Chapter 153

[Unknown Location]

"Huh?!" Festa, who was watching the scene in the Coconut Seal, couldn't help but exclaim in disbelief.

"Kuwa...ha...haha..." Morgans, whose eyes were half-lidded, couldn't help but laugh upon seeing the screen as well.

"The fruit... was a Mythical Zoan out of all possibilities?!!!" Festa shouted with widened eyes. Then, such a shocked expression began to morph into an exhilarated grin,

"I-if so... the other Emperors... imagine their anger of having missed the opportunity to attain the treasure like that! Their anger will be focused onto... Grimheart!"

It was an unexpected turn of events, but Festa believed that such an unexpected turnout led to a better result.

"Yes, it is happening! It is—"

"Hey."

From Festa's back, an unfamiliar voice was heard. Festa, wondering who the person may be, turned around with an intrigue.

"W-what are you doing here?!!"

Upon seeing the man, Festa scrambled back immediately while sweating profusely, for the man in front of him was a well-known executive of the Revolutionary Army.

"The no.2 of the Revolutionary Army... Sabo!"

Sabo, while spinning his metal pipe casually, grabbed onto the active Den Den Mushi that was hidden by the shadow, before revealing it to Festa.

"One of ours happened to eavesdrop."

After all, Coconut Seal wasn't far away from the hidden island, Baltigo: the headquarter of the Revolutionary Army.

"Don't give me that face, Buena Festa. It was us who were more shocked than you currently are, after having heard that you were alive after all these years."

Festa didn't seem to hear Sabo with a sane mind. Instead, he angrily glared at Morgans in realization,

"Morgans!!! It was you, wasn't it?!!!"

"Kuwaha...hahaha...haha!"

"Tch...! Why is the Revolutionary Army helping Morgans in the first place?!!" Festa gritted his teeth as he looked to his left and right, trying to find a way to escape.

Sabo smiled while grabbing the edge of his hat,

"How do you think the Revolutionary Army managed to stay hidden for so long?"

Festa understood immediately, "You...!"

"No matter. In accordance with all crimes that you committed, Buena Festa,"

Then, Sabo's metal pipe was impaled right through Festa's heart, causing a mouthful of blood to flow out of his mouth.

"the only fate that you deserve... is death."

_____________

[Coconut Seal]

"...What?!" The pirate holding the knife couldn't help but gulp in fear. The knife that he was sure of to kill Alfred, has shattered into pieces instead.

"Interesting, isn't it?" Alfred gazed at the pirate right in front of him. His eyes were frightening, for if looked closely, his pupils were vertically slitted, "The Tremor Tremor fruit that we were competing for, wasn't here in the first place. However, to think that this fruit was something that may be just as worthy..."

Alfred, whose strength seemed to have increased by several folds all of a sudden, grabbed the pirate by the hair and lifted up the latter calmly.

Just what exactly was the fruit that Alfred ate?

Right now, Alfred's demeanour was drastically different than the minutes ago. There no longer existed a trace of fatigue; perhaps his newfound pride refused to let out his exhaustion.

Then, in front of everyone's eyes, his body began to enlarge at a rapid pace. His hands and feet were morphed into the claws, and the black furs began to grow all over from his body. Within seconds, he was an incredibly huge wolf, who growled while glaring downward toward the terrified hoard of pirates.

Dog Dog fruit, model: Fenrir. The fruit that Alfred ate was none other than a Mythical Zoan: the rarest type of devil fruit.

'Hm?! My body transformed on its own…'

Alfred found himself shocked, for the sudden transformation wasn't meant to be. Then, his body began to move on its own, lashing out toward the hoard of pirates without any warning.

'It's just like what monsieur… Ichiro… went through…!'

*BOOOM*

"M-monster!! It's a monster!!" One pirate shrieked, "Run!! Forget revenge; run for your lives!!!"

"The fruit was a Mythical Zoan?!!! The type of fruit that I've been searching for years!!!" Kaidou, in his human-beast form, whose Hassaikai collided against Rowan's Haki-encased fist,

*BOOOOOOOOOOOM*

shouted with a fury.

"I let such a valuable treasure escape under my eyes, and to the rookie pirate crew like yours?!! As if I will accept this!!!"

Kaidou felt a dent in his pride. The situation has flowed in a way that Rowan preferred, right from the beginning of his intervention, and Kaidou was too full of himself to let the Grimheart pirates freely escape.

'His strength...' Rowan found it increasingly difficult to block Kaidou's attacks. Not only did Kaidou's human-beast form grant him an incredible endurance, but also the boost in his strength.

Up until now, where Kaidou has truly become angry, Kaidou was more interested in enjoying a good fight against Rowan. Now, Kaidou simply wished to kill Rowan and all his crew. Rowan could see the murderous gleam within Kaidou's glance.

"Manipulation,"

Rowan's Armament Haki emission expanded in front of Rowan, whose eyes glowed in golden, having predicted the future.

Kaidou, with the veins popped off from his forehead and his eyes now shadowed, lifted up his Hassaikai above his head.

Said Hassaikai, which was already infused by the Conqueror's Haki, began to emit an even more intense burst of black lightning.

"Conqueror of the Three Worlds..."

Simultaneously, the shield in front of Rowan too began to crackle in black lightning, indicating the potent infusion of the Conqueror's Haki,

"Aegis!!"

Kaidou, subsequently, slammed down his Hassaikai onto Rowan's shield.

"Ragnaraku!!!!!"

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

The whole ground below them split into pieces just from the impact itself. Rowan felt his whole body shaking from the tremendously strong blow, and as the impact faded away,

'The Strongest Creature of the World...!'

Rowan momentarily swayed as he placed his right hand on his forehead, but gritted his teeth while quickly bringing his fist up.

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

Rowan's fist blasted away Kaidou's quick strike, which didn't have as much strength as the previous one.

And Kaidou wasn't done.

"Kundali Dragon Swarm!!!"

Kaidou began to swing his Hassaikai non-stop, delivering an incredible barrage onto Rowan.

Rowan, whose hands were crackling in black lightning, immediately responded with a barrage of his own,

"Blast Barrage!!!"

*BOOOOMBOOOOMBOOOOM*

Every time their attack met, the whole world quaked from the shock.

*BOOOOOOOM*

Within this non-ending barrage, the entire surrounding was demolished beyond recognition.

In no time, Rowan and Kaidou were forced to stop, due to losing their footage.

"*Huff*... *Huff*... What are you, a stamina freak?" Rowan found himself dumbfounded. When it came to stamina and endurance, up until now, he has never faced someone who was superior in those qualities than him, except for Garp.

And now, for the second time, Rowan found a monster whose body was stronger than the body that he honed for years.

_____________

"Do you think you can stall against me, you little freaks of Whitebeard?!!!" Linlin, with angered expression, screamed while kicking Ace away wildly.

*BOOOOOOM*

Ace coughed out blood from the impact alone. He was seen to be exhausted with half-lidded eyes.

"I got ya... Ace... *Huff*..." Marco, who was huffing in fatigue, quickly distributed his yellow-green-coloured flame onto Ace, which healed up the latter.

Marco definitely wasn't having a fun time. Up until now, he utilized the superiority of his flame to subdue Linlin's Prometheus consistently while healing Ace over and over; there was no end to this.

"Full Metal..." Ace's fist began to crackle in black lightning, indicating the infusion of the Conqueror's Haki, however, it died down due to Ace's enervation.

The only way that Marco and Ace could deal damage to Linlin was to maximize the use of Ace's infusion of the Conqueror's Haki.

However, every single time, Linlin countered Ace's Haki with her own, and right after, her cloudy servant, Zeus, would shoot a concentrated blast of lightning toward Ace.

Both Marco and Ace reached their limit, for Linlin's stamina was beyond a normal human being's limit.

"Zeus...!!!" With the intention to finish Marco and Ace at the same time, Linlin commanded with a growl.

"Yes, mama!" Zeus responded with a savage grin as his cloudy body began to turn dark black, indicating that it has been charged up for another blast of lightning.

Then, the horizontal beam of lightning was shot toward the helpless Marco and Ace, who simply gritted their teeth as they gazed at the approaching attack; they were too exhausted to move their body.

"Indra!!!!!"

*PAZZZZZZZZZZZZZ*

The lightning has struck upon the defenceless two, and Marco and Ace were sent blasting back, unconscious.

Linlin, having seen that two pirates were out of commission, didn't hesitate for a single second to propel herself toward an incredibly huge wolf, Alfred.

"That fruit doesn't belong to you, Grimheart pirates!!!!"

Alfred was still struggling to regain the control. He had no idea how Nojiko was able to control her fruit right from the beginning; it was as if another soul has entered his body.

'Big Mom... don't tell me that monsieur Marco and monsieur Ace were defeated.'

In the kingdom of Nidaifuku, Aoki Ichiro, who ate the Mythical Zoan fruit, Tsuchigumi, had to endure for a long time just to regain his sense; Alfred couldn't afford to have the same thing happen to him, especially in the moment like this.

"Prometheus!!!"

"Yes, mama!"

Above Linlin, the regenerated cluster of flame began to expand domineeringly. Then, Linlin grabbed it with her right hand, before,

throwing the entire flame toward Alfred.

"Heavenly Fire!!!"

Alfred attempted to return back to his human form. He repeatedly commanded from his mind over and over, in an attempt to reduce his size and dodge Linlin's attack. However, it didn't work as he intended.

Now, the flame was right in front of Alfred. It seemed to about to burn him in any second—

"*Huff* *Huff*... Juggernaut Blast!!"

*BOOOOOOOOOOOM*

Then, Rowan suddenly appeared right in front of Alfred, before shredding Prometheus with one punch.

Just as it happened,

Alfred's huge body finally began to shrink rapidly, before revealing his human-like body once again.

"*Huff*... *Huff*... I have disappointed you, captain Rowan." Alfred, huffing in exhaustion, spoke with some difficulty.

"You've done more than enough, *Huff*, Alfred." Rowan, who glared at Linlin, replied quickly, "Prominence is coming by. Help Carina and Dan and get onto the Prominence immediately when it comes by. As for those two Emperors..."

Rowan's eyes began to blaze up in red,

"...leave them to me."

Alfred's eyes wavered. He knew the importance of concealing Rowan's red-coloured eyes, for once the information has been leaked out, the World Government will realize Rowan's identity as Vasilia.

Yet, Rowan decided to use it in the Coconut Seal, where many were within to tell the tale.

"Captain—"

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

Rowan, whose body was fully encased within the incredible manifestation of Conqueror's Haki, slammed his fist onto the rapidly-approaching Kaidou's face while dodging the latter's Hassaikai.

"Go, Alfred!!!"

"Ikoku..."

Subsequently, Linlin's hat, Napoleon, transformed into a sharp sword as she grabbed onto its hilt, before she swung the sword with an infusion of Conqueror's Haki,

"...Sovereignty!!!!"

"Nox Aegis."

In front of Rowan, the crackling black-lightning-shield rapidly came into the existence, before,

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

completely shutting off Linlin's attack.

"...Leave it to me, captain." Alfred, whose breathing calmed down to some extent, stood up as he nodded firmly. Then, he used Soru to quickly travel to where Dan was engaging Queen.

"Butlerrrr!!!!! Leave my fruit—" Linlin immediately began to chase after Alfred through Zeus underneath her feet, however,

*BOOOOOOOM*

Rowan smashed the punch onto Linlin's exposed cheek, causing the latter to be knocked off from Zeus and crash onto the already-ruined ground.

"Destroyer of Death,"

Subsequently, Rowan twisted his body and slammed his fist onto Kaidou's outstretched Hassaikai.

"Daiitoku Thunder Bagua!!!!"

"Nox Drive!!!"

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

The whole scenery exploded in a flash upon the clash between the two.

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

The island of Coconut Seal was going under the same step as the Foodvalten, as the black-coloured waves pulsed with each and every single explosion that ensued one after the other. Kaidou, who was within the centre of the attack, found that Rowan's attack was unending just like the last time, with 'Juggernaut Drive.'

The difference was such,

"AHHHHH!!!!!!"

Kaidou, who shrugged off the Juggernaut Drive, was screaming in pain.

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

And the explosions was still on-going.

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

When the explosions finally died down, there only remained few pieces of the island that provided the footings. As for the rest, they collapsed into the sea powerlessly.

"Ugh... that strike just now... along with that armour of yours... how is it possible for Haki to be used in such a way?" Kaidou, whose front was now injured with purple bruises all over, frowned deeply.

As Linlin lifted her body back up from the rubble, Kaidou continued,

"Only a handful amount of individuals are able to fight me! Roger, Whitebeard, Oden, and... Xebec! Are you saying… that you are someone who stands on the equal ground as them?!!"

Then, Kaidou's whole body was enveloped by the gray-coloured emission of Armament Haki. Having done so on his already tough-skin, Kaidou's endurance has now become even greater.

"Grimheart...!!!!" On the other hand, Linlin snarled at Rowan as her whole body trembled in anger, "How dare you steal my treasure!!!"

Turning to Kaidou, Linlin stated boldly,

"Kaidou!!! I'm after Grimheart!!! Get out of my way!!!"

Kaidou raised his eyebrow with a displeased expression, "That's something that I should be saying, Linlin!!!"

Rowan, who was operating Grimheart and Grimlock, silently gazed off to the side.

Prominence was rapidly approaching.

'11 minutes left, and two Emperors to face.'

Rowan was facing the situation more dangerous than ever.

'No time to waste, eh?'

*Swoosh*

Rowan, not wasting anymore time, vanished his spot. Then,

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

His fist, which wasn't touching, was slammed onto Linlin, who let her guard down, once again,

"AHHHHHH!!!!"

causing the latter to cry out in pain as Zeus under her momentarily became disfigured, being unable to handle the force behind Rowan's blow.

'Within 11 minutes… hold off Kaidou and Big Mom at the same time, safely evacuate the crew, and get out of here.'

He decided not to focus on the Phoenix pirates; taking care of his crew was difficult enough. Besides, escaping shouldn't be hard for them, since Kaidou and Linlin locked their eyes onto him and his crew.

'Heh, I accept the challenge.'