The next day, Marine Branch 80 Base Commander's Office.
"What? Go to Marine Headquarters? Not going."
Rowan shook his head and refused Colonel Lomi's suggestion. "I eat well and sleep well here. Why would I go to Headquarters? That place is full of monsters. I haven't even mastered Haki yet."
Behind the desk, Colonel Lomi's eyelids twitched.
A power like Haki was something usually mastered by elites at Headquarters.
Willpower, conviction, and spirit were the foundation of Haki. Only after that came physical control and technique.
If one's spirit declined, then the power known as Haki would gradually lose its strength.
That was precisely why he wanted Rowan to go to Marine Headquarters instead of staying in the comfortable environment of the West Blue.
After thinking for a moment, Colonel Lomi returned to the previous topic.
"There is a result regarding the matter you asked about earlier."
"Hm? The execution of the Pirate King Roger at Loguetown?" Rowan quickly asked.
Colonel Lomi nodded, but did not answer directly. Instead, he said, "Gol D. Roger has been confirmed to be executed this month. A figure like him being captured, don't you want to become a hero like Vice Admiral Garp?"
No, I don't. I just want to overturn this twisted world.
Rowan shook his head without hesitation.
If it were not for people like Garp and Roger back then, Uncle Kuma might have had it easier. And that Fish Fish Fruit, Mythical Zoan that Kaido ate could have become a future asset.
Besides, the Pirate King Roger was not truly captured. He surrendered himself because he knew he did not have long to live.
And through that execution, with a single sentence, he turned One Piece into a legend pursued by countless people.
The Great Age of Pirates was born, but for ordinary people, such an era was cruel.
Also, the name Gol D. had been altered to Gold Roger, hiding the initial D.
Among the five elders in Mary Geoise, one of those old monsters, Saint Jaygarcia Saturn, had almost scared him to death when he was still a baby.
"..."
After letting out a breath, Colonel Lomi felt somewhat helpless.
"Prepare yourself. We leave tomorrow."
"Hm?"
"Tomorrow we will use the Marine route to cross Reverse Mountain and head directly to Loguetown in the East Blue."
"It is arranged? Colonel Lomi, your connections at Headquarters are quite impressive."
Colonel Lomi raised his head proudly. "I may not compare to those monsters, but my connections are strong."
Rowan smiled and asked, "I heard you trained at Headquarters under an Admiral before. Why did you come to a place like the West Blue afterward?"
This question made Lomi pause. He looked at Rowan.
The environment and experiences at Marine Headquarters might not be a good place for this kid.
It was too close to Sabaody Archipelago. And that was also one of the reasons he himself had returned to the West Blue.
"Enough. Go prepare. When you reach Loguetown, someone will meet you. If you change your mind then, you can go to Headquarters with him."
Rowan shrugged and left.
If it had been five days ago, he might have gone to Marine Headquarters.
After all, it was close to Sabaody Archipelago. Using a shadow clone to replace himself and sneaking over to deal with human traffickers, or even getting lucky enough to secretly target a Celestial Dragon, would have been a huge gain.
But now, with something like the Flying Nimbus that improved mobility, traveling from the West Blue to Sabaody would not take long.
If he could get a Transformation Technique later, it would be perfect.
Hmm… he could not go out to make extra money today. He still had to prepare tonight for departure tomorrow.
So he could only go drink.
…
Rasgap Town was located at the entrance of Reverse Mountain. Combined with the special route across the Red Line, merchant caravans and others all passed through here to reach other seas.
With commercial prosperity, entertainment naturally flourished as well.
However, appreciation was just appreciation. For now, even the Capone family among the Five Mafia Families did not dare to bring their underground businesses into Rasgap Town.
So the beautiful women were truly beautiful, and the establishment was also genuinely legitimate.
Drinking wine, listening to music, and watching beauties, Rowan joined in the cheering and whistling.
Before long, the performance on stage ended, and soft music began to play. The women from earlier stood on the stage.
Meanwhile, workers in the dance hall began selling flowers. Spend fifty thousand Beli, and you might get a chance to share a drink with one of them.
"Sir, would you like some flowers? Sister Mina performed very well today. I even saw her glance at you several times."
A six or seven year old boy stood in front of Rowan's seat, enthusiastically promoting, with a hint of persuasion.
At least to Rowan's ears, this kid had already used the same sales pitch multiple times.
Ruffling the boy's hair, Rowan patted his pocket. "Kid, aside from money for drinks, my pockets are cleaner than my face."
At this moment, the men drinking nearby also noticed.
"Hahaha. The kid must be new. Executioner Rowan is famously stingy."
"Other than paying for a drink, he never spends another coin."
"But plenty of people want to treat him to drinks. He just refuses."
…
Rowan raised his glass toward them, drank it in one go, then turned and walked toward the restroom of the dance hall.
Today's entertainment was over. He still had work to do tonight, and tomorrow he would depart for the East Blue.
Yesterday, he had already obtained two treasure locations. After enduring the mental pain of black flame burning, one mafia member and one pirate had revealed their hidden wealth.
A pirate's treasure was still something Rowan needed.
After all, to overturn this world, he still had many things to prepare.
A few minutes later, a shadow clone version of Rowan walked out of the restroom and leisurely returned to the seat.
Another five minutes later, the real Rowan, having changed his hairstyle, put on different clothes, and wore a mask, walked out of the dance hall.
Soon, a yellow cloud descended into a corner of the street from the night sky, then carried a figure upward and flew toward the interior of the West Blue.
The speed of flight was far faster than sailing ships. In just a few hours, Rowan had already retrieved two chests of gold and silver treasures and hidden them away.
As expected, the mafia were much richer than pirates.
During his two years as the executioner of the West Blue, Rowan had done this many times. However, before obtaining the Flying Nimbus, it usually took a long time to retrieve such treasures.
"Still far from enough…"
Rowan sighed. There were still two years left, and research was something that required far more than just money.