"A slash of that magnitude… that's not just swordplay."
"It's the blade itself."
"No wonder Mr. Zephyr insisted he train in swordsmanship."
"With the swordsmanship of a great swordsman… paired with Engetsu's Getsuga Tenshō, plus his mastery of Armament and Conqueror's Haki—he could absolutely contend for the title of the world's strongest sword wielder."
Borsalino muttered as he watched Rosen cleave Catarina Devon mid-air with a single strike.
He himself was once a great swordsman. He could see it instantly—Rosen's Getsuga Tenshō wasn't just a flashy attack from a Devil Fruit. It was a swordsman's real slash. And the fruit? That was only the blade's soul.
Up until now—
Senbonzakura.
Shinsō.
And now, Engetsu.
Each one—its own unique ability.
Each one—like a weapon that had devoured its own type of Devil Fruit.
Each one—terrifying alone.
Used together, in concert with swordsmanship, Haki, and raw physical prowess?
It was monstrous.
"Even Catarina Devon… was still too early."
One by one, the exchanges between Rosen and Devon flashed through Zephyr's mind.
Crushed.
From start to finish—utterly crushed.
Even if he had crossed out fourteen names in one go, even if he allowed Catarina to come out a full two weeks ahead of schedule—it still wasn't enough to match Rosen's current pace of growth.
Indeed, compared to the prisoners who had been one-shotted, Catarina's resistance was impressive—she could at least exchange a few moves.
But this? This wasn't what Zephyr had hoped for.
"Should I release the next one?"
"No... unless we bring out a monster like Bullet, none of them will pressure Rosen."
"And the rest of the names on the list... they're all just around Devon's level. Some might be a little stronger—but only just."
Zephyr frowned.
He made this list himself. He knew exactly what each prisoner could do, and what they couldn't.
Unless he allowed Douglas Bullet to be released early—there was no point.
But that one...
The Devil's Heir.
Different from all the others.
When Zephyr received the exemption order from Sengoku, he was explicitly warned.
Douglas Bullet could be released—but only with prior notification, so the Marine HQ could prepare.
"It seems it's time to make that report to Sengoku..."
Zephyr let out a sigh.
Too fast.
It had only been ten days since Rosen entered Impel Down.
And already—he stood at the level of Yonko's right hand.
Those so-called monsters erased from history? They could no longer serve as trial stones for his growth.
"Kuh-hah!"
Just as Zephyr and Borsalino were both lost in thought, the smoke and dust left behind by the Getsuga Tenshō finally dispersed.
Catarina Devon—her body half-sunken into a crater riddled with web-like cracks—propped herself up with trembling arms. Her mouth let out a cough, and with it came blood, bright red and vivid.
On her chest, from shoulder to abdomen, a deep gash stretched like a centipede, grotesque and bleeding.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
The blood seeped through the cracks beneath her, dyeing the shattered ground a sinister crimson.
"Oh?"
"Still alive?"
"As expected of a mythical Zoan... that vitality is insane."
Rosen narrowed his eyes.
That strike—was direct. Full force.
And yet she still stood?
But his surprise lasted only a moment.
"What a shame."
"Vitality without matching strength... is nothing but a waste."
He shook his head lightly, then reached for the hilt of his sword.
Shing—
Engetsu was pulled from its sheath once more.
She could keep sitting up.
She could recover.
She could bleed and laugh.
But Rosen didn't believe in miracles.
She wasn't awakened.
Not yet.
Even if she did awaken, it wouldn't matter.
Pierce the heart. Sever the head.
Dead is dead.
He remembered how, early on, Kaido had been praised by Oda to the heavens.
The strongest creature on land, sea, and sky.
A monster who fell from ten thousand meters and survived without a scratch.
Flames couldn't burn him.
Blades couldn't cut him.
Captured many times, tortured by the Marines with every method under the sun—and still survived.
As if a demon king had descended from the heavens.
An undying earth-bound god.
But in the end?
He bled.
He broke.
He could be hurt by internal destruction from advanced Armament Haki.
He could be wounded by the Conqueror's Haki Infusion.
And the Marines?
They didn't keep him alive out of reverence—but so Vegapunk could run tests on him.
If they really wanted to kill him, it was simple.
Just feed him another Devil Fruit.
Or send the three Admirals—Kizaru, Akainu, Aokiji.
Even that wasn't necessary.
The siege on Onigashima alone was enough to blast him into magma.
The Three Admirals together?
Could turn Kaido into soup for dinner.
And if even that wasn't enough—just throw in Sengoku and Garp for good measure.
After all that—
How could Catarina Devon compare?
A mythical zoan?
Please.
"I'm really going to die..."
"He's not joking..."
Catarina Devon felt it.
The killing intent that wrapped around Rosen like a frozen current—pure, and impossibly cold.
Not wild.
Not frenzied.
But lethal.
She began to panic.
She wasn't afraid of fighting.
She was afraid of dying.
She was a mythical zoan user—rarer than a Logia.
Surely the World Government wouldn't allow her to be killed...
Surely they'd prefer to keep her as research material, right?
Even Magellan wouldn't dare kill her outright—he'd have to weigh the risks.
"He's not even a marine..."
"He hasn't even graduated from the academy..."
"How dare he..."
How dare he kill her?
And yet—
Clang!
Rosen shifted slightly.
The moment his fingers tightened on Engetsu's hilt, purple light burst from his palm.
CLANG!!
Like a smith's hammer striking steel, under the full flow of Armament Haki, Engetsu's blade—
turned black.
A black blade.
A black Engetsu.
Seeing that—Catarina Devon's pupils trembled. Her breathing halted.
Cold sweat soaked her back.
And just as Rosen raised the blade once more—
A sudden voice rang out across the hall.
"Release... Vasco Shot."
...
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