One Piece: The Living Devil

The smoke of gunpowder dissipated, and the dust settled.

When everyone opened their eyes again and looked in the direction Rosse had just swung the Trident of the Sea God, they were completely shocked by the scene in front of them.

From the starting point where Rosse swung the Trident of the Sea God, to the end point where the red thunderlight sea waterfall finally dissipated.

On the ground, a gigantic crack appeared, ten meters wide, bottomless, like an abyss with no end.

That crack was pitch-black and deep, as if it were an endless black hole that could devour everything, making people feel awe and fear, causing shivers.

The length of the crack could not be seen to the end at a glance; it could only be vaguely seen that it was like a hideous scar, crossing the entire Upper Yard, forcibly splitting the originally complete and beautiful island in half.

And this terrifying abyss, which could be called a spectacle of nature, was merely an attack casually slashed out by Rosse with a wave of his hand.

"This…", Gan Fall's eyeballs were about to pop out.

He had seen Roger make a move, but even Roger had never released such a powerful attack.

Just one attack was enough to split Upper Yard in two.

And he could see that Rosse still looked relaxed and at ease.

It was obvious that such an attack, he could release it many more times.

But if this happened a few more times, Upper Yard wouldn't be able to withstand it and would be easily sunk.

At that time, Skypiea would be gone, and there would be no Skypieans left.

At this moment, the way Gan Fall looked at Rosse had completely changed.

Even Gan Fall was like this, let alone the Divine Squad.

The more arrogant they had been just now, the more terrified they were now.

At this moment, they couldn't even raise any awareness to resist.

Just thinking that the enemy was such a monster made them feel fear and panic from the bottom of their hearts.

At this moment, in their eyes, Rosse was the true god.

And that strike just now, too, was divine power that only a god could unleash.

"So powerful…", Conia muttered repeatedly.

Every time Rosse made a move, it was reshaping her worldview.

Only now did she realize that humans... no, gods' power, could reach such a level.

Conia instinctively looked at Gan Fall, then simply shook her head.

Gan Fall was far too inferior; Rosse was the real god.

Only now could she begin to understand what kind of strength Sora's description of Rosse's identity corresponded to.

Thinking of this, Conia instinctively looked at Gion.

She was thinking, how strong could Gion be?

Could she also split half of Upper Yard in one strike like Rosse?

"What are you looking at? I'm not as strong as him. But a year ago, he wasn't as good as me," Gion instantly saw through Conia's thoughts and pouted with some frustration.

She could accept being weaker than Rosse.

After all, Rosse was simply a monster, not to be measured by common sense.

But she couldn't accept that the gap between herself and Rosse kept growing, to the point where she felt powerless.

Clearly when fighting the Red Count before, Rosse didn't even know Advanced Conqueror's Haki.

Clearly when they first met, she and Rosse were at the same level, and even her techniques had a slight edge.

Clearly afterward, they both consumed Zoan-type Mythical Devil Fruits.

But in terms of strength growth, why was there such a huge gap?

She hadn't even touched the threshold of an admiral, yet Rosse had already become a legendary level powerhouse.

Now, every improvement Rosse made was a kind of stimulation for Gion.

In truth, deep down, Gion had an extremely strong competitive spirit.

Especially since the previous fight with the Red Count, she hadn't even qualified to participate, which made her even more upset.

Thinking of this…

Zzzzt!

A surge of incomparably sharp and unyielding aura suddenly erupted from within Gion's delicate body, like a volcanic explosion.

"Hm?", Sensing the astonishing aura suddenly erupting from Gion, Rosse turned his head, looking at Gion with some surprise.

At the same time, he gently waved a hand toward Conia, and an invisible force instantly enveloped Conia, instantly pushing her, who had been protected behind Gion, into his arms.

"Ah!", Conia let out a cry of surprise, her petite body shivering in Rosse's warm and broad embrace, her little heart pounding violently.

She hadn't even had time to fully react to what had just happened, when she saw in horror...

Under Gion's aura field, all the Divine Squad fell into unconsciousness, even Gan Fall wasn't spared.

"Conqueror's Haki?", Sora also looked at Gion in shock, recognizing her current state.

With Rosse's Conqueror's Haki shielding them, she and Conia had no problems.

"Didn't expect Gion to have this talent," The corners of Rosse's mouth slightly curved.

"Stimulated into awakening Conqueror's Haki by you. When she wakes up, she might even need to thank you," Sora smiled softly upon hearing this.

She knew how strong Gion's competitiveness was, and how down she had been because she couldn't take part in the Red Count's battle.

During that time, to comfort Gion, she had pulled Gion along to find Rosse and let Rosse enlighten her.

Of course, the one who got enlightened was Gion.

She just didn't expect that this time, simply witnessing Rosse's attack would stimulate Gion's Conqueror's Haki.

"This is her own latent potential," The look Rosse gave Gion was filled with endless appreciation, "Zephyr and I have researched. As long as someone has the strength of a Vice Admiral, in theory, they can awaken Conqueror's Haki. Conqueror's Haki requires one to understand their true self, and to follow their true self."

"Those who can't awaken it mostly just can't act on their will. That's the way to understand it, right?", Sora said thoughtfully.

This was her first time deeply understanding Conqueror's Haki.

After all, to her, this was a kind of talent she could never possess.

"That's one way to put it," Rosse nodded, "There are countless strong people on the sea. Even Admirals are constrained, some by the World Government, some by themselves, let alone those who are merely Vice Admirals."

That's right, he was referring to Zephyr.

Strong people like Zephyr didn't awaken it mostly because they were too self-restrained.

[T/N: Not true in canon. Because you have to be born with conqueror's haki. But, what can I do? I am just translating.]

If they truly figured things out, awakening Conqueror's Haki would only take an instant.

"Is it also because pirates follow their hearts more, so they're relatively more likely to awaken it?", Sora grasped the point instantly.

"Exactly. That's why most Conqueror's Haki users are pirates. In the navy, Sakazuki, Garp, Sengoku, and Kong all have it, it's just that among them, only Garp has reached the level of Advanced Conqueror's Haki," Rosse nodded.

But Conqueror's Haki isn't such a big deal either; the boost it provides to combat power is actually limited.

No matter how strong Advanced Conqueror's Haki is, it can't beat two people of the same level ganging up.

That's what happened to the Red Count. He died easily at the hands of Rosse and Sakazuki.

Now the navy was in its prime. Although its numbers couldn't match pirates spread across the four seas, its top combat power was enough to suppress the world.

Although having many top-level fighters doesn't mean the Great Pirate Era can be ended.

After all, using a cannon to kill a mosquito is wasteful and inefficient.

But ultimately, the chaos of the Great Pirate Era was the result of the World Government's indulgence.

If the World Government truly wanted to control it, they could kill until no one dared to be a pirate.

However... Since the World Government didn't want to manage it, then he would take over.

Whether it's idiot swordsmen who go be pirates, or civilians slaughtered by pirates, they're all his personal property.

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