You've disappointed me.
Upon seeing Gawain, Imu lowered his head and spoke.
As she spoke, she flicked her hand, gently shaking off the butterfly powder that had settled on it.
Then, she slowly walked to the window and looked out at the city.
In his eyes, enormous giants were relentlessly ravaging Mary Geoise, the most prosperous city.
Not only did the steam from the friction between Magma and ice flood half the city, but what was even more outrageous was a guy who could turn invisible. He fought his way through half of Mary Geoise with a God's Knights.
He would roam wherever the Celestial Dragon were, his ambition was obvious.
They were clearly after the Celestial Dragon's names.
Intense flames shot into the sky, while white lines and sand dunes transformed into waves that surged endlessly.
Conqueror's Haki has become commonplace here. Most people use techniques to bind with Conqueror's Haki, causing countless people to fall unconscious and leave this world without even realizing it.
Further away lies a more pure clash: fist against fist, sword against sword!
But that fist is a fist that can be counted as a fist of the mainland, and the sword is a sword that can cut through mountains and the sky!
The magnificent houses collapsed one after another like Domino.
The once orderly streets were churned and destroyed, like lake water disturbed by pebbles.
The slaves underground, who had just escaped death after a difficult ordeal, discovered that the very people who had brought them this calamity were destroying Mary Geoise.
They should have been filled with fear, but surprisingly, they didn't make any move to flee.
They watched as one attack after another threatened their lives, and as one powerful figure after another fought each other.
They stood there silently praying, like madmen.
I don't know what they were praying for.
Perhaps they were praying that they would escape this disaster?
Or perhaps, more likely...
They were praying, praying that even if they died, they would burn the city to the ground!
This was the city that appeared before Imu's eyes, a sight that should have enraged any ruler.
But in reality, Imu felt not even the slightest bit of anger about what happened in Mary Geoise.
If she truly cared, why would she spend her days waiting among the Flower Room?
Whether it's Mary Geoise or the descendants of the Celestial Dragon.
Those boring things, including that boring weakness and expression.
She doesn't care at all!
She sighed softly, then turned around and smiled at Gawain.
"Over the past year, I have allowed you to fully display your talents."
Your appearance was a pleasant surprise to me. By utilizing the unique properties of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, you expanded your influence to the entire ocean.
This is what I have always pursued, because the shadow I cast over the world is built upon the bloodline extraction of Uranus and the absolute hierarchy I established for the world using the Celestial Dragon.
But you, all you've brought to the world is your own shadow!
If I had known earlier that the Rumble-Rumble Fruit could be used in this way, I would have paid much more attention to that Devil Fruit.
Now it seems your development direction is wildly imaginative, while I... perhaps my thinking really can't keep up with the times at sea."
Imu turned and walked towards Gawain. When she reached Gawain, she suddenly raised her hand and stroked Gawain cheek.
This action made Gawain pause slightly. After thinking for a moment, he finally took a small step back.
He could certainly be more casual about Imu's actions, but he didn't want any unexpected incidents to occur in his plans.
Watching Gawain's figure recede into the distance, Imu paused slightly, then lowered his head and chuckled.
"Hehe, child, what are you afraid of?"
I never imagined that among those good-for-nothings back then, someone like you would emerge... an indescribable junior.
Now that I've embarked on this challenging path, I might as well be more magnanimous.
I watched your ancestors grow up, I watched your families pass down from generation to generation. Although I have never appeared before you, my influence flows in your blood and flesh.
You were meant to be my strength.
But now, it seems you have become the power of Eve and this world..."
Imu felt a pang of regret; at this moment, she finally felt a genuine sense of regret.
Although I never thought about building this world, and although the Celestial Dragon didn't even have any so-called ideal or ambition to unify the world.
Although Imu doesn't actually need any help, she just needs to wait quietly for her plan to bear fruit.
Although she didn't want to bring rule to this world, she simply wanted to destroy it.
Despite all these "althoughs," if she could prevent Gawain from going down the path of opposing her with just a little influence, thus causing him less trouble, then...
Imu felt that her past self wouldn't have minded wasting time on Gawain.
But at this moment...
Why.
At this moment, this young man, born right beneath his feet, who shouldn't have ended up on a different path, has finally become a minor troublesome thing...
As she pondered, Imu raised her hand again, wanting to gently stroke Gawain's cheek.
This time, Gawain stopped and finally let Imu pinch the flesh on his face.
After gently pinching it a couple of times, Imu squinted his eyes in satisfaction.
"You are good-looking, much better-looking than that guy."
By the way, the guy I'm talking about usually refers to Joy Boy. Even though you've never met him, you should know what he looks like.
Don't you have a kid in your crew who ate the Gum-Gum Fruit?
The Gum-Gum Fruit has always been in Mary Geoise's archives. The child didn't eat a Gum-Gum Fruit, but Nika Fruit. You should know that.
The more powerful the Mythical Zoan, the more likely it is to contain the power of the Mythical Zoan itself.
To give just a few examples, Saturn was the most stubborn boy; after all, he was Minotauros.
The guy with the Okuchi no Makami is the most foolish. As a dog, even if he becomes a god, he is still a dog. Therefore, every host of the Okuchi no Makami always likes to find himself one master after another.
This generation's Okuchi no Makami actually found a dead man to be her master, but you managed to toy with him quite interestingly.
And then Kaido, and the Azure Dragon —the totem of the original rulers of this continent!
Proud, unruly, fearless, and unrestrained.
Before that kid Devil Fruit Awakening, he hadn't done anything like deliberately getting captured by the Navy and then challenging them to an execution ground—nothing like that.
Anyone Conqueror's Haki isn't strong enough will eventually become someone else after eating Mythical Zoan.
Among all Mythical Zoan, Nika and Nidhogg are clearly two extremes.
One is a symbol of suffering from the very beginning of the world, and the other is a messenger of joy who was originally incredibly humble.
They draw strength from pain, nourishment from solitude, and pain from hope, constantly enduring the torment of joy, and thus gradually grow stronger.
As for the other, he drew strength from happiness, nourishment from friendship, and pain from sorrow, constantly fighting against pain, and finally became the light in everyone's heart.
The humble can also become the noble.
The powerful can also become the most despised and scorned.
It was a tragic fate, child. Fortunately, Nika had already died. Although the Nika that followed would eventually become him, none of them were him.
As for Nidhogg...
You've already seen it.
Nika passed down from generation to generation, and people even forgot Nika's name. Meanwhile, Joy Boy, the best Nika of the past, almost became the symbol of Nika.
But I... I am immortal, and I have always been me."
At this point, Imu released Gawain's cheek, lowered his head, turned around, and walked back to the window.
Gawain didn't speak, but quietly walked to Imu's side, stood beside her, and followed her gaze.
Feeling Gawain's actions, Imu pursed his lips with satisfaction. Even if they were about to face life and death, the fact that the younger generation was willing to listen to their elders made the elders a little happier.
In the midst of this happy moment, Imu patted Gawain on the shoulder.
"The reason I'm telling you this is because even I know that what I'm facing this time is indeed quite dangerous."
This is the third time I haven't been able to guarantee my final victory, so I don't mind sharing what I've taken on with you. That way, even if I fail, my past can give you some food for thought, and maybe that kind of thinking will lead you to make the same decision as me.
The core of everything I want to tell you can be summed up in just one sentence.
That is, the world has a will, and the world's will is constantly rejecting us humans.
As for the reasons, once you've grown to this point, you'll understand.
Because the world never needs humans additionally, but humans must depend on the entire world."
Imu gently tapped on the windowsill; it had been a long time since she had seriously thought about it.
While lost in his memories, Imu continued speaking.
"In ancient times, this sea was not just a simple sea, but a Giant World containing countless continents..."
People have generally only heard of the Great Kingdom, but the Great Kingdom is only a small part of the Giant World that once existed.
If we were to trace back to that era, we would probably have to go back 50,000 years. What a distant time that is! The distance of that time even makes me shudder.
In that era, which was Giant World.
Where are humans?
Imu turned to look at Gawain, pointed to the moon in the sky, and then smiled.
"That's right, compared to the world beneath our feet, the moon is our true home."
At that time, to the Giant World, we were nothing more than a tiny ant-like nation next to a giant kingdom, not even worthy of the Giant World's extra attention.
Back then, we lived in peace with the Giant World; we gazed at each other from afar, yet never made contact.
Although the Giant World was vast, the giants Giant World did not use their intelligence as a tool for development; instead, they remained inactive, guarding their own prosperous kingdoms.
This situation persisted for approximately 20,000 years, but eventually, things changed.
That change began when we, the Moon People, truly grasped the pulse of the new era and the advancements in technology!
That day, we arrived in the Giant World for the first time aboard our spaceship.
As an agent of the Moon's will, I, along with many other Mythical Zoan, set foot on the land of the Great Kingdom for the first time.
Back then, we wore the same clothes as the Celestial Dragon do today, examining the old, Giant World and its diverse, colorful, and magnificent races and lands with a thoughtful and innovative perspective.
But there is no doubt that our appearance has brought great trouble to the kingdoms on earth.
Less than eighty years after I landed, the war between the Moon People and the Earth humans... officially broke out!
That was the first war involving two planets, and it was during that time that we established the Sky Island system. Although the giants on Earth had backward technology, they were exceptionally powerful. The so-called Conqueror's Haki users of today were extremely common in that era.
Because back then, the ocean didn't have so many rules and regulations, and there weren't many rules to suppress the giants.
For them, perhaps witnessing a massive tsunami or a volcanic eruption is enough to unlock their Conqueror's Haki.
You should know that Haki counters Devil Fruit abilities, which is why in the initial stages, my ancestors and I had an exceptionally difficult time fighting them.
Three exploration ships, twenty-one advance troops—my ancestors and I fought an exceptionally difficult battle.
In the end, of the original twenty-one who landed, only four remained.
One is me, one is Nika, one is D, and one is Z!
That's right, Nika and I are undoubtedly top-tier. Just standing next to each other, we would both improve each other, and our strength would naturally be at the peak.
In the end, Z performed the Perennial Youth Surgery on me, and while I possessed a tenacious life, I finally became the last vanguard.
We established a base on the Sky Island and repeatedly attempted to attack the mainland, launching attack after attack, until Uranus was developed on the lunar mainland, at which point our offensive made some progress.
Uranus is a perfect weapon; whether it's purifying Lineage Factor or controlling celestial phenomena, it can be a crucial tool for our conquest of the giants.
We spread poison to giants and giant animals, we controlled the weather to gradually destroy the continental shelf, and we gradually turned a world dominated by land into a world of sea.
While we were preparing, we conducted experiments that lasted for ten thousand years, during which countless demi-humans were continuously created.
Fish-Man, Merfolk, Mink Tribe, Longarm Tribe.
We made many efforts in order to gain complete control of this world and move from the small moon to the vast continents.
With the help of Uranus and the Devil Fruit Tree, we finally descended from the sky to the ground, until we stood against the giants!
That's right, there were no Devil Fruit on Earth originally; they are a product of our moon's native habitat.
In short, we have finally gained the initiative and are even constantly squeezing the space in which the giants live.
Until our creation, the Fish-Man Tribe, fully rises to power!
Faced with a war that has lasted for millennia, the will of the world has chosen our creation, the Fish-Man Tribe, as the representatives and destiny of the future, forming a balance of power with us Moon People and the giants.
It was during that time that the giants piled up the Red Line, dividing the world in two. This action eased the war between us and separated the Fish-Man Tribe, allowing us to deal with them more easily!
And this is just the beginning of history!