One Piece: The Strongest Trait System novel Chapter 122

Chapter 122 - [122] : Ultimate Devil Fruit Fusion! Destruction of Thunder-Ice Island!

~ As Usual. Bonus Chapter Every 300 Powerstones!

~ 18 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon

<><><><><><><><>

3 Chapters Today!!

<><><><><><><><>

Rowen's eyes flashed with a crazed light.

The battle between them had now devolved into a pure war of attrition.

Though his Haōshoku Coating gave him the upper hand, and Rowen was confident he would ultimately win even if it came down to endurance—he knew that by the end of such a battle, he too would likely be severely injured.

Such close-quarters, life-or-death combat, especially against a peak powerhouse like Aokiji—even with Haōshoku Coating protecting his body, defensive lapses were inevitable.

Maintaining the full-power Haōshoku Coating cloud consumed an absolutely huge amount of energy. Even with the Born of the Sea Trait allowing him to recover Conqueror's Haki using sea energy—Rowen could only delay its depletion.

In this situation, if he didn't want to exhaust his Conqueror's Haki, he would have to choose not to use the full-body Haōshoku Coating defense—

Instead, like Aokiji, he'd have to rely on Armament Haki for protection, using Haōshoku Coating solely for offense.

This would significantly reduce consumption.

But if he made that choice—given the scary power of Aokiji's Ice Gloves—if Aokiji found an opportunity to strike any part of his body not covered by his Thunder Gloves, Aokiji could pierce his Armament Haki and inflict damage...

Aokiji, now fighting with desperate ferocity, his body already bearing numerous scorched marks—was clearly waiting for just such an opportunity.

Aokiji's combat experience was immense, his Hand-to-Hand Combat honed to their absolute peak—even when temporarily at a disadvantage, he showed no signs of panic, quickly and calmly analyzing his path to victory.

In terms of raw physique, Aokiji clearly held the advantage over Rowen.

This was his only edge, his only chance of winning...

By fighting so desperately, he aimed to force Rowen to expend his Haōshoku Coating.

If the battle dragged on for days, Rowen's Conqueror's Haki would inevitably weaken, unable to maintain full power, unable to sustain the Haōshoku Coating defensive Cloud. At that point, Aokiji's Ice Gloves would have a chance to land a decisive blow!

Such calm strategic thinking, such rich combat experience, and the combat instincts born from Martial arts, even Rowen had to admire it.

Fighting a true top-tier powerhouse of these seas truly was an exhilarating experience. Even when at a disadvantage in both Haki and Devil Fruit matchups (initially)—Aokiji could still coolly identify his only path to victory.

No wonder Sengoku, with his Buddha-like wisdom, favored the usually lazy Aokiji highly—intending to pass the mantle of Fleet Admiral to him...

But Rowen—possessed the awakened Human-Human Fruit, the enhanced intellect of an Ultimate Human!

Aokiji's thoughts and intentions—Rowen had seen through them long ago! When Rowen aimed to defeat an opponent, he gave them absolutely zero chances.

<><><><><><><><>

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Rowen combined the power of his Haōshoku Coating with his Rumble-Rumble Fruit, unleashing a horrible shockwave!

Against this fusion of Haōshoku Coating and the Rumble-Rumble Fruit—even Aokiji could only temporarily evade.

His Ice Gloves might withstand such power, but the rest of his body, protected only by Armament Haki and Ice-Ice Fruit defenses, could not.

Facing this attack, dodging was the only sensible choice.

But the moment Aokiji instinctively dodged, a sense of dread washed over him.

Relying on combat instinct had its benefits, of course.

Even when his Observation Haki was shredded by Rowen's Rumble-Rumble Fruit, rendering it unusable, combat instinct allowed him to engage in a close-quarters, life-or-death battle against Rowen, who possessed future sight—

—Aokiji's instinct, forged through countless days and nights of training—created powerful muscle memory, allowing for instantaneous, correct decisions in battle.

For example... just now, when Rowen unleashed that full-power Haōshoku Coating and Rumble-Rumble Fruit energy shockwave—dodging it instantly was, in that split second, the correct decision.

But was the correct decision in that split second—necessarily the correct decision in the long run??

By retreating—he had given Rowen, with his Rumble-Rumble Fruit and Haōshoku Coating-enhanced speed—an incredibly wide space to maneuver!

That massively draining shockwave of Haōshoku Coating and Rumble-Rumble energy—clearly wasn't just Rowen showing off because he had too much Haki to spare!

Rowen was deliberately creating this operational space...

With such space, Rowen, possessing future-seeing Observation Haki, would never give him another chance for close combat!

'Does he intend to use long-range Rumble-Rumble Fruit attacks to wear down my Haki and stamina?' Aokiji frowned.

But looking at Rowen in the distance, a deep sense of unease filled him...

<><><><><><><><>

VMM.

Rowen's Observation Haki focused to its absolute limit, ensuring every single one of Aokiji's movements was foreseen.

Rowen would not give Aokiji another chance to get close—

Combat instinct—while allowing for instantaneous correct decisions, could not predict the future! An instant of 'Correctness' sometimes represented shortsightedness—and could lead to utter ruin!

Pros and cons—didn't just apply to Devil Fruits. All powers had them, Including Aokiji's combat instinct.

A glint of wisdom shone in Rowen's eyes—Human-Human Fruit, Intellect Enhancement.

"Aokiji! Savor this attack—THE ULTIMATE DEVIL FRUIT ABILITY!" Rowen declared, looking at Aokiji in the distance, his laughter thundering across the sky.

The rolling thunder of his voice made Aokiji wince, instinctively reinforcing the Armament Haki around his ears to block out the sound!

"Ultimate Devil Fruit Ability?" Aokiji frowned deeper upon hearing Rowen's words.

Even Rowen's close-range Thunder Gloves couldn't fatally wound him in a short time—what use would long-range Rumble-Rumble Fruit attacks be?

But now, unable to close the distance with Rowen, Aokiji could only steel himself to receive whatever attack came next.

With his Observation Haki at an absolute disadvantage, facing a man who also possessed the Rumble-Rumble Fruit and Haōshoku Coating to boost speed—Aokiji knew he was at a complete tactical disadvantage.

He could attack and retreat at will.

Aokiji sighed inwardly.

Capturing Rowen—he likely couldn't do it alone. It would probably require another Admiral to corner Sky Sovereign Rowen.

'To require two Admirals to capture... this man really has the power of an Emperor,' The Navy—had lost its best chance to capture this man.

At this moment, Aokiji couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. If he had known earlier—during the Alabasta incident—he should have directly gone to apprehend this scary man!

But alas... regret was meaningless now.

Aokiji channeled his Ice-Ice Fruit power and his full Armament Haki, preparing for the impending ranged assault.

VMM!

But what surprised Aokiji was—Sky Sovereign Rowen, crossed his arms, not using his Rumble-Rumble Fruit ability.

"GREAT FLAME COMMANDMENT——!!!"

Rowen roared, unleashing his Flare-Flare Fruit power!

Extreme, horrifying flames erupted, centered on Rowen, burning ferociously! Rowen's physique had reached such a high level that his control over the Flare-Flare Fruit far surpassed Ace's.

Though its raw attack power was inferior to Rumble-Rumble, it was still on par with the Ice-Ice Fruit.

Once Awakened, the Flare-Flare Fruit, unleashing its full potential, could grant combat power at the minimum Admiral threshold.

Among all Devil Fruits, Flare-Flare was T1.

Fruits like Rumble-Rumble, Magma-Magma, Glint-Glint, which granted power far exceeding the Admiral threshold based on fruit ability alone, were T0!

Rowen's use of the Flare-Flare Fruit now was only one step away from Awakening—he just needed to meet the 'Desire to Become Fire' requirement.

<><><><><><><><>

"FLAME EMPEROR——!!!" Rowen roared, appearing as if he were holding aloft a miniature sun, his eyes fixed on Aokiji in the distance—

This colossal fireball of pure sun-like energy was incomparably vast—far exceeding Ace's 'Great Flame Commandment - Flame Emperor' in both volume and destructive power.

BOOOOOOM!!!

"RAIGO——!!!" As the user of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Rowen's roar was thunder itself!

"Fuse." Rowen's smile turned somewhat strange.

FWOOSH!