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3 CHAPTERS TODAY :)
New week, Lets Push!!
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"3.9889 BILLION BERI?!" Everyone gasped upon seeing the number.
Though Rowen's bounty was already 3 billion, this new figure was ridiculously high!
NEARLY 4 BILLION BERI!
"WAIT! How much are the Four Emperors' bounties??" Sanji asked.
Their bounties had reached this level... Just how much were the legendary Four Emperors worth?? How far were they now from a true Emperor's crew?
Sanji's question made everyone turn serious.
Rowen's dream was to stand above all... And they were to be the strength that helped him achieve it.
Luffy's dream was to become King of the Pirates!
Whether helping Rowen or helping Luffy, the Four Emperors—were four super-great pirates they could not avoid.
"The Four Emperors?" Rowen smiled.
Activating the intelligence enhancement of his Human-Human Fruit, Rowen could easily recall all the plot details he had seen on Earth.
"Since we're on the topic, let me fully explain the composition of the Emperor crews. You all... have now truly earned the right to know this information. To follow me... and pull the Four Emperors from their thrones!" Rowen declared, looking at his crew with a confident smile.
Previously, Rowen had only given them a general overview of the world's power structure. He had never told them the specific bounties of the Four Emperors.
In the One Piece world, a bounty was a direct reflection of a pirate's strength.
The Emperors' bounties were too high. Telling the crew before they were strong enough would have placed immense, crushing pressure on them, potentially hindering their growth.
But now... the crew's strength had reached a level where they were qualified to participate in the highest-level confrontations on these seas!
Knowing their targets would only accelerate their growth!
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"The Four Emperors' bounties, from lowest to highest, are..."
"Captain of the Red Hair Pirates, Emperor 'Red-Haired' Shanks! Bounty: 4,048,900,000 Beri!"
"SUGEEEEEEEE! Shanks's bounty is over 4 billion Beri!" Luffy grinned. Shanks was the one who set Luffy on his pirate path—Luffy deeply respected him as a great pirate.
Hearing this bounty filled Luffy not with fear, but with motivation.
Though Shanks was his role model, there could only be one Pirate King. His own bounty had to surpass Shanks's—
—Luffy's eyes burned with fighting spirit.
"The only female among the Four Emperors. A natural-born monster. User of the Soul-Soul Fruit, capable of manipulating souls and stealing lifespan. Captain of the Big Mom Pirates. Emperor Charlotte Linlin! Bounty: 4,388,000,000 Beri."
"Governor-General of the Beasts Pirates. Known as the World's Strongest Creature due to possessing one of the most powerful Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits—the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon. Emperor Kaido of the Beasts! Bounty: 4,611,100,000 Beri."
"And finally—The World's Strongest Man. User of the strongest Paramecia Devil Fruit, the Tremor-Tremor Fruit—known as the man who can destroy the world! Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates. Whitebeard, Edward Newgate! Bounty: 5,046,000,000 Beri!"
Rowen laid out all the information without hesitation.
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"Three of the Four Emperors are super-powerful Devil Fruit users?" Zoro's expression turned grim.
Rowen had already shown them how terrifying powerful Devil Fruits could be!
If not for Rowen's own Devil Fruit abilities, they never would have won the war against the Buster Call!
And the Emperors' Devil Fruit abilities sounded more horrifying than the last—One of the strongest Mythical Zoans, The strongest Paramecia, capable of destroying the world—and one that could manipulate souls and steal lifespan.
Each was an incredibly frightening power!
"Correct. Among the Four Emperors, only Red-Hair is not a Devil Fruit user. Shanks, like the former Pirate King Gol D. Roger, is a non-user. Consequently, Red-Hair also possesses the Strongest Haki—" Rowen explained.
"So the Pirate King Roger wasn't a Devil Fruit user either..." the crew murmured in awe.
Hearing Rowen's words, Zoro and Sanji's eyes burned with fighting spirit.
The World's Most Dominant Haki User. Red-Haired Shanks—
—And the Former Pirate King, Roger...
Both were non-users who became top-tier powerhouses of their eras through powerful Haki.
This gave Zoro and Sanji immense confidence.
For the sake of their dreams, they couldn't eat Devil Fruits.
Sanji, who considered the Clear-Clear Fruit the romance of men, never truly considered eating one.
How could he find the All Blue if he couldn't swim?
And Zoro, to become the World's Greatest Swordsman, had to dedicate himself entirely to the way of the sword.
Eating a Devil Fruit would inevitably distract him...
Though they had witnessed firsthand the scary combat boost from powerful Devil Fruits, and knew Rowen could obtain them—at this moment, Zoro and Sanji's resolve was firm.
Devil Fruits, though powerful, were contrary to their paths. If Shanks and Roger could become top-tier powerhouses without them, SO COULD THEY!
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Rowen, with his powerful Observation Haki, naturally sensed Zoro and Sanji's emotional fluctuations and smiled.
A clear goal gave one the drive to grow, forging a more resolute spirit. And in the One Piece power system, where spiritual strength was paramount, a resolute spirit was invaluable.
After his own spiritual metamorphosis, even Rowen's rate of Haki improvement via Born of the Sea had accelerated significantly.
Zoro and Sanji's Haki would now also improve faster—this was the main reason Rowen shared this detailed intel.
"As for the Emperors' second-in-commands, their bounties range from 1 billion to 1.5 billion Beri—" Rowen continued.
"High-ranking commanders of Emperor crews have bounties between 500 million and 1 billion Beri. Like Luffy's brother, Fire Fist Ace, 2nd Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates—his bounty is 550 million Beri," Rowen stated calmly.
After waking up, Rowen had checked Ace's Vivre Card; it was stable...
But his Human-Human Fruit's enhanced intellect allowed him to recall the original story's timeline:
Ace was captured by Blackbeard shortly after the Enies Lobby arc—
—And his powerful Observation Haki detected faint traces on the Vivre Card—signs of it having shrunk and then expanded again. A Vivre Card shrinks when its owner's life force weakens, but recovers when their life force does. It seemed Ace had already been captured by Blackbeard—during the time they were all unconscious.
The Summit War was about to begin.
'This time, the combat strength is ample.' Rowen looked at Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji.
Luffy possessed Yonko Commander level strength. Zoro and Sanji were very close to it. These three main combatants were now renowned powerhouses on the seas.
Rowen intended to take these three main fighters—to the Summit War battlefield!
And before the war began, Rowen would put the three of them—especially Luffy—through demonic training!
Back on Earth, Rowen had seen posts and fanfics imagining what would happen if an evolved Luffy appeared at the Summit War—Now, as the one actually pulling the strings, Rowen would of course ensure Luffy evolved to the maximum extent!
Rowen looked at Luffy's Traits, a plan quickly forming in his mind.
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"My bounty is higher than Ace's now! Shishishi!" Luffy beamed. But then he shivered. 'Why does Rowen's gaze feel a little... off?!'
"Wait a minute! Rowen, your bounty is nearly the same as Shanks's... Luffy's bounty is on par with Emperor's second-in-commands! Zoro and Sanji are at the level of High-ranking commanders! Plus the rest of us..." Usopp counted on his fingers, cold sweat suddenly pouring down his face.
"Hey, hey! Are we already considered an Emperor-level pirate crew??" Usopp clutched his head, exclaiming.
"Shishishi! An Emperor-level crew! Sounds great!" Luffy grinned.
"Hmph. Now this is getting interesting," Zoro smiled.
"Waaaah! Rowen! I have a 300 million Beri bounty! Won't I be targeted?" Nami whined, clinging to Rowen's arm.
"With me here, what are you afraid of??" Rowen's words made Nami cling even tighter.
With her Climate Sense, Nami could wield a portion of Rowen's Rumble-Rumble Fruit's power. A direct hit from her lightning would severely injure even a Marine HQ Vice Admiral or an Emperor's commander—
—Nami's combat power was very strong. The Navy giving Nami a 300 million Beri bounty was based on this fact.
After being recognized as an Emperor-level crew, their bounties were now directly linked to their strength!
They were a true, bona fide, Emperor-level pirate crew!
Of course, the Four Emperor positions, like the Seven Warlords, were fixed. To become an Emperor, one had to pull one of the existing four from their throne.
This was why Rowen was currently only called the Fifth Emperor!!
Robin thought of this as well...
"So, next... are we going to take down one of the Four Emperors?" Robin's question made everyone look towards Rowen.
In Rowen's and Luffy's dreams, the Four Emperors were major obstacles.
"Shanks is Luffy's role model—if we fight him, it'll be last. Whitebeard is Luffy's brother's captain, so he's temporarily excluded. The only ones left are Big Mom and Kaido?" Robin analyzed, rubbing her chin.
"Shishishi! Just pick one! But we have to wait until I get stronger! We can't let Rowen fight an Emperor alone!" Luffy grinned.
Luffy was well aware of his own strength; he couldn't defeat an Emperor now. But to become Pirate King, he had to use at least one Emperor's head as a stepping stone!
"—Why not just take down Kaido and Big Mom together?" Rowen declared, laughing heartily.
On Earth, because Benn Beckman's combat power was never fully revealed but was clearly immense, many called the Red Hair Pirates a 'Dual-Emperor Crew'.
But that was just a nickname...
Rowen wanted two actual Emperor seats!
To make their crew a true, bona fide—Dual-Emperor Crew!
"Great idea!!" Zoro grinned.
"Well said," Sanji lit a cigarette, smiling.
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"BIG BRO ZAMBAI! THEY'RE SO SCARY!" The Franky Family huddled together, trembling.
"Y-Yeah... As expected of Big Bro Rowen!" Zambai stammered, drenched in cold sweat, but still filled with awe.
'This is the man with the nearly 4 billion bounty. Casually talking about taking down two Emperors. What incredible ambition!'
"Wait! Big Bro Franky! The most important thing is this!" Zambai suddenly remembered, pulling out another wanted poster.
WANTED - DEAD OR ALIVE
CYBORG FRANKY
BOUNTY: 100,000,000 Beri!
Zambai's forehead was beaded with cold sweat.
Franky's eyes also narrowed.
"One hundred million Beri..." Iceburg's face turned grim.
This bounty would surely attract powerful Marines and bounty hunters! And many pirates would want to take a 100 million Beri head to make a name for themselves!
More importantly—Franky still possessed Pluton's blueprints!
And the only one who could protect Franky was... Iceburg looked towards that legendary figure.
Sky Sovereign Rowen.
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