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If Rowen was initially just a pool of tranquil dead water, now he's like a roaring wave, with a momentum that made him look incomparable!
Dead water, even in an endless ocean, wouldn't instill fear in anyone. But the appearance of waves in a stream, with hidden currents and turbulent winds, can also make people uneasy.
Bang!
Another punch shattered Rowen's abdomen, and alarm bells rang in Lirisk's mind. Without hesitation, he swiftly retreated.
Almost in the instant he left,
Chi!
A transparent, thin electric blade pierced through, tearing the air with a faint "hiss" as Rowen formed his fingers into a sword, his expression cold.
"Did it open?"
A faint bloodstain appeared from his left shoulder to his right abdomen. Lirisk controlled his muscles with Life Return, squeezing out a stream of blood from the wound, which then quickly healed.
Stopping about 500 to 600 meters away from Rowen, Lirisk's face turned serious as he looked towards the area enveloped in thunder.
Boom!
The leaden clouds in the sky rolled, and Thunder Pillars pierced through the sky, casting a brilliance more dazzling than the sun.
What's more awe-inspiring than a thunderstorm in the desert is the oppressive feeling pervading the air at this moment.
The Awakening power of Logia, with its imposing presence, is not something ordinary means can contend with.
"Sir!"
CP0 agents in the distance had already noticed the anomaly here, and one of them hurried over, kneeling on one knee.
"I'm fine. Get everyone away from here, and let's move farther away!"
Staring seriously at the center of the thunderstorm, Lirisk suddenly smirked.
If you get lost in Awakening, don't blame me!
For those who drive the chariot of history, one is enough.
"Yes, sir!"
The CP0 agent looked up at Rowen standing amidst the thunderstorm like a Thunder God, feeling awestruck, and nodded repeatedly.
In his current state, I wouldn't dare to approach even if you asked me to!
Rowen didn't know what Lirisk was thinking. At this moment, he entered an unprecedented state, with clear yet turbid thoughts.
The attack just now was purely instinctive feedback from his body in response to the assault. They had little to do with Rowen himself. Otherwise, a distance of a few hundred meters would be nothing in front of a Goro Goro no Mi (Thunder Thunder Fruit) Ability user.
"If I remember correctly, Monet was critically injured in cannon fire before entering her snow woman state."
"Though Vegapunk's Plasma Cannon isn't Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki), its high-temperature plasma has a similar effect on Yuki Yuki No Mi (Snow-Snow Fruit) Ability users."
"She couldn't bear it, so she became Yukionna."
"So... this is Awakening?"
Rowen stood calmly as he thought of this.
He felt strange now and he felt as if his body and mind had been separated into two parts, not disturbing each other. Even moving a finger was difficult.
But upon closer inspection, he found that this estrangement was not stable and it was like a thin veil that could be easily pierced.
Thunder danced and swirled around his body, needing no deliberate control from him. With just a thought, it responded like a wave of his arm.
At the same time, Rowen suddenly noticed that the fleeting lightning branches around his body also had their own faint consciousness.
"Destruction! Destruction! Destruction!"
The existence or consciousness of those lightning bolts, when touched, would flood his mind with enough information to burst a person's head. At the moment of contact, Rowen's eyes turned red, and an unprecedented terrifying voltage spread from his body!
Bang!!!
The surge instantly pushed aside tons of sand around him, creating a depression in the rolling desert like a crater.
Life is fleeting, like a mayfly, or a fleeting moment of a blooming flower, destroying everything it touches!
Thunder is not a natural phenomenon, it has no inherent dwelling place. Its existence, generation, and conduction, this fleeting process is the brief life of thunder.
So, it possesses a destructive power stronger than any other Logia!
Expending everything, just to burst forth with the most brilliant light!
"Quick, look, there's something in the dark clouds in the sky!"
Among the evacuation team, a worker looked up and suddenly felt weak in the legs, unable to help but scream.
Wrapped in between CP0 agents, Lirisk followed the worker's gaze.
Sure enough!
A thunderous, awe-inspiring Thunder Dragon was undulating in the dark clouds.
As it circled and danced, occasionally breaking through the clouds, it displayed its noble and beautiful yet destructive body from a close distance.
"Has the basic consciousness been retained?"
Combining the information he had, Lirisk immediately understood why this scene was happening.
This was the power born from Rowen's subconsciousness, something that often appears during Logia Awakening.
Their existence indicates that the Ability user has not been completely engulfed by the Awakening power, still retaining a trace of consciousness.
But, it's only temporary.
"The Awakening abilities of the Devil Fruit have begun to erode the surrounding environment. Will this place become the next Thunder God island?"
Noticing the occasional flashes of electric snakes in the air, Lirisk no longer hesitated. "Abandon the baggage and move at full speed!"
Rowen was unaware of what was happening outside. The thunderous consciousness that existed only to burst forth made him feel extremely familiar.
Isn't this a true reflection of his own "embracing death to live" motto?!
Living is about dying!
Living is about making one's life more exciting!
So…
"Let's go cause some chaos!"
"Hehehehe... Hahaha... Hahaha...!"
The standard villainous three-stage laugh drowned in the rolling thunder, as Rowen released the mental shackles keeping his body connected and closed his eyes, allowing that power to take over.
But he wasn't asleep; instead, he aligned himself with the thunder from the first-person perspective of "me."
Invisibly, something clicked into place.
Bang!!!
Despite being over a kilometer away, the massive force collided head-on with what felt like a solid wall of air. The flashing electric currents turned several dazed individuals who kept charging forward into charred remains, filling the air with a strange scent of flesh.
Lirisk looked on in horror at the dramatic change in Rowen's demeanor.
"Hey, hey, is this a success or a failure?"
Rowen's usual gaze wasn't this tyrannical and cruel. That chilling Killing Intent made Lirisk have no doubt that if he angered him, he would surely end up among today's casualties.
But neither had Rowen failed by getting lost in Awakening nor succeeded in fully controlling the power, and now he was blocking their path.
This joke has gone too far!!
"Why are you running?"
"Go back and help me dig for treasure. I'm still looking forward to it!"
Rowen opened his mouth wide, revealing teeth as white as bones.
The thunder surrounding him spread gradually with his movements, turning the ground into scorched earth, with scattered blue lightning sparks.
The crowd stepped back in unison, then looked at each other, unsure of how to respond.
Dig for treasure?
Is it really time to dig for treasure now?!
Do you believe we'll each spray you with a mouthful of saltwater and drown you?!
Old Boss, you go first!
Feeling the surrounding gazes, Lirisk's face stiffened.
BuruBuruBuruBuru
Just then, the sound of a Den Den Mushi rang out.
Lirisk had always thought the Den Den Mushi's old-fashioned ringtone was unpleasant, but now he couldn't be more delighted, as if he had heard a divine melody.
Because of this Den Den Mushi's sound, Rowen's attention was diverted.
"Answer the phone. It's rude not to."
Rowen said calmly, and an invisible Haoshoku pressure spread out, making the CP0 agents being stared at feel weak in the legs.
"Understood!"
With a start, the CP0 agent quickly took out the Den Den Mushi from his pocket, picked up the receiver, and upon hearing the voice, immediately saluted.
"Yes, sir!"
"Yes, I understand!"
"I..."
The CP0 glanced at the bizarrely behaving Rowen, smiling wryly, "Yes, sir!"
Then he hung up the phone and, trembling, said to Rowen, "Vice Admiral Soryu, there's news that Katakuri from the BIG MOM Pirates is in Alabasta."
He then repeated the words Rob Lucci had told Kalifa.
"Katakuri?"
Lirisk recalled the name, then looked at Rowen.
"Katakuri, huh?"
"Troublesome!"
"I haven't hidden my whereabouts. If I ignore him, that fat woman BIG MOM will definitely send him to find trouble with me."
Rowen scratched his head in annoyance, suddenly smiling in a way that sent shivers down one's spine.
"Then let's kill BIG MOM!"
"With such an ugly appearance, she's lowering the level of the Yonko."
Bang!
As he finished speaking, a thunderous bolt shot up from the ground, and the Thunder Dragon in the dark clouds let out a long roar, bursting like a huge firework, along with the Thunder Pillars, creating a massive explosion.
Lirisk: "..."
What the hell kind of crazy words did he say just now?!
After a moment, he asked the CP0 agent beside him in a low voice.
"Do you know where he's going?"
"Well..."
The CP0 swallowed saliva, his mouth dry as he replied, "Is it... the New World?"
Lirisk: "..."
What the heck, heck, heck, heck, heck?!
(End of Chapter)