What exactly did the "D" in Queen Nefertari D. Lily's name stand for?
That question had always haunted King Cobra.
But he never imagined that in a vision—real or illusion—he would confront the Gorosei, the highest authorities in the World Government, and ask them directly.
And what stunned Cobra wasn't just their silence… but their reaction.
They were angry.
No—furious.
A simple question had provoked killing intent from the Five Elders, the so-called pillars of the Celestial Dragons.
"'D', you say?"
The Warrior God of Finance, Saint Nasujuro, his eyes sharp and voice heavy, held a demon blade tightly in his grip as he addressed Cobra, now aged and bound to a wheelchair.
"King Cobra… why would you ask that question?"
The elderly Cobra replied, his voice low and steady:
"To be blunt… eight hundred years ago, Queen Lily left behind a letter. A brief one. It's been passed down through generations of the royal family."
A sudden silence fell.
The Gorosei glanced at one another, their expressions darkening.
Then—
Clack… clack… clack...
A sound echoed through the grand hall.
On the high staircase leading to the Empty Throne, a figure slowly ascended—thin, cloaked in shadows, silent but powerful.
The palace, cold and silent moments ago, now felt suffocating.
Under the shocked gaze of the Gorosei—and even Cobra's future self—the shadowy figure calmly walked forward…
And sat on the throne.
The world's highest throne.
A throne meant for no one.
Someone was already seated upon it?
Cobra's heart froze.
How could this be?
Why did the world know nothing of this?
The Gorosei, their composure shattered, immediately knelt before the throne.
"Imu-sama," they said in unison, their heads bowed low. "King Cobra is still here."
The figure atop the throne said nothing for a moment. Then, in a genderless, ethereal voice, it uttered just one name:
"Lily…"
King Cobra's aged self broke into a cold sweat. His body trembled, and his voice cracked as he looked up at the figure.
"Who… are you?!"
Both the present and the older Cobra thought the same thing:
Has the world always been ruled by a single unseen hand?
No. That would explain everything that was broken.
Imu's voice was cold and clear.
"I have two questions for you, Cobra."
Cobra couldn't focus. His thoughts were scattered. All he could do was listen in shock as the figure continued.
Fragments of their conversation echoed through his mind:
"Imu's name… among the original twenty…"
"Imu will not answer…"
"Those who bear the name D... were enemies to us once. They still are. They don't even know why."
"The scholars who seek the Void Century, the pirates who challenge the system… all because of Lily's mistake that day."
"Perhaps it was an error. Perhaps she meant it. But either way… she must be erased."
Then came the final question:
"Tell me," Imu said from the throne, "who was the sender of the letter Lily passed down?"
King Cobra, despite himself, answered:
"…Signed… Nefertari D. Lily…"
A breath.
A blink.
THWIP.
Something lashed out from the shadows. A black, arrow-shaped tail pierced through his aged self's chest.
"Cough—!"
Blood sprayed across the floor.
Cobra's older self was thrown from his wheelchair, crashing to the marble in a heap. Blood spread quickly beneath him.
The Gorosei stood like statues, watching without pity. Indifferent. Unmoved.
To them, he was an insect who had dared speak a forbidden name.
Then—
"Fire Fist!"
A voice thundered through the chamber.
Flames burst forth from behind a pillar, crimson and white, racing toward the Gorosei in a blazing wave.
BOOM!
Fire roared across the hall, scorching the sacred platform.
A young man, wielding a long pipe-like staff, stepped out from the shadows.
He glanced at the burning Elder monsters and grimaced.
"So this is the highest seat of the world…" he muttered. "What a hellhole. Monsters, all of you."
Cobra stared in horror.
The Gorosei had transformed—inhuman, terrifying.
One had become a dark, bird-like beast with serrated teeth.
Another, a hulking spider with eight massive legs.
One transformed into a colossal wild boar, tusks like spears.
Another became a skeletal horse, bones exposed and smoking.
The last, a towering insect-like creature with a split jaw and clawed limbs.
Behind them, encircling the high platform like a serpent god, was an even larger creature—cold, calculating eyes locked on the young man and Cobra.
It was Vespera.
The Fall of Power itself.
The aged Cobra lay dying.
The young revolutionary rushed forward and hoisted him onto his back.
"I'm getting you out of here!"
Flames roared behind him as they sprinted for an escape.
Cobra's vision swam.
"Is this really the future…?"
He could only follow along in the hallucination, unable to control his body.
He heard his older self mutter with ragged breath:
"Tell Vivi… and Luffy… we are also D…"
"I finally understand what Alabasta must do."
Then, just like before, the same black tail struck from the shadows.
STAB.
It pierced both the revolutionary and Cobra's older self at once.
They hit the ground, gasping.
And yet, his aged self rose once more, blood pouring, barely standing between the monsters and the boy.
He roared:
"Protect the Poneglyphs!
They are the dawn's banner against the darkness!
These are the words… left to us… by Nefertari D. Lily!"
The revolutionary's eyes filled with tears.
"I understand!"
He turned and ran, carrying those words like a torch into the darkness.
Behind him, Cobra's older self was pierced a final time, falling still.
…
Dead.
So that's how he would die?
In Mariejois, the sacred land?
For daring to speak Lily's name?
Then perhaps… everyone with the name D was an enemy of the one seated on the Empty Throne.
Cobra's mind faded into blackness.
The vision ended.
…
Only a few breaths had passed in the real world.
Across the room, Shirogai Yamikuro stood with a bored expression, arms crossed.
He let out a lazy yawn.
"Should I toss a 'D' into my name just to mess with them?"
He smirked.
"Nah. Too dramatic."
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