Who Were They Guarding Against?

"So... you wanted to drag me along to attack the Holy Land too?"

Gloriosa cautiously questioned Oak.

Oak had just said that he sought out Shiki so Shiki could attack the Holy Land with him, so she assumed he had come to her for the same reason, hoping to recruit her. But Oak looked utterly disdainful after hearing that.

"You?"

"Do you even qualify?!"

Silently rolling his eyes with his back to Gloriosa, Oak even found Shiki objectionable for being crippled. He had planned to restore Shiki to his physical peak before recruiting him, let alone Gloriosa, who was inferior even to Shiki.

At least Shiki could still be saved. Once healed, he could regain his top-tier strength. But Gloriosa?

Her body had withered so badly she was practically disappearing. Her strength was less than one-tenth of what it had been. At best, she could barely display the combat power of an ordinary Navy Headquarters vice admiral, and even that could not last long.

Under his Observation Haki, Gloriosa's physical condition was completely exposed. Besides, even in her prime, that little bit of strength had never been worth his notice. Throwing her into a war on the Holy Land's level would only make her deadweight. She would struggle even against one of God's Knights.

Faced with such undisguised contempt, Gloriosa was rendered speechless by Oak. Though she had no desire to get involved in the grudge between Oak and the Holy Land, his words were far too hurtful. After a moment of silence, she spoke again.

"Then why did you come to Amazon Lily...?"

She continued asking Oak about his purpose in coming to Amazon Lily.

"Of course, to catch up!"

Oak waved a hand and answered as though it were only natural.

"It's been decades since we last met.