Chapter 144

[Risky Red; August 10th, 1522]

Risky Red, without any source of disturbance, was a pleasant island to linger within.

While the marines, bounty hunters, and other pirates were cowering at the shore of the island, Rowan, his crew, and his alliance had an enjoyable time exploring.

"A smiley worm, winged squirrel, flame-breathing raccoon, humanoid shark, and banana-cat; what else am I missing?" Dan said to himself as he jotted down on the journal.

"You forgot to mention the dishes I made with them!" Carmen replied proudly, "It was a wonderful experience, I must say. To think banana-cat tasted like apple..."

"Gotty." Dan said while writing down such details as well.

"Nice rest. Glad to have those Red Hair pirates gone." Law, from the side, stated in a monotone, "Tell me just where they managed to pull off that endless supply of alcohols from."

Risky Red was named such due to the booming number of pirates and the dangers that were associated with them. However, at the same time, due to the huge number of pirates who arrived on this island, business too boomed.

Bars, casinos, hotels, etc.; the whole island was full of entertainment for them to enjoy. Coupled with the already-existing qualities of this island, it was a sight to behold.

"Choosing the left needle definitely was the right decision to make, Rowan." Nojiko remarked with a smile as she gazed around the surrounding view.

"Uh… are you sure, captain Nojiko?" One member of the Twin Cats pirates pointed it out, "This place is literally full of dead corpses!!"

That too was true. The dead bodies were laid out around the corners of the buildings, where the flies were swarming over. However, it wasn't much of a trouble, for they had a very effective counter against those bugs,

*PAZZZZZ*

Dan.

"Those Red Hairs ignored all this, and decided to initiate their own party." Nami, with her eyes turning into the dollar signs, looked to her left and right, "They had a week to enjoy all this by themselves, and made us suffer from those drinks!!"

Currently, everyone was seen to be sitting down on the tables that were laid out right outside of one restaurant. Each and every person enjoyed the stay in their own way. For instance, Bonney was very busy gulping down the mountain of food without any control.

"Nyom! *Munch* Hurry, bring me more!! I got to keep this flow going!!" Bonney, in midst of her consumption, shouted urgently.

*MUNCH*

Then, Farul extended his long neck toward Bonney's table, and before the latter could prevent it, munched away the whole piece of meat.

"Neigh~!"

"FARUL!!!" Bonney screamed in anguish, causing her crew to sweatdrop.

Rowan on the other hand, who was enjoying the bask of sunlight with sunglasses on his face, stated casually as he read the newspaper, "Akainu is now a Fleet Admiral. Garp and Sengoku retired... pff, as if the Marine will let them go. New Admirals, Ryokugyu, Fujitora, and Chaton. Moved their base to the New World, and the old Marineford is now called G-1. Seems like they underwent a huge change."

"Hmm... what about Aokiji?" Carina asked as she, now wearing a purple bikini top and sunglasses that matched Rowan's, took a sip from the glass of wine, "He quit? Got demoted?"

"Quit." Rowan responded while passing the newspaper to Carina.

"Captain Rowan." From the seat in front of Rowan, Alfred spoke, "What do you think of the 'destiny' that Red Hair talked of?"

The question was abrupt, but it was something that Rowan had in his mind for some time.

The white orb-like being that he saw prior to reincarnation. That being's existence served as evidence that perhaps, a supernatural being really existed. However,

"It doesn't matter."

If Rowan were to summarize his thought about this in one sentence, it would be: 'I don't care.'

After all, what was the point of worrying beyond what he was capable of controlling? Being able to sail in the sea freely, enjoy the delicacies, and explore awe-strucking islands—he felt none of those 'destiny' craps being involved in those.

"Let's keep it simple. Get Kaidou and be done with it." After his reply to Alfred has finished, while Carina was busy reading the newspaper, Rowan stood up from his seat and stretched. Upon noticing his behaviour, everyone's attention shifted to him.

"Listen up, all of you."

"We already are." Law said with his arms crossed before he got smacked by Nami from the back of his head.

"Read the mood, you idiot!"

"Bohaha! Anyway, I've been thinking of what our plan should be since yesterday." Rowan said while looking all around, "After all, we can't just directly go to Kaidou and fight him, can we?"

Carina chuckled, "That's suicidal."

Rowan gave a smile of his own before continuing, "During Shanks's stay, we managed to get a rough layout of what New World looks like."

Immediately after Rowan's statement, Carina took out the folded paper and unfolded it, revealing a rough drawing.

"Can we trust that information?" Law asked with keen eyes.

Rowan nodded firmly. Call him a lie detector, but he was growing increasingly prone to the utilization of his Observation Haki, as time went by.

"Here is our starting point, Risky Red. Based on this map, the three needles should be pointing to these candidates: Arashi, Karai Bari, and Foodvalten."

"And clearly, you can see," Carina stated while lifting up her hand and showing the Log Pose, "the leftmost one is shaking uncontrollably. Location-wise, and name-wise as well, Arashi seems like a landmine to avoid."

Nami agreed, "Karai Bari or Foodvalten then."

"And this is where I propose that we split for now." Rowan said seriously as he took out an envelope from his jacket.

"...A letter?" Bonney, who ceased eating and decided to focus on the conversation as well, remarked.

"Dan." Rowan turned to his back and commanded, to which Dan nodded before pulling in a corpse.

Law, who seemed to have recognized something, widened his eyes.

"That jolly roger...!"

"Big Mom." Rowan stated, earning surprise out of the allied crews.

Carmen snorted, "A pitiful fool who threatened captain to accept Big Mom's offer."

"My point is, things may get pretty annoying to deal with." Rowan frowned while scratching the back of his head in annoyance, "Inviting my crew to her so-called tea party—I don't even know what to say."

"So why separate then?" Bonney asked questioningly.

"I'll be honest. All of you are weak." Rowan replied, "Moving together will simply make us an easy target. Just like this letter, we are not sure what to expect from those Emperors, and if they were to make a move, I can't afford to protect you.

And I am not your babysitter either, am I?"

Nojiko huffed expectedly, "Agreed."

Rowan pointed at one location within the map, "My crew and I are going to head to Foodvalten. The rest of you, go to Karai Bari. It's pretty close to Shanks's territory, so it is a relatively safe island where not many pirates dare to sail to."

Law understood immediately, "Have that island as our base, and improve our strengths."

Rowan nodded, "Get stronger. Seek information. I already explained the foundations of Haki to all of you, didn't I? A year after, we will all meet back up and create a specific plan to get Kaidou."

"Tch... I can't really retort against that." Bonney muttered with gritted teeth. Right now, they were a deadweight to Rowan; the alliance was supposed to be the case where both parties benefit, not this parasitism where they latch off of the Grimheart pirates.

"A year. Sounds good to me!" Nami said adamantly, "I found myself needing some time to hone my skills anyway."

Law asked, "Then what will you be doing in Foodvalten?"

Rowan extended his arm to Carina, who returned the newspaper back to him. Grinning, Rowan showed Law one particular page,

"Accept the challenge."

Within that page, one big picture could be seen. The picture portrayed the scene where the flag, with the Grimheart pirates' jolly roger drawn, had a diagonal gash going through.

It read: <'Demon Heir' Douglas Bullet declares war against 'Grimheart' Youchiha B. Rowan!>

"Someone finds me undeserving to be an Emperor, it seems."

It was a short disdain that began all the way back from the Impel Down, and alas, the time has come.

"Huh?" Nojiko raised her eyebrow, "Then why don't we all go together?"

Cavendish replied, "Bullet is by himself. Having many people go together will tarnish the captain's reputation. And we accept no such thing!"

Law grabbed his hat and lowered it, "Grimheart doesn't need our help, Cat Swindler-ya."

Within the starting point of the New World, the alliance made a decision to split for now.

"I'm not going to keep it specific. A year after, around July or so. Meet at... let's see. Keep in contact with Den Den Mushi." Rowan concluded the discussion in a casual demeanour, causing everyone to return to their leisure.

Bonney was about to get back to eating, but when she looked down at her table,

"FARUL!!!"

Farul was seen to have munched down every last food, causing Bonney to cry in disbelief.

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[Dressrosa]

From the dark, one man with flamboyant-looking sunglasses and short blonde hair could be seen to be sitting on a throne. This man was Donquixote Doflamingo, the ruthless king of Dressrosa, a renowned member of the Seven Warlords, previous Celestial Dragon, and the biggest underworld broker who went by the alias of 'Joker.'

"Trebol."

Right now, such a man seemed to be concerned about something.

"What is the matter, my king?" A hideous-looking man with long snots extending out of his nostrils responded with a bow.

Tapping his fingers against the armrest, Doflamingo stated, "I feel the disturbance."

Raising his palm up, Doflamingo leaned his head onto it.

"Law... what's he doing with Grimheart?"

Rosinante, the biological brother whom Doflamingo killed. During then, Law disappeared along with the Op Op fruit.

'Disappeared... instead of coming back to me. Rosinante's purpose in travel was to save Law from his disease. Law is healed and healthy now.'

Doflamingo was thinking with a frown.

"They formed an alliance along with three other pirate crews—though the On Air pirates are nowhere to be seen on the Risky Red." Trebol said with a distorted grin.

"Tch...!" Doflamingo gritted his teeth in anger. He could only draw one conclusion from Law's actions,

"Law... are you trying to revenge Rosinante?!" Doflamingo snarled in anger, "By using Grimheart's strength?!"

Doflamingo couldn't help but feel the dread. Back in the Summit War of Marineford, one punch from Rowan was enough for him to realize just how strong the latter was. If such a being was to arrive at Dressrosa with the intention to end his life, Doflamingo won't be able to do anything.

'He isn't someone that I am able to handle.' Calming himself down, Doflamingo decided to think of possible solutions. 'Retreat from Dressrosa... no. I am the king of this country. I remain here.

Cipher Pols... no. If Admiral is unable to oppose Grimheart, they won't make any difference. The secret weapon of Celestial Dragons... it isn't something that I can threaten out of them. If so...'

Doflamingo unconsciously gulped as he began to sweat profusely. There was one answer to this.

"...Trebol." Doflamingo paused after saying Trebol's name, but continued eventually, "Connect me to Kaidou."

There was no other option but to invoke anger out of Kaidou and have the latter deal with the Grimheart pirates in his stead.

_____________

[Thriller Bark]

Within the heavy fogs, an incredibly huge island was seen to be sailing by. Within such a spectacular scenery to behold,

"Zehahahaha!!!!" One man without an eye and arm, 'Blackbeard' Marshall D. Teach, laughed boisterously as he stood on top of a castle.

"Hm... so this is where Moria previously dwelled within." Shiryu commented as he gazed at the area with evident interest.

"Toputopu! It's ours now!!" Vasco Shot shouted with his long tongue flopping up and down.

"This is where everything begins once more! Haki, fruit awakening, whatever it may be... I will attain what I desire! Then..." Teach, losing the grin from his face, growled, "Tremor Tremor fruit will be in my hand once more! The remnants of the Whitebeard pirates, and the hideous Grimheart pirates—they shall be dealt with as well, and my time will finally arrive."

The Blackbeard pirates were regaining their ground as well. Although the events in the Marineford didn't go as Teach planned, they weren't giving up.

The owner-less Thriller Bark now belonged to them.