"Very well, then. Proceed with the original plan—open the dimensional gate to the technological world first."
Imu made his decision on the spot.
Even if this choice would no doubt disappoint—perhaps even crush—Hodolew's hopes...
He had no obligation to consider the elf's feelings.
"Understood."
Stussy nodded.
But just as she was about to turn and relay the order to the Five Elders—
The golden Den-Den Mushi on the tray held by Ubuyashiki Hinaki suddenly began to ring.
Imu picked up the golden receiver and gazed forward calmly.
"Speak."
"Lord Imu, just now—our lunar base, which is under construction on Starfish World, was attacked by a spacecraft from outer space. Judging by the skull insignia on the hull... it seems to be a group of space pirates?"
The one reporting was Nusjuro.
His tone—and even the facial expression mimicked by the Den-Den Mushi—was extremely grave.
"..."
Imu was momentarily speechless. He was genuinely puzzled—weren't Starfish's space pirates supposed to appear seventeen years later?
"Project the situation on the moon."
"Yes, sir!"
After ending the call, Imu glanced at the stunned expressions on Stussy and the four Ubuyashiki sisters.
They had long since grown used to the idea of other worlds, but aliens arriving directly from space—this was a first.
Especially ones bold enough to attack the Starfish homeworld's lunar base.
"You don't need to overthink this. Just focus on your respective tasks."
The moment he finished speaking, Imu teleported back into his study and commanded the Star Den-Den Mushi to project a holographic virtual display.
Moments later—
The highly intelligent Star Den-Den Mushi System began broadcasting a live feed from the moon, transmitted by the Five Elders.
A perfectly scaled-down virtual sand table emerged above Imu's desk.
There, a pitch-black warship—roughly "ten centimeters" long in miniature—hovered above the moon's surface.
On either side of the vessel was a moss-green skull and crossed cutlasses emblem, with the skull wearing a headscarf-like millstone hat.
No wonder they suspected space pirates—Starfish natives were all too familiar with that type of skull symbol.
But the real issue was this:
The pitch-black warship was currently bombarding the lunar base with crisscrossing green laser fire, discharged from laser turrets resembling modern CIWS guns.
Nearly a hundred smaller vessels launched from within, descending to the moon's surface.
As their hatches opened, waves of aliens poured out—each one bizarre in form, yet all wearing uniform yellow space combat suits.
Among them were beastmen resembling furfolk, and humanoids of wildly varying sizes.
As for weapons—
Most wielded small laser guns, though a few carried swords, clubs, axes, or other melee arms.
They swarmed toward the moon base, which already contained numerous constructed facilities.
Meanwhile—
The Air Force stationed at the lunar base responded swiftly.
Airships designed in the image of modern ironclad warships, but armed with advanced weapons such as thunder spears, rocket launchers, and various models of shipborne missiles, launched into the sky.
They began a full-scale assault on the massive enemy mothership above.
At the same time—
A large number of Air Force soldiers, under the command of officers clad in blue Justice cloaks, engaged the invading space pirates in brutal combat across the moon's surface and midair.
Thanks to their efforts, the attackers had been successfully kept from breaching the base interior.
In an instant, the long-desolate moon of the Starfish World—
was transformed into a battlefield shrouded in smoke and chaos, where the sounds of killing rang out and lasers flew in every direction.
The laser rifles wielded by the space pirates were certainly powerful.
They could easily pierce metal defenses, and their speed made them difficult to evade, leading to significant casualties among the defending soldiers.
Some of the aliens wielding cold weapons also displayed formidable strength.
Most of them seemed to possess combat capabilities equivalent to the Starfish military's captain or major ranks.
Even so—
The Air Force still held the overwhelming advantage, steadily suppressing the invaders.
It looked like the battle would be over before long.
The real problem was in the skies above.
That pitch-black space battleship had already destroyed four Air Force warships with its green laser blasts.
In contrast, the defenders' rockets, missiles, and artillery—
were either intercepted mid-air by laser turrets, or absorbed effortlessly by the enemy's armor.
Imu watched the entire projection with a blank expression—
But a cold, oppressive aura slowly began to radiate from his body.
[Zzzt!]
Suddenly—
A golden beam streaked across the void, dazzlingly bright against the dark expanse of space.
It fired from somewhere within the lunar base—
And struck the black battleship with pinpoint precision.
[Boom!]
A massive fireball erupted.
The warship visibly tilted and shook under the force of the explosion.
As the flames dispersed, Imu could clearly see a scorched, ragged dent on the left side of the ship's hull.
At that moment—
He wasn't sure whether to praise the warship's defensive strength or Borsalino's beam attack for its sheer power.
It had clearly broken through the surface, but hadn't completely pierced the armor.
[Zzzt!]
A second beam followed right after, hitting the exact same spot with pinpoint accuracy.
[Boom!]
This time, the ship couldn't withstand it.
Thick black smoke poured from its hull as it began plummeting toward the moon's surface.
"Looks like I don't need to intervene. Not bad."
Imu nodded, seemingly satisfied.
Borsalino might appear lazy most of the time, but when it really counted, he came through.
With the tide turning, they should soon be able to extract useful intel from these space pirates.
It was becoming clear that the galactic sector where the Starfish World was located—
was far more lively than they'd assumed. Surely this wasn't the only crew of space pirates out there?
Even so, the defense capabilities of the moon base needed further strengthening.
And their early warning systems required serious improvement.
They had to prevent a situation where enemies reached their doorstep before anyone noticed!
...
Starfish World, Goa Kingdom.
What makes this place special…
…is that it's the hometown of the 'Hero of the Marines', the current 'Iron Fist' Admiral of the Navy—Monkey D. Garp.
Due to the World Government's ongoing reforms, the kingdom has become unrecognizable from the former site where the Gray Terminal still existed. Due to Garp's vast influence, the former Windmill Village has expanded to unrecognizable proportions.
Windmill Village is now a town equal to or even larger than the city within the walls where the nobles once lived. And the former village chief of Windmill Village, Woop Slap, has now become the mayor of Windmill City.
Not only that, but a small fountain plaza had been built in the very center of Windmill City.
At the heart of the fountain lake stood a life-sized statue of Garp—named Iron Fist Plaza.
Thanks to Garp's immense influence, Windmill Town was now only nominally under the Goa Kingdom.
Neither Mayor Woop Slap nor the citizens paid any mind to the king or nobles in the inner city.
This had become a major source of heartache for the current king—he was truly furious, yet helpless.
Even the local government compound and police department stationed in Windmill City protected these 'lowborn commoners' at every turn.
Over the past few years, countless noble offspring had been arrested and thrown behind bars.
The less serious cases resulted in a few days of detention and a fine.
But for the more severe offenses—
—no matter how high their family's status, or how much money they claimed they were willing to pay—
—they were still taken away by a Judicial Ship.
From there, they were tried and sentenced on Judicial Island, then finally transported to the infamous Impel Down prison on the first half of the Grand Line.
As a result, the royal family and nobles of the Goa Kingdom now acted very cautiously around the people of Windmill City.
Though they still carried themselves with arrogance, they no longer dared to act recklessly.
The sun shone brightly. The sky was a clear azure.
White clouds drifted lazily above.
"How wonderful… the air is filled with the scent of happiness. I have to bring Nezuko here next time."
Wearing a fitted green police uniform and a dark green trench coat, Tanjiro sat on a bench near Iron Fist Plaza.
He looked out at the bustling, joyful crowd gathered around the fountain lake—
—and couldn't help but smile warmly.
Tanjiro was now nineteen—no longer the tiny kid he once was.
Because of the existence of the World Government, Tanjiro never experienced many of the events from the 'original story'.
However, due to someone's influence behind the scenes, he had come to realize that his family's Hinokami Kagura was, in fact, the legendary Sun Breathing technique.
After some dedicated training, he managed to fully master all thirteen sword forms.
"Hey, Chief Tanjiro, heading back already?"
The elderly man sitting beside him—his hair completely white—set down the World Economic News and looked at Tanjiro with a cheerful, familiar smile.
"Yes, Mr. Dell. The public school will be letting out soon. I need to stop by and check on things."
"Tanjiro! Want to grab a bundle of carnations? You could give them to my granddaughter Tissy!"
"Ah, no need, no need. Aunt Marvin, please give my regards to Tissy for me."
As Tanjiro made his way toward the police station, he smiled gently and greeted the warm-hearted townspeople along the way.
Since arriving here, he had made a habit of going on daily walks through town, lending a hand to anyone in need.
Because of this, the people of Windmill City had quickly grown to accept—and even grow fond of—their young police chief.
Just then, a cheerful little voice called out.
"Tanjiro-nii! Come eat at our house! Mom's making seafood yakisoba!"
"Thank you for the invite, but I've already eaten, Lis-chan. Oh right, you'll be starting first grade next year, won't you? You must be excited!"
Tanjiro walked over, crouching down to look at the brown-haired little girl standing at her doorway, her face beaming with joy.
"That's right! My big brother said school is super fun—especially after he moved up to middle school and started learning something called 'Breathing Techniques'!"
She pouted slightly, as if displeased. "Even though they only just figured out what kind of breathing style he's suited for, he won't stop waving that training wooden sword around and showing off to me—hmph!"
"Is that so? What breathing style did Kranz get assigned?"
Tanjiro asked with curiosity.
"They said it's Thunder Breathing. Is that a strong one?"
"Thunder, huh? Yeah—it's a powerful one."
Tanjiro nodded, and the name immediately made him think of Zenitsu.
The trio—him, Zenitsu, and Inosuke—had grown up and eventually gone their separate ways.
Zenitsu had been dispatched to the North Blue, while Inosuke was sent to the South Blue.
His sister, Nezuko, remained at home on Wano Island.
"Well then, Lis-chan, I'll be heading back now, alright?"
Just as Tanjiro was patting the little girl's head and about to stand up to say goodbye—
—a flash of intuition, like a bolt of lightning, shot through his mind.
He instinctively looked up at the wide expanse of blue sky above.
"Tanjiro-nii?"
Little Lis tilted her head in confusion, then slowly looked up with him.
"W-What's that…"
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