Facing an entire Yonko crew alone, and this was Sakazuki before he had even reached his peak.
With BIG MOM's monstrous physique, even in the battle between the Straw Hat Pirates and their allies in Wano from the original timeline, they never actually managed to break through that crazy woman's defenses.
A blade infused with Haki stabbed straight into her body, and it didn't even break the skin. Who could believe that?
In the end, she was merely knocked into the sea and considered defeated, stripped of her position as one of the Four Emperors.
Her magma was only around 1,500 degrees Celsius. In Rowan's own battle against Whitebeard, the 6,000-degree heat had been completely incapable of getting close to him.
If Sakazuki fought Kaido, he could probably keep turning Kaido into ash and watching him regenerate over and over again. But at this point in time, against BIG MOM, he would probably get beaten up pretty badly.
Writing on and off, the warship circled around the waters under G5's jurisdiction. Whenever they encountered pirates, the result was basically complete annihilation.
It wasn't until two days later that the warship finally headed leisurely toward the waters of Totto Land.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku had personally called him through a Den Den Mushi. Rowan couldn't exactly refuse to go, but when he went and how he provided support was another matter entirely.
East Blue.
Garp, who had stubbornly insisted on coming back to see his grandson, rushed toward the kingdom after passing through the special passage.
As a Marine hero, there were ships waiting for him on both sides of the special passage through the Red Line.
However, just after he descended from the Red Line, Sengoku's Den Den Mushi called.
"You old bastard, where are you right now?"
Garp picked his nose. "I'm almost home, Sengoku. Don't you dare steal the senbei I hid! Otherwise, I'll kick your ass when I get back!"
The Den Den Mushi mimicking Sengoku's appearance had veins bulging on its forehead. "No one cares about your lousy senbei right now! The plan to reduce the number of pirates has already begun, but the results have deviated from what we expected."
"The pirates in the New World have already descended into complete chaos. Although many pirates are killing each other to compete for the title of Emperor, some have also begun attacking Marine branches!"
"Sakazuki has clashed with BIG MOM in the New World. Rowan of G5 is also busy intercepting pirates and can't rush over to provide support. Borsalino has been assigned an escort mission by the World Government. Kuzan has already set off at a leisurely pace, but we just received word that pirates blocked his way, and he's already engaged them."
The nonstop stream of information made Garp move the Den Den Mushi farther away from his ear.
He then flicked away the booger on his pinky finger. "So what? BIG MOM isn't that unreasonable. She won't really kill Sakazuki."
Garp paused.
"Unless Sakazuki manages to piss that crazy woman off enough to make her lose her mind. Uh... knowing Sakazuki's personality, that's actually pretty damn likely."
"Bang!"
A tremendous noise came through the Den Den Mushi, followed by Sengoku's furious roar.
"That's exactly why I need you to come back immediately!"
Garp remained unconcerned. "I'm already almost home. Going all the way back to Headquarters from East Blue and then heading to the New World again? By the time I get there, Sakazuki's corpse might already be cold. Besides, I'm on vacation! Do you know what vacation means, Sengoku?"
The Den Den Mushi closed its eyes, a huge Buddhist symbol appearing on its forehead.
After a long while, Sengoku finally calmed down and spoke.
"After the plan to stir up the pirates using the title of Emperor was implemented, the pirates in the Four Seas have also started causing disturbances. They're doing anything they can to increase their bounties. I'm leaving the East Blue to you."
"Starting from Loguetown, if more than ten towns are massacred, you don't need to come back!"
With that, the Den Den Mushi snapped shut.
Garp scratched his head before standing up. He looked toward a branch lieutenant colonel aboard the ship and asked, "Do we have any cannonballs? Bring every single one of them onto the deck. Then contact the Marine branches in the East Blue and have them report the locations of all those bastard pirates!"
The branch lieutenant colonel froze for a moment, then immediately stood at attention and saluted.
From the Red Line transfer station to the East Blue, the reputation of the Dog-Head Warship once again struck fear into the pirates of the East Blue.
In less than half a month, the pirates who had originally been running rampant throughout the East Blue had basically all been taught a lesson by cannonballs thrown with bare hands.
Even the few who could withstand those attacks were knocked unconscious and captured by a single punch from Garp.
No one could withstand a second punch.
The East Blue had already been known as the weakest sea. Because of the chaos caused by the struggle over the title of Emperor, it became the quickest sea to return to peace. This situation greatly reduced the pressure on the Revolutionary Army in the East Blue.
After all, when pirates invaded, ordinary people's first thought was to notify the Marines, not the Revolutionary Army they didn't even know existed. The Marines had the advantage when it came to information.
A few days earlier, even Ginny, who had a Flying Nimbus, had been running herself ragged.
After Garp arrived and began striking out everywhere, things finally settled down. The two of them had actually encountered each other along the way, but when faced with Garp, Ginny simply hid inside the clouds and moved away without getting close.
When it came to this Marine hero, who might be unreliable at times, Ginny certainly wasn't stupid enough to approach him and get herself captured.
"Buru buru..."
The Den Den Mushi rang. On the slowly drifting Flying Nimbus, Ginny answered with a bright smile. "Bear Bear, do you miss me? We only saw each other a few days ago."
The Den Den Mushi mimicking Kuma's appearance looked somewhat shy. "The message from the Teacher's side has already been passed to the Leader, right? Be careful over there recently."
Hearing this, Ginny pursed her lips in dissatisfaction. "Is that all? Bear Bear, you're really not cute at all. Did you forget?"
Kuma chuckled innocently. "Of course I didn't forget, Ginny. There's only one month left. Then you'll become my wife."
The moment he said this, even Ginny, who had always been carefree and outspoken, became embarrassed.
The date they had originally set was approaching. Ever since that day at God Valley many years ago, the two of them had basically always stayed together.
They had even raised Rowan together when they were still children themselves. Their relationship had long since gone beyond the boundaries of ordinary love.
The reason they had never gotten together earlier was initially because Kuma was concerned about the tragic fate of his Buccaneer heritage, and later because they were both too busy with the revolutionary cause.
It wasn't until this year that they finally faced their true feelings and decided to get married.
"Bear Bear... I'll definitely make you happy."
They exchanged cheesy words of affection through the Den Den Mushi, but Ginny seemed to have completely forgotten the warning Kuma had just given her.
Nearly twenty-three years had passed since the God Valley Incident.
Although the pain she had experienced as a slave of the Celestial Dragons remained deeply etched in her memory, she had no reason to suspect anything.
She had used a special method to send information that lured the Rocks Pirates to Hachinosu.
Amidst the ensuing chaos, Kuma obtained the Paw-Paw Fruit and rescued countless people, including Rowan, who was now the Teacher of the Revolutionary Army.
But after Kuma ate the Paw-Paw Fruit, he had one encounter with Saint Saturn.
That was the only suspicious point.
Yet somehow, they seemed to have forgotten all about it.
East Blue, on a small deserted island somewhere in the North Star Archipelago.
A World Government warship was docked there, while CP agents came and went, busy with their work.
Inside the ship's cabin, four masked CP0 members stared at the thick stack of intelligence documents in their hands, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
"How is this possible... How can there be this much?"
"The other side seems to possess clouds derived from Sky Island technology that allow them to fly. Because of that, our people often can't guarantee continuous surveillance."
"We don't have a list, and we have no way of gathering a complete list of the Revolutionary Army's personnel in the East Blue. They all communicate through single lines. Long-distance Den Den Mushi communications are basically protected against eavesdropping, while short-distance communication uses a type of technology we're completely unfamiliar with."
"Bang."
One of the documents was slammed onto the table.
"How is this possible? How can a bunch of people who look like desperate criminals possess technology and equipment more advanced than the World Government's?"
"But the intelligence confirms it beyond doubt. Once they're discovered, they immediately inform their comrades of the situation through their earpieces and have them relocate. After that, they destroy the equipment and look for an opportunity to die alongside their enemies."
The cabin fell silent for a moment.
"To have no fear of death at all... What kind of magic does the future they keep shouting about possess?"
One of the CP0 agents wearing gloves spoke with confusion and bewilderment.
But the moment he said this, the other three colleagues all turned to look at him.
"Don't get curious, because curiosity may cost you your life. Don't listen, don't ask, and don't think about the Revolutionary Army's seductive propaganda. That is our warning to you."
"Ordinary people can easily be seduced into becoming criminals. Don't let your curiosity get the better of you."
As he spoke, the leader picked up the documents again. "We don't have an exact list. But even our estimated numbers are already astonishingly large. It is precisely because their indoctrination is so powerful that they have been able to hide themselves so deeply."
After he finished speaking, another agent wearing a strange mask said, "The Revolutionary Army's Eastern Army Commander. She is the only high-ranking member of the Revolutionary Army we have discovered by chance after receiving intelligence from above."
"So this is our only opportunity. If we fail, what awaits us goes without saying. We all need to understand that."
"The key is, will the Cloaked Man really appear for this woman?"
A voice filled with doubt rang out. The leader of the operation turned around and took out another document.
"After this woman's identity as a member of the Revolutionary Army was confirmed, the higher-ups conducted an analysis of the Cloaked Man's origins."
The others began flipping through the documents in front of them.
It had already been confirmed that the Cloaked Man was born in God Valley, which was destroyed because of the crimes committed there.
This woman, the Revolutionary Army's Eastern Army Commander, was also one of the slaves who escaped from God Valley.
The person who rescued those slaves was another slave from the Sorbet Kingdom, Bartholomew Kuma.
That Celestial Dragon slave happened to eat a Devil Fruit during the chaos and rescued many slaves in God Valley. The Cloaked Man was one of them.
Combining this with the intelligence they currently possessed, there was undoubtedly a connection between this woman becoming a Revolutionary Army officer and Kuma.
There was even a ninety percent chance that the man named Bartholomew Kuma was also a member of the Revolutionary Army.
According to intelligence, during the Revolutionary Army's evacuation from the Kingdom of Olgar, as well as the incident where the Ohara scholars were rescued from Water 7, this Bartholomew Kuma, who possessed the Paw-Paw Fruit, had been involved in both.
Combined with the only confirmed leader, Dragon, the Revolutionary Army now had three known high-ranking members.
There were also several other theories that had yet to be confirmed, so they had not been included in this document.
"An act of saving her life. Considering their ages, there may also be the恩 of raising the Cloaked Man. This target is indeed very suitable."
"The most important thing now is finding an opportunity... an opportunity to quickly capture that woman and transport her to Mary Geoise."
"The analysis of the intelligence we've gathered will still take some time. However, a newcomer from CP9 is already almost here, and a temporary access point on the Red Line has also been opened for him."
"So once the operation begins, it will come down to speed. If the Cloaked Man teleports over but we haven't transported the woman away yet, then the mission will have failed."
"Based on the estimated number of Revolutionary Army members in this document, we have the recent chaos caused by the pirates in the East Blue fighting over the title of Emperor to thank. Otherwise, we never would have discovered them."
"Enough. Finalize the operation plan. Confirm the times when that woman isn't flying through the sky, and determine how to capture her in the shortest possible time."
"Understood."
Meanwhile, a week earlier, after several days of work, Rowan had completed his first short story and sent the manuscript to Baltigo.
The establishment of the Revolutionary Army's mouthpiece had already begun that very night. The next day, Vegapunk immediately began cloning and modifying the owls.
Unlike Vinsmoke Judge's cloned soldiers, the genetic modifications required for the owls were not complicated, and their biological structure was relatively simple.
In order to catch up with the chaos surrounding the title of Emperor, the first batch of owls had already been produced after only a few days, with a large amount of resources being poured into the project.
Akadin, who originally belonged to the Revolutionary Army's Northern Army, had also been brought to Baltigo by Rowan whenever he had the time.
He was there to learn how to manage these newly produced messenger owls.
When the first batch of owls set off with their newspaper bags attached, Rowan finally arrived in the waters of Totto Land.
"Vice Admiral, the location Vice Admiral Sakazuki gave us earlier is right here, but we haven't found any trace of him."
On the warship, Rowan listened to the report. His Observation Haki had already detected fluctuations in the surrounding presence.
"Head southeast slowly. Don't approach. Let's observe the situation first."
After receiving the order, the warship began sailing southeast.
As they drew closer, the air gradually became hotter.
Before long, more and more fish with their bellies turned upward began floating on the surface of the sea. Rowan ordered the warship to stop, allowing the waves to slowly push it away.
Taking the binoculars, Rowan looked toward a small island in the distance.
Magma had set the entire island ablaze. Although its temperature was nowhere near Ryujin Jakka's, it was still enough to make the waters around the island boil.
It had already been several days. Sakazuki and BIG MOM really had incredible stamina. After fighting for this long, they were still going at it.
"You stay back. Members of the BIG MOM Pirates are there too. If you go over, they might target you."
The Marines from G5 did not hesitate. They adjusted their course and began retreating.
Rowan, meanwhile, stepped into the air with Geppo and headed toward the distant island.
However, shortly after he set off, a piece of floating ice on the boiling sea caught his attention.
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