"So you're the one. The one behind the World Government."
Bullet leaped back from the side, glaring unfavorably at the imposing black figure before him.
However, his question received no response from Imu.
As if beneath contempt to engage with such an 'inferior being'.
Not just Bullet, but Byrnndi World, the other two Five Elders, everyone present seemed unworthy of Imu's attention.
The black figure's gaze only lingered on Naruto and Garp for a moment.
One had fought him at God Valley before, the other had withstood his judgment and launched a counterattack.
-Though that counterattack was nothing to Imu's true body.
"Uzumaki Naruto... There is a rather marvelous power within you... and these two youngsters."
Imu's ringed eyes held little hostility.
Instead, they held a trace of curiosity looking at Naruto, Sasuke, and Karin.
In his eyes, the Chakra invisible to ordinary people was as tangible as a physical entity.
This power was something Imu had never seen in all his years living in this world.
He had observed it once before using Gunko's body, but Naruto's clone had dissipated quickly, leaving no time for closer inspection.
When stared at by Imu, both Karin and Sasuke felt an intense chill.
It was a biological instinct to resist.
The Chakra itself was resisting.
Imu's gaze lingered longer on Karin, showing less interest in Sasuke, who had displayed greater combat prowess earlier.
Just then, Garp and Whitebeard walked over side by side.
One, the Marine Hero, the other, an Emperor of the Sea. The situation that should have been tense now seemed strangely harmonious.
"Can your old bones still hold up?"
Garp flexed his wrists. His earlier punch with Naruto hadn't caused serious injury, just some muscle and bone strain.
Whitebeard, however...
Even with Nightin's miraculous medicine, it only temporarily restored him to his youthful strength. The pain and illness within his body remained.
And after fighting from the beginning until now, much of the medicine's effect had passed.
This was evident from his heavy breathing.
"Don't look down on me, Garp."
The two had met once during the God Valley battle thirty-eight years ago, even fighting side-by-side back then.
"Garp... it seems you have betrayed us completely."
Imu remembered Garp.
Not just because he had fought him, but because Garp and Roger had personally finished Rocks, whom he had controlled with [Domi Reversi].
"Ptooey-"
Garp spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, an injury from taking Naruto's Galaxy Impact head-on.
"It is you who have betrayed! The World Government has betrayed the Marines!"
His voice was extremely loud, even momentarily drowning out the sounds of battle.
Many Marines instinctively halted upon hearing this.
Not just Marines… even the pirates paused in shock upon realizing what they had heard.
Aokiji, Kizaru, Big Mom, and Kaido, their figures separated, each occupying one side of the battlefield, stopping in unspoken agreement, their gazes turning this way.
Issho drew his sword, his blind eyes also turning towards Garp.
As for smaller players like Moria and Doflamingo in this environment, they were flabbergasted.
'What was happening?'
'Were the Marines splitting from the World Government?'
"The World Government was founded by the original twenty Kings to maintain peace in this world."
"That supreme [Empty Throne] should have no one sitting upon it!"
Garp might usually seem carefree and not too bright.
But he was actually the type of wise man who feigns foolishness. How else could he have fathered a revolutionary like Dragon?
He naturally knew the full story of the World Government's founding from various 'textbooks'. It wasn't secret… on the contrary, it was public knowledge.
Because it was the source of the World Government's authority, the basis for its legitimacy.
Yet Imu's usurpation turned all this into a joke, making those within the Marines and World Government who genuinely fought for justice into clowns.
"I always wondered why those Celestial Dragon scumbags deserved to exist. So it was all your doing."
However, facing Garp's righteous words, Imu remained completely unmoved.
"Well said, Garp."
"But it is meaningless."
"Because you will all die here today. Everyone will only remember that he, the Great Sinner Uzumaki Naruto, destroyed Marineford."
As Imu spoke, his gaze swept over the surrounding Marines and the silently standing Sengoku.
Sometimes, inaction was a form of taking a stand.
"The Marines exhausted every last soldier to kill the Great Sinner. Even the Five Elders perished here."
As Imu's words fell, the remaining two Five Elders let out agonized screams. Immediately, a black power was extracted from their bodies, flowing into Imu.
Warcury and Mars desperately grabbed their throats but couldn't stop the drain of power.
In the end, these two who had wielded near-limitless power for centuries died helplessly at their master's hands.
"Figarland Garling will form the new World Council. The world will soon return to its original 'peaceful' state."
As Imu finished speaking, Garling perfectly stepped forward, blocking Sengoku and the others, a triumphant smile on his face.
The Five Elders' positions were changeable at any time for Imu. He had waited for this opportunity for a long time.
After saying all this, Imu, controlling Saturn's body, turned, looking down upon Naruto.
"So? Is this script not perfect?"
Under Imu's oppressive gaze, Naruto simply remained silent for a moment, then clapped softly. Under Imu's somewhat puzzled look, he pulled out a Den Den Mushi from his pocket.
"So? Was it all broadcast?"
Naruto said this while looking straight at Imu, his mouth slowly curling into a smile.
"No problem! Naruto Aniki!"
Not far from the battlefield, various Marine and pirate 'corpses' suddenly started getting up.
They looked different but all held image-transmitting Den Den Mushi.
Poof poof poof...
As dense smoke cleared, Konohamaru's figure was exposed on the battlefield.
"I thought only villains in [Warriors of the Sea: Sora] would monologue about their plans."
Warriors of the Sea: Sora is a comic based on the real-life evil family Germa 66, which is serialized in the World Economic News Paper and is popular.
It's also one of Naruto's favorite comics as a child.
"Who would've thought... It seems you're not omniscient after all."
Naruto winked at Imu, then took out another Den Den Mushi.
This was a long-distance communication Den Den Mushi, with a distinctive design… its slug-like face marked with red grid-like patterns.
"So? Dragon?"
The next moment, the voice of the [World's Worst Criminal], revolutionary Monkey D. Dragon, came through.
"All proceeding according to your plan."
"Thanks for the military support. It allowed our comrades to launch coups in over a hundred affiliated nations."
"If you want to thank someone, thank Tesoro. He provided the funds."
Hearing this, Imu finally couldn't maintain his earlier calm. His ringed eyes narrowed.
"'Golden Emperor'? I should have known."
As the man who claimed to control nearly a fifth of the world's currency, Tesoro's name appearing from Imu wasn't strange.
What surprised Imu was that Tesoro was also under Naruto's banner.
Tesoro had disguised himself too well.
Greedy, profit-driven, eccentric… from all angles, he seemed the type most easily manipulated by the World Government.
"See, the war started long ago, shadowy guy."
Putting the Den Den Mushi away, Naruto's smile turned serious again.
Since experiencing Imu's power to destroy a country in a short time, Naruto had begun planning this.
He believed if Imu knew their specific locations, he could unleash devastating strikes on Dragon and the others.
But he also firmly believed such means had limitations.
Thus, this all-out war.
The reality was as Naruto said: The war had begun before Imu's arrival... no, before this execution.
The execution continued, but the target had simply changed to the World Government itself!
"..."
"I admit, I underestimated you."
Rarely, Imu suppressed the anger reaching its edge, his tone becoming cold and emotionless again.
"However, all this is meaningless."
"Even if you expose this, so what?"
"Even if you make those kingdoms betray my rule, so what?"
"I will kill all of you, destroy everything, then rebuild this world."
"Just like eight hundred years ago."
"History, is on my side!"
With Imu's words, an immensely heavy Conqueror's Haki swept across the entire battlefield.
A terrifying pressure even Vice Admirals couldn't withstand.
Like, a god!
In an instant, Imu's figure seemed infinitely tall in everyone's eyes.
Both Marines and pirates fell like wheat, collapsing in waves.
Not many had remained standing after Naruto's earlier Haki purge. Now, under Imu's second assault, it was truly 'not a blade of grass left standing'.
Those who could still stand were at least powerhouses like Katakuri or Marco. Even many Division Commanders fell unconscious.
Konohamaru's shadow clones exploded one after another, and the broadcast Den Den Mushi all fainted again.
"Da... damn it... I should be the star of this war..."
Before he could finish his last word, Blackbeard and his crew slipped into peaceful dreams.