"Admiral level" is just a standard concocted by the mischief-makers on Earth, influenced and corrupted by cultivation and video game leveling systems, a unique creation of theirs.
Oda has never established such a ranking system explicitly, and fans have simply extrapolated the positions of strong individuals and labeled them as power levels.
For example, Yonko level, Admiral level, Vice Admiral (Admiral candidate), Vice Admiral, and so on...
It's worth mentioning that in this leveling system, no matter where the discussion takes place, the Marines are always the unit of measurement.
Comparisons like "Comparable to an Admiral," "Comparable to a Vice Admiral," "Comparable to a Marine Headquarters Ensign," and so on...
It's truly a cause for celebration!
According to this leveling system, Rowen is currently at the Vice Admiral level, approaching the Admiral level indefinitely. It's only a matter of time before he crosses over with his Devil Fruit Awakening, officially stepping into the realm of Admiral.
However, the distinctions between Admiral, Yonko, and Vice Admiral levels are not significant.
A Vice Admiral is similar to an Admiral in certain aspects but lacks overall strength compared to an Admiral. The difference between an Admiral and a Yonko lies in their overall strength; they are equal overall but inferior in certain aspects to a Yonko.
That's the simple distinction.
The positions of Yonko and Admiral represent a "limit," a mysterious and profound aspect of the world.
That's why Rowen can be hailed as one of the top sea warriors.
Combat isn't just about rolling dice and comparing sizes; at this level, there's no true superiority or inferiority, only a broad distinction between being on the same level as Whitebeard, the "world's strongest," and "everyone else."
To determine where someone specifically falls within these categories, observing their momentum is the simplest method.
In battle, the momentum emanating from within the body is easy to discern. Even if an opponent deliberately hides their abilities, Observation Haki isn't something to be trifled with.
Naturally, such individuals are almost non-existent in this world. Passion, dreams, and ambitions are eternal themes in this world.
The inherent pride of the strong makes them disdainful of hiding their abilities.
Including Teach...
During his twenty years on Whitebeard's ship, he wasn't pretending to be weak; he was genuinely weak... At most, his strength didn't match the level he usually displayed, which led to the conversation between Red Hair and Whitebeard, where Red Hair warned Whitebeard not to underestimate Teach.
And if the opponent possesses Haoshoku Haki, then it's even easier to judge.
This Haki, which cannot be trained independently and is completely different from Busoshoku Haki and Kenbunshoku Haki, is a manifestation of a person's spirit and strength! The stronger the Haoshoku, the stronger the individual's strength; logically, there's no problem with that.
Teach now gives Rowen the impression of this.
Teach's Haoshoku Haki filled the surrounding space, and as the two Haki forces intersected, strands of purple-black lightning continuously flickered and disappeared. Rowen's Haoshoku Haki was firmly on the defensive!
But compared to the Yonko he had encountered, this Haoshoku seemed so powerless, and it looked as if it was just for show.
Haoshoku stronger than himself but weaker than a Yonko, undoubtedly places Teach in the Admiral category.
"Hiss... How many internal organs did you sacrifice?!"
To let Teach skyrocket from the passive position of being beaten to his current level, the cost must have been severe.
"This question... go and ask the ghosts of Hell, Soryu (Azure Dragon)!"
Teach grinned first, then roared wildly, bursting a fistful of air cannonballs.
"You're quite confident..."
Allowing the air cannonballs to pierce him, during the healing process of Elementalization, Rowen wielded his thunder halberd like a falling meteor, piercing through.
Teach is stronger than himself; what a perfect answer!
"Hehe... Haha!!"
Heaven-resisting Thunder Cry, Third Style...
Scaling Dragon Kill!
Accompanied by laughter, thunder halberd's lightning sparks shot towards Teach's heart.
Puchi... Ding!
This move, which could pierce through the shoulder of BIG MOM, known as the Steel Balloon, only superficially penetrated the chest muscles before getting stuck.
The impact flowed into the ground along the body, causing the ground to be struck again, cracking open a deep and bottomless chasm. Seizing the opportunity, Teach's remaining left hand suddenly shot forward, grabbing at Rowen.
Hoo...!
The fingers turned into claws, tearing the air with a hiss.
With the enhancement of Busoshoku Haki, this grab was enough to split mountains and shatter rocks.
Rowen didn't want to waste his precious stamina on healing wounds. He grabbed the painted pole of his Thunder Crescent-sided Halberd with his left hand and lifted it upward, blocking Teach's tiger claw attack.
*Kuang Dang!*
Then...
*Chi!*
"Wu Wa..."
Teach couldn't help but vomit a mouthful of coagulated blood, looking at his own chest that had been cut open, a hint of fear flashing in his eyes.
Rowen unexpectedly changed the angle of the pole during the process of raising his hand, leveraging the force. His grab, like driving a nail, precisely drove the pole into his own heart.
"Is this all you got, Teach?"
"There's nothing impressive about it!"
With a successful strike, Rowen immediately swung the halberd, the three-meter-long Thunder Crescent-sided Halberd wrapped in Thunderlight, creating a formidable momentum and majestic aura. The dragon danced around him like a meat grinder, unstoppable.
A weapon of domination naturally has a domineering attack method.
*Ding Ding Dang Dang!*
The thunder halberd continuously struck Teach's body enveloped in Busoshoku Haki, bursting into bursts of flames. Despite Teach's superiority in both Haki and strength, he was slower.
Facing Rowen's relentless onslaught like a raging storm, he could only roar in anger, being forced to retreat bit by bit.
"Asshole!"
I sacrificed so much, not to come here and take a beating!
Teach's eyes were bloodshot, and a fierce, bloody wicked stench emanated from him. In this instant, Teach's skin turned pale, but his momentum surged to an unknown extent.
"A blood sacrifice?"
Rowen just noticed Teach's change, and his fist suddenly clashed with the thunder halberd.
*Thud!*
The painted pole was directly knocked aside, and the tremendous force suddenly struck his chest. The stones under Rowen's heels burst open, scattering into the air as dust. A fan-shaped pit with a radius of hundreds of meters appeared on the small island, with Rowen at the center, cracking apart.
*Puff!*
Suffering such a heavy blow, Rowen finally got injured since the start of the battle.
Looking at Teach, enveloped in a bloody and wicked stench, Rowen smiled instead of getting angry. "Oh? Finally found a use for this?"
Blood sacrifice, sacrificing blood!
Since the user of the Sacrifice-Sacrifice Fruit Ability could sacrifice any bone and internal organ, blood, as part of the body, could naturally also be used as a sacrifice.
But because blood is not a limb, and the human body has the ability to produce blood, blood is essentially a consumable. Therefore, this sacrifice cannot bring about an increase in Eternal existence; it can only be used as a burst of power.
According to Zero, this was a usage discovered by a senior member of CP0.
Because the situation was desperate, apart from the limbs, trunk, and head, which couldn't move, he had swallowed and sacrificed most of his internal organs and bones, embracing the idea of burning the bridges behind him and not seeking survival.
Then, on the basis of his already extraordinary strength, he obtained an incredible increase, far surpassing the limits of all previous consumers!
The extra power he gained didn't mean he was stronger than all previous consumers; it was an accidental temporary boost obtained through sacrificing blood.
And since what was sacrificed was "blood" and not the "blood-making system," as long as the measurement was controlled properly, this sacrifice wouldn't endanger life. At most, he would be weakened by severe blood loss for a period afterward and would need to consume more supplements.
Anyway, with the characteristic of the Sacrifice-Sacrifice Fruit, even if he died from blood loss, he could be resurrected, provided that no one took advantage of the opportunity to burn him to ashes during this period.
Flesh paste could still manage, but if it turned to ash, it would be useless even if someone came.
This kind of treating consumers as toys, tempting them to lose themselves in power, and eventually swallowing their souls, was the most wicked and deserving of the title "wicked devil" among all the Devil Fruits in Rowen's cognition.
(End of this chapter)
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