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Chapter 323 - Chapter 323: A Conversation with the Five Elders: I am the Most Loyal of Subjects!

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Suddenly, Saint Sommers, who had been driven into the ground, opened his eyes. They were swirling golden vortexes, cold and emotionless.

BOOM!

The ground exploded. A powerful aura shot into the sky. A black mist billowed out, forming a tornado that ripped through the battlefield, carrying rocks, dirt, and sand with it.

Sommers pulled himself from the earth. His form had changed. A pair of massive, demonic wings had sprouted from his back.

Imu?

Jin vanished.

He reappeared above the possessed Sommers.

A dual immolation of Conqueror's Haki and Soul Flames.

Sommers screamed as the will that had taken over his body was violently expelled.

Imu was not invincible. A powerful Conqueror's Haki was their weakness.

To prevent another "descension," Jin threw Sommers into the Empress's hold and sealed him in a cage of Haki and Soul Flames.

With Sommers captured, the tide of the battle turned completely. And when Issho joined the pursuit, the enemy's defeat was assured.

The CIU was routed.

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Cocoyasi Village.

Nami took the full force of Vergo's bamboo staff and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

But at the same time, a single, focused point of power shattered Vergo's defense, tearing through his chest.

The werewolf's claws, a blur of motion, pierced his heart.

The two of them staggered back and collapsed.

Nami lay on the ground, panting, the hot sun on her face. A wave of joyous relief washed over her.

Jin walked over, surveying the ruins of the battlefield. The village would have to be rebuilt. But that was fine. He'd been planning on renovating anyway. Now he wouldn't have to pay for demolition...

He looked down at the unconscious Nami. She was seriously injured.

"Repair."

A golden flame erupted from the emblem on Nami's chest, spreading through her veins, her bones, her entire body.

Her wounds, her broken bones—they all healed in an instant, and in the process, became even stronger.

In the blink of an eye, she was fully restored.

"Cough, cough..." Nami opened her eyes and saw Jin. She let out a sigh of relief. "You're here."

"Mm," Jin said. "Did you really have to let it get this bad?"

She grinned weakly and gave him a peace sign. "I won! Pretty amazing, right?"

The "Repair" function came with a period of weakness afterward. The more serious the injury, the greater the weakness.

"Yeah," Jin said with a smile. "Amazing."

He walked over to Vergo. A faint heartbeat. He was still alive.

Jin reached out, his hand turning ethereal as it phased into Vergo's head. He pulled out a series of film-like images.

The Paramecia Memo-Memo Fruit.

With a single touch, he could extract a person's memories like a magician pulling a string of silk. He could even edit them, implanting false memories, blurring the line between reality and illusion.

A "rare treasure" of a Devil Fruit.

"So it was you, Doflamingo... and Shamrock," Jin murmured.

"Law, get over here."

He contacted Law, who had just arrived in the New World, through his emblem.

A seven-pointed star materialized, and Law stepped through.

"King-ya," he said, bowing. He looked around. "A battlefield?"

"His heart is shattered," Jin said. "Give him a new one. Keep him alive. I have a use for him."

"Hm? Vergo? Alright." Law didn't ask any questions. He brought two fingers together.

"ROOM."

"Scalpel."

He took the heart from a nearby corpse and transplanted it into Vergo.

With the battle won, and with the memories of Lambert and Vergo, he now had enough leverage to negotiate with the Five Elders, to clear Ron and his crew of all charges and settle the matter of this war.

But that wasn't enough.

He needed one more bargaining chip—Saint Sommers.

He left Nami, Issho, and Van Augur to clean up the mess and called the Five Elders.

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Pangaea Castle, the Chamber of Authority.

Not only were the Five Elders assembled, but Garling and the chamberlain were there as well.

When Sommers had tried to summon the God's Knights and had then suddenly gone silent, they had known something was wrong. Shamrock had contacted Garling, and he had come to find out what was happening.

And Imu, after being "expelled," had sent their personal chamberlain to get a full report.

"Something happened to Sommers?"

"What's going on?"

"Who did it?"

"Who could? Who would dare??"

The Five Elders were at a loss. They had given the order, but they couldn't monitor the situation in real-time. They knew less about the CIU's operations in the East Blue than Shamrock, Vergo, or Doflamingo.

With communications cut off, their only option was to contact the nearest Marine and Cipher Pol units and send them to the Conomi Islands to investigate.

And to call Jin.

The call finally went through.

"King Jin, what's the situation on your..." Saint Saturn began, but he was cut off by a furious voice on the other end. The call was on speaker, and everyone in the room could hear.

"BEASTS! ANIMALS!" the voice roared. "The audacity of the Revolutionary Army these days! To impersonate the CIU and the Marines, to oppress the territory of a member nation! And to impersonate a Celestial Dragon! They... they... they tried to frame a loyal subject of the World Government, a good and honest man! Saint Saturn, are they not beasts??"

"Fortunately, I discovered their plot in time and thwarted it. Otherwise, the Winter Blossom Kingdom would have been overthrown by the Revolutionary Army. And then, Paradise would have fallen into chaos! The Marines would be in danger! The World Government would be in danger! The Celestial Dragons would be in danger! Those people... they're not even human! They're despicable!"

Garling's eye twitched. 'Beasts, not even human... is he talking about me?'

"King Jin," he said, his voice laced with anger, "what exactly is going on? Explain yourself!"

"Hm? A new voice. And who might you be?"

"Commander-in-Chief of the God's Knights, Saint Figarland Garling."

"Ah! It's you! Wonderful! You have to help me, sir!"

"Explain..."

"Yes, of course. As you all know, I'm a simple man. I enjoy a bit of money, a bit of beauty. But who knew... those damn... A short while ago, a group of revolutionaries impersonating the CIU, in league with reactionary elements within the Marines, attacked my people. I investigated in secret and uncovered their plot. But they got desperate and came to my home to cause trouble. I've dealt with them all now. Oh, and there was one impersonating a Celestial Dragon, a man named Sommers. He was spouting all sorts of slander against the World Government! He said that the World Government is a dictatorship, that there's someone sitting on the Empty Throne... Of course, I don't believe a word of it. But... is it true, sirs? Is there really someone on that throne?"

The Chamber of Authority fell silent.

The Five Elders exchanged a look.

Garling's knuckles turned white.

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