The island trembled.
Along the shoreline, waves crashed against the coast before surging violently back out to sea.
Ripples spread across the surrounding waters, racing toward the horizon like the aftermath of an undersea quake.
Beneath the surface, ocean currents churned in chaos.
At the heart of the disturbance stood the source of it all.
Or rather—
A monster.
Rowan’s human form was gone.
In its place towered a colossal beast more than fifty feet tall.
Silver-white fur blanketed its massive body, gleaming beneath the sun like polished metal.
Patches of exposed skin were dark gray and rugged, layered like natural armor carved from ancient stone.
Every muscle seemed forged for destruction.
Its shoulders were broad enough to rival fortress walls.
Its claws curved like giant blades, each one capable of rending steel apart with ease.
Razor-sharp fangs protruded from a monstrous jaw, and with every slow breath, an oppressive aura rolled across the island.
This wasn’t a creature meant to survive in nature.
It was a creature built to dominate it.
A living weapon.
A beast born for war.
A low growl rumbled from its throat.
The sound echoed across the island like distant thunder.
Trees shuddered.
Loose stones bounced across the ground.
Even the air itself seemed to vibrate.
For several long moments, Rowan remained motionless, focusing on the torrent of power coursing through his body.
Gradually, the violent energy settled.
The trembling earth grew still.
The crashing waves calmed.
Silence returned.
Rowan lowered his gaze to one of his enormous claws.
Slowly, he clenched it into a fist.
Boom!
A visible shockwave burst outward.
The air exploded around his hand.
His golden eyes widened.
He hadn’t punched.
He hadn’t swung.
He had merely clenched his fist.
And the resulting force had compressed the air itself.
“This…”
His voice rolled across the island like a landslide.
“This is insane.”
A grin spread across his massive face.
At last, he knew exactly what fruit he had consumed.
Mythical Zoan: Behemoth.
A legendary beast spoken of only in myths.
A symbol of overwhelming physical supremacy.
Unlike many Mythical Zoans, the Behemoth possessed no flashy elemental powers.
No flames.
No lightning.
No ice.
No divine miracles.
Instead, every ounce of its power had been invested into the fundamentals.
Strength.
Durability.
Endurance.
Raw, unrelenting physical dominance.
And the result was terrifying.
Rowan could feel it in every fiber of his body.
The increase in durability alone was absurd.
Far beyond any ordinary Zoan.
Even among Mythical Zoans, it felt exceptional.
As for strength—
He wasn’t even sure how to measure it.
Power surged through his limbs like an endless tide.
It felt as though mountains could be uprooted with his bare hands.
Legends claimed a fully grown Behemoth could tear dragons apart through brute force alone.
Before, Rowan would have dismissed such stories as exaggerations.
Now?
He wasn’t so sure.
The power coursing through him made those legends feel entirely plausible.
If Kaido’s Azure Dragon represented a calamity descending from the heavens—
Then the Behemoth was catastrophe given flesh.
A force of destruction that walked upon the earth itself.
When it came to pure strength and defense, Rowan genuinely believed the Behemoth might rival—or even surpass—the Azure Dragon.
Then he noticed something unexpected.
Something far more subtle.
Closing his eyes, Rowan focused inward.
At first, all he sensed was the immense power of the transformation.
Then he felt it.
A steady flow of energy.
His eyes snapped open.
The energy wasn’t coming from within him.
It was coming from below.
From the ground.
The earth beneath his feet continuously fed power into his body.
Not violently.
Not rapidly.
But steadily.
Endlessly.
Like a river flowing into the sea.
The moment he understood what was happening, a smile spread across his face.
“As long as I’m standing on the earth…”
He could feel his stamina slowly recovering.
The realization sent a thrill through him.
“A child of the earth.”
The phrase surfaced instinctively.
Nothing else described it better.
Most fighters weakened as battles dragged on.
The Behemoth did the opposite.
As long as his feet remained connected to the land, exhaustion would become far less of a problem.
A prolonged battle on solid ground would heavily favor him.
The longer the fight lasted, the greater his advantage became.
Rowan flexed one massive arm.
Muscles shifted beneath silver-white fur like moving mountains.
“Strength.”
He clenched his fist.
“Defense.”
The earth-fed energy continued to flow through him.
“Recovery.”
A satisfied smile appeared on his face.
“This fruit really maxed out every physical stat.”
And honestly?
He couldn’t have asked for more.
Sure, elemental abilities looked impressive.
Who wouldn’t want to command lightning or summon storms?
But power wasn’t measured by spectacle.
The Behemoth’s strength was brutally simple.
And brutally effective.
An elite Mythical Zoan.
One of the best outcomes he could have hoped for.
If he developed it properly, reaching the level of monsters like Kaido didn’t seem impossible.
Perhaps he could go even further.
The thought alone was exhilarating.
After spending some time familiarizing himself with the transformation, Rowan finally relaxed.
The giant beast began to shrink.
Silver fur receded.
Massive claws contracted.
The monstrous frame steadily diminished until he stood once more in human form.
The difference was immediate.
He felt lighter.
Smaller.
Yet the power remained.
Rowan lowered his gaze to his hands.
Even without transforming, he could feel the Behemoth’s influence.
His body was far stronger than before.
Every breath carried a sense of vitality.
Every movement contained hidden force.
The enhancement wasn’t limited to his beast form.
The Behemoth was strengthening him at all times.
A grin appeared on his face.
That alone made the fruit worth its weight in gold.
His attention soon shifted back to the treasure chest.
More specifically—
The two remaining Devil Fruits.
Now came the next important decision.
His second Devil Fruit.
The Ancient Zoan was the first to be eliminated.
The Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: Bronthe Cat was undoubtedly powerful.
But compared to the Behemoth, it offered too much overlap.
Both focused on physical combat.
Both enhanced strength and durability.
Choosing it would be redundant.
As for the Swift-Swift Fruit…
Rowan considered it for a moment longer.
It was a good ability.
A very good one.
The acceleration effects could become deadly in the hands of a skilled fighter.
But after experiencing the Behemoth’s power, he found himself wanting something greater.
Something that could complement his strengths instead of merely enhancing them.
One fruit immediately came to mind.
The Goro Goro no Mi.
The Lightning Fruit.
Enel’s Devil Fruit.
One of the most powerful Logias in existence.
The more Rowan thought about it, the more perfect the combination seemed.
The Behemoth provided overwhelming strength, defense, and endurance.
The Lightning Fruit would provide everything else.
Speed.
Mobility.
Ranged attacks.
Elemental intangibility.
Devastating offensive power.
It filled every gap in his current arsenal.
A nearly indestructible monster moving at lightning speed.
A warrior capable of leveling battlefields with thunder while tearing enemies apart through sheer physical force.
The synergy was incredible.
Rowan could already imagine it.
Lightning crackling across silver-white fur.
A Behemoth descending onto the battlefield like a natural disaster.
The image alone was enough to make his blood race.
“That’s the one.”
The decision came easily.
His second Devil Fruit would be the Goro Goro no Mi.
Unfortunately, there was one small issue.
Enel probably already possessed it.
And fighting a Logia user without Armament Haki was a terrible idea.
At least for now.
Still, Rowan wasn’t particularly worried.
He had time.
Lots of it.
Based on what he remembered, Luffy’s journey hadn’t even begun yet.
Seven years.
Maybe eight.
An entire era remained before the world entered its next great age.
More than enough time.
He already possessed a Haki manual.
A Great Swordsman’s journal.
A powerful Mythical Zoan.
And an isolated island where nobody would disturb his training.
Everything he needed was right here.
He could spend the next several years forging a foundation strong enough to survive the New World.
Master the Behemoth.
Learn Haki.
Study swordsmanship.
Grow stronger.
Then, when the time was right—
He would leave this island.
And eventually, he would travel to Skypiea.
When that day came, the Lightning Fruit would be his.
A smile slowly spread across Rowan’s face.
The future no longer looked uncertain.
For the first time since Valeria’s fall, he had a clear direction.
A path.
A goal.
The Behemoth and Lightning together.
Overwhelming strength.
Unbreakable defense.
Relentless endurance.
Blinding speed.
Catastrophic destructive power.
A combination with almost no weaknesses.
And it would only be the beginning.
Because Rowan wasn’t aiming to become merely strong.
He intended to build something far greater.
A crew unlike any the world had ever seen.
A gathering of monsters.
The foundation of a force that would one day shake the seas—and challenge the powers that had destroyed Valeria.