Chapter 19

Rowan followed as the hooded man rushed his way through the crowded street of Logue Town.

All of a sudden, the man made a sharp turn towards the alley on his left. In order to avoid losing a track of him, Rowan sped up and turned left. To his surprise, the man was nowhere to be seen!

Cautiously, Rowan looked around, thinking if he should retreat. There lied one suspicious door, with the title 'Craul's Bar,' it was the most plausible that the man entered through this door. The question is, what if this was a trap?

However, Rowan thought that there isn't much they can do to set up a trap against him. As far as he knew, the only weakness of a devil fruit was the ocean, how will they throw him in the ocean when he can fly? At the same time, most of the attacks on him were useless, when he could just bounce them off with ease.

Gaining confidence in his ability, Rowan entered the bar. The interior seemed normal, with no particular aspect that stands out. On the counter, there was a bartender, short in height, wearing a round sunglasses and pink suit.

"Yo, welcome to ma bar, buddy! What do ya want to have, yea!" Oddly enough, the man greeted Rowan with a rapping style. Although it was unique, Rowan didn't mind. After all, this is the world of One Piece.

"Uh..." Rowan didn't want to reveal the fact that he came here in pursuit of Mad Treasure. He has thought that perhaps the bartender is an ally of Mad Treasure initially, however, the more he thought of it, it seemed unrealistic.

On the wall positioned at his left, there was the printed papers showing that the bartender gained the official permission to set up and sell. Right next to that paper was the official confirmation of his identity. It read: Sai Chop, Age: 29, no criminal record, thoroughly checked by the marines as per to the request.

Overall, it seemed like a desperate attempt of a bartender to avoid looking suspicious. Perhaps such behaviour was involved because the man has something he wants to hide, however, as Rowan stared at the man intently, he saw the man sweating profusely.

'Nah, just a normal bartender.' Rowan dismissed his thought.

"Sir, what would ya like to order, yo?" Sai, the bartender, asked again, as Rowan just stood without saying anything.

"Ah sorry. I think I will have... oops, sorry. I forgot to bring money. Can't order any. I'll come back later with money. Bye." Rowan quickly left without giving Sai a chance to speak any further.

'Even if the bar owner is not associated, I am not taking any chances.' Rowan mentally nodded as he exited the bar. Or he tried to. The moment he was going to open the door, the door disappeared! The moment Rowan saw that, Rowan immediately realized that this was a trap set up by Mad Treasure! Without hesitation, Rowan quickly slammed a punch on the ceiling, forming a crack, however, before he could do any more, Rowan felt drowsy all of a sudden, and he fell, having lost an ability to control his body.

Suddenly, the colours that constituted the door and walls around, including the papers attached, melted away, before revealing gloomy, grey walls!

"Jararara, so we meet again, Youchiha Bob! Or should I call you Grimheart Rowan now? Jarararara!" As the room made a complete transformation, Mad Treasure made an appearance, right behind Rowan, while holding a stick with a stone of emerald colour that was in contact with Rowan's back.

"Well done, Psycho P." Mad Treasure made a savage grin as he stared at downed Rowan. "You seem confused, Grimheart. This? This is what we call a Seastone, a fine addition to my treasures, Jararara!"

"Jarara, I am feeling merciful today! I will give you a time to speak your last words, go ahead!" Mad Treasure said as the chains rose from his fist and began to encase it.

"Ugh... heh..." Although barely able to move, Rowan managed to raise his hand up, before pointing his index finger up, while making a weak grin.

"Hm?" Before Mad Treasure and Psycho P could realize, the whole ceiling of the building crashed down onto them!"

*BOOM*

"Huh? What's going on?!"

"Run!!" The people yelped as the building collapsed all of a sudden.

"Hua..." Mad Treasure stood up from the piles unscathed, with the chains covering the entirety of his body. On the other hand, Psycho P seemed to have gone unconscious, with his head bleeding.

"*Huff* *Huff*" Rowan's state was not good as he stood up from the piles. Due to the Seastone, Rowan couldn't use his devil fruit power until he already received substantial amount of damage. Currently, various parts of his body, including the left arm, left leg and few ribs were broken, while severely bleeding; he was only able to save the right part of his body at the last moment.

"Pestering me like a cockroach every single time. To think I have to go all out against the likes of you!" With annoyed face, Mad Treasure was about to rush towards Rowan, however, saw the marines quickly rushing towards them. "Tch, consider yourself lucky, Grimheart. Next time we meet, I will ensure that you are erased from this world!"

After the outburst, Mad Treasure grabbed Psycho P and fled.

'Damn it, I have become complacent with my abilities. I wouldn't have thought things such as Seastone would have existed...' Rowan clenched his right fist in self-ridicule, before flying away from the commotion by using his right leg.

As he went back to the location of his ship, all he saw were Rambo and others all brutally beaten up unconscious, and their ship gone. It seems that this was Mad Treasure's plan from the start all along: lure Rowan's crew, kill Rowan (although failed), steal their ship and escape to Grand Line while the marines are occupied with Rowan's crew.

They were completely fooled by Mad Treasure!

As blood kept leaving his body, Rowan became drowsy. "No... I can't... faint here..."

The world turned dark on him, as he dropped on the ground, unconscious.