"Oh?"
After hearing Imu's words, Gawain tilted his head with interest.
"You just said, lights?"
So, you've extinguished many lights, haven't you?"
"Indeed."
Imu doesn't seem to like hiding things, but at her level, she really doesn't need to hide anything anymore.
Seeing Gawain's interested expression, Imu pursed his lips and continued softly.
"If your flame continues to burn in my eyes, then you will indeed be the next lamp I extinguish, even if it is because you live in Mary Geoise."
It's much easier for me to extinguish you.
However, since you are not a light, then you are fortunate enough to have something I can look forward to, child.
Without the light of daylight, in the pursuit of so-called freedom, you may be worthy of my ideals and destiny.
Admittedly, even I need worldly support to assist me.
And you, at least among the Celestial Dragon of this generation, are the most suitable.
Perhaps you weren't as important as Shanks before, but now, whether you realize it or not, you've surpassed him in importance.
Relax, child, at least after I stood before you one last time to confirm your flame.
You will no longer be in danger from me.
At this point, Imu stopped walking and then went to stand in front of Gawain.
Meeting Gawain's gaze, he gently extended his hand.
Seeing that Gawain remained motionless, Imu's hand also froze in mid-air.
One second, two seconds...
More than three minutes later, Imu finally sighed in resignation.
"Bend down, child, let me touch your shoulder."
"Well..."
Upon hearing this, Gawain's face fell.
Imu raised her hand only slightly, just up to her chest.
It seemed she had grown accustomed to people kneeling before her.
And then she reached out her hand to someone else.
Perhaps everyone else would obediently kneel before him.
As for Gawain...
He thought Imu was going to take something from the void.
It's not like we don't have that capability at sea, right?
In short, they faced Imu, whose expression remained unchanged, but whose breathing became slightly erratic.
Gawain bent down.
However, he was too tall; even if he bent over, Imu could hardly reach her shoulder without raising his hand.
Left with no other choice, Imu took a deep breath and then raised his right hand again.
The child in front of me is so unlovable! He has no respect for her as an ancestor at all, even though it's tiring for him to raise his arm!
Just as Imu's right hand was about to rest on Gawain's shoulder.
For some reason, Imu suddenly pursed his lips.
A moment later, Imu tiptoed slightly and tried to raise his right hand a little higher.
The next moment, Imu's right hand finally reached above Gawain's head.
Looking at that jet-black hair, Imu exerted a little force on his wrist.
Snap!
A crisp sound.
"Hiss!!!"
Gawain gasped sharply, having made a tremendous contribution to the fight against global warming.
"Ancestor, what kind of ritual is this? Does it hurt so much?!"
Gawain asked a question without saying a word, while Imu turned around instantly and continued walking towards the corridor among the Flower Room.
Seeing that his proud and arrogant ancestor, whom he had acquired for free, said nothing, what could Gawain say?
As expected of a woman, even the strongest woman in the world still has a slightly wicked side to her personality.
But this is good, because it shows that although Imu has lived for a long time, his emotions are still relatively normal.
Although she also harbored thoughts of becoming a solitary figure or even a god, at least she didn't truly become a monster devoid of emotion.
Seeing Imu's retreating figure, Gawain immediately wanted to catch up with Imu.
But just as he took a step, Imu suddenly turned his back to him and said something.
"You don't need to follow me anymore, child. I have nothing else I need from you."
The only reason I asked you to come here was to see for myself the color of the flame in your heart.
If you don't want to bring any so-called ideal of freedom to the Allied nations, and at the same time want to bring so-called equality to all the lower classes by destroying Mary Geoise.
No matter how you try to change the world in your heart, I won't care in the slightest.
Not every idiot can succeed, but any fool can have ideals.
I know your ideal: unification, replacing my or Mary Geoise's rule with yours.
You never hide anything from others, and people like Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro know about your ambitions, but nobody cares.
The more trouble you cause, the more those who follow you at sea will dedicate their strength to you and fight to the death with you on the battlefield.
Everything you do weakens this ocean; even if there are more strong ones, more weak ones will die.
That's enough, haha, that's enough.
Because of the many souls that have died, that tree will linger on for a little longer.
But I don't like that!!!
After saying that, Imu waved his hand lightly with his back to Gawain, as if waving twice would be a waste of energy.
Watching Imu's retreating figure, Gawain finally tried asking.
"Tree?"
That's not something you should know, I don't want you to know, and I certainly don't want you to want to know.
Hurry up.
"Disobedient child!"
Imu coldly stopped Gawain's investigation and instead kicked Gawain out.
Seeing this, Gawain had no choice but to turn around and leave the Flower Room.
As soon as Gawain stepped out, he was stopped by the Five Elders.
Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro was the first to approach Gawain. He smiled, put his arm around Gawain's shoulder, and said...
"Haha, very good, very good. It seems you're not a light that needs to be extinguished."
I knew it; Imu's predictions are always spot on.
Since she doesn't see you as a lamp on ordinary days, then even if you were right in front of her, nothing should change."
After saying that, Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro raised his chin and gave his partners a mischievous look.
At the same time, the other four people also breathed a sigh of relief.
But as soon as they breathed a sigh of relief, Gawain's ears were immediately filled with all sorts of noisy sounds.
They all said things like, "My position is a better fit for you."
After all, if Gawain walks out of Imu's room alive, it proves that Imu will at least not stand in Gawain's way of becoming one of the Five Elders.
In that case, as long as Gawain can pass the test, that is, jump into one of their challenges and win, he will be able to succeed.
Then one of them can escape the eternal 007 and embrace a wonderful retirement!
Those Five Elders are really having a tough time!
They gave up their material enjoyment, even abstaining from potentially addictive activities like smoking.
At the same time, they also gave up romantic relationships and never touched another woman again.
Even setting aside desires and focusing solely on entertainment...
Aside from occasionally raising squid, looking at flowers, and weeding, they have no other forms of entertainment!
They even had difficulty leaving Sabaody Castle, because the special city of Pangea Castle required the five of them to guard it at all times to prevent any bad outcomes.
Even though the old man with the scar, Saturn, had his leg broken the last time he went out, he still immediately packed his bags and set sail as soon as he heard of an opportunity to go out.
As for Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro, the oldest of the Five Elders, he is a great swordsman who is devoted to swordsmanship, which is why he has been able to persevere for so long.
As for the others, even the youngest, blond-haired Saint Shepherd Ju Peter, was already starting to feel like he couldn't take it anymore!!!
And so, Gawain, with a bitter face, was harassed by the Five Elders the way to the rest area, finally escaping their verbal bombardment.
This time, they didn't try to play matchmaker, but their eagerness to get beaten up only made Gawain more amused and exasperated.
Even the Whitebeard, who was sitting and resting in the rest area and was being attended to by a large group of maids, could hear the voices of the Five Elders from a great distance.
Upon seeing Gawain enter the lounge, the Whitebeard immediately Teuchi greeting and smiled.
"Gula la la, Gawain, I thought that when you were about to become Five Elders, you would probably stir up a bloodbath at sea."
Looking at it now, it's really damn good...!
You've clearly been guaranteed a spot among the Five Elders!
However, this is not surprising. If my son had Conqueror's Haki like you, I would directly require him to become my successor.
Entrusting the title to such Haki descendant is probably every elder's heartfelt dream, isn't it?
It seems that the Five Elders are actually more reasonable than I originally thought.
I used to think they were all just larger versions of Celestial Dragon!
Tsk tsk, just thinking about how outstanding the Five Elders are actually makes this old man feel quite motivated.
Unfortunately, I'm getting old!
If I were thirty years younger, I would definitely make challenging those five old guys my lifelong dream, hahaha!!!
At this point, the Whitebeard laughed and accepted the wine cup offered by the maid.
The Celestial Dragon's maids are all excellent, not to mention the Five Elders' maids.
When serving wine to others, a maid only needs to sway her body to get closer.
They could serve wine to the Whitebeard, and the maid who served the wine was carrying a weight of nearly two and a half tons and moving forward steadily!
At the doorway, Gawain nodded with amusement as he listened to the Gawain -Whitebeard's words.
Then, Gawain's gaze couldn't help but linger on the legs of the nearby maids.
Gawain couldn't help but purse his lips as he looked at the stockings on the maids' legs.
"Hey, Mr. Newgate, aren't you being a little too welcoming?"
Even the maids temporarily assigned to you by Sabaody Castle, you made them wear leopard-print stockings?
"Ha?
Don't talk nonsense!
Gawain, what are you thinking of this old man?!
I didn't make them change their clothes; they were all wearing leopard print when they came to me.
All I can say is that Mary Geoise is quite a powerful place.
Even a lowly pirate like myself, in the eyes of the Celestial Dragon, has had his lifelong, unforgettable hobbies discovered by them!
As he spoke, the Whitebeard took a large gulp of his drink.
At the same time, Gawain tilted his head slightly and asked in confusion.
"Does Mary Geoise know your interests?"
How could that be?
Of course they know, after all, you're Whitebeard, and many people know your hobbies.
But you're not worth them altering your maid's clothes just for you.
So...?"
Gawain turned to look at the maid closest to the Whitebeard, who immediately bowed to Gawain.
"Saint Gawain, we didn't receive orders to change costumes. This guest just glanced intently at the leopard twice as he passed the animal exhibit, so we temporarily changed into leopard-print clothing..."
Furthermore, I, in my humble capacity, have overheard a maid in your family mention that you particularly dislike kneeling and bowing.
Therefore... therefore, this servant dared not kneel before you."
At this point, the maid was already trembling with fear. She bent over and faced the ground, not daring to move for a long time.
Looking at the extremely respectful maid, Gawain took a deep breath.
"Yes, I really don't like you kneeling, just like I don't like kneeling before others."
I appreciate you knowing my likes and dislikes in private, but please don't try to please me in anything other than kneeling and bowing; it's exhausting."
After saying that, Gawain patted the maid's hair, gesturing for her to straighten up.
Meanwhile, the Whitebeard beside him shook his head with a sigh.
"Ah, so this is what people who live in Mary Geoise are like."
Such a personality makes her far more cautious Koby the girls on my boat who constantly threaten to pull out my IV drips.
Mary Geoise... sigh.
If this place doesn't view the whole world as inferior.
If the people here didn't consider themselves superior.
Then this place should become the place that we old folks yearn for.
In that case, there's no need for us old folks to pursue peace, is there?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Whitebeard stood up and picked up his Murakumogiri again.
"Alright, Gawain, now that you're back, let's go back."
If you and I were to disappear from the battlefield alone, the situation might still be able to remain at a stalemate.
If we both disappeared at that moment, humph, I'm afraid this would touch a nerve with many people!
My sons are alright, at most they'll just become a little more ferocious.
After all, they had long since inherited my ideals and were prepared for my death at any time.
When I'm really dead, they'll let it go, and their last obsession will just be collecting my body.
After I am buried, they will simply split into two groups.
It's likely that Yibo will join Thatch, following Jozu and Teach to continue raising the banner of Whitebeard... or Blackbeard.
Another group will probably leave the pirate crew with Marco and go back to take care of their father's secret treasure.
But you...
Your men are completely different from my sons; they have firmer stances, clearer goals, and more extreme ideologies!
"If we get back late, even my son might be killed by your crazed henchmen!!!"
As he spoke, the Whitebeard strode toward the door.
But just then, the door was suddenly pushed open, and Gelinggu walked in without saying a word.
Seeing that Whitebeard wanted to leave, Gelinggu frowned.
That's too fast!
Everything happened so fast!
Lord Imu only summoned Gawain for a few minutes before letting him leave the Flower Room!
No!
I need to stall them a little longer.
Even if it only adds up to half an hour.
That would give Shanks many more opportunities for dry spins!
Thinking this, Gelinggu suddenly raised his sword and pressed the scabbard against Whitebeard's thigh.
Then, he raised his head and said coldly.
Did I give you permission to leave?
Especially you!
Whitebeard, Edward Elric Newgate!