As Garling slammed the door and left, the Room of Authority fell into a brief silence.
However, it wasn't long before Peter's voice, tinged with teasing and playfulness, rang out:
"It seems our esteemed Commander-in-Chief is truly anxious."
"But three Knights of God simultaneously losing contact is indeed no small matter," Mars mused.
Mars mused.
St. V. Nusjuro, however, didn't have many thoughts on the matter:
"No matter how strange this matter is, it's still the God's Knights' own business."
"Exactly."
Saturn tapped the ground with his cane:
"This has nothing to do with us. Let Garling worry about it himself. We have more important matters to attend to."
With Saturn's final word, the Gorosei's attention completely shifted away from this minor issue.
If Imu knew, he would probably think Saturn lacked awareness.
Whether it was the World Government, the Marine, or the God's Knights, they were all Imu's forces.
The God's Knights are known as the World Government's ultimate power. Now three members are missing. At a time like this, you're not thinking about helping, but rather dwelling on whose people they are?
But then again, Saturn merely didn't take the matter to heart; he wasn't thinking of causing any trouble behind the scenes.
If it were the Donglin Party during the late Ming Dynasty, they would probably be stabbing him in the back by now.
So from this perspective, although Imu doesn't attend court like Emperor Jiajing, his control over the World Government is still quite good.
Garling left the Room of Authority filled with anger.
He walked quickly down the empty corridor of Pangu City, his footsteps exceptionally clear in the silent atmosphere of the center of Mary Geoise.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, but the more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong.
As for the Gorosei, they all wanted to see him make a fool of himself, and not acting without seeing results wasn't a big deal.
It was clearly impossible to expect them to make a big fuss over three missing Knights of God.
Furthermore, the God's Knights were inherently secretive. Even if an investigation were launched, only CP0 could slowly probe, not openly conduct a large-scale search. Garling didn't think those five senile old men could be of any help anyway.
However, the incident itself was very strange.
How could three people with immortality simply vanish without a trace?
The clues provided by the Gorosei were also clear.
The time taken from Borsalino's departure to Minion Island's sinking was not long.
Could there really be someone in this world who could simultaneously deal with three Knights of God? And even erase the blessing of Lord Imu?
He subconsciously touched his left shoulder, then shook his head vigorously.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Garling instinctively dismissed this conjecture from his mind.
Indeed, everyone in the world of pirates is like Liu Bei.
But if not, where are Shinigami and the others now?
Garling stopped, stood still for a moment, pondering, and then made a decision in his heart.
This matter must be reported to Lord Imu.
Look, look! Why can Garling become one of the Gorosei?
Look at his awareness!
He instinctively knows to help Lord Imu protect his assets.
I'm talking about you, Saturn!
Passing through layers of guards and a silent garden, Garling finally arrived at the forbidden area located in the deepest part of Pangu City.
The light here was exceptionally bright, but time and space seemed to be isolated from the outside world, filled with the singing of birds and the fragrance of flowers.
Garling knelt on one knee, respectfully bowing his head, saluting the blurry yet noble figure not far away:
"Lord Imu."
"Shinigami, Yeti, and Number 46 were sent to North Blue to carry out a mission concerning the Ope-Ope no Mi, but they have not returned and have even lost contact."
He lowered his head even further, tentatively asking:
"Do you know the whereabouts of the three of them?"
After speaking, he remained kneeling motionless on the ground.
In Garling's view, Lord Imu was naturally omniscient, and his question was already an offense.
But with his loyalty to Imu, the disappearance of a Knight of God certainly needed to be investigated thoroughly.
He knew that whether these three were alive or dead, lost or imprisoned, they would have nowhere to hide before this being at the apex of the world.
Facing Garling's inquiry, Imu did not immediately answer.
Garling wasn't anxious and waited quietly.
After a long while, Imu seemed to have just come back to his senses:
"Mu, I can't reach them either."
Imu's voice was ethereal and fleeting, yet it carried a rare hint of confusion.
He found that several nodes had inexplicably disappeared from the intricate web he had woven.
This clearly took him by surprise, giving him a feeling that things were slipping out of his control.
But it was only a slight feeling.
For him, those who lost contact were merely three rather special assets, not worth him investing too much energy into.
In the original work, Imu's few appearances always made people feel that his mental state seemed somewhat abnormal.
Whether it was calling Rocks 'Davy Jones' when facing him in God Valley, or the stress reaction that occurred when Cobra mentioned Nefeltari D. Lily, these were not situations a person capable of normal thought would experience.
Rocks was clearly the first person to enter the Room of Flowers in so many years and even introduced himself in front of him, yet Imu still mistook him at God Valley.
Some even speculated that Imu might not be clear-headed, perhaps suffering from severe amnesia.
Remember when he first appeared, admired the giant straw hat, then summoned the Gorosei, saying he wanted to initiate the 'light-extinguishing' plan.
But when the Gorosei asked who he wanted to extinguish, Imu thought for a long time without saying who it was, making the Gorosei remind him of their names again. However, Imu's eyes were vacant, leaving only a string of ellipses.
After the Gorosei returned, the plot didn't mention who was to be extinguished, nor did they seem to have any plans, as if they had completely forgotten about it.
Also, in the original work, when Sabo infiltrated Mary Geoise and infuriated Imu, Imu forgot about Sabo after he escaped.
Sabo even thought Imu destroyed the Lulusia Kingdom because he left his Den Den Mushi signal there, but in reality, Imu simply thought Lulusia was close by.
As for Sabo? Who's that?
Coupled with the fact that Garp attacked Imu yet still became a Marine Hero, some speculated that his amnesia had recurred.
After Rocks' defeat, he forgot that Garp had attacked him, and he forgot his own 'Black Turn Dominance,' only seeing Davy Jones lying on the ground.
He asked around, 'Who did it? Garp? Good! He'll be a Marine Hero from now on!'
It must be said that this speculation seems to have a reasonable basis.
But whether Imu had amnesia or not, his words struck Garling's ears like a bolt from the blue.
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