One Piece: Rising to Fleet Admiral Through a Coup

The Meteor Volcano, spreading across the sky above Mary Geoise, brought an unprecedented sense of oppression to everyone present.

The tense atmosphere rapidly permeated every corner, forcing the world nobles residing in the Holy Land to flee in panic, hurriedly retreating to their mansions under the protection of their bodyguards.

"Damn it, Meteor Volcano! It's Sakazuki—how dare he!"

"So, has Marine Headquarters completely fallen under the control of Xayuki, the instigator of the rebellion? Even Sakazuki, the admiral who practices Absolute Justice, has defected!"

"Stop talking nonsense! Quickly protect the Celestial Dragons! Be careful not to let Sakazuki's Absolute Justice fall upon you!"

Across Pangea Castle, the Celestial Dragons—previously strolling leisurely through the plazas, gardens, and lakes—were now scrambling to escape, their faces pale with terror at the suffocating pressure bearing down on them.

Fortunately, each Celestial Dragon was accompanied by bodyguards and the elite CP0 agents, known as the strongest shields of the Celestial Dragons, who quickly intervened to prevent a stampede.

Meanwhile, at the automated walkway entrance, Kong, Vice Admiral Tsuru, and Garp stood side by side, gazing solemnly at the towering World Government headquarters building.

Beside them, Peacock glanced up at the rolling clouds above, where the Meteor Volcano flickered like a wildfire. Driven by instinct, she moved behind Vice Admiral Tsuru for protection. "Sakazuki's Meteor Volcano—is this going to turn into a fight?"

After a brief pause, she turned to Garp and asked tentatively, "Mr. Garp, if a fight breaks out, whose side will you take?"

"Relax, there won't be a fight!"

Garp, abandoning his usual carefree demeanor, fixed his serious gaze on the World Government headquarters. Sensing the distant heat and biting cold in the air, he spoke calmly, "The Five Elders are likely trying to exert pressure on Xayuki and his group to gain the upper hand in the upcoming negotiations. After all, Xayuki managed to deceive everyone, even me. No one knows his true strength, so naturally, the Five Elders want to test him first."

"But clearly, Xayuki isn't playing along, and Sakazuki has fully aligned himself with Xayuki. By covering the skies above Pangea Castle with the Meteor Volcano, Sakazuki is sending a clear message to the Five Elders: this is the Holy Land, and if war breaks out, he'll feed the useless Celestial Dragons here to his magma."

Hearing Garp openly call the Celestial Dragons "useless," Kong and Tsuru simultaneously turned their heads toward him.

However, they didn't stop him. Garp had always harbored disdain for the privileged Celestial Dragons of the Holy Land. He would curse them openly, even if a Celestial Dragon were standing right in front of him.

This disdain was precisely why Garp had repeatedly refused promotions to admiral. In his view, becoming an admiral would strip away much of his freedom and force him to rush to the aid of the Celestial Dragons whenever they faced danger—something he utterly detested.

Of course, Kong and Tsuru's sideways glances weren't solely due to Garp's comments about the Celestial Dragons. They were also surprised at how perceptively Garp had analyzed the situation in the Holy Land.

Outside the World Government headquarters building, as Sakazuki's words echoed, the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.

Izambaro, looking up at the Meteor Volcano looming over Pangea Castle and then at the frozen ground below, felt his killing intent surge. Yet, he dared not make any moves.

Their earlier display had been intended to test Xayuki's strength and gauge the reactions of the three admirals.

While the results were clear, they were not what they had anticipated.

They had considered the possibility of the three admirals siding with Xayuki but hadn't expected Sakazuki and Kuzan to unleash their powers so decisively. Under such circumstances, any further tests would inevitably lead to combat.

If a fight broke out, the Meteor Volcano hanging in the sky would undoubtedly rain down indiscriminately on everyone in Pangea Castle. Simultaneously, the freezing powers of the Ice-Ice Fruit would spread, turning the castle into an icy wasteland.

While the Five Elders and God's Knights might survive, the Celestial Dragons residing in Pangea Castle would suffer heavy casualties.

"Stand down!"

Suddenly, a sharp yet low and raspy voice came from behind the Five Elders and the God's Knights led by Garling.

Then—

Tap, tap, tap...

Clear footsteps, rhythmic and deliberate, echoed in everyone's ears, growing louder as they approached.

Turning toward the sound, they saw a tall figure cloaked in a trailing robe that swept the ground, revealing only a pair of dark red ripple-patterned eyes. Imu emerged from the doorway, walking slowly forward.

Upon seeing Imu, the Five Elders and the God's Knights quickly stepped aside, bowing deeply as they collectively called out, "Lord Imu."

Imu, with those dark red ripple eyes, continued forward without stopping, passing by the Five Elders and Garling. She gazed down at Xayuki and his group standing at the base of the steps.

At the same time, the three admirals, along with Sengoku and Zephyr standing behind them, all raised their heads in disbelief, staring at the tall figure that had made even the Five Elders and Garling bow.

Though they had come to accept the existence of Imu, seeing her in person still left their minds reeling.

"Follow me!"

Ignoring the three admirals, Sengoku, and Zephyr, Imu's gaze lingered on Xayuki for a moment before her sharp yet low voice rang out again.

Before anyone could react, a massive teleportation array suddenly appeared beneath their feet.

In the next instant, darkness enveloped their vision, and they found themselves in a dimly lit palace hall.

"This place is..."

Finding himself transported from the World Government headquarters to the palace hall in the blink of an eye, Sengoku was the first to react, exclaiming in shock, "The Holy Land Palace!"

His voice trailed off as his pupils contracted sharply, his face filled with horror as he looked at the tall figure standing before them.

Under Sengoku's gaze, the figure ascended the steps, stopping before the Empty Throne at the top of the hall.

Turning to face the group, Imu's dark red ripple eyes swept over Sengoku, Zephyr, the three admirals, and Gion, all of whom stared back in stunned silence.

"Xayuki must have told you secrets you were never meant to know. As you can see, the Empty Throne now belongs to me!"

Before the six could recover from their shock, Imu stepped past the row of weapons planted before the throne and sat upon it.

Seeing this, the group's initial shock gradually turned to acceptance. Finally, they shifted their gaze to the young Fleet Admiral standing just a step ahead of them.

~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~

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