The second meteorite was dealt with in much the same way as the first.
Imu unleashed Conqueror's Haki from the Room of Flowers, slowing the meteorite's descent and shattering its outer crust.
The Gorosei charged into the sky again, becoming five dazzling, white-hot suns.
Amidst the "rumbling" roars, the ten-kilometer-diameter meteorite broke into pieces of varying sizes.
Shamrock and the God's Knights, along with some of the more powerful Celestial Dragons, all moved to destroy the remaining fragments.
Inevitably, many buildings were destroyed by the shockwaves of the Gorosei's self-destruction.
Some meteorite fragments fell, injuring or killing Celestial Dragons and World Government personnel.
Aokiji and Kizaru stared at the ruins of Mary Geoise, now half-destroyed, and were deeply shaken.
The Holy Land of the Celestial Dragons, the World Government Headquarters, had been attacked.
Most of the ordinary buildings were now ruins.
Beneath the rubble of tall buildings and meter-wide stone blocks, one could clearly see many residents who had been crushed.
Among them were many Celestial Dragons in their space-like suits.
"Mary Geoise... destroyed to this extent. This is unprecedented in eight hundred years, isn't it?" Kizaru's face was one of surprise.
Aokiji, however, was staring deep into Mary Geoise.
There, one palace stood completely unharmed.
Even as the surrounding buildings collapsed, that palace remained standing, untouched by dust or damage.
Both waves of astonishing Conqueror's Haki had emanated from that palace.
The Gorosei and the God's Knights were all outside.
Who was in that palace?!
Aokiji and Kizaru landed on the ground.
Shamrock led his subordinates to greet them.
The Gorosei had also returned to their human forms and landed, walking over from a distance.
Aokiji stared at them and asked, "Who, exactly, is Lord Imu?"
Saint Saturn's expression was cold. "That is not for you to ask."
"As a Marine Admiral, you should be concerned with how to kill Luo Chen."
"Don't forget how high a price the World Government paid to rescue you and Kizaru."
Aokiji's words caught in his throat, and he fell silent.
The Gorosei glanced at him and Kizaru coolly, then walked toward Pangu Castle in the depths.
Shamrock and the others followed close behind.
Kizaru muttered, "We've really learned something we shouldn't have."
He turned to look at the palace the Gorosei were heading to, a lingering shock in his eyes behind his sunglasses.
'So, on top of those five old geezers, there's a Lord Imu.'
Aokiji was silent for a long time. Only after the Gorosei and Shamrock's group had entered the dark palace did he turn to leave.
"Brother Kuzan, where are you going? Not staying here for orders?" Kizaru asked.
Kuzan's voice came back: "I'm going to find Luo Chen and ask him."
Helplessness filled Kizaru's eyes.
'Find Luo Chen?'
'Are you really not afraid of getting caught again?'
...
Pangu Castle, inside the palace.
The Gorosei and Shamrock's group knelt on the deep red carpet.
Footsteps slowly sounded from the high platform in front of them.
They didn't dare to look up.
A voice, impossible to distinguish as male or female, but filled with rage, came from the platform.
"For the events of today, who will give Imu an explanation?"
The Gorosei looked at each other, all hesitating.
Shamrock and the four God's Knights kept their heads down, staring at the floor.
Today's situation had little to do with them.
All decisions and actions had been led by the Gorosei.
They were only assisting.
Saint Saturn braced himself and spoke, "Lord Imu, please forgive us. It was our mistake for not being vigilant. We fell for Luo Chen's treacherous plot and failed to recognize that the one on Sabaody Archipelago was not his main body."
Imu's voice, which was clearly suppressing extreme fury, rang out:
"Mary Geoise was attacked, hundreds of Celestial Dragons are dead, and Imu has been exposed. Your deaths would not be enough to atone for this."
The Gorosei's bodies trembled upon hearing this.
Lord Imu truly could kill them.
It would only take a single thought.
Imu's voice, cold as iron, bored into the Gorosei's ears. "Imu will give you one last chance. Exterminate Luo Chen."
"If he does not die, you will."
"Yes, Lord Imu," the Gorosei gritted their teeth and accepted.
They had no right to negotiate.
Disobeying Lord Imu's will meant death.
On the high platform, the footsteps slowly receded.
Only then did the Gorosei raise their heads. Seeing that Lord Imu had indeed left, they stood up, one after another.
Their expressions were all ugly.
They had been played by Luo Chen.
The one who came to trade at Sabaody Archipelago was a clone.
The main body had used the opportunity to attack the Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
Hundreds of Celestial Dragons were dead or injured, and nearly half of Mary Geoise was destroyed.
Lord Imu's existence had been exposed to Aokiji and Kizaru.
One could imagine that the Marine high command would soon know.
Especially Garp, Akainu, and Tsuru.
Shamrock glanced at the Gorosei and led his three subordinates away.
Saint Saturn said in a low voice, "What do we do now? How do we kill Luo Chen?"
"We can't tell the difference between his clone and his main body."
"If we choose wrong again, Mary Geoise will likely be attacked again."
The other four were silent.
'That's right, how do we find Luo Chen's main body?'
'Even if we find him, without Baker's Bind-Bind Fruit, it will be difficult to restrict Luo Chen's spatial abilities.'
'I'm afraid we won't be able to surround and kill him.'
Lord Imu had ordered them to kill Luo Chen.
But in practice, it was fraught with difficulties.
The tall, thin Marcus Mars, with his long white beard and hair, sighed.
"We only have one chance left. We must be cautious."
"Let's wait for Luo Chen to settle in the New World."
"He has taken tens of thousands of citizens from Kuja Island, and he has many subordinates. He will have to occupy a territory."
"Once his territory is established, we will have a target."
The bald Gorosei, Nusjuro, frowned. "Are you planning to enter the New World to besiege a Four Emperor?"
'A Five Emperor, to be exact.' He just wasn't used to the new title.
"It's very likely to provoke the other Four Emperors into a joint counter-attack," Nusjuro warned.
Marcus Mars said, "When Luo Chen enters the New World, he is bound to clash with the existing Four Emperors."
"Perhaps, we can use his hand to get rid of one of them."
"Whitebeard is on good terms with Luo Chen."
"Luo Chen's target will only be one of Red-Hair, Kaido of the Beasts, or Charlotte Linlin."
"Among them, Kaido and Charlotte Linlin have a close relationship. Offending one is the same as offending both."
"We must wait. Wait for war to break out in the New World."
"While the Four Emperors are in chaos, we will find our opportunity to surround and kill Luo Chen."
Saint Saturn nodded. "Luo Chen must be killed!"
"This man is too great a threat. His ability to summon meteorites is no less than an Ancient Weapon."
"If the meteorites fell any faster, they would be completely unstoppable."
After today's crisis, the Gorosei and Imu all understood.
Luo Chen had to be dealt with as soon as possible.
Otherwise, Mary Geoise could face falling meteorites at any time.
The golden-haired Shepherd Ju Peter frowned. "If we want to kill Luo Chen, we have to find a way to deal with his spatial abilities."
"Baker is dead, and his ability was taken by Luo Chen. Will the Bind-Bind Fruit be reborn?"
The others were silent, unable to answer.
Saint Saturn proposed, "Let's send people to search first. While we wait for the Five Emperors to fall into chaos in the New World, we will try to find the Bind-Bind Fruit."
He pondered, "To deal with Luo Chen, we will all have to be deployed."
"Mary Geoise will be undefended, just like today."
"My idea is, if Luo Chen settles on an island, we will set this year's Celestial Dragon 'Hunting Activity' within Luo Chen's territory."
"Bring all the Celestial Dragons from Mary Geoise and go to the New World together."
"After we kill Luo Chen, we will hold this year's hunt on the spot."
The other four couldn't help but look shocked.
'Take all the Celestial Dragons from Mary Geoise to the New World to hunt Luo Chen... isn't that too risky?'
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]