Chapter 388

Pangu City, between power.

Satan Saint sat alone on a single sofa, while the other four Five Elders squeezed together on another sofa, rubbing their temples to ease their hangover-induced migraines.

"There's still no word from the Flower Chamber."

Subtext: Im-sama has shown no movement whatsoever until now; Harald's disappearance must have been successfully covered up.

In short,

the Five Elders had once again fooled their way through, no longer needing to fear punishment from Im for their incompetence.

Vochuli Saint took up the thread.

"All of this is thanks to Saint Saint Saiwen Saint. Before Saint Saint Saiwen Saint leaves the Sacred Land, let us offer some gifts."

"Agreed." x4

Whether in terms of power or Saint Saint Saiwen Saint's standing in Im-sama's heart, the Five Elders were utterly inferior to Saint Saint Saiwen Saint.

Yet Saint Saint Saiwen Saint had no desire to become one of the Five Elders, and showed not the slightest interest in power—otherwise, one of them would surely have been eliminated.

Saint Saint Saiwen Saint's debt could never be repaid.

Offering a Devil Fruit from the Sacred Land's treasury as a token of gratitude, while repaying Saint Saint Saiwen Saint's debt, seemed an extremely advantageous arrangement.

This move was not born of gratitude; the Five Elders were not people who understood gratitude.

They arranged it this way because they realized: given Saint Saint Saiwen Saint's importance to Im-sama, if they erred again next time, Saint Saint Saiwen Saint's plea might still offer them room to maneuver.

Enough to avoid being executed outright by Im.

This was precisely why the Five Elders sought to maintain good relations with Saint Saint Saiwen—every bit of it was calculation.

Yet all these intricate calculations of the Five Elders were rendered meaningless before two titanic waves of Conqueror's Haki surging skyward.

The indiscriminate barrage of crimson-black lightning left the Five Elders unable to hold their stance; they trembled violently and collapsed in all directions.

"W-what just happened?!"

"Why is Im-sama so furious?!"

No one answered Satan Saint's confusion—only the two unstoppable waves of Conqueror's Haki now blanketed Mary Geoise, and like a tidal wave, swept from the Red Line toward the Grand Line.

"Barzab!"

Im's voice, layered with male and female reverberations, echoed above Mary Geoise.

"Why? Why betray Im?"

"Hasn't Im given you enough?!"

The Five Elders scrambled from the Chamber of Power toward the Flower Chamber; along the way, not a single descendant of the Sacred Land, guard, or maid remained conscious.

In their panic,

the Five Elders raised their hands to shield their eyes from the blinding light, and through the warped space, barely made out two figures hovering above Mary Geoise.

The black-robed shadow was Im.

Saint Saint Saiwen's white hair whipped wildly in the wind, his body wreathed in ink-black mist, his back sprouting wings of blazing flame.

The moment they saw the thick, dense black mist swirling around Saint Saint Saiwen, the Five Elders' suspicions deepened: the density of the mist proved Im-sama had successfully forged the Abyssal Pact with Saint Saint Saiwen Saint.

The Abyssal Pact meant total control.

Even with Saint Saint Saiwen Saint's strength, he could never escape Im-sama's dominion.

So how could there be talk of betrayal?

Unless… unless Saint Saint Saiwen Saint had discovered a way to break free from the Abyssal Pact's control?

Hiss—the Five Elders drew in a sharp breath.

In a certain sense, this wasn't entirely bad; for them, it was a mixed blessing.

The benefit: freedom from Im's control. But once freed, they would lose their immortality and the lifespan granted by the Abyssal Pact.

The Five Elders finally understood: no wonder Giant King Harald had vanished—this entire scheme was Saint Saint Saiwen Saint's doing.

In other words, before even reaching Mary Geoise, Saint Saint Saiwen Saint had already planned everything.

Saint Saint Saiwen Saint had long harbored rebellion!

Even if Saint Saint Saiwen intended to rebel, the Five Elders, confident in Im-sama's and the World Government's absolute supremacy, had not taken it seriously.

Could Saint Saint Saiwen be stronger than Im?

Not only the Five Elders realized this—after their initial confusion, Im too realized: Saint Saint Saiwen possessed a method to break free from the Abyssal Pact's bonds.

This made Im even more interested in Saint Saint Saiwen.

Im stared fixedly at the figure before them, as if trying to pierce through Saint Saint Saiwen's soul.

"Barzab, eight hundred years."

"Even Joy Boy eight hundred years ago never gave Im greater surprises than you. This matter, Im can still pretend never happened."

Even after the clash of Conqueror's Haki, Im had not yet abandoned the idea of recruiting Saint Saint Saiwen.

Saint Saint Saiwen was simply too powerful—powerful enough that even Im could not ignore him—and the prophecy of Joy Boy drew ever nearer.

Before the threat posed by Joy Boy,

Im deemed itself willing to tolerate anything—even being ambushed by Saint Saint Saiwen during its weakened state after forging the Abyssal Pact.

"Im-sama, do you believe that yourself?"

Facing Im and the encircling Five Elders alone, Saint Saint Saiwen showed no fear: soon, you lot of garlic and ginger will learn what true mobbing means.

Saint Saint Saiwen spread his hands, speaking calmly.

"Like a broken mirror that cannot be mended, once trust is shattered, all forced patching is merely self-deception."

"You and I both know: after today, the rift between us will remain forever."

At these words, Im understood: Barzab no longer belonged to It.

"Tell Im—why?"

"I have always treated you well, even willing to share this sea with you—so why do you betray me?"

Setting aside the complete control of the Abyssal Pact aside, Im truly cannot fathom what Saint Saint Saiwen has been scheming for all these years.

To become the King of the World?

Im has dwelled in the Flower Chamber for years; if Saint Saint Saiwen wishes to be King of the World, Im has no objection whatsoever.

At the very least, Saint Saint Saiwen is stronger than the Five Elders.

It can't be that Saint Saint Saiwen plans to free all slaves and build a world where everyone has enough to eat, like those revolutionaries.

If that were truly the case, Im would laugh out loud.

"Why?" Saint Saint Saiwen deliberately paused.

"Because this sea now feels unfree, because this world should not be like this."

With those words, Im fell silent.

Im never imagined that the reason Saint Saint Saiwen had schemed for years, even at the cost of his own body and forging a Devil Pact, was because of this.

This world should not be like this?

Then what should it be like?

Is it the Liberation Drum that Joy Boy tried to strike, or the grand dream David Jones longed for but never achieved?

"Very good. You've found a fine reason."

In eight hundred years, Im has seen too many brilliant talents—yet Saint Saint Saiwen is the most outstanding of them all.

Since Im cannot have Saint Saint Saiwen, Im will destroy him completely.

The next one will be better.

The next one will be more obedient.

Following the old generation's method, two waves of Devil-powered Conqueror's Haki slammed into each other once more.

The Conqueror's Haki shockwave surged like a tidal wave, spreading chaos in all directions; the buildings of Mary Geoise were instantly covered in dense, spiderweb-like cracks.

Almost simultaneously, several spatial gates materialized above Mary Geoise.

"Saint Saint Saiwen, we're here!"