Chapter 168: [168] : [BONUS] – Soul Legion vs. God’s Knights! The Four Main Fighters’ Resolve! Poor Moria!

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Faced with Rowen’s words, Enel remained utterly subservient, offering no rebuttal.

Three punches had shattered his divine dream, even inducing a life-reviewing flashback…

The psychological trauma this man inflicted upon him was too severe.

Enel hadn’t even given the man a proper fight.

Under these circumstances, Enel was thoroughly subdued.

Rowen, meanwhile, scanned the myriad of other souls in the underworld, a thoughtful expression on his face.

If possible, Rowen naturally wanted to find all the top-tier powerhouses who had died in the past—like the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger.

But the underworld was too vast—the souls too numerous; finding individuals was practically impossible.

He had only found Crocodile and Enel because he had personally killed them. A connection had been forged between them—their souls carried a faint trace of his own spiritual fluctuation.

Under these conditions, he could quickly locate Crocodile and Enel.

But figures like Roger, whom Rowen had never met… it was impossible.

After death, all souls looked the same; he couldn’t identify them by appearance.

Still, acquiring two major future combatants was a decent haul—

Once turned into a Homie, Crocodile’s combat power could reach the Yonko Commander level. Combined with his new unkillable nature, he would be more than a match for the average God’s Knight.

Enel, even more so, could possess Admiral-level combat power. Even against the Five Elders, he wouldn’t be at a disadvantage.

And this underworld—was filled with soul fragments.

Souls weren’t truly immortal.

As explained in the original story, Brook could persist in the mortal world after resurrection, nearly unkillable, because of his powerful soul, enhanced by the Revive-Revive Fruit.

But normal souls entering the underworld would eventually dissipate over time. Even so, residual soul energy remained, and over countless eons, the underworld had accumulated an immense amount of it.

As a Revive-Revive Fruit user, Rowen could use his Door-Door and Revive-Revive abilities to open the Gate to the Underworld, summon these souls into the mortal world, and directly use their soul energy for attacks!

Unleashing the full potential of his Praesepe Underworld Wave (Apex Gold)!

Like other Devil Fruit abilities, the more soul energy he used, the greater the stamina consumption.

The number of souls Rowen could manipulate at once was also limited. But undoubtedly, the existence of this technique once again elevated Rowen’s combat ceiling!

And this power—held absolute dominion over souls.

It was no exaggeration to say—Big Mom now posed zero threat to Rowen!

Big Mom was already at the bottom among the Four Emperors. She possessed terrifyingly immense natural talent—in terms of raw potential, Big Mom was arguably the strongest in the sea.

Even Kaido’s innate gifts couldn’t compare to the natural-born monster, Charlotte Linlin—A five-year-old who could seriously injure an adult Giant with a single punch—a super monster.

Yet, as an Emperor, she became obsessed with having children and hosting Tea parties, her physique becoming bloated, completely unlike a true powerhouse…

Her combat IQ was in the negative—she possessed immense strength but couldn’t utilize it to its full potential. The weakness of her Observation Haki, the manifestation of the five senses, was a clear indicator of her low combat IQ.

Even so, relying purely on her talent, Charlotte Linlin became an Emperor, her bloated body still capable of unleashing terrifying power.

In contrast, Moria, who also lost all ambition and became bloated, was pathetically weak. This just highlighted the scariness of Linlin’s talent.

But now, before Rowen, the Soul-Soul Fruit ability was completely countered. Even more so than how the Magma-Magma Fruit countered the Flare-Flare Fruit.

Rowen could directly destroy the Soul-Soul Fruit’s power!

Though Charlotte Linlin still had Haōshoku Coating and her Iron Balloon body, even with the Soul-Soul Fruit, her negative combat IQ led to her defeat by the combined efforts of Trafalgar Law and Eustass Kid in the original story—

—Those two weren’t even Admiral-level combatants…

One had his crew easily annihilated by Blackbeard—the other was taken offline by a single Divine Departure from Shanks.

Though the Awakened Op-Op and Kid-Kid Fruits possessed powerful attacks, their overall combat strength definitely hadn’t reached the Admiral tier. To be defeated by those two combined, even if Linlin had expended vast stamina and Haki beforehand, was still a disgrace among the Four Emperors.

Rowen hadn’t expected Brook’s Revive-Revive Fruit to yield such a massive gain.

Not only did he acquire two future Admiral and Yonko Commander level elemental Homies, but he could also completely counter and crush Big Mom’s Soul-Soul Fruit ability.

Next—he could continue building his own Soul Legion.

The Revive-Revive Fruit’s control over souls focused mainly on destruction; its efficiency in searching for powerful souls was too low. Once he obtained the Soul-Soul Fruit, which allowed complete control over souls, he could officially begin building his Soul Legion.

Soul Legion vs. God’s Knights… who would be stronger??

INTERESTING!

Rowen smiled.

WHOOSH!

After finalizing his plans, Rowen opened the Gate of the Underworld leading back to the Florian Triangle.

“Next time we meet, it’ll be in the mortal world. Crocodile. Enel,” Rowen stated calmly with a smile, then stepped through the gate.

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“Why isn’t he back yet?” Nami paced anxiously on the deck.

“Shishishi! The underworld… I really wanna see it too,” Luffy grinned. For an adventurer like Luffy with intense curiosity, the legendary underworld was too enticing.

BOINK!

Nami’s fist taught Luffy some manners. “YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THROWN IN THERE!”

“But I can’t go in…” Luffy clutched his head, then quickly shut up, seeing Nami’s body seemingly wreathed in strange flames of anger.

WHOOSH!

Just then, the gate opened, and Rowen stepped out.

“ROWEN!” Nami and Vivi cried out happily, rushing into his embrace.

Though Rowen hadn’t been in the underworld for long, to Nami and Vivi, it felt like an eternity.

Robin also walked over to Rowen’s side, a look of relief in her eyes.

Though more mature than Nami and Vivi, she had been very worried about her beloved man entering such a place.

But she trusted Rowen’s judgment—whatever he decided, it wouldn’t be wrong.

Zoro and Sanji also sighed in relief.

Though they had absolute confidence in Rowen’s strength, that was still the world of the dead—the underworld. Humans naturally feared the unknown, especially the world of the dead. Seeing Rowen return safely, Zoro and Sanji also smiled.

“ROWEN! Hurry up and tell us! What’s the underworld like?!” Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp—the ’Curiosity Trio’—immediately rushed over, their eyes sparkling like stars.

“Yohohoho! I am also quite curious,”

Brook added, looking towards Rowen. Though he had been revived by the Revive-Revive Fruit, its ability had activated the moment he died, kicking him out of the underworld before he had a chance to really experience it.

Zoro, Sanji, and the others also looked over. Death was something everyone had to face. Knowing what came after—even they were extremely curious.

“The underworld…”

Rowen, seeing their curious expressions, didn’t hide anything, recounting everything he saw and heard.

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“IT’S FULL OF GHOSTS!”

Hearing this, Usopp and Chopper clung to each other.

“SO SCARY! The underworld is so scary! Is that where we go when we die?” Chopper cried, tears streaming down his face.

“Hey, when you die, you’ll be a ghost too, right? What’s there to be afraid of?” Zoro sighed helplessly at Chopper and Usopp.

“Don’t say scary things! We’re still young!” Usopp transformed into his sharp-toothed angry state.

“YEAH! STUPID MOSS-HEAD!” Chopper also yelled.

Zoro’s eye twitched.

If Curly-Brows had said that, he would have drawn his swords already. But seeing the timid Chopper and Usopp yelling at him—Zoro felt helpless. ’You’re the ones so scared, yet you insisted on asking Rowen what the underworld was like!’

“Did you really find Crocodile and Enel?” Nami asked, feeling a sense of awe. Those two were powerful enemies they had faced upon first entering the Grand Line.

One a Warlord, the other a Rumble-Rumble Fruit user. Crocodile’s Sand-Sand Fruit was now Vivi’s.

And the Rumble-Rumble Fruit was now one of Rowen’s signature abilities…

“Vivi, do you have any objections?” Rowen asked, looking towards her. After all, Crocodile had orchestrated the Alabasta incident.

“Just as you said, Rowen… Fighting for you, overthrowing the World Government that created the Warlord system—is the best atonement for Alabasta,”

Vivi replied with a smile.

She knew well that the root cause of the Alabasta incident wasn’t just Crocodile, but the Warlord system itself—

“Mr. Rowen… then the members of the Rumbar Pirates who died—can they also be found?” Brook suddenly asked excitedly. If Mr. Rowen could find enemies he had killed, could he also find the souls of the Rumbar Pirates?

“Impossible… The underworld is too big,” Rowen replied, shaking his head.

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Hearing Rowen’s explanation, Brook looked disappointed.

But then he quickly let out his signature “Yohohoho!” laugh and started cracking his skeleton jokes.

He was naturally optimistic. Knowing Laboon was okay and having a chance to fulfill his promise was already enough.

“However… if you were to Awaken your Revive-Revive Fruit, it’s not entirely impossible,” Rowen added, not completely dashing Brook’s hopes.

Brook’s current mastery of his fruit was still too weak. He had previously been completely immersed in the grief of losing his comrades—such emotions hindered Devil Fruit strengthening.

Once Awakened, if Brook was willing to put in immense effort, finding the souls of the Rumbar Pirates wasn’t completely out of the question.

“Devil Fruit Awakening!” Brook’s eye sockets seemed to burn with a fierce flame. His heart—or rather, what was left of it—burned with intense passion.

He could feel an endless stream of power welling up within his skeletal body.

The promise with Laboon, the hope of finding the souls of his Rumbar comrades—gave Brook a new hope for life.

“But they have already died. They can’t remain in this world for long,” Rowen added. Even if summoned, their existence in the mortal world would consume Rowen’s stamina.

“Yohohoho! I wouldn’t hope for that much! But if they could just witness the moment we fulfill our promise with Laboon… I would be content. Mr. Rowen, Captain Luffy, everyone… my gratitude to you cannot be fully expressed in words,” Brook said, looking up at the sky with a smile.

“Are you saying—!” Luffy, very perceptive in these matters, asked excitedly.

“Allow me to re-introduce myself!” Brook slammed his wanted poster onto the deck. It depicted him in his living form.

“I am Brook. Commonly known as ’Humming’ Brook! Bounty: 33,000,000 Beri. Formerly a captain of a certain kingdom’s guard, later acting captain of the Rumbar Pirates. Musician and swordsman! From this day forward, I entrust my life to Sky Sovereign Rowen and Captain Straw Hat Luffy—To avoid being a burden to everyone, I shall strive with all my bones!”

Brook declared, pressing his hand on his wanted poster, his voice booming with renewed life.

“YOSHAA! A MUSICIAN!” Luffy rushed forward, tossing Brook into the air.

“Hooray for the skeleton musician!” Usopp and Chopper immediately followed, tossing Brook up and down repeatedly.

“Yohohoho!” Brook, being tossed into the air, felt tears of joy moisten his skeletal eye sockets.

Once again, he had comrades!

“Well then… it’s time to get our musician’s shadow back,” Rowen smiled.

“The head of a Warlord—” Zoro’s sword was already slightly drawn.

“Hmph,” Sanji exhaled a puff of smoke.

“I can’t fall behind either,” Vivi added with a smile. She too was a formidable fighter now.

“SHISHISHI! LET’S SEE WHO GETS THE WARLORD’S HEAD FIRST!” Luffy, finished celebrating with Brook, grinned with fighting spirit.

Rowen looked at his four main combatants, all eager for battle, and smiled.

At the same time, he silently mourned for Moria. Poor bastard.

The current Moria couldn’t defeat any one of Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, or Vivi. And now, all four of them wanted to take his head as a tribute for Rowen.

“Found him.” Rowen’s Rumble-Rumble-enhanced Observation Haki had already pinpointed Moria’s location.

“Hmph!” Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Vivi—all four combatants wore confident, predatory smiles.

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep