Chapter 206: Imu, Your Era Is Coming to an End!
"Ahhhh, damn you, Silas!"
Kuja Pirates, aboard the Perfumed Serpent.
Gloriosa lay sprawled on a soft, large bed, clutching a pillow and rolling around. Occasionally, she'd press the pillow flat and knead it, as though treating it like some emotionally dense man.
When had Gloriosa ever suffered such humiliation?
As Amazon Lily's Empress and the Kuja Pirates' captain, Gloriosa had caused a sensation the moment she debuted, attracting countless pirates and Marines' attention. She was many pirates and Marines' dream woman.
Yet someone like her had thrown herself at Silas, only to be rejected.
"What does he mean I'm inferior to Shakky in every way?"
Gloriosa held the pillow between her teeth, grinding it. "That little brat has no chest and no curves. How could she possibly compare to me?"
"Unless..." A thought crossed her mind. "That guy likes them young?"
Gloriosa lay in bed, thoughts spiraling out of control. She completely failed to realize that initially, she'd wanted to use her feminine wiles to capture Silas's heart. Yet after this encounter, it was Silas, who showed no interest in her, who had captured her attention instead.
People were like that. The more unattainable something was, the more they wanted it.
If Silas had easily fallen for her charms, then, regardless of his strength and status, in Gloriosa's eyes, he'd just be another man under her thumb.
But Silas's dismissiveness had triggered Gloriosa's rebellious psychology instead.
So what if he was the King of the World?
She refused to believe anyone could truly remain unmoved by her charm.
After all, Silas wasn't some celibate old man. He had women. Many women.
Silas having so many women proved he was not only lustful but also a womanizer. Yet if Silas was both lustful and a womanizer, what did it mean that he showed zero interest in her?
The key issue was that Gloriosa genuinely hadn't detected even a hint of attraction from Silas. As if she was just some irrelevant passerby.
Infuriating!
The Kuja Pirates had already sold off all their plundered cargo. Because of Silas's presence, their Sabaody Archipelago trip had been completely smooth except for Shakky's initial kidnapping.
Even the Marines remaining on the island pretended not to see them.
Don't cause any complications!
That was the order the Marine higher-ups gave to the soldiers stationed at Sabaody Archipelago.
Forget the Marine soldiers. This entire week, not a single Celestial Dragon had been seen on Sabaody Archipelago. Usually, quite a few Celestial Dragons' favorite pastime was touring Sabaody Archipelago, enjoying the lower world's worship.
Publicly, the World Government couldn't possibly admit they feared the Celestial Dragons might carelessly provoke Silas and get themselves killed by him. They announced the bubble lifts on the Red Line were under maintenance.
As for how long the maintenance would take, that depended on how long Silas stayed at Sabaody Archipelago.
The Kuja Pirates could have already left, but because Shakky was still with Silas, the group of Amazon Lily female warriors hadn't departed directly. Though they generally only operated in the Grand Line's first half, they didn't mind establishing good relations with Silas.
In fact, if not for Petrea, the vice-captain and previous Empress, stopping them, the Amazon Lily female warriors would have already sought him out.
That was the New World's King!
The Kuja Pirates merely occupied an island in the Calm Belt, but Silas had claimed the entire New World and stood in confrontation with the World Government.
As the new Empress, Gloriosa only needed to think about how to make Silas fall at her feet. As the previous Empress, Petrea had to consider much more.
However, endlessly delaying wasn't a solution either, so Petrea finally decided to visit Silas together with Gloriosa to ask what he actually wanted.
And to check whether Silas had done anything to Shakky.
Though Silas was the New World's King and the Kuja Pirates were just a small crew that could only dominate locally, if Silas truly did something so unconscionable, the Kuja Pirates absolutely wouldn't let it slide.
When Petrea and Gloriosa arrived at Silas's temporary base, they thought they'd encountered another Kuja Pirates crew.
The person throwing punches outside the base was Ripley.
Though her growth had gradually slowed, at sixty years old for a giant, she was equivalent to a twenty-year-old young woman. Just because she couldn't make dramatic improvements in a short time didn't mean Ripley had reached her limit.
Her Devil Fruit ability had already awakened. Next, she needed to train her combat techniques, physique, and Haki.
Nothing else mattered. If she wanted to keep up with Silas in bed, poor stamina wouldn't do.
At the same time, having also come from the remote island nation of Elbaf, Ripley gave the Amazon tribe's female warriors the most familiar feeling, like seeing kinfolk in a foreign land.
However, both Petrea and Gloriosa knew that this woman, about their height and radiating wild vitality, was actually the great pirate with a bounty of 215 million Berry, and she was a giant.
Only Ripley's Mini-Mini Fruit could shrink her to about normal human size.
As for why she maintained this size, "Because I love being held in Captain's strong arms!" That was what Ripley told a reporter during a news interview.
It was also the first time it was confirmed that Silas had more-than-friendly relationships with his female crew members.
Pirates generally concealed their relatives' existence because, for men making a living on the seas, exposing their families meant handing their weakness to enemies.
Unless truly heartless, no one could watch their important people fall into enemy hands and remain unmoved.
But Ripley had still exposed her relationship with Silas.
Because Silas was strong enough. Because she was strong enough.
Besides those few top-tier fighters you could count on one hand, below them, someone like Ripley with a bounty over 200 million was already a powerhouse among powerhouses.
In another world, most people jokingly called this level "Commander tier," the Four Emperors' right-hand fighters.
This level of strength meant that even facing those absolute top fighters, they could hold out for a while. Unless beings like Silas, Imu, and Harald, who were far stronger than ordinary Admiral-level fighters, personally acted, no one could take down Ripley instantly.
This level of strength allowed her to openly declare, 'I'm White King Silas's woman!'
This stimulated Amatsuki Toki and Stussy to start extra training. Even if they couldn't reach top-tier fighter status, at least they couldn't drag Silas down.
Only Lily completely gave up. This earliest crew member by Silas's side had long reached her limit. To continue growing, she could only improve her ammunition, making her bullets unleash stronger power.
After all, the standard for top-tier great pirates was advanced applications of Armament and Observation Haki. Already possessing Observation Haki capable of seeing the future, if Lily could make her bullets explode with power matching Armament Haki's internal destruction, she'd have top-tier great pirate strength.
Lily's previous compensation method was Dyna Stones. After loading Dyna Stones into bullets, during the battle against Sphinx and Sebastian, Lily made the Admiral-level Sebastian suffer.
But Dyna Stones were basically guarded by the Marines. Obtaining them was nearly impossible, so Lily had no choice.
The blonde beauty spent her days either reading books or newspapers, occasionally displaying the youthful body she'd recovered after taking the youth hormone, seducing Silas.
So when Petrea and Gloriosa arrived, they immediately saw two stunning beauties whose looks matched theirs, every movement displaying completely different charms of wildness and maturity.
Mature Lily corresponded to Petrea. Wild Ripley corresponded to Gloriosa.
Seeing Lily and Ripley instantly, both understood why Silas showed no interest in the two Kuja Pirates Empresses.
Because he already had good ones at home. No need to look elsewhere.
"You're asking about Captain?" Seeing Petrea and Gloriosa, Lily and Ripley immediately recognized them as female pirates from the Kuja Pirates.
While Petrea and Gloriosa examined Lily and Ripley, Lily and Ripley were also examining them.
Final assessment: No threat!
Petrea went without saying. Already the previous Amazon Lily Empress, though she still looked young, her real age exceeded thirty, and she'd lost to Gloriosa.
Gloriosa might possibly become one of them, but monopolizing Silas's favor was impossible.
Right. Their so-called "no threat" didn't mean Gloriosa couldn't become one of them, but that even if Gloriosa joined them, she could only integrate into their group.
"Captain's not here right now. He went to Mary Geoise to chat with someone."
Hearing Ripley's words, both women were shocked.
"Mary Geoise?"
"Chat with someone?"
Silas truly had both skill and audacity. If it were ordinary pirates, even if they actually broke into Mary Geoise, the World Government's powerhouses probably wouldn't bother chasing them.
But Silas was different. Currently, the World Government desperately wants him dead. At a time like this, Silas going to Mary Geoise was no different from walking into a trap.
Yet Silas still went.
Imu's emphasis on the Machine Island scientists exceeded Silas's expectations, so Silas's guess was correct.
Imu captured the Machine Island scientists to deal with him.
If an ordinary siege couldn't kill him, then just use an attack with sufficient range that could erase an entire island instantly.
Realizing this, Silas knew he couldn't stay at Sabaody Archipelago anymore.
If it were top-tier fighters attacking, with Silas's Observation Haki range, he could escape with everyone before enemies surrounded him.
But if it were an instant, large-scale attack, Silas wasn't sure he could evacuate everyone from Sabaody Archipelago in just a few seconds.
Since he couldn't, he'd drag the Celestial Dragons down with him.
He didn't believe that with him at Mary Geoise, Imu would dare bomb her own home!
Thus, Imu raged impotently once more.
"Damn damn damn damn!"
If Silas were right in front of Imu, she would have already dismembered him with her sword. But before Imu were only Silas's photographs, so she only dismembered his photos.
Stab you! Stab you! Stab you!
Gunko mentally added psychological narration to Imu's actions but maintained an expressionless, respectful appearance externally.
Though always showing respect for Imu, even now, somehow, after seeing Imu's performance, Gunko felt Imu's dignity had dropped to the floor.
Only Imu, immersed in her emotions, failed to notice this.
"Jaygarcia, is it ready yet?"
As if seeing Silas strolling around Mary Geoise's vicinity, Imu asked through gritted teeth.
"Lord Imu, soon."
"Don't be vague!!!"
"At most one month!"
Hearing the Warrior God of Science and Defense, Saint Jaygarcia Saturn, give her a deadline, Imu's expression finally improved slightly.
"Make it quick!"
Imu couldn't stand delaying with Silas even one more moment. She didn't believe Silas would stay at Mary Geoise forever.
Once Uranus finished charging and Silas left Mary Geoise, wherever he appeared, the moment he showed himself, she'd launch an attack.
They were already this world's pinnacle, but above them still existed something called Ancient Weapons.
Unless you had an immortal body like hers, no one could survive a direct hit from Uranus.
"!!!"
Imu's eyes suddenly widened.
"Insolent!!!"
A figure suddenly descended from the sky, appearing on the Room of Flowers' balcony, then sat there right in front of Imu and Gunko.
Conqueror's Haki clashed.
But what even Imu hadn't expected was that five years ago, Silas had no power to resist her true body's Conqueror's Haki.
Yet now...
BOOM!
The materialized Conqueror's Haki collision produced a shockwave that instantly swept across all of Mary Geoise. Countless Celestial Dragons felt this Conqueror's surge and promptly fainted.
Meanwhile, the Five Elders in the conference hall changed expressions drastically, but by the time they rushed to support, it was too late.
"Though I'd considered waiting until the final battle to finish you in one go, as expected, humanity's greatest enemy is our own curiosity."
"It was originally just speculation, but now..."
Silas sat on the balcony, looking at the two figures in the garden below, laughing heartily.
"So the King of the World is a woman!"
Though Imu wore a white cloak, Silas still saw the young face beneath her hood. Eight hundred years had passed. Imu had ruled this world for eight hundred years, yet time hadn't left the slightest trace on her.
But all of this ended here.
"You wanted to use Uranus to kill me? Too late. Acropolis Port was your last chance. You ultimately lacked that bit of resolve."
"So I'll win, and you'll lose."
"Imu."
"Your era is coming to an end!"