The word "Mother Flame" instantly made Shaka's mind go blank, and cold sweat broke out all over his body.
The Mother Flame... from the project's inception to every step of the experiment, it was a secret of secrets. The main body had created it to provide an infinite source of energy for the world.
And what made Shaka's scalp tingle was that the name "Mother Flame" was something his main body had only come up with not long ago. And in such a short time, the "Archangel" Louis, a pirate, had already learned of its name. This left Shaka completely stunned.
Louis glanced at the dazed Shaka, then turned to look at Judge. "Judge, take him to the laboratory! Have him help speed up the experiment. Your project hasn't had any effective progress for a long time."
Judge heard him and, shedding his previous angry and resistant demeanor, nodded. "Alright, I understand."
Asmodai's glance from just now had instantly sobered him up. The calmed-down Judge gradually recalled that Louis, a Sea Emperor and called the strongest by many in the New World, had really given him a lot of face. Not only had he given him whatever he wanted in terms of funds and materials, but even his attitude and politeness were several times better than his previous employers.
This series of events had made Judge's reverence for the Sea Emperors gradually decrease, and he had unconsciously placed himself in a false position of equality with Louis. It wasn't until just now that he had been jolted awake. Archangel Louis had more than a dozen powerful executives under his command, each capable of wiping out Germa. This man, whose personal strength and influence were both at the pinnacle, had given him a lot of face. But he, on the other hand, had almost failed to understand his own position.
The awakened Judge's pupils trembled slightly, and beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead. He hadn't even noticed when Louis and Asmodai had left. It wasn't until Shaka stepped forward and called out to him that he gradually came back to his senses.
In a dim corridor.
Asmodai placed the twin-tailed little girl on her shoulder and followed Louis's steps at an unhurried pace.
"I say, Artus!"
"Is there something you need?" Louis turned his head, looking at the woman who had first tortured her big brother until he was no longer human, and was now carrying his little sister on her shoulder without any psychological burden.
A thoughtful expression appeared on Asmodai's beautiful face. "What is the Mother Flame?"
To this, Louis looked up, his gaze seeming to pierce through the walls and the sky, landing on a place that was almost unreachable by anyone. "You could say it's a replica of the 'sun' from the murals in the ruins where Alina discovered Baal."
Asmodai heard him, her eyes widening. "Wait, the place where Baal was discovered... wasn't that a garbage dump full of experimental subjects and prototype warships? There were murals there?"
Louis stopped, gave her a rather surprised look. "What? Didn't Alina take you all there?"
Asmodai did not answer, but her frustrated look said it all. To this, Louis did not say much more, because he himself only had a partial understanding. Saying too much to others would only confuse them.
Then, Louis parted ways with Asmodai, who was returning the little girl, and went back to the Treasure Tree Adam.
At the same time, in the 6th area of the Treasure Tree Adam.
A tall man in a black cloak, holding a barrel, walked slowly, measuring this world in the clouds with his feet. As he walked, the tall man spoke in a gentle tone that was quite at odds with his large build. "We're walking in a world on a tree right now, Bonney. This tree is one of the only few Treasure Trees of Adam in the world. Even one of its branches is large enough for people to build a village on."
"According to the legends, the largest Adam tree in the Giant Kingdom... its branches are even large enough for giants to build villages on!"
As his gentle voice fell, a rather annoyed child's voice came from the barrel, which was covered in black cloth. "Tch. No matter what you say, I can't see it!"
"Don't worry. You'll be able to see the Adam tree at night— When night comes, I'll take you to a place where you can see it clearly."
"Really, Papa?!" The child's voice from the barrel became cheerful, filled with expectation.
The tall man nodded and replied softly, "Of course. I would never lie to you."
Then, as if he had thought of something, he smiled and said again, "By the way, Bonney! Your favorite songstress, Uta, also lives on this tree!"
"Uta?! She's here too?!"
"Really. She and that doctor who can heal you... they are all here. With that person's ability, he can definitely cure you—"
Bartholomew Kuma turned his head and met the eyes of a giant dog that had quietly arrived, and he silently clenched his fists.
And this giant dog, seeing that it had been discovered, simply dropped its pretense and openly approached, sniffing at the scent on Kuma. The next moment, after catching the scent, the giant dog sat down, its tail wagging slowly. But when it saw his face, the tail stopped wagging. The unique scent made the giant dog feel a sense of familiarity, but this strange face made it confused.
Soon, another group of yellow giant dogs came over, sniffing at his scent. In the blink of an eye, a strange scene appeared in the 6th area of the Treasure Tree Adam. One after another, yellow giant dogs were sitting neatly in place, all tilting their heads as they looked at a man who was standing there holding a wooden box.
This scene made Kuma subconsciously show a slight smile. "These partners of the Buccaneer race... can they even smell the Buccaneer Lineage Factor in my body?"
Soon, the Buccaneer warriors, who had just returned not long ago, also discovered this scene. They all walked out of their houses and gathered around. This scene left these young warriors at a loss; it was the first time they had ever seen such a thing.
Soon, the crowd parted, making way for the arriving Dong Yi. He looked at the scene, his brow slightly furrowed. He then walked directly up to Kuma. "Who—are you?"
Kuma raised a hand and took off the hood of his cloak, revealing his face. "My name is Bartholomew Kuma," he said sincerely. "My daughter has a very rare disease. I have come here to ask the Archangel to treat her."
"Seeking treatment?" Dong Yi repeated the phrase, a flash of understanding in his eyes. If it were anyone else, Dong Yi might have just told them to leave, take a sea beast to the plaza to queue, and wait for the Mist Ship heading for the "Healing Formula." But the man before him had caused this abnormal behavior in the dogs, which made him have to be cautious.
Then, Dong Yi pointed at the giant dog that was tilting its head and looking at Kuma. "What did you do to them?" he asked thoughtfully.
To this, Kuma replied flatly, "I did nothing to them. They just became like this after they smelled the scent on me."
Dong Yi heard this, completely bewildered, and also became a little confused. But soon, it was as if a current had passed through his mind, and his whole body jolted. His expression became a little unnatural, his hands trembling unconsciously.
He looked at Kuma's tall and sturdy build and his square face, which was similar to their own, and asked tentatively, "You wouldn't happen to be a Buccaneer too, would you?"
At these words, the group of young people behind Dong Yi instantly became agitated, in an uproar.
Hearing this, a hint of sadness flashed in Kuma's mind. Painful memories flooded his heart, and he fell into a brief silence. After a long while, he lowered his eyes and said in a low voice, revealing the past he had hidden for many years, "My father's name was Clapp. My body inherited half of his Buccaneer blood—"
At these words, Dong Yi was stunned for a moment. The blurry face deep in his memory became clear. He compared the face in his memory with Kuma's. The next moment, his mind was struck as if by lightning, and he became completely blank. "Clapp... you're his son?" he asked subconsciously.
Dong Yi's words made the several old men who had subsequently arrived freeze on the spot. They all remembered why Dong Yi's older brother, Jin Wu, had felt he had no face to see his other kinsmen. It was because an accident had caused one of them to go missing. And that Buccaneer's name was Clapp.
Seeing the group's reaction, Kuma's expression also changed subtly. He could see many things from their expressions and reactions. "You knew my father, didn't you?"
Hearing him, Dong Yi quickly came back to his senses, but he pressed his lips together and didn't dare to look him in the eye.
"Let us explain. You go contact that bastard who's been escaping from reality!" Behind him, an equally old man also saw Dong Yi's predicament and pulled him back.
Seeing this, Kuma gradually realized that things were probably not as simple as he had thought. But before he could ask, the group of Buccaneers had already pulled him and were hurrying him toward the village.
This situation forced him to speak up. "Everyone, I still have to take my daughter to ask that Archangel for help—"
However, before he could finish, an old man interrupted. "That kind of thing... we can just mention it to Lord Louis!"
Hearing this, Kuma instantly gave up his struggle and let the group of small giants lead him into the village.
In the evening, a pure white Island Cloud slowly headed for Terra high in the sky.
Yamato, in a kimono, with red horns and white hair, saw the sky-high tree that was visible even from a great distance, and their eyes instantly lit up. "That is—what a big tree!"
Yamato, who had been locked up on Onigashima for nearly twenty years, had rarely seen even trees, let alone one of this unimaginable size. "Is that your headquarters?!"
"That's right. This is Terra—"
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