This novel is finished, and I have posted all the advanced chapters on my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395
When the Fleet Admiral loses his temper, the entire sea trembles. In this world, strength reigns supreme. Admiral Akainu had earned his position through a grueling ten-day-and-ten-night, life-or-death duel with Aokiji.
Even if one did not respect his authority, one was forced to respect his terrifying power.
So when Rowen gave the order to open the Gates of Justice and rushed back from Impel Down, the response was immediate. Not only were the materials stored within Marineford's Scientific Force shipped back, but even the sensitive data kept in the Holy Land of Marie Geoise and the Sabaody laboratories were all sent to Headquarters.
As the doors of the office were pushed open, a massive pile of documents, taller than a man, came crashing down with a deafening hua-la-la landslide. Crisp white papers instantly buried Rowen's ankles.
Rowen had expected the materials to be complex and tedious, but he hadn't imagined there would be this many.
He raised an eyebrow and asked, "So much?"
"There's more inside! These are all the failed experimental plans and rejected hypotheses."
Vice Admiral Tsuru lifted her head from the "mountain of books," rubbing her temples, which throbbed from working overtime all night.
"Some of the core, critical documents have already been screened out and placed on the desk."
"Mm, thank you for the trouble, everyone."
Rowen nodded apologetically, then stepped over the hazardous "book mountain" and entered the relatively cleaner center of the Fleet Admiral's office.
Akainu was seated at the desk, holding a heavy red folder stamped with the words TOP SECRET, his brow deeply furrowed. When he noticed Rowen arrive, he immediately thrust the document forward:
"So Devil Fruit abilities are, in essence, a kind of particle fluctuation that can be artificially controlled? And the flesh of the fruit really is just a fruit?"
The contents of these documents utterly shattered Akainu's core understanding of the world.
This wasn't mystical at all, it was far too cold and scientific!
"What's so strange about that?" Rowen replied easily. "Everything has to obey the law of conservation of mass and energy. When you conjure magma out of thin air, don't you still have to consume the energy stored in your own body?"
Rowen wasn't surprised by this conclusion. After all, even the fledgling doctor Chopper had managed to create Rumble Balls, a drug that manipulated fluctuation frequencies to enable transformations the Devil Fruit didn't originally allow. If Dr. Vegapunk hadn't discovered this, that would have been the truly shocking thing.
As he spoke, he glanced at Vice Admiral Chaton, who had been dragged over to serve as muscle, cigarette ash falling onto his uniform without him having the time to care.
"More importantly," Rowen asked, his voice tightening, "is there any record of how to strip away a Devil Fruit ability?"
"Yes."
Akainu nodded, his eyes bloodshot from the lack of sleep. "Although Vegapunk couldn't fully decipher this particle fluctuation, he discovered something that can extract, or rather, expel, these fluctuations and direct their transfer."
"Seastone!"
"Devil Fruits and Seastone are natural enemies. The former is completely suppressed by the latter."
Chaton rubbed his eyes and took a weary drag from a cigarette that had already burned down to the filter.
"He couldn't extract those particles from a living body. But once a person dies, using a special device to activate Seastone and amplify the fluctuation frequency of the so-called PYROBROIN keratin particles, it becomes possible to control the movement of those particles in a specific direction."
"At that point, as long as there's a suitable vessel, a brand-new Devil Fruit can be artificially created."
Chaton lit another cigarette and continued, his voice monotone. "He even imitated the fluctuation frequencies of those particles and created a raw material called SAD. By supplying it into fruits through long-term cultivation, it eventually produces what are known as artificial Devil Fruits."
"Fortunately, he didn't completely crack those particle fluctuations. And because only Zoan-type Devil Fruit frequencies grant massive life energy, all the artificial Devil Fruits result in unstable half-beast forms, with no ability to be fully controlled or strengthened."
After finishing this utterly worldview-shattering explanation, Chaton raised his head and stared at Rowen blankly.
"So… what exactly are we supposed to be?"
"What are Devil Fruits, really?"
Such traceable scientific research mercilessly tore apart the mysterious veil surrounding Devil Fruits, grinding it underfoot and hammering the truth into them with ironclad facts:
This wasn't mysticism, it was pure science.
Even Rowen couldn't answer that question, because he didn't truly know either.
But he was certain of one thing: Im was unable to completely control the Devil Fruits he had spread throughout the world.
He needed a trigger, or perhaps, he was waiting to see how far they would push themselves.
Without answering Chaton's question, Rowen turned back to Akainu.
"So that means the particle fluctuations of Devil Fruit abilities can indeed be extracted, right?"
"That's correct," Akainu replied with a curt nod. "But his experiments only involved the dead. For living people, no matter how strong the fluctuation frequency of PYROBROIN keratin particles is, it can only temporarily suppress their abilities."
In other words, it was impossible to do what Orrick did, removing a Devil Fruit ability from someone while they were still alive.
"Perhaps… they aren't living people either."
Rowen took a photograph from his coat and placed it in front of the two men.
"The reason I waited until now to rush back was precisely to verify this conjecture."
The photo showed an old man. At first, Akainu was puzzled as to his identity. But once he recognized the familiar features in the man's brows and eyes, his expression changed instantly in shock.
"This is Orrick?!"
"That's right."
Rowen took a drag from his cigarette. "Lirisk sought me out this time for the same reason, he discovered this as well and begged me to save his father. So I had Magellan take him out of Level 6 and send him to a hospital ward."
"I never expected that doing so would actually harm him. Once the Seastone handcuffs were removed, his aging speed increased by more than a hundredfold!"
"He's now a genuine eighty-year-old man, his internal organs included. He's even developed presbyopia."
"Then this is… troublesome."
Akainu silently rubbed his brow.
Extracting a Devil Fruit ability accelerates aging and leads to death. In essence, there's no real difference between that and only being able to extract the ability after death.
As long as Im controls such a method, he is their natural nemesis!
How the hell are they supposed to fight like this?!
The main fighting force of the God-Slaying Group consisted of Rowen, Akainu, Fujitora, and other Devil Fruit ability users. Only Bald Zero and Kong followed a pure physical-combat path using Sky Walk.
And Bald Zero had never been particularly reliable to begin with. The only one who could truly stand united with them was Kong.
Letting Kong face Imu alone… to be honest, Akainu was profoundly pessimistic about the outcome.
Sensing Akainu's worries, Rowen took another drag of his cigarette and suddenly grinned, a chilling expression.
"But this is also an opportunity, isn't it?"
"His weakness has been exposed far too clearly!"
Akainu jerked his head up, his face filled with shock. "Don't tell me…?!"
In response, Rowen's face twisted with ferocity and sheer killing intent.
"This was never an ability we were born with. If he wants to take it, let him."
"Don't forget, he can't even kill me directly anymore. He's weakened to the extreme. In that case, as long as we put on Seastone and kill him before we die of old age, wouldn't that be enough?"
Akainu and Chaton exchanged a look of stunned comprehension.
Fuck!
That's right!
Since Seastone can suppress Devil Fruit abilities and even slow down aging, as long as they're effectively undying, they wouldn't be restricted by Seastone at all. They would simply become pure physical combatants.
Even if the others' physical combat prowess wasn't as monstrously well-rounded as Rowen's, it was still a force not to be underestimated.
"I've said it before, this world doesn't need gods."
"If this power was also brought by a god, then let it vanish with the wind!"
Akainu felt the blood in his chest surge once more, the defeated look in his eyes replaced by a brilliant, terrible resolve.
"That's right! For the sake of absolute justice, what fear do we have of death?!"
Shua!
Chaton suddenly stood up and walked out, weaving through the mountains of documents.
Rowen looked at him in confusion. "Where are you going?"
"Back to practice!"
Chaton didn't even turn his head. "When it comes to physical combat, Shigan (Finger Pistol) is the only thing I'm really good at. I can't afford to drag everyone down."
The plan had taken shape, but using pure physical combat to face an Imu who wielded Devil Fruit powers, the difficulty was obvious, and they all knew it.
"Then that's how it'll be. We'll do all we can and leave the rest to fate."
Rowen turned and smiled, a chilling promise in his tone. "Anyway, whether it's him or the Sea Kings, they're all going to die!"
I have no intention of being your enemy, but those who block me must die.
That was Rowen's final, lethal stance.
(End of Chapter)