Golden Lion Shiki was ultimately enveloped by Chibaku Tensei before he could utter a single word.
Following the explosion of Chibaku Tensei, the Golden Lion's body was thrown from the sky into the sea.
Pain knew that the Golden Lion wouldn't die. Painwas well aware of the power of Chibaku Tensei at the moment. Due to insufficient Chakra, it wasn't enough to directly kill these Ability Users; at most, it would severely injure them and incapacitate them.
Pain instructed Oden to rescue the Golden Lion from the sea, while he stood in place and waited.
The Floating Island bobbed up and down, seemingly affected by the heavily injured Golden Lion, but it had not yet fallen.
Soon, the Golden Lion was carried by Oden and brought before Pain, then dropped to the ground.
"Pain, what do you intend to do?" Oden asked, his emotions complex.
From his heart, Oden still didn't wish for the Golden Lion to die. After all, they were people of the same era, and there weren't many living individuals with whom he had a connection left; one less meant one less.
However, if the Golden Lion insisted on merely surrendering rather than submitting, Pain certainly wouldn't show mercy.
Oden understood that surrender and submission were two different concepts and could not be lumped together.
Surrender simply meant, 'I can't beat you, I give up, I won't fight anymore,' and the person remained free.
Submission was different; it meant having to obey orders from then on, unable to resist, and losing one's freedom.
"Wake him up. It's time for him to make a choice," Painreplied.
Oden had a minion fetch medical supplies for the Golden Lion, then had another minion bring a jar of wine. He used the wine to directly splash the Golden Lion's face, waking him up.
The Golden Lion slowly regained consciousness, looking at Oden in front of him and Pain standing to the side. He couldn't help but feel a deep sense of loss.
"I'm old now, aren't I? Did I really lose to a mere youth?"
"Today's young people are truly extraordinary!"
"From now on, this will be the world of these young people, won't it?"
"Indigo left me a year ago..."
"I'm also old; it's time for me to withdraw from the stage of history."
"If only... I could go back to my youth, how wonderful that would be..."
Thoughts continuously drifted through the Golden Lion's mind, filling him with emotion.
Oden watched the awakened Golden Lion fall into a daze, no longer full of the vigor he once had, and secretly thought, 'This isn't good.'
It seemed the Golden Lion had fallen into a death wish, wanting to die.
Seeing this, Oden shouted loudly, "Shiki! What are you spacing out for? Snap out of it!"
Hearing Oden's voice, the Golden Lion's gaze gradually focused on Oden, then he looked at Painwith complex eyes. "You're waiting for my answer, aren't you, Pain?"
"Yes, it's time to make a choice," Pain slowly replied.
"Gyahahaha... ha... haha," the Golden Lion laughed loudly, his laughter shaking as it pulled at his wounds.
"Do my broken body and immense age still hold value for you young people?" The Golden Lion was 67 years old this year, a full 8 years older than Oden.
If it weren't for his age, the Golden Lion wouldn't have sent Indigo away a year ago, allowing his ambition to be extinguished by time.
Pain looked at the Golden Lion, also considering his own thoughts.
From his heart, Pain didn't care whether the Golden Lion lived or died; all Pain wanted was the power of the Golden Lion's Float-Float Fruit.
But from another perspective, the Golden Lion being alive still had benefits.
Firstly, the Golden Lion's application of the Float-Float Fruit's power should have reached its Peak, except for not being Awakened, which might be related to his body.
Secondly, the Golden Lion's combat power should have been stronger than Oden's in the past and is now inferior to Oden's, but he can still pose a threat to the Marine.
After all, his physical disability coupled with the ship's rudder stuck in his head, which couldn't be removed, prevented the Golden Lion's strength from advancing, and his Haki also stopped at the Intermediate level.
Thirdly, the Golden Lion's hostility towards the Marineand Oden's inner hopes also made Pain weigh his options.
Thinking of these, Pain opened his mouth and replied, "Your value to me is your hatred for the World Government. Without that, you have no value whatsoever."
Pain answered this way hoping the Golden Lionwouldn't forget his hatred for the World Government, rekindle his desire for revenge, and not seek death.
Oden felt a bit surprised and delighted by Pain's answer; it seemed Pain wasn't entirely heartless.
The Golden Lion's eyes, however, rekindled with fury. "That's right! The World Government hasn't been destroyed, so why should I die?"
"Gyahahaha... ha... haha, you're right! My value is to destroy the World Government, and seeing your strength, I realize this isn't a dream!" the Golden Lionreplied.
"Pain, I agree to join the Akatsuki, but if one day I don't see the World Government's downfall, you must complete it for me!" The Golden Lion spoke solemnly again, his eyes filled with the light of hope, looking at Pain with a serious expression.
"Yes, that's fine," Pain replied without any hesitation.
This was Pain's mission: to overthrow this world and rebuild the world order.
"From today onwards, you are Akatsuki's Kong Wu, code-named Kong. After your injuries heal, you will be given your clothes and ring."
"The moment you put on these clothes and wear the Kong ring signifies that you share the same destiny as us, bound together."
"From now on, no matter what happens, betrayal of the Akatsuki and its partners is not allowed. If you betray the Akatsuki and its partners, it is equivalent to betraying God's guidance and destiny. No matter where the traitor is, they will be hunted down by the entire Akatsuki worldwide. Do you understand?" Painadded solemnly, looking directly into the Golden Lion's eyes.
"Gyahahaha... ha, Akatsuki's Kong Wu, huh? That's very interesting. I'm growing to like our Akatsuki more and more," the Golden Lion replied with a laugh. Although laughing would pull at his wounds, the Golden Lion still liked to laugh.
Reno was driving the pirate ship at top speed towards Twin Cape.
The word "effort" was used because the ship was loaded with Materials, drawing too deep, so it couldn't go fast even if it wanted to. The submarine that was originally monitoring from the seabed was also nowhere to be found.
Reno had just passed Drum Kingdom, and six days had passed since he departed from Alabasta.
In an unnamed sea area of the New World, a warship was speeding towards Alabasta in the first half of the Grand Line.
Nero had quickly reached the New World sea area through the special sea area of the World Government's Gates of Justice, and then quickly found and killed Weevil's mother based on known intelligence.
However, it was impossible for the Marine to pass through the World Government's Gates of Justicewith Weevil. After all, this mission was carried out in secret and couldn't be known by too many people, so they could only travel along the normal route.
At the current speed of this warship, it would take at least about a month to reach Alabasta.
On the warship, Nero wasn't worried about Weevilcausing trouble; as long as the big simpleton had enough food, he wouldn't make a fuss.
In the Drum Kingdom sea area, a fleet of moderate size was following not far behind the pirate ship piloted by Reno.
This fleet was the one Spandine, Spandam's father, had dispatched to attack Reno's pirate ship. On the way to the Drum Kingdom sea area, they had already dealt with the submarine and everyone else through deception.
This fleet consisted of seven armed vessels, not standard Marine warships. On the bow of the leading ship stood a man holding binoculars, observing the pirate ship ahead. This man was Spandine, Spandam's father.
Spandine had already obtained all the intelligence from his son Spandam. The reason he agreed to his son's plan was also because he wanted to earn merit and monopolize the credit with his son.
Now, his son had presented a great achievement before him, and Spandine could already envision his rise in the World Government, as long as he captured that pirate ship ahead!...