It was simple.
The power of the Revive-Revive Fruit was that the user could come back to life once after death, and also manipulate soul-based power. Their attacks could even carry the chill of the underworld and inflict freezing damage.
So once the Revive-Revive Fruit awakened, that power of resurrection could no longer be used only on the user—it could be shared with others as well.
And after the Shinigami swallowed the power of the Revive-Revive Fruit, it gained complete control over that ability.
For anyone else, pushing the Revive-Revive Fruit to awakening would require endless effort.
But Rowan didn't need that, because the Shinigami and the Revive-Revive Fruit were simply too compatible.
Once the Shinigami's power fused with the power of the Revive-Revive Fruit, awakening it was only natural.
The moment the power of the Revive-Revive Fruit covered Hashirama Senju, a fierce life force was born inside him.
Life rising from death.
Life and death reversed.
That was the power of the Revive-Revive Fruit.
Right before Minato, Nico Robin, and the others, Hashirama—who had been a dead man just moments ago—was completely revived.
A powerful aura exploded from Hashirama's body.
Even Mihawk turned to look, because in his eyes, that aura was already no weaker than a Yonko's.
Powerful, terrifying, astonishing… it was downright unbelievable.
"Good."
Rowan nodded in satisfaction. Anyone who had watched Naruto knew just how strong Hashirama at full power really was.
Before the Ōtsutsuki descended, he and Madara Uchiha had both been completely beyond the standard power scale.
In the thousand-year history of the ninja world, the number of people who could surpass those two didn't even exceed one hand.
"Thank you, Rowan."
Hashirama had never expected his resurrection to come so easily. He had assumed it would take a very, very long time before he could truly return to life.
But it had only been a few days, and here he was, alive again.
So the combination of the Shinigami and the Revive-Revive Fruit was really that ridiculous.
"No need to thank me."
Rowan waved it off, then revived Minato Namikaze as well and said, "By the way, do you want me to give you a little time off so you can go see Naruto?"
Minato was overjoyed. He immediately dropped to one knee and said, "Thank you, Rowan."
He really did want to see Naruto.
Right now.
The reason he hadn't gone back earlier was partly because he had still been dead, and partly because he had to stay by Rowan's side and protect him.
But now both he and Hashirama were alive again.
With the God of Shinobi back at full strength, protecting one Rowan was more than enough.
Minato could finally go see Naruto.
"Alright, go on."
Rowan pushed open an air door leading to the Naruto world.
On the other side was Konoha.
The moment he saw the village he had been longing for, Minato didn't hesitate for even a second. With a whoosh, he rushed through.
Rowan casually closed the door again, then reached into the Shinigami and pulled out Brook's soul, stuffing it back into that skeleton body.
The power of the underworld covered him, and the skeleton immediately came back to life.
"Yohohoho, I'm dead, I'm dead—ah? Wait, I'm not dead."
Brook stared at his white bones in complete confusion. Hadn't the Shinigami just eaten him? How was he back already?
Rowan rolled his eyes. "When did I ever say I was going to kill you?"
Brook: "..."
Rowan continued, "I took the power of the Revive-Revive Fruit, but I left you a portion of underworld power. It's enough for you to stay in this world and finish your dream."
"And when you're tired of living and don't want to go on anymore, just release that power. Your soul will naturally go to rest."
"Goodbye, Brook."
With that, Rowan opened another air door.
On the other side was Gecko Moria's territory.
Thriller Bark.
Calling it a ship was generous. It was more like a moving island. It had forests, land, and even a castle. Everything about it looked dark and eerie, perfectly suited to the creepy atmosphere of the Florian Triangle.
One by one, the group passed through the air door and landed on Thriller Bark.
Just before closing it, Rowan glanced back at Brook, who was still standing there, unsure whether he should follow, and said, "Laboon is waiting for you, Brook. Once you get your shadow back, go find him."
The moment he finished speaking, Rowan closed the door.
His farsight was already locked onto Gecko Moria's location.
"Let's go."
Under Rowan's lead, the group started moving through the dark, eerie forest.
Nami stuck close to him the whole way. The gloomy surroundings scared her so badly that her face had turned pale.
"Hey, Rowan, what kind of place is this? Don't tell me it's some ghost island. There aren't actual ghosts here, are there?"
Robin glanced at her with a teasing smile and said, "No ghosts, probably. But zombies? That's another story."
The moment she said it, an arm suddenly thrust up from the ground.
Nami shrieked in terror.
Then the owner of that arm crawled out of the dirt.
Sure enough, it was a zombie.
But before the zombie could do anything, Rowan's Conqueror's Haki exploded outward.
Black-red lightning appeared again. The invisible shockwave swept across the whole of Thriller Bark like a tidal wave.
The zombie's eyes rolled back, and it dropped to the ground with a thud.
At the same time, the other zombies lurking around the island, ready to move, all lost consciousness as well under the impact of the Haki.
Far away in the castle, Doctor Hogback—who was performing surgery on zombies—collapsed unconscious.
Absalom, who was out on patrol, rolled his eyes back and passed out.
And Perona, the ghost princess, who had been bathing inside the castle, also rolled her eyes back and fainted on the spot.
Rowan's ferocious Conqueror's Haki ran wild, shaking the heavens and earth. On all of Thriller Bark, aside from Gecko Moria himself, not a single person remained standing.
"Who is it? Who?!!!"
The moment Moria felt that overwhelmingly powerful Conqueror's Haki, panic flashed across his face.
Because that Haki was already on Kaido's level.
No—maybe even stronger.
Could it be Red-Haired Shanks?
After all, among the Four Emperors, his Conqueror's Haki was publicly recognized as the strongest.
But the problem was, Moria didn't think he had done anything to offend Shanks.
While Moria was still desperately trying to figure it out, Mihawk also shot Rowan a surprised glance.
He had met Shanks. He had felt Shanks's Haki.
It was strong.
But compared to Rowan's Conqueror's Haki, it seemed noticeably inferior.
It was hard to imagine that some unknown nobody's Haki could surpass even Red-Haired Shanks, the strongest among the Four Emperors.
And then there was Hashirama's aura from earlier, which also hadn't been inferior to a Yonko's.
Where exactly had these terrifying monsters come from?
Mihawk couldn't make sense of it.
Meanwhile, Gecko Moria had already started charging toward them, forcing his way through the pressure of Rowan's Conqueror's Haki.