On the main deck of the ship, Imu stood at the there and looking out at the endless dark sea.
His simple dark cloak fluttered in the salty wind. Behind him, the top agents of CP0 stood silently. Rob Lucci, Kaku, Jabra, Kalifa, Blueno, and Stussy were all there.
For a long time no one spoke. The only sound was the whoosh of the waves against the ship.
Finally Rob Lucci, who was usually very quiet took a small step towards Imu.
"Umi-sama," he said with his low and serious voice.
Imu did not turn around but but still replied "Yes?"
"I have a question," Lucci said. "I want to become stronger. You are most strongest person on this ship can you tell me how does one achieve such strength?"
There was another reason for his question. He was remembering his big fight a few weeks ago. He remembered the pain and the shame of losing to the boy in the straw hat, Monkey D. Luffy.
For a perfect agent like Lucci losing was the worst thing in the world. He felt like he had failed and he thought that he was not strong enough.
"I don't want to lose again when i am on my mission," Lucci said his voice was full regret.
when Imu heard this he understood what he is asking for. He lost to luffy at enies lobby and failed his mission. This is why he is asking this question.
Then he finally turned his head slightly. His glowing red eyes looking at Lucci.
"It is not that you were weak," Imu said, his voice a quiet mystery. "but your opponent was Luffy."
Lucci and the other CP0 agents were very confused by this answer.
What did that mean? Was he saying Luffy was just special? Was he saying it was just bad luck?
Lucci didn't understand this. But he knew that this man, Umi is his senior and he knew something that I does not know. So he just nodded his head as if he understood perfectly.
"I see," Lucci said, even though he didn't see at all. "Thank you for your guidance Umi-sam."
The other agents also pretended to understand and nodding their heads seriously like they also understand that. They all thought that Imu had shared some deep secret with them and they were just not enough information to figure it out yet.
Imu turned back to look at the sea. His work with them was finished.
Underneath his calm face his mind felt like it was about to break. He had not slept for over nine days.
For seven of those days his mind had been stretched out like a giant net and controlling the actions of tens of thousands of people. It was a huge and heavy work even for someone as powerful as him.
It was like lifting a invisible giant mountain with his brain without ever putting it down. His mind was screaming for a long, deep and quiet rest for few days.
"I am going to my room for rest," Imu said, his voice was steady and not showing any of the terrible tiredness he felt.
"Do not disturb my sleep no matter what happens. Understand?"
"Yes Umi-sama" they all said at the same time.
Imu walked away and went into the big fancy captain's room at the back of the ship.
Inside his personal room, Imu locked the door. The moment he was alone, he let out a long tired breath that seemed to carry all the weight of the last nine days.
A deep and heavy pain throbbed behind his eyes.
He leaned against the door for a second, feeling a wave of mental exhaustion so strong it almost made his knees buckle.
He looked around the room. It was nice, with a big map on the wall and a fancy desk. But it wasn't his room. He did not just need rest. he needed a perfect sleep.
He smiled a small tired smile. He did not need to sail all the way back to Mary Geoise. That would take days and he could not wait that long. He had a much faster way to travel.
Imu used his devil fruit power and a strange purple energy surrounded him like a circular pentagram.
For just one second the room was filled with a rotating shadow. And then he was gone.
He did not just disappeared from the room. He had disappeared from the ship completely.
_______________
Pangaea Castle, Mary Geoise , Red Line
At the exact same moment in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise in the very heart of the beautiful Pangea Castle there was a secret room that almost few people in the world knew about.
It was a the personal room of Imu.
A rotating purple shadow appeared in the middle of the room. Then it disappeared and Imu was standing there. He had teleported all the way from the North Blue to his own room in an instant.
He looked around his room. It was quiet and peaceful.
He walked over to his bed. It was a magnificent bed. The blankets were made of the softest silk in the world and the pillows were as fluffy as clouds.
For someone who had been awake for over more than nine days it looked like the most beautiful thing in the whole world.
He let out a long happy sigh and lied down onto the bed, his tired body sinking into its wonderful softness.
"Ohhh, I really missed this bed so much!" he said out loud to the empty room. His voice was not the serious voice of Imu. It was the voice of someone who was completely exhausted and very happy to be home.
He rolled around on the his bed like a happy tired cat. For a moment, Imu was very happy to be back in his own comfortable bed after a long hard trip of North Blue.
The deep ache in his mind was already starting to fade away replaced by the wonderful promise of a long deep sleep.
"I really wish I could see the face of Dragon when he sees tomorrow's newspaper," he whispered to himself and his eyelids feeling as heavy as stones.
He imagined Dragon, the serious leader of the Revolutionary Army picking up the newspaper and seeing the big picture of "Imu" on the front page. He imagined Dragon reading the story about how the World Government had saved four kingdoms from his "evil" army. He imagined Dragon reading the lie about the Germa technology. He imagined the pure helpless anger Dragon would feel.
Imu let out a small happy and sleepy chuckle.
"Now what will you do Dragon?" he said wiht his voice full of a funny mocking tone.
"Still looking towards the east?"
After a Few moments Imu was sleeping peacefully.