At the holy land of Mary Geoise, the air was tense. Inside a grand chamber surrounded by tall marble pillars, the Five Elders sat around a long table, their faces dark and serious. Newspapers lay scattered before them, the headline clear as day — "Alliance Formed! Straw Hat Pirates, Heart Pirates, and the Mysterious Yuta Join Hands in Wano!"
"This… is troublesome," one Elder said slowly, adjusting his glasses. "Straw Hat Luffy, that Trafalgar Law — both are from the D clan."
Another Elder folded his arms. "And what about that Whitebeard boy… Yuta Hiro, was it? He already destroyed Marineford once. We never recovered fully from that humiliation."
"It's the Navy's humiliation, not ours," said one of the Elders with a bald head.
"Sakazuki has asked for permission for the Navy to take action."
The Five Elders exchanged glances. "Sakazuki again?" one of them sighed. "What does he wish to do now? Haven't the Navy learned its lesson yet? They couldn't win when Whitebeard came to them, and now that Red Dog wishes to attack a Yonko."
The words were mocking, if anything. It was technically Sengoku who took responsibility for what happened back then, but Sakazuki wasn't completely blameless either.
The Navy still lost while he was there. They might have made him the next Fleet Admiral, however, he didn't hold nearly as much weight as Sengoku did due to what took place two years ago.
Moments later, a Den Den Mushi on the table buzzed. Akainu's voice came through, sharp and angry. "The Navy's patience has limits! That brat Yuta sank Marineford two years ago and made a mockery of the World Government! We can't sit quietly while he teams up with pirates again!"
The Elder with the long beard leaned closer to the snail. "Sakazuki, you understand the risk. Wano is not part of the World Government. Interfering there could provoke Kaido—or worse, it will shift the balance of the sea. Do you wish for the sea to fall into chaos?"
"I don't care!" Akainu barked. "We'll crush them all! Kaido, Luffy, Law, and especially that Whitebeard boy! This time, we'll erase every last trace of that incident! The Marines will rise again!"
The room fell silent.
Another Elder murmured, "His anger clouds his reason… but his point is valid. However, we can't let the Navy take this action. It will unbalance the sea."
One of them tapped the table slowly. "But what took place two years ago has negatively impacted the Navy's majesty."
"Indeed," another Elder added.
The youngest Elder frowned. "That boy… now he's siding with the Straw Hats."
"Are you thinking of taking down Straw Hat? There is no reason. No one has been able to awaken that fruit in 800 years."
"He's of the D clan."
Just as they were about to decide, the massive door behind them opened. A messenger entered, trembling as he carried a black envelope sealed with the mark of the highest authority — the mark of Imu.
The Elders straightened immediately. The head Elder opened the letter and read silently. His eyes narrowed as he finished.
"It's an order," he said in a low voice. "From Imu-sama himself."
"What does it say?" another Elder asked.
The head Elder looked up. "Eliminate Yuta. Eliminate the boy who carries the Nika fruit."
The room froze. None of them dared question it.
The reason was not needed. It was an order from Imu-sama. They would carry it out without doubt.
Akainu's voice crackled again through the Den Den Mushi. "You heard me. Give me the order, and I'll wipe them off the map."
The head Elder exhaled slowly. "Very well, Sakazuki. You have your permission. But remember… failure will not be tolerated this time around."
Akainu chuckled darkly. "That's more than enough."
As the line went dead, the Elders sat in silence. One of them finally whispered, "If Imu-sama is taking interest in this… then perhaps that boy's heartbeat from back then really does have some mysteries hidden behind it."
"It is not for us to know. We'll just follow the order."
Outside, the red flags of the World Government fluttered. War was coming again.
…
At Marine Headquarters, the war drums had started to beat again. The atmosphere was heavy as Fleet Admiral Akainu stood at the head of the meeting room, smoke from his cigar curling in the air. Around the massive table sat every major figure in the Navy — Kizaru, Fujitora, Ryokugyu, Garp, Sengoku, and dozens of Vice Admirals.
"This meeting ain't a normal one," Akainu said gruffly, slamming a folder on the table. "We got direct orders from the Gorosei. The target is Wano."
The room went silent. Kizaru raised an eyebrow lazily. "Oh my, Wano, huh? That's a bit… complicated, isn't it? We're talking about Kaido's territory. And now Straw Hat's there too."
Fujitora frowned deeply. "Fleet Admiral, are you sayin' we're goin' to war with a Yonko? That'll cost countless lives, both pirate and Marine alike."
Akainu's fist hit the table, leaving a burn mark. "This isn't up for debate! The order comes from the top — we eliminate Yuta and the Straw Hat boy. The Gorosei themselves confirmed it. This is justice!"
Silence spread after that. More than anything, everyone knew that Straw Hat Luffy was Garp's grandson.
Ryokugyu smirked. "Heh, about time we moved again. Been itching for a fight."
Sengoku folded his arms, his tone calm but sharp. "Do you realize what you're walking into, Sakazuki? Wano isn't some open battlefield. It's closed off — we won't be able to get any reinforcements even from the World Government there."
Akainu glared at him. "You think I don't know that, old man? But if we keep waiting, those pirates will grow stronger."
Garp, who had been silent so far, finally spoke. "You're talkin' about sendin' kids to die, Sakazuki. Don't forget, that same boy Yuta sank Marineford once. You sure you wanna poke that hornet's nest again?"
Everyone's brows twitched at this. Everyone knew who really sank Marineford. In the official news, of course, they blamed the pirates, but it was this old man here.
Akainu's eyes flared with fury. "We need to crush him before he grows any stronger. The name of the Marines was dragged through the mud because of him. Not again!" He chose not to bring up the Marineford incident, though.
Some things were better left unsaid.
Fujitora sighed. "Then I'll make sure the innocent ain't caught in your 'justice' again, Fleet Admiral."
Akainu turned to all of them. "Prepare every available force. Warships, Admirals, Pacifistas. Wano will burn if it has to. We move in one week."
The room was filled with grim silence. They all knew — this time, it wasn't just another mission. It was the start of another world war.
…
Back in Wano, Yuta found running away from Kaido was no small feat, especially when the dragon was almost bloodlusted after how much Yuta beat him.
But Yuta had his ways.
After years of being bullied, no one knew how to run away better than him.
Did he wish to run away?
Absolutely not.
If he could, then he would have ended the matter right there. However, he couldn't. He hated to say it, but he wasn't strong enough to beat a Yonko yet.
Perhaps another Yonko with weaker defense, but not Kaido. Not yet.
So he ran.
This time around, Luffy wasn't taken to the Udon prison. All three of the original leaders were still present.
"That was dangerous. I almost thought we were done for," Yuta sighed, complaining about the absurdity of a Yonko chasing them halfway across the country.
"What do we do now?" asked Chopper, with an almost dreaded look.
"Wait until the time is right, and of course prepare."
"Where's Kanjuro?"
"He's not here?"
xxx
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