Facing Mu's request, Shin eventually left. Anyway, Shiryu only wanted Mu to help repair his cloth. Seeing this Sagittarius Gold Saint leave, he didn't mind.
Once out of their sight, Shin transformed into a streak of light and flew directly into the sky, arriving at where Saori Kido was currently located.
He arrived just in time; Saori Kido was currently talking to a few Bronze Saints.
With Ikki and Shiryu gone, only three of the Five Bronze Saints were present. Throwing the parts of the gold cloth onto the ground, the three Bronze Saints made their meaning clear: from now on, everyone should go their separate ways; let's just break up.
"Although we are the illegitimate children of that guy Kido Mitsumasa, that guy really didn't act like a human being. Just looking at the fact that out of a hundred brothers, only ten remained, you can tell how much of a bastard that old man was."
Saori Kido was naturally shocked. She only had these few people under her; if they broke up, wouldn't she be finished?
She first revealed her identity as Athena, then showed off a wave of Cosmo, and finally earnestly explained that her grandfather really hadn't had it easy.
The few Bronze Saints were instantly stunned. So this young lady was Athena! Although they were reluctant to believe it, under the call of her Cosmo, they couldn't deny it.
Then Saori Kido talked about how this was all the destiny of the stars and such, telling them not to hate Kido Mitsumasa, blah blah, and that they still needed to continue the battle against the Sanctuary.
Unfortunately, after a brief moment of surprise, the few Bronze Saints didn't feel much else.
Saint were not like those Ninjas from Konoha, brainwashed by the Will of Fire every day. These people claimed to be loyal to Athena, but in reality, it was just a vague concept. Most of them didn't even know what Athena looked like, so their loyalty could be imagined.
It would be different for those Saint who were born and raised in the Sanctuary. But these current edgy Bronze Saints were all too familiar with Saori Kido. Her terrible image from childhood was still vivid in their minds, which further diluted their sense of awe for Athena.
Although Athena's Cosmo also carried a compelling effect, wanting to make the Five Bronze Saints pledge their loyalty just by talking like this was expecting too much.
The group couldn't agree after a few words, and the final result was naturally parting ways. Saori Kido mocked them a few times, stating that without you few lords, I will still continue to fight the Sanctuary to the end. Meanwhile, the few Bronze Saints dusted off their butts and left directly.
Standing above, Shin could barely watch. To think there was actually such a scene in the Saint Seiya manga!
Thinking carefully, Shin actually remembered. It seemed that the relationship between the two sides was indeed not very good at the beginning. Later, when the few were about to leave, they happened to encounter an attack by the Silver Saints. Seeing Saori Kido being snatched away on the spot, the Five Bronze Saints then fought the Silver Saints.
It was precisely because of this battle that the Five Bronze Saints finally fell under Athena's pomegranate skirt—well, that's a bit of an exaggeration. In the original manga, if it weren't for the subsequent attacks from the Sanctuary, Hyoga, Shiryu, and Seiya might not have necessarily followed Saori Kido to storm the Sanctuary.
But it was precisely because of this battle of shared hatred against the enemy that the Five Bronze Saints gradually united under Athena and acknowledged her leadership status. It could be said that this battle was the most important one, and that would not be an exaggeration.
As for now, Shin looked left and right, and finally saw a few Silver Saints rushing in this direction from 80 miles away.
"This is too slow. Arriving at this time? There won't even be any warm soup for you to drink!" Shin secretly grumbled in his heart.
In fact, he knew clearly in his heart that it was because he had interrupted the initial battle between the Silver Saints and the Five Bronze Saints, making the Five Bronze Saints return much faster, which prevented these Silver Saints from directly attacking Saori Kido in front of the Five Bronze Saints.
What to do now? If the few Silver Saints attacked Saori Kido directly in front of the Five Bronze Saints, they would definitely intervene and try to save her.
But if he waited another half hour, the Five Bronze Saints would have all left. Even if they heard the news later that Saori Kido had been captured by the Sanctuary, these few might just sigh and take no action. Moreover, by then, it would be uncertain whether Saori Kido would still be alive.
"That's why I hate the butterfly effect the most," Shin sighed. "Forget it, the plot is probably smashed to pieces anyway. The Five Bronze Saints or whatever, it's still safer to do it myself!"
While speaking, Shin had already descended from the sky and landed in front of Saori Kido.
Although Saori Kido had made harsh threats in front of the few Bronze Saints, stating that even if she was alone, she would still fight the Sanctuary to the end, once the Five Bronze Saints left, this girl just sat on the ground alone, hugging her staff, looking dazed and full of frustration.
After all, the current Saori Kido—calling her a "battle power of five" would probably be a compliment. Her immense divine Cosmo could only be used intermittently; it was fine for inspiring people, but as for fighting, one could only "heh."
Saori Kido, who was sitting dazed on a stone nearby, saw Shin descend and immediately stood up, a look of vigilance appearing on her face: "Who are you? Are you an assassin sent by the Pope?"
Shin glanced at the current Saori Kido and couldn't see any connection between this person and the Goddess of War and Wisdom. If one ignored her Cosmo, how was she any different from an ordinary naive girl?
Thinking carefully about her brain-dead operations of feeding kills, if it were any other more orthodox Athena, she would probably be laughed to death!
Although there had been conspiracy theories circulating online for a while, Shin couldn't figure out how directly feeding kills counted as a conspiracy. There wasn't such a move in the 36 Stratagems!
Perhaps because she was angered by the curious gaze Shin was giving her, this Miss Saori stomped the staff in her hand, puffed out her chest, which was completely disproportionate to her age, burst out with the vast Cosmo within her again, and asked once more:
"Did the Pope send you to kill me?"
Shin shook his head directly: "On the contrary, I was entrusted by someone to come and protect you."
"Protect me!?" A look of astonishment appeared on Saori Kido's face; she had never expected to hear such an answer: "Who asked you to come and protect me?"
"Let's not mention that for now!" Shin waved his hand directly, looking at Saori Kido with piercing eyes, "Little girl, let me ask you, didn't you say you were going to the Sanctuary to confront the Pope? How do you plan to deal with the Saint under the Pope?"
As soon as this was asked, Saori Kido, who had just been aggressive, suddenly got stuck. Her whole demeanor seemed to deflate: "Uh, I haven't thought about it yet... If I rely on my Cosmo, those Saint should listen to my explanation, right."
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Now available - Chapter 698: Finale (ENDING)