When Lloyd saw Garling again, Garling's hair had already turned completely white.
A brief flicker of surprise crossed Garling's face, but it vanished almost instantly, replaced by his usual composure.
However, after awakening his Vampire Logia, Lloyd's perception had reached an entirely new level. Even though Garling hid it well, Lloyd could still sense the faint tremble of his uncle's hands beneath his sleeves.
The uncle and nephew stood facing each other in silence for a long time, each seemingly waiting for the other to speak first.
In the end, Garling waved his hand, dismissing the surrounding servants. Once they had all retreated and the area was clear, his Adam's apple shifted slightly as he spoke in a low voice.
"Lloyd, you finally decided to wake up?"
Lloyd gave a small nod. His gaze lingered on Garling's white hair, and a faint chuckle escaped him.
"Uncle Garling, it seems both of us old men have aged quite a bit."
Before arriving, Lloyd's long silver hair had already been neatly tied back by Lucia. Under the sunlight, it shimmered with a radiant glow, clearly not the dull white of age.
Garling understood the tease immediately and snorted with feigned irritation.
"You brat, you slept for twenty-two years, and the first thing you do after waking up is mock your uncle?"
Lloyd laughed softly. He stepped forward at an unhurried pace until he stood close to Garling.
"Uncle Garling, you are not young anymore, so stop trying to match your nephew's hair color."
Garling raised a brow, about to reply, but in the next instant Lloyd vanished from where he stood.
A blur of motion, then Lloyd appeared beside him and sank his teeth into Garling's neck.
Garling did not resist at all. Even as Lloyd bit down, he merely stiffened for a brief moment before frowning slightly.
"Lloyd, what exactly are you doing?"
Lloyd lifted his head slowly, a faint, calculating smile playing at the corners of his lips.
Moments later, Garling felt it.
Something was wrong.
No, not wrong, different.
A surge of vitality coursed through his body. The fatigue he had long grown accustomed to vanished in an instant. His skin, once faintly loose with age, tightened and regained elasticity. Even his hair began to darken strand by strand.
Within moments, his entire body underwent a visible transformation. Decades seemed to peel away from him, and the process only stopped when his appearance returned to that of a man in his prime, around his thirties.
Lloyd stepped back slightly, observing the result with quiet satisfaction.
"Well, Uncle Garling, how does it feel?"
Garling did not answer immediately. Even for someone like him, this ability was beyond expectation.
He raised his hand and clenched it tightly. The muscles in his arm bulged instantly, brimming with explosive strength. Dark lightning crackled faintly around him, a manifestation of his Conqueror's Haki.
Lloyd's eyes narrowed slightly in appreciation.
"Your Conqueror's Haki has grown even stronger."
Garling's Haki had always been monstrous. Now, paired with a restored body in its prime, it had become something even more terrifying.
Unlike Armament Haki and Observation Haki, Conqueror's Haki relied heavily on the passage of time and personal growth. With decades of experience compressed into a rejuvenated body, Garling's strength had reached an absurd level.
It was, in every sense, an unfair advantage.
After a moment, Garling exhaled slowly and turned his gaze toward Lloyd.
"Your Devil Fruit has awakened as well, hasn't it?"
Lloyd nodded and briefly explained the ability known as "First Embrace."
Garling listened quietly. When Lloyd finished, his expression turned rather complicated, as if amused yet helpless.
"So, my life is in your hands now."
Lloyd let out a soft laugh.
"You make it sound far more dramatic than it is. With your Haki, you could break free from it at any time. It only depends on whether you choose to."
Garling snorted.
"Why would I? If you want your uncle's life, you can take it. But before that, you should take over as the Commander of the God's Knights."
Lloyd waved his hand dismissively.
"I will pass on that. I am not like you, Uncle Garling, staying in Mary Geoise every day. If I became the Commander, I would end up neglecting my duties. I might as well take the position of Fleet Admiral first."
Garling glanced at him.
"That position was originally meant for you. If you had not slept for twenty-two years, it would not have fallen to Sengoku. Even now, he is only holding it in name. If you want it, you can take the position of Fleet Admiral at any time."
Lloyd spread his hands slightly, his tone calm.
"You make it sound like the Marines belong to our family."
Garling's gaze remained steady.
"Do they not?"
Lloyd gave a faint smile.
"Our influence may be enough to place me in that position, but holding it is another matter. The Five Elders will not tolerate it for long, and becoming Fleet Admiral does not mean true control over the Marines. They are soldiers. Without achievements, they will not respect you."
He paused briefly.
"Otherwise, I would not have only just become an Admiral."
For most, such words would sound arrogant beyond belief.
But Garling simply nodded in agreement.
The situation within the God's Knights was no different. Even within the Figarland Family, leadership was never guaranteed by blood alone. Strength was the only thing that truly commanded loyalty.
After a moment of thought, Garling spoke again.
"Do as you wish. By the way, are you aware that Aramaki has not been promoted to Admiral all these years?"
"I have heard. I will deal with it soon enough. Otherwise, Saint Warcury might truly start believing I am dead."
Garling nodded slightly.
"Aramaki is your man. It is better for you to handle it. Here in Mary Geoise, everyone knows you are alive, but outside, many still believe you died long ago."
Lloyd let out a quiet chuckle.
"Then they are in for quite the disappointment."
Garling gave him a sidelong glance.
"You only have yourself to blame for sleeping twenty-two years."
Lloyd's expression turned colder.
"I had no intention of sleeping that long. I should have awakened much earlier."
A trace of ridicule flickered across his face as memories surfaced.
His final battle with Gol D. Roger.
Back then, he had absorbed Roger's blood, which carried the essence of Nika. Stimulated by that power, his Dark-Dark Fruit had successfully awakened.
It should have been a fortunate turn of events.
Instead, after the battle, Lloyd fell into a deep slumber. The lingering Nika essence within his body constantly suppressed his awakening. Every time he neared consciousness, it would resurface and interfere, like an irritant he could not ignore.
He had been forced to spend years eradicating it completely.
Thinking of this, Lloyd's gaze sharpened.
"Uncle Garling, I heard there is now a user of the Rubber Fruit on the seas, a boy named Monkey D. Luffy. He has caused quite a stir. What about the Five Elders? Do they not take it seriously?"
Garling folded his arms, his tone dismissive.
"Of course they know. It is simply that without you, the Marines are no longer as effective as they once were."
A faint smirk appeared on his face.
"Even Saint Warcury admitted as much. Back then, he did not want Sengoku to become Fleet Admiral either."