Nefertari knew one thing very well.
People who live on this ocean need to have their own kind of "pride" if they want to live a happy life.
They need to have a strong advantage and confidence in some area.
But Nefertari felt a little helpless because his old friend Ryan Rowan seemed to have a strange habit of always attacking the enemy's "pride."
He would compete in strength with giants, have archery contests with sharpshooters, fight with swordsmen, and play war games with the smartest generals from other countries...
And every time, Rowan would defeat them completely!
Nefertari thought that doing this sometimes could boost morale, but doing it all the time was not a good idea.
In diplomacy, seeming too proud to others is not a good thing.
More importantly, those wins were "pretty" but not very "efficient."
"The final victory is what matters, so please be serious!"
Faced with his helpless friend, Rowan finally agreed.
He would just have to control himself!
Compared to Nefertari's nagging, this kind of restrained fighting was still acceptable to Rowan.
...
Time went back eight hundred years.
Three facts were clear to Rowan:
Rowan was unhappy;
Nefertari's nagging was gone;
And Rowan really wanted to hear Nefertari's nagging.
So, Rowan's old habit came back.
His great sword came down from above, right in front of the remaining members of the Donquixote family, splitting Diamante, one of their top members, in two!
At that moment, time and space seemed to stop, leaving only one image:
Ryan Rowan, wearing heavy armor made of sand, stood with one foot forward on the ruins of the plaza.
His left hand held a shield at his side.
His right hand tightly held a great sword, with the tip touching the ground.
Surprisingly, even though the great sword had sunk a little into the ground, it didn't cause much damage.
It only cut what it was supposed to cut.
For example... Diamante.
"Huff..."
Rowan opened his mouth and gently breathed out hot air.
Sand followed Rowan's breath, slowly floating behind him, like a cape attached to his heavy armor.
...
Rowan could clearly feel the gazes around him.
Surprise, anger, shock, amazement...
And a little "fear."
If this fear was allowed to spread, the remaining four members of the Donquixote family would likely collapse completely very soon!
But the Donquixote family was an organization that thrived in the underworld, so of course, they had people who could handle this kind of situation.
A man in a suit and a baby bonnet stood up.
He had a cigarette in his mouth and walked step by step onto the ruins, standing in front of Rowan.
The Swim-Swim Fruit user - Senor Pink!
This seemingly funny and silly man was a real tough guy.
He once hid his identity as a pirate from the girl he loved. Because of his pirate work, he didn't get to see his dying child one last time.
The girl didn't understand and was angry at Pink's actions. She left him in the rain, and was hit in the head by a rockslide, becoming a person in a coma who would only smile when she saw her child's baby clothes.
From that day on, Senor Pink began to wear baby clothes that didn't fit his age, and still does to this day.
Faced with the heavily armored Rowan, Pink didn't use his Swim-Swim Fruit power. Instead, he took off his suit jacket, showing his strong body.
"Hey."
Pink nodded at Rowan, "Let's have a man-to-man fight, like you want! Or you can just cut me down..."
Pink wasn't Diamante, and didn't want to use Rowan's actions to buy time.
Pink also knew that he was no match for this scary man!
But so what?
He was, after all, a member of the Donquixote family!
Pink wouldn't back down from a strong enemy, and he wouldn't use tricks because that didn't suit his will.
Seeing this, Rowan understood Pink's meaning.
He wasn't surprised, but he still said quietly, "People will die, you know."
"Fighting always leads to death. It's just a matter of whether it's you or me!"
Pink took off his sunglasses, threw them aside, and clenched his fists, "As a man, I can't be afraid to move forward!"
Rowan understood.
The heavy sand armor on his body slowly disappeared, and the shield and great sword also vanished in an instant.
At the moment the sword hilt disappeared, as if it were the signal to start the fight, Pink suddenly twisted his body and punched Rowan in the side of the face.
Bang!
With the heavy punch, Pink himself was the first to feel a sharp pain.
Rowan, on the other hand, still looked calm and clenched his fist, punching it towards Pink.
Bang!
Another sound of a fist hitting a cheek, but this time, it was duller and more powerful.
In that instant, Pink felt his vision blur, his head spin, and it was hard to even speak.
He had been hit by an enemy's hammer in battle, but had never felt anything like this!
Pink lost a few teeth, and his body began to shake violently from the pain.
But he didn't fall.
It was strange.
Rowan's punch had already sent a signal that Pink's body "couldn't stand up anymore," but strangely, Pink's mind overcame his body, keeping him standing in place!
"Ptoo!"
Pink spat out a few broken teeth and threw another punch at Rowan.
This punch hit Rowan's face but didn't do any damage at all.
Even without using Armament Haki, Rowan's body itself was tough enough to block Pink's punch while he was badly hurt.
But neither of them stopped.
After Pink's punch, it was Rowan's turn.
Both of them knew that this would be the last attack of this quick fight.
Rowan looked at Pink calmly, without speaking.
He felt that no matter what he said, this honest man in front of him was very "strong."
At least...
Stronger than the "string puppet" in the distance who was about to attack.
In the distance, Doflamingo's string clone stood still, a blood-red string gathering on the fingers on his back.
That was the strongest attack the String-String Fruit could use at this stage – more powerful than Overheat.
Doflamingo saw that Rowan had noticed his movements, but he didn't stop at all, even though Pink was within range of Overheat's attack.
Whether Pink was hurt or not didn't matter anymore. Doflamingo felt that he had to take a chance!
But he was surprised that Rowan didn't react at all.
Not only that, but the soldier nearby actually walked over.
He raised his hands and used sand to create a great sword and shield again, facing Doflamingo in a fighting stance.
Rowan's attention was still focused on Pink.
He said slowly to Pink, "Clones should fight clones, let's continue."
Pink grinned.
He opened his arms, welcoming Rowan's fist just as Rowan had welcomed his, without any defense!
Bang!
With the punch, Pink's body flew sideways, hitting a statue in the plaza. The whole man was buried under the pile of broken stone.
...
At the same time, on the other side.
The soldier's shield met Doflamingo's string.
The two collided, producing grating sounds.
While the two were in a stalemate, a faint smile appeared on the face behind the soldier's helmet.
He clicked his tongue and shook his head.
The meaning was clear -
You're not good enough.
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