Hearing Im's words and noticing Im's little movements, Nagasawa smiled.
The dragon hadn't been using its full power just now? Then could it be that Nagasawa had been using his full power just now? That flaming slash was actually just an ordinary attack from his Blazing Sun Mode, the kind that didn't even have a technique name.
Without any warning from Im, a white crescent-shaped slash flew rapidly toward Nagasawa. As the white blade flew through the air, it left behind waves of distortion, as if even space had become chaotic.
At the same time, the dragon once again erupted with terrifying power. Its body shone with dazzling white light, and sixteen thick blue beams of light were fired toward Nagasawa.
Facing the attacks of Im and the dragon, Nagasawa merely held Ryujin Jakka and once again casually swung out a sword.
Yet this simple sword strike instantly annihilated both Im's spatial slash and the dragon's beam attack, directly slicing off nearly half of the dragon's body and taking one of Im's arms along with it.
"How is this possible!" Im, who had still been wearing an indifferent expression and planning to make Nagasawa the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, could no longer remain calm.
According to his reasoning, Nagasawa must have used some kind of explosive technique with side effects to block the dragon's attack. Being able to block it once would already have been extremely difficult.
But Nagasawa had effortlessly blocked the attacks of both of them and even injured them. This was something Im had not expected.
What Im didn't know was that Nagasawa had already given him plenty of face. With Blazing Sun Mode combined with Ryujin Jakka's Bankai, Nagasawa was currently at the peak of his combat power under normal circumstances. The only way to go beyond this was the Supernova Mode that consumed his lifespan.
Let alone Im, even Six Paths Madara would have to take a beating. Only Kaguya, a true Otsutsuki who had also consumed the Divine Tree's fruit, possessed the strength to contend with Nagasawa.
Im instantly wanted to use his Devil Fruit ability to escape, but Nagasawa gave him no opportunity. He instantly appeared beside Im, directly knocked Im unconscious with a Justice Iron Fist, then kicked the dragon down.
Immediately afterward, Nagasawa grabbed Im and returned to Marine Headquarters.
As soon as Nagasawa landed, Dragon, Aokiji, and the others surrounded him.
"Why is this guy dressed so strangely, and why is he wearing a crown?" Dragon felt that this World Government secret weapon was somewhat strange.
It wasn't because Im was wearing a black cloak. That was quite fitting for a secret weapon hiding its identity. But the crown on Im's head was somewhat strange.
If he was a hidden weapon, Dragon hadn't seen him use the crown during battle. But if he wasn't a weapon, aside from representing identity and authority, something like a crown would only have negative effects in battle, right?
"World Government secret weapon? I suppose that's not entirely wrong. This guy's name is Im. He is the king of the World Government, the owner of the Empty Throne." Nagasawa casually spoke words that left everyone present stunned.
"The king of the World Government?" Zephyr looked at Nagasawa in shock and asked uncertainly.
Although the World Government had a group of World Nobles, the Celestial Dragons, who were born with every privilege, on the surface the World Government indeed did not have a king who held all authority. The highest level of the World Government was the Five Elders, the five highest-ranking Celestial Dragons.
Then there was another important component of the World Government, the Reverie, where the kings of all the affiliated countries gathered to discuss and decide various major matters in the world.
So on the surface, the World Government was not a dictatorial organization. At least, this was how Zephyr understood it.
"The owner of the Empty Throne..." Dragon fell into deep thought.
What did the Empty Throne represent? Naturally, it was a throne without anyone sitting on it. Its purpose was to represent the equality between the kings of the various countries and their oath that there would never be a dictatorship. It was a symbol of equality and freedom.
Although everyone knew that this was merely something pleasant to say, the royal families of the affiliated countries did not possess as many privileges as the royal family that had originally established the World Government and was now the Celestial Dragons. Equality was merely a joke.
But at least they could maintain appearances, and with the existence of the Reverie, everyone also felt that they had a sense of participation.
Dragon felt that if the information Nagasawa had revealed was true, then once it spread, it would cause a tremendous uproar throughout the entire world. It was a bombshell of enormous significance.
This was of extraordinary significance to the Revolutionary Army because it was major evidence of the World Government's crimes.
They had deceived everyone in the affiliated countries. On the surface, they had always preached equality, yet in reality, they had always been practicing dictatorship, with a hidden king.
"The king of the World Government. Tsk tsk, how terrifying." Kizaru revealed his trademark lecherous smile.
If what Nagasawa said was true, then Kizaru was simply overjoyed, because the Revolutionary Army had already secured victory in advance.
The World Government's secret weapon was their hidden king, and their king had already been defeated and captured alive by the Revolutionary Army.
Kizaru couldn't imagine how the Revolutionary Army could possibly lose under these circumstances. There was absolutely no possibility of losing.
'Looks like it won't be long before I can return to my old life.' Kizaru thought happily.
And perhaps it would even be more comfortable than before. After all, no matter how he looked at it, the Revolutionary Army seemed more capable than the World Government. Maybe they would even conveniently solve all those problems involving pirates and nobles together.
"Nagasawa, are you saying that this man in the black robe is the king of the World Government?" Dragon looked at the unconscious Im with burning eyes and asked Nagasawa.
Because he trusted Nagasawa, Dragon did not ask where Nagasawa had obtained this information. He was simply too excited and afraid that he had heard incorrectly, so he asked again.
He trusted Nagasawa very much. Based on Nagasawa's actions, even if anyone were to betray the revolution, it would never be Nagasawa.
Nagasawa nodded. The Five Elders had to address Im as Lord Im and kneel to pay their respects. Moreover, Im sat upon the Empty Throne. If he wasn't the king of the World Government, then what else could he be?
Unless One Piece had pulled some ridiculous twist after Nagasawa's transmigration, with an even more powerful character above Im.
But Nagasawa felt that was unlikely.
"We must quickly inform the entire world of this news and let the people of the world see the World Government's true nature." Dragon said with a smile.
Everyone nodded. Even Marines of Admiral rank and the leader of the Revolutionary Army were so shocked by this news. If it spread throughout the world, it would be an unprecedented and devastating blow to the World Government. In some sense, it would even be worse than the defeat of Marine Headquarters.
Even if Marine Headquarters was defeated, there were still many Marine branches, the CP forces, the Army, and many other kinds of military forces.
But once this news was made public, the World Government's carefully orchestrated deception that had lasted for nearly a thousand years would be exposed.
The news first caused extensive discussion within the Revolutionary Army. Those who had joined the Revolutionary Army long ago became even more determined in their convictions, while those who had not joined the Revolutionary Army for long gained a clearer understanding of just how rotten their enemy truly was.
Even Sengoku, who had returned to his hometown, was shocked speechless for a moment when he saw the newspaper related to Im.
"The World Government is finished." Sengoku immediately reached this conclusion.
If the newspaper had not fabricated its contents, then as long as the part concerning Im was correct, the World Government was already finished.
Sengoku had not expected this day to arrive so quickly. He had thought that no matter how useless the World Government was, with such an enormous scale, it should still be able to hold on for at least another decade or two.
After all, there were more than one hundred and seventy countries. More than one hundred and seventy countries, not one hundred and seventy villages or one hundred and seventy small towns, but countries.
Yet he had only been back in his hometown for a few days, and he already felt that the World Government was hovering on the brink of collapse.
Sengoku somewhat couldn't understand it. Im had hidden himself so deeply, so why had he suddenly delivered himself to Nagasawa? Didn't he know that Nagasawa's monster-like strength made cutting down the Four Emperors seem as easy as playing around?
Sengoku had been a high-ranking Marine for quite some time and had dealt with the World Government extensively, knowing many high-ranking officials.
The World Government had suddenly begun looking as if it were about to collapse, leaving Sengoku feeling extremely melancholy for a while.
"This is good too. At least if the Revolutionary Army wins, no one should come bother me afterward."
Sengoku had already prepared himself for the World Government to win and settle accounts with him afterward.
Although he had not joined the Revolutionary Army, returning home safely to retire was already equivalent to betraying the World Government.
If the Revolutionary Army won, then the Revolutionary Army, which had been willing to let him return home and retire, naturally would not waste its time looking for trouble with him. After all, if they had wanted to deal with him, Marine Headquarters would have been the best opportunity.
Sengoku shook his head, took a sip of the hot tea he had brewed himself, and lay down on the reclining chair.
...
New World, Whitebeard Pirates.
"This Revolutionary Army gets more outrageous every day. Now even the king of the World Government has appeared." Marco wore a shocked expression.
He had thought that after experiencing major news such as the Four Emperors being beaten up during a live broadcast and the fall of Marine Headquarters, he had already become numb to such bombardment. Yet the Revolutionary Army had actually pulled off something this huge.
"This sea is becoming more and more interesting. I'm afraid even Roger never would have imagined that things would develop like this." After hearing Marco read the news, Whitebeard burst into laughter.
Actually, Whitebeard had once had the opportunity to learn the truth of the world and become the Pirate King.
Before Roger surrendered himself, he had gone to find Whitebeard and wanted to tell him everything, but Whitebeard refused.
Whitebeard had no interest in becoming the Pirate King or learning the truth of the world. He only wanted to protect his large family on the sea and allow his sons to live safe and happy lives.
However, he felt that the current development of the world was becoming increasingly unexpected.
"Next, we should set out." Whitebeard said with a smile.
Nagasawa had already contacted them and asked them to head toward the sea near Marine Headquarters, gather their forces, and attack Mariejois together.
...
Holy Land, Mariejois.
This place located at the summit of the Red Line was a prosperous and beautiful area. After all, it was where the Celestial Dragons themselves lived, the "Holy Land" of the World Government.
But this Holy Land was exceptionally noisy at this moment, with many Celestial Dragons questioning their elders.
Because most Celestial Dragons also did not know of Im's existence, nor did they know that the World Government had someone above the Five Elders.
Compared to the curiosity of ordinary Celestial Dragons, the Five Elders were suffering much more.
Because they knew that all of this was true. The photographs of Im released by the Revolutionary Army were real, and the photographs of the giant dragon were also those of the Celestial Dragons' national treasure.
"We've already investigated. Lord Im has indeed disappeared and is not currently in Mariejois." The Five Elder with a horseshoe mustache said with a gloomy expression.
When the Revolutionary Army first spread the news, they did not pay any attention to it.
Because in the eyes of the Five Elders, Im was basically an omnipotent and immortal god. How could Lord Im possibly be captured by a mere group of Revolutionary Army members and have his secret exposed?
But after being unable to contact Im, they began to panic. In the end, they could only reluctantly overstep their authority for once and investigate Im.
But after investigating, the Five Elders shockingly discovered that Im was indeed no longer in the Holy Land of Mariejois.
And before this, Im had said that he would erase Marine Headquarters.
Combining that with the news revealed by the Revolutionary Army, the result was extremely obvious.
Their omnipotent Lord Im had actually been captured by the Revolutionary Army.
"Those damn Revolutionary Army members must have used an extremely despicable method to make Lord Im fail." The Five Elder holding a katana said indignantly.
"That's right. The Revolutionary Army must have used a despicable method, but the most important thing now is how should we deal with this matter?" The Five Elder wearing a dark blue suit and having a long white beard pointed out the key issue.
No matter how much they condemned the Revolutionary Army here, the situation would not change. Their Lord Im had indeed been captured by the Revolutionary Army, and his secret had also been discovered by the Revolutionary Army.
The meeting room instantly fell silent, and no one spoke.
They were not stupid. On the contrary, to become one of the Five Elders, they were the most outstanding group among the Celestial Dragons. Their strength and intelligence were both top-notch.
Precisely because they were not stupid, they knew how troublesome the situation was.
Im was the World Government's greatest trump card. Whenever he was deployed, he brought destruction with overwhelming force. It had always been this way.
But now their greatest trump card had been captured, and even the national treasure of the Celestial Dragons was in the hands of the Revolutionary Army. There was very little they could do.
They still had armies and secret forces, but could those forces possibly be stronger than the combined strength of Marine Headquarters? Of course not.
They were indeed powerful, but could they compare with the national treasure of the Celestial Dragons, or compare with Im? Obviously, they could not.
So even Im and Marine Headquarters had failed. Even if they wanted to eliminate the Revolutionary Army, they discovered that the Revolutionary Army was no longer something they could deal with.
"No matter what, we must rescue Lord Im." The Celestial Dragon wearing a black suit said seriously.
"The World Government has stood for eight hundred years, and the Celestial Dragons have continued to prosper. Lord Im has made enormous contributions to this. We cannot be without Lord Im."
The other four Celestial Dragons nodded. Im and his dragon were extremely important to the World Government.
"We can give the Revolutionary Army what they want, exchange it for Lord Im, and then make plans for what to do next."