Holy Land Mary Geoise, Flower room.
Im, fully cloaked in a long robe was not the least bit affected by Orion military coup, which had forced the World Goverment to make concessions.
Im strolled leisurely in the garden, watching a butterfly perched on their a fingertip with dark red ripples in their eyes. For the first time, a barely perceptible emotional fluctuation appeared in Im gaze.
"Lord Im!" At that moment, a maid hurried into the garden and knelt on one knee before Im.
Im did not shift their gaze, still focused on the butterfly on their fingertip. A slightly more normal voice, unhurried and calm came from beneath the veil.
"What has Orion been busy with these past two days?"
The maid dared not hide anything and bowed. "In response to Lord Im, Orion gave the entire army a day off yesterday, hosting a banquet at the headquarters where all marine officers and their families participated."
"However, this morning he immediately convened a headquarters meeting, during which he dispatched six Vice Admirals to summon the Warlords and decided to hold a Warlord meeting in three days."
"Due to financial issues at the Marines, Orion has set his sights on umit, known as the King of Transport in the New World who controls the lifeline of transportation, as well as Du feld the King of Loan shark who rose to power through loan sharking and others!"
"Oh~"
Hearing that Orion had targeted umit and Du feld, Im eyes flickered slightly, then Im flicked their hand, letting the butterfly fly away, and turned to look at the maid kneeling on one knee.
"He is not entirely after their wealth but aims to sever the forces connected to these individuals!"
"Especially umit, the King of Transport. Once his transport line is cut off in the New World, whether it's Kaido, Edward Newgate, or Charlotte Linlin, it will be nearly impossible for them to stabilize their respective territories."
"And those merchants smuggling weapons and various forbidden goods, their good days are coming to an end!"
At this point, Im retracted their gaze and slightly raised their head, revealing those dark red rippling eyes, speaking to themself.
"Killing three birds with one stone? What a clever move!"
"Lord Im, Orion targets are not... not just these people in the New World!"
The maid stammered. "He also proposed something called the Transformation Plan during the meeting, planning to contract a hotel on Sabaody Archipelago and invite the Celestial Dragons from the Holy Land to attend."
"Transformation Plan?" Im frowned slightly "What Transformation Plan?"
The maid quickly shook her head. "It's still unknown."
Im pondered for a moment, then decisively ordered.
"Send Gunko to the Navy Headquarters. I want to know what this plan is all about!"
"Yes!"
The maid did not dare to delay and immediately stood up, quickly leaving the Flower room. Just as the maid stepped out of the Flower room, she saw Gunko along with Shamrock and two other members of the God's Knights, walking towards her.
Seeing this, the maid face lit up with joy, and she quickly quickened her pace to intercept Gunko.
"I need go to the Navy Headquarters again?"
Upon hearing Lord Im order to return to the Navy Headquarters, Gunko who had already endured a painful experience once, reflexively widened her eyes. However, realizing her momentary lapse, she immediately bowed and said.
"I'll head over right away!"
Without avoiding the others, Gunko promptly activated the teleportation array to prepare for departure. Surprised that Gunko dared to use the teleportation array to go to the Navy Headquarters, the long-haired woman standing next to Shamrock nervously reminded her.
"Gunko, are you sure you want to use the teleportation array to go to the Navy Headquarters?"
"What's the matter?" Gunko blinked. "Isn't everything resolved now? Orion has gotten everything he wanted, so he probably won't attack me again!"
"That's true" the long-haired woman nodded, but still couldn't help warning her.
"When you see Orion, show a bit more respect. After all, he's not only the Navy Fleet Admiral now but also equal to the Five Elders!"
"I know what to do!" Gunko didn't waste any more time. With those words, she activated the teleportation array.
Amidst a burst of flame clouds and an invisible surge of energy, Gunko and the teleportation array vanished in an instant.
"Ahhhhhhhhhh"
As soon as the teleportation array disappeared, a faint, almost imperceptible 'scream' abruptly echoed in the ears of the long-haired woman, Shamrock, and the others. They instinctively looked around, but seeing no one nearby, they shook their heads, convinced it was just their imagination, and left the area.
Not long after they walked away, a ripple of energy suddenly emanated from high above. Immediately after, a figure rapidly grew larger in their vision.
"?????"
"!!!!!"
Almost simultaneously, the long-haired woman and Shamrock—one filled with confusion and the other caught off guard—both stared wide-eyed at the figure plummeting from the sky.
"Thrown back again?"
"What on earth is going on!"
Before the long-haired woman and Shamrock could finish their sentences, Gunko who was falling from the sky, tried to activate her Devil Fruit ability as she approached the ground, having learned from her previous experience.
However, due to the suppression of Conqueror's Haki, she was unable to unleash her ability mid-air and could only watch helplessly as the ground loomed larger and larger in her vision.
'BOOM'
With a deafening crash, a human-shaped crater suddenly appeared. Inside the crater, Gunko lay with lifeless eyes staring at the sky, her face filled with utter despair.
"Gunko, what... what on earth is going on here!" The long-haired woman was the first to react. In a flash, she darted into the pit and scooped Gunko up, stammering.
"It can't be such a coincidence, can it? You just went over there and ran into Orion lying in wait? Isn't he a Fleet Admiral? How... how does he have so much free time!"
"He... wasn't lying in wait." Gunko eyes remained vacant, her expression blank as she muttered.
"He left two seals at the marked teleportation point. Inside the seals... there's his stored Conqueror's Haki!"
"Hissss"
Hearing this, the long-haired woman couldn't help but gasp.
As a member of the God's Knights and a participant in the God Valley Incident thirty-two years ago, what kind of powerhouse hadn't she seen? Back then, the God Valley Incident involved the strongest of the era, some of whom were still active in the Grand Line, striking fear into the hearts of countless pirates.
If Orion had stored Conqueror's Haki in a vessel, she could somewhat understand—she had heard of such techniques before. But storing Conqueror's Haki in a piece of paper? That was beyond her comprehension. It was completely out of the ordinary!
Gunko who had caught her breath, stood up from the long-haired woman embrace.
"Please, both of you, take me to Sabaody Archipelago. Right now... my legs... my legs feel like jelly!"
...
Meanwhile.
At Marine Headquarters, the sudden eruption of Conqueror's Haki, accompanied by a sharp scream, drew the attention of officers and soldiers at their posts. When they looked up, they saw the rooftop of the headquarters building suddenly enveloped in a fiery cloud.
A figure shot straight into the sky and vanished in the blink of an eye, as if it had never existed.
Orion, who had just returned home, also looked up immediately as the seal he had infused with Conqueror's Haki on the rooftop was triggered.
Mihawk, lounging in the yard with his legs crossed, also looked up for the first time and asked.
"Did someone just break into the headquarters?"
Orion nodded.
"Probably some unlucky guy stepped on the landmine I planted there and got blown away!"
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