Chapter 254: [254] : [BONUS] – Massive Power-Up! An Admiral Kneels! Kizaru the Employee!

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Rowen’s Giantized right hand held Kizaru in an unbreakable grip.

Unlike when Luffy had grabbed him, where Kizaru still had the strength to resist, to gather his Devil Fruit and Haki powers, forcing Luffy to ultimately throw him away—this time, Kizaru felt only an utterly irresistible force.

No matter how he tried to summon his Devil Fruit power or Haki, he was completely unable to contend with this strength.

This was a qualitative difference.

A vast, dimensional gap in their level of power.

The chasm between them was so vast that he couldn’t even attempt to use quantity to overcome quality, to burn through his own reserves of Haki and energy in the hopes of breaking free. It was useless.

CRACKLE! CRACKLE!

Faint flashes of lightning flickered within the Giant hand gripping him.

But unlike before, where the lightning merely sparked on the surface, this time it flickered from deep within—from every piece of flesh, from every cell.

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“Well now… this is really quite a predicament,”

Kizaru murmured, his forehead beaded with fine sweat and bulging veins, his expression one of utter bitterness.

Kizaru was no stranger to this ability…

It belonged to the Fish-Fish Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Azure Dragon—one of the absolute top-tier Devil Fruits—which granted its user the special ability to completely control natural elements.

This top-tier Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit allowed its user to fuse natural elements with the Azure Dragon’s body.

Kaido’s Flame Dragon Torch from before was precisely this—the power of fusing flame element completely with his Azure Dragon body.

And if lightning element was fused into the Azure Dragon’s body, the user’s speed would reach a horrifying level, becoming a blur that was imperceptible to the naked eye.

It was different from a Logia’s elemental transformation.

While his own Glint-Glint Fruit allowed him to become light and achieve the fastest speed of any Devil Fruit, there was still a tiny—fractional moment of delay when he had to solidify to wrap his attacks in Haki for a fatal blow.

At his level of mastery, that gap was infinitesimally small, but it still existed.

But a user of the Azure Dragon Fruit, even when accelerating with lightning element, there was absolutely no interval.

Without a doubt.

The reason this man had been able to grab him, even after he had transformed into his pure light form, was because he had used the power of the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon.

That top-tier Devil Fruit… the Fruit that had belonged to the Emperor, Kaido of the Beasts… now belonged to Sky Sovereign Rowen.

And that could only mean one thing. The powers of both Kaido and Big Mom had been plundered by this man, just as he had done at the Summit War.

His strength had undergone another horrifying increase.

They, the Navy—had completely and utterly failed.

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“The increase is not bad.”

Rowen, firmly holding the immobilized Kizaru, sensed the enhancement to his own Haki and smiled.

Because his own Conqueror’s Haki had already reached a level that was qualitatively superior to that of Kaido and Big Mom, the boost he received from plundering their Emperor’s Fortune and Haki was not as dramatic as what had happened at the Summit War.

It wasn’t a “Level Up” that pushed him into an entirely new realm.

But the power of these two top-tier powerhouses had still made his Conqueror’s Haki significantly stronger.

He was stronger now by about 30%.

Rowen, with the enhanced intellect from his Awakened Human-Human Fruit, roughly calculated the figure.

This was an incredibly massive increase.

After all, this percentage was relative to Rowen’s Haki strength, which had already surpassed the Emperor level and reached a new tier.

The Haki of Kaido and Big Mom alone could not have provided such a massive increase.

It was their “Emperor’s Fortune,” amplified by his own “Faction Fortune” Trait, that had made it possible.

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The potential of Faction Fortune (Apex Gold) was too terrifying.

Just like during the Summit War—Whitebeard, in his condition then, shouldn’t have been able to provide any Haki enhancement to Rowen. But at that time, Whitebeard was still the public face of the Pirate Faction’s number one—hailed by most on the seas as the Strongest Pirate.

That status, and the vast ’Fortune’ of the Pirate Faction, was the fundamental reason Rowen had been able to shatter the Emperor limit and elevate his Conqueror’s Haki to a new realm.

And Kaido and Big Mom, though also Emperors, their ’Fortune’ couldn’t compare to Whitebeard’s at that time.

Even among Emperors, the ’Fortune’ borne by the number one versus those ranked lower was vastly different.

A term from Earth explained this phenomenon very well: the spotlight effect.

But even so, Rowen was very satisfied with this Haki increase. The stronger one became, the stronger their Haki, the more difficult it was to improve.

Many powerhouses went years without any improvement, even weakening due to the effects of age. Sengoku, Whitebeard—all the powerhouses of the previous generation were like this. Even Garp, who maintained his condition the best, his combat endurance couldn’t compare to his prime.

Age was cruel, even in the One Piece world with its miraculous powers.

This era… ultimately no longer belonged to the men of the past.

This era… Belonged to HIM!

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CRACKLE!!

Countless frighteningly immense crimson-black lightning arcs materialized in this sea region.

The bolts were so immense that they seemed to tear the very sky apart. The next moment, this sea region, this very space, was completely transformed into a crimson-black storm, which began to roar.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Wave after wave of terrifying crimson-black storm swept across this sea region, dyeing the entire world in its color.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

The Marine Vice Admirals, the Yonko Commanders—before this horrifying crimson-black storm, had not a shred of resistance.

Their eyes rolled back into their heads, and they collapsed, completely unconscious.

Countless figures fell before the storm, losing consciousness.

Even these renowned powerhouses of the New World… before this level of Conqueror’s Haki, did not even have the right to remain conscious.

The Roar—of Conqueror’s Haki!

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“Th-This Haki…”

Ryokugyu’s Forest-Forest Fruit ability was completely nullified, his face contorted in agony.

THIS HAKI WAS TOO STRONG.

EVEN STRONGER THAN DURING THE SIEGE ON PIRATE HUNTER.

THUD!

Ryokugyu was forced down onto one knee, his forehead drenched in sweat.

An Admiral, one of the peak fighting forces of the sea, had been completely humbled by this level of Conqueror’s Haki.

“S-So strong… Is this the Haki of the Strongest of this era, Sky Sovereign Rowen?” Fujitora’s forehead was also beaded with cold sweat, but he hadn’t lost his composure like Ryokugyu.

“He’s not targeting me?” Fujitora sensed, his expression complex.

FWOOSH!!

The crimson-black storm gradually subsided. This sea region, this space, slowly returned to its original color.

But now, aside from the members of the Sky Sovereign Grand Fleet, there were only a handful of people from the Navy and the two Emperor crews who were still conscious.

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“Put the Devil Fruit users in Seastone cuffs,” Marco began to issue orders.

“As for the non-Devil Fruit users, handle them the old way.”

Their Sky Sovereign Grand Fleet had won. And they had won very thoroughly.

Faced with two Emperor crews and a Navy force of three Admirals and over fifty warships… the result was a complete victory for their Sky Sovereign Grand Fleet!

They had captured all of these powerful forces in one fell swoop.

The members of the Sky Sovereign Grand Fleet immediately began to act, capturing all the commanders and combatants of the two Emperor crews, as well as the Navy.

Though Rowen wouldn’t engage in excessive slaughter, he was no saint.

He would not simply release the spoils of his victory. All of these people would now become his prisoners.

“What a terrifying Haki, Sky Sovereign,” Kizaru commented, completely powerless.

Fujitora was also locked down by Rowen’s Haki, unable to do anything.

Ryokugyu, already countered by Flare-Flare Fruit—now targeted by Rowen’s Conqueror’s Haki—had already been defeated in the subsequent assault by Ace.

S-Hawk had also been defeated by the combined might of Pirate Hunter and the Pirate Empress.

THEY HAD BEEN UTTERLY AND COMPLETELY DEFEATED.

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“How about… a change of work environment, Kizaru?” Rowen asked, looking at Kizaru in his hand, a smile on his face.

“Huh???” The eyes behind Kizaru’s sunglasses moved slightly.

An offer of surrender??

No… a change of work environment, that phrasing…

“You’re just an employee, after all. Why work so hard? The benefits package I offer… is very generous,” Rowen said, looking at Kizaru, the man who always referred to himself as a mere salaryman, and smiled.

This wasn’t an offer of surrender. It was a job offer…

Even if Rowen obtained Kizaru’s ability, it wouldn’t be a major boost. After simultaneously possessing the Azure Dragon form and the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, the Glint-Glint Fruit’s enhancement was negligible.

But Kizaru’s own combat strength was still very formidable. Especially his defense, which was astonishing. Obtaining Kizaru’s power wouldn’t be a huge boost for Rowen—better to have Kizaru work for him.

As for the benefits… They would certainly be far better than what the World Government offered.

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