What do I have to be proud of? Me? Proud?
And what does "chosen" even mean? Chosen by whom? By you?
Though slightly dazed, Diarmuid sharply latched onto a few vital pieces of information.
Imu placed great importance on him, and this favor clearly wasn't a matter of his strength or his looks. Based on her words, it was connected to the "space-time aura" he carried.
Furthermore, it seemed this world contained many individuals with a "space-time aura," most of whom were Devil Fruit users. Amatsuki Toki, for instance, having traveled through time, she undoubtedly possessed it.
The user of the Door-Door Fruit she mentioned likely wasn't Blueno, but a previous user of the fruit she had encountered in the past. However, that person's "space-time aura" evidently hadn't met her standards.
Then there was the user of the Op-Op Fruit. They also possessed a degree of this scent; after all, within the domain of their "Room," they could teleport at will and "graft" anything to anything else.
Thinking about it this way, perhaps Mariejois's desperate search for the Op-Op Fruit years ago wasn't because the Gorosei wanted eternal life.
It made sense. Imu was likely the only immortal. From her perspective, she wouldn't allow another immortal to exist, as it wouldn't serve her interests.
There were only two logical reasons for her to seek the Op-Op Fruit:
First, to eliminate the possibility of anyone else gaining eternal youth. By "collecting" the fruit, she ensured there would be no next user and thus no other immortal.
Second, to use the fruit's power to achieve some specific goal regarding "space-time."
Following this logic, Imu's primary target might have originally been Amatsuki Toki. For some reason, perhaps she couldn't be found or an unexpected variable interfered, Toki died in Wano, and the Time-Time Fruit was lost to the cycle of rebirth. Decades had passed without a whisper of a new user; the fruit likely remained undiscovered.
Moreover, given how elusive that power was, Imu probably couldn't have captured Toki without perfect preparation. The woman could literally leap through time the moment things went south.
Because Toki and the Time-Time Fruit were gone, Imu had shifted her focus to the Op-Op Fruit. But clearly, that path had also failed...
Diarmuid could sense that Imu wasn't particularly obsessed with the Op-Op Fruit. If she had truly cared, she would have intervened personally, and she wouldn't have failed. It seemed more like a casual arrangement, a "lucky if I get it, fine if I don't" situation.
It stood to reason that Imu herself had achieved immortality via the Op-Op Fruit's Perennial Youth Operation in the past. She must have had intimate contact with the fruit and understood it deeply, knowing it wouldn't be enough to fulfill her true objective. It was a "better than nothing" tool, nothing more.
Finally, there was her obsession with the "space-time aura." The name alone suggested it involved time and space. Could she want to return to eight hundred years ago?
Or...
Suddenly, a thought struck Diarmuid. Uranus, the Ancient Weapon… wasn't it rumored to be a ship? Did that ship require a "space-time aura" to function? Was that her ultimate goal?
Diarmuid's mind raced back to the current situation. Imu hadn't even mentioned the Gorosei; she likely knew they were dead, given she could hear the Marines from such a distance. Furthermore, she completely ignored Sengoku's interrogation.
It was as if she no longer cared about the World Government, Mariejois, or her identity as the "Mastermind."
When did this shift happen?
Most likely, it was the moment she discovered him in the Empty Throne room. Before that, she had gone to the throne expecting a report from the Gorosei. But after spotting Diarmuid, she lost all interest, claimed she was "weary," and left. She hadn't given the Gorosei a single order, which was highly abnormal!
Though a thousand thoughts swirled, only a second had passed in reality.
As Diarmuid pondered these mysteries, Sengoku interrupted Imu's laughter. "We have no idea what you're talking about," he said sternly. "But Imu, your shadow reign over this world ends here. we will never leave the world in the hands of someone like you!"
Imu's laughter subsided. She waved a hand dismissively, looking utterly bored. "Take whatever you want. Mariejois, the World Government… I have lost interest in all of it. If Diarmuid weren't here, I wouldn't even look at you. As I said... only he is special."
A glint of mischief appeared in her eyes, and the corners of her mouth curled upward. "Tell you what. Hand Diarmuid over to me, and I'll give you everything in this world. How does that sound?"
The offer was staggering. Sengoku and the others were momentarily stunned.
What? We've put in all this effort, killed the Gorosei, and purged the upper echelons of Mariejois, and now that only you are left, you say none of it matters?
"Are you serious?" Sengoku asked instinctively.
Diarmuid: "???"
"Hey!!!" Diarmuid glared at Sengoku in fury.
Sengoku snapped out of it, laughing awkwardly. "Ahem, that... I was just asking... don't take it to heart."
"I suspect you're trying to sell me out!" Diarmuid said with deep resentment.
"Hahaha... no way! I watched you grow up, Diarmuid. You have to trust me!" Sengoku laughed stiffly, trying to cover his embarrassment.
In this critical moment, it was Sakazuki who proved his mettle. He stepped forward without hesitation, staring into Imu's eyes. "The things you mention… even if you don't 'give' them, we will take them ourselves. Diarmuid is not a commodity to be traded."
"Is that so?" Imu said softly.
Before anyone else could speak, the smile on her face vanished, replaced by a cold, indifferent gaze as she looked at Sakazuki. "In this world, if I do not give something, no one can take it..."
The atmosphere, which had briefly thawed, instantly turned icy.
"A Fleet Admiral, three Admirals, a Chief of Staff, and... an Admiral candidate?" Imu said arrogantly, looking over the group. "You certainly have the capital for confidence. But it is not enough..."
A terrifying aura suddenly erupted from her body.
If before she had been subtly suppressing their presence like a "silent tide," she was now crushing them with an overwhelming, domineering Haki. In an instant, they felt the weight of a true sovereign.
The King of the World!
Gion had been annoyed with this "old woman" ever since she set her sights on Diarmuid. As the tension peaked, she had no intention of wasting more words. A spark of electricity flickered in her eyes, her pupils turning into bolts of lightning as she pointed a finger at Imu.
A powerful surge of lightning blasted from her fingertip. She was the first to strike.
Imu remained calm. She raised her hands and casually smoothed back her pale-gold hair. As her fingers brushed through the strands, several arcs of electricity crackled between her skin and hair.
By the time she finished the motion, her body was shrouded in an electrical discharge. Gion's bolt was guided by this field, its trajectory altered. It bypassed Imu entirely and was grounded into the floor without so much as a spark.
"What?" Gion's eyes widened in surprise.
"Mink combat techniques!?" Sengoku exclaimed.
It was one thing to hear about it, but seeing Imu use such power so effortlessly, and as a human, was beyond absurd.
"It seems that unless I show you true strength, you will continue to labor under the delusion that you hold the advantage," Imu said softly. "The classic mistake of fools."
In a blur, she was gone. Her movements were so fast it felt like the brain had skipped a frame. One moment she was across the room; the next, she was directly in front of Gion.
Her slender finger lunged forward. A Shigan, simple and pure, but executed with blinding speed. Its target: Gion's heart.
Anyone else might have been hit, but Gion was the user of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. Her reaction speed was peerless. With a sharp crack of electricity, she vanished just as the finger was about to strike. Imu's attack hit nothing but air.
"Impressive speed," Imu remarked, her expression unchanged.
"Arrogance!" Sakazuki roared. His arm transformed into churning magma as he threw a high-yield punch at Imu.
However, just as the blow was about to land, it hit an invisible barrier. Sakazuki's powerful strike was halted, his movement momentarily stiffening.
Predicting this, Imu twisted her waist, her pale-gold hair fluttering with a faint scent of perfume. As she completed the half-turn, her perfectly proportioned leg lashed out like a whip. Sakazuki had no time to defend; the kick connected with a resounding thud, sending him flying backward.
"Laser!" Borsalino's follow-up was instantaneous. As Sakazuki was sent reeling, a beam of golden light shot from Borsalino's fingertip directly at Imu.
It was a point-blank, high-speed shot, almost impossible to miss.
But Imu used only a single finger.
She reached out and tapped the laser beam. It was as if her fingertip possessed some incredibly sharp, invisible force; she literally sliced Borsalino's laser in half.
The single beam split into two, its trajectory altered by her touch. Instead of hitting her, the lights streaked past her sides, slamming into the castle walls behind her and collapsing three of them.
"Impossible..." Borsalino was momentarily stunned.
Many had dodged his lasers, but he had never seen anyone intercept one like that!
Did someone just... slice a laser with their finger?
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