~ As Usual. Bonus Chapter Every 300 Powerstones!
~ 19 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon
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New week, Lets Push!!
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"You... really do understand me, Sky Sovereign,"
Kizaru said, a wry smile suddenly appearing on his face as he looked at Rowen.
The justice he upheld was "Ambiguous Justice." He saw himself as a salaryman, a man punching a clock.
If Sky Sovereign Rowen had simply tried to force his surrender, to make him a subordinate, Kizaru would not have yielded. He was a Marine Admiral, no matter how lazy or unreliable he appeared, he still had his dignity. He could never accept a pirate's offer of surrender.
But Sky Sovereign Rowen's approach... like a corporate headhunter, inviting him to change his work environment—left even Kizaru momentarily unable to refuse.
Because it was a sign of respect—for his life, for his philosophy.
Sky Sovereign Rowen, The Strongest of this era, of the previous era, even of the era of Rocks—understood and respected his life's philosophy.
Even Kizaru, at this moment, was somewhat moved.
He had never been truly understood.
Since joining the Navy, though hailed as a 'Monster', among the students taught by Instructor Zephyr alongside Akainu and Aokiji, he was Zephyr's least favorite.
Later, he rose step-by-step to become a Marine HQ Admiral, but his way of doing things never changed. Within the Navy, he was always a lone wolf.
The proof was in his alignment—he was neither a "Hawk" nor a "Dove," but a third party, floating outside their factions.
He had very few friends. Kuma was one. Vegapunk another. Sentomaru was a junior he was fond of.
And now, Kuma was dead, killed by the World Government itself.
But this was the inevitable consequence of different allegiances. Though during the Summit War, his combat effectiveness was hampered by Kuma's influence, Kizaru didn't dwell on it afterwards, still seeing himself as a salaryman.
Just that one of his few friends was now gone forever.
As for making new friends? Completely unnecessary.
As a self-proclaimed salaryman, Kizaru had a salaryman's resolve: Colleagues were just colleagues, no need to become friends.
This philosophy was not popular within the Navy. In an organization built on camaraderie and the willingness to die for justice, a man with a simple "salaryman" mentality could never be truly accepted.
This was why, before Aokiji's death, the candidates for the next Fleet Admiral had been Akainu and Aokiji.
He, Kizaru, had never even been an option.
But now... The World's Strongest acknowledged and respected his philosophy?
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"If I were to agree, how would you restrain me? After all, I am a Marine Admiral. How can you guarantee I won't betray you?" Kizaru asked, his tone uncharacteristically serious.
"Don't we have a contract?" Rowen replied, smiling at Kizaru.
"A contract?" Kizaru was stunned.
"What? To work for me, don't you need to sign a contract? Salary, benefits you can enjoy, your required working hours, and overtime pay if it's required..." Rowen rattled off the terms.
Since coming to this world, it had been a long time since he had discussed such clauses with anyone.
Speaking of which, it was quite nostalgic.
"W-Wait a minute!" Kizaru gasped, the eyes behind his sunglasses wide.
"Just... a contract?? If I were to betray you, wouldn't your losses be too great?"
Kizaru felt like he was mishearing things. Was this really just a job offer?
"You're just coming to work. What's this talk of betrayal? If you think the benefits I offer are sufficient, you work for me. If you think they're not, we part ways amicably. Isn't that normal?" Rowen smiled.
In his past life on Earth, Rowen was also a working man. What he hated most was the corporate brainwashing—contribution, responsibility, duty.
You work for a living—isn't it for the salary, the benefits, and the peace of mind of not having to fend for yourself?
Betrayal? Loyalty? How much were they paying you to demand such things?
Rowen deeply understood and identified with Kizaru's 'salaryman' mentality.
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"Haha... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Kizaru suddenly burst out laughing, looking at Rowen.
"T-Too interesting... really just working... mm, well then, after this, let's see if you can offer me a deal that moves my heart," Kizaru wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes.
This sentence also embodied his life philosophy.
Since it was just work, then it could be discussed.
For Sky Sovereign Rowen to respect his life philosophy so much... if he acted coy now, he would despise himself.
"We'll talk seriously later. But for now..."
Rowen produced a pair of Seastone cuffs.
"As I thought... You still have secrets we don't know. To be able to hold Seastone cuffs with your bare hands..." Kizaru sighed, watching this man directly touch the Seastone cuffs without being affected in the slightest.
Powerful Devil Fruit users, when bound by Seastone, could still exert some strength after training.
But it was absolutely impossible to be completely unaffected by Seastone like Sky Sovereign Rowen. This man was not cursed by the sea.
Truly mysterious and terrifying.
Kizaru put on the Seastone cuffs.
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"Mr. Issho, correct?" Rowen looked towards Fujitora.
"Sky Sovereign," Fujitora's expression was solemn.
"You don't need to worry about the lives of these Marines. Even if they don't work for me, I won't take their lives," Rowen said, knowing what Fujitora was about to say, and smiled.
"Truly... thank you." Fujitora showed no intention of resisting, extending his hands, ready to be cuffed.
CLICK!
Rowen said no more, putting the Seastone cuffs on Fujitora.
"As for what comes after... we'll talk then," Rowen said, smiling at Fujitora.
Rowen greatly admired this powerful and kind man.
As for how to win him over??
A man like Fujitora couldn't be "recruited." His loyalty was to his own sense of pure, benevolent justice. He had only become a Marine because he believed it was the best way to protect civilians in a chaotic era.
The better term was to have him "lend his strength."
All Rowen needed to do was reveal the truth about the World Government, and the details of the World Government affiliated nations they had liberated along the way.
Using the Paw-Paw Fruit's ability, he could extract the memories of the despairing civilians under the World Government's rule—and let Fujitora see for himself.
(Though Fujitora was blind, memories extracted by the Paw-Paw Fruit could be directly viewed in the viewer's mind, not requiring sight.)
After that, the decision of whether to help in the fight to overthrow the World Government... would be up to Fujitora himself.
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And the last one, Ryokugyu.
"Plunder."
Rowen showed no mercy, directly plundering all his power. Ryokugyu's ideology was completely opposed to his own, and his personality was detestable. Even though stealing his power would not be a huge boost for Rowen now, he still stripped him of all his power anyway.
The Forest-Forest Fruit, a very respectable Logia, was now his.
And all of Ryokugyu's physical energy and remaining stamina were also his.
"Hah..."
Rowen felt the power begin to fill his body, clenching his fists.
After obtaining the physiques of Kaido and Big Mom—two individuals whose physiques were among the strongest in the world—Rowen's own physical weakness had been compensated for.
Of course, because Kaido and Big Mom were completely defeated by Rowen, their stamina was almost depleted. What Rowen took was the potential of their physiques, raising his own physique's upper limit.
And after the horrifying consumption of this war, Rowen's stamina was in a deficit state.
He had been using the Munch-Munch Fruit to constantly devour high-energy foods in his alternate dimension to recover.
Now, with the plundering of all of Ryokugyu's physical energy and residual stamina, Rowen's stamina had also recovered a lot.
"Physique... has broken through,"
Rowen smiled.
After his stamina recovered to a certain extent, using the intelligence enhancement of the Human-Human Fruit, Rowen roughly calculated his own physique level.
Awakened Zoan fruits greatly increased a user's physical potential. And Rowen now possessed three awakened Zoan fruits: the Human-Human Fruit, the Mythical Zoan Nika, and the Mythical Zoan Azure Dragon.
Nika and the Azure Dragon were the absolute top-tier of Mythical Zoans.
Nika mainly brought the user its BUG-like imagination and the rubbery body that could accommodate everything. And Azure Dragon brought the user an almost unkillable, frighteningly large stamina tank physique.
Plus Big Mom's natural monster physique, and all of Kaido's physical energy...
Rowen's physique, like his Conqueror's Haki, had broken through the limits of the Four Emperors, even the Pirate King Roger and Rocks.
It had reached—A WHOLE NEW LEVEL!
His final weakness had been eliminated.
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