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The Goro Goro no Mi (Thunder-Thunder Fruit) is a Devil Fruit that controls electricity, and Rowen has never underestimated the destructive power of electricity on the human body.
Unlike any other Logia-type powers, this one cannot be entirely neutralized by conventional means.
Electricity is indefensible; it doesn't have a tangible form that can be blocked. Even someone as durable as Kaido isn't truly resisting the electricity itself; he's merely withstanding the immense heat generated as the current passes through his conductive body. He's not blocking it, just enduring it.
Furthermore, the paralyzing effect of electrical erosion is a fundamental flaw of all living beings.
The human body is a good conductor. Heartbeats, brain activity, and nerve signals all rely on microcurrents. When electricity is introduced, it disrupts these delicate currents, causing muscle spasms, paralysis, and a whole chain of catastrophic effects.
Naturally, given the monster-level physiques of people in this world, such theoretically deadly consequences are greatly mitigated. That's why, when facing someone like Kaido, Rowen has to continually bombard him, forcing electricity to build up in his body and then release it all at once to get the desired results.
Before that point, though, Rowen's thunderous attacks, unmatched in power and spectacle, were already drawing plenty of attention.
However, even so...
"Since when did Kaido get so clever? That wasn't in any of the intel!"
He's never been the strategic type. Kaido's style is the embodiment of brute force, a classic example of someone who charges in without thinking.
Rowen turned around, visibly surprised, and looked at Kizaru.
"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask then?"
Kizaru shrugged and smirked sleazily. "Also, Rowen, you'd better be careful. Kaido seems to have had some kind of power-up. He's stronger than before."
"Eh? Really?"
Rowen's eyes narrowed, and the corners of his mouth lifted. "Now that's something to look forward to."
If Kaido only had the strength he was currently showing, that would be what truly disappointed Rowen.
Kizaru, mid-bite of a piece of bread, nearly choked and stayed silent.
"Maybe… this is the difference between us."
Unlike veterans like Kizaru and the others, who had stood atop the sea for decades, Rowen was a new powerhouse who had clawed his way up through endless battles. The fire in his heart, the desire to fight and overcome the strong, had never died down.
Even without his semi-immortal nature, this mindset would never change.
Kizaru firmly believed this.
"Hmph! Useless taunts!"
Kaido's legs were buried in the stone up to his knees, but he remained standing tall. Glancing at Kizaru resting nearby, a savage grin stretched across his monstrous dragon face.
"Rest all you want… I can still kill you both, Marines!"
"That might be disappointing for you."
Suddenly, Rowen spoke up, catching Kaido off guard.
"Our goal here is simply to stop you from chasing Smoker. Once Admiral Kizaru recovers a bit, we'll just need to stall you for a while longer, and then you'll never catch up."
"And we can retreat to Headquarters, mission accomplished."
"Mhm. That's right." Kizaru nodded approvingly.
Their quest was to stop Kaido, not to defeat or kill him.
Deploying all three Admirals placed tremendous pressure on the Holy Land and Sabaody. Honestly, if it hadn't been for Akainu's usual hardline stance, and the urgency of the situation pushing back against the Gorōsei's (Five Elder Stars) disapproval, this formation would never have been dispatched.
"You plan to run, Soryu (Azure Dragon)?!"
Kaido's expression darkened at those words, and he let out an enraged roar.
If they managed to retreat back to Marineford, he could still charge in alone like he used to. Even without Garp, the Marine HQ's power was still earth-shaking!
Kaido didn't want to experience another humiliating defeat like that.
In the past, every time he attacked the Marine HQ, it was because he'd just had a breakthrough and thought he had a shot.
Now, even after another power-up, he didn't feel that confidence.
"Don't make it sound so ugly. You're the one who started this war."
Suddenly, Rowen's tone turned icy. His gaze darkened as he stared straight at Kaido.
"Going to war with you brings no benefit to us. That's why we must win, no matter how cruel or underhanded the means, we must claim victory!"
"You made a smart move, Kaido, finding two powerful allies for yourself… Because if you'd just come charging in with your Hundred Beasts Pirate Crew, I would've gone straight to the New World and wiped out every last one of them!"
"At that point, your dream… would be worthless trash!"
Sacrificing people like Smoker to lure Kaido into a trap, Rowen had the speed and reach to dive straight into the New World and destroy the Hundred Beasts Pirates' main forces, crippling their war potential.
Such a thing… Rowen was fully capable of doing.
Seeing the darkened expression on Kaido's face, Rowen spoke flatly:
"If you want to keep playing your war games, go ahead. What the hell's it got to do with me? I'm not interested in playing games with an idiot."
"What did you say?!!" Kaido's face twisted in rage.
"You don't know a damn thing!"
"Don't you dare look down on my dream, you asshole!"
The dragon has a reverse scale; touch it, and you die.
Kaido's bottom line has always been that no one is allowed to ridicule his dream. Just look at the original canon: even though he's tried to start the greatest war in history, going so far as to lower his pride and recruit allies, the world has always written him off with one word: "madman."
But not once has anyone dared to laugh at his dream itself.
Just as people mock Luffy for his impossible declarations, no one has ever scoffed at Kaido's dream to his face.
Those who dared to say such things were usually powerless trash mouthing off to feel strong, and anyone who truly understood Kaido's terror, including past Yonkō, never touched his reverse scale.
In response, Rowen remained silent for a moment. Then he looked up at Kaido with eyes full of disdain.
"Sorry, but that is the reality."
"Someone like you, who doesn't even understand what war really is, has no right to talk about dreams in front of me!"
"SHUT UP, YOU BASTARD!!!"
In the next instant, Kaido let out a roar no longer human. Beneath his scale armor, it was as if ten thousand worms squirmed beneath his skin. His muscles swelled, massive and terrifying.
A terrifying burst of Conqueror's Haki exploded outward. Kizaru blinked away to safety, munching down his bread and sighing helplessly.
"I get it, you two hate each other. But could you maybe let me rest a bit more first? What happened to our agreed-upon afternoon tea?!"
However… no one answered him.
Kaido's aura surged to a terrifying new height. His massive, god-like figure became even more demonic, muscles bulging like steel cables. His once blue scale armor darkened to obsidian, gleaming with a metallic luster.
"RAAAAH!!!"
With a wild roar, both fists clenched, Kaido suddenly stomped down. To Rowen's surprise, his right knee crushed the ground, and Kaido tore himself free from the earth.
BOOM!!!
The entire world shuddered, as if an earthquake had struck. Thunderclouds gathered in the sky, forming a lid-like dome that covered the entire area.
As Kaido moved, the pressure intensified. The ground sank under his steps like mud beneath a mountain's weight.
And yet, it still couldn't stop him.
His bloodshot eyes radiated a murderous intensity. His jaw clenched so tightly that his gums bled, but he didn't stop.
THUMP.
Another thunderous stomp.
Kaido's chest rose and fell like a bellows, breathing heavy and wild.
His gaze, like that of a wild beast, locked squarely onto Rowen. With a face full of madness, he glared and spoke through gritted teeth:
"No one can stand in the way of my dream!"
"I'll make you pay for what you just said…"
"Soryu (Azure Dragon)!!!"
BOOM!!!
A shriek echoed through the sky, sharp as shattering glass. An invisible shockwave blasted outward, and towering waves all around, held in place like walls, suddenly lost their resistance and collapsed into roaring chaos.
Kaido had just shattered the magnetic lines, with sheer muscle force alone!
The sheer spectacle left Kizaru stunned. He was just about to retreat farther when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye, a flash of electricity.
"And that's why I said… an idiot like you is beyond saving."
Rowen stood there, a sphere of lightning cradled in his hand. His expression was cold, not contemptuous, but serious, focused, and, now that his plan had succeeded, faintly satisfied.
"Nani?!"
Kaido's expression twisted in shock.
A second later, crackling lightning erupted across his entire body, and Kaido let out a scream of sheer agony.
Without him realizing it, Rowen had detonated the electrical currents he'd been planting in Kaido all along.
And somehow… the buildup had already reached critical mass.
(End of Chapter)