One Piece Thundergod Marine

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Ultimately, everything could be traced back to Rowen.

He was the one who prevented Teach from dreaming indefinitely, forcing his life into a two-year countdown, trying to crush him with despair.

In the beginning, Teach had indeed followed this path.

He began searching for Dyna Stone, intending to destroy the New World and take the whole world down with him! 

...Then Rowen followed the trail to his doorstep, exposing his plan and turning him into a rat scurrying in the streets.

However, after this encounter, Teach became enlightened.

Why should he despair? 

He had only lost limbs, not his head.

Just like he had lost sight of Whitebeard as his goal but not his desire to dream.

Since he couldn't obtain the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit as expected and the predetermined goal was unattainable, then...

''Whiz!'' 

A bone spur shot out, creating visible dish-shaped ripples in the air, proving that the spur's speed had compressed the gas instantaneously, forming an "air wall."

But that wasn't what surprised Rowen the most; it was the black smoke slowly rising from Teach's palm.

"Dark-Dark Fruit!!"

"Jihahahaha! That's right!"

With a furious roar, an unimaginable, terrifying gravity erupted from his palm.

"Didn't expect this, did you, Soryu (Azure Dragon)! No matter how many plans you devised to stop me from obtaining the Dark-Dark Fruit, it's still within me!"

''Crack!''

Rowen quickly plunged his thunder halberd into the ground to prevent himself from being pulled in.

The Dark-Dark Fruit was known as the most evil fruit in history, and he was all too familiar with its capabilities.

However, this action caused Rowen to pause briefly, allowing the bone spur shooting from the front to pierce through him and explode in his chest.

''Boom!!''

''Crack…!''

The bone spur bomb formed by the Sacrifice-Sacrifice Fruit exploded violently, mixed with the Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki) enveloping it, causing Rowen's chest bones and muscles to shatter completely!

Including half of his lung, it scattered into a cloud of blood mist.

"Pff!"

Coughing out a mouthful of congealed blood and with his internal organs injured, Rowen's body went limp and was pulled towards Teach by the gravity.

But the next second, he swung his thunder halberd back, stabbing outward!

''Clang…!'' 

The bloody clutch deflected the incoming thunder halberd, and Teach wore a smug look of anticipation.

''Creak!''

One of Teach's arms plunged into Rowen's chest, gripping his ribs and releasing endless darkness.

"Do you know? There was a time when I really considered making Whitebeard the Pirate King."

Controlling the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit caused Rowen's Goro Goro no Mi (Thunder-Thunder Fruit) to lose its effect, and Teach laughed self-importantly.

"But in the end, I couldn't let go of my obsession. Being protected by others and controlling my own power are completely different things."

"I am the destined ruler! Only I can wield two fruit abilities at once!"

"Why should I accept Whitebeard's protection and bow my head to him?"

"I can clearly do better than him!"

Rowen struggled experimentally but quickly realized he had indeed lost his fruit abilities.

Not only was he unable to use them, but he couldn't even maintain the most basic Elementalization!

Except for not feeling weak and soft, it was just like being in contact with Sea Stone.

However, his physical strength was completely unaffected. He had been training with Sea Stone for a long time, and even with the restraining effect, his strength was still formidable.

"So… what now?"

Suspended in the air by Teach, Rowen showed no signs of panic on his face as he countered.

"Do you intend to kill me with this?"

One had to admit, Teach was indeed a cunning hyena! 

During their previous clashes, he had used the Sacrifice-Sacrifice Fruit's healing effect to recover from injuries, sacrificing parts of his body instead of using his trump card, the Dark-Dark Fruit.

If he hadn't expected Teach to eat the Dark-Dark Fruit, Rowen wouldn't have thought much of the earlier bone spur attack.

"Uh…"

Rowen's calm demeanor left Teach, who was hoping to see him in a state of panic, momentarily stunned.

What was going on? 

Teach couldn't understand.

Wasn't he curious about the secret of his ability to use two fruit powers?!

The words he had prepared got stuck in his throat. Teach wore a strange expression, a feeling of… frustration washing over him.

...

"Could it be that he actually guessed correctly?!"

''Meanwhile, in the distance, Chaton witnessed this scene and was so frightened that he dropped his cigarette on the ground.''

Rubbing his eyes, he stared in astonishment at the black smoke emanating from Blackbeard. 

Here, "he" referred to both Blackbeard and Rowen.

First of all, back when they lost in the New World, Thatch indeed had the Dark-Dark Fruit.

However, before Blackbeard attacked, Chaton had secretly snuck to the back of the ship and tossed his own counterfeit Dark-Dark Fruit onto Thatch's ship overnight.

He still vividly remembered Blackbeard's bewildered expression when he left. 

The fruit he had longed for was right in front of him, yet there were two of them! 

How could anyone handle that?

So Chaton was astonished that Blackbeard had actually guessed correctly… a 50% success rate, a piece of gambling luck that he had wished for all his life but could never attain! 

Hmm? 

Why was it 50%? 

Because the fake one was a deadly poison!

It wasn't made from real fruit; one gram could kill a Sea King! 

Now, seeing Blackbeard with hardly any physical loss, it proved that he had guessed correctly about the real Dark-Dark Fruit and had not been forced to the extent of needing to sacrifice parts of his body to expel the poison.

Secondly, when Rowen had told him that Blackbeard could eat two Devil Fruits simultaneously without exploding, Chaton had been skeptical and had even made a bet.

If he lost the bet, he would work for the Assassination Force for three years, until the new commander, Quinn Dante, was capable of standing on his own and becoming the backbone of the Assassination Force.

Now, it was clear how things had turned out.

...

"Not good, Rowen is in danger!"

On the high platform, Sengoku stood up, frowning as he witnessed everything unfold.

His reaction was just as Teach had anticipated; he was nervous about Blackbeard's ability to wield two Devil Fruit powers.

But just as he was about to personally step in to save Rowen, Rowen's voice suddenly echoed in his ear.

"There's no need to come, Fleet Admiral! The live broadcast is still ongoing. As our Fleet Admiral, just sit tight and wait for the outcome."

Sengoku paused for a moment, instinctively asking, "What are you planning to do?"

"No solid proof to rely on, huh, Fleet Admiral!"

Rowen replied with a hint of helplessness in his voice.

"Don't you think that if Teach continues to act so arrogantly, our earlier display will seem ridiculous?"

"If that's the case, why not play along with him and let the world know I'm not joking!"

Sengoku fell silent.

While he understood the reasoning, could it actually be done? 

The user of the Sacrifice-Sacrifice Fruit was reaching the end, combined with the wicked power of the Dark-Dark Fruit— what kind of immense strength would it take to suppress the opponent?

And it would be handled by someone who had already lost his fruit abilities and was literally in the palm of Teach's hand.

"Trust him, Sengoku."

Tsuru stepped forward and said, "Knowing Rowen's personality, do you think he would take an uncalculated risk?"

Soryu (Azure Dragon) taking an uncalculated risk? 

The "Assassination King" Jino in heaven, along with the numerous pirates who had fallen at his feet, would all contest that notion!

Every time Rowen acted, it was always with meticulous calculation!

"Alright, I understand."

Sengoku hesitated for a moment, standing firm on the edge of the high platform, allowing the countless viewers of the live broadcast to clearly see his calm demeanor as the Marine Fleet Admiral.

Reassured, Rowen grinned and looked at Teach.

"What's wrong? Got nothing to say? Your time is running out, Blackbeard so stop talking nonsense!"

Provoked by Rowen, Teach suddenly snapped awake, speaking ruthlessly: "You ruined my dreams, Soryu (Azure Dragon)!"

Since he couldn't obtain the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit as expected and the predetermined goal was unattainable, then...

''He would just change his target!''

At this moment, Teach was no longer the ambitious man from before but a vengeful spirit!

During the time when he was hunted by the entire world, he suddenly realized that now was not the time to consider how to grow stronger and establish his dominance.

With his life being finite, he felt that there was never enough time.

But before that, there was an unavoidable enemy waiting for his revenge!

"This is the power I gained by killing Thatch; it is what I owe Whitebeard, but it cannot be returned... However, this life can!"

"So, Soryu (Azure Dragon), let's embark on this journey together!"

Teach laughed maniacally: "No one can truly be Undying; darkness will consume everything!"

''(End of Chapter)''