
"!!!" Vivi and Mr. 9 froze in alarm. If the company found out they'd been exposed, they were dead!
"That codename... sounds like how a certain organization names its agents," Rowen added, enjoying their panic with a mischievous smile.
"I remember now. Baroque Works—" Zoro stated, his expression turning grim.
Vivi and Mr. 9 began trembling uncontrollably.
"How do you know that name?!" Mr. 9 stammered, shaking.
"Baroque Works?" Usopp asked curiously.
"Yeah. A gathering place for bounty hunters. Members don't know each other's real identities, only their codenames. Of course, the boss's location, even their true identity, is a mystery to the agents. Just a criminal organization that faithfully carries out orders,"
Zoro explained, his grim expression deepening. "They tried to recruit me back when I was bounty hunting. I refused, of course. Baroque Works—it's a secret organization, isn't it?" Zoro finished with a sinister smile.
"Since you know—we'll have to eliminate you," Mr. 9 declared desperately, raising his bazooka. If Baroque Works found out they leaked information, they'd definitely be killed!
"Let's go, Miss Wednesday! Huh?" Just as he was about to fire, Mr. 9 noticed something was wrong and looked questioningly at Vivi.
Vivi... was trembling violently from head to toe.
"Eliminate us? How amusing."
WHOOSH!
Mr. 9 stared in terror as swirling smoke lifted him effortlessly into the air, rendering him completely immobile. "W-What is this?!" he yelled frantically.
"D-Don't struggle, Mr. 9! H-He's a Logia Devil Fruit user!" Vivi cried out, her eyes filled with terror as she looked at Rowen.
With that ability, killing them would be as easy as crushing bugs!
"Devil Fruit user?!" Mr. 9 didn't fully grasp the term 'Logia', but he clearly understood he was powerless within the smoke. He stared fearfully at Rowen.
"Smart girl. But I know some other interesting things about Baroque Works... about the boss behind it all," Rowen smirked, seeing Vivi wasn't resisting.
Hearing Rowen's words, Vivi's pupils constricted sharply.
"The Boss? Who? Baroque Works keeps the boss's identity top secret! Rowen, you even know that?" Zoro stared, wide-eyed.
"Ah, I do. Same as Mihawk—one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Crocodile," Rowen stated calmly.
Vivi trembled violently.
"A Warlord, like Mihawk? No wonder he could build such a powerful organization," Zoro muttered, instinctively tightening his grip on his swords at the mention of Mihawk's name.
"A Warlord! SUGEEE! Is he as strong as Mihawk?" Luffy exclaimed, remembering his encounter with the swordsman.
"No, they're not on the same level. Even among the Warlords, there's a considerable difference in strength," Rowen explained.
"Still, he's a Warlord! But someone like that probably wouldn't bother coming after us just because we beat up a couple of his agents, right?" Usopp asked nervously, having learned a lot about the world's power structures from Rowen.
'Warlords, Marine HQ, Four Emperors... the Three Great Powers maintaining the world's balance!' Usopp wiped sweat from his brow.
"No. With that guy, anyone who learns his identity automatically lands on his kill list," Rowen stated, looking pointedly at the trembling Vivi.
"That's terrible! What do we do?!" Usopp yelled, clutching his head.
"Idiot! He doesn't know that we know his identity yet!" Nami argued, though she was also scared by the mention of a Warlord, instinctively grabbing Rowen's arm for security.
"But they know! They'll report back to their boss!" Usopp pointed frantically at Vivi and Mr. 9. "What do we do, Rowen?!" Nami pleaded, her face crumpling. Silencing them permanently wasn't something the kind-hearted Nami could do.
"Don't worry about them reporting anything. They have their own survival to worry about now. Isn't that right... Miss Wednesday? Or should I say, Princess Nefertari Vivi of Alabasta?" Rowen looked directly at Vivi, his lips curling into a knowing smile.
"PRINCESS?!" Everyone else gasped, staring at Vivi in shock.
"Crocodile? Princess?" Mr. 9, still suspended in smoke, was completely bewildered. Why doesn't he know any of this?!
"H-How do you know all this?! Who in the world are you?!" Vivi bit her lip hard, staring intently at Rowen. Her greatest secret... how could this man possibly know?!
"Is my reputation really that unknown in bounty hunting circles nowadays? Are you two even professionals?" Rowen sighed dramatically, looking at Vivi and Mr. 9. "It's been a while since I had to properly introduce myself."
"W-Wait! That man's face... it does look kinda familiar!" Mr. 9 stammered, cold sweat starting to pour down his face. "U-Um... could you maybe let me down for a sec?" he asked hesitantly.
"Oh?" Rowen looked intrigued, then released Mr. 9 from the smoke.
"L-Let me just check something..." Mr. 9 fumbled through his coat, pulling out a stack of wanted posters. While gathering bounty information was usually Mr. 8's job (his and Miss Wednesday's main task was procuring food for the town), Mr. 9 still carried posters for particularly famous individuals.
"F-Found it! 'Sky Sovereign' Rowen! Bounty..." Mr. 9 quickly found Rowen's poster. The moment he saw the bounty amount, his eyes bulged wide, sweat streamed down his face, and pure terror filled his gaze.
Confirming he hadn't misread the amount, Mr. 9 snapped his head up, staring at Rowen in horrified disbelief and screaming:
"A bounty of... ONE HUNDRED MILLION BERI!!!"
"!!!" Vivi covered her mouth, staring incredulously at Rowen.
One hundred million Beri?! Oh my god!
Crocodile's frozen bounty was only 81 million Beri!
(Though that was because bounties are frozen upon becoming a Warlord, and the value of Beri had inflated over the years.)
But still! A 100 million Beri bounty! That was undeniably—a Great Pirate!
"Hey! What about me?! Where's my wanted poster?!" Seeing the dramatic reactions Vivi and Mr. 9 had to Rowen's bounty, Luffy felt incredibly envious and yelled out.
Getting that kind of shocked reaction just from hearing your bounty... that's exactly what Luffy wanted!
That's the true aura of a Great Pirate!
"Uh... let me see... Found it. 'Straw Hat' Monkey D. Luffy. Bounty: 45 million Beri," Mr. 9 replied, his tone rather flat.
After the shock of Rowen's 100 million, 45 million, while still high for this sea, seemed significantly less impressive...
"What's with that tone?! 45 million Beri is really high too, okay!!"
Mr. 9's lackluster reaction immediately set Luffy off. The difference in treatment compared to Rowen was too much!
"Damn it! How can I increase my bounty?!" Luffy clenched his fists.
Luffy desperately wanted that Great Pirate Aura Rowen possessed, the kind that shocked people just by mentioning the bounty.
"That's it! Defeating strong pirates increases your bounty!" Luffy's eyes suddenly lit up.
This expression immediately made Zoro wary. Back when it was just him and Rowen, Luffy had the exact same look when he realized defeating Buggy would earn him a bounty.
"Rowen! If we beat Crocodile, how much will my bounty increase?!" Luffy asked Rowen, breathing heavily with excitement.
"Breaking 100 million is guaranteed," Rowen replied with a smile.
"Break 100 million... 100 million..."
"HUNDRED MILLION—!" Luffy's mind fixated on that number.
"YOSH! Let's go beat up Crocodile!" Luffy roared, rolling up his sleeves, his eyes practically glowing green with ambition.
He desperately wanted a bounty over 100 million, just like Rowen, to become a true Great Pirate!
"IDIOT!" Usopp and Sanji yelled simultaneously. 'Going after a Warlord just for a bounty increase?! Are you insane?!'
Zoro covered his face, sighing helplessly.
"Rowen! Talk some sense into Luffy! This guy's about to do something stupid again!" Nami pleaded, looking at Rowen, but quickly noticed something different in his expression.
"No... I also need—to take down Crocodile," Rowen stated, a startling intensity flashing in his eyes.
"EH?!" Nami and the others stared, shocked.
"But not for the bounty. Crocodile possesses something I need. Will you lend me your strength, everyone?" Rowen looked seriously at his crewmates.
Rowen wouldn't use Luffy as a shield or excuse. Towards Nami, towards all his comrades, Rowen was sincere.
"Hmph. Of course! Just a Warlord," Zoro grinned fiercely. Rowen had helped him so much; now, finally, was a chance to repay him. Besides, if he feared facing a Warlord, how could he ever hope to challenge Mihawk again?!
"Heh." Sanji exhaled a puff of smoke, a smile playing on his lips. Rowen was a kindred spirit when it came to appreciating good food. And it was thanks to Rowen and the others that he was now free to pursue his dream. If Rowen needed help, Sanji wouldn't hesitate!
"F-Finally! It's time for me... the brave warrior of the sea... known as—the Brave Captain Usopp... to step up!" Usopp's legs trembled slightly, but his voice was firm with determination. Rowen was the first person to acknowledge him as a brave warrior. He couldn't let himself down now!
"I-I'll do my best too!" Nami declared, looking at Rowen resolutely.
"Don't worry. I'm confident we can handle Crocodile," Rowen reassured Nami with a smile.
Based on Crocodile's portrayal in the original story, combined with feedback from his System, Rowen had reached a conclusion:
After his past defeat at Whitebeard's hands (similar in impact to Moria's defeat by Kaido), although Crocodile hadn't completely given up like Moria, he had shifted his hopes entirely onto external factors—the Ancient Weapon, Pluton.
This likely caused his spirit/willpower to stagnate or even weaken, rendering his Haki unusable or underdeveloped.
If that was the case, then as fellow Logia users, Rowen essentially held an advantage against Crocodile, especially since Rowen could use Haki. He was practically unbeatable in that matchup.
This was precisely why Rowen had prioritized obtaining the Smoke-Smoke Fruit.
Logia vs Logia, without a direct elemental counter and without Haki being a deciding factor (on Crocodile's side)... the fight would likely be a stalemate at worst.
Add in Rowen's own Haki, and Crocodile was no longer a terrifying threat!
"Talk about different treatment! You guys immediately agreed when Rowen said it!" Luffy whined loudly.
"Rowen has a legitimate reason! Unlike you!" Zoro retorted irritably.
Fighting a Warlord just for bounty? Stupid...
"But as long as we get to beat up a Warlord and increase my bounty, that's fine! Plus, we get to help Rowen! Shishishi!" Luffy's mood shifted instantly back to excitement.
"W-What is wrong with these people?!" Vivi, completely ignored during this exchange, was now utterly bewildered and stunned speechless.
<><><><><><><><>
~ 18 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)
<><><><><><><><>
~# Keep the chapters coming — Support with Power Stones!
~# Every 300 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter