One Piece: Rising to Fleet Admiral Through a Coup

The rolling black clouds over Pangea Castle and the suffocating Meteor Volcano gradually dissipated as Imu used the teleportation array to transfer Xayuki and the others. The vast frozen area, spanning hundreds of meters, also began to thaw, leaving faint traces of cold air lingering in the atmosphere.

Standing on the automated walkway, Kong, Vice Admiral Tsuru, and Garp collectively sighed in relief as sunlight once again shone down from the sky above.

They all understood that the disappearance of the Meteor Volcano didn't mean Sakazuki had abandoned the fight. Rather, it signified the failure of the Holy Land's probing.

"Kong, why can't I go just because I'm a D?"

Relaxing slightly after the Meteor Volcano vanished, Garp glanced at the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Kong, standing beside him. With a puzzled expression, he asked, "Right now, Xayuki is essentially confronting the World Government head-on. Even if I'm a D, it shouldn't matter, right?"

"How could it not matter?" Kong shot Garp a glare and replied irritably, "That person has the greatest aversion to the Clan of D. If you were present, this negotiation could very well escalate into a full-blown war. You saw it yourself just now—Sakazuki and Kuzan both took clear stances. If even the slightest uncertainty arose, it could've triggered a battle!"

"That person?"

Garp's brow furrowed instantly as he asked in a deep voice, "Kong, have you acknowledged Imu as the true ruler behind the World Government?"

"I…" A flicker of confusion passed through Kong's eyes.

Compared to Garp and Sengoku, Imu's appearance had shaken Kong the most.

Before this, he too had been unaware of Imu's existence—until last night, when Imu summoned him directly through the Five Elders.

He had thought Imu would appear in the Chamber of Authority, but to his surprise, the summons took place in the Holy Land's royal palace.

When he entered the palace hall and saw the Five Elders kneeling before the Empty Throne, with Imu seated upon it, his mind went blank. The throne, unoccupied for 800 years, was now claimed by a ruler—without the knowledge of even the Commander-in-Chief of the World Government's armed forces.

Recalling the scene from last night and the words Imu had spoken to him, Kong found himself at a loss for how to respond to Garp.

After a brief silence, Kong turned to face Garp with a grave expression. "This involves the truth of the Void Century, the secrets of the Clan of D, and the legend of Nika. My mind is in turmoil right now, and I can't give you a definitive answer. But Garp, Xayuki might know things we don't. He might be able to give you the answers you seek."

"As for me—"

Kong paused briefly before turning his head toward the World Government headquarters. With a look of relief, as if shedding a heavy burden, he said, "When this is all over, it'll be time for me to retire."

Meanwhile—

In the Holy Land's Conference Hall,

Having ultimately chosen to compromise, Imu and Xayuki sat facing each other at opposite ends of a long rectangular table.

Sengoku, Zephyr, Gion, and the three admirals sat opposite the Five Elders and Garling.

Although the Five Elders had been forced back to their original forms by Xayuki's Conqueror's Haki, they appeared unscathed. Sitting upright and composed, they glared angrily at Sengoku and the others seated across from them.

Sengoku, however, avoided meeting their eyes. Instead, he leisurely pulled out a box of rice crackers from his bag, took one, and offered it to Zephyr. When Zephyr didn't take it, Sengoku shrugged and, without hesitation, popped it into his own mouth—right in front of the Five Elders and Imu.

To his surprise, eating rice crackers so brazenly in front of the Five Elders felt incredibly satisfying.

He reminisced about his younger days, full of ambition and energy. But after becoming an admiral and later the Fleet Admiral of Marine Headquarters, he had gradually lost sight of his former self, dedicating himself to the Marines and the World Government. In the presence of the Five Elders, he had always maintained an air of humility and caution.

Now, thanks to the sudden rise of the bold newcomer Xayuki and the revelation of Imu's existence, Sengoku found himself unburdened.

More importantly, he felt an inexplicable sense of pride, as if the boy he had watched grow up had finally made a name for himself and brought him a sense of vindication.

He couldn't quite explain why he felt this way—it just felt great!

After tossing another rice cracker into his mouth, Sengoku squinted contentedly. Under the fiery gazes of the Five Elders, he turned his head toward Xayuki, wearing an expression that seemed to say, I always knew you'd make me proud, kid.

The three admirals, too, were behaving differently from how they usually did during meetings at Marine Headquarters. Borsalino and Kuzan, who were typically either napping or counting down the minutes until the meeting ended, were now fully alert and engaged.

The reason was simple: this was the first time in history they were sitting as equals with the Five Elders.

Of course, the one feeling the most vindicated was Sakazuki.

His unwavering commitment to Absolute Justice had earned him countless reprimands from the Five Elders, both in person and via Den Den Mushi. Though he had often seethed with anger, he had always swallowed his pride.

Now, however, he no longer had to endure such humiliation. Sitting calmly beside Xayuki, he fixed his gaze on Saturn, the Elder who had berated him the most in the past.

The atmosphere was tense.

Xayuki and Imu studied each other. One was eager to uncover the face hidden behind the veil, while the other was desperate to unravel the mystery of Xayuki's origins.

Imu was genuinely curious about Xayuki.

Based on the intelligence she had gathered and the earlier tests, she was fairly certain Xayuki was not part of the Clan of D. While his Conqueror's Haki bore a striking resemblance to that of a certain man from the past, her understanding of that man made it clear there was no connection between them.

And without a connection to that man, Xayuki was even less likely to be Nika, as he wasn't a Devil Fruit user.

It was precisely because she had ruled out these possibilities that Imu was willing to sit down and negotiate with Xayuki.

To Imu, only the Clan of D and Nika posed significant threats to her rule. Other top-tier powers, whether they could be recruited into the God's Knights or not, were either assimilated or eliminated.

If they couldn't be recruited and couldn't be eliminated, then the only option left was to negotiate.

"Enough, Sengoku!"

Suddenly, Izambaro, the God of Finance, could no longer endure the incessant crunching of Sengoku's rice crackers. Glaring at Sengoku, he said sternly, "Now is not the time to be eating rice crackers!"

Chewing his rice cracker, Sengoku replied with a muffled voice, "You're in no position to give me orders anymore."

The moment these words left his mouth, the three admirals sitting beside him all turned their heads simultaneously.

Across the table, the Five Elders and Garling also widened their eyes in shock.

Seeing their reactions, Sengoku felt an inexplicable surge of satisfaction. Unable to hold back, he burst into laughter. "Finally, I've said what I've been wanting to say for years. Ahahaha…"

After a brief pause, Sengoku turned to glare at the three admirals. "What are you looking at? Let's get this meeting started!"

~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~

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