"The sky... the sky has changed!"
"It's Thunderstorm!!!"
"Why is there Thunderstorm all of a sudden? Is this the weather like in the Grand Line?!"
"Ouch, that struck me!"
"Holy crap, my captain got struck by lightning!"
"My wife was struck dead by lightning, so I can get a new wife... Ah!"
"Wrong!"
Why does this lightning always seem to be targeting pirates?
He's not even in the navy!
"Damn it, this isn't the weather, it's that Celestial Dragon's power!"
"The Rumble-Rumble Fruit! This is the strongest Logia, the power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit!!!"
"Damn it, everyone keep your knives low, don't get killed out of nowhere!"
"Damn it!!!"
Amidst the pirates' screams, the thunderclouds in the sky grew thicker and thicker, and Zeus became more and more accustomed to the ever-growing thunderclouds.
As Zeus felt the power within him growing stronger, he stuck out his tongue, looked at Hera with a cold smile, and said...
"You're the Thunder Homitz that Mom just created!"
Tch, they really do look incredibly weak!
That's true, Mom is getting old.
As for us, we can definitely enjoy more energy by staying close to young people!
As he spoke, Zeus spat a thick wad of phlegm at Hera.
Feeling the intense, unyielding power within that plasma, Hera gritted her teeth and cursed loudly.
"Shut up, you shameless scoundrel, you traitor to your mother!"
How can you make betrayal sound so natural? I don't have a senior like you!
"Take this Thunder Descends!"
"Hahaha, let's eat!"
Zeus, bracing against the lightning bolt thrown by Hera, opened his mouth wide and swallowed it whole.
He casually chewed on the thunderbolt, then turned and gave Hera a thumbs up.
Zeus turned his raised thumb down and shook his body dismissively.
"It tastes like garbage, like dry, burnt meat, nothing like the pure lightning from the Rumble-Rumble Fruit!"
Considering you're a girl, I'll reluctantly recommend it to you. Would you like to try it?
If you were also a man, I would never give you my seat; there's no such thing as doing things that way.
Anyway, haha, taste my lightning now! This is real lightning, enhanced by the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, countless times purer!!!
As he spoke, Zeus threw out endless bolts of lightning, aiming straight for Hera's mouth.
Hera grumbled and cursed, but her actions betrayed her true intentions. Before long, she was holding the thunderbolt in both hands, her eyes squinting as she ate.
However, she was ultimately a Homie created by her mother with enhanced control, and although her eyes were full of little stars, she never rebelled.
And then, not long after...
"A little more, you stinky man!"
"Didn't you eat?!"
"Ah, it smells so good~".
"Now I know why you defected. You're just like your mother, always so greedy."
Was I too harsh on you before?
"How about we find another place to have a proper talk?"
"How about we become friends and get to know each other again?"
"After this battle, could you treat your friend Zeus to a meal when you have some free time?"
And so, Zeus and Hera, unnoticed by most in the heavens, began feeding each other bolts of lightning, one bite at a time.
Their combined presence was so overwhelming that thunder roared everywhere, making it seem like they were risking their lives.
Now we know that Zeus was almost able to win Hera's heart...
However, compared to Zeus, Prometheus fared rather poorly...
Both thunder and fire are extremely violent forces, and Prometheus lacked the ability to overpower Pronos. Thus, Pronous completely dominated Pronos.
While Zeus was busy flirting with women, Prometheus was practically being beaten to a pulp by Pronos and needed someone to help him pee...
Who can know the pain of Prometheus?
In any case, Prometheus managed to distract Pronos and prevent her from affecting Borsalino.
Then, a moment later, in the sky filled with thunderclouds, boundless radiance restored the midday color to the already darkened sky!
However, this time the light was not as warm as usual.
Borsalino spread his arms and then said in a lewd whisper.
"Thank you so much, Zeus, and Prometheus."
Now, let me present the pirates with a wonderful gift.
"The Yasakani no Magatama!!!"
In an instant, a light far more dazzling than the Golden Treasury of the King swept down upon the ground.
Each beam of light was a sharp weapon; with just one Yasakani no Magatama, over 40,000 pirates were rendered incapable of fighting.
This time, Borsalino didn't throw the fight; he was incredibly precise, aiming for your crotch but never your groin.
Almost no light falls on anything other than the human body.
In an instant, screams of agony erupted from the pirate camp, and their momentum of continuous charge immediately diminished.
However, even with Zeus and Prometheus doing their best to cover him, Kizaru only had a brief moment of freedom.
Before he could fully enjoy the effects of the Yasakani no Magatama, Rowan came looking for him!
Some might ask, who is Rowan?
Rowan was an important member of Roger's crew and a key figure qualified to participate in drawing the map of Laugh Tale.
His strength is certainly not as good as Rayleigh's, but in any case, if this guy were to join the Shichibukai, he would be almost in the top three, belonging to a group that is extremely close to monsters, and is quite a troublesome opponent.
Borsalino smirked as he watched Rowan rush in front of him.
"Oh my god, how scary! It suddenly appeared in front of me."
What, are you trying to go back to your old ways, hoping to regain the power you had when you were young and could do whatever you wanted?
"Old man?"
"Ha ha ha ha!!!"
Upon hearing Borsalino's words, Rowan's hand holding the sword trembled violently, followed by a hearty laugh.
"You rascal, I thought you junior naval officers were all boring, just putting on a sour face and pretending to be serious."
Turns out you're just as interesting as Garp!
While making a joke, Rowan flicked his cigarette ash.
Just as he flicked his cigarette ash, Borsalino shook his head and said...
"Tsk, Rowan, you're quite an interesting person too."
I just don't understand why you would choose to step forward now, after hiding for twenty years.
Over the years, your fellow Pirate King members have either left or scattered.
I thought you had gradually fallen silent and increasingly accepted the orders of the Five Elders, so I let you off the hook.
"But if you still want to jump out at a time like this, Rowan, do you not want to die peacefully in your bed, but insist on dying a meaningless death on the battlefield?"
After saying that, Borsalino stretched his right hand diagonally downwards.
The Ama no Murakumo Sword, composed of light, instantly appeared in his hand.
Gripping his lightsaber, Borsalino put one hand in his pocket, smirking and clicking his tongue twice in a lewd manner.
After two sounds, he shook his head and laughed.
"You pirates are sometimes incredibly ignorant. Just because the pirates and we are engaged in an unprecedented war, you, who have long since retired, feel you have no choice but to get involved?"
Ha, that's interesting. You think you have some special status among pirates, old man?
Even within Roger Pirates, you didn't have much status or fame, did you?
When people mention Roger Pirates, they only think of Roger, Rayleigh, Gaban, Oden, and others.
So, tsk tsk, your self-righteous burning will never be seen as a source of light by pirates, old man.
But what about those more famous and flamboyant guys that the pirates are more interested in?
Regardless of Rayleigh or Bullet, they're both on our side!
So, are you actually questioning your old friends?
Or perhaps you've always overestimated yourself, haha.
At this point, Kizaru chuckled softly, but his words and chuckle did not anger Rowan.
Rowan simply exhaled a puff of smoke leisurely, then smiled like an ordinary old man and said...
"How could a navy officer like you possibly understand the hearts of us pirates?"
I don't want to talk to you about what I think; I just want to tell you that you really only live once.
Life will eventually come to an end, and one day I will be buried in the ground.
I've dedicated my entire life to the sea, and now that I'm old, I don't even have a child.
The day I die, I'll most likely be drunk and passed away in some dark corner, where others will casually take everything from me, then I'll be called trash, and then, like real trash, shoveled into a cesspool."
At this point, Rowan's face showed a hint of melancholy.
Who can understand the heart of someone like him... Pirate King and a core member of his crew!
Roger died too young, and Roger was his mentor and best friend throughout his life!
Most importantly, Roger died precisely during the peak of the entire pirate crew's career!
He clearly had the opportunity to do more, but he had no choice but to hide his identity and evade capture.
The passion of yesteryear had long since crumbled under the blows of reality, but that long-lost passion was finally rekindled in the face of a major event involving all the pirates!
Why did Rayleigh prefer to stay on Reverse Mountain rather than participate in this war?
Because he knew that once he got involved in this war, he would have to face his old friends!
Rayleigh is Rayleigh, and the others are the others. Although they belong to the same pirate crew, their dreams are all different!
What brought them together was Roger, but apart from Roger, their desires and pursuits were completely different!
If the Luffy Pirates were to lose Luffy, Zoro would likely wander alone, challenging strong opponents and pursuing the chance to become the world's greatest swordsman.
Sanji, on the other hand, will open a new Baratie restaurant, since he doesn't want his bounty to affect Zeff's business.
Nami will still transform into the thieving cat and continue her profession.
Usopp will return to his hometown and have a baby Usopp with Kaya.
If Luffy were to die like Roger, the Luffy crew would not be able to continue sailing the seas as they did when Luffy was still alive.
The same applies to Rayleigh and Rowan.
Rayleigh had his own aspirations and ambitions, which is why he accepted Gawain's invitation to contribute to the advancement of the new era.
If the Straw Hat Crew were to disband, Zoro, the vice- Straw Hat Crew, would invite Usopp to wander the world together and pursue the highest level of swordsmanship.
Would Usopp agree?
What if Rayleigh invited Rowan to join the Dark Bird Ship and together they could create a new era?
Would Rowan agree?
Getting back to the point, after exhaling a smoke ring with a melancholy expression, Rowan shook his head dejectedly.
"I'm dying, little Borsalino. Neither my energy nor my memory are what I was yesterday."
So I've been thinking about what would happen if I really had to die.
Why not try to recapture as much of youth as possible before you die?
If it weren't for this battle, I would most likely have stormed the palace of some great power, slaughtered those damned nobles, and gotten a higher bounty before I died.
To date, my bounty is still only 1.4 billion, which is a bit too low.
Besides, if I did that, I would have done something good, haha.
But not anymore. With this war, I seem to have found the place to burn.
And..."
Rowan smiled mysteriously.
"Moreover, as a pirate, I can make a contribution before I die to this camp, which, although not glorious, carries the hopes of countless predecessors, peers, and successors."
Incidentally, after I die, I might even use my head to help you former enemies get promoted.
See, Borsalino, isn't this a win-win situation?
Everyone's happy...
Not to mention...
While the identity of a pirate might stop a child from crying at night, it must be admitted that this identity truly provides countless people who are not qualified to pursue their dreams with the opportunity and path to get closer to them.
Behind me stood countless pieces of trash that even Captain Roger and I would want to kill.
But even the worst of the worst, can they be worse than Mary Geoise and the Celestial Dragon?
What I care about is never the trash, but the treasures buried within it!
Even if there's only one pearl in a trash can, I wouldn't lose out even if I emptied the entire trash can to find it.
Besides, while there are many villains on this sea, there are never a shortage of good people among the pirates!
Why can't I do something for them?
Rowan chuckled softly, a smile that silenced Borsalino for a moment.
Borsalino knew he had met a formidable opponent.
In this war, there are a few workers on the pirate side who are the most troublesome.
The number one spot naturally belongs to Whitebeard.
And it seems that Rowan is still ranked second!
Borsalino knew that Rowan hadn't lied to him at all.
So, Rowan really wanted to die!
Just like Whitebeard, whom even Sakazuki couldn't confront head-on at this moment.
These suicidal monsters are basically the most difficult monsters to deal with!
Thinking of this, Borsalino narrowed his eyes and gently took off his sunglasses.
"Ah, so I really am doing something so great and glorious."
I knew it, you pirates will always be like this.
You'll never understand that freedom might be the most worthwhile dream you talk about.
But for the general public, safety is what they need.
Unfortunately, the freedom of your words will rob them of their safety in life.
"And if the security they need is to be achieved, the world must be filled with people who are no longer free!"