For eight hundred years under the rule of the Celestial Dragons, they didn't even qualify to appear on the murals.
Because in the eyes of the Emperor, everything Imu did after becoming a human beacon was merely serving her alien masters.
In the next mural—
The faint remnant of the Emperor's essence that had returned to Laugh Tale, after a long period of recuperation, finally regained a sliver of vitality.
Yet the Emperor understood well: to return to his former peak, an unimaginably long time was still required.
And during that endless wait… perhaps the first thing to arrive would be that pyramid.
Thus, he adopted another method—an attempt to strengthen the world's defenses.
Using the genetic template from when he had first shaped his body, he created ten Primordial Lifeforms and secretly implanted them into the wombs of ten pregnant women.
Ten extraordinary children were born.
Each, driven by an indelible conviction engraved into their very genes, added a single letter to their names—one completely foreign to the world's existing writing system.
As their fame grew, that letter drew the attention of the world, and they came to be known as the Clan of the Hidden Name.
People speculated endlessly about the meaning of the letter.
Some believed it stood for Dawn, for the Hidden Name clan always sided with the weak.
Others thought it meant Doomsday, for members of the clan often possessed overwhelming power—capable of toppling an entire kingdom single-handedly.
And so time flowed on. The Primordial Lifeforms the Emperor had set loose passed their bloodlines down through the generations, continuously accumulating mutations.
Until one day—Gol D. Roger burst forth into the world!
Every potential mutation the Emperor had designed into the Primordial Lifeforms manifested perfectly in him, making him the most powerful Hidden Name in history.
The Emperor, deeply satisfied with this child at last, issued a summons of destiny.
With unmatched personal strength and a charisma that inspired all, Roger quickly gathered a formidable pirate crew and set out for Laugh Tale.
Through mural after mural, he came to understand the truth of this world.
But the Emperor and Roger also discovered that Roger's body was already on the verge of collapse.
Those terrifying mutations could never be sustained by a body born of humans.
And the Emperor, in his current weakened state, could not help Roger rebuild his body with energy, preserving those precious mutations within this Primordial Lifeform.
The call of destiny now felt like the mockery of fate.
For the first time, even the Emperor—whose will had never wavered—nearly bowed his head to despair.
But Roger… at that moment, he brought forth every virtue the Emperor and humanity had ever bestowed upon him.
With unwavering resolve, he chose to turn himself in to the Navy!
In truth, with his condition, as long as he avoided life-or-death battles, he could still have lived a century of pleasure and freedom.
Yet he gave it up without hesitation—
—to sow the seeds of the Pirate King into the hearts of every pirate whose blood still burned hot.
For he believed that among those inspired by his sacrifice, there would surely arise more and more mutants—ones even more perfect than himself!
And when those unexpected mutations, beyond even the Emperor-father's predictions, stacked upon one another, the day would come when they could stand against the gods themselves.
The final mural forever froze the grand moment of Roger laughing boldly as he offered his neck to the executioner's blade.
After reading, Roya's heart could not calm for a long time—
both from Roger's fearless sacrifice… and from the Emperor's disastrous governance.
A perfect hand of cards… completely played into the ground!
Who in their right mind, just to understand the enemy better, would recreate the enemy's antenna, sit in it, and act as the battery?!
That's like an old man overdosing on poison just to prove he's still got it!
Now it seemed… Imu was not only blameless, but highly meritorious!
If she hadn't suppressed the process of her body being converted into a transmission beacon—at the cost of descending into cold madness—that pyramid might have been summoned back long ago!
It also explained why Imu's mind was so unstable back in the Flower Room—
one moment bent on saving the world, the next aiding in its destruction!
At last, Roya saw it all clearly.
But… the mess left behind was terrifyingly huge.
Cough, cough!
A slightly awkward cough came from behind him.
Roya turned to see a shifting, formless flame in the central space. He sneered:
"I was wondering how long you were planning to keep playing dead."
The flame had already become a pure energy form, its outline a perfect match for the Emperor in the murals—but clearly, he still lacked the strength to rebuild his body.
The Emperor sighed.
"Help me, Outsider."
"You must understand… I am the Star-Spirit of this world."
"If they return, this world will suffer catastrophic devastation, for from that throne I saw countless planets annihilated by them."
"My fear of them… was never wrong."
Roya replied helplessly:
"Right now, I'm starting to think you're the thing they're actually trying to capture."
The Emperor paused, then nodded slowly.
"I had never considered that possibility… but clearly, you might be right."
"Regardless of what they want, to them we are nothing more than resources—like minerals."
Roya spread his hands.
"At your peak, you were far stronger than I am now. If you couldn't do it, how am I supposed to help you?"
The Emperor said urgently:
"I can give you all the energy I've accumulated over hundreds of years!"
Roya waved his hands in alarm.
"No, no, no! I don't like anyone injecting energy into me! Over my dead body!"
Then, switching topics, he fired off a barrage of questions:
"That mass of black gel in the pyramid—what is it?"
"What's the deal with the cherry-blossom dragon in Wano?"
"And seastone—did it exist before the pyramid came, or only after the life-seeds were sown?"
Finally, fixing the Emperor with a deadly serious gaze, he said:
"Especially that last question. Think very carefully before you answer. This is extremely, extremely important."
The Emperor froze in deep thought, muttering to himself:
"What a direct, piercing question… How have I never thought of this before?"
Roya rolled his eyes, too exasperated to even mock this ancient, battle-hardened… illiterate blockhead.
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