One Piece: Investing In Whitebeard At The Start.

At the summit of the Red Line, in the Holy Land of Mariejois, within the deepest chambers of Pangaea Castle—hidden among the gardens of a secret floral sanctuary—

Hundreds of exotic flowers bloomed in silent harmony, their fragrance rich and overwhelming.

It was here, amidst the flowers, that Im—king of the Celestial Dragons and the true sovereign of the World Government—resided.

Im stood in silence, holding a bounty poster in his hand. His piercing, hawk-like gaze remained fixed on the image of the wanted man. He said nothing, but the cold in his eyes spoke volumes.

"Lord Im, your dinner is ready."

A maid in uniform stood respectfully just beyond the entrance to the garden, bowing her head in reverence. Her voice was soft, filled with awe.

Im offered no response. He simply turned and walked out of the flower chamber, the bounty still gripped in his hand. The maid followed silently behind him.

Only the steady echo of footsteps remained in the quiet corridor outside the room.

---

Elsewhere in Pangaea Castle, within the Room of Authority where the Five Elders typically convened for high-level decisions, tension hung heavy in the air.

The Five Elders—sat in grim silence.

Though the world believed them to be the highest power within the World Government, they all knew the truth.

Im was the one they feared. Im was the one they served.

"Lord Im might be enraged," murmured the old swordsman first. A legendary figure himself, he gripped the first-generation Kitetsu in his hand—one of the twelve Supreme Grade swords. Though the world hailed Dracule Mihawk as the greatest swordsman alive, men of equal or greater skill could still exist, living in obscurity.

The short-haired elder sighed. "Another Celestial Dragon is dead. The culprit remains free. This… is nothing short of an insult to the Celestial Dragon's absolute authority."

The elder with the cane slammed it to the ground. "The Navy's incompetence grows worse by the day! A single pirate escaped? Garp was there! Should we deal with him? He openly defies the Celestial Dragons!"

"Calm yourself," the mustached elder warned. "We cannot erase Garp without consequence. His fame and military service are beyond reproach. If we move against him, the World Government's image will collapse. Besides, we still need his strength."

The long-haired elder spoke next, his voice heavy. "That pirate boy… he's not ordinary. He defeated Sakazuki. His power unsettles me. If left unchecked, he could throw the entire balance of the world into chaos."

Indeed, if a pirate powerful enough to defeat Akainu rose to power, he could very well become a new Emperor. The current stability relied on the balance between the Marines, the Warlords, and the Four Emperors. The emergence of a fifth would shatter that fragile equilibrium and send the era spiraling into madness. Neither the Five Elders nor Im could allow that to happen.

The old swordsman's eyes narrowed. "Do you know he possesses two Devil Fruit abilities? One mimics the power of the Gura Gura no Mi—the Quake Fruit. The other replicates Aokiji's ice. How can one man wield two Devil Fruits? Either ability alone qualifies him to be an Emperor. If he doesn't die, he will reach that point."

"Agreed," the mustached elder nodded. "Reports say he also commands all three forms of Haki, possesses monstrous physical strength, and wields a flame-coated blade capable of burning through Aokiji's ice. That weapon isn't ordinary. Is it… a Supreme Grade blade?"

"The sword is strange," the elder with the cane added. "It's said to have consumed a flame-type Devil Fruit. But I've reviewed the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia myself—there's no mention of such a fruit. There's no 'Flame-Flame Fruit,' and apart from Aokiji's fruit, the only other cold-type is the Yuki Yuki no Mi—the Snow Fruit. This boy's abilities don't match either."

"So what exactly is he?" the long-haired elder asked. "Has he been hiding his true power?"

Silence followed. Devil Fruits remained a mystery, and even the illustrations in the official encyclopedia were incomplete. Few volumes existed, and fewer still contained real knowledge.

"The Devil Fruit records aren't comprehensive," the swordsman elder said at last. "Their origins are buried in forgotten history. Even we don't know where they came from."

"Then it's possible his powers aren't in the books because they were never recorded," the cane-wielding elder surmised.

"Exactly."

The short-haired elder brightened. "If only we could capture him alive. I know it's unlikely, but if Vegapunk could study him, we might learn how a human can house two Devil Fruits."

"Highly unlikely," said the long-haired elder. "He might be a unique anomaly. Every attempt to eat two Devil Fruits has ended in death—painful, gruesome death. No exceptions."

---

They had been discussing Vane for nearly an hour when the chamber doors creaked open.

"Lords" a Celestial Dragon guard said, bowing, "Lord Im is waiting for you."

Without hesitation, the Five Elders stood and made their way to the Throne Room.

---

The Throne of the Void stood at the center of the grand hall, elevated by a staircase that stretched dozens of meters high. Im slowly ascended the steps, passing a pool filled with ancient weapons before continuing to the summit—where the most sacred throne in the world rested.

That throne—supposedly never to be sat upon—represented equality. When the Twenty Kings first formed the World Government eight hundred years ago, nineteen relocated to Mariejois, while Alabasta declined. The empty throne, the Void Throne, was created to represent unity. No one was meant to sit upon it.

But someone did.

And by doing so, they had long since desecrated its purpose.

For eight centuries, the Celestial Dragons had ruled with unchecked arrogance. Power corrupted them, and now the throne symbolized not equality—but tyranny.

Im sat atop it without shame, without burden. He did not fear judgment from the world, for the world didn't even know he existed. As the king of kings, the apex of nobility, he feared only one thing—

Being pulled down.

But that, he believed, was impossible.

The Five Elders entered and dropped to one knee, bowing deeply before him.

"The Five Elders pay their respects to Lord Im!"

"Please, Lord Im," the mustached elder said first. "Tell us… whose light do you wish to extinguish?"

"We shall not fail you," added the swordsman, voice solemn.

Their usual air of superiority was gone. Before Im, they trembled.

Then, with a flick of the wrist, Im tossed the bounty poster across the air. Before it could land, a small throwing knife flew from his hand and pierced the image—embedding it into the floor directly before them.

They saw the face clearly.

Rhett Vane.

He was the light Im had chosen to extinguish.

He had killed three Celestial Dragons—an unforgivable crime.

In Im's eyes, when a mortal dares to shake the foundation of divine power, there is only one punishment—death.

But Vane had killed a god.

Even if the Celestial Dragons weren't true gods, to the world, they might as well be. Untouchable. Supreme.

That illusion had been shattered.

Im would now correct history—by snuffing out that light.

Yet, in the New World, their grip continued to weaken. And the order they sought to preserve was slipping further and further out of reach.

---

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