The New World—
Within this mysterious sea, there exist many islands shrouded in secrecy, islands that continue to conceal the hidden truths of the world.
Much like the Poneglyphs carved by the Kozuki Clan long ago—
stones that no one truly understands, nor even remembers where they came from.
Among these mysterious places, there is one island more secretive than all the rest.
Long ago, due to a certain incident, it nearly became exposed to the world—
fortunately, it was stopped at the last moment by two Navy heroes.
That island is called:
God Valley.
An island that guards the greatest secret of the Celestial Dragons.
Once a silent outpost guarded by only a few powerful individuals, it was now... teeming with noise and unrest.
Especially among the Celestial Dragons, clad in their respirator helmets and clinging to their false sense of superiority—
they now resided in rotting, decaying wooden huts, their faces twisted with discontent and disgust.
They had lost their homeland, their treasures, and all that remained was the empty shell of their noble title.
World Nobles—now reduced to living in shacks, eating tasteless, stale food.
They were furious.
Many had already approached Imu, demanding that the World Government use military force to reclaim their lost homes.
But Imu... completely ignored them.
In fact, Imu seemed utterly disgusted by these so-called "descendants of the gods," rarely ever granting them an audience.
As their time on this desolate island dragged on, a few Celestial Dragons slowly came to realize:
the good days were over.
Some even began to make feeble attempts to adapt and survive.
But their hope didn't last long.
Only a few days later—something far more terrifying began to happen.
Celestial Dragons started disappearing.
Already few in number, their sudden and mysterious vanishings threw the rest into panic.
But when they turned once more to the World Government for protection,
they noticed something chilling:
The very officials who once revered them as divine…
…were now looking at them like corpses.
And so, night after night, the Celestial Dragons lived in growing fear.
---
One night—
On the eastern side of the island, in the area where the Celestial Dragons resided,
several shadowy figures moved silently under the moonlight.
They arrived at an estate marked with a plaque:
"Saint Smotley (OC)."
Exchanging glances, the figures slipped into the courtyard and crept into the building.
Moments later, they emerged—carrying two large burlap sacks.
Not a single sound was made.
They weaved through the residential zone, darting into the nearby forest. After over two hours of non-stop movement, they arrived at a northern mountain valley.
Checking to ensure no one had followed, they approached a rocky cliff. One of them groped around a crevice, until—
"Click-click…"
A gear mechanism activated, and a hidden door opened in the cliff face.
They stepped inside.
The stone door closed silently behind them, blending perfectly into the rock wall.
Even a trained investigator would never know it was there.
---
Inside the dimly lit tunnel, they moved forward, torches flickering on the walls.
Eventually, they reached a stone chamber, where the burlap sacks were opened—
Inside were two unconscious Celestial Dragons.
That's right.
They had kidnapped Celestial Dragons.
In this world, even striking one of these "gods" was a capital crime.
But these people?
They acted like it meant nothing.
They even removed the suffocating helmets from the captives, revealing their faces.
One of the kidnappers, a young man with a cold, emotionless expression, stared down at the unconscious nobles with icy eyes.
He raised his foot and kicked one of them.
"What a pathetic bunch."
Just then, another figure arrived in the chamber—
a young man in a white suit and white cloak, the signature attire of CP0.
On his shoulder sat a familiar white pigeon, which spoke in a low tone:
"Kaku."
That's right—these were former CP9 members, defeated in Water 7 by Luffy and his crew.
But after the assault on Mary Geoise, they had been unexpectedly promoted to CP0, along with Rob Lucci and others.
What made the situation all the more bizarre:
These men, who were supposed to protect the Celestial Dragons as the elite guard of the World Government,
were now kidnapping them.
---
"Tap... tap... tap..."
Footsteps echoed through the corridor again.
A tall figure entered the chamber, completely shrouded in a gray cloak, even their face hidden.
Upon seeing the figure, everyone in the room immediately dropped to one knee, respectfully bowing their heads.
"Imu-sama!"
In the original story, these were beings from completely different tiers of power—
yet here, their paths crossed.
And from this mysterious figure's mouth, Lucci and the others had even learned a secret far beyond anything they'd ever imagined.
Imu said nothing at first, simply gazing into the chamber with unseen eyes.
Finally, those hidden pupils fell upon the two unconscious Celestial Dragons.
A cold voice echoed:
"Take them to the altar."
There was no hesitation.
Two members stepped forward and hoisted the bodies like pigs, disappearing into a different corridor.
The world believed the Celestial Dragons were of supreme importance—
that the World Government would do anything to protect them.
But the truth?
They were being preserved only for their thin, fragile bloodline.
---
They arrived at the so-called Altar.
Though it was named dramatically, it was nothing more than a cavernous space with a massive circular skylight, and twenty stone coffins arranged in a row.
Among the twenty, six were without lids.
Two of those open coffins—Lucci and the others had seen the occupants before.
The other four?
They could only guess.
But deep down, everyone believed that this "Imu-sama" probably belonged among them.
Imu slowly walked toward one of the open coffins—the sixth one.
A pale, slender hand reached out, gently caressing its surface.
Silence reigned.
---
"Huff... huff…"
Suddenly, there was movement from the skylight above.
A massive bird descended into the space and dropped a mangled, bloodied human body with a loud thud.
Imu's eyes flashed cold.
"Why is Blaze injured?"
"No choice.
The idiot ran into Ghidorah."
The bird landed atop a nearby coffin.
In a shimmer of transformation, it became a tall, handsome man with mid-length wavy blond hair and emerald eyes.
When the name "Ghidorah" was mentioned, the coldness in Imu's gaze deepened.
The very air around him grew deathly cold.
Even Lucci and the others began to sweat under the suffocating pressure.
To them, the blood-drenched man lying before them had strength far beyond an Admiral—
yet even he ended up in this battered state.
"Could Ghidorah really be that terrifying…?"
The more they saw and learned, the less they believed in the old narrative—that they were the center of the world, or that their power meant anything.
---
"You're not hurt?"
Imu asked coldly, turning to Horace.
"Keh keh keh…"
"Guess I got lucky.
That beast didn't attack me."
Horace laughed strangely, then casually stepped down from the coffin and began walking out of the chamber.
"There's something I want to confirm.
Don't bother me until after the war begins."
With that, he left—
without waiting for Imu's permission, or even caring.
Imu's hands, still hidden within his cloak, began to tremble slightly.
After a long silence, he turned his cold gaze toward the dying Blaze and growled:
"Lucci… go capture two more Celestial Dragons.
Even if it draws attention—do it anyway."
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