At the top of the mast of the Qilin, Rowen had one finger hooked into the wood, performing handstand push-ups. Four chains hung from his limbs, each one attached to an iron ball with a radius of up to one meter.
With each movement, the iron balls thudded against the mast.
Compared to these iron balls, Rowen's body seemed minuscule.
However, he remained resolute and strong, repeating the motion again and again, going down and then pushing back up.
Just this scene alone was enough to astonish the soldiers. After all, those iron balls were solid iron, crafted to Garp's preference, each weighing several tons! Hanging four of these terrifying iron balls and even managing to walk would be a miracle, let alone doing handstand push-ups on top of a swaying mast like Rowen.
But that wasn't all. Rowen's feet supported a thin slab of stone, and his hands and feet were bound in handcuffs. Judging by their bluish-gray material, they were all made of Seastone!
As a user of a Devil Fruit ability, being bound by Seastone, carrying nearly thirty tons of weight, and doing handstand push-ups on the swaying mast top, was no small feat!
If it weren't for the fact that Rowen was actually doing this, the soldiers would have thought it was a joke.
"Monster!"
A passing soldier looked up and asked his comrade responsible for patrolling, "How many has Vice Admiral Rowen done already? I remember he started before dawn, right?"
"Well... I forgot!"
The soldier who was asked shrugged. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. He grabbed Valueless Soldier, who was cleaning the deck, and asked, "Hey, Terry, do you know how many handstand push-ups Vice Admiral Rowen has done?"
"He's at 9,827... 9,828..."
The Valueless Soldier who was grabbed rolled his eyes, saying indignantly, "I'm Rhet, not Terry!"
The two soldiers exchanged glances.
At the top of the mast, the fierce wind hit Rowen every time, causing him to lose his balance. In this process, he needed to constantly adjust his muscles and joints to maintain balance.
The falling sweat had already dyed the one-meter-long piece of wood at the top of the mast brown as if it had been washed by water. Compared to the wood below, this section was noticeably brighter.
"9,998!"
Rowen gritted his teeth. The creaking sounds from his trembling arms told him that he was nearing his limit. It was the sound produced when bones and muscles were about to give in under pressure. A prolonged handstand had caused his capillaries to bleed, and his face was bright red.
Lifting himself up once again, Rowen's chest heaved heavily. After catching his breath for a good while, he slowly bent his elbows.
"9,999!"
Kā Chā!!
The thumb that served as a pivot made a slight sound, bending backward with a horrifying curve until it reached the back of the hand.
"Heh!"
The intense pain didn't defeat Rowen. Instead, it spurred him on. He pressed down once again.
"10,000!"
Fragments of broken bones lodged into the small circle at the top of the mast. His fingertips were flowing with fresh blood. With the power generated from the last push, Rowen leaped backward and descended towards the deck.
The several-ton heavy iron balls plummeted from the sky, compressing the air like a tangible force. However, the soldiers below were not panicked. It only took seven days to form a habit, and anyone who experienced this scene every day for half a month would get used to it.
Sure enough, as the iron balls fell, Rowen had already flipped a key out from a fold in his belt and swiftly inserted it into the Seastone handcuffs on his hands and feet.
Dī, Dī, Dī, Dī!
The four handcuffs rhythmically unlocked. In the next moment, a flash of electricity caused the iron balls to abruptly halt in mid-air.
Thump!
Kneeling on one knee, Rowen shook his hand, controlling the iron balls to descend gently.
Magnetics wasn't his specialty. Even developing the Electromagnetic Barrier was only a necessary extension, and it wasn't particularly powerful. However, having developed the Goro Goro no Mi (Thunder-Thunder Fruit) to its current level, even though it was just a secondary power, lifting a few iron balls was a piece of cake.
After finishing these exercises, Rowen stood up and took the towel and hot water handed to him by a soldier with a respectful expression, pondering in secret.
"My physical condition is nearing its limit. The only thing left is to refine it through water training. Apart from coordination and flexibility, there's currently no good way to improve my strength."
"The development of the fruit ability has also reached a bottleneck. The insights gained from the battle with Golden Lion Shiki have brought me closer to Awakening, but there's still a little way to go.
While a Logia Awakening can eternally change the climate, the fruit ability is limited by the user's own stamina. One is boundless nature, the other is limited human endurance. Isn't this a contradiction?"
"What am I still missing?"
Rowen furrowed his brows.
The Awakening of his Devil Fruit ability had been on his agenda since his battle with Doflamingo. However, no matter how diligently he practiced, as his thunder abilities grew stronger, he seemed to be drifting further away from Awakening.
"Do I need something else to Awaken my Devil Fruit? But what is it? Is it a thunder domain? But wouldn't that be a bit out of place?"
Rowen self-mockingly chuckled, then suddenly noticed the gaze of the soldier next to him fixated on his hand.
As his broken thumb rapidly healed, the fractured bone fragments crawled back along the muscle texture like a reversed film, and then were enveloped by the muscles.
Confronted with this unreasonable sight, the soldier stared wide-eyed, utterly astonished.
"What are you looking at?"
Suddenly, a distant inquiry echoed in the soldier's ears, causing him to instinctively respond, "I was looking at God... uh, I mean, Vice Admiral!"
The soldier quickly came to his senses, standing at attention with an embarrassed expression.
"Alright, is there nothing else to do? Notify everyone to get ready; we'll be exiting the Calm Belt soon."
"Yes, sir!"
Huā Lā La!
The sails were lowered, and the navigators of the maritime group busily brought out compasses and sea maps they hadn't used in a long time, determining the position of the battleship.
The towering Qilin, like a mountain, tore through the sea, churning up white waves, and entered the East Blue. In an instant, a clear sigh of relief emanated from the deck.
Much like the Grand Line, the Calm Belt didn't have distinct seasons, but while the Grand Line still had islands representing spring, summer, autumn, and winter, the Calm Belt was just hot.
Having left the Calm Belt, the soldiers found the warm summer breeze on the sea to be refreshingly cool.
"Which is the closest Marine base to us?"
Rowen entered the cabin where the navigator was, and Vice Admiral Momonga was already there, looking at the East Blue layout map covered with thumbtacks. Rowen knew that Vice Admiral Momonga had already made plans.
"We initially planned to start from Base 173, circling around to end up at Loguetown."
Vice Admiral Momonga raised his head, his bald head shining brightly in the well-lit directive room. "But since the Calm Belt doesn't have a specific direction, the point we departed from is quite far from our planned location. Currently, the closest base is Base 153 in the East Blue."
"Then let's go there!"
Rowen scanned the sea map. The difference between Base 153 and 173 was a bit far, and it would be foolish to detour back. Fortunately, 153 was already on the established route, so circling around would still lead them to Loguetown.
"If all else fails, we can split up. You can take some people to Base 173, and I'll wait for you ahead."
"No!"
Before the words even left his mouth, Vice Admiral Momonga decisively rejected the proposal.
Sengoku had given specific instructions for Rowen to be closely watched.
Although East Blue was seen as the weakest sea by pirates, it symbolized peace in the eyes of the Marines. If Rowen caused a major disturbance here, Vice Admiral Momonga would be too embarrassed to face Garp and Sengoku when he returned.
In response, Rowen rolled his eyes.
"Do you really need to guard me like I'm a pirate? Is it necessary?!"
Vice Admiral Momonga remained silent, simply gazing at him.
Rowen: "..."
Damn it!
(End of this chapter)