Mary Geoise, Pangaea Castle.
"Huh? Isn't that Saint Mataz? You're still riding that disgusting fish? Your taste really lowers the dignity of us nobles."
Rowan glanced over.
Since he had no idea what this fat worm's name was, he could only curse back.
"What are you babbling about? The pirate you're riding isn't nearly as rare as my Fish-Man!"
After trading a few more insults, Rowan casually flicked his whip across Fisher Tiger's back.
"Hurry up, you stupid fish! If it weren't for you, would I be making such a fool of myself?"
Fisher Tiger remained silent, continuing to crawl forward without a word.
Fortunately, they barely encountered any acquaintances of Saint Mataz along the way.
If someone had tried chatting with him, his personality or habitual manner of speaking might have given him away.
Calling Tiger "stupid fish" was practically the only phrase Rowan could confidently use. After all, the only reference he had was the brief conversation he'd overheard when his real body had entered Mary Geoise with Spandine.
Soon, while casually swinging the whip, Rowan gradually approached the endpoint shown by the detector.
But even disguised as a Celestial Dragon it seemed he could go no farther.
The guards beside him were terrified of being executed.
Yet if they continued forward they would die as well.
"Saint Mataz."
"Hm?"
The two guards stepped in front of the crawling Tiger.
After carefully choosing their words, one of them said,
"My lord... beyond this point is a forbidden area."
"You know that."
A forbidden area?
Rowan had already expected that the giant mechanical soldier wouldn't simply be stored somewhere ordinary.
That was precisely why he had waited over three days just to obtain the disguise of a Celestial Dragon.
But now it seemed even Celestial Dragons weren't permitted to enter.
Among the places in his memories that even Celestial Dragons couldn't freely access there were only the Room of Flowers, where Imu resided and the secret chamber containing the enormous straw hat.
So was the giant mechanical soldier hidden in one of those places as well?
"Of course I know it's a forbidden area."
Rowan shot the guard a disdainful glance.
"That's exactly why I want to see it."
"Are you trying to stop a noble Celestial Dragon?"
The two guards exchanged uneasy looks.
Fear filled their eyes.
The situation they dreaded most had finally happened.
They couldn't stop a Celestial Dragon.
But if Saint Mataz entered that restricted area they would likely be executed.
If they were lucky they might survive.
If not Rowan ignored them and flicked his whip, ordering Fisher Tiger to continue crawling forward.
The two guards clenched their fists as they hurried after him.
As long as no one notices once we leave, everything will be fine.
That was all they could do to comfort themselves.
To their relief Saint Mataz seemed fully aware of how serious the forbidden area was.
He carefully avoided every patrol along the way.
Fifteen minutes later they arrived before an ordinary-looking building with a massive iron gate.
The two guards stationed at the entrance wore no bubble helmets.
Yet judging solely from their uniforms, they were clearly on an entirely different level from ordinary guards.
After a moment's thought Rowan walked straight toward them.
The sight nearly frightened his two accompanying guards to death.
The detector indicated that the enormous energy source was inside this building.
The moment Rowan approached, he was stopped.
"Saint Mataz."
"This isn't a place you should be."
As expected the two gatekeepers showed no intention of giving even a Celestial Dragon special treatment.
The other guard fixed his gaze on Rowan's two escorts.
"You brought a Celestial Dragon into a forbidden area."
"That's a capital offense."
As soon as he finished speaking, a flash of cold steel cut through the air.
Slash!
Blood splattered across the ground.
The two ordinary guards were executed on the spot.
Rowan immediately jumped to his feet and cursed,
"You bastards! You actually killed my guards! Do you even know who I am? And you dare not bow when you see me? You two idiots!"
"Idiots?"
One of the gatekeepers slowly raised his head and looked at Rowan.
"So it's another idiot from the Donquixote family."
"Has your brain deteriorated so much that you've forgotten something this important?"
The other gatekeeper spoke with the same mocking tone.
"The Donquixote family that once abandoned its status as Celestial Dragons decades ago... grows more foolish with every generation."
Just those two sentences told Rowan several things.
Mary Geoise wasn't inhabited only by slobbering, useless Celestial Dragons like Saint Mataz.
There was also the God's Knights, the force responsible for enforcing punishment even upon Celestial Dragons.
From the prison interface, the two men before him had values of 320,000 and 480,000 respectively.
But could a single ancient mechanical soldier really require guards of this caliber?
"Donquixote Saint Mataz."
"Leave this place immediately."
"The God's Knights will notify you of your punishment afterward."
"As descendants of the Twenty Kings, having a fool like you among us is truly disgraceful."
"Leave. Now."
Rowan narrowed his eyes, weighing whether to strike immediately.
The two men before him alone were worth 800,000 points.
If he went back afterward and killed Saint Mataz as well he'd be close to earning two Diamond Treasure Chests.
"I just happened to wander over here."
"And you're actually going to punish me?"
"I'm a... noble Celestial Dragon!"
The instant those words left his mouth, Rowan suddenly leaped off Fisher Tiger's back and deliberately stumbled, falling onto the ground.
Someone was coming.
Rowan kicked Fisher Tiger.
"You stupid fish! You made me fall!"
"When we get back, I'll punish you!"
At that moment, a voice echoed through the air.
"Saint Mataz."
Rowan turned.
Standing there, leaning on a staff with both hands was Saint Saturn, the very same man his real body had met three days earlier.
At the same time, the two guards immediately bowed respectfully toward Saturn.
"Come with me."
As he spoke, Saturn pushed open the iron doors of the building.
An icy current surged out from within.
After a brief hesitation, Rowan followed.
Since this was only a Shadow Clone he could afford to be bolder.
As he stepped inside, he even snorted contemptuously at the two gatekeepers.
But the moment he entered the coldness enveloping the place made him pause.
It wasn't the physical chill of Kuzan's Ice-Ice Fruit.
The cold here seemed to target one's mind or perhaps one's soul.
After entering, Saturn walked ahead while Rowan followed behind.
Fisher Tiger, after taking two kicks, remained outside.
The interior of this building was completely different from what it looked like from the outside.
When Saturn reached a staircase leading underground Rowan saw four more figures or rather five.
This place was exactly the underground entrance from his memories, the staircase Imu had once descended.
Deep beneath it rested the giant straw hat and more importantly how had he been discovered?
A voice suddenly rang out.
"So we finally meet."
"Leader of the Revolutionary Army..."
"...Mr. 'Teacher'?"
The Five Elders had already surrounded him.
Behind them stood a dark figure wearing a crown.
The ripple-like eyes the attitude of the Five Elders and this very place Rowan instantly understood the person's identity.
Imu.
"So..."
"I never expected that above the Five Elders, the pinnacle of the world's authority there would be someone else."
Rowan deliberately put on a look of astonishment before asking,
"Can you at least tell me how you discovered me?"
"I know I left quite a few flaws, but I wasn't stupid enough to intentionally let myself be caught before meeting all of you."
In his memories, neither Fisher Tiger nor the Revolutionary Army Commanders and Sabo, who would later infiltrate Mary Geoise, had ever mentioned being tracked down so directly.
He could understand being unable to teleport.
But being found this quickly that was something he couldn't accept.
"If you hadn't reached this place it is true that no one would have discovered your infiltration for quite some time."
Saturn stopped there.
He said nothing more.
But Rowan had already formed a rough guess.
At that moment, Imu spoke.
"I'm curious since this was your destination do you know what lies here?"
Rowan smiled.
"Why would I tell you?"
Imu's voice remained as calm as ever.
"After your previous conversation with them, I originally believed you wouldn't come to Mary Geoise."
"But since you came there was never any possibility of leaving."
"So I assumed you would answer."
In the brief instant that followed, Rowan's Shadow Clone rapidly considered how to extract some information.
At this point, the operation had failed before it had truly begun.
Even now, he still couldn't confirm whether the giant mechanical soldier was actually beneath this place.
"Since I've already been discovered and can't teleport away I'm probably going to die anyway."
"But if we're going to talk shouldn't you at least show a little sincerity?"
Rowan looked directly at Imu.
"The thing beneath us it's important, isn't it?"or perhaps it's only important to all of you?"
Imu remained silent, simply watching Rowan.
Only after a long pause did he finally speak.
"There is no fear of death within you."
"Nor any regret."
"Even someone who has long since accepted death upon learning the reason for their exposure would at least feel a trace of remorse."
"But you do not."
"So are you confident you can leave this place?or do you truly fear neither death nor regret approaching this place despite being discovered?"
Rowan sighed.
Talking with ancient monsters like these really was exhausting.
It was just like that previous phone conversation with the Five Elders during the Flevance incident.
Every exchange was another layer of probing.
Neither side obtained the answers they wanted.
At most, they could only analyze insignificant clues from each other's questions.
Since the Shadow Clone would be destroyed soon anyway he might as well use it as bait.
"In a world like this death isn't the most terrifying thing."
"As for regret I've already come, and I've already been discovered."
"Regretting it now would be meaningless."
Rowan spread his hands.
"So even when facing someone who supposedly can't escape you're still this cautious."
"Question after question without revealing anything yourselves."
"You people who view every living creature other than yourselves as insects look rather ridiculous at times like this."
Imu fell silent once more.
After a while, he finally spoke again.
"The Revolutionary Army organizations bearing similar names have appeared more than once throughout history."
"But in the end every single one became nothing more than filthy rats in the gutter."
"They were exterminated."
"Completely erased."
Rowan narrowed his eyes.
"As I recall Mary Geoise was invaded two hundred years ago as well and the casualties were quite severe."
Saturn frowned.
"A shell of iron that had already lost its master posed almost no threat to the Holy Land."
"If it weren't still somewhat useful that thing would be worthless."
Behind him, Imu calmly added,
"It was merely a foolish attempt by those before you to give later generations like yours hope."
"But that is not the kind of world we desire."
As he spoke, Imu slowly raised one hand.
"From beginning to end no generation of Revolutionaries has ever been regarded as our equal."
"Not in the past."
"Not now."
"And not in the future."
"Judging from your eyes, I know you still have something to rely on."
"But I would very much like to know what that reliance is."
"Kill him."
The instant those words fell a blade of killing intent flashed across the room.
"Ah!"
Still wearing Saint Mataz's appearance, Rowan's Shadow Clone abruptly retreated.
Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro's blade swept past, an icy aura bursting from it.
As he retreated, Rowan's eyes narrowed.
The next instant, a jet-black, razor-sharp appendage shot out, sealing off his escape route.
Boom!
Rowan twisted aside. The blade-like claw pierced into the ground, corroding everything it touched.
After landing, Rowan finally got a clear look at what stood before him.
Five...
No.
Six monstrous figures.
Even the ones who hadn't made a move yet, including Imu, were watching him intently.
Rowan threw a punch.
Although the Shadow Clone possessed one-third of the original body's strength, its physical durability was nowhere near the same.
Knocking aside the sharp appendage, Rowan burst toward the exit.
"Without your teleportation ability you have no chance."
A gigantic bird-like monster suddenly appeared before him.
A brilliant light gathered in its beak before instantly firing toward Rowan.
Boom!
The ground shook violently.
Yet despite the tremendous commotion, no one from outside the building entered.
Racing through the spacious corridor, Rowan darted between the stone pillars, pushing his divided consciousness to its limit as he activated his Observation Haki.
"What happened to that flaming sword of yours?"
Nusjuro, now transformed into a skeletal horse-like monster, swung his blade once more, releasing another wave of bone-chilling cold.
Every possible avenue of escape had been sealed.
Then a gigantic maw suddenly appeared.
An overwhelming suction engulfed Rowan.
After only a brief struggle he was swallowed whole.
"Hmph."
From the moment Rowan entered the building until now, just over an hour had passed.
And from the instant Imu issued the order to kill him only three minutes had elapsed.
The Revolutionary known as the Cloaked Man had seemingly died so easily.
Even the arrogant Five Elders felt something was wrong.
The giant sandworm transformed back into human form.
"There are no remains but he couldn't have used teleportation."
"We've completely sealed his method of spatial travel because of him."
"Even we ourselves cannot use it at the moment..."
Saint Saturn's expression darkened.
He immediately turned and knelt before Imu.
"This servant has failed in his duty."
The other Four Elders followed suit, each dropping to one knee.
Before Imu the Five Elders referred to themselves as your servants.
After a long silence, Imu finally spoke.
"Sometimes even insects can use strange abilities to trouble the gods."
"If he could leave in that manner then the abilities we know of are clearly not all that he possesses."
"Saint Mataz's life has not been extinguished."
"Find him."
"Determine exactly what happened."
"One occurrence like this is enough."
"For them to set their sights on this place means they may already know things they should never have learned."
Imu descended toward the underground passage, his voice gradually fading away.
The Five Elders remained kneeling respectfully, each with a frown on their face.
Two days later.
The unconscious Saint Mataz was discovered inside a restroom by ten guards.
After the God's Knights confirmed his identity, the Celestial Dragon, who had been unconscious for five days, neither flew into a rage nor started cursing.
Instead he returned straight to his luxurious bedroom, wrapped himself tightly in a blanket, and trembled uncontrollably.
The guard who had "discovered" him was actually Rowan's second Shadow Clone.
The moment the real guards entered the restroom, that clone had already dispersed after moving the real Saint Mataz there.
Shadow Clone No. 1 had most likely failed.
When a Shadow Clone dispersed, its memories returned only to the original body.
They did not transfer to Shadow Clone No. 2.
However whether Clone No. 1 had failed or something else had happened their missions had always been different.
Once Clone No. 1 failed, Saint Mataz would inevitably be found.
His true identity would then undergo rigorous verification, exactly as expected, by the God's Knights.
Under those circumstances the best identity to assume became one of the search party guards.
Now it was time for Shadow Clone No. 2 to begin its own mission.
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