Imu: I Want to Talk to Him!

In the dimly lit palace hall in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, Imu sat upon the Void Throne, his cold gaze fixed on the Five Elders and Figarland Gringo, who stood side by side before him, as well as the somewhat battered Gunko. His hands, hidden beneath his cloak, gripped the armrests of the throne, and an invisible, suffocating pressure filled the air.

After telling Imu everything that had happened at Marine Headquarters, Gunko remained bent over, not daring to straighten up.

This time, she had led five other members of the Knights of God to Marine Headquarters, but not only had she failed to negotiate with Akira, she had also been sent flying back by a single strike from him. Thankfully, Figarland Gringo had accompanied her. Otherwise, she wouldn't have dared set foot in this hall even if she'd had ten times the courage.

Of course, without Figarland Gringo, she wouldn't have dared enter this palace, either.

After a brief silence, Imu abruptly stood up. His eyes gleamed as he looked at those present, and he asked in a deep voice, "He actually knows I exist. Who exactly is this Akira?"

"Lord Im, this man must not be allowed to live!"

Financial God Izambaron V. Nusjuro cautiously raised his head, his voice laced with murderous intent. "He staged a coup and seized control of the Marines. We can make concessions on that, but we absolutely cannot tolerate this! Akira knows you exist. He must die!"

Hearing this, Figarland Gringo, standing nearby, furrowed his brow slightly.

Though he was the leader of the Knights of God, commanding its powerful members, and was himself no weaker than the Five Elders present, he did not agree with Izambaron V. Nusjuro's suggestion.

Akira had dared to stage a coup and seize control of Marine Headquarters at minimal cost. That meant he certainly had a trump card that could let him challenge the World Government—and this had already been partially confirmed.

With nothing but Conqueror's Haki, Akira had sent Gunko and the five other members of the Knights of God flying from Marine Headquarters all the way back to Mary Geoise. His strength could no longer be measured by the standards of a Vice Admiral, an Admiral, or even those so-called Yonko who ruled the seas.

After all, not even Rocks, who had launched an assault on God Valley, or Roger, who rose to become the new Pirate King, could wield their peerless Conqueror's Haki to such an extent.

If the World Government rashly went to war with Akira, who possessed such terrifying strength and had seized control of the Marines, then even if it ultimately won, it would be left badly weakened. The Revolutionary Army and the lawless pirates of the Grand Line would take advantage of that weakness, making an already dire situation even worse.

With that in mind, Gringo looked up at the figure before the Void Throne, then bowed slightly. "Lord Im, Akira mentioned your name directly in front of the Three Admirals and an Admiral candidate. That means those four aren't the only ones who know you exist. Sengoku, Garp, and Zephyr may already know as well."

"If we want to keep this secret, our only option is to go to war with Akira and the Marines under his command—and make sure we kill every last one of them in a single, decisive strike. Clearly, the current situation no longer allows us to do that. According to the latest information I have, news of Akira's coup and seizure of Marine Headquarters has already been printed and circulated by the major news agencies of the Grand Line."

"Before those news agencies learned of it, I believe the Revolutionary Army and other forces with ulterior motives had already gotten their hands on the information as well..."

Before Gringo could finish speaking, the Den Den Mushi in his arms suddenly rang.

As soon as it rang, Gringo's expression changed. He hurriedly tried to cut off the call, but he was a step too slow.

After two "Buru Buru" rings, a deep voice came through the Den Den Mushi. "Father, it's Shamrock. I just received the latest intelligence. The Revolutionary Army's East Army, West Army, South Army, North Army, and Grand Line Army have all begun mobilizing at almost the same time. Also, our undercover agent in Wano Country has reported that Kaido of the Beasts learned about Akira's coup at Marine Headquarters through Doflamingo. He's making preparations for a full-scale war."

"Understood."

With Imu present, Gringo didn't dare say more. He ended the call without another word, then looked up at the figure before the throne.

As the Den Den Mushi fell silent, the hall grew utterly quiet. The Five Elders kept their expressions composed, but inside, they were panicking. Izambaron V. Nusjuro was especially rattled, since part of the reason events had reached this point was that he had listened to Spandam's advice and ordered an investigation into Akira.

He had wanted to eliminate Akira before he could grow too powerful. At first, he had only worried that investigating Akira might cause unrest within the Marines, so he had ordered Enies Lobby to take over the inquiry, intending for it to bear the Marines' anger. Beyond that, he hadn't been particularly concerned. In his eyes, Akira might become a threat someday, but as a Headquarters Vice Admiral who hadn't yet grown into his power, he was no threat at all for now.

But the truth was that this Headquarters Vice Admiral, whom he had considered an insignificant threat, had not only brazenly staged a coup, but had also drawn in forces from all sides to meddle in the aftermath. It had all seemed to unfold naturally, when in reality, it had been part of Akira's plan.

He was certain that the Revolutionary Army and Kaido of the Beasts, who controlled Wano Country, had learned about the coup at Marine Headquarters through Doflamingo ahead of time not because their intelligence networks were especially powerful, but because Akira had deliberately let them find out. He wanted to muddy the waters completely and create a situation where multiple forces would keep one another in check.

Of course, none of that mattered.

What mattered was that he hadn't expected Akira to know Lord Im existed.

After all, Lord Im's identity had remained the highest-level secret to this day. Aside from the Five Elders, only Figarland Gringo and a select few original members of the Knights of God knew.

As Izambaron V. Nusjuro secretly considered how to handle the situation, Imu slowly turned his back to the others. A bone-chilling glint flashed in his dark-red ripple-patterned eyes as he said in a deep voice, "Tell Akira I want to talk to him."

Meanwhile.

At Marine Headquarters, in the operations conference room.

Because the Knights of God had appeared so suddenly, the three veterans—Garp, Sengoku, and Zephyr—had also come to the conference room.

Except for a few Vice Admirals who had left Headquarters on missions, all the Vice Admirals at Headquarters and the Three Admirals were present.

"Lord Akira, there's something I don't understand."

Before the meeting began, Gion took the opportunity to ask from her seat beside Akira, her expression puzzled. "Why did you tell those members of the Knights of God that Nika wasn't the only thing they should fear? Were you deliberately provoking them, or did you have another reason?"

"I wasn't provoking them, and I didn't have any particular reason."

Akira smiled, then continued, "I just thought it would sound less imposing if I didn't say something."