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Bang... Bang!
With a thunderous crash, the house split apart, hurling debris in every direction. The air roared in a wild vortex, like a storm that could shake the heavens and shatter the earth.
But Tesoro didn't feel triumphant. His eyes were wide with disbelief as he looked toward the fist's trajectory, now halted. A figure had taken the blow squarely on the back.
"Admiral Soryu (Azure Dragon), why?!" He shouted.
It had been the perfect moment for a surprise strike. Garp, already wounded internally, surely wouldn't have survived it.
Rowen, brushing the dust off his uniform, turned his head calmly.
"Sorry, Tesoro. I don't care what happens to anyone else… but that guy, he's mine to deal with."
Tesoro understood immediately.
Grimacing, he clutched his shattered arm, rising shakily to his feet and giving a slow nod. "Understood, Admiral Soryu (Azure Dragon)."
With that, he used his gold to lift himself from the ground and vanished from the battlefield.
Clink... Clatter...
Seastone handcuffs, crackling faintly with electricity, fell from his wrists. A closer look revealed the lightning didn't touch the Seastone directly, instead arcing through golden dust swirling in the air. A molten gold key had already been shaped and inserted into the lock.
"Didn't mean to, but I ended up melting the gold into a key using lightning..."
Garp's brows furrowed deeply. "Your Devil Fruit's gotten stronger, Rowen!"
"Naturally. If I keep clashing with the monsters of the New World and don't grow stronger… I'll end up dead for real."
Rowen exhaled a puff of smoke from his cigar as he spoke in a relaxed tone.
"But I'm curious, old man... how did you find out about this? I was sure there wasn't a soul around me who leaked a thing."
"You might not believe it, kid... but I've seen the blueprints for Pluton. The original blueprints."
Garp spread his hands with a tired shrug. "Why else do you think the World Government suddenly suspected over a decade ago that Tom might be hiding them? Why force Roger to build a ship fit for a Pirate King... and then have him hunted down?"
Hisss...
'So that's why it's a reprint!'
Rowen's eyes lit up with realization.
In the original timeline, the truth about the Ancient Weapons had always been shrouded in mystery. If Roger and his crew already knew of their existence, why had the Government only started reviving interest in them when the story began?
The answer wasn't so complicated after all.
Before that, they hadn't known where the Ancient Weapons were, or what they even were.
The Poneglyphs required not just someone who could read them but also the luck to find them. Whether it was the tablet about Pluton beneath Alabasta's royal tomb or the one mentioning Poseidon atop the Sky Island, the Government had never gotten their hands on them.
The only Ancient Weapon the Government actively pursued was Pluton, tracked by CP9 under Rob Lucci's lead around 1513 of the Sea Calendar, just 7–8 years before Luffy set out to sea.
So here's the question: what were they doing for the past 800 years?
Something big must've happened more than ten years ago, something that tipped off the World Government to Pluton's existence.
Come to think of it, maybe even Crocodile's scheme in Alabasta traces back to that moment.
"So... Pluton surfaced decades ago?" Rowen asked, frowning. "Why haven't I heard a single rumor?"
"Because you're too green!" Garp scoffed with a chuckle. "There are things better left buried, so we old-timers made a pact to keep them quiet. But don't worry. I'm the only one alive who's seen the real blueprints of Pluton. And I've already burned them to ashes, so..."
Garp clenched his fist. A surge of Busoshoku Haki enveloped his entire body, dark and crackling.
"If you kill me, your secret dies with me."
"So it all traces back to the Rocks Incident, doesn't it?" Rowen said, nodding. The moment the name dropped, Garp's expression changed.
Seeing that reaction, Rowen smirked. "It's not hard to connect the dots. The only thing you've done that no one else has… was take part in that war and earn the title of 'Hero of the Marines.'"
"You're as sharp as ever, Rowen," Garp replied slowly, stepping forward with heavy, deliberate strides.
"But... why did things have to come to this?!" With a roar, Garp dashed forward like a demon from legend. Drawing on the hidden depths of Rokushiki's secret arts, Life Return, he forcibly suppressed his wounds and pushed his power past its limits.
Bang!
Crack, BOOM!
A devastating punch crashed down, creating a concave crater at the epicenter of their clash that extended over a thousand meters through the ruins of Gran Tesoro. The flames dancing on the wreckage were snuffed out by the windblast. Massive chunks of gold and rubble flew through the air like scattered feathers.
The sheer force of the impact tore through the earth and left jagged scars, residual damage from power alone.
"You really do live up to the name Iron Fist, Garp!"
Rowen's boots sank deep into the golden floor, splintering the surface as he drew the Crescent Halberd from his back. Muscles tense and veins bulging, he braced the weapon across his chest and barely held back the fierce blow.
"But my answer is the same as Tesoro's... It's not me who's wrong, it's this world!"
"Why?!"
Boom!!
Garp drove his fist forward with brute force, knocking aside the thunder-charged halberd. He twisted his waist sharply and launched an uppercut with the power and form of a seasoned brawler.
Shuā!
Rowen moved like lightning, his speed leaving only an afterimage behind. He narrowly avoided the strike, yet the sheer force of the wind grazed his cheek, ruffling his hair and the Justice cloaks fluttering in the wake of their clash.
"What has the Government done to wrong you?! What have the Marines done?! What has this world done to deserve your wrath?! Don't you think... you've gone too far, Rowen?!" With each furious question, Garp followed up with a thunderous punch, the explosions from his fists leveling everything around them.
The once dazzling and opulent trade street of Gran Tesoro, the pride of the Golden City, was reduced to rubble in a matter of seconds.
Rowen focused his Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki), channeling his awareness in tight proximity. He is facing Garp, and now wasn't the time to rely on range or flashy tactics.
He weaved through the barrage, dodging strike after strike. Then, as Garp brought his fist crashing down, Rowen didn't retreat.
He charged in, straight into Garp's chest.
'Raigo: Thunder Greeting!'
Five fingers slammed against Garp's white coat. In the blink of an eye, explosive thunderlight and crackling shadows erupted, devouring everything in their path.
BOOOM-RUMBLE!!
The sky seemed to explode.
A figure was hurled from the blast zone, crashing into the earth.
Pa!
Garp hit the ground hard, smoke rising from the burn marks on his chest. He dropped to one knee, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth... and surged forward once more.
"Answer me, damn it! Ace was like this… Luffy was like this… and now even you!? I never raised you all to become such damn disappointments!"
What no one knew… was that from the day Garp had taken Rowen in, he had regarded him as family, just like Ace, just like Luffy.
During the war at Marineford, why didn't Garp utter those tearful words after Rowen struck down Ace, like he had in the original timeline?
Because Rowen was the pillar he leaned on within the Marines.
Ace and Luffy chose the path of piracy. But Rowen? Rowen was a Marine. Garp had always known this day might come, and though he mourned, he did not break.
But now, even Rowen had chosen the path of no return. He had dared to touch the Ancient Weapons… weapons that should never be awakened.
Garp's fury… was unlike anything the world had ever seen.
(End of Chapter)