The shattered tree trunk gradually repaired itself, swallowing Lin Qiye's figure. His eyes slowly closed, and he vanished into the darkness like a stone statue.
Meanwhile, the heavily wounded Cthulhu regained clarity. Dense Willow Branches danced through the air. Just as they were about to shift their roots, which were deeply embedded in the earth, and move forward, their body suddenly froze.
Because a man had appeared before them—a man who seemed somewhat familiar, yet whom they could not remember for the moment.
The man looked at them, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly as he spoke gently:
"How was it? Did you reach the end of the Grand Line and find my treasure?"
Cthulhu's dancing Willow Branches suddenly froze in midair. They stared blankly at the man, and in a daze, a sealed memory surged into their mind!
It was him!
Pirate King Zhang San!!
Hadn't they painstakingly come here from beyond the realm precisely to search for the treasure left behind by the legendary Pirate King Zhang San?! And now, the man himself had actually appeared here?!
As that memory grew clearer, an invisible Karma Thread lit up along the grain of Cthulhu's trunk and began binding their body.
But soon, a powerful force surged from within the trunk, seemingly instinctively trying to break free of the Karma Thread. Pirate King Zhang San's face began to blur as well.
Just as Cthulhu was about to break free, a second man stepped out of the void.
"Old Ku, I want to eat fish."
The instant that voice appeared, another sealed memory flooded into Cthulhu's mind. They looked at the man with the slicked-back hair, their heart filled with tangled emotions.
"Brother Zhang..." The pale face within Cthulhu's canopy let out a shrill, twisted growl.
"Do you still remember