Peter Saint turned and headed toward the center of the island, breaking the balance of the battlefield.
Saturn Saint looked at Rowan and noticed his expression gradually becoming more grim. He then said, "If you can take your own life, then we, as the highest authority of the World Government, guarantee that everyone else on this island will be spared."
"Regardless of whether there are surviving scholars from Ohara here or people who have committed other crimes, the World Government can forgive them."
Hearing this, Rowan's expression became even more troubled. He frowned, seemingly caught between hesitation and indecision.
Warcury Saint spoke from the side, "The only person here who can actually give us a headache is you. The crime of killing a Celestial Dragon is unforgivable. That is our bottom line."
Nusjuro Saint looked over.
"If you refuse to take your own life, then those people being evacuated by the robots will"
Before he could finish, the battle on the other side had already begun.
As Saturn Saint had ordered, Peter Saint transformed into his sandworm form and burrowed underground. The defenses arranged for Kizaru were completely useless against him.
Seeing this, Rowan knew that he had already dragged out the conversation for as long as possible.
He threw out a kunai, and Ryujin Jakka suddenly erupted in his hand.
But as the kunai flew into the air, it was directly destroyed by a beam of light.
The spatial markers scattered across the ground were likewise pierced by Saturn Saint's sharp spider legs.
Haki-infused lightning exploded across the sky, leaving Rowan unable to get over there and stop him.
"You can't get past me."
Saturn Saint transformed into his monstrous form and looked at Rowan. "If you want to save them, either take your own life here, or let us kill you."
"Whoosh!"
Soukotsu.
A violent explosion of flames erupted as Rowan swung his blade, blocking Nusjuro Saint's incoming attack before retreating.
"You people really are so arrogant that you make me sick!"
Rowan leapt into the air, and towering flames rose into the sky, blocking the beam of light descending from above.
Ennetsu Jigoku!
The flames filling the sky suddenly contracted, and the blade erupted with terrifying heat.
Rowan returned the blade to its sheath.
In the next instant, his overwhelming Conqueror's Haki erupted, yet it was likewise compressed into Ryujin Jakka.
Ittō Ryodan!
"Vmmm…"
"Boom!"
The surrounding air itself seemed to be cleaved apart by the searing blade.
The slash descended head-on, colliding with Warcury Saint in his Fengxi form.
"BOOM!!"
The collision caused the entire island to tremble violently, as though it were sinking beneath the sea.
The ground at the center exploded apart, while countless chunks of stone were pulverized by the shockwave and sent flying in every direction.
Even the sandworm in the distance turned its attention toward them.
In his Fengxi form, Warcury Saint's defensive power could be described as utterly monstrous.
Not only that, the recoil on his head could reflect attacks back at his opponent, causing the enemy to suffer devastating damage from their own strength.
"Boom…"
A thunderous impact rang out.
What everyone saw was Warcury Saint being forced back by a single step.
There was even a wound on his forehead. The injury was charred black, but it was not particularly deep.
"ROOOAAAR!!!"
A furious roar erupted from the Fengxi's mouth.
The resulting shockwave caused the already split-in-two Baldigo to rupture even further.
"Pfft."
Rowan spat out a mouthful of blood.
As expected, the impact from this pig couldn't be taken head-on.
Even with the flames condensed into Ryujin Jakka and his Conqueror's Haki compressed into the slash, it had only been enough to break through Warcury's defenses.
The force reflected back at him, combined with the vibration from that roar just now, had injured his internal organs.
"Ah!"
A flash of cold light swept past.
A chill surged from inside Rowan's body, as though it were trying to freeze his heart.
Yet on Ryujin Jakka, a barely perceptible strand of black flame flickered.
In an instant, the cold inside his body was redirected toward his wrist and flowed into Ryujin Jakka.
Rowan glanced at the blade in his hand, still unable to make sense of what had just happened, when the Fengxi with the slash across his forehead charged at him again.
"Bang!"
Rowan planted his foot and pushed his Observation Haki to its limit, narrowly avoiding the collision.
He swung Ryujin Jakka, cutting apart the claws of the Itsumade descending from above.
Then Rowan pointed Ryujin Jakka toward the ground, and surging flames erupted once more.
Ennetsu Jigoku!
Under the extreme release of power, Rowan's Conqueror's Haki erupted from his body and dyed the entire sky crimson. Red lightning repeatedly blasted apart the ground.
"Vmmm…"
All of the Haki was absorbed into the blade.
"BOOM BOOM BOOM…"
In an instant, a total of twenty-four towering pillars of explosive flame erupted from beneath the ground, completely engulfing all five Five Elders.
The scorching heat caused the surrounding sea to boil, while the entire island of Baldigo seemed to become an illusory, hazy mirage.
But this attack also caused the entire island to begin collapsing. Countless rocks sank into the sea, while the shattered fragments of the island were burned into charred debris beneath the raging flames.
And at this very moment, the sandworm that had already reached the center of the island was blasted apart by the flames, its body scattering in all directions. Even so, it continued staring intently at the robots transporting the supplies.
With Baldigo being destroyed, Peter Saint finally saw what those robots had been carrying.
He had originally thought they were using some technology to conceal the contents from Observation Haki.
But now Peter Saint understood.
The things those robots were transporting had been empty all along.
They hadn't gone to the port on the other side, nor had they headed toward the coastline on the opposite side of the island.
All that back-and-forth transportation had merely been an illusion.
Those enormous rectangular vehicles that looked as though they were carrying countless people had made trip after trip, yet there hadn't been a single person inside them!
They had been fooled!
Apart from the Cloaked Man, there wasn't a single living person on this island.
Everything else was machinery.
Everything was automated.
And after unleashing this attack, Rowan could no longer conceal the truth.
The moment that supposedly unkillable worm left the battlefield, it had already become impossible to keep the deception going. And by using this attack to destroy the island, he could at least cause some trouble for these five old monsters.
However.
Although Baldigo had been almost completely destroyed, and the warship from earlier had also been shattered by Rowan, the Five Elders had not fallen into the sea.
Standing atop a stretch of land formed from sand and hardened rock, the Five Elders simultaneously looked toward Rowan.
The Itsumade high in the sky and Kizaru likewise turned their attention toward him.
"What are you plotting?"
Saturn Saint stared at Rowan with a solemn expression.
Even Mars Saint, who was flying through the sky, made no move to attack him.
Now that they knew there wasn't a single other Revolutionary Army member on the island, the Five Elders understood that attacking was meaningless.
As long as they couldn't restrict Rowan's teleportation, and there were no hostages they could use as leverage, they had no way to prevent him from leaving.
But... just like what had happened at Sabaody Archipelago several years ago, the purpose of the Cloaked Man staying behind and fighting to the death to draw attention and buy time had been to allow the Revolutionary Army to withdraw from the five kingdoms, including the Kingdom of Goa.
So this time, after staying here for so long, the Five Elders didn't believe he had no ulterior motive.
Rowan slightly raised his head and smiled at the six people before him, including Kizaru.
"Why should I tell you what I'm plotting? Just like... if you could tell me what's underneath the place where you surrounded me in Mary Geoise that time, would you?"
"You wouldn't. Since we're enemies, why would you help your enemy figure things out?"
Saturn Saint frowned. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Your body right now isn't a clone. After last time, we learned that your clones don't possess the same strength as your main body. So... with the Revolutionary Army's current strength, even without us here, you couldn't possibly break through Mary Geoise."
Rowan smiled.
"You can keep guessing. If you happen to guess correctly, then even if I don't answer, you can tell from my expression whether you're right or not, can't you?"
Nusjuro Saint shouted angrily, "You're trying to stall for time!"
Now that his intention had been exposed, Rowan showed no emotional reaction.
"Stalling for time isn't wrong. So where do you think the Revolutionary Army's forces are right now? Marine Headquarters? Impel Down? Or Mary Geoise?"
Rowan's words made the Five Elders' hearts tighten.
Although the lives of the people in this world were nothing more than ants to them, maintaining the sea's stability was something they had always worked to preserve.
If the criminals imprisoned in Impel Down were released, it was easy to imagine the chaos that would once again erupt across the seas.
"Borsalino."
"Contact Marine Headquarters. Have Sengoku immediately establish contact with Impel Down. If contact cannot be established, send support immediately."
"Understood."
Kizaru didn't say anything about how terrifying the situation was this time. Instead, contrary to his usual demeanor, he hurriedly took out the Den Den Mushi and made the call.
He was the only one here who still had a Den Den Mushi capable of connecting to Marine Headquarters. The Den Den Mushi belonging to the Five Elders and the ones aboard the warship had mostly been destroyed during the battle just now.
And Rowan made no attempt to stop him.
In fact, this battle had allowed him to see the gap between himself and the Five Elders.
Even his strongest Ennetsu Jigoku, despite erupting with all its power, couldn't inflict any real damage on these five old monsters.
The only slash that had injured Warcury Saint had merely caused a superficial wound to his forehead.
On the other hand, Rowan himself had suffered internal injuries from the impacts. Fighting one against five, he had been relying entirely on brute force to endure.
"It's not Impel Down?"
Saturn Saint exhaled and thought for a moment, his earlier anger subsiding somewhat.
"So... the Revolutionary Army's or rather, your objective has always been Mary Geoise?"
Seeing that Rowan continued to smile without answering, Saturn Saint continued, "Repaying your hatred, protecting ordinary people... what an absurdly naive dream."
"How much do you actually understand about this world? Dreams are nothing more than childish emotions."
"You can't expect us to empathize with ants. The difference between us is innate. There is still much about this world that you don't know. The one thing that has always maintained stability is the World Government."
At this moment, Rowan's smile disappeared.
"So you people, who call yourselves gods and regard all living beings as ants, are incapable of empathizing with ordinary people. You've lived high above everyone else for so long that you've forgotten that you were once nothing more than ants yourselves."
"Life has no distinction between noble and lowly! I'm human, so I can understand the suffering of other humans. But you call yourselves gods, and you've never been able to understand what suffering truly is."
At that moment, out on the sea where Baldigo had once stood, the shattered rocks that had been burned into charred debris slowly sank beneath the waves.
The only thing still floating on the surface of the sea was a single remaining piece of land, held together by a mass of sand and gravel.
The Five Elders had all returned to their human forms. Peter Saint, who had been using his special ability, had done the same. Yet none of the five attacked Rowan.
After confirming that there wasn't a single member of the Revolutionary Army left on Baldigo, they understood that they couldn't keep the Cloaked Man here, nor could they eliminate any of the Revolutionary Army's forces.
As for Rowan's claim that they arrogantly regarded themselves as gods, it wouldn't change their beliefs in the slightest.
Saturn Saint glanced at Kizaru in midair, his eyes lingering for a moment on the injuries around his shoulder.
Then he looked at Rowan. "So you knew from the beginning?"
Rowan smiled. "That time in Mary Geoise, my clone was deliberately allowed to leave. Once I got out of there with the ability to teleport, I could leave whenever I wanted."
"Although several members of the Holy Knights kept pursuing me the entire time, if they couldn't even capture one of my clones, then they wouldn't deserve to be members of the Holy Knights in the first place, would they?"
Warcury Saint frowned. "How were you certain that the mark would be on that Door-Door Fruit user?"
Rowan looked at the giant boar with a mocking smile. "By helping maintain this remaining piece of Baldigo, you're obviously hoping to get more information out of me. I already said it... why should I tell you?"
"That time in Mary Geoise, I was busy avoiding the pursuit of the Holy Knights, so I only discovered it at the very end."
As he said this, Rowan noticed that all five old monsters had fallen into thought.
Clearly, saying only half of the story and leaving the rest for them to fill in themselves was the most convincing approach.
As a user of the Glint-Glint Fruit, Kizaru's abilities and Haki were undoubtedly among the strongest even within the Logia class.
In another two years, there was no doubt that he would become one of the Marines' highest combat powers a Marine Admiral.
Together with Kuzan, there were already two future Admirals connected to the Revolutionary Army, along with the two Vice Admirals currently developing under Kuzan.
Therefore, no matter what happened, Kizaru couldn't be suspected of having any connection with the Revolutionary Army. That would affect the crucial future plan of bringing the entire Marine force into the fold.
That was precisely why Rowan had explicitly instructed the cloud processor not to hold back against Kizaru.
If they deliberately held back in an insignificant area just to save a few aircraft, the possibility of Kizaru's act being exposed would be far too great.
Hence, after sacrificing a large number of aircraft, Kizaru had genuinely been injured and prevented from breaking through.
And what Rowan had just said served not only to stall for time, but also to guide the Five Elders toward other possibilities.
After all, Rowan himself didn't know whether those five old men could use that strange teleportation array from earlier to return directly to Mary Geoise.
At this moment, Saturn Saint and the others were indeed contemplating the implications of Rowan's words.
After thinking it over, they once again turned their attention toward the purpose behind his stalling.
"You don't have the strength to break through Mary Geoise. So... what exactly are you trying to do?"
Nusjuro Saint also looked at Rowan. "You've been able to leave at any time, yet you've stayed here to talk with us. You even deliberately revealed that you can detect the coordinates. Is this related to your ability to rely on those coordinates to teleport?"
As his voice fell, the vortex formed by the surrounding island's collapse gradually settled down.
In the distant sea, countless warships appeared. The numbers of various Marine branches were marked on their hulls, and warships from the G5 Branch were prominently among them.
A figure leapt into the air.
Just before he landed in the seawater, a freezing chill erupted from his hands.
"Ice Age."
"Crack, crack, crack…"
The sea surface froze over, spreading all the way to the ruins of Baldigo.
The newcomer didn't stop, continuing to reinforce and thicken the layer of ice beneath his feet.
The frozen sea forced all the approaching warships to stop. Groups of Marines disembarked and moved toward the Five Elders.
On a G5 Branch warship, Rowan's shadow clone looked at Tashigi beside him.
"Tell the people below to be smart. If a fight breaks out, retreat. Without Haki at the top level, bullets are meaningless against these monsters."
Tashigi nodded to show that she understood, though she looked at her superior with a hint of confusion.
Soon, Rowan and several Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals walked toward the Five Elders.
He was only a shadow clone and had no idea what was happening on the main body's side. But judging from the situation, it seemed that the arrangements on Baldigo had already been discovered.
So... they were stalling for time?
Then they probably wouldn't actually fight.
Otherwise, there was a good chance this shadow clone of his would simply get beaten to pieces.
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