Michael had already begun flying toward Baltigo the moment the Five Elders started chasing him relentlessly.
At this pivotal historical juncture, Michael was certain that Imu absolutely intended...
to eliminate him for good.
The Five Elders alone wouldn't be enough.
Since they couldn't completely annihilate Michael, Uranus would naturally be deployed.
Michael understood Imu—someone with a final-boss complex—all too well.
Imu would never reveal their true power or intervene personally until the very last moment.
Thus, unleashing Uranus was undoubtedly the first choice.
Coupled with the fact that the World Government knew the Revolutionary Army's headquarters was at Baltigo...
What could be more devastating to the N.E.W Marine and the Revolutionary Army than Michael and Baltigo being wiped out together?
In a way, Michael and Imu were mutually converging toward this outcome.
As he flew, Michael pondered.
He wasn't pushing his speed to the limit, deliberately leaving enough leeway so that Mars could keep him in sight—always close, yet never catching up.
The occasional Flying Slashes aimed at him from behind were effortlessly dodged with slight shifts of his body.
After evading, Michael would even turn his head to mock Nusjuro who's gripping the Shodai Kitetsu tightly atop the Itsumade's back.
"The Shodai Kitetsu is truly a formidable blade! What a pity it's stuck with a decrepit old man like you. I can't help but mourn for this Supreme Grade Sword!"
"Michael! I swear I won't rest until I cut you down!"
"You're not even human to begin with! What kind of normal person regrows missing limbs in minutes? What kind of normal person lives for centuries without dying... Wait, so you five are actually terrified of death, aren't you?"
"Mi-cha-el!"
The Itsumade instantly accelerated again, nearly catching up to Michael.
But Michael merely smiled and widened the gap once more.
Though they knew their mission was to drive Michael toward Baltigo, the Five Elders' fury was reaching its peak!
They were the Five Elders! The five most noble figures in the world, second only to Imu-sama!
Yet this bastard Michael kept taunting and humiliating them at every turn!
For the first time, they entertained the thought of defying Imu-sama's orders and fighting Michael to the death.
Of course, the notion vanished as quickly as it came, dismissed with pale faces.
Such treasonous thoughts!
How could they even cross their minds!
Steadying themselves, their boiling rage was extinguished by the chilling realization.
They... had no intention of relinquishing the immortality granted by Imu-sama.
The older they grew, the more they clung to the sensation of being alive.
...
The chase between Itsumade and Michael lasted half a day.
Michael deliberately took detours along the way, but under Itsumade's relentless pursuit, he was eventually forced back onto the path to Baltigo.
By now, Michael understood.
His fishing tactic had likely succeeded.
Soon, the Five Elders' actions confirmed his suspicions.
Once Michael reached the skies above Baltigo, the Five Elders halted their pursuit, maintaining a distance where they could barely see each other, facing off against Michael from afar.
Saturn's booming laughter carried through the air.
"Hahaha! Michael! No matter how fast you fly, what does it matter!"
"You'll still become a snuffed-out lamp under Imu-sama's will!"
"A wailing soul beneath the wrath of Uranus!"
As the words faded, Michael instinctively looked up at the sky.
Within the clouds above...
A colossal presence seemed to be breaking through the layers of mist.
The next moment, the lowest clouds began to churn, revealing the behemoth's true form.
An enormous shadow engulfed the surrounding sea, with Baltigo Island at its very center.
Michael's lips parted slightly, astonishment plain on his face.
After all, even in the original story before his transmigration, Uranus's true form had never been revealed.
He had imagined many times what the legendary Uranus might look like.
Perhaps a superbly advanced Lunar Technology spacecraft?
Or a flying creature powerful enough to annihilate the world?
Or maybe even a nuclear missile silo parody?
To be honest, Michael had always leaned toward the first and third possibilities, because the need for the Lunarian Race's functionality was solid evidence he'd uncovered in this world.
But what he didn't expect was...
Now hovering above his head was practically a mountain—or rather, a massive island.
Even the small hills Shiki had once piled up in the sky would look like mere pebbles in comparison to this.
Michael raised his head, his body trembling slightly...
From excitement and exhilaration.
The sheer oppressive presence of this thing was overwhelming.
And the reason he was certain this was Uranus, the King of the Heavens...
First, the Five Elders had stopped at a distance, which now appeared to be right near the edge of Uranus.
Second, in the original story, when the Lulusia Kingdom was erased from the map, a massive shadow had once enveloped the entire nation.
And the Lulusia Kingdom was one of the largest countries in the Grand Line in terms of land area.
This matched the current situation almost perfectly.
Just as Michael was marveling at this, a voice echoed in his ear.
"So you're Michael, the current Seraphim Fruit user?"
"Hmm? The voice is projected directly into my mind—an ability I've never heard of... So you must be that Imu-sama who's lived over eight hundred years?"
"You're... quite clever."
"Clever or not, I still got outplayed by an old fossil like you," Michael deliberately let a hint of anger show. "So, what exactly is this thing?"
"A long, long time ago, atop the Red Line, there was a 'God's Nation'—the place where the Lunarian Race once lived."
Imu's voice continued to resonate in Michael's ear, not aged but as clear as a young girl's.
"They were once called 'gods,' and this is the legendary God's Nation... Of course, you may also call it..."
"Uranus, the King of the Heavens."
---------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator