The ancient, monochrome sea of flowers seemed to be infected by the emotions of their god.
The crimson blossoms, at this moment, appeared to have lost all vitality, their heads bowed, exuding a sorrow that permeated the entire space.
Even those outside the divine temple, like Ah Hua, were inexplicably moved to tears.
Gu Yina and Yi Sheng inside the temple were also affected, their faces showing sadness as if they were resonating with the flowers.
Only Kong Tai stood there, unaffected by the flowers' emotions.
Glancing at the dejected Gu Yina, Kong Tai raised his right hand, palm open, and placed it on her head.
The familiar warmth instantly brought Gu Yina back to her senses, breaking her emotional resonance with the flowers and clearing her sadness.
“Kong Tai, this…”
Gu Yina looked up at Kong Tai, unsure of what to say.
She knew the flowers meant no harm; such strong emotional resonance could only come from a life form that transcended worlds.
Truly terrifying.
Such a being, when fighting creatures below its power, would likely be untouchable, merely by standing there.
And such a powerful creature was nearly wiped out in ancient times.
This flower had hidden here, never venturing out again.
Thinking back, the owner of the energy that had turned Quinn into a monster must have been unimaginably terrifying, capable of defeating and even annihilating a divine race.
“I apologize, I got a little sentimental thinking about an old friend.”
As the flower’s sorrowful emotions receded, everyone broke free from its emotional resonance, and the sea of flowers outside once again lifted its heads.
“It’s alright.”
Kong Tai replied dismissively, then asked, “Can you tell us properly about your enemy now?”
“And,” Kong Tai then introduced himself, “my name is Kong Tai, and this beside me is my fiancée, Gu Yina, and this is Yi Sheng.”
He then turned and pointed to Ah Hua and the other two outside, “The one with glasses is Ah Hua, the one smoking is Ah Tao, and the one with the punk hairstyle, the only one not fat among the three, is Ah Luo.”
“Over here is our team’s archaeologist, Nico Robin, our doctor, Indigo, and our musician, Brook.”
After introducing his companions, Kong Tai finally turned to the flower, “May I ask, what is your name?”
“My name?” The flower remained impassive while Kong Tai introduced Ah Hua and the others, but when he introduced Brook, a hint of surprise flickered through its emotions, as if it had just noticed Brook, or perhaps as if it had seen an old friend.
However, upon further observation, it seemed to realize that Brook, while carrying a scent of its friend, was not that friend, and thus ceased its focus.
These emotional shifts were imperceptible to others, but Kong Tai sensed them.
The flower pondered for a moment before speaking, “It’s been a long time since anyone asked my name; I had almost forgotten it myself, but your question made me remember. My name is ‘Manjusaka,’ the other shore flower that connects the underworld and reality, the guiding flower that helps the deceased find the gate to the underworld.”
“It really is a Manjusaka!” Kong Tai’s eyes drooped slightly. “No wonder it looks so much like the Manjusaka I saw in my past life.”
“It had a clear emotional fluctuation when I introduced Brook just now; it must have sensed the aura of the underworld on Brook!”
“Manjusaka has appeared, this world is truly interesting!”
At that moment, the Manjusaka’s gaze returned to Brook, saying, “Friend, your name is Brook, right! Can you tell me where the aura of the underworld on you comes from? And why have you become this state, caught between life and death?”
“Me?”
Brook was startled, not expecting the Manjusaka to focus on him. Then, he laughed heartily, “Yohohoho! I ate the Yomi Yomi no Mi!”
“Yomi Yomi no Mi?” the Manjusaka inquired. “What is that?”
“You don’t know?”
The Manjusaka’s question surprised everyone, and they looked at it with astonishment.
“I don’t.”
Seeing that the Manjusaka genuinely didn’t know, Brook didn’t know how to explain and could only look to Kong Tai.
Kong Tai said nothing, but instead took out a fruit from his spatial storage. The fruit’s surface was covered in green scales, and two slender dragon horns grew from it.
This fruit was obtained after defeating Kaido; it was one of the most powerful Zoan-type Devil Fruits, the “Fish-Fish Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Azure Dragon Form.”
Without this fruit, Kaido, though powerful, would never have become the strongest creature on land, sea, and air that troubled the Navy.
However, Kaido didn't see it that way.
The original work mentioned that Kaido's strength was greatly enhanced by this fruit in his early days, but as time went on, he increasingly felt that the fruit had become a constraint.
This was because, in his belief, the Pirate King Gol D. Roger stood at the pinnacle of the world without relying on any Devil Fruit.
Furthermore, this guy might have suffered a setback at the hands of Shanks.
This was why he uttered the famous line, "Only by sheer strength can one conquer the world. Haki, alone, can reign supreme over all."
This was also why, despite being given this rare Mythical Zoan by Charlotte Linlin, he had never interacted with her for decades, and repeatedly stated that he would kill Charlotte Linlin if she ever came to Wano Country.
Did he truly hate Charlotte Linlin?
Not necessarily.
As evidenced by their later alliance.
He likely only felt a sense of unwillingness, a reluctance to be limited. In his mind, without the constraint of the Devil Fruit, perhaps he could have truly broken through in Haki and become someone like Gol D. Roger or the Marine hero Garp.
After all, the scar on his chest was left by a swordsman who did not rely on any Devil Fruit abilities.
His fight with Oden Kozuki, if not for Kurozumi Higurashi interfering by impersonating Momonosuke, it’s uncertain who would have won.
Given this guy’s pride, even though he won in the end, it would have been natural for him to then kill Kurozumi Higurashi, who had just helped him.
“This is?”
The flower’s gaze fell upon the fruit that appeared in Kong Tai’s hand, and it asked in confusion, “Is this the fruit you were talking about?”
“While I sense a special energy from this fruit, it doesn’t seem particularly strong!”
“At most, it allows the eater to have one more transformation, one more ability.”
“Yes!” Kong Tai nodded. “This is the fruit we speak of, called a ‘Devil Fruit,’ something I don't know how it forms.”
“It can easily grant an ordinary person energy far beyond their own. If it's a powerful fruit, it can fundamentally alter a life form's body structure and even its life level.”