Not long after, the four Elders left the Flower Garden.
After they left the Flower Garden.
Imu, who remained in place, turned to look at the massive canopy of the 'World's Spire' behind him.
He could feel the power possessed within that tree—an endless amount of 'Lineage Factor Source Energy' sufficient to create a world out of nothing.
That was originally His power.
Compared to this power.
The recent events of Dressrosa and the death of 'Saturn,' the portion of the Deep Sea Contract and Abyssal Sea Contract power he had lost, should have been insignificant to the 'Abyss.'
But...
The current He was not the 'Abyss,' but 'Imu.'
"..."
He raised his hand, looking at his young and eternally vibrant human fingers.
"Lily and Davy..."
Imu spoke in a cold voice.
It was because of them, only because of them.
They had bound Him—His vast and endless power could only exert a small portion.
Just like the 'cocoons' that could be seen everywhere in this Flower Garden.
Butterflies were constantly breaking through them, emerging from their cocoons.
That was also Imu's inner desire—He also yearned to break free from the cocoon on His body and restore His original form.
But for so many years, the fruit that could grant Him 'freedom' had been evading Him.
This had led to the current situation where there was actually a possibility of being caught up by 'Star Lord.'
"No..."
But at this thought, Imu's voice suddenly turned cold again.
He strode forward, quickly reaching the very end of the Flower Garden.
He raised a finger and casually swiped.
Then, at the end, a door silently appeared in the air.
He stepped into the door and arrived in a secret chamber.
The massive combination lock security doors opened one after another, and the cold air caused the ground to freeze.
But for Imu, the cold was obviously insignificant.
He simply strode into that secret chamber.
He saw the giant straw hat that was placed in the secret chamber.
But He didn't care, and continued forward.
Then, He arrived at the 'deepest part' of that secret chamber.
And there, were two 'monstrosities' that were so large relative to Imu's body that it was difficult to describe.
One of them was the skeleton of a giant—his head had horns like a demon, clearly an Ancient Giant.
But the key was that its size was almost larger than the legendary 'Country Puller' Oars.
That giant had died countless years ago.
But due to the low temperature here, its skeleton was still intact, and there seemed to be a strong Haki remaining within it.
"Nika... the first 'warrior of freedom'."
Imu murmured this name in a low voice.
Then, He chuckled.
The so-called warrior of freedom, its corpse was left in the deepest part of Pangea Castle—this fact alone was enough to explain everything.
"Freedom... a naive and meaningless word."
Making such a judgment, Imu's gaze continued to look at the other side of the huge giant skeleton, the mechanized behemoth.
"Buzz!" "Buzz!"
And at this moment, wisps of flame seemed to be burning within that behemoth.
And if Vegapunk was here, then he would definitely see.
This thing was very similar to the 'Mother Flame' he had invented.
But the difference was...
Within the flames of this machine, there seemed to be streaks of lightning-like electricity.
"Star Lord..."
Imu looked at that thing, and the sense of urgency in his heart finally calmed down.
"You will not have the chance to catch up to Me."
Yes.
The world had been in His grasp for eight hundred years, He had witnessed everything.
Just like the name of this castle that represented Him.
[Pangea Castle]—the so-called Pangea, means 'Lord of Creation' and 'the First One'.
This long period of time was enough for Him to accumulate countless trump cards.
So, even if Star Lord had shown the potential to catch up to Him.
Even if His 'power' was bound by the abilities of traitors and madmen.
But that still didn't matter.
He still had the ability to erase Star Lord.
All He needed to do was wait.
Wait for Star Lord to appear again before Him, before the 'world.'
At that time, the entire sea would naturally return to calm.
The world would be re-bound—as always.
Half a month later.
Just as mentioned before.
The existence of the Elders of the World Government was certainly not a secret to the world—most people with a basic understanding of the world knew of the existence of the 'highest authority in the world.'
But at the same time, the existence of the Elders of the World Government was very unfamiliar to the world.
Everything about them was very mysterious, at least most ordinary people didn't know their names.
Therefore, the news of Saint Saturn's death was not well known among ordinary people around the world.
For most people, what they were discussing was still the battle between Serpent and Hawkeye—the appearance of another top executive of the Twelve Zodiacs was in itself a huge topic of conversation.
As for the spider monster that appeared at the end of the battle, the live broadcast videos and related information were blocked along with it.
The entire news about this matter was restricted to a very small range.
But for those in high positions, or members of the World Government, the situation was obviously not the same.
For example, the citizens of the World Government's member states had recently discovered—their kings and nobles, who usually extorted and bullied men and women, seemed to be very honest recently.
They were busy every day, seemingly anxious about something.
Many kings had built bunkers that seemed to be used for hiding in just half a month, and many kings suddenly became amiable to the Navy within their countries.
And for this, the Navy Headquarters was naturally even more deeply aware.
"Saint Saturn, one of the Elders of the World Government, is dead—so that means the one who appeared on Instan Island at the end was..."
For example, Smoker, who had returned to the headquarters with Roy, was muttering to himself at this moment.
"The Elders of the World Government are actually ability users, and they died at the hands of the Twelve Zodiacs."
As a general of the Navy Headquarters, he had also heard about this matter.
"So what?"
But in front of him, Roy took a sip of ice-cold cola with relish: "According to Vice Admiral Garp and Fleet Admiral Sengoku, hasn't someone already filled the position?"
"...That's the highest authority in the world!"
And after hearing this, Smoker looked at Roy with disappointment—how did this guy get to the position of vice admiral?
"Even if you don't know about the recent changes in the attitudes of various countries around the world, you should at least be able to feel it, right?"
"The government has given the Star Hunt Squad more authority, and even given you the authority to pass through Mary Geoise without application and the right to recruit troops independently... This must be related to Saint Saturn's death!"
Smoker spoke eloquently.
"Various member states are also willing to hand over the right of passage to their countries, only requiring you to patrol the Four Seas and Paradise regularly—this means you can go to any country and arrest anyone at will, as long as you think the other party is related to the Twelve Zodiacs, the duties of the Star Hunt Squad have even exceeded the regular duties of the Navy, even when the Warlords of the Sea fell, the government did not agree to this kind of thing."
"This shows that the government urgently needs to use you to limit the increasingly rampant Twelve Zodiacs and maintain the balance of the sea."
"Power is not unlimited—you have obtained such great authority, and someone must have given up power. There must have been a power struggle within the government to develop to this point."
"The most important thing is that after the death of the Elders of the World Government, the government did not choose to immediately send elites to conduct a comprehensive crusade against the Twelve Zodiacs... There must be other secrets in this. The government's fear of the Twelve Zodiacs far exceeds our original understanding."
Speaking of this, he also looked at Roy.
And Roy stroked his chin, then nodded: "Well, Tina must have told you these things—your brain can't think of these things."
Smoker: "..."
The thought that the guy in front of him was actually the number two figure in the Star Hunt Squad, wielding power exceeding that of an admiral, made him feel very angry.
And speaking of which—was his performance just now really that obvious? He had clearly simply modified and summarized Tina's words.
"Don't worry about so much."
But at this moment, Smoker said in a deep voice: "I want to join the Star Hunt Squad!"
Yes.
The Navy was currently undergoing a simple 'reorganization.'
The Star Hunt Squad would be officially established, and elites would be drawn from the various armies and navies under the World Government.
"I know, didn't I already submit the application form to Fleet Admiral Sengoku for you?"
Roy picked his ear.
"..."
Speaking of this, Smoker was even more speechless.
Clearly, the commander of the Star Hunt Squad was Garp, and the deputy commander was the guy in front of him.
But without exception, both of these people were hands-off shopkeepers who threw their hands at the job, so that the actual transfer and recruitment work of the Star Hunt Squad was still being carried out by Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
"I'm not talking about this. I'm saying, I want to join!"
But Smoker naturally understood—the so-called application form was meaningless to Roy.
Whoever he wanted to join the Star Hunt Squad could join, this was his authority.
And without a doubt, Smoker had a great eagerness for this.
Because he had realized.
The filthy world that he once thought could not be changed had now changed.
The World Government had given up power, and the authority possessed by the Star Hunt Squad could be described as unprecedented—in this situation, joining the Star Hunt Squad could obviously allow Smoker to smoothly exercise his 'justice.'
And the most important thing was that Smoker was very clear.
Although the guy in front of him was usually unreliable, he was definitely not the kind of 'superior' who would disgust him at a critical moment.
Of course...
"Huh?"
And after hearing this, Roy said very unhappily: "Colonel Smoker, who do you think you're talking to?"
"Subordinates can't talk to superiors like that—and before asking someone, you must first offer ice-cold cola, this is common sense, understand!?"
He patted the table.
"Didn't you see Hans' lesson yesterday? Do you think I don't dare to tear up your application form?"
Smoker: "..."
He decided to take back his previous thought.
This guy was too terrible as a superior.
So, not long after.
Accompanied by Smoker's stinky face, helplessly going to buy cola, Roy hummed a tune in the office with satisfaction.
"When he comes back, I'll say I don't drink this brand of cola. Hmm, is this the taste of power? No wonder some people get corrupted."
While humming a tune, he also gently raised his hand.
Then, a thing appeared in his hand.
It was a Vivre Card.
And on the Vivre Card, the name of the Vivre Card's owner was written.
[Shanks].