Mary Geoise, Pangea Castle.
Flower Garden.
"..."
Having decisively chosen to abandon Saint Saturn and flee back to Mary Geoise, the four Elders of the World Government knelt on the ground, their heads buried in the Flower Garden's lawn.
They dared not look up at that figure beneath the distant tree canopy.
However...
"Thud!" "Thud!"
The sound of butterflies, their wings and bodies shattered, falling into the Flower Garden, told them—that figure was furious.
And the reason for that fury was self-evident.
They could feel it—a part of the Abyssal Sea Contract, which had been connected to their souls for years, had been permanently severed.
Saturn was dead.
This made them grateful that they hadn't stayed on that terrifying island.
It also filled them with dread—because they knew that although Serpent was the main culprit behind Saturn's death, ultimately, Saturn's demise was personally orchestrated by the figure before them.
"Lord Imu, please forgive us."
"We weren't afraid of battle, it was merely a temporary measure."
"Please give us another chance!"
"This was sudden, we didn't expect..."
They kowtowed, displaying their most humble posture.
And before them...
"..."
Imu stood beneath the treetop of the World's Pillar, looking down at these four subordinates.
He raised a hand, his vibrant, youthful fingers slightly curling.
He could feel that a portion of His power was lost forever.
Just like during the God Valley and Dressrosa incidents—only that man, only 'Star Lord,' could accomplish such a thing.
And this time, through the connection of the contract.
He also sensed Star Lord's sharpness—he no longer feared Him, but had begun to pursue Him.
So at this moment, He truly felt that sense of urgency.
Someone was coveting His divine throne, and He needed to take action.
But...
"..."
He calmly looked at the four Elders of the World Government below—these were the claws and teeth He relied upon.
Clearly possessing power, yet cowardly; clearly swearing allegiance, yet each harboring their own thoughts.
In Imu's heart, a cold killing intent emerged.
But after a moment, that killing intent dissipated.
He was furious, even wishing to immediately revoke the Abyssal Sea Contract from these people below.
But He couldn't do that.
The death of one Elder of the World Government was already a shocking 'major event.'
If the Elders of the World Government died simultaneously, the entire structure of the world would be thrown into chaos—although they were incompetent, they were, after all, the 'highest authority' for so many years, the foundation for stabilizing the Celestial Dragons.
Imu didn't want to lose them just yet.
However...
"Buzz!"
Silently, Imu gently raised his hand.
An invisible force spread out.
In the next moment, the four Elders' expressions drastically changed.
Because at this moment, they could feel—the power of the Abyssal Sea Contract within them was being stripped away.
"Lord Imu!"
Their already aged faces began to rapidly become even older, causing them extreme panic, as they thought Imu was going to revoke the 'contract' within them.
But after a moment, they realized.
The stripping of power quietly ceased.
Although they had aged more than ten years in that brief moment.
They were still alive.
This made them breathe a sigh of relief again.
"This is punishment."
And at this moment, the 'Lineage Factor Source Energy' extracted from their bodies was continuously changing in Imu's hand.
"Next time, if you dare repeat today's actions—I will let you experience the 'torment of decaying death'."
Imu said coldly.
".Yes!" (x4)
Hearing this, the four Elders were both unwilling and somewhat relieved—they understood that at least they had survived this time.
But besides that...
"Lord Imu, what should we do next..."
At this moment, the four Elders spoke hesitantly.
Without a doubt.
Even they were now unsure of what to do—capturing the Zodiac was necessary, but the power they had displayed now exceeded their understanding.
Matters concerning another 'god' naturally required a 'god' to make the decisions personally.
And upon hearing this, Imu pondered for a moment.
Then...
"Advance the establishment of the Star Hunters Unit, let them be primarily responsible for finding and capturing the Twelve Zodiacs grant them all the necessary authority."
"Garling will serve as the new 'Science Defense God of War'."
"In addition... disband the God's Knights."
He said calmly, each word causing the four Elders to feel a tremor in their hearts.
But after a moment, they understood Imu's meaning.
Imu clearly no longer trusted their abilities—at least not in capturing the Twelve Zodiacs.
And the truth was indeed so.
After confirming that Star Lord had some way to seize his 'power,' even the power of the 'Abyssal Sea Contract,' Imu clearly could no longer entrust power to the God's Knights, and even the power of the Elders of the World Government was mostly reclaimed by him.
Leaving these powers outside was basically the same as giving Star Lord nourishment if the Twelve Zodiacs seized the opportunity.
Therefore, He decisively chose to disband the God's Knights, instead entrusting the responsibility of confronting the Twelve Zodiacs to the Star Hunt Squad—having the Navy's two heroes search for and deal with the Twelve Zodiacs was clearly a more worthwhile choice.
"Lord Imu, the Navy, especially Garp and that 'Mary Geoise, Pangea Castle.
Flower Garden.
"..."*4
Having decisively chosen to abandon Saint Saturn and flee back to Mary Geoise, the four Elders of the World Government knelt on the ground, their heads buried in the Flower Garden's lawn.
They dared not look up at that figure beneath the distant tree canopy.
However...
"Thud!" "Thud!"
The sound of butterflies, their wings and bodies shattered, falling into the Flower Garden, told them—that figure was furious.
And the reason for that fury was self-evident.
They could feel it—a part of the Abyssal Sea Contract, which had been connected to their souls for hundreds of years, had been permanently severed.
Saturn was dead.
This made them grateful that they hadn't stayed on that terrifying island.
It also filled them with dread—because they knew that although Serpent was the main culprit behind Saturn's death, ultimately, Saturn's demise was personally orchestrated by the figure before them.
"Lord Imu, please forgive us."
"We weren't afraid of battle, it was merely a temporary measure."
"Please give us another chance!"
"This was sudden, we didn't expect..."
They kowtowed, displaying their most humble posture.
And before them...
"..."
Imu stood beneath the canopy of the World's Spire, looking down at these four subordinates.
He raised a hand, his vibrant, youthful fingers slightly curling.
He could feel that a portion of His power was lost forever.
Just like during the God Valley and Dressrosa incidents—only that man, only 'Star Lord,' could accomplish such a thing.
And this time, through the connection of the contract.
He also sensed Star Lord's sharpness—he no longer feared Him, but had begun to pursue Him.
So at this moment, He truly felt that sense of urgency.
Someone was coveting His divine throne, and He needed to take action.
But...
"..."
He calmly looked at the four Elders of the World Government below—these were the claws and teeth He relied upon.
Clearly possessing power, yet cowardly; clearly swearing allegiance, yet each harboring their own thoughts.
In Imu's heart, a cold killing intent emerged.
But after a moment, that killing intent dissipated.
He was furious, even wishing to immediately revoke the Abyssal Sea Contract from these people below.
But He couldn't do that.
The death of one Elder of the World Government was already a shocking 'major event.'
If the Elders of the World Government died simultaneously, the entire structure of the world would be thrown into chaos—although they were incompetent, they were, after all, the 'highest authority' for so many years, the foundation for stabilizing the Celestial Dragons.
Imu didn't want to lose them just yet.
However...
"Buzz!"
Silently, Imu gently raised his hand.
An invisible force spread out.
In the next moment, the four Elders' expressions drastically changed.
Because at this moment, they could feel—the power of the Abyssal Sea Contract within them was being stripped away.
"Lord Imu!"
Their already aged faces began to rapidly become even older, causing them extreme panic, as they thought Imu was going to revoke the 'contract' within them.
But after a moment, they realized.
The stripping of power quietly ceased.
Although they had aged more than ten years in that brief moment.
They were still alive.
This made them breathe a sigh of relief again.
"This is punishment."
And at this moment, the 'Lineage Factor Source Energy' extracted from their bodies was continuously changing in Imu's hand.
"Next time, if you dare repeat today's actions—I will let you experience the 'torment of decaying death'."
Imu said coldly.
".Yes!"*4
Hearing this, the four Elders were both unwilling and somewhat relieved—they understood that at least they had survived this time.
But besides that...
"Lord Imu, what should we do next..."
At this moment, the four Elders spoke hesitantly.
Without a doubt.
Even they were now unsure of what to do—capturing the Twelve Zodiacs was imperative, but the power they had displayed now exceeded their understanding.
Matters concerning another 'god' naturally required a 'god' to make the decisions personally.
And upon hearing this, Imu pondered for a moment.
Then...
"Advance the establishment of the Star Hunt Squad, let them be primarily responsible for finding and capturing the Twelve Zodiacs—grant them all the necessary authority."
"Garin will serve as the new 'Science Defense God of War'."
"In addition... disband the God's Knights."
He said calmly, each word causing the four Elders to feel a tremor in their hearts.
But after a moment, they understood Imu's meaning.
Imu clearly no longer trusted their abilities—at least not in capturing the Twelve Zodiacs.
And the truth was indeed so.
After confirming that Star Lord had some way to seize his 'power,' even the power of the 'Abyssal Sea Contract,' Imu clearly could no longer entrust power to the God's Knights, and even the power of the Elders of the World Government was mostly reclaimed by him.
Leaving these powers outside was basically the same as giving Star Lord nourishment if the Twelve Zodiacs seized the opportunity.
Therefore, He decisively chose to disband the God's Knights, instead entrusting the responsibility of confronting the Twelve Zodiacs to the Star Hunt Squad—having the Navy's two heroes search for and deal with the Twelve Zodiacs was clearly a more worthwhile choice.
"Lord Imu, the Navy, especially Garp and that 'Kuroyagi (Black Goat),' both possess Conqueror's Haki and have both done 'rebellious things in the past,' they are not trustworthy individuals..."
The four Elders spoke in unison.
In fact, they didn't even need to remind him.
Imu himself was aware of this—He couldn't entrust everything to the Navy.
But just as mentioned before, He no longer needed a bloated organization like the 'God's Knights.'
Therefore...
"After the God's Knights are disbanded, have Shamrock come here."
He played with the massive amount of 'Lineage Factor Source Energy' extracted from the four Elders' bodies: "In addition, you will dispatch CP0 to contact someone for Me."
What He needed were powerhouses who, after obtaining power, could truly confront the Twelve Zodiacs and defeat them.
"Contact... someone?"
Thus, the four Elders were somewhat bewildered.
Who? Who would Imu personally have them contact?
And after Imu spoke the person's name, the four Elders almost suspected they had misheard.
"Lord Imu, are you saying to him how is that possible!?"
They spoke almost instinctively.
However...
"I do not like repeating myself."
Imu did not respond further.
"Tell him for Me—he has seen My power, the world he yearns for, I once shaped it with My own hands."
"If he is willing to cooperate, then... I do not mind letting that world come again."