Imu was gone.
All that remained was the confrontation between Shane and the Devil Tree.
What stood before him seemed to be the other side of the entire world. Each was trying to devour the other. After all, the victor would be able to rise beyond the Blue Planet and gain the ability and opportunity to create the next new world.
For Imu, destroying the world now or waiting more than thirty years for it to enter its final collapse was merely part of the plan.
This boring world would be destroyed sooner or later anyway. Over that long stretch of time, Imu had learned to wait in solitude.
For Shane, however, it was entirely different. This world still held far too many possibilities, and there was practically no end to the things he wanted.
If it were merely a matter of survival, Shane could have left the Blue Planet entirely. Even Enel, as the wielder of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, could survive on the moon, let alone Shane.
But without absolute power, and with an important living being like Imu no longer there to serve as his whetstone, Shane would probably have no opponent to challenge for many years to come, much less become stronger.
Whether the Four Emperors or the Pirate King.
They had all been forged step by step through powerful opponents.
Previously, using Imu as a whetstone had only taken Shane as far as unlocking his seventh Devil Fruit before the balance had already been lost.
Fortunately, Imu had lost all reason in the pursuit of victory and chosen to let the Devil Tree dominate their own will.
The completion of this demonic contract had also given Shane an even stronger opponent.
"How lucky. I thought I would never reach that stage. With you, perhaps I really