I Never Asked for Your Trust

Flame Flower's jet-black, gleaming eyes instantly filled with panic. She had intended to leave, yet her feet seemed nailed to the small boat, unable to move an inch.

Misfortune could not be avoided when it came.

Having lived through so many years and long understood many truths of life, Flame Flower took a deep breath, turned around, and teased, "Old? I certainly can't tell. Your appearance, your voice, even your smile—they're all exactly the same as when we first met thirty-eight years ago."

"I'm the only old woman here. What you said back then was true, you bastard. The God Tree that grants eternal life and immense power—that is what you rely on for your strength, Four Emperor."

Past fifty, with every bodily function steadily declining, Flame Flower knew that even at her peak, she would not have been able to withstand a single move from Uchiha Hanazuki.

Much less now, with this aged body and mindset—she had no ability to risk her life against him.

"Why be so tense? We were old friends who spent a period of time together, after all. Why are you so afraid?"

Island clouds slowly lowered a cloud ladder. That familiar smile and the pure white haori fluttering in the wind only made Flame Flower more vigilant.

"How do I know you haven't come to use Amazon Lily as a sacrifice for the God Tree?"

"Amazon Lily is a pirate kingdom. Even if it vanished from this world without a sound, neither the World Government nor the nations unaffiliated with it would care."

"There is no more suitable target, is there? Uchiha Hanazuki..."

Flame Flower's stern questioning made him laugh silently. Reishi gathered behind him as he leisurely sat upon a throne.

"No. Other than during the early stages of planting the God Tree,