Has he won?
Indeed, in the eyes of the Marine soldiers, Rowen had already won.
With his wisdom and methods, he had proven himself to all the soldiers, won their hearts, and secured his position as an Admiral Candidate.
However, whether he had truly defeated Momousagi was still unknown.
A battle wasn't like a game of "24." Just because you aim high doesn't mean you'll win.
Hmm, that's not entirely correct either.
If we must make a comparison, a battle is like drawing cards.
If you draw the cards you want, you naturally win the match. But if you don't, everything is in vain.
The Sakalat Island, after this battle, could be declared free of threats.
The sky was dark, and heavy, leaden clouds blocked out the sunlight, painting the once-blue sky in a murky, hazy hue. Thunderbolts danced amidst the sky, pouring down like a torrential rainstorm. Each strike could shatter plots of land the size of a basketball court.
In front of Rowen's Thunderain, everything seemed so fragile. The destructive power of thunder was unparalleled, displayed to its fullest in this battle.
Momousagi darted back and forth beneath the myriad of Thunderain, like a swift seagull in a tempest. The lightning illuminated her agile figure, and she skillfully evaded each potentially fatal situation.
Closer!
Just a bit closer!
Her gaze was fixed on Rowen in the distance, and Momousagi's eyes were determined. She steadily closed the distance, enduring the relentless attacks, step by step.
"Now's the time!"
With a step forward, Momousagi's figure dissipated like mist but quickly reappeared behind Rowen.
Swish!
A brilliant sword light cleaved through the sea, simultaneously splitting Rowen.
However, at this moment…
"Do you think I'd make the same mistake twice?"
His body, now in two pieces, didn't bleed. Rowen grinned, and his body's surface gradually distorted in a form change, then quickly split.
Zi Zi!
Thunder Clones!
One, two, three… ten!
Ten thunder clones surrounded Momousagi, their crayon-sketched bodies making them appear eerie and dangerous. Mouths on their faces opened and closed like bright spots as the ten thunderclones spoke in unison.
"Do you know what art is, Vice Admiral Momousagi?"
"Huh?!"
Momousagi, aware that she had fallen into a trap, was left utterly bewildered by this sudden question.
"Art… is an explosion!"
Boom!
Surging currents of electricity erupted like a sea, and in the midst of this extreme current, Sakalat Island instantly disintegrated. Tons of earth, rocks, and seawater were blasted high into the air. From a distance, it looked like a sun had risen from the sea.
Endless waves of scorching electricity caused the sea to howl madly. Waves hundreds of meters high formed instantaneously, surging outward along with the shockwaves.
"Oh dear, what a reckless little fellow…"
Running his hand through his tousled hair, on the Battleship being pounded by the waves, Aokiji stepped forward onto the deck, surrounded by an aura of icy chill.
Ice Age!
Ka Cha, Ka Cha…
In an instant, the white, distinct from the scorching coldness, swiftly transformed the sea. The surging waves were frozen solid in place, and Sea King-class creatures, struggling to surface amidst the roiling waters, were promptly frozen into ice sculptures.
However, Aokiji's actions weren't limited to freezing just the waves. The biting cold spread rapidly, extending to the Sakalat Island.
Whoosh!
A chilling wind howled by. There was no gradual freezing process. After a gust of wind, the icicles formed from the seawater hung on Rowen's body, instantly freezing him in place.
This lunatic thought that even if the Thunder clones self-destructed, it wouldn't kill the Momousagi. He was in the midst of preparing an ultimate Large-Scale Raigo – Thunder Greeting to solidify his victory, but Aokiji decided to freeze him along with it.
Bang!
After a few breaths, the Ice Mass shattered.
Rowen clutched his arms tightly, trembling with cold, and watched Aokiji approach on a bicycle, his pointed teeth bared in a roar.
"Oye, are you trying to kill me?!" Aokiji's Ice Mass was not something just anyone could withstand. The fate of an ordinary person completely frozen was best exemplified by Nico Robin in the original work.
If it weren't for Aokiji not having the intent to kill, Chopper would never have been able to save her! And Rowen was no delicate Nico Robin. Aokiji had put at least fifty percent of his strength into this move!
Facing this terrifying cold, even though Logia types were generally immune to each other's elemental attacks, Rowen was still trembling from the chill.
For a brief moment, he even thought he was truly going to freeze to death!
"Oh, my apologies, my apologies. I didn't expect you to be so fragile…" Aokiji half-heartedly apologized as he spoke, already almost within arm's reach.
There was a distance of over a thousand meters between the battlefield and the Battleship. Yet, he rode a bicycle with a tire diameter of just one meter, giving the feeling of a Formula 1 race.
Swish!
At this moment, a flash of sword light shot up, and Momousagi broke through the electric light, landing on the ice. She panted heavily, clutching her knees.
Her clothes were torn, revealing a large area of skin, looking quite disheveled. Although the self-destruct hadn't rendered her powerless, it had certainly taken a toll on her.
Aokiji had noticed this, and once he confirmed that Momousagi couldn't hold off Rowen's pursuit any longer, he took direct action to interrupt the battle.
"Huh? What's going on?"
Suddenly, Momousagi noticed the ice-covered ground around her, her voice filled with surprise.
"Well… how should I put it? The battle is already over, Momousagi. You should go rest… and you…"
Aokiji drew a circle on his chest with his hand, turning his face away.
"Uh…"
Momousagi looked down in a daze, only to scream the next moment as Sword Energy erupted simultaneously.
"Yah!"
"That's Dangerous, Oye!"
Rowen lowered his head, avoiding the randomly shooting Sword Energy. Aokiji summoned an ice wall to envelop the two of them, blocking both the Sword Energy and their view.
As Momousagi adjusted her clothes, Aokiji looked at Rowen and smacked his lips.
"Congratulations, Rowen, you've passed."
"This counts as passing?"
Rowen widened his eyes in astonishment.
"Didn't you say that as a Challenger, I must… wait! I get it now!"
He shook his head with a wry smile.
"So that's it… I've been played by you!"
What exactly were the rules for the challenge? Aside from the parties involved, nobody knew. Zephyr hadn't told him either. It seemed that he would only understand when the time came.
Rowen didn't dwell on this too much. After all, as soon as Aokiji boarded the ship, he stated the rules. In the eyes of the uninformed Rowen, Aokiji's stated rules naturally became the rules of the backup challenge.
But in reality? It was nothing more than Aokiji's one-sided statement. Momousagi and Chaton hadn't even nodded in agreement! He deliberately stated difficult victory conditions, planting a seed of hopelessness in Rowen.
Then, with pressure, there was motivation. Faced with these harsh victory conditions, Rowen had no choice but to throw himself wholeheartedly into the battle.
However, in reality, this was just Aokiji's version of events. There were no actual rules for the challenge!
Saying that winning against the two would make him an Admiral Candidate was just empty talk. As Marines, in addition to strength, they also needed to consider loyalty and military merit.
Becoming an Admiral Candidate wasn't something any strong individual could achieve.
The real rules of this battle were, from beginning to end, Aokiji's judgment.
The judgment of an Admiral!
And this was Aokiji's true purpose in coming aboard.
Trying to understand these key points, even Rowen, who always considered himself not a fool, couldn't help but shudder. This design, exploiting psychological vulnerabilities, was truly horrifying upon closer examination!
However, he suddenly thought of something and asked with a twitching corner of his mouth.
"This kind of test… was it thought up by the old man Fleet Admiral again?"
For such a devious design, aside from Sengoku, Rowen couldn't think of anyone else.
Aokiji looked at him with a slightly amused expression but didn't say a word, his eyes saying: You've figured it out.
Rowen: "…"
Damn!
Playing tactics truly requires a heart of steel!!
At this moment, Momousagi circled around from outside the ice wall. She pulled off her cape from behind and draped it across her chest to cover up, then took a deep breath. Reluctantly, she raised her hand to Rowen.
"You lucked out!"
Though she was a bit begrudging, Momousagi understood. Aokiji had surely noticed that the battle was about to become irreversibly fatal, which was why he intervened to stop Rowen.
And she also understood that while she had the confidence to make Rowen pay a heavy price, the consequence would likely be that she wouldn't survive.
So, aside from some minor grievances, Momousagi had no further objections.
Rowen had won, and he had won fair and square!
(End of this chapter)
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