Mary Geoise, Room of Authority.
The Five Elders sat around the long table, their faces grim, and no one spoke.
Akainu's image was projected onto the center of the table via Den Den Mushi, his voice suppressing his anger, every word carrying a chill.
" Sengoku and Ryokugyu were captured, and the naval forces stationed in the New World suffered a complete rout."
Bases G-1 and G-2 were reduced to ruins.
Akainu's voice echoed among those in Room of Authority.
"I now need the World Government to use the power of the CP organization to cooperate with the Navy in rescuing Sengoku and Ryokugyu."
These are a former Fleet Admiral and an active-duty Admiral. If even they can't be saved, the navy's prestige in the world will completely collapse.
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the Den Den Mushi, then Akainu added.
"Furthermore, Straw Hat Luffy's Awakening form appeared in Wano Country."
He paused for a moment, as if considering his words.
" The Straw Hat Boy's form... I think the Five Elders have already seen it."
The Five Elders exchanged a glance.
On the table, two newspapers were placed side by side.
But the two newspapers were only glanced at before being pushed aside, and replaced by another photograph.
In the photo, Luffy is laughing under the moonlight, dressed in white with white hair, surrounded by black and red Conqueror's Haki Inazuma, his feet dangling in the air, like a god descending to earth.
The entire photo was zoomed in to its maximum, almost filling the entire desktop.
Saint Mars pushed up his glasses and said in a flat tone:
" The World Government will handle Akainu, Sengoku, and Ryokugyu's affairs."
Akainu's voice immediately rose a few decibels:
"Deal with?
How to handle this?
They're trapped on Hachinosu!
They're not locked up on some island where some rookie pirates are!
By the time the World Government "deales with" it, they might not even be left alive!
Saint Warcury coldly said:
" Akainu, watch your words."
The Navy's losses this time were not caused by anyone else.
Four Admiral- level combatants infiltrated Wano Country, only to suffer a crushing defeat—this is the Navy's responsibility.
Akainu's teeth-gritting voice buzzed through the Den Den Mushi's transmitter.
"So you're just going to leave these two Admiral- level combatants alone?"
"This is a decision made by the World Government."
Saint Shepherd Ju Peter took over the conversation, his tone leaving no room for argument.
"The Navy's primary task at present is to stabilize the first half of the Grand Line and the order of the Four Blues."
Suppress the Revolutionary Army and restore the navy's image in the eyes of the common people.
This is the most urgent matter.
"We don't need a Fleet Admiral who only knows how to throw tantrums."
There was a long silence on the other end of the Den Den Mushi.
Finally, Akainu's voice rang out like a razor's edge:
"I see."
With a click, the phone was hung up.
Silence returned to the Room of Authority.
After a moment, Saint Garling spoke, his voice low and deep, as if slowly squeezed out from his chest.
"What a disgraceful farce."
Saint Nusjuro placed his hand on the hilt of the Kitetsu, his knuckles turning slightly white.
"Being embarrassed is secondary. You know what truly matters."
He pointed to the picture of Luffy in the center of the table.
The white-haired boy's smile was like a slap in the face to all Five Elders.
After Saint Saturn's death, the authority of the Five Elders was constantly challenged, and the Awakening of the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika was a significant development for them.
This is a signal a thousand times more dangerous than the capture of the Ryokugyu during the Warring Sengoku period.
"He actually Awakening."
Saint Garling slowly repeated the sentence.
" Nika... the successor of Joy Boy... eight hundred years ago..."
The group fell silent.
After a moment, Saint Shepherd Ju Peter slowly rose.
"This matter must be decided by Lord Imu."
The other four exchanged glances and then stood up.
Five figures silently walked through the long corridor and headed towards the Flower Room.
The entrance to the Flower Room.
The Five Elders knelt down in unison, their foreheads touching the ground.
Neither of them spoke first; the air Flower Room seemed to have frozen for centuries.
Saint Shepherd Ju Peter's voice was filled with utmost awe and trembling:
"Lord Imu, I have important news to report."
The sound traveled deep among the Flower Room, like a pebble falling into a bottomless abyss, and there was no response for a long time.
After a moment, there was finally movement in the darkness.
A blurry figure appeared.
High above, looking down at the Five Elders kneeling on the ground.
There was no deliberate release of pressure, but the Five Elders ' breathing became extremely subtle.
It was as if they were afraid that their breathing might offend this being.
"Explain."
It's just a single, simple word, yet it sounds like an echo coming from the deepest part of the ocean.
Saint Shepherd Ju Peter carefully held the newspaper above his head.
" The Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika... Awakening."
A gentle force lifted the newspaper from Saint Shepherd Ju Peter and carried it toward the figure in the darkness.
A long silence fell once again among the Flower Room.
Imu took the newspaper from the darkness.
My gaze fell on Luffy's photo.
In that instant, it was as if something extremely ancient had awakened in the darkness.
Imu's eyes flickered with emotions that were extremely difficult to decipher: reminiscence, remembrance, and a sense of being in another world.
There was also a very subtle, fleeting hint of panic.
He remembered that figure.
Eight hundred years ago, he defeated Joy Boy.
But the smile on the man's face before he fell was exactly the same as the one in this photo.
Freedom, unrestrained joy, without any shadows.
How ironic.
Eight hundred years have passed, and he thought he had erased all traces, but Nika still appeared.
Imu's fingers tightened slightly, and the newspaper creased in his palm.
The air in the Flower Room seemed to have been sucked out. The Five Elders knelt on the ground, feeling their souls being crushed by some indescribable force.
After a long while, Imu spoke.
The voice was deep, as if rising from the depths of time.
"Find him."
He looked up from the newspaper and gazed at the night sky beyond the Flower Room.
"Identify his location."
"At all costs!!!"
The Five Elders all prostrated themselves to receive the order.
"Yes!"
"Step down."
Imu turned around, her clothes swaying slightly, and walked unhurriedly into the depths of the Flower Room.
Only then did the Five Elders dare to raise their heads.
The group exchanged glances, each seeing the same shock and unease in the other's eyes.
They slowly stood up, bowed, and withdrew from among the Flower Room.
The sunlight outside shone on them, but the Five Elders felt no warmth whatsoever.
And at the end of the Flower Room.
In the depths of darkness, only Imu remained.
His fingers were still clutching the newspaper; the white-haired boy in the photo was laughing carefree.
A barely audible murmur drifted out from the darkness.
"Joey... Boy...?"
The voice contained reminiscence, sighs, and a sense of melancholy that spanned eight hundred years.
It's like talking to an old friend.
It was as if he were whispering to his arch-enemy.
Finally, with a slight tremor of the hand, the newspaper shattered into countless fragments, scattering in the darkness like a silent snowfall.
at the same time,
On an unnamed deserted island in the New World, the Thousand Sunny is docked at the shore, its sails half-furled, its hull ravaged and bearing the marks of battle.
The Straw Hat Pirates disembarked and started a fire on the beach to cook and bandage their wounds.
Chopper was extremely busy.
He transformed into a reindeer, carrying a medical kit on his back, and moved back and forth among the wounded.
He changed Zoro's dressing, bandaged Sanji, treated Nami's burns on her arm, and also had to find time to give Usopp psychological counseling.
Luffy sat alone on the beach.
He placed his Straw Hat on his knees, his bare feet buried in the damp sand.
He gazed at the sea, at that endless expanse of deep blue, without uttering a word.