Blackbeard's Move

In the original course of events, Imu destroyed the Kingdom of Lulusia with sixteen mysterious beams of light. No one knew whether they came from a Devil Fruit ability or a man-made weapon.

If it was a Devil Fruit ability, that was terrifying.

Could a casual flick of a finger destroy an entire country?

But Swain leaned toward the latter: a weapon. The enormous Straw Hat hidden deep within the Holy Land Garden might well be its activation device.

Otherwise, what about the Revolutionary Army's base or the lairs of the Four Emperors?

With their coordinates, couldn't Imu wipe them out with a wave of his hand?

Why appoint Admirals and recruit the Shichibukai to fight them? The effort involved was enormous. It made no sense.

Then again, there was another possibility. The saying went, "If the Four Emperors join forces, they can overturn the world." If pirates learned that the World Government possessed such a devastating weapon, they would band together for protection. The four emperors at the pinnacle of piracy would be the first to unite.

But everything remained shrouded in mystery.

Of the four emperors, Swain was the youngest and the most outstanding.

The World Government... No, Imu had to be watching him closely.

One move could set everything in motion!

Swain had already felt that acutely. The World Government's last surprise attack was proof enough.

"Ah." He sighed softly.

He had thought becoming one of the Four Emperors would mean living carefree. Instead, the higher he climbed, the more he had to worry.

He had companions, didn't he? Subordinates? Territory?

One careless mistake, and he could suffer a devastating loss in any one of them.

He sat in his chair and, lost in thought, drifted off to sleep.

Swain's quarters faced south, with a walk of