How Was He Supposed to Fool the Five Elders?
The temperature in the History Repository is extremely low, almost like Vault, and the lighting is quite dim, giving it a gloomy and eerie feel.
Fortunately, Imu did not feel uncomfortable about any of this.
These Poneglyph stirred up memories of Joy Boy, preventing him from leaving immediately. The tennis games he had played these past few days had greatly relieved his psychological stress, so he was in a relatively good mood.
If it were the original 'Imu', it would naturally believe that Joy Boy was dead and would no longer cause serious trouble for itself and the World Government.
But he was different; he knew very well that Joy Boy was very likely not quite dead!
Imu slowly walked to another compartment, where some extremely important historical relics were stored, such as the enormous straw Straw Hat in the ice cellar before him.
This is the Straw Hat that Joy Boy wore on his head back then.
"To store your will within Nika, oh no, the Gum-Gum Fruit, and achieve another form of immortality through the Devil Fruit's reincarnation mechanism? You've got some skills, big guy."
Imu smiled wryly as he recalled events from hundreds of years ago; his predecessor would probably have been Wrath.
When Devil Fruit is eaten, it parasitizes the human body. After the person dies, it transforms into information and returns to nature, searching for a suitable fruit to reappear. In this process, there must be some kind of intelligent consciousness involved. Vegapunk and others in the future of the original timeline have already discovered this and are making use of it.
This is especially true for Zoan Devil Fruit, which inherently contain something akin to a beast's soul. Therefore, Joy Boy, as Devil Fruit Awakening, is fully capable of replacing or storing consciousness.
It is very clear that people in this world have souls.
However, it's unlikely that everyone has the ability to house their soul within Devil Fruit.
Therefore, Imu thought of Haki!
As the strongest being in this world, he also has the deepest understanding of Haki can carry and receive information.
Even if you don't understand the meaning of the words written with Armament Haki, as long as you have the corresponding Observation Haki, you can perceive what the writer wants to express.
This is one of the effects of what is known as Voice of All Things!
However, he could understand the text in the Poneglyph, after all, he was a person from that era.
The Haki to absorb and receive information, coupled with a sufficiently strong soul, and the Awakening of Devil Fruit abilities—these three conditions are indispensable.
"Those who eat the Gum-Gum Fruit will possess the unique physique of the Lunarian, including rubber-like elastic insulators and the ability to generate fire. They will also be parasitized by Joy Boy. When the Devil Fruit user Awakening, that is when he awakens," Imu explained his speculation based on his memories from his previous life.
Or rather, this can no longer be considered speculation; it should be called solid evidence.
"Although the 'previous self' didn't know these things, he knew that the Gum-Gum Fruit was Joy Boy's ability, so after finding it in the future, he sent CP9, led by Who's-Who, to escort it back, but Shanks stole it."
Imu stood there for a long time, staring at the huge Straw Hat in the ice cellar, lost in deep thought, because these things were important.
He was wondering what to do with Shanks.
First of all, he must be a descendant of the Celestial Dragons, otherwise it would be impossible for him to be sitting on the sofa in the Hall of Authority and having a meeting with the Five Elders.
"This kid is probably like Doflamingo, becoming one of 'my' agents."
"But this guy is quite the actor. In the end, he still sideed with Roger, who raised and taught him, and directly stole the Gum-Gum Fruit because he felt that his status Celestial Dragons, combined with his own strength, was enough to deal with the World Government's retaliation."
"He succeeded. Mihawk, whom he had sent, fought him to a standstill, and instead of a clear winner, they became close friends who respected each other. What a wonderful example of becoming friends through conflict, hehehe~"
At this point, Imu smirked.
"The future Five Elders, or rather 'I,' seeing that Shanks had grown powerful, continued to maintain contact with him as Celestial Dragons, hoping to use him to adjust the world's situation and balance."
"But the problem is, what I want right now isn't to maintain a balance. The so-called Emperor of the Sea definitely needs to be dealt with. If he's useful, we'll use him; if not, we can't keep him!"
In this way, Shanks' value to the World Government would be greatly diminished; he would simply be a descendant of the Celestial Dragons in exile.
"We need to bring Shanks back. Since he's Celestial Dragons, according to the house arrest order I issued, he has to come back!"
As for killing him, that's impossible. The privileges and status of the Celestial Dragons must be maintained. Celestial Dragons can only die of old age and must never be killed by someone else, unless the person who does it is himself.
It is only natural for the Celestial Dragons' king to order Celestial Dragons deaths; this is Imu's stance!
"I remember Shanks is only fifteen years old this year and is definitely in the East Blue, which makes things easier. Oh, and while we're at it, let CP1 bring that Buggy kid back too!"
Imu immediately thought of the powerful Buggy Ball of the future, and in his opinion, Buggy should continue to study this area, perhaps forming a partnership with Cutty Flam in the future.
Ten minutes later, he contacted Shepard X. Shepherd Ju Peter St. via Den Den Mushi and gave him a series of orders. Because there were quite a few, the latter listened attentively and nodded repeatedly.
"By the way, from now on, the rule that CIPHER POL will be jailed for mission failure will be abolished. For mission failure, appropriate punishment or demotion will be given depending on the circumstances!"
Imu felt that cases like Foz-Foe's had to be stopped; who knows how many talented people were lost because of such incidents.
Besides, it takes a lot of time and resources to cultivate an excellent CP member, so as long as there is no malicious betrayal, we shouldn't push them too hard.
"Uh, yes, yes, I understand. Don't worry, I'll definitely change it!" Shepard X. Shepherd Ju Peter Saint didn't dare to ask anything and could only agree, even though his mind was filled with questions.
"The Poneglyph of the Alabasta Funerary Temple, Shanks of the East Blue, Buggy," Shepard X. Shepherd Ju Peter Saints said after the call ended, putting the receiver back on his handset, his face full of surprise.
"Shanks, a former member of the Roger Pirates, is actually a descendant of the Celestial Dragons of the Figarland Family and a survivor of the God Valley Incident?"
"If that's the case, then we really need to 'invite' him back, otherwise it'll be troublesome if he turns into another Doflamingo. But why bring Buggy back too, and send him to the Science Unit for training?"
Imu returned to the surface, and since it was already late at night, he went back to the treehouse Moon Chamber. Gion and Stussy stayed in the room vacated by the maids, and waited until dawn to continue playing tennis with him.
"Should I tell the Five Elders about the Star Gate? Although it's decided to start researching the first world after this Reverie, it would be better to tell them in advance. The first batch of personnel also needs time to be selected."
Lying on the large, gold-red double bed, Imu gazed at the cosmic Star Map that appeared before him, pondering its meaning.
"Looks like I need to think carefully about how to phrase this. How do I explain it in a way that makes it sound reasonable? It's a bit tricky."
"Everyone says it's easy to fool people, but I'm too innocent, naive, and kind. I really can't think of any lies to deceive them. Oh, what should I do?"
A huge thank you to reader Xue for the 10,000 Qidian Coin reward! This is the third reader to receive a 10,000-coin reward for this book! Thank you so much for your generous support!
Someone, come quick! Help the protagonist figure out a solution! How are they going to explain this Star Gate thing to the outside world?!