Rowan examined the two talents displayed before him Firearm Proficiency and Melee Combat quickly made a decision. Without hesitation, he allocated 20 of the 45 proficiency points he had just earned into Melee Combat.
Swish!
The moment Melee Combat proficiency reached 100 points, a brilliant golden light flashed, and the status label beside it shifted from "Mastered" to "Controlled."
At the same time, Rowan felt a subtle but profound change ripple through his body. His movements became noticeably more agile, and countless combat techniques seemed to engrave themselves directly into his muscles and instincts, as though he had trained for years in an instant.
"Good… that leaves 25 points," Rowan murmured to himself. "Those can go into the Distortion Fruit."
His gaze shifted to the third talent on his tree Distortion Fruit and he considered it carefully.
Unlike the other abilities, the Distortion Fruit had not been granted by the Talent System. Rowan had obtained it purely by chance during a life-or-death situation. With no time to analyze it, he had eaten the mysterious Devil Fruit as a gamble.
After consuming it, a massive new branch labeled Distortion Fruit had appeared within the Combat category of his Talent System.
The basic power of the fruit allowed him to distort any physical matter he touched. Even something as solid as steel could be twisted and warped as easily as clay.
At first glance, it seemed like a simple ability.
But within the Talent System, its true potential was terrifying.
Extending from the main Distortion Fruit branch were several advanced paths:
Distortion of Light – 100 proficiency
Distortion of Gravity – 300 proficiency
Distortion of Space – 600 proficiency
Distortion of Time – 1000 proficiency
Unlike ordinary talents such as Firearm Proficiency or Melee Combat, these advanced abilities required not only sufficient proficiency, but also free talent points to unlock.
That was exactly why Rowan had been so pleased to receive a free talent point from defeating Great Cleaver Lordes.
Including the single point he had carefully saved over time, Rowan now possessed two free talent points in total.
Without delay, he invested the remaining 25 proficiency points into the Distortion Fruit.
Every talent grew stronger as proficiency increased, and reaching major thresholds like 50 or 100 would bring dramatic improvements.
"If I can hunt just one more pirate at Lordes's level," Rowan thought, "I'll be able to unlock the first advanced branch of the Distortion Fruit."
He flexed his fingers slightly, already feeling his control over the Devil Fruit power deepen.
The ability that interested him most was Distortion of Light.
On the surface, it didn't appear especially impressive. But Rowan could already imagine its potential.
By distorting light, he could create illusions, produce afterimages, or even temporarily blind enemies with warped reflections. In the hands of someone skilled, it could become a terrifying weapon.
Unless an opponent possessed Observation Haki, they would find themselves helpless against such unpredictable techniques.
"Observation Haki…" Rowan muttered thoughtfully.
At the very top of his talent tree, three ultimate abilities remained grayed out:
Observation Haki
Armament Haki
Conqueror's Haki
None of them were currently available for activation.
It was unclear whether he lacked enough free talent points, or if his body simply hadn't reached the necessary level to awaken Haki yet.
As Rowan was about to close the Talent System, something caught his attention.
One section that had previously been gray had suddenly turned green.
Green meant it was now available for activation.
"The Six Powers… they've unlocked?" Rowan muttered in surprise.
Displayed before him were six well-known abilities of the Marines:
Soru
Geppo
Rankyaku
Tekkai
Kami-e
Shigan
Among them, Soru and Kami-e were glowing bright green, while the other four remained inactive.
"So raising Melee Combat to the Controlled level must have met the requirements," Rowan concluded. "Just like I suspected certain talents only unlock once your physical abilities reach the necessary standard."
He studied the two options carefully.
Both Soru and Kami-e required one free talent point each to activate.
Rowan currently had exactly two points enough to unlock both.
But free talent points were extremely rare.
Over the past six months, he had hunted multiple pirates with bounties over ten million Berries, yet had only managed to collect two points.
After thinking it through, Rowan made his decision.
"I'll activate Soru first."
Soru was a high-speed movement technique, perfect for both offense and escape. Kami-e, while useful for evasion, wasn't as essential in life-or-death situations.
If he ever found himself in real danger, speed would be far more valuable.
Rowan chose to save his final free talent point in case he needed it later especially for unlocking Distortion of Light.
Swish!
The moment he assigned the talent point to Soru, the branch glowed brilliantly and turned gold.
A rush of energy surged through his body.
Rowan closed his eyes as countless sensations flooded his mind. In just a few seconds, it felt as though he had spent months relentlessly training the technique.
When he opened his eyes again, Soru felt completely natural like second nature.
"Let's test it."
He took a deep breath.
"Soru!"
Rowan's figure vanished.
With a sharp burst of speed, he shot forward like a bullet, leaving only a faint afterimage behind. To an ordinary person, it would have looked as if he had teleported.
After several rapid movements, Rowan returned to his original position, breathing lightly.
A satisfied smile appeared on his face.
"Using Soru consumes a fair amount of stamina," he observed, "but my speed increases at least two or three times."
With his existing Agility Enhancement talent combined with Soru, pirates below twenty million Berries likely wouldn't even be able to follow his movements.
"Alright. Time to go."
Rowan steadied his breathing, picked up the severed head of Great Cleaver Lordes, and made his way toward the harbor.
Two ships were docked there.
One was a large pirate vessel bearing the Cutlass Pirate Crew's flag.
The other was a small but sturdy boat Rowan's own.
The pirate ship had originally been guarded by two of Lordes's men, but Rowan had already taken care of them before confronting their captain.
Thud!
He casually tossed Lordes's head onto the deck of his boat, jumped aboard, and began preparing to depart.
Among all the Life category talents, Rowan had only invested in Navigation.
In the world of One Piece, sailing without proper navigation skills was practically suicide.
After untying the ropes and raising the sail, Ghost Hand Rowan steered his small vessel away from Augs Island.
Another pirate hunt was complete.
And many more awaited him on the vast seas ahead.