Pirates: Your emperor has returned!

“It’s related to them.”

……

On the sand dunes.

Rowan and Garp stood facing each other, as thick clouds gradually obscured the moonlight.

The two tall men remained silent, each slowly bending down in their own way.

Rowan gripped the scepter tightly in his right hand, twisted his body to the left, and bent his waist and knees downwards.

Garp clenched his right fist, pulled his body back to the right, hunched his back, and squatted down into a horse stance.

got windy.

A howling wind swept past the two people on the sand dune.

The ribbons and hems of their clothes swayed violently in the wind, but the two figures seemed to be frozen in place, motionless, like two powerful sculptures.

After a few breaths, two strange and intense senses of presence rose up from the sand dunes.

Armament Haki, gather!

Rowan's scepter tip and Garp's right fist were the first to be stained with that metallic black color.

Then, the color spread and appeared to attach itself to the scepter and forearm.

A jet-black spear and a jet-black arm represent their different masters—

Rowan and Karp.

Finally, the spread of Armament Haki stopped, and the pitch-black color was completely frozen.

Rowan's entire scepter, along with his right hand, and Garp's entire right arm, were completely covered by Armament Haki!

They both possess the ability to fully cover their bodies with Armament Haki, but as they had agreed beforehand, they each only used three-tenths of their strength.

Even though it was only a third of his strength, it still made Crocodile, who was watching from not far away, tremble in his heart!

"Three parts strength, huh! Two monsters..."

……

The wind is still blowing.

Surprisingly, the strong wind that was originally blowing from east to west changed direction when it passed the sand dune where Rowan and Karp were.

It seems to be drawn by Armament Haki, or perhaps it's due to the clash of their auras.

The wind that had blown across the sand dune was forced to "stay," turning into gusts of wind that rose up.

A continuous stream of whirlwinds rose into the air, swirling the thick clouds into spiral shapes.

The center of the spiral is directly facing Rowan and Garp!

Swish!

The light pierced the dark night sky, followed by a tremendous roar.

Boom!

Lightning and thunder came one after the other, a sign that a heavy rain was coming.

A raindrop fell on the ground not far away, followed by more raindrops.

One of the drops condensed and took shape high in the sky, and its landing point was exactly in the center of Rowan and Garp!

The moment the drop of water fell to Qiping's eye level with the two men, the two sculptures, brimming with immense power, finally moved.

Rowan let out a low roar, and the surrounding sand surged, transforming into countless visible patterns as he swung his scepter forward.

Black gun—sweep!

Garp grinned, took a half-step forward, and threw his right fist forward.

Iron Will - Heavy Punch!

One man wielded a gun, the other a fist; both men's movements were simple and unadorned to the extreme, yet they contained a terrifying, destructive power!

The black spear tip and the fist collided with a loud crash at the point where the raindrop fell!

boom!

A deafening roar erupted, not the metallic hum of ordinary Armament Haki colliding, but a sound as loud as a cannonball exploding!

Visible waves emanated from where the spear tip collided with the fist, and the surrounding sand and gravel were stirred up by this chaotic airflow.

However, the effects of this airflow did not stop there.

It rolled and tumbled upwards with the gale, until it reached the sky and split the thick clouds in two!

Rowan and Karp were each placed on one side.

Swish!

In an instant, a huge gap, like an eye, appeared in the clouds in the sky, and clear moonlight shone through it, illuminating the desert.

Splash splash splash splash...

It's raining.

More accurately, it rained in other places that were covered by clouds.

Because of that gap, the area, including the sand dunes and ruins, still enjoys good weather.

Crocodile stepped out from the shelter from the rain, looked up at the strange phenomenon in the sky, and couldn't help but swallow.

He had heard that when top swordsmen clashed, their power was enough to cut through the sky, but he never imagined that the collision between a fist and a spear could achieve the same result!

On the other side, Granny Crane's gaze was fixed on the sand dunes.

The strong wind whipped up countless grains of sand, making visibility extremely low over there.

But Granny Crane was able to quickly pinpoint the two people clashing with her keen eyesight.

The battle is not over yet!

……

Gravel flew up into the air, then fell back down.

In such a harsh environment, ordinary people would not be able to open their eyes at all, but Rowan and Garp stared wide-eyed at each other.

As they exerted force simultaneously, the tip of the gun and their fist began to tremble violently, sparks flying from their impact.

The two of them grinned and laughed loudly a few times.

"Is this only three-tenths of your strength?"

"Yes!"

"Me too!"

"Then let's continue!"

Both of them disdained lying, so what they said was the absolute truth.

Each player should exert 30% of their strength, and the winner will be determined based on that!

boom!

After the first exchange ended with a loud bang, the two men simultaneously took a few steps back before stepping forward again!

One man swung his gun and swept across!

A man suddenly lunges forward with a clenched fist!

boom!

The gun tip and the fist collided again, but this time the stalemate was much shorter and more intense.

Due to the reaction force, Rowan and Garp leaned back, but simultaneously used the momentum to launch another attack on each other.

This time, neither of them retreated an inch!

The gun tip and the fist collided repeatedly, and the resulting shockwaves stirred up a chaotic artificial sandstorm in the desert.

Unable to contain his curiosity, Crocodile used his Observation Haki combined with his Devil Fruit ability to observe the situation inside the sandstorm, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

That level of combat far surpasses that of an ordinary country!

Were they serious?

Of course not, the two of them have so much strength and trump cards left that even a layman can see it!

But so what?

Even if the two "monsters" were just taking a stroll, they would still bring catastrophic disaster to human cities.

Rowan and Garp are just two monsters like that!

That's a terrifying fighting force that should never have appeared in the first half of the Grand Line!

Leaving aside the legendary Navy officer Garp for now.

The power Ryan Rowan possessed reminded Crocodile of that man.

The man who once made him, full of vigor, taste the bitterness of defeat—[Whitebeard] Edward Newgate!

Crocodile took a puff of his cigar and exhaled a thin stream of smoke.

"Hehe, three-tenths of your strength, not bad..."

[Chapter 24: The Golden Dawn]

Albana, the Royal Palace.

King Cobra opened the window of his room and looked up at the thick clouds in the sky.

"It's going to rain..."

As Kobra sighed, a commotion coming from the distant desert suddenly caught his attention.

"Ok?"

……

Even though it was night, the residents of Albana took out their water containers from their homes and placed them in their usual spots.