Steadying their breathing, Rear Admirals Hayden and Pierre suppressed the shock in their hearts. They exchanged a nod and simultaneously launched an offensive against Rowan.
The first to move was the physically robust Hayden. With a low shout, he used the Marine Six Powers' "Soru" to charge at Rowan. While his speed was notably slower than Carmage's, he left far fewer openings.
"Tempest Kick: Sky Sweep!"
Upon reaching Rowan, Hayden suddenly dropped his center of gravity, aiming a fierce, sweeping kick at Rowan's lower body. Rowan responded with a light leap, easily evading the unadorned attack.
BOOM!
The vacuum blade from the "Sky Sweep" missed its mark and slammed into the floor of the conference room, leaving a jagged fissure in the tiles.
"Moonwalk!"
Suddenly, a sharp cry rang out from above Rowan's head. The crowd looked up to see the lean Pierre; he had already reached the air space above Rowan at the exact moment Hayden struck.
"Tempest Kick: Spiral Blade!"
Under the gaze of the crowd, Pierre's body began to spin at high speed, unleashing several corkscrew-shaped vacuum slashes from his legs.
"A combined attack. Judging by their synchronization, these two Rear Admirals have clearly been training together for quite some time," Garp remarked, leaning back in his chair with a bag of rice crackers, critiquing the fight as he ate.
"First, use the Tempest Kick to attack the Old Man's lower half, forcing him to jump and lose his mobility in the air, then strike from above. If I'm not mistaken, young Hayden definitely has a follow-up move." Garp nodded in approval, seemingly satisfied with their tactics.
However...
If their enemy were merely a pirate of similar strength, this move would have been incredibly effective. But their target was the Old Man. Even for Garp, capturing the Old Man's speed with Observation Haki was a difficult task.
"Soru!"
Exactly as Garp predicted, after Hayden's first kick missed, he didn't hesitate. He stomped the air, shooting toward the mid-air Rowan.
"Finger Pistol: Gatling!"
Just like Pierre's Spiral Blade, this Finger Pistol barrage was Hayden's most practiced technique. Furthermore, the two did not hold back in their pincer maneuver—both had coated their limbs in Armament Haki!
One could not look down on this combination. Their joint techniques had once subdued pirates in the New World with bounties as high as 200 million Berries!
However, Rowan, suspended in mid-air, showed no intention of dodging the ferocious pincer attack. With a thought, the Armament Haki "word entries" he had fully maxed out this morning surged. A strange, metallic black sheen rapidly climbed up both of his arms, giving them a sense of immense weight and density.
Armament: Hardening!
Then, before the incredulous eyes of the crowd, Rowan used his crushing-tier Armament Haki to directly grab Hayden's arm and Pierre's ankle. In the blink of an eye, he treated the two elite Rear Admirals like small children, throwing them aside!
This time, there was no Vice Admiral to catch them. Thrown with an irresistible force, the two were unable to control their momentum.
BOOM!
A violent crash echoed as they slammed into the walls. The reinforced structure groaned, and two large craters were smashed into the surface.
Despite the loud commotion, neither sustained serious injury. After exchanging a bitter glance, the two Rear Admirals climbed up and bowed deeply to Rowan. "Thank you for showing mercy, Mr. Rowan."
At this moment, they were completely convinced. The feeling of utter powerlessness when Rowan grabbed them told them everything they needed to know: even in a life-or-death battle, they wouldn't be his match for a single second.
Truly worthy of the "Marine Godfather" who raised monsters like Garp, Sengoku, and Zephyr.
By now, not just Hayden and Pierre, but every Rear Admiral in the room was thoroughly subdued. In the Navy, strength is the ultimate currency. Given the power the Old Man just displayed, they wouldn't say a word even if Sengoku handed him an actual Admiral rank right now, let alone an "Honorary" one.
ZING!
Suddenly, a crisp sound of drawing steel echoed through the hall. A cold glint flashed at the front of the room. Then, Momonga's excited voice rang out.
"Mr. Rowan... now it is my turn!"
Finally, a chance to experience the Master's strength firsthand. The Marine Godfather? The corners of Momonga's mouth curled upward as the fire of battle intent in his heart burned even hotter.
Seeing Rowan toss those two aside like dolls had made Momonga's hand itch for his blade. He realized Rowan wasn't just "good"—he was absurdly powerful. But Momonga felt no urge to retreat; his battle spirit only intensified. This was exactly how a legend should be. He would have been disappointed if the three Rear Admirals had actually won.
"A swordsman?"
Looking at Vice Admiral Momonga drawing his Meito and approaching, Rowan smiled. "Very well. I'll see if your blade is sharp enough."
Then, he reached out his right hand toward a certain section of the audience. "Borrowing a blade!"
He hadn't expected to need a weapon for a commissioning ceremony, so he hadn't brought the blade he'd picked up in the East Blue. He had to borrow one.
Borrowing a blade? How? From whom? The officers looked at each other, confused.
But the next moment, a clear, resonant hum filled the conference room. Looking toward the source, everyone saw Momousagi (Gion) standing next to Tsuru, looking at her waist in shock. Her Meito, Kinpira, was vibrating violently in its scabbard as if it were being summoned.
Then, before the disbelieving eyes of the crowd, Kinpira issued a joyful zing and shot out of its scabbard. It turned into a streak of light, moving like a living thing until it landed perfectly in Rowan's open palm.
"How... how did he do that?!" "Commanding a sword to fly to his hand?!" "Could it be a Devil Fruit ability?!"
In an instant, the entire hall was in an uproar.
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