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"Kai-chan, you two stop messing around! What are we doing with her?"
Rimuru pointed at Imu with her right hand, looking helpless.
"What's there to say? Sayonara!"
Kaito casually tossed a low-tier [Samadhi Fire] in Imu's direction.
Imu watched the flames fly toward her, her eyes filled with the terror of death.
Unfortunately, no matter how much strength she had, she couldn't break free from the restraints Tom had so casually tied her with.
She could only watch as the flames engulfed her, burning her to nothing before she could even scream.
As for her soul... one look at Kaito, who was nearly laughing his head off, and you would know where it ended up.
PS: One Piece isn't finished yet, and I don't know Imu's exact situation, so let's just let her go offline vaguely like this.
'Wow! What a harvest. As expected of a World Boss, one person is worth five hundred thousand souls!'
'I really want to absorb the entire world... No... no... that would be too evil!'
'Even Satania wouldn't dare do something that evil!'
"Kai-chan... Kai-chan..."
'Huh? How did I suddenly end up in the same league as Satania?!'
"Kai-chan!!!"
"Ah!! I'm here!"
Kaito snapped back as Rimuru called him again, and quickly responded.
"Kai-chan! What were you thinking about just now? You didn't answer when I called you."
Rimuru looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"Cough cough... Nothing. I just thought of a super evil demon!"
"Super evil? Diablo?"
The word 'demon' put Diablo at the front of Rimuru's mind immediately.
"In a way, Diablo isn't anywhere near as evil as her!"
"Wow! There's actually someone that evil? That's terrifying."
Hearing Rimuru's words, a scene flashed unbidden through Kaito's mind.
A certain demon, standing outside a classroom holding a bucket in each hand, tears streaming down her face in total indignation.
He couldn't help but shiver. That was too terrifying. He could never let himself end up like that.
"Cough cough, let's not talk about this anymore. Come on, let's go! Things outside should be wrapped up by now."
"Okay!"
"Ugh! I didn't even get to feel like we were fighting a Boss, and it's already over!"
"If you want to blame someone, blame that damned cat!"
"Damn it!"
The four people and one cat walked out of the palace, bickering and laughing all the way.
And the battle across Mary Geoise had indeed, just as Kaito said, reached its end.
"What's going on? I didn't even touch him, he died on his own! Benimaru, you have to be my witness!"
Gobta stared at the God's Knight who had just dropped dead in front of him and shouted back at Benimaru in a panic.
"These are enemies. There's nothing wrong with killing them, is there?"
Benimaru looked at Gobta, who had reverted entirely to his 'little brother' mode, and pressed a hand to his forehead.
"Ah! Right, damn it, it's all Kaito-sama's fault! He keeps dragging Rimuru-sama over to 'accidentally' bump into me!"
"It's given me psychological trauma!"
Gobta replied with a look of deep, lingering fear.
"Hahaha!"
Benimaru burst out laughing.
It was a strange thing, but aside from stealing statues, Kaito and Rimuru's favourite pastime seemed to be messing with Gobta wherever they found him.
The result was that Gobta now had a genuine psychological reaction every time he saw either of them.
"Alright, all enemies have been cleared. Go tell the legions to assemble!"
"Got it, leave it to me, Aniki!"
The moment he heard the order, Gobta lit up and sprinted off energetically to pass the word.
"He could just use telepathy... Why run all the way there? Never mind, let him be."
Benimaru shook his head and watched Gobta's retreating figure.
Whoosh...
"Report! Benimaru, every last one of those filthy enemies has been cleared out!"
Just as Benimaru was thinking about the next steps, a figure appeared before him.
"Good. Understood. I think Kaito-sama and Rimuru-sama will be very pleased to hear that."
"Yes! I am taking my leave!"
With that, the figure vanished from the spot.
"Then the next step belongs to the professionals."
"Hello! Mr. Kagaya, we're done here. The rest is yours."
On the other end of the phone, Kagaya smiled warmly and replied in a gentle tone.
"Hehe! Benimaru's speed is truly something. We'll handle what comes next!"
"That's perfect."
After hanging up, Kagaya thought for a moment, then pulled a familiar Den Den Mushi from a drawer and dialed.
Sengoku, who had just received word of the attack on Mary Geoise, was caught in a difficult position.
He was weighing whether to send anyone over. At the moment, there were precious few high-level fighters left at Marine Headquarters that he could actually deploy. Kizaru, Gion, Chaton, and a handful of others.
Personally, he had no desire to send anyone. But the call he had just received was from Commander-in-Chief Kong.
If he sent no reinforcements, explaining himself later would be a nightmare. Just as he was going back and forth on it, the Den Den Mushi on his desk rang.
"Pere~Pere~Pere~Pere!"
Sengoku looked at the ringing Den Den Mushi, something flickering in his eyes, then picked up.
"Hello! What can I do for you, Mr. Kagaya?"
"Hehe! I imagine you must be quite conflicted right now, Mr. Sengoku."
Sengoku's chest tightened at those words.
"Oh? What makes you say that?"
"Did the World Government not order the Marines to support Mary Geoise?"
Kagaya stopped dancing around it and stated things plainly.
"It seems you know everything, Mr. Kagaya."
"But I have a question. Are you really so certain you can bring down the World Government?"
Hearing that, Kagaya smiled faintly and continued.
"It's not so much that we're certain, but just before I called you, Mary Geoise had already been taken by our forces."
"What!!!"
Sengoku shot to his feet.
"Is that the truth?"
"Of course. Mr. Sengoku, do you really think I would tell a lie that could be verified in a moment's investigation?"
Hearing that, Sengoku slowly steadied himself.
That was right. The other party wouldn't spin a lie this easy to check.
With that thought settled, a storm began to rise quietly in Sengoku's chest.
He forced himself to appear calm and pressed on.
"I doubt you called me simply to tell me the World Government is finished, Mr. Kagaya."
"So then, what is it you want? The Marines' allegiance?"
There was something genuinely comfortable about talking to someone this sharp.
Sengoku had understood in an instant what Kagaya was working toward.
"Hehe! As expected of Fleet Admiral Sengoku. That's exactly right. The Jura-Tempest Federation wants the full allegiance of the Marines."
"You want to become the new World Government?"
Kagaya simply smiled and replied softly.
"Is that not allowed...?"