Chapter 280: I See You
"Y-You're..."
Saturn naturally recognized the figure that had suddenly appeared in the sky.
After all, the other party's wife had died in his research. His daughter had contracted an incurable disease because of him. And even his own life had almost belonged to Saturn.
That was the last descendant of the race Saturn despised — a pawn he should have controlled, but who had broken free.
"Bartholomew Kuma — how are you..."
Saturn's eyes widened in disbelief.
In his mind, many things connected at once.
Just as Kuma was about to fall under his control, the man had suddenly disappeared from Egghead Island. Since then, there had been no trace of Kuma or his daughter — and Vegapunk hadn't said a word about it.
"You are a member of The Zodiac. And that guy Vegapunk too?"
Realizing this, the anger of being deceived burned indescribably in Saturn's heart.
"You damn bugs — how dare you make a fool of this old man..."
But he couldn't finish.
Because he had already seen Kuma move.
"As you said, I am the Hitsuji of The Zodiac's Hitsuji division. And Vegapunk is Bishu Yu."
"As for bugs..."
Kuma's words were unusually teasing. "Mr. Saturn, your current appearance seems to fit that word better, doesn't it?"
He looked pointedly at Saturn's spider-like body.
"You..."
Saturn glared fiercely — an invisible eye-blade stabbing toward Kuma.
But Kuma merely raised his hand.
Smack!
The invisible shockwave was deflected by the paw pad on his palm. Kuma's gaze turned to Saturn.
In his mind, many things were recalled.
Some were parts of his own memories.
Like his father — that loving man who taught him to be optimistic and full of hope, and his final posture in death.
"The world will gain freedom, Kuma."
At that time, that father — already covered in scars after a long life of slavery — wore shackles and danced the Nika dance passed down through their race for his son.
But—
"So noisy, that slave over there."
Bang!
Accompanied by the displeased voice of a Celestial Dragon, sinful gunfire rang out. Bright red blood fell alongside the sound of a body hitting the ground.
"Hey hey, this is the Buccaneer race the Five Elders specifically ordered to be kept as slaves for generations. Don't kill them all."
"Isn't there another one here? Perfect to keep as a display piece."
"Hahaha, slaves of a race that committed a grave sin... how much money will it cost to collect them?"
No one cared about that father's death. No one even knew his name.
And this was not an isolated case.
The destitute and miserable lives of the people in non-affiliated nations exterminated by the government. Those bullied and humiliated by the Celestial Dragons. Those beaten to despair by the reality of the world.
Kuma's life had seen too many such tragedies.
And then he thought of what he had heard from Hitsuji not long ago — the origin of the Sapphire Scales on Bonney, the things Ginny had suffered...
Thus—
"I'm usually pretty easy to get along with."
This gentle man — even called a "good-natured person" by Vegapunk — spoke with coldness and anger for the first time.
Kind people are always gentle and polite. Kind people always hope for peace.
But kind people get angry too.
He clenched his fists.
"But..."
"You alone — no matter what — I find it hard to forgive. And I don't want to."
As the words fell—
Slash!
Saturn's spider legs stabbed forward, carrying venom.
But—
Smack!
Kuma raised his hand and slapped again, and Saturn's appendages were knocked away.
"You bas—"
Saturn, panicked to the extreme, hadn't even finished his insult.
Kuma had already swung his fist.
BANG!
The Paw-Paw Fruit repelled the air in his hand, erupting with a force that nearly exceeded what even a Giant could endure. Its speed was like a massive cannonball accelerated by jets.
BOOM!
That punch — capable of shattering a mountain — bombarded Saturn's face.
Saturn's face caved in instantly.
"This punch... is for Clapp — my father!"
Kuma murmured.
Then—
"This punch is for Little Tommy, who starved to death in the Arashi Kingdom."
"This punch is for Father Anka of the Giya Church."
"This punch is for Miss Milola's daughter in God Valley."
From Kuma's mouth came the names of people he had known and witnessed throughout his life.
Even though Saturn had long forgotten them — he and the world would not remember the names of bugs.
But Kuma remembered.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Punch after punch. Another. And another.
Every one of Kuma's punches used his full strength. Every punch landed squarely on Saturn's face, battering his body so relentlessly he didn't even have time to recover.
"You..."
Saturn, beaten without reprieve, showed horror and anger in his beastly pupils.
Of course, Kuma wasn't Hebi. He had no possibility of killing Saturn.
But for Saturn, the truly fatal thing was below.
"No... no..."
Looking at the figure holding Shusui and slowly approaching across the ruins of Instein Island, the panic in Saturn's heart surged even further.
He wanted to struggle, but Kuma's masterful control of the Paw-Paw Fruit gave him absolutely no chance to resist.
He could only watch his own figure being driven continuously closer to Hebi under Kuma's attacks.
Until finally—
"This is for... Bonney and Ginny!"
He heard Kuma's final voice.
And that incoming punch — compressed to the extreme by the Paw-Paw Fruit.
Saturn could almost feel the pent-up resentment of many years carried within it.
BOOM!
Saturn's figure plummeted downward.
And ironically — he who had viewed everyone as bugs was like a swatted spider in this moment.
He crashed into the earth, smashing a massive crater into the ground.
VMMM!
The Abyssal Sea Contract rapidly restored him, and he struggled to climb out of the crater.
But it had already lost its meaning.
Because when he looked up, he saw the Black Blade raised high.
A sight like a nightmare.
The next moment — the blade slashed down.
"Ah!"
Accompanied by Saturn's scream, his body was cleaved in two starting from the skull. The Abyssal Sea Contract within him was severed once more.
"Lord Imu!"
"Lord — save this old man!"
Saturn let out a low roar.
The only response he received was a slash. Another slash. And continuous slashing strikes.
"Fierce Eye... ah... urg!"
"Venom Sp—"
Saturn's attempts at self-salvation were utterly meaningless. Soon the scene became entirely one-sided — Hebi's blade continuously hacked and slashed Saturn, while the latter's recovery speed grew slower and slower.
"Sure enough..."
Hebi even began to ponder with interest.
"Judging from this, excluding the contract factor, whether it's the Five Elders or the God's Knights — most of them are trash."
"They simply cannot fully master the power Imu bestowed upon them. They are just idiots recklessly swinging their blades while relying on their immortal bodies."
He even felt a bit of pity for Imu.
In truth, the Five Elders were certainly not weak. Their abilities were all formidable, and they all possessed powerful Conqueror's Haki and various abilities drawn from the Source Energy of Lineage Factor.
And honestly — although Hebi had gained the ability to kill them after creating the first Fruit of the Stars, and had also been strengthened by the Source Energy teleported over by the main body and the contract, even so, it had only leveled the battlefield to something fair.
The Five Elders were not without the power to fight.
After all, although the Sword God Fruit was a brand-new Devil Fruit transcending this world and could indeed kill the Five Elders, the contract on them still allowed a limited number of resurrections. And compared to them, Hebi was at a disadvantage — Roy didn't have much Source Energy of Lineage Factor left, enough for perhaps one or two more resurrections at most.
So in a desperate fight, the Five Elders actually had the possibility of killing Hebi.
If they had been true powerhouses comparable to the Four Emperors or the Three Admirals — possessing such willpower and combat skill — they would still have been very difficult opponents. Roy might have needed to devise other methods entirely.
But the Five Elders were clearly not such existences.
Upon discovering the possibility of dying, their first choice was to retreat. Upon discovering his colleagues retreating, Saturn's first choice was to flee.
Weak, cowardly, despicable — after being stripped of the disguise called "immortality," the so-called Five Elders revealed their ugly and tedious souls.
"Imu must have realized this as well. That's why He is seeking change."
Roy understood this clearly.
And he was even more certain — after this battle, Imu's dissatisfaction with the Five Elders would only deepen.
Of course, that was all a matter for later.
For now—
Slash!
Another strike cleaved Saturn's figure in two.
And Hebi saw Saturn's body erupt with pitch-black brilliance.
Then—
"Ahhhh!"
Saturn's eyes, nose, mouth — pitch-blackness spread across every part of his body.
"No — this old man... I..."
He wailed, but his body continued to decay, as if burned by fire.
Finally—
Thump!
His body turned to a skeleton and crashed to the ground.
"You didn't choose to descend, but instead abandoned Saturn?"
Hebi thought to himself.
Yes — the Abyssal Sea Contract on Saturn was finally, completely shattered.
He was no longer Imu's contractor. The essence of the Abyss and the Source Energy of Lineage Factor contained within his body no longer took effect, no longer maintaining his immortality.
Time resumed flowing through his body, causing him to decay and die on the spot.
This disappointed Hebi slightly. He had been rather looking forward to that God descending with more power.
However—
"This is enough to make up for my consumption this time."
His gaze turned to Saturn's corpse.
[Detected "Source Energy of Lineage Factor · Wish · Evil"]
[Absorb immediately?]
Without hesitation, Hebi responded in his heart.
"Absorb immediately."
VMMM!
Around Saturn's corpse, the Source Energy of Lineage Factor — seemingly being reclaimed by Imu along an invisible connection — was abruptly intercepted by a massive power.
Then it all began to pour into Hebi's body.
And at the same time, beneath the mask, Roy faintly seemed to form a connection with Lord Imu.
He seemed to see inside the Room of Flowers.
Lord Imu clutching His chest, cold eyes that seemed to gather all the malice in the world.
But Roy felt no panic.
He merely pointed at his own eyes, and then pointed at Imu.
The meaning was very clear.
"I see you."
The Lord of the Stars said so.
That once mysterious God, hidden in the darkness, was no longer mysterious to him now.
He had found the power sufficient to threaten a God — even though only one Fruit of the Stars had been born, even though he had just started on this path.
But he could already see the other party's shadow.
What he needed to do now was simply to catch up.
And then — surpass Him.
(End of chapter)
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