One Piece: Nobody knows Devil Fruits better than me.

Chapter 247 The Essence Among Flowers! The Covenant Between God and Twenty Kings!

Watching Marco's figure transform into a phoenix and fly away.

Roy's gaze followed it from afar, only turning away after it disappeared.

“Teach.”

The name murmured in his heart.

Marshall D. Teach, or David D. Teach.

He was somewhat interested in this man.

The question remains the same – what was the 'great power' that Teach told him about?
When did Lox tell him about this?

And without a doubt, Roy had a preference in his heart.

It is not hard to see from the original work that Rocks cherished his wife and children very much. In fact, the God Valley incident itself was a 'trap' set by the World Government to force Rocks to go there by using his wife and children as bargaining chips.

Rocks must have realized it was a trap at the time, but he still chose to go anyway.

This incident itself demonstrates that this great pirate cherished his family.

In this situation.
"After surviving the Valley of the Gods, wouldn't Rocks go and see his wife and son?"

Only today has the Star Lord realized this possibility.

On the way to Sky Island, on the way to the Abyss, on the way to Elbaf, on the way to death—before all of that.

The first thing Rox did was probably to return to the Kingdom of Lulusia to see his wife and children.

In other words...
"Teach likely knew about the existence of the Star Lord long ago. The change in his ambition and goals also stemmed from this unexpected realization."

Every change should have its origin.

The source of Teach's changes is very likely also from the 'Star Lord'.

Then
"The 'great power' he mentioned, perhaps it's also related to the 'Star Lord'?"

Loy guessed that.

of course.

Because there is still too little information available, he cannot even confirm how Teach survived.

Therefore, Roy did not think about it too deeply.

Moreover, compared to Teach, who is difficult to distinguish between friend and foe.

Now, there is another, more important truth that needs to be confirmed for Roy.

That is.
"."

He turned his head and looked at Yin Hu.

Without hesitation, Yin Hu raised his hand and slapped out a ball of energy shaped like a fleshy cushion.

That was what Tiger shot out of Doflamingo's body just before he finally killed him.

That is
【Memory of Doflamingo】

This is a matter of course.

To be honest, Roy was somewhat moved by what Doflamingo had done.

Admittedly, Doflamingo's plan was very thorough.

From learning of the existence of the tree branch from Caesar, to confirming the reason for the actions of the twelve constellations, and then to the subsequent plot against that god, the entire island was used as the basis for the 'Abyss Magic Array', and the entire population of Dressrosa was used as food for the abyss.

His shrewdness and wisdom make him a true hero, and he is definitely one of the best among the Celestial Dragons.

But
"You still don't have enough strength, little brother."

Just as Im commented on Doflamingo, Roy gave him the same assessment.

Strength is the key to establishing oneself in this vast ocean.

While scheming and cunning may bring benefits, they are nothing but clay and earthenware dogs in the face of true and absolute power.

However, Doflamingo's plan failed.

But
"He knows about Im, even Im's current state, and the Celestial Dragons' 'national treasure'."

These greatest memories and secrets of the world are, of course, precious to the Star Lord.

"."

Roy silently raised his hand and reached into Doflamingo's memory.

then
"Buzz!"

The surrounding scenery changed once again.

A moment later, the Star Lord found himself in a completely new place.

Huge columns and a magnificent castle appeared beside him.

This is Pangu City.

Roy's vision was constantly shifting in the air.

That was a young Doflamingo, constantly maneuvering and shifting using 'threads'.

He was dodging the constantly moving guards below, his heart pounding with tension and extreme anger.

Just as mentioned before—as a young boy, he wanted to regain his Celestial Dragon identity but was rejected, so he sneaked into Pangaea Castle, wanting to meet the Five Elders in secret.

But he discovered that in the dead of night, the Five Elders had secretly left the Hall of Power and gone deep into Pangu City—which is why he followed them all the way.

Then, he followed the Five Elders to the outside of the smallest room deepest in Pangu City.

That is
'Among the flowers'.

After the Five Elders entered the Flower Chamber, Doflamingo naturally didn't dare to actually enter it.

But even through that door, he could still glimpse the scene inside the flower garden.

It was an enormous 'room'.

No, to be precise, that wasn't a room.

"."

Even Roy, who was observing this scene through Doflamingo, couldn't help but be stunned.

Because it was within his field of vision.

The entire flower field itself is an enormous canopy.

Every leaf on the treetop radiated light, as if one could see the traces of all things in the world within the leaves.

Each of its branches and leaves radiates starlight as it droops, as if connected to the starry sky.

Its sheer size was such that Roy couldn't even see the end of it at a glance—each of its leaves seemed as big as a mountain.

To be honest, he didn't think Pangu City could contain such a large tree canopy.

"Something's not right here among the flowers."

Roy immediately realized this.

Something's not right about the flowers.

Although it exists in the deepest part of Pangu City, the space within it has clearly been 'shaped'.

This is not surprising.

Now that he knows what the bloodline factor source power is, Roy already knows that, in theory, this power can do 'anything'.

But clearly, that's not the key point.

The key is
"Buzz!"

There was no sun inside Pangu City, but sunlight still shone through.

Throughout the flower, there are countless 'cocoons' of varying sizes.

Every moment, cocoons break open—from which butterflies tear the cocoons that bind them to shreds and then take flight.

All the splendor in the world seemed to have been stolen by that enormous tree.

With just one glance, Roy could confirm it.

That incredible creation was none other than...
"Pillar of the World"

He was certain of this.

Yes.

The World Pillar, the Tree of Creation that exists in the murals, still exists.

And just as Roy guessed—it was in Im's hands, in Mary Geoise, right there.
"Inside the Red Line?"

Looking at the enormous tree trunk faintly visible beneath the canopy—though he couldn't see its full size, he was certain that a tree of this size probably stretched across the entire Red Earth Continent.

No, considering the situation among the flowers, Roy believes that this tree may not actually be 'rooted' in the red earth continent.

"Is the entire Red Line just a barrier to hide the existence of this tree?"

Roy muttered to himself.

But this isn't the only special thing about the flowers. For example, Roy can see it right now.

Around the flowers, there were two distinct, menacing slash marks.

The two slash marks were extremely clean and huge, severing the roots of the surrounding trees and revealing what lay beneath them, just like two huge 'windows' in the room.

Through the gaps in the two windows, Roy could see only a few scales and claws.

Through the 'window' on the left, one could see what appeared to be the ruins of a magnificent building—he could see massive pillars and a structure resembling a temple.

"Shangra, the land of the gods, the 'temple of knights'?"

Therefore, Roy immediately made a judgment—that place should be the headquarters of the Knights of God, the Knights Temple Shangra.

Moreover, through the gap, he could even see that at the top of the temple, there seemed to be a knight's sword and a set of armor-like objects.

In addition, the 'window' on the right is completely covered up.

He could only see through a crack in the window that there seemed to be a huge, square object inside; it looked like...
"coffin?"

Roy frowned, his mind filled with countless questions.

For example, what are these two huge slash marks? Who left them?

Furthermore, the fact that the headquarters of the Knights of God is connected to the Flower Chamber further suggests that the 'space' within the Flower Chamber is chaotic and should have been reshaped by Im.

Another question is, whose coffin is that?

But obviously.

He didn't have time to think things through carefully.

Because at this time
From Doflamingo's perspective, the Five Elders had already entered the flower garden and were prostrating themselves in reverence, their foreheads bowed low.

then
"Buzz!"

The Star Lord then saw it from within the shadow of the giant tree's canopy.

A figure quietly emerged from the tree.

He was not tall, and even appeared somewhat slender, like a woman.

He stood in the shadow of the giant tree, as if he were part of that pillar of the world.

That is—Im.

And it is precisely at this moment.

Loy only then realized it.

Where Im appeared, on the bark of that giant tree.

It clearly has square marks that resemble historical text, as if they were artificially inscribed.

The huge square mark looked exactly like a door on that giant tree—and Im had clearly come out of that door.

The inscription on that door was filled with densely packed characters.

Roy couldn't understand the handwriting.

But
"!!!"

At this moment, the 'Doflamingo' he is playing is clearly different.

As soon as he saw those words, Doflamingo's blood seemed to begin to throb.

Young Doflamingo gritted his teeth, his legs uncontrollably trying to kneel down—and Roy, who was observing everything through Doflamingo's memories, seemed to be able to sense Doflamingo's struggle.

Upon seeing the inscription on that door, his blood seemed to surge, allowing him to decipher what was written on that special 'history text'.

With the Pillars of Creation as our witness, we twenty people hereby make this covenant.

I shall become the new king, never forsaking, and serving God in His service.

We should use our own desires to bring suffering to the world, to make trees wither, to give God freedom, and to provide for God.

God should grant us and our bloodline the right and power to live on forever.

Here we establish this covenant, that our descendants shall move to the Holy Land and be blessed forever.

Even if the sea engulfs the world and all things perish in the abyss, this covenant shall remain forever.

At that moment, Doflamingo instinctively looked at the bottom of the contract.

At the very bottom of the contract were inscribed twenty characters.

Beneath each of the nineteen characters is an inscription of a symbol—the symbol of the Abyss Contract.

Doflamingo can read one of the characters.

Don Quixote Hurley

That was the name of his ancestor, one of the twenty kings who created the world, and the founder of the Don Quixote family.

"I see."

At that moment, Roy felt a sudden sense of clarity.

Clearly—the inscription on the Pillar of Creation that he was seeing at that moment was the 'national treasure' that Doflamingo had mentioned.

That was a covenant made between the twenty founding kings and the gods bound by the world.

At the same time, considering this meaning, it is very likely that it was the prototype for the historical text that Joy Boyle and Davy Jones later created.

"So even though the Celestial Dragons have become this absurd, and most of the God Knights are clearly ineffective, Im still has to use them."

"Because this is the covenant made between the twenty founding kings and Him and the Pillars of the World."

The contract was very simple.

The kings will set God free, and God will give the kings and their descendants eternal power.

In other words, this contract is the cornerstone of the World Government's existence and the legal basis for the Celestial Dragons' supremacy over all living beings.

However, what puzzled Roy was...
"Let the tree wither. Is this the way to free Im from his bonds?"

The Star Lord didn't find this strange at all.

Clearly, Im is the shadow of the World Pillar, a tree that is both the source of His power and the prison that binds Him.

After the tree withers, Im will likely be able to take its place as the new 'Pillar of the World'.

But the problem is.
"No matter how you look at it, this tree doesn't look like it's about to wither."

Looking at the tall, lush, and vibrant canopy, the Star Lord muttered to himself.

Clearly, the contract has been reached.

But Im did not gain freedom—as Doflamingo said, he only gained 'limited freedom'.

So, what is the reason?

The answer is clearly in the contents of the contract.

"Twenty kings, but only nineteen symbols."

The Star Lord's gaze fell upon the name on the contract.

Clearly, one of the twenty kings who signed a pact with Im had an accident.

As for who that king is, there's no need to elaborate.

After all, among the twenty families that created the world, only one did not move into Mary Geoise and become a Celestial Dragon family.

"The one who didn't sign a complete contract is Queen Lily of the Nefertari family."

The Star Lord had found the answer in his heart.

To confirm this, his consciousness began to detach from Doflamingo's perspective, trying to get closer to see the name on the contract clearly, and also to see if he could make out Im's appearance.

But
At the same moment that the Star Lord's consciousness entered the flower room.

Then he saw—in the depths of the giant tree's shadow, Im, standing still.

At that moment, without any warning, he slowly raised his head.

That crowned gaze, hidden in the shadows, seemed to freeze time and space.

He pierced precisely through the veil of memory, looking at Doflamingo—or rather, at 'Roy' whose consciousness was now beginning to extend into the flower chamber.

"Star Lord."

His voice was hoarse: "You dare to enter Mu's divine realm?!"

In that instant, a terrifying aura and will, completely different from before, began to spread along the connection of memories.

And then the next moment.
"!!!"

Seeing this, Roy decisively severed his connection with the memories.

His consciousness instantly returned to reality.

And in front of him
"boom!"

That memory belonging to Doflamingo shattered in an instant!

(End of this chapter)