Kingdom of Sorbet, an outlaw region, before a somewhat dilapidated church.
Pop!
Gigue and the other three were teleported there one after another. Ivan shook his dizzy head and muttered,
"What happened? My head's spinning... Where are we?"
Kuma looked up at the church before him, a sorrowful expression appearing on his face as he slowly said,
"This is the country where I was born, the Kingdom of Sorbet."
Ginny looked around curiously and asked,
"So we escaped? There's even a church here!"
"Yes. This church belonged to my father. He was a priest..."
Ivan and Ginny fell silent. They had heard Kuma speak of what he had gone through and knew that this had reminded him of those painful memories.
"Mmgh..."
Gigue, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly let out a pained groan.
Kuma and the others hurriedly looked toward Gigue. He was holding his forehead with one hand, his brows tightly furrowed as fine beads of sweat emerged from his forehead. He did not look well.
What Gigue had done at God Valley had thoroughly earned him the three of their recognition as Big Brother Gigue. Even Ivan, the oldest among them, cried out along with the others,
"Big Brother Gigue, what's wrong!?"
The three rushed to Gigue's side. Ivan crouched down and placed Gigue's arm over his shoulder, Ginny gently stroked Gigue's chest, while Kuma extended his paw pads toward Gigue.
Gigue understood Kuma's intention. Kuma wanted to try using the Paw-Paw Fruit's ability to drive out his "pain."
Kuma and the Paw-Paw Fruit truly seemed like a match made in heaven. They were highly compatible, and with Gigue having explained the Paw-Paw Fruit's abilities to them beforehand, Kuma had already figured out several practical applications for it.
However, Gigue raised a hand to stop Kuma. Under Kuma's puzzled gaze, Gigue let out a light breath and said weakly,
"You're still not very familiar with the Paw-Paw Fruit's abilities, so don't use them recklessly. Besides, even if you succeeded, there's no one else around right now. The pain would ultimately return to me anyway."
"No, I can..."
Kuma patted his chest, his meaning obvious. He wanted to bear Gigue's physical pain for him.
Yet Gigue still refused. He cut Kuma off because he did not want Kuma to do that. Besides, his mind was a complete mess right now, and he could not even say whether it was pain.
Chaotic fragments of memory kept flooding into his mind like a revolving lantern. He wanted to stop and examine them carefully, but he simply could not make them stop.
It had all begun after Garling spoke the four words "Figarland" to him before they left.
Gigue saw his body laid out on an icy experiment table, while a man dressed as a Celestial Dragon stared greedily at him.
In an instant, rage, fear, confusion, and all kinds of negative emotions crashed over him. Gigue felt as though his head were splitting apart.
Crackle!
Silver arcs of electricity burst from Gigue's body and traveled down his arm, electrocuting Ivan until he was charred inside and out.
Kuma was startled by Gigue as well. He hurriedly pulled the frozen Ginny away, then scooped up Ivan, whose eyes had rolled back from the shock, and used the Paw-Paw Fruit's ability to retreat in a flash.
Just then, Gigue suddenly raised his head. His originally black pupils had turned blood-red, and tide-like darkness spread out from beneath his feet.
His gaze was vacant, and his voice was as cold as if it had come from hell.
"I have to kill him! Avenge myself!!!"
The darkness spread to Kuma's feet and transformed into a massive black maw, about to swallow Kuma whole. At that moment, Gigue's body went limp, and he collapsed unconscious.
The black maw suddenly froze, then sank back into the darkness and returned to Gigue's body.
Kuma swallowed and raised a hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.
He had wanted to use his Devil Fruit ability to evade it, but for some reason, when the darkness approached him, his connection to his ability became incredibly sluggish, making it difficult to activate.
If Gigue had not suddenly fainted, he, Ivan, and Ginny would likely have been completely swallowed by the darkness.
After setting Ginny and Ivan down, Kuma slowly approached Gigue, who lay on the ground, and found that he had fallen completely unconscious.
He picked Gigue up, while Ginny dragged Ivan along the floor. Together, they headed into the church.
Night fell.
In a daze, Gigue struggled to open his eyes and found himself lying in a large, soft bed. He slowly sat up.
Another wave of dizziness struck him, and a voice filled with hatred rang out in Gigue's mind.
"You are me, and I am you. Avenge me!"
Yet Gigue did not find it strange at all. His expression was calm as he murmured softly, as if speaking to himself,
"I understand. We were always one person. I will definitely take revenge!"
After saying that, Gigue suddenly felt his body grow lighter, as though something had completely dissipated from his mind.
He felt a clarity unlike anything he had ever experienced before. His perception became extraordinarily sharp, and the entire layout of the church appeared clearly in his mind.
This included Kuma and Ginny's presences inside the church, as well as the one beside him...
"Where did this mummy come from?"
Gigue's face filled with surprise as he looked at the big-headed mummy beside him, wrapped up like a rice dumpling.
The mummy shook his head twice and spoke in a muffled voice,
"It's me, Gigue. I'm Ivan, the Ivan you nearly electrocuted to death. Hee... haw..."
"Ah, right..."
Only then did Gigue recall releasing electricity from his body back then. He slapped his forehead, turned around, and helped Ivan up, saying apologetically,
"Sorry, Ivan. My mind was a complete mess then. I didn't know what I was doing."
"It's fine, it's fine. We escaped a place like God Valley. What's a little injury like this? Hee, hee-haw!"
Ivan was clearly in a good mood and had not taken being electrocuted to heart.
Still, Gigue felt somewhat guilty. He jumped off the bed, gently lifted Ivan, and carried him on his back.
Ivan's eyes widened in shock. He knew Gigue's physique well. Gigue was not exactly frail, but he was not much stronger than Ginny, despite Ginny being a girl.
But now, Gigue effortlessly lifted Ivan, who was far heavier than him, and carried him on his back as though it were nothing. Ivan felt as though he had seen a ghost.
Gigue noticed this as well, but he said nothing. Carrying Ivan on his back, he rushed to the living room like a gust of wind.
Kuma, wearing an apron, was walking out of the kitchen with a steaming bowl of fish soup. Ginny sat at the dining table with a knife in one hand and a fork in the other, deep in thought.
When Ginny saw Gigue carrying Ivan on his back, she was instantly dumbfounded. Kuma's hands trembled, and the fish soup was about to fall to the floor.
A force of attraction appeared, and the bowl landed in Gigue's hand. He smiled lightly and said,
"Kuma, not bad. This fish soup smells amazing."
Before you continue