After dejectedly recounting his current situation, Redfield turned his head and casually pointed at Shiryu.
"If it were before, even two or three of them combined wouldn't necessarily be a match for me."
But now, in my old and frail state, I'm no match for that enemy you even value.
Even this young man with the particularly cruel smile, I'm afraid I couldn't beat him.
What use am I to you?
Without the Vampire-Vampire Fruit to regain my youth, I'd be a useless piece of trash. So, if you want me to work for you, you'd better pay me in advance.
What do you think, Gawain?
At this point, Redfield shrugged, trying to appear innocent.
Having secured his freedom, he is now pursuing what he desires even more in his own way.
Youth!
Gawain was well aware of Redfield's plans, but even so, Gawain didn't intend to hand over the Vampire-Vampire Fruit to him so easily.
If someone who desperately desires something were to actually obtain it, that person's fighting spirit would likely plummet.
So, Gawain patted Redfield on the shoulder.
"Do not try to take the Devil Fruit you desire from my hands, Red the Aloof."
I said I would fulfill your deepest desire after you complete your mission, but everything will have to wait until after you complete your mission!
My words are law; never question me.
As for the problem of your current old age, I will take care of it for now."
After saying that, Gawain waved to Redfield, signaling him to follow him.
He led Shiryu and the other two out of Impel Down and headed towards his ship.
As they walked, Gawain explained to the expectant Redfield.
"The host of the Time Fruit is my subordinate."
That's right, not the legendary Toki Toki Fruit that can travel between the past and the future, but the Time Fruit can both take away and give away time!
You crave a young body, and she can temporarily satisfy your desire, though she is still relatively weak and has not yet Devil Fruit Awakening.
But it can keep you at your peak for at least three days.
Before I came here to find you, I had already verified his abilities in my own way, and it proved that he could indeed temporarily restore the old man to his peak strength!
Meanwhile, aboard the Dark Bird Ship, Rayleigh, whose hair and beard had returned to their golden color, sat helplessly on his bed, clutching his aching back.
He had always thought that the reason he was so close to defeating Shakky and the other woman was because of this.
If she weren't so old, Shakky would be yelling and admitting defeat every night.
But in reality, after verification...
It turns out that what he thought was an evenly matched contest was actually Shakky holding back for his aging self!
Now that I've briefly become young again, what's the result?
The result was still the same: getting soaked to the bone...
How many times has this happened? Almost eleven times, right?
If this continues, even Armament Haki won't be able to stop the swelling and bruising.
Just then, Shakky walked out of the bathroom with a radiant smile on her face.
"The sheets were really badly torn, look, I changed them."
Oh, and I also changed my underwear.
Old man, does this outfit remind you of when the Roger Pirates first disbanded?
I wore this kind of underwear during that period.
This set of equipment wasn't even enough to deal with your old self.
But now, you've actually regained your youthful appearance.
Devil Fruit really amazing, I wish I had that little girl's power.
As she spoke, Shakky straddled Rayleigh, her closeness causing Rayleigh to clench his teeth involuntarily.
Sensing Rayleigh's tension, Shakky moved slightly, her lips moving rhythmically to explore Rayleigh's neck.
While enjoying teasing Rayleigh's sensitive spots, Shakky looked up seductively and asked.
Are you tired?
No way?
Haven't you become younger?
So you're already this useless at such a young age?
So disappointing... Ugh!
"How could it not work? Haha, men never complain about being tired, Shakky!"
Have you truly forgotten the glory days of this old man?
Show me all your amazing skills!
For example, that set I haven't seen in ages!
Leaving aside Rayleigh and Shakky's unrestrained experimentation, Redfield fell silent with satisfaction after learning that he could briefly regain his youth.
Since one's own combat strength can be guaranteed, the logic of first making contributions and then receiving rewards is reasonable.
Soon, their ship returned to the Dark Bird Ship, and Gawain summoned Bonney to briefly restore Redfield to his youthful state.
Feeling my thirty-four-year-old body, feeling the joy of regaining my strength, energy, and vitality.
Redfield was filled with excitement and began sparring with Garp and the others!
This was also Gawain's request; he wanted to find out how long Redfield could maintain his youth.
Bonney, after all, hasn't Awakening yet, Time Fruit, may not be very stable.
Keep in mind that Redfield's target was the captain of the God's Knights, a truly formidable opponent.
As for Redfield, no one knows how long he can maintain his full-force attack.
Haki inherently negates the effects of Devil Fruits.
Even if the effect is good, once the battle begins, Redfield's constant use of Armament Haki will inevitably gradually erode the power of the Time Fruit on him.
Knowing the exact timing is crucial. If the commander of the God's Knights is suddenly freed during the war, his unexpected liberation will have a severe chain reaction on Gawain's subordinates.
So, while testing Redfield's stamina, Gawain made a decision in his mind.
Once Redfield's average holding time is determined, that will be the time for Gawain to gather all his men and launch a surprise attack on Mary Geoise.
An uncertain timeframe could also maximize the effectiveness of Gawain's surprise attack on Mary Geoise.
Unless Imu can see every second of the future, Gawain need not worry even if there are highly secret traitors among his subordinates or the navy.
Soon, a week had passed quietly.
In the past week, Gawain has not taken any action. His subordinates have been working methodically around the Dark Bird Ship, spending their time training as usual.
This situation eased the anxiety of the Five Elders were closely monitoring everything.
It seems that although Gawain's men already harbor ill will towards Mary Geoise, Gawain doesn't appear to be planning to take action anytime soon.
A week ago, the scene of all of Gawain's subordinates gathering was quite impressive, almost like the Five Elders.
That night, the Five Elders gazed at the edge of Mary Geoise for a long time, only returning to their rooms when the lights on the Dark Bird Ship gradually went out.
They had been worried for over a week, fearing that the forces gathered under Gawain's command would suddenly invade Mary Geoise.
Besides worrying about Gawain, the Five Elders were also extremely worried about Lord Imu.
You must understand, Lady Imu is not some inanimate object; she is an ancient sage who has reigned at the pinnacle for a full eight hundred years, a great figure whose wisdom is unprecedented.
Before Gawain could even act, the Five Elders themselves had received orders from Lord Imu to eliminate Gawain...
In that case...
It seemed that all Five Elders were pondering this question, so they instinctively looked at each other.
We looked at each other, and each of us felt as if we were seeing a special kind of brilliance.
The Five Elders are not a monolithic entity; even they themselves may not know what they are really thinking.
Undoubtedly, some of them do support Gawain; more than one person has expressed their support and favor for Gawain on different occasions.
However, they might also have more support for Imu, since Imu is the tradition and core of the Celestial Dragons.
So, who supports Gawain, and who supports Imu?
Can they truly achieve complete mutual understanding?
Meanwhile, within the God's Knights, several members gathered together, discussing Gawain's situation with grave seriousness.
After that war a year ago, the God's Knights knew more than the people at sea.
They knew even more than the Five Elders; they knew that the god they served, Lord Imu, had actually already engaged in a real battle with Gawain!
After Lord Imu transformed into a black dragon and soared into the sky, Black Sky clearly communicated with the Thunder God, who was tightly gripping lightning. The result of that communication was definitely not good, otherwise, Lord Imu would not have only given them the order to split the Dark Bird Ship after returning!
Logically speaking, anything that rebels against Lord Imu should be destroyed immediately.
However, faced with the unexpected rise of Gawain, Lord Imu, unusually, hesitated slightly, a situation that greatly alarmed the God's Knights.
Even their leader Figarland Saint Garling, was terrified by this.
Therefore, Figarland immediately devised a conspiracy against the Dark Bird Ship.
Behind the scenes, they actively facilitated the awarding of honors to Fleet Admiral Sengoku, and through constant underhanded tactics, they exacerbated the conflict between Sakazuki and Kuzan.
For example, giving Sakazuki orders to clear out a group of escaped pirates and the islands where they were hiding.
Meanwhile, through other commands, Kuzan happened to pass by those sea areas.
With just a few simple, almost super simple moves, Saint Garling had already caused Kuzan and Sakazuki to completely break ties.
Meanwhile, by selecting various news items, they successfully leveraged Gawain's Dark Bird Television Station through the continuous publication of the World Economic Journal.
Despite the powerful propaganda methods of Dark Bird Television Station, no matter how actively they cultivated Den Den Mushi (video Den Den Mushi), the number of them was still far from sufficient. Most people still primarily relied on newspapers to learn about the world.
It only slightly reduced the influence of pirates, while emphasizing the benefits that peace and stability bring to the world.
At the same time, the damage and impact of war are occasionally mentioned in the news.
Even so, the doves on the Dark Bird Ship had already begun to look forward to peace and abandon war.
As the conflict between Kuzan and Sakazuki intensified, Saint Garling, taking advantage of the Navy's own internal contradictions, spread the trouble to the entire Dark Bird Alliance.
At the same time, they even slightly lowered their demands for the Heavenly Tribute from Four Blues countries, which made the situation in Four Blues countries look much better.
Faced with an increasingly stable world where countries are constantly mitigating the damage of war, the ambition of doves will naturally continue to rise.
At the same time, the hawks' pursuit of war and their hatred of pirates will naturally exacerbate the conflict between the hawks and doves!
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Saint Garling believed he could completely ignite the internal conflict between the Dark Bird Alliance and the Navy within six months at the latest.
If Sakazuki and Kuzan were to engage in a full-blown war, that war would inevitably weaken the Dark Bird Alliance.
The losers in any conflict are no longer able to wholeheartedly commit to their faction.
Not only the losers, but even the neutrals will be affected by the consequences of the war and gradually lose their motivation.
The God's Knights have used similar methods countless times over the past eight hundred years, and their experience is exceptionally rich.
Little did anyone know that this would happen a year after Gawain stopped participating in the affairs of the Dark Bird Ship.
Just as the flames buried by Gelinggu were about to explode completely.
Gawain's appearance, however, extinguished that raging flame decisively.
Green Stocks knows that while a flame can be extinguished, capacity will never disappear into thin air.
Therefore, Gelinggu has been extremely worried these past few days.
What can Gawain extinguish a flame? And once that flame is extinguished, where will the burning passion in the hearts of the Dark Bird Ship and the Navy find its outlet?
Only a more intense outburst can completely grind down an unsuccessful explosion.
So, who exactly is that bomb, which was supposed to be swallowed by the Navy and Dark Bird themselves, planning to explode on???
While Gelinggu was constantly speculating and desperately trying to investigate the details of the Dark Bird Ship's officers...
Gawain left the Dark Bird Ship alone, silently boarded the Bubble Gondola, and embarked on his journey back to Mary Geoise.
Faced with Gao's stable return, the Five Elders, each with their own thoughts, dispatched CP members to greet him at the gates of Pangea Castle.
The God's Knights, on the other hand, were ready to fight the moment Gawain returned!
Meanwhile, Room of Arms...
Kong received Saint Garling's order immediately.
Although Kong is the Commander-in-Chief of the three armed forces, he is also the Commander-in-Chief of the entire army.
But Saint Garling, the commander of the God's Knights, is the highest-ranking military officer in Mary Geoise... the highest-ranking commander!
Upon receiving the order to be on high alert, Kong felt a surge of tension.
A week ago, after attending the banquet hosted by Sengoku returned Gawain remained completely silent.
Kong, who has a deep understanding of the Sengoku, probably knows that Gawain's side has put forward a rather terrifying plan, so terrifying that the Sengoku simply dares not reveal it.
And then, considering the tense atmosphere in Mary Geoise right now...
Kong walked out of the office and instructed his subordinates to be on guard.
He himself went to the front of the moving walkway, anxiously watching Gawain's figure.
Back then, there was that weak Celestial Dragon I had some respect for, who was almost killed by a single punch from that trash Celestial Dragon.
Am I really going to do something amazing today that will shock myself?
Will it be today?