Yhwach remained in his deep slumber. During this sleep, his consciousness once again connected with Imu.
Inside the Room of Flowers, Imu felt a renewed influx of power and an instinctive impulse. He immediately reached out to the Five Elders.
Normally, the connection between Yhwach's soul and Imu's would be a process of fusion, but Yhwach's soul was far more powerful. He was the "King of Souls," born with the innate ability to devour them. Consequently, in this fusion, Yhwach held the absolute advantage. He began to subtly influence Imu, leading Imu to subconsciously execute Yhwach's will.
To deepen the connection between the two worlds, Yhwach decided to use Imu's Abyssal power to further remodel the Five Elders.
In the Room of Authority within Pangaea Castle, the Five Elders—who were currently discussing world affairs—simultaneously received Imu's command. They immediately dropped their documents and ceased their debate.
"All of you, out," they commanded the guards. The guards obeyed and retreated.
"Lord Imu, what is your intention...?" the Elders asked through telepathy once they were alone.
Imu's voice echoed as if rising from the depths of a canyon: "The global situation has become complex. Therefore, I have decided to bestow upon you a higher realm and greater power."
Instantly, five-pointed star magic circles appeared beneath their feet. They formed a circle, their individual arrays aligning to create one massive, collective formation. The room that decided the fate of the world was suddenly filled with filth and evil. Dark energy surged, and within the complex magic circle, a rift seemed to tear open—a gate to another dimension.
Inside that rift, a bizarre eyeball appeared, containing Triple Pupils that spun manically. It was a scene of pure horror that would drive a normal person mad.
Boom!
A terrifying Conqueror's Haki erupted, not just from the room, but from the entirety of Pangaea Castle, sweeping outward. When Imu had previously given Harald the Depths Covenant, the overflow of power had nearly burst the castle; the power manifesting now was far more potent.
Within that extradimensional gate, reflections of the five men began to emerge.
...
Meanwhile, in the Wandenreich.
Beltz, walking under the gloomy sky, stopped and looked into the distance. He was accompanied by Bazz-B and Robert Accutrone. As a member of the Sternritter, he couldn't limit his social circle to just the "Bambies"—especially since only Liltotto remained of that group. Unlike many arrogant Quincies, Beltz was neither a psychopath nor overly prideful, making him well-liked.
Bazz-B and Robert also stopped.
"What... what is going on?" Bazz-B asked in shock. Across five different regions of the Empire, staggering amounts of Reiatsu had suddenly erupted.
"Why don't we go see for ourselves?" Robert leapt dozens of meters into the air.
Beltz and Bazz-B followed. From their vantage point in the sky, they saw five massive pentagram magic circles.
"It's Bakotsu and the others...?" Bazz-B frowned, realizing the arrays were centered on the locations of the five "The Knights of God" cloned from the Five Elders.
"What are they doing?" Robert asked, his brow furrowed. "Starting a rebellion?"
Beltz watched the arrays thoughtfully. Yhwach was certainly bold. But then again, the Sternritters were merely consumables to him—especially these five, who were his direct creations.
Boom!
Five pillars of light shot into the sky, piercing the clouds as if trying to reach another dimension. Yhwach was fusing the Five Elders of both worlds! Imu's Abyssal power had enhanced Yhwach's own abilities, specifically the "Abyss" transport capability.
Through the cooperation of Yhwach and Imu, a cross-world teleportation was being enacted. The foundation for this, however, was Keiko using the Soul King's Right Leg to maintain the bridge between the Wandenreich and One Piece.
"Whatever is happening, if it weren't by His Majesty's will, Haschwalth would have stepped in to stop it by now," Beltz noted. "We shouldn't worry about it."
Other Sternritters gathered as they saw the three in the sky, and hearing Beltz's logic, they agreed. Haschwalth, the "Other Half" of God, wouldn't miss a disturbance this large. His absence meant Yhwach approved.
"True. Let's disperse." Robert cast a worried glance at the pillars and descended.
...
Beltz walked back with Liltotto.
"What is the meaning of this?" Liltotto asked, her face grave.
"Nothing good, I'm sure," Beltz whispered. "My contacts in the Twilight Hermit Order tell me the World Government has become very strange lately. If I'm not mistaken... Yhwach might have noticed the other world."
"What?!" Liltotto gasped. Usually composed, she was visibly shaken. The One Piece World was their chosen safe house and future headquarters. If Yhwach discovered it, where would they run?
"Don't panic," Beltz comforted her. "Our identities haven't been exposed. This proves Yhwach's understanding of that world isn't deep enough to find us yet. I'll have someone look into what's happening at the World Government."
"I'm not worried about that," Liltotto sighed, trying to steady her heart. "I'm thinking... if Yhwach takes over both worlds, where is there left for us to go?"
Her eyes were filled with uncertainty. To a Sternritter, Yhwach was invincible. Once he recovered his full power, the Three Realms would be his for the taking. Shinigami and Hollows would be lambs to the slaughter.
"That's why there is only one path: to stop him," Beltz said softly. "The Twilight Hermit Order will unite to oppose Yhwach."
"Unite?" Liltotto noted the organization sounded loose.
"The master of the order is named Adam. His strength is no less than Yhwach's," Beltz said, giving her some hope. "Adam is transcendent; he only wishes to observe the development of both worlds. If Yhwach intends to destroy that balance, Adam will act."
Liltotto felt slightly better. As they reached their quarters, she looked at the fading pillars of light. "The Empire is in lockdown. We couldn't even leave if we wanted to."
"If you truly want to leave, there is always a way," Beltz smiled.
He was in high spirits because, in One Piece, the clone Gremmy had imagined finally found the Dark-Dark Fruit. Keiko had secured it. One-third of his future goal was complete. He still needed to undergo Hollowfication and Shinigamification.
Keiko only needed partial Hollowfication and Quincyfication, research Aizen was still conducting. Meanwhile, Erensig had used the Hōgyoku to become a Shinigami; he only lacked the future Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Yhwach (Soul King). Only Erensig could eat that fruit, as Beltz would use Hollow power to neutralize Yhwach's trait of needing to infinitely devour souls.
Beltz returned to his room. A Devil Fruit appeared in his hand. Although the Empire was sealed within Soul Society, it remained connected to One Piece through Keiko.
He tossed the Dark-Dark Fruit in his hand and swallowed it whole. When he first ate the Azure Dragon fruit, he could only take small bites because of the foul taste. Now, he consumed the entire Dark-Dark Fruit without flinching.
Instantly, the power of darkness surged within him! Thanks to Vegapunk's modifications, he could consume two fruits. The Azure Dragon was his foundation; the Dark-Dark Fruit was his ladder to the next level.
Dark energy poured out of his body. Beltz reached out, and an invisible force gathered in his palm, forming a rotating dark nebula. Having spent years replenishing the power he gave his clones, he was at his peak. With this fruit, his power, already at the limit, rose once more.
...
In One Piece, the fusion of the Five Elders was complete. Under Yhwach's Auswählen and Imu's Abyss, the spirits of the Wandenreich clones crossed through the magic circle in the Room of Authority. They possessed the bodies of their counterparts like transparent ghosts.
The ten Elders fused into five, releasing terrifying black lightning.
Crackle!!!!
Across the sea at Marine Headquarters beneath the Red Line, Garp and Sengoku both snapped their heads toward the Holy Land. Sengoku broke into a cold sweat; Garp even dropped his food.
"What... what is that?!" they exclaimed in unison.
Such terrifying Haki! While they could tell it was five distinct signatures rather than one, each was staggeringly powerful. In all their years, they had never felt Haki this strong coming from the Holy Land.