Staring at the dark speck on the horizon, the group did not fully understand, but nonetheless departed without hesitation.
The vast, barren island of rock was left behind with only Ghidorah—no, not alone, but a solitary beast.
His colossal form stood like a golden stone statue.
Three fearsome heads, golden eyes fixed on the distance.
That sensation in the depths of fate could not be wrong. He hadn't expected to encounter here, of all places, the heir to that fruit.
From memory and deduction, it was possible… but everything would need to be confirmed personally.
The sea breeze whispered. Above, dark clouds gathered like ink, wind and waves rising as the sea churned.
The black speck drew nearer, slowly magnifying in size.
It was a blue warship—larger and far more ornate than a typical Vice Admiral's ship.
But on its sails was not the symbol of the Marines, but the unique crest of the World Government.
Amidst the stormy waves, the Government's warship approached.
On the deck, a group of officers in Justice cloaks stood. At their head was a broad-shouldered elder.
Scarlet muscles, short white hair like a mountain of snow, and a stern, unyielding face—his eyes locked with Ghidorah's.
"Commander-in-Chief of the World Government… Kong the Steel Bone!"
From appearance alone, Ghidorah instantly recognized him, and his three jaws parted to utter the man's name.
"Hahahaha… I didn't expect a creature like you to actually know of a small figure like me."
Hearing his identity revealed at once, Kong threw his head back in booming laughter.
With a resounding leap, the man landed upon the desolate island, gazing straight at the monstrous form before him.
"To think a routine patrol would lead me to you of all beings."
"I didn't expect it either."
Ghidorah stared down at him, his jaws curving into a delighted smile.
"Earlier, I had been wondering when I might reclaim that fruit… and here you appear before me."
"The World Government truly dares to spend dearly—to have actually given that fruit to you."
"When I first served in the Marines, I never imagined the Government would entrust such a fruit to me. It was only recently that I learned its true origin."
"To think… the creator of such a fruit was you…"
Kong clenched his fist, unable to suppress his sigh.
Back when he had risen prominently through the Navy, the higher-ups had rewarded him with a Devil Fruit. For years, he had believed it to be an act of cultivation by his superiors.
Only much later, upon coming into contact with that one, did he learn the truth: everything had been orchestrated from the beginning.
And that fruit—across generations, its users had always been controlled by that group.
The New World. God Valley.
Deep within the island's vast underground chambers.
Once a colossal tomb, it had been rebuilt into a grand underground palace.
Within its council hall, seated around an enormous stone table, were more than a dozen shadowy figures whose faces were obscured.
At the head of the table, opposite the main seat, sat Imu.
"One of the sea routes in the New World has already been sealed by that creature. Intelligence suggests the fruit's current user is somewhere along that route. But no word of awakening has come yet."
"Even so, I fear he may employ some means to force that fruit to awaken. After all… he has done exactly that before, a thousand years ago."
Imu slowly laid out the meeting's purpose.
"And with the Sky Lord Rodan already revived… should that beast join him, the consequences could be…"
"Hmph. If we were able to seal him eight hundred years ago, then eight hundred years later we can do it again."
"Imu, these eight centuries—what have you been doing? Why is the bloodline of the Celestial Dragons so diminished?"
"Even if we ourselves are revived, without sufficient bloodline, we will once again be forced into slumber."
"…Is that your intention all along?"
The shadow seated at the left of the head chair spoke in a cold voice, cutting into the silence.
At once, several gazes turned toward Imu.
It was not an unreasonable suspicion. By their estimation, even if such a bloodline could not expand into an entire nation, it should not have dwindled to such scarcity.
With so little, it was impossible to sustain their waking state for long.
Eight hundred years had passed, and the bloodline had barely doubled—who could believe such a thing?
Yet Imu showed no panic. He replied calmly:
"You cannot blame me. Long before your awakening, that monster slaughtered the Holy Land. To preserve even these fragments of bloodline cost me dearly."
The truth could never be proven now—whatever he said, they had no way to refute.
Still, the others' eyes glimmered with hatred.
"Because of the bloodline shortage, we must avoid taking action whenever possible. As for the sealed sea route, let him block it for now."
"So long as we seize the right opportunity, we will deal with him."
"This time, we must force him to surrender the secret of eternal life."
"…We could also attempt to capture the current inheritor of the Ope Ope no Mi. That too offers a path to eternity."
At that suggestion, the room fell silent.
The Ope Ope Fruit could indeed grant eternal life—but therein lay the problem.
Sixteen shadowed figures sat around the table. Even if the fruit-user were captured, who would be granted eternity first?
This was no trivial question.
Though they appeared united on the surface, they were far from harmonious in truth.
When faced with such immense benefit, not one among them believed they would willingly yield immortality to another.
The meeting, which had begun with the aim of halting Ghidorah's growth, slowly devolved into a debate over eternity.
One spoke, then another, while Imu—sitting silently—frowned ever more deeply.
If not for his own limitations—unable to guarantee suppressing Ghidorah alone—he would never have revived these old monsters. In truth, he wished they had remained forever buried.
That was the true reason why, for centuries, he had seemingly protected the Celestial Dragons while secretly suppressing their breeding.
And by his calculations, after the current turmoil, their number would again shrink—perhaps to a dozen, or fewer.
At that point, continuing the bloodline at all would be nearly impossible.
Yet the revived ones also saw Imu's intentions clearly enough.
In secret, they had already begun their own schemes.
"Bad news, Imu-sama!"
At that moment, Rob Lucci appeared silently behind Imu, speaking in a low tone.
"Just now, the Vice Commander of the Commander-in-Chief's vessel sent word. They've encountered Ghidorah…"
"What!?"
Imu, who had remained calm before, shot to his feet in fury.
"Did I not order him to retreat if he crossed paths with Ghidorah!?"
"Does he take my commands for nothing?!"
"Damn it!"
Cursing, he swept his gaze across those seated, fixing it on several whose speed was unmatched.
"Kong is facing that monster now. You all know how important that fruit is."
"If you refuse to act, then prepare to return to slumber forever. Go. Save him."
"No matter the cost—we cannot allow that beast to seize that fruit…"