14 Chapter 14
Fifty ships, with each containing around a hundred men or more. The Krieg pirates were mighty, and in terms of number, no one could dare to compete them.
BOOM BOOM BOOM! They began spreading out as they continuously fired cannonballs at the Ugly Adventure. Though the ship weaved through countless numbers of them in an unbelievable manner, its advancement was prevented due to the majority of cannonballs intentionally being aimed ahead. Slowly, but surely, Ugly Adventure was getting surrounded like how the hunters trap their prey.
"Not good," Whispered Rowan as he quickly looked to his left and right. Blasting a cannon and deflecting a cannonball that was coming directly toward the ship, Rowan clicked his tongue,
"...Three cannonballs left. And in comparison, it looks like that got some more to spare."
What a bleak situation it was. To encounter the East Blue's largest pirate armada right when the valuable treasures were stashed for their use...
'Mad Treasure being renowned as a capable treasure hunter. Heh...' Rowan thought darkly, 'The pirate crew as large as the Krieg pirates probably became aware of this.'
SPLASH SPLASH SPLASH! As the waters splashed and sprinkled, drenching the ship along with Rowan, Nami, and Carina, Rowan took in a deep breath. Then, turning around, he stated,
"...Turn around the ship. We won't last long this way."
"What?!!" Immediately, Carina cried in disbelief, "The moment we get closer to them, they will invade our ship!!"
BOOM!
As Rowan shot down yet another cannonball, Nami pursed her lips in deep contemplation. Finally, she responded in a shaky tone,
"...Got it."
She spun the steering wheel and caused the ship to make a steep turn—such that Carina's grip on the rail tightened.
"Ahhh!!!" Carina shouted in horror, "Are you two insane?!!"
BOOM!
Rowan, gazing at the terrifying fifty pirate ships with sternness, said in a commanding tone, "Leave the steering wheel and go inside the ship. And if you don't hear a knock thrice on the doorway, discard this ship and dive into the sea immediately."
Carina couldn't seem to understand Rowan's decision, though she in her heart knew that this was the only option that they had; after all, running away was no longer was a viable choice for them.
In a stark contrast, Nami immediately complied.
"K-kyaa!"
Holding Carina by the wrist and yanking, Nami threw Carina into the inner section of the ship. Then, before closing the doorway to the inside, Nami asked in a weak tone,
"Will we be able to survive through this, Rowan...?"
"..."
There was a short pause. And then,
"...Vahahaha,"
Rowan chuckled hollowly. He raised his head up and viewed, the endless rain of cannonballs. Lowering his head, he found pirates amounting to at least five thousand in terms of number, laughing and swinging their weapons around wildly.
'Can I do it?'
Deep in his mind, Rowan too doubted himself. Though he managed to overcome the adversity known as Mad Treasure—the formidable man with the power of Chain Chain fruit—and awakened the Observation Haki, the fact that he has to defeat thousands of men, all by himself... it didn't seem like a feat possible by a human being.
...However, it wasn't about whether he could do it or not. It no longer was about whether he was strong enough or not. If such a feat was impossible, Rowan had to make it possible.
"Of course I can."
Therefore, Rowan said to Nami with a daring grin,
"I am the man who'll kill Arlong, after all."
Nami opened her mouth as if about to speak. However, she then closed it back and instead clenched her fists, expressing frustration.
"...Will you run if I beg you to do so?"
SPLASH! As a cannonball landed right next to the ship and caused it to sway, Rowan's expression softened. Staring at Nami, he said,
"Have some faith in me, Nami."
Nami met her eyes with Rowan and forced a smile, before retreating downstairs. With the door closed and locked from the inside, Rowan took few steps forward and watched as all fifty ships ceased the fire and surrounded the Ugly Adventure entirely.
The smokes generated by countless cannonball explosions entered Rowan's nose. It smelt foul and spicy, corresponding to how detrimental the current circumstance was.
Under Rowan's watch, the man with huge golden armour walked up to the edge of the flagship.
"'Foul Play' Krieg..." Rowan narrowed his eyes at the man. Krieg smirked while leaning onto a rail.
Gin, the 'Combat Commander' of the crew, shouted in fiery anger, "It's 'Pirate Admiral' Don Krieg for you!!!"
"It's fine, Gin. It's fine." Krieg simply waved his hand off, before speaking to Rowan,
"So, you go by the title of a 'Pirate Slayer,' eh?" Krieg snorted, "Handing in every single criminal dead instead of alive—quite a violent one, aren't you?"
Rowan didn't reply, but eyed his sides. The pirates seemed ready to ride their ropes and jump onto the Ugly Adventure at any moment. Tensing his body up, Rowan focused on an attack that can come at any moment instead of Krieg's words.
"Ah, how boring." Krieg muttered while leaning his cheek into his palm, "Well... too bad for you though. The chance to join my crew has already left previously, and if you don't wish to talk, then..."
Krieg raised his hand up and clenched it tight with a grin,
"...it's time for you to die."
Just when Krieg motioned as such,
"""WRRRRYYYYY!!!!!""" The pirates cried—whether out of anger, excitement, or greed—before jumping onto the Ugly Adventure with their weapons drawn. And due to the sheer number of the pirates, all of them were holding onto melee weapons; firearms had more chances of shooting down their own rather than their sole enemy.
'Here they come...!'
Rowan braced for himself, before,
Swoosh!
he immediately leaned back, letting a sword pass by. Swiping his leg and tripping several at once, he punched one pirate's face and that pirate's grip over his cutlass loosened, Rowan immediately took hold of it and parried seven blades at once,
CLANG—!
Spinning around, Rowan's eyes flashed brilliantly as he tilted his head to the side, causing a stab to miss. Right after, snatching the sword-holding wrist of one pirate, Rowan redirected it to the chest of another, killing him. The blood squirted out and blinded the several men who were charging toward Rowan. Their eyes instinctively closed, and placing his hands on the ground, Rowan's legs rapidly spun, slamming onto the exposed chins of the blinded pirates.
"GAHHHH!!!"
"Ugh!!"
The hoard of pirates were pushed back as the frontmost ones crashed back at them. Using this as an opportunity, Rowan dashed forth to one side while taking a hold of an airborne knife—the weapon that he was the most familiar with—nimbly in his right hand.
PUK. Twisting his body to evade multiple slashes midair, Rowan stabbed the knife into the neck of one pirate. Pulling it out, Rowan hopped over the stabbed pirate's shoulders, escaping the range of the blades.
BANG! Then, leaning his head back while airborne, Rowan dodged one bullet that was fired at him. Sharpening his eyes, he gazed at the direction in which he came from, and found Krieg with a frown, who held onto a pistol that had its tip smoking.
Tap. Landing back on the deck, in the middle of the pirates once more, Rowan deflected countless sword slashes with his knife,
CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG!
'...I'm managing it,' Thought Rowan as he busily moved his body around, 'All the movements, all the attacks, all their intents—I can feel them all. Furthermore, the fact that my attacks are sufficient enough to injure them unlike that hard-skinned Mad Treasure...'
There is hope in this situation, Rowan came to believe—
BANG.
A bullet was drilled into the head of one pirate, as Rowan effortlessly dodged it.
BANG.
Krieg angrily shot bullets at Rowan, unable to believe that his crew was struggling to deal with one single bounty hunter.
BANG BANG BANG!
Krieg continuously shot over and over until he was out of bullets. However, Rowan moved in a zigzag and didn't get hit, not even once. It was Krieg's subordinates who screamed in pain as they were struck by Krieg's bullets and the blades from the others.
Whoosh! Rowan didn't stop moving. Filled with adrenaline, he mercilessly slaughtered all the surrounding pirates. The Ugly Adventure was getting heavier as an increasing number of corpses fell on it powerlessly. Its deck was painted in red, and the entire area reeked of a metallic, bloody scent. Hundreds fell under the hands of Rowan, and,
Swoosh! Rowan's bloody knife cleanly beheaded another pirate whose body trembled in fear.
"Huff... huff..."
Rowan's breathing quickened from the accumulating exhaustion. Discarding the knife that was now dulled out by the dried-up blood, Rowan kicked up a cutlass that was lying on the ground and held it tight.
Everyone who invaded the Ugly Adventure has lost their lives. The Krieg pirates shivered in fear as they stared at the black-haired teenage boy, covered by blood from head to toe. Petrified, they couldn't dare to jump onto the corpse-filled Ugly Adventure and attack one individual.
"P-Pirate Slayer..." One pirate whispered.
"He's a demon...!" Another cried with a pale expression.
It was only thanks to the Observation Haki that Rowan was managing this far. But not having any knowledge regarding the concept of Haki itself, Krieg was filled with fury, disappointment, and disbelief, without any trace of his previous amusement.
"...How in the world... are five thousand men losing against one teenage boy?!!" Krieg angrily reloaded his pistol, and,
BANG!
shot down one of his own who was tearing up from the sheer pressure.
Krieg roared, "SHAKING AND PISSING ON YOUR PANTS LIKE BABIES!!! WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF, YOU FOOLS?!!!" He then aimed the pistol at Rowan and fired consecutively,
BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!
Rowan's eyes flashed dangerously as he tilted his head rapidly. All face-paced bullets drilled into the dead corpses instead and drew more blood. Krieg, gritting his teeth and unconsciously taking a step back, didn't seem to be aware... that he was sweating.
Then,
"No need to involve yourself, captain," Gin, whose face darkened up from the current development, took out a tonfa, "I am enough to deal with that man."
This time around, Krieg didn't stop Gin. Krieg, who was huffing slightly from the previous scream, smiled in realization and muttered,
"...That's right. Gin." Krieg looked at Gin and laughed, "Hahaha... I lost my temper just before, didn't I?" Krieg then glared at Rowan murderously and ordered,
"Kill that bounty hunter and restore the dignity of our crew."
"Aye aye, captain."
Gin jumped high up in the air, toward Rowan with his tonfa raised.
"..."
Rowan didn't speak a word. The cutlass in his hand was being spun casually, and its sharp tip gleamed as the sun's light reflected on it. Through his bangs, his eyes briefly shifted to the doorway of the Ugly Adventure that led to the downstairs—one that he's been guarding since the start of the fight. It was slightly open, and through the gap, Rowan saw two pairs of eyes staring at him worriedly. In order to put them to an ease, Rowan smiled.
Then,
"Where are you looking, you damn bounty hunter?!!"
as Rowan turned his eyes up, he saw, Gin flying downward at him with his tonfa ready to strike at any moment—
—PUK.
Krieg's smile froze, and Pearl gulped. Some pirates lost their strengths, unable to believe the sight unveiled in front of them.
...Rowan's cutlass was found driven right through Gin's chest, much to the latter's shock.
"Cough... cough..." Gin voiced weakly, "W... hat... just happened..." Before his eyes hollowed out, and as Rowan dropped the embedded cutlass, he fell on top of another corpse, dead.
Subsequently, Rowan leaned down and grabbed Gin's tonfa. In silence, he raised his body back up and gazed Krieg coldly.
There was silence. In Nami and Carina's eyes, it seemed—that the entire Krieg pirates were overwhelmed by Rowan's presence alone.
'…Rowan.'
Just few weeks ago, Rowan—to Nami—looked like any other bounty hunters out there. But now, his back looked so large, and Nami couldn't help but ponder… if Rowan truly became capable of defeating Arlong.
