But then again...
Watching his teacher's mighty, domineering, and peerless display, the haze in Zephyr's heart was instantly swept away. He couldn't even help but burst into loud, hearty laughter.
"Hahahaha! This is the Master Rowan I've respected and idolized all these years!"
After all, several of his master's disciples were now legendary figures in the Navy. If he could train such elite students, how could he himself be truly obscure?
Zephyr laughed wantonly, his voice booming and arrogant. All the negative emotions from his previous crushing defeat at the hands of "Whitebeard Jr." dissipated. What remained was only an endless sense of pride in Master Rowan.
After all, he, "Black Arm" Zephyr, was also one of Master Rowan's disciples! To be qualified as a student of Master Rowan—how could Zephyr not be proud?!
On the battlefield, Rowan stepped forward, one pace at a time, toward a Miss Bakkin who had practically wet herself with fear. His aura was fierce and unmatched, sword ki ravaging the air around him like a God of War descended to earth.
Looking at the deathly pale Miss Bakkin, who no longer looked human, Rowan chuckled softly. "Whitebeard's woman? When this Old Man was chasing down pirates across the seas, that brat Whitebeard hadn't even been born yet."
"Setting aside whether you actually have a relationship with him or not..."
"Even if that brat Whitebeard himself were standing here, he couldn't stop me."
"Do you believe me?"
As Rowan advanced, the terror on Miss Bakkin's face intensified. She let out a shrill scream.
"You... you can't kill me! You absolutely cannot kill me! If you kill me, you'll be in massive trouble!"
Her short limbs flailed desperately against the ground, but her crawling speed was pathetically slow.
"Mama! Mama!"
"You old fossil, you dare lay a hand on my Mama? I'll kill you!"
Not far away, the heavily injured Edward Weevil saw this and felt his eyes nearly pop out of his head. He let out a primal roar. At this moment, he actually forced his broken body upright, snatched up his naginata, and charged.
Perhaps fueled by the desperate urge to save his mother, the strength erupting from Weevil's body was immense. His speed was not a single bit slower than his initial charge!
"Mr. Rowan, watch out!" someone screamed in warning. Others looked on in horror, their hearts shaking.
"He's that badly injured, yet he can still erupt with that level of power?"
"Is this guy really a monster..."
The injuries on Weevil were no lighter than Zephyr's—in fact, they were worse. Yet he could still manifest such terrifying momentum.
However, even with the warning, Rowan acted as if he hadn't noticed. He continued to close in on Miss Bakkin with measured steps.
"Kill him! My good son, hurry up and kill him!"
Seeing Edward Weevil charging in, a flicker of hope reignited in Miss Bakkin's eyes. Even her physical strength seemed to return. She shrieked at the top of her lungs, her scuttling pace quickening significantly.
"Mr. Rowan, be careful!" Ain shouted, her face full of worry.
On the other hand, Zoro and Luffy—perched on the tree branches—looked completely unconcerned. One hugged his three swords and let out a cold snort, while the other maintained that wide, carefree grin.
In the forest clearing.
Weevil's massive frame tore through the air like a cannonball, racing toward Rowan. His eyes were blood-red, his throat raw from screaming as he swung his naginata down with reckless abandon, aiming to split Rowan in two.
However.
Rowan in this state was not some unperceptive old man. In addition to his peak stamina and Armament Haki, his Observation Haki was at the absolute pinnacle of the seas. Before Weevil's blade could even descend, Rowan had already predicted the exact trajectory of the strike.
Rowan flicked his wrist. His longsword erupted with a brilliant light as he executed a "Flick-Sword" technique.
Clang!
Rowan's blade didn't meet the oncoming edge of Weevil's naginata head-on. Instead, it flicked the side of the heavy weapon.
Under the influence of this redirected force, the naginata's trajectory was completely warped. In a bizarre display of physics, the weapon traced a circle in Weevil's hands before ending with a sharp SMACK—the flat of the naginata blade slammed heavily into Weevil's own face.
If there is a "Dominant Sword," then there is also a "Soft Sword!"
Rowan's technique of "borrowing strength to redirect force" caused a brilliant light to flash in Zoro's eyes. There is... actually a move like this?!
Zoro immediately closed his eyes, replaying Rowan's strike in his mind, his brow furrowed in deep concentration.
On the other side, having been slapped by his own weapon, Edward Weevil was sent spinning through the air. With a thunderous BOOM, his massive body crashed into the ground. A deep, purplish-red mark in the shape of a naginata blade was clearly visible across his face.
Lying on the ground, Weevil instinctively tried to get back up. But before he could even twitch, his tiny bead-like eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness completely.
"Ah? Son! My sweet son! What... what's wrong with you?"
"Get up! Hurry up and get up to kill them for Mama!"
Seeing Weevil faint before her, Miss Bakkin's tiny spark of hope was extinguished once again. She shrieked, trying to wake him. But no matter how she called, Weevil lay there like a dead dog, motionless and unresponsive.
"Kill? The Old Man will show you how to kill!"
Rowan, unable to endure the old woman's grating noise any longer, took a sudden step forward. A flash of sword light flickered.
The noise stopped abruptly.
In Miss Bakkin's wide-eyed, disbelieving gaze, a thin red line slowly appeared across her neck. The line widened until her head slid off her shoulders.
Thud.
Her hideous head hit the ground, her face still frozen in shock. She was as dead as could be.
Rowan glanced at the unconscious Weevil and finally sheathed his weapon. The moment the sword clicked into its scabbard, the terrifying aura surrounding Rowan vanished without a trace. He reverted back to the gentle, smiling, and seemingly harmless old man from before.
"Zephyr-boy, this fellow is yours to handle," Rowan said with a light smile, pointing at the unconscious "Whitebeard Jr."
Watching this scene, Zephyr couldn't stop two rows of hot tears from rolling down his face. His heart felt warmer than it had in decades.
Who said he had no family left?
Didn't he still have Master Rowan?! Master Rowan was his family!
At this moment, in Zephyr's heart, Rowan was no longer just the mentor who had taught him through words and deeds. Rowan's status had ascended to that of a father—perhaps even higher.