Charlotte Linlin understood that the man standing before her—this Rowan—was definitely no ordinary person. The fact that he could make Kaido submit was proof enough of how terrifying he was.
But that didn't stop her from mocking Kaido.
"Mamamama—after all these years, Kaido, you've really fallen far."
"You actually took some brat as your boss."
"You've brought shame to all us Four Emperors, Kaido."
Faced with Charlotte Linlin's ridicule, Kaido didn't get angry.
"Can't be helped. I was weaker, so I lost. And if you lose, you accept it. Linlin, I'm advising you to do the same as me—don't resist."
"Otherwise, the Big Mom Pirates won't exist after today."
"But I'll say it again: I'll spare your life, Linlin. Consider it my way of repaying what I owed you."
Cracker, Smoothie, Katakuri, and the others all turned grim.
A Yonko wouldn't casually make empty threats. Since Kaido dared say something like that, it was enough to prove just how powerful the other side really was. Maybe, just as he said, the Big Mom Pirates truly had reached their most dangerous moment.
"Kaido, are you threatening me?"
Charlotte Linlin was angry now. A terrifying pressure swept outward, so overwhelming that many members of the Big Mom Pirates could barely breathe.
But on Rowan's side, hardly anyone cared about that little bit of pressure from Charlotte Linlin.
"I'm just trying to save you, Linlin."
Kaido gave her a half-smile.
"If you don't surrender now, you won't get another chance later."
Charlotte Linlin fell silent. She could tell Kaido wasn't bluffing. This group might really have the ability to crush her pirate crew.
But she was still one of the Four Emperors. There was no way she would just surrender because of a few words from Kaido.
If word of that got out, how was she supposed to keep any face on the seas?
"If you want me to surrender, fine."
Charlotte Linlin suddenly burst into loud laughter. "Mamamama—!"
She pointed Napoleon, the Emperor Sword, at Rowan.
"Fight me, brat. If you beat me, the Big Mom Pirates are yours to deal with as you please."
Hashirama immediately stepped forward.
"My lord, leave this battle to me."
Shimotsuki Ryuma said, "I too am willing to fight on my lord's behalf."
Issho added seriously, "Your status is too important, sir. Leave this matter to me."
Seeing this, Rowan said, "Since the one being challenged is me, I'll handle it myself."
Hashirama, Ryuma, and Issho all stepped back, though not very willingly. Still, they had already made up their minds—if Rowan ran into any danger, they would intervene without hesitation.
Rowan took one step forward and said to Charlotte Linlin, "I'm not really a fan of fighting and killing, so how about this—I'll use three moves. If you can withstand them, I lose."
He didn't have many offensive skills. His almost-all-cutting magic counted as one, his mental control magic counted as another, and the last one could be left to the Soul-Soul Fruit.
After refining the Soul-Soul Fruit, he really had developed an offensive technique from it.
But Charlotte Linlin clearly misunderstood him. Veins bulged on her forehead, and she ground her teeth as she laughed.
"Mamamama—three moves? So I'm being looked down on that much, huh?"
"Then make your move, brat."
Rowan nodded and flicked a finger.
The almost-all-cutting magic activated.
An invisible slash burst forth in an instant.
At that moment, Charlotte Linlin's Observation Haki screamed a warning. She instinctively swung her Emperor Sword, Napoleon, trying to block the attack.
But just then, Katakuri's face changed drastically, and he shouted, "Mama, dodge!"
Unfortunately—it was too late.
The next second, Charlotte Linlin's Emperor Sword Napoleon was sliced cleanly in half.
And together with Napoleon, Charlotte Linlin's body was also cut in half.
"Ah...?"
When Charlotte Linlin realized she had practically been bisected at the waist, she could hardly believe what had just happened.
She was Charlotte Linlin, one of the Four Emperors.
She was the woman who, at the age of five, could crush a giant's ribs with a slap—Charlotte Linlin, whose body was so tough that even a storm of bullets couldn't leave a scratch on her, whose defense was like steel.
So how had she just been cut in half?
What about her defense? What about her iron-balloon body? Why had it been as fragile as paper?
To be honest, not only had Charlotte Linlin not expected this—even Kaido hadn't expected it.
He knew exactly how terrifying Linlin's defense was. After all, they'd once sailed on the same ship. Of course he knew how monstrous her defense was.
To put it bluntly, Charlotte Linlin's durability was even greater than his own indestructible body.
And yet Rowan had casually bisected her.
That made Kaido's scalp tingle.
Back when he had been defeated by Rowan's subordinates and forced to submit, he had wondered just how strong Rowan really was.
Now he finally had his answer.
Rowan was even stronger than he had imagined.
Bisecting Charlotte Linlin in a single move—just how monstrous did someone have to be to pull that off?
Honestly, Rowan himself was a little surprised that he had cut Charlotte Linlin in half in one strike—but at the same time, not that surprised.
This almost-all-cutting magic came from Frieren's world.
As mentioned before, magic in that world was highly dependent on perception and belief, which meant the magic itself worked the same way.
The effect of this spell was simple: if the caster believed something could be cut, then no matter what it was, it could be cut. And if the caster believed something couldn't be cut, then it absolutely could not be cut.
In Rowan's eyes, no matter how strong Charlotte Linlin's physical defense was, she was still a carbon-based life form—a body of flesh and blood.
And anything made of flesh and blood could be cut.
And even if her body really was as hard as steel, so what?
Did that mean steel couldn't be cut?
Ever heard of water cutting?
That stuff can slice through steel instantly. Which proves steel can absolutely be cut.
In fact, not just steel—even diamond can be cut.
So when Rowan unleashed that invisible slash, unless what stood in front of him was something like a neutron star, there was no such thing as "can't be cut."
That was exactly why Rowan had asked Serie for this magic in the first place.
Because this spell was a perfect match for a modern person with a broad perspective. In the right hands, it could unleash unimaginable power.
Bisecting Charlotte Linlin—and even her weapon—was child's play.
Of course, Charlotte Linlin was no ordinary person either. As one of the Four Emperors, she possessed not only overwhelming combat power, but also a matching life force.
Even after being cut in half by Rowan, she didn't die.
Instead, she used the power of the Soul-Soul Fruit to animate her bones and organs, giving them a will of their own so they could begin frantically repairing her body.
Unfortunately, her injuries were simply too severe. There was no way she could fully restore herself in a short time.
"Tsunade, give her a hand."
Rowan didn't want Charlotte Linlin to die here. She was still a fighter at Yonko level, and letting that kind of power go to waste would be a shame.
Tsunade responded at once, rushing forward to begin treating Charlotte Linlin.
"What are you trying to do?"
Seeing this, Charlotte Cracker instinctively stepped forward—but Katakuri stopped him.
"She's saving Mama. Don't act rashly."
Out of trust in Katakuri, Cracker held himself back.
Not long after, with Tsunade's help, Charlotte Linlin finally managed to restore her bisected body and drag herself back from the brink of death.
"Still want to fight?" Rowan asked, looking at Charlotte Linlin's pale face.
"I... surrender."
Charlotte Linlin had escaped death, but she had lost too much blood just now. Her body was weak to the extreme, and there was no way she could fight a second round.
And she didn't believe she could beat Rowan anyway.
He had cut her in half with one move. If he used a second, he'd probably cut her into eight pieces.
If that happened, she'd definitely die.
So after thinking it over, Charlotte Linlin chose to surrender.
Kaido had already surrendered, so if she surrendered now, it wouldn't be too humiliating.
More importantly, this guy really was monstrously strong—far more terrifying than even her former captain, Rocks. At the very least, Rocks had never been able to split both her weapon and her body in half with one strike.
If she kept fighting, it would be no different from throwing her life away. The gap was simply too big. There wasn't even the slightest fighting spirit left in her.
"Good."
Rowan nodded in satisfaction, then turned to look at Cracker, Smoothie, Katakuri, and the others.
"What about you? Fight—or surrender?"
Katakuri answered without hesitation, "We surrender."
Since Mama had already admitted defeat, there was no way they would go against her.
Besides, none of them thought they could beat Rowan's group anyway.
They were too strong.
And neither the other siblings nor the rest of the crew objected to Mama's and Katakuri's decision.
Thus, the Big Mom Pirates officially joined Rowan's camp.
"Since that's settled, then as your leader, I'll issue my first order."
"From today onward, Totto Land is forbidden from collecting protection fees. Especially you, Charlotte Linlin."
"I hear you like collecting the lifespans of Totto Land's residents?"
"I didn't interfere before. But now that I'm here, that sort of thing is naturally banned."
"You can collect normal commercial taxes, but any arbitrary fees or harsh extra taxes beyond that are not allowed to exist."
"And if anyone dares violate this order, I'll rip their soul right out of their body and torture it properly."
The moment he finished speaking, the phantom of a Grim Reaper appeared behind Rowan.
The instant that Reaper's shadow emerged, an invisible and terrifying pressure crashed down.
It wasn't Conqueror's Haki—but it was even more terrifying than Conqueror's Haki.
Conqueror's Haki suppresses a person's consciousness.
But this invisible pressure crushed the soul itself.
The moment they saw the Grim Reaper, everyone's limbs turned stiff, their bodies went cold, and even their souls felt frozen to the core. It was as if their bodies no longer belonged to them. All they could do was stand there blankly, unable to move.
This was the move Rowan had developed from the Revive-Revive Fruit.
Soul Pressure.
Or, in short—
Spiritual Pressure.