"I already told you my name."
Ghost Hand Rowan spoke calmly, his voice carrying across the silent harbor like a cold wind sweeping over a graveyard.
"But it seems more people prefer to call me… Ghost Hand."
The moment his words fell, his five fingers tightened slightly.
Crack! Crack!
A strange and terrifying force surged upward from his fingertips.
The burly pirate whose fist Rowan held instantly revealed an expression of agony. His scream never even had the chance to leave his throat before the sound of bones collapsing echoed through the air.
His entire arm twisted unnaturally.
Then his body followed.
Under the horrifying distortion force of the Warp-Warp Fruit, his bones, muscles, and internal organs were crushed into ruin. His huge body collapsed into a mangled heap on the ground like broken clay.
Hiss
Sharp breaths were sucked in from every direction.
The surrounding crowd retreated almost instinctively, clearing a massive empty space in an instant.
Ghost Hand Rowan!
The officer of the Two-Sword Pirates stared at the young man before him with sweat pouring down his face.
If he still failed to recognize Rowan at this point, then he had no right to call himself an officer of the Two-Sword Pirates.
Looking at the miserable corpse on the ground, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to speak.
"Our Two-Sword Pirates have no grudge against the Ghost Hand Pirates… are you trying to start a war?!"
"Anyone who throws a punch at me should be prepared to die."
Rowan spoke as though stating a simple truth.
He casually withdrew the hand that countless people watched in terror the infamous Ghost Hand capable of crushing warships and killing powerful pirates with a touch.
Then Rowan looked calmly at the officer.
"As for war…"
"If your Two-Sword Pirates are willing to submit, then naturally there won't be one."
"Submit?"
The officer's face twitched violently.
What kind of absurd joke was that?
Their Two-Sword Pirates ruled the West Blue for years. Behind them stood the monster known as Ghost Sword. Yet this man casually demanded their surrender the instant he arrived?
Even so, despite his anger, the officer found himself unable to move.
He was a pirate with a bounty exceeding ten million Berries, yet standing before Ghost Hand Rowan made his body feel frozen solid.
His instincts screamed at him.
Run.
Escape.
Survive.
But his legs felt nailed to the ground.
Rowan slowly walked forward.
Then he raised one hand toward the officer's head.
"If you refuse…"
"Then die."
The officer desperately tried to pull out his weapon.
But his fingers trembled uncontrollably.
He wanted to retreat, yet his legs felt as heavy as iron.
All he could do was watch helplessly as Rowan's hand descended.
At that exact moment
Swish! Swish!
Two sharp slashes of sword pressure suddenly tore across the harbor from the direction of the shore, crossing directly toward Rowan.
The intersecting slashes formed an X-shaped attack that instantly enveloped Rowan's position.
Crack!
Rowan casually swung one hand diagonally upward.
His fingers struck the precise center where the two flying slashes intersected.
The sword pressure instantly distorted.
Then shattered apart.
A figure slowly emerged from the direction of the shoreline.
The man wore a white top hat and carried two slender longswords at his waist. His eyes were cold and dangerous as he walked forward step by step.
"Bullying my subordinates like this is a little excessive, don't you think…"
"…Ghost Hand Rowan?"
The atmosphere changed instantly.
"Double Sword Diluo!"
Someone in the crowd muttered fearfully.
Before Ghost Hand Rowan rose to fame and before Ghost Sword revealed himself from the shadows, Double Sword Diluo had once been the most notorious rookie pirate in the West Blue.
Even now, despite Rowan's rise, nobody dared underestimate him.
Bounty: 59 million Berries.
Captain of the Two-Sword Pirates.
A monster who had dominated the West Blue for years.
"If I were still working as a bounty hunter," Rowan said calmly, "your head might have interested me."
"But now…"
Hum!
A strange distortion force spread from Rowan's feet into the ground.
The earth directly beneath the officer suddenly twisted violently.
The dirt and sand surged upward like living creatures, wrapping around the officer before he could even scream.
Then
Crush!
The soil compressed inward violently.
Blood sprayed from the gaps.
The surrounding pirates instantly turned pale.
Diluo's expression darkened immediately.
"You bastard…"
He stopped walking completely and stared coldly at Rowan.
"Everyone who provokes the Two-Sword Pirates dies."
"What a coincidence."
A faint smile appeared on Rowan's face.
"What I intend to do today…"
"…is either destroy the Two-Sword Pirates."
"Or be destroyed by them."
Very few people in the West Blue dared speak so arrogantly.
But when Rowan said it, no one found it ridiculous.
Because he truly possessed the power to do it.
Diluo's eyes filled with killing intent.
"Sooner or later we would've crossed paths in the Grand Line anyway."
"In that case…"
"…we'll settle everything right here in the West Blue!"
The instant his voice fell, his hands moved.
Clang!
Both swords were instantly drawn from their scabbards with terrifying speed.
Two-Sword Style: Iai Slash!
Swish! Swish!
Two incredibly fast slashes of sword pressure exploded forward, crossing directly toward Rowan's body.
The crowd watching from afar immediately held their breath.
"They've started!"
"I wonder who's stronger…"
"One side crushed a Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral…"
"…the other survived the Grand Line!"
Everyone stared nervously at the battlefield.
On the harbor ground, the two flying slashes roared toward Rowan.
In terms of raw swordsmanship, Diluo's attacks were already approaching the level of elite Marine swordsmen.
But compared to Vice Admiral candidate-level fighters like Onigumo or Rear Admiral Spider-Miles, there was still a clear gap.
More importantly
Diluo had not mastered Armament Haki.
Zzt!
Under countless stunned gazes, Rowan calmly raised one finger.
Then he tapped directly against the crossing point of the incoming slashes.
The two streams of sword pressure abruptly distorted.
Then shattered into fragments of light.
"What?!"
"How did he stop that?!"
The surrounding pirates erupted in disbelief.
Even Diluo's pupils contracted sharply.
That slash had been one of his fastest techniques.
Yet Rowan not only reacted
He destroyed it effortlessly.
Ghost Hand Rowan's strength was far deeper than anyone imagined.
"Warp Coffin."
Rowan slowly opened one hand and clenched it toward Diluo from afar.
Whoosh!
The sand beneath Diluo's feet instantly twisted upward like a living wave.
Because the harbor was covered in loose sand and dirt, Rowan's Warp-Warp Fruit could extend through the terrain itself.
Diluo had already witnessed this technique moments earlier.
He immediately kicked backward.
Boom!
The sand exploded upward where he had stood.
But even after dodging, several strands of twisted sand still wrapped around his legs.
"Tch!"
Diluo roared and unleashed a violent slash downward.
The sword pressure exploded, scattering the sand restraints apart.
Then he charged straight toward Rowan.
Two-Sword Style: Rage Cross!
He crossed both swords together and slashed downward violently.
The two streams of sword pressure merged together mid-flight, transforming into a single massive slash that tore through the harbor ground.
"Is this your strongest attack?"
Rowan's voice remained calm.
He stretched out both hands.
Then
He caught the slash.
Hum!
The enormous stream of sword pressure violently trembled between Rowan's palms.
Then the Warp-Warp Fruit activated.
The slash twisted unnaturally.
Compressed.
Distorted.
The terrifying sword pressure was forcibly crushed into a flickering sphere of compressed energy between Rowan's hands.
The watching pirates felt their scalps go numb.
"He compressed sword pressure?!"
"What kind of monster is he?!"
Even Diluo's face changed completely.
In the next instant
Boom!
Rowan stepped forward.
The ground beneath him exploded apart.
Holding the compressed sphere of sword pressure in one hand, Rowan transformed into an afterimage and charged directly toward Diluo.
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