Chapter 280: I Saw You
"You... you are..."
Saturn of course recognized the figure that had suddenly appeared in the sky.
After all, the other party's wife had died in his research, the other party's daughter had contracted an incurable disease because of him, and even the other party's life had almost belonged to him.
He was the descendant of a race Saturn detested, a pawn he should have controlled but had slipped from his grasp.
"Bartholomew Kuma—how could you..."
Therefore, Saturn's eyes widened in disbelief.
At this moment, many things connected in his mind.
When he thought Kuma was about to fall under his control, the other party had suddenly disappeared from Egghead Island. Since then, there had been no trace of Kuma or his daughter, nor any word from Vegapunk about it.
"Are you a member of the Twelve Zodiacs, and that guy Vegapunk too?"
As he realized this, Saturn's anger at being deceived was indescribable.
"You damned insects, daring to fool this old man..."
But his words couldn't finish.
Because at this moment, he had already seen Kuma's actions.
"As you said, I am Codename: 'Teido-kaku' of the Dog Division of the Twelve Zodiacs, and Vegapunk is Codename: 'Hekisui-yu' among Sheep Division."
"As for insects..."
Kuma's words, unusually tinged with teasing, seemed to say, "Mr. Saturn, doesn't your current appearance fit that word better, don't you think?"
As he said this, he looked at Saint Saturn, whose form and posture resembled a spider.
"You..."
At this moment, Saint Saturn glared with his fierce eyes—an invisible blade of gaze stabbed towards Kuma.
But Kuma simply raised his hand lightly.
"Snap!"
The invisible shockwave was bounced away by the paw pad in his palm, and Kuma's gaze turned to Saturn.
At this moment, many things flashed through his mind.
Some were fragments from his memories.
For example, his father, the kind father who taught him to be optimistic and full of hope, his final moments.
"The world will be free, Kuma."
At that time, his father, scarred from long years of slavery, wore shackles and performed the Nika dance, passed down through generations of their tribe, for his son.
But...
"So noisy, you slave over there."
"Bang!"
Accompanied by the displeased voice of a Celestial Dragon, the sinful gunshot and bright red blood, along with the sound of a falling body, descended.
"Hey, hey, these are the Buccaneer tribe that the Five Elders specifically ordered to be passed down as slaves for generations. Don't kill them all."
"Isn't there one left? It's perfect as a specimen, isn't it?"
"Hahaha, a slave from a race that committed great sins... How much would it cost to collect?"
No one cared about the father's death, and no one even knew his name.
And this was not an isolated case.
The suffering and desolate lives of the people in non-affiliated countries exterminated by the world government.
The people oppressed and humiliated by the Celestial Dragons, those beaten to despair by the reality of the world.
Kuma had witnessed too many such tragedies in his life.
And in the next moment, he recalled something he had recently heard from Jinbe.
For example, the origin of the 'Sapphire Scales' on Bonney, or the experiences Ginny had suffered...
So...
"I'm usually quite easy to get along with."
Kuma, whom Vegapunk had even labeled a 'kind,' spoke for the first time with words tinged by coldness and... anger.
Kind people are always gentle and polite.
Kind people always hope for peace.
But kind people also get angry.
He clenched his fist.
"But..."
"Only you, I can never forgive—and I don't want to!"
As the words fell.
"Hiss!"
Saturn's spider legs, already cloaked in venom, lunged forward.
But...
"Snap!"
Kuma raised his hand again and slapped, swatting away Saturn's appendage.
"You damn..."
And at this moment, Saturn, who was already extremely panicked, hadn't even managed to utter his insult.
Kuma had already swung his fist!
"Bang!"
In this instant, the paw-paw fruit in his hand bounced air, and the resulting force almost exceeded the limit that a giant could withstand.
Its speed was so fast it was like a giant cannonball that had been accelerated by a jet.
"Boom!"
The punch, capable of shattering mountains, struck Saint Saturn's face directly in the next moment.
Saturn's face instantly caved in.
"This punch... is for Klapp—my father!"
Kuma murmured.
Then...
"This punch is for little Tommy, who starved to death in the Alabasta Kingdom."
"This punch is for Father Anka of the Kia Church."
"This punch is for Miss Milola's daughter from God Valley."
From Kuma's mouth came the names of people he had encountered and seen in his life.
Even though Saturn had long forgotten their names—he and the world would never remember the names of insects.
But Kuma remembered.
"Boom!" (4x)
Punch after punch after punch!
Every punch Kuma threw was with his full strength, each one striking Saturn's face directly, hitting Saturn so hard that his body couldn't even recover from those punches.
"You..."
And at this moment, Saturn, unable to recover from the barrage of punches, showed horror and anger in his beast-like eyes.
Of course, Kuma was not a top execute of The Zodiac so he had no possibility of killing him.
But for Saturn at this moment, the truly fatal thing was below.
"No-no..."
Looking at the figure slowly approaching with Shusui hand amidst the ruins of Egghead Island below, Saturn's panic intensified.
He wanted to struggle, but Kuma's masterful control over the paw-pad fruit gave him no chance to resist.
He could only watch as his body, under Kuma's attack, drew closer and closer to Hebi (Snake).
Until finally...
"This is for... Bonney and Ginny!"
He heard Kuma's final words.
And the punch that came at him, compressed to its absolute limit by the paw-paw fruit.
Saturn even felt as if he could sense the pent-up resentment of many years contained within that punch.
"Boom!"
Saturn's figure plummeted downwards!
And it was laughable—he, who viewed everyone as insects, was at this moment like a spider being swatted down.
He crashed into the earth, creating a massive crater beneath the ground.
"Hum!"
The power of the Abyss Sea Contract allowed him to recover quickly, and he struggled to climb out of the deep pit.
But...
It was already meaningless.
Because when he looked up, he saw the black sword raised high.
It was a scene like a nightmare.
The next moment... the black sword descended!
"Ah!"
Accompanied by Saturn's scream—his body was split in two from his head. A part of the Abyss Sea Contract within his body was once again severed.
"Lord Imu!"
"My Lord, save me!"
Saint Saturn let out a low growl.
His only response was blow after blow, slash after slash, of relentless strikes!
"Fierce Eyes... Ah, Ugh!"
"Venom Spit..."
And Saint Saturn's attempts at self-rescue were completely futile. Soon, the entire situation became one-sided as Hebi's (Snake) sword continuously cut Saturn down, while the latter's body's recovery speed grew slower and slower.
"As expected..."
And at this moment, Hebi (Snake) even began to ponder with interest.
"Judging from the current situation, without the contract, the Five Elders, the God Knights, most of them are 'trash'."
"They can't fully wield the power given to them by Imu, they're just idiots swinging their blades around, relying on immortality."
He even felt a bit sorry for Imu.
To be honest, the Five Elders were certainly not weak.
Their abilities were all strong, and they possessed powerful Conqueror's Haki and various abilities from Bloodline Factor Origin Energy.
And honestly although Hebi (Snake) gained the ability to kill them after creating the first 'Star Fruit,' and also strengthened himself through the contract and the 'Source Energy Lineage Factor' transferred from his main body.
Even so, it only brought the battle to a 'fair' level.
The Five Elders were not without the ability to fight.
After all, although the 'Sword God Fruit' was a new Devil Fruit that transcended this world's Pillar of Creation and could kill the Five Elders, it was true.
But the contract on the Five Elders could still allow them to perform a few limited 'resurrections.'
Compared to them, Hebi (Snake) was even at a disadvantage Roy didn't have much Source Energy Lineage Factor left, and could only revive Hebi (Snake) 1 to 2 more times at most.
So if they were to fight to the death, the Five Elders actually had the possibility of killing Hebi (Snake).
If the Five Elders were truly strong individuals comparable to the Four Emperors or the Three Admirals, with such willpower and combat skills, then they would still be a troublesome opponent for Hebi (Snake), and Roy might have had to think of other methods.
However, the Five Elders were clearly not such beings.
The moment they realized they had the possibility of 'dying,' their first choice was to retreat.
Saint Saturn, upon discovering his colleagues retreating, immediately chose to flee.
Weak, cowardly, despicable after being stripped of their disguise of 'immortality,' the so-called Five Elders revealed their ugly and uninteresting souls.
"Imu must have also realized this, which is why he is seeking change."
Roy understood this in his heart.
And he was even more certain after this battle, Imu's dissatisfaction with the Five Elders would surely grow even greater.
Of course, that was all for later.
For Roy now...
"Hiss!"
With another slash that cut Saturn's body in two.
Hebi (Snake) saw that Saturn's body, at this moment, erupted with a pitch-black radiance.
Then...
"Ahhh!"
Saturn's eyes, nose, mouth blackness spread from all parts of his body.
"No, this old man...Imu-sama!-no!....."
He wailed, but his body continued to decay, as if being burned by flames.
Finally...
"Thump!"
His body turned to a skeleton and fell to the ground.
"He didn't choose to 'descend,' but gave up on Saturn?"
Seeing this scene, Hebi (Snake) secretly thought to himself.
Yes at this moment, Saturn's 'Abyss Sea Contract' was finally completely severed.
He was no longer Imu's 'contractor'—therefore, the essence of 'the Abyss' and the Source Energy Lineage Factor contained within his body no longer took effect, no longer maintained his 'immortality.'
Time flowed through him again, causing him to decay and die directly.
This made Hebi (Snake) a little disappointed.
To be honest, he had been quite looking forward to that 'god' descending more power.
However...
"This is enough to compensate for my current expenditure."
At this time, Hebi (Snake)'s gaze turned to Saint Saturn, who had turned into a corpse.
['Source Energy Lineage Factor · Wish · Evil' detected]
[Absorb immediately?]
Without hesitation, Hebi (Snake) immediately responded in his heart.
"Absorb immediately."
And with his mental response.
"Hum!"
Around Saturn's skeleton, the 'Bloodline Factor Origin Energy' that seemed to be following invisible veins and was being recovered by Imu was, at this moment, suddenly intercepted by some immense power.
Then, they all began to surge into Hebi (Snake)'s body.
And at the same time, beneath Hebi (Snake)'s mask.
Roy, in a trance, seemed to have established a connection with that 'Lord Im.'
He could seemingly see inside the 'Flower Room.'
Lord Imu, who was clutching his chest, his cold gaze, as if gathering all the malice in the world.
But at this moment, Roy's heart was not flustered.
He simply pointed to his eyes, then pointed to Imu.
The meaning was very clear.
"I saw you." Star Lord said.
The once mysterious god, hidden in the darkness, was no longer mysterious to him.
He had found the power sufficient to threaten a god even though only one 'Star Fruit' had been born, and although this path had only just begun.
But he could already see the other party's shadow.
What he needed to do now was simply to catch up, and then... surpass him.