Pirates: Your emperor has returned!

It was naturally that upright-looking old lady.

Crane stood between the two and sighed helplessly.

"Sigh, these two men are really causing trouble for others. Don't go too far."

Upon hearing this, Rowan and Garp looked around and discovered that the terrain of the surrounding desert had been altered because of their battle.

The original sand dunes have disappeared, and several huge sand pits have appeared all around.

If this battle had taken place inside the city, even a large city like Albana would probably have been almost completely destroyed!

Garp scratched his head, his smile a little awkward.

"That... seems a bit excessive."

After all, the purpose of this battle was merely a test as instructed by Sengoku; neither he nor Rowan had any intention of getting serious.

Tsuru squinted and noticed that Garp's right arm was trembling slightly!

She understood perfectly and had already made her judgment.

With the probing over, Garp stopped, and Rowan naturally saw no need to continue fighting.

He pulled the scepter from the ground and smiled, "As for after-dinner exercise, this is enough."

Grandma Crane nodded gently to show her respect for Rowan.

"Utilizing the extension of Conqueror's Haki, combined with extremely strong strategic thinking, to control sand soldiers in battle—the [Golden Dawn] of eight hundred years ago truly lived up to its name."

Upon hearing this, Luo Wen quickly waved his hand.

"Spare me, I never thought this nickname would survive to this day..."

He flexed his wrists. "To be honest, I really have to thank Mr. Karp."

Garp quickly shook his head and said, "Hey, hey, calling me 'sir' or something like that really makes this old man a little embarrassed!"

"It's alright."

Rowan smiled and said, "After all, you two have spent your lives protecting civilians in the navy. Besides, it's just a matter of address, why be so particular?"

"Hahaha, the royal family of Alabasta are all very nice!"

Garp looked at Rowan, recalling the unconventional King Cobra during the World Conference, and asked, "Speaking of which, what do you want from me?"

Rowan pinched the sand between his fingers and sighed:

"Through the battle, I discovered that my strength seems to be... weaker than before?"

This is a question, because Luo Wen himself is not entirely sure whether this judgment is correct.

The truth is strange. Even though the force used in the move is the same as it was 800 years ago, the power seems to have shrunk a little.

If I had to say—

The expressiveness of the moves has weakened!

It's a very strange description, but that's the only way to describe it.

However, when Rowan said this, apart from the carefree Garp, both Tsuru and Crocodile were taken aback.

A bit weaker?

Just how strong was Ryan Rowan at his peak?

The crane was very curious.

Considering Rowan's personality, Crane chose to ask directly, "What was your peak period like...?"

"Each user of Conqueror's Haki has different characteristics of it."

"My Conqueror's Haki focuses more on 'functionality'."

"I can summon soldiers in any corner where my Conqueror's Haki spreads; I call it 'territory'."

Rowan replied, "At my peak, the range of my Conqueror's Haki, that is, the range of my territory, was slightly larger than it is now."

The crane pressed further, "How big is it?"

After hearing this, Luo Wen pondered for a moment, then smiled and said:

"Ms. Tsuru, Alabasta's territory is really vast, isn't it?"

[Chapter Twenty-Six: Territory]

The battle in the deserted desert has ended.

As Rowan said, this battle was a good way for him and Garp to relax after dinner.

The two had a great time playing.

After the aftershocks of the battle subsided, the tear in the sky closed once more.

Instead of leaving immediately, the group of four chose to take shelter from the heavy rain in the ruins.

After all, Sand-Sand Fruit users don't like rainy days, and Granny Tsuru, who always likes cleanliness, didn't want to go back soaking wet.

Crocodile, puffing on a cigar, asked Rowan.

"Are you alright?"

"what?"

"The core principle of your fighting style."

Crocodile chuckled darkly, "It's rather unnecessary for you to proactively explain the principles of your abilities to your opponent."

"What does it matter, little crocodile?"

Rowan smiled and said, "Fighting isn't a game of guessing each other's abilities. For example, even if you knew now, what could you do about it?"

"..."

Crocodile remained silent.

Indeed, even if he knew the basic principles of Rowan's Sand-Sand Fruit, he would still have to face endless sand soldiers and Rowan's incredibly precise control in battle.

Moreover, the top experts on this sea disdain to hide their abilities.

Whitebeard, Sengoku, Garp, and many other pirates or marines—everyone knows their abilities, yet none of them can shake their status!

As for using unknown Devil Fruit abilities to achieve unexpected victories in battle?

Stop joking!

They would never stoop to doing that; it goes against the pride of the strong!

Whitebeard was like that, Sengoku was like that, Garp was like that...

Rowan is like that, and so is Crocodile!

If the opponent wanted, they would even patiently explain their abilities to the enemy, and then gradually and thoroughly defeat the enemy!

……

The heavy rain in the desert comes quickly and goes quickly.

About ten minutes later, the sky cleared up.

The four men walked through the damp sand, retracing their steps back to Albana.

It was quiet all around; only the sound of the wind and footsteps could be heard. None of the four spoke; they were all lost in their own thoughts.

Karp thought about going back to his room to eat some rice crackers as a late-night snack.

Oops, it's over...

The bag containing the rice crackers was left on the warship!

Crocodile, meanwhile, was reminiscing about Rowan's battle.

As a fellow user of the Sand-Sand Fruit, Crocodile felt that Rowan's direction in developing his fruit's ability was very valuable for reference.

But after thinking it over carefully, he couldn't help but feel disappointed.

It does have some reference value, but not much.

As Law himself said, his development of the Sand-Sand Fruit mainly revolved around his own Conqueror's Haki.

Of the three types of Haki, Conqueror's Haki is the most unique.

It cannot be acquired through training, nor can it be inherited; one's destiny determines whether or not one possesses it.

Furthermore, even if one can control Conqueror's Haki at will, it cannot be strengthened through training; it can only be enhanced through the user's own growth.

In addition, each user of Conqueror's Haki will have different "characteristics" due to their own different destiny.

For example, Shanks, who is currently active at sea, is rumored to have Conqueror's Haki strong enough to cause substantial physical damage to his surroundings!

And what about Ryan Rowan?

According to Crocodile's observation, Rowan's Conqueror's Haki is very different from what he commonly knew.

It is mild, has a very wide coverage, and is also much longer-lasting.

Ordinary Conqueror's Haki can be released instantly, and one can intimidate surrounding enemies with one's own aura without even having to lift a finger, and even make them faint.

However, Rowan had been using Conqueror's Haki throughout his battle with Garp.

His domineering aura spread, turning the surrounding area into Rowan's "territory".

Gravel soldiers rose up from the land in an endless stream, obeying Rowan's orders!

"Normal Conqueror's Haki"—this seems to be a very apt description of Rowan's Conqueror's Haki.

In short, Rowan's techniques are based on his unique Conqueror's Haki.

Unfortunately, Crocodile has not yet awakened Conqueror's Haki, thus losing the prerequisite for imitating Rowan to develop his Devil Fruit ability.

He could create similar gravel soldiers, but he couldn't command them effectively.

……

On the other side, Granny Crane was recalling Rowan's last words:

"Alabasta's territory is really large, isn't it?"

This statement seems unremarkable at first glance, but when considered in the context of the previous questions, it becomes particularly jarring.