Chapter 185: The Roots of the World Are Already Rotten!
Half a month later.
"So I say—what exactly is going on? Fleet Admiral Sengoku?"
In the Fleet Admiral's office in Marineford, Roy slapped his hand on Sengoku's desk, very impolitely.
"Roy, don't rush first... sit down and have some tea."
"I don't drink tea!"
"Then cola—I guessed your request long ago."
Sengoku's attitude was quite humble.
"I promise, tomorrow is the last time this week..."
"But tomorrow is already the weekend... gulp gulp, I participated in twelve inspections this week! Twelve!"
"I just returned to headquarters less than twenty minutes ago, and you tell me there's another one tomorrow?"
Roy complained loudly.
"'Mad Tooth General' Moll, 'Black Spider' Harland, 'Origami' Calisis... I didn't catch these pirates, nor was I responsible for their detention. Why credit me?"
"And... judging from my recent trips to the Four Blues, isn't the government promoting me a bit too much?"
What he said was exactly his recent situation.
Yes.
Since the "Battle of Totto Land", Roy hadn't had a break in the past half month.
He was surprised to find that the World Government, for some unknown reason, began promoting him frantically to build momentum.
Enies Lobby, Impel Down, Marine Headquarters... all sides worked together, attributing many credits not belonging to him to him—Roy investigated; these arrested pirates weren't caught by internal Marines either, likely handled secretly by the World Government itself.
This led to Roy sitting in the base while his fame grew bigger and bigger...
To this day, although he was still an "Admiral Candidate".
His fame in the Four Blues was even louder than the three Admirals—especially after his plaque "Justice Above the Stars", obtained accidentally, was exposed. Many World Government allied nations even invited him over just to appease the people.
In the World Government's promotion, he was officially defined as the "Backbone Force Against The Zodiac", the "New Generation Marine Hero".
But the key problem was...
"I haven't seen The Zodiac, I don't know them—and I didn't want that plaque either!"
Roy was truly speechless.
What kind of thing was this—letting Star Lord fight The Zodiac?
Which genius came up with this idea?
"Actually, you won't have much chance to deal with them."
Hearing this, Sengoku said seriously, "Roy, I know you are dissatisfied—but you see... the stability of the sea needs you now."
"Whether accident, misunderstanding, or strength—your 'Reputation' is indeed important."
Speaking of this, he was somewhat helpless too.
After the Totto Land incident, Marine Headquarters was naturally one of the most troubled places.
The fall of an Emperor caused significant impact.
Especially The Zodiac's complete rise made the situation in Paradise and the Four Blues unstable—recently, countless pirates wearing Sea Beast Masks claiming to be Zodiac members appeared on the sea.
Situations within various countries were unstable too; recently, two allied nation kings even "Died of Depression" worrying about The Zodiac.
So Sengoku, who experienced the most chaotic era of the sea, accepted the World Government's request to promote Roy.
In fact, this situation wasn't unfamiliar to him.
When the God Valley Incident shook the sea and Pirate King "Roger" began to rise.
Marines also shaped "Marine Hero" Garp in a similar way.
Of course, the difference was.
Garp truly participated in the God Valley battle and dealt with Roger for half his life.
But Roy never saw The Zodiac.
And as Sengoku said—even if Marine Headquarters found The Zodiac's traces in the future, Roy, this "Idol", would hardly be the first consideration.
After all, if he lost to The Zodiac, the subsequent impact would be even greater.
"Please, Roy—this is for Justice, no... for the stability of the sea."
Sengoku sighed.
He said similar words to Garp back then.
Once the sea became unstable, countless people would die in the turbulent vortex.
But as long as the situation remained stable, at least most people could survive.
Stability was the big picture.
For this, Sengoku was even willing to ignore his conscience and tacitly accept the World Government's "Darkness" temporarily.
He believed as long as the sea was stable, given enough time, he could slowly solve those problems.
If he couldn't, he would find a qualified successor—he believed generation after generation, true "Justice" would reign one day.
"..."
Roy didn't say much to Sengoku.
He just drank the cola in one go and walked out.
Before leaving, he turned slightly to look at Sengoku. "Fleet Admiral Sengoku, was the injury on your face caused by Vice Admiral Garp?"
He asked.
Yes—now, Sengoku had clear fist marks on his face again.
Lighter than last time, but still obvious.
"...Mm."
Sengoku nodded slightly.
"Nice punch."
Roy smiled, then waved his hand and walked out of the office.
Yes.
He naturally couldn't agree with Sengoku's words—and today, he was qualified to show this "Disagreement".
Stability was key to the world's existence, and planning slowly for the big picture was a wise choice.
But...
"A tree rotten from the roots... stabilizing its existence and pruning its branches is meaningless."
"Only pushing it down and digging out the roots is its vitality."
Roy muttered internally.
On the surface, he returned to the dormitory with a sullen face.
Detention unit soldiers, well aware of Roy's recent situation, naturally didn't disturb their boss who worked overtime constantly.
Mm, in fact, not long ago, Lieutenant Hans, just discharged from the hospital and promoted, did disturb him and was still responsible for cleaning the detention unit toilets.
On the other side, Roy closed the door skillfully after returning to the dormitory.
[Fruit Loaded - Shell-Shell Fruit · Model: Shen (Mirage) LV5]
Creating an illusion of himself sleeping in the room casually, Roy grabbed the air without hesitation.
Space door opened; he stepped in.
In the different dimension, Roy paced slowly.
Soon, he saw a simple nursery in the dimension.
Plants in the nursery were dreamlike; in the center was a huge flower.
As Roy stepped in, the flower opened slowly.
Inside the petals, "Soul Stardust" were shining brightly.
"About time."
Roy glanced, murmuring.
Then, he grabbed the air casually.
A Sea Beast Mask was put on.
Then, strands of starlight surged on his body.
In moments, the recently famous Marine Vice Admiral "Kuroyagi" (Black Goat) turned into "Star Lord".
Then, he waved gently at one Soul Stardust.
[Fruit Loaded: Underworld-Underworld Fruit LV5 - Gain absolute control over souls]
That Soul Stardust flew slowly to Star Lord.
Only now could one clearly see—the essence of that stardust was a ghost-like "Spirit".
Inside the spirit, a pink soul fragment was stored.
Of course, calling it "Fragment" wasn't accurate now.
Because that strand of originally shattered soul, about to perish, had almost recovered to fullness.
"Mm... slept so well—eh? Is it Star Lord?"
From that soul, an innocent voice came.
"It's me."
Star Lord nodded slightly, speaking gently.
Then, he waved his hand gently.
VMMM!
Invisible changes appeared beside him.
[Fruit Awakening - This is Underworld]
[Can designate an area as Underworld. Souls within can exist in soul form, gaining soul body and touch, even eat food, but cannot attack people.]
Next moment, the spirit changed instantly—expanding rapidly, growing limbs and body.
Moments later, a translucent figure appeared before Star Lord.
A chubby little girl with pink hair.
Star Lord naturally knew who she was—Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin.
But...
"As expected... soul stopped at six years old... no, seven now?"
Roy muttered internally.
"Hm?"
Reappearing Linlin seemed to have slept for a long time.
She rubbed her sleepy eyes first, but then seemed to discover the uniqueness of her hands. "Hm!? Linlin didn't die—eh!? So magical, I'm transparent?"
Children's attention was easily attracted.
But Linlin was a good child, so she soon remembered important things. "Star Lord, Moth..."
She seemed to instinctively want to ask about Mother Carmel, but then seemed to recall something, frowning. "Right, Mother is a bad guy, wanted everyone in Totto Land to die with her."
Biting her lip, she seemed a bit sad.
But the next moment...
Snap.
Star Lord snapped his fingers gently.
Next moment, countless sweets and pastries appeared out of thin air from dream clouds.
[Dream Creation · Mountain of Sweets]
So...
"Ah! Cake!"
Linlin became happy instantly, rushing toward the sweets and food.
Stuffing over ten cakes into her mouth, she chewed happily covering her chin. "So delicious—ah, Star Lord, give this to you?"
She picked up a cake, hesitated, then handed it to Star Lord.
Star Lord took the cake with a smile, then watched Linlin enjoy food calmly.
But after eating for a while...
"Right—such delicious things, must eat together with everyone!"
Linlin seemed to remember something suddenly, shouting, "Star Lord, where are Katakuri and others? Everyone in Totto Land? And everyone in Sheep's House?"
She asked, and Star Lord wasn't surprised.
After synthesizing and mastering the "Underworld Fruit", he knew Linlin's situation well.
In the past, her and Sheep's House children's "Souls" were absorbed and fused by Mother Carmel at age six, existing as "Soul Fragments" in her body, indistinguishable.
Linlin's own soul shattered then, stopping at age six.
But simultaneously, seemingly due to her natural strength—her soul was extremely tough, so even at six, she could suppress Mother Carmel for years.
So compared to other children, Linlin retained memories of these years.
She remembered being the Queen of Totto Land, her children, and even possessed the Soul-Soul Fruit ability.
But her soul had no dirty things anymore, only the seven-year-old Linlin herself.
"Katakuri and Totto Land are fine."
Star Lord said softly. "As for other children of Sheep's House—their soul fragments are much weaker than yours, should take a few more days to recover."
"Everyone waking up? Great—can play together again!"
"But then, these sweets... um..."
She showed a surprised smile first.
But then, she scratched her head troubledly.
Finally, she gritted her teeth abruptly, putting down the sweets in her hand.
"Must... must keep for everyone to eat together!"
Saying so, she left the sweets pile reluctantly.
Star Lord: "..."
"For sweets, you can have as much as you want—"
He said first.
Seeing Linlin's eyes light up instantly, he added, "But before that, Linlin... I need to confirm two things."
"No problem!"
Hearing Star Lord, Linlin patted her chest frankly. "You saved Linlin and everyone—as long as Linlin can help, no problem!"
Hearing Linlin's answer, Star Lord nodded slightly.
"First, can you still use Conqueror's Haki?"
He asked gently.
"Conqueror's Haki? Yes!"
Linlin thought for a while, seemingly recalling what Conqueror's Haki was.
Then, she closed her eyes without hesitation.
Then...
VMMM!
Invisible spirit erupted at this moment!
But...
"Ah, why so weak?"
Using Conqueror's Haki, Linlin opened her eyes, looking around puzzled.
Star Lord frowned.
Understanding flashed in his eyes, but also some regret.
Through Linlin's rare special case, he confirmed the characteristic of Conqueror's Haki.
"As expected—Conqueror's Haki is 'Spirit of the Soul'."
"Even with only soul left, it can be used."
This was a point he was satisfied with.
But simultaneously, Star Lord confirmed another fact.
"Conqueror's intensity is not constant."
Because now, the power Linlin erupted was indeed Conqueror's Haki.
But compared to what she displayed on Whole Cake Island before...
Linlin's current Conqueror's Haki was clearly much weaker—not on the same level.
The reason naturally couldn't be lacking "Mother Carmel".
To be blunt, that trash wasn't qualified to have Conqueror's Haki in Star Lord's view.
So Linlin's weaker Haki had only one possibility.
"Soul cognition determines Conqueror's intensity too?"
Star Lord muttered internally.
According to Shiki—every Conqueror's user is the king of their own 'World'.
The intensity of their inner world determines Conqueror's intensity.
Clearly...
Seven-year-old Charlotte Linlin, even with complete memories, her soul wouldn't possess that level of spirit.
So her Conqueror's Haki weakened accordingly.
"...Pity."
Star Lord sighed internally.
In fact, saving Sheep's House children and Linlin's soul, besides values and basic morality...
Another key reason was Shiki's dying words.
"Find a strong Conqueror's user, use your soul to feel their 'Will', let their dominance temper your soul—that is the way to awaken Conqueror's Haki."
"The stronger the user you find, the stronger your awakened Haki."
This was logical—one who could kill a strong 'King' wouldn't be weak.
So Roy's original plan was simple.
Let Linlin collide with him using Conqueror's Haki, giving him a chance to awaken it.
Guided by a "Four Emperors", his awakened Conqueror's intensity would reach a very high level directly.
But now, this plan clearly wouldn't work.
"Must find another stronger Conqueror's user..."
Thinking of this, Roy asked Linlin to stop Conqueror's Haki.
Then...
"Don't resist."
He proposed his second request.
Speaking, he extended his hand slowly toward Linlin.
"I want to see your memories."
"Memories?"
"Yes, memories... about a certain person."
Linlin seemed curious.
But again—she was a good child.
So now, although curious, she closed her eyes.
☆☆☆
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