Down below, the World Government personnel still fighting against the division commanders and elites of the Thunder God Pirates all stiffened at once.
Their vision went black, and they collapsed unconscious to the ground.
Among everyone present who had been struck by that overwhelming presence, only a handful of people remained standing—Garp, Shiryu, King, Dragon, and a few others.
Even the Revolutionary Army commanders and the heavily injured Kong had all lost consciousness!
After spreading across the Red Line, that presence showed no signs of weakening.
Instead, it surged directly toward Marineford!
Thud!
On the battlefield of the Summit War, figure after figure collapsed to the ground.
It didn't matter whether they were Marines or members of the Whitebeard Pirates.
The battlefield, which only moments ago had been consumed by flames of war and deafening battle cries, instantly fell silent.
Sengoku and Whitebeard simultaneously turned their gazes toward the source of that presence—
The Holy Land Mary Geoise.
"What the hell is happening, Garp~?"
Even after enduring the impact of that presence and remaining on his feet, three beads of cold sweat slid down Sengoku's face.
Forget about people still standing.
Across the entire battlefield, there were barely even a handful who remained conscious.
"Looks like the Thunder Emperor has already started fighting the World Government's strongest combatant, doesn't it?"
Several of Zephyr's arms violently pulled outward, tearing Edward Weevil apart.
A faint gleam shone in his eyes behind his sunglasses.
"Looks like things aren't going too well for the World Government~"
The future Green Bull scratched at his wavy hair and spoke with considerable frustration.
"And here I was hoping to become an Admiral so pretty girls could give me massages~"
He looked around and realized that, among the powerful people who were still conscious and standing, Whitebeard's side clearly had more fighters remaining.
At this point, the outcome of the war was practically decided.
After reaching that conclusion, his expression immediately turned miserable.
"You should just behave yourself and come back to the Thunder God Pirates with me~"
Issho said the words casually, but his gaze remained firmly fixed in the direction of the Holy Land Mary Geoise.
"What exactly is happening over there? How could anyone possess such astonishing Conqueror's Haki? Is it Captain?"
Holy Land Mary Geoise.
"You've sat on that throne for eight hundred years, accumulating Conqueror's Haki for eight centuries. As expected, it's something extraordinary!"
Roy felt the impact of that overwhelming presence and couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
If Imu really was a king who had survived for eight hundred years through the power of the Op-Op Fruit, then as someone who had ruled over the world for eight centuries, there was naturally no one in this world who could compare with his Conqueror's Haki.
Unfortunately for him—
The opponent standing before him was Roy, someone who came from beyond the world of One Piece.
"..."
Imu's gaze settled on Roy.
There wasn't the slightest trace of emotion in his eyes.
They were filled only with deathly stillness.
The Conqueror's Haki he released had already reached the point where it could physically shatter matter.
Under the impact of that Haki, Pangaea Castle had long since been torn apart and reduced to ruins.
Imu remained seated upon the throne, his figure completely exposed to the outside world.
Roy rose into the sky once more.
The two stared at each other from afar.
Several minutes passed like that.
Then Imu slowly turned his head and looked toward the Five Elders lying on the ground.
The moment the Five Elders felt Imu's gaze fall upon them, all five trembled violently.
They no longer cared about the injuries or pain wracking their bodies.
Every one of them struggled to turn toward Imu before completely prostrating themselves on the ground.
Their bodies continued trembling violently from fear.
Roy looked into Imu's eyes.
Although Imu said nothing, Roy immediately understood exactly what that gaze meant.
Trash.
That was what Imu wanted to convey.
The next instant, Imu's eyes opened slightly wider.
A strange power instantly spread from his body and descended upon the bald Five Elder who wielded Shodai Kitetsu.
"Bang!"
The remaining Five Elders immediately lowered their heads even farther.
But the instant they did so, an unmistakable sense of relief washed over them.
Whenever Imu was forced to personally take action, one of the Five Elders would lose his life as punishment—and as the price for their failure.
No one knew which Five Elder Imu would execute.
All they could do was devote everything they had to maintaining the World Government's rule.
There had once been an emperor-class pirate from the New World who had been bold enough to develop the Door-Door Fruit to its absolute limit and use its power to infiltrate the Holy Land Mary Geoise…
By sheer coincidence, he arrived precisely while the Five Elders were kneeling before Imu.
At the time, Imu directly blasted that emperor-class pirate into a cloud of blood.
One of the Five Elders was also forced to pay with his life for failing to properly guard the Holy Land.
That was why the middle-aged blond Celestial Dragon who specialized in martial arts had later joined the Five Elders as a replacement.
It was also the reason why, among the Five Elders who all appeared elderly, the blond Elder alone possessed the appearance of a middle-aged man.
Every single time Imu personally took action, he erased everyone at the scene who had seen his appearance or learned of his existence—with the sole exception of the Five Elders!
That included personnel from both the World Government and the Marines.
Anyone who had witnessed his true appearance would be erased without exception!!
Only after eliminating one of the Five Elders did Imu slowly turn his head back toward Roy.
"You… are… not… a D."
Imu still hadn't made a sound.
Yet Roy could clearly understand the intention conveyed through his gaze.
Roy smiled faintly.
Just as he was about to speak—
A strange power suddenly descended upon his body.
"Time stands above all, and space rules supreme. So this is the spatial power of the Space-Space Fruit? I suppose only space itself is worthy of your status as king~"
Roy sighed softly in admiration.
The spatial power released by Imu descended directly upon Roy.
Yet—
It had absolutely no effect.
"How is that possible?!"
The Five Elders lying on the ground stared at him in utter disbelief.
"Time stands above all, and space rules supreme."
Those weren't empty words!
Imu had spent nearly eight hundred years developing the power of the Space-Space Fruit.
Its power had reached such a terrifying level that, with nothing more than a thought, he could instantly annihilate a person through spatial force.
That was the source of both the Five Elders' fear of Imu and their absolute confidence in his strength.
It was also why Imu's throne was known as the Empty Throne!!
"What a shame."
Roy looked down at Imu and slowly shook his head.
"You really have lived for more than eight hundred years. You've ruled for so long that your mind has become numb to the point of almost completely deteriorating. Are you only capable of simple thoughts anymore?"
(End of Chapter)
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