Chapter 18

6 months have passed since the establishment of Rowan's pirate fleet, consisting of around 2000 men.

They have been roaming throughout the entirety of the East Blue by dividing into different groups and preventing many malicious pirates from harming the weak.

With such selfless acts, the majority of the citizens of the East Blue began to call Rowan and his fleet the Angel pirates. Some began to help them out even, such as receiving the bounties of the pirates captured in Angel pirates' stead, who are unable to claim the bounties for themselves.

As Rowan's influence grew, the World Government became afraid that the good deeds done by Rowan's pirate crew will reduce their influence over the East Blue. Hence, they made a few adjustments.

First, they increased the number of marines stationed in the East Blue, to show that the marines are still formidable and more trustworthy than Rowan's fleet. Second, they gave Rowan the official title of 'The Demon of the East Blue' while raising his bounty by another 5 million (his total bounty is now 30 million Beli), in order to emphasize that Rowan is a brutal, violent and despicable pirate. His name also switched from Youchiha Bob to Grimheart Rowan, as the latter name sounded more menacing than the previous. Hence, the irony ensued, where the people within the East Blue called Rowan's fleet the Angel pirates, while the people from other places called them the Demon pirates.

Meanwhile, due to the actions of the Demon pirates and the increased number of stationed marines, along with Smoker's occasional aids as he tracked down the Demon pirates, the East Blue gained a new term as 'the safe haven.' The malicious pirates were arrested without an exception. Receiving such news, those with malicious intents were discouraged from becoming pirates.

With such huge impacts that Rowan made, even some marines began to see him in a good light. Some marine branches turned their eyes blind when Rowan fleet arrived onto their islands, while some even overlooked and hanged out with the Demon pirates, as if they were the best friends!

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"Purururu, purururu," The den den mushi rang in front of Rowan, who was sitting down on his "captain's room." Picking up the dial, Rowan brought it close to his face.

"Moshi moshi? Captain, you there?" A voice belonging to Rowly the Music Blade, who handles the 2nd division of his fleet, spoke.

"Yes. I am on. Go ahead." Rowan replied.

"Captain! We have finally discovered Mad Treasure's whereabouts! According to one of our informants, Mad Treasure was sailing towards the Logue Town; it seems that he is planning to enter to the sea of Grand Line!" Rowly spoke with formality.

Thinking through for a few moments, Rowan replied, "Tell everyone to continue on with their current businesses. I will personally go with 1st division to deal with Mad Treasure."

"Will it be ok, captain? You told us that last time you two fought, you barely managed to escape!"

"Don't worry. My priority isn't to defeat Mad Treasure, but to make sure that no civilian casualty arises due to his rampage. Besides, me six months ago cannot even be compared to current me, in terms of strength."

"Ok, captain! Rowly out, I wish you the best of the luck!" Rowan placed the dial back as the call was hung up.

'Grand Line... is it really worth to bet life?' Rowan's curiosity ached. 'What particular reason is there to leave the safe and predictable sea, just to encounter chaotic dangers and incomprehensible disasters?'

Rowan exited his room, and walked up to the deck of the ship. The ship was quite moderate in terms of size. It was painted in grey and blue. The head of a lion was at the edge of the ship as the figurehead. On sail clothe, there was the drawing of the pirate symbol, which had an angel's halo above the skull. Below the pirate symbol, the word 'Grimheart' was written.

"Rambo, we have an intel." Rowan said to Rambo, who was ordering around the crew members. "Mad Treasure reappeared."

"Mad Treasure?! C-captain, I feel sick all of a sudden. I don't think I can go!" Rambo faked sickness as his face paled in fear."O-oh, I know a good doctor who lives in the island near this location. Why don't we go visit him-"

"Alright. Change the course to Logue Town. We are already few steps behind, for we have no idea how far he is." Rowan slightly laughed at Rambo's comedic response.

"Don't worry too much. Our main priority isn't to defeat Mad Treasure, but to ensure that there is no casualty. After all, we cannot ruin our reputation, can we?" Rowan smirked while giving Rambo's slouched shoulder a pat.

Soon, Rambo recovered and began to give instructions to crew mates.

"According to my calculation, we will reach Logue Town in around 10 hours, with our Grimheart's max speed." The navigator notified while rubbing the wall of the ship fondly.

"Alright. Inform me when we arrive. I will be in the training room as usual." Rowan nodded before walking off, leaving the crew members to whisper among themselves,

"That training maniac..."

"Geez, not again. Did you see? Last time, I've seen him lifting up a boulder while doing push-ups!"

"Why is he putting himself through that torture..." The crew members shook their head before going back to their tasks.

Rowan reached the training room that he made sure to place when ordering this ship. Due to the limits in the weight the ship is able to hold, Rowan was unable to add crazy stuffs like 5-ton dumbbell, however, the room still contained basic equipment such as metal bar.

Rowan grabbed the metal bar. Tightly gripping it, he began his daily pull-ups.

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5...." Rowan was genuinely enjoying the exercise. 'Oh yea, this is some good stuff, alright.'

He became addicted to the exercise, especially when he gained access to whole new equipments that he can use to work out.

The time quickly passed by, and Rowan was still on his pull-ups, not realizing how much time has passed by.

"80000, 80001, 80002, 80003,..."

*Knock* *Knock* "Captain, you there? We have arrived." A knock was heard as someone spoke out.

"What? 10 hours passed by already? I was only able to do 80 thousand pull-ups!" Rowan sighed in sadness, as he released the metal bar, before wiping his sweat with a towel that he prepared nearby. "Alright. Give me few minutes. I will get ready."

After some time passed, Rowan and his crew landed on the ground.

"Everyone. Patrol around the harbour and notify immediately if any suspicious ship or boat is sighted. This way, if Mad Treasure happens to be inside the town already, you will be able to stall his escape until I arrive. Meanwhile, I will be moving around and watching from inside of the town, since no one else can keep up to my speed." As Rowan commanded, everyone nodded.

"Alright, disperse." Rowan immediately disappeared from the sight of many, as he silently rushed through the town. Although the Demon Pirates are not deemed as threats anymore by the marines, unofficially, one has to be careful when there are few exceptions like Smoker. Additionally, Logue town is the most marine concentrated base, due to it being situated in the island right before the Red Line, the doorway to the Grand Line.

As Rowan, unknown by the commoners, has been observing the town, he sighted a suspicious man wearing a black hood, muscular in terms of body frame, walking through the crowd. As the man looked to the left and the right, Rowan caught the sight of red hair sticking out of the hood.

'Mad Treasure?' Growing suspicious, Rowan didn't hesitate to chase after the man.