Inside the vast, dimly lit chamber, the representatives of over 170 allied nations sat divided by a long red carpet that served as the room's centerline. At the far end of the carpet, positioned at the center of the room's inner sanctum, sat the convener of this meeting.
It was one of the Gorosei, the one with waist-length straight white hair and a beard that reached down to his abdomen. Twenty years ago, he was the one who issued the Buster Call to annihilate Ohara.
"In conclusion, our Government has decided to enact the Protection Act and Peace Treaty concerning the entire Fish-Man race. As the representative of the Fish-Men, Otohime, come forward and state your position." Having finished, the long-bearded Elder stepped back slightly from the dais.
Seeing the future of peace and a life on land for the Fish-Men within her grasp, Otohime was moved to the point of tears. She covered her mouth to steady her emotions, rose from her chair, and walked toward the central steps.
Beep-boop-beep-boop-brrr—!
Suddenly, the azure light within the room was replaced by a crimson glare, accompanied by the blaring of loud sirens from the surrounding speakers.
"What is happening?"
The long-bearded Elder's brow shot up. How could chaos break out just as they were about to make their move?
Thud, thud, thud!
The heavy doors of the conference hall burst open. Several high-ranking Government officers in black suits and draped trench coats rushed in to report. "My Lord! Eight Celestial Dragons from the five families who were conversing in the private lounge have mysteriously vanished! Furthermore, word has come from the lower levels, it is suspected that members of the Immortal Pirates have infiltrated the Holy Land!"
"The Immortal Pirates!?"
A roar of shocked whispers erupted from the nearly two hundred people present. Otohime, standing in the middle of the red carpet, was frozen in place, her heart racing as her daughter's name echoed in her mind: Shirahoshi...
"Restless pests..."
The long-bearded Elder rubbed his brow fiercely and addressed the crowd. "Rest assured, everyone. This place is guarded by numerous sentries. It is impossible for mere pirates to enter easily. Please wait a moment while we locate the intruders."
With that, he hurried out. Left with no choice, Otohime returned to her seat. The meeting had to continue; the entire future of the Fish-Man race was at stake.
The long-bearded Elder quickly met with the other four members of the Gorosei to exchange intelligence. "Have the intruders been found?"
"Not yet. Those eight were talking in the lounge for so long that when no one responded to our calls, we entered and found all eight of them missing," the Elder holding the kitetsu katana replied.
"Then why assume it's the Immortal Pirates?" the long-bearded Elder asked. If it was just missing Celestial Dragons, why jump to the Immortals?
"A report from the lower-level guards. They say that before the meeting started, there was a little girl in white..." The Elder with the scimitar-mustache briefly explained the incident.
"Infiltrating by hiding within an escort unit? The guard forces have grown far too lax!" the blond Elder barked, his face contorted in anger.
The curly-haired Elder leaning on a cane looked on with a vicious gaze. "We can discipline them whenever we wish. The priority is finding the person." He pulled a picture from his suit and handed it to the long-bearded Elder. "This is a sketch of the suspect."
The long-bearded Elder took it. It was a young girl who looked no older than fourteen.
"There doesn't seem to be a person like this among the bounties for the Immortal Pirates," the long-bearded Elder noted, frowning.
"I've already mobilized the troops to search. To slip in here soundlessly requires more than just skill; it must be the power of a Devil Fruit."
The long-bearded Elder couldn't have imagined that just as he led his men out of the conference hall, Loli A was already inside. She was sitting on a chair atop the dais at the end of the red carpet, looking down at the allied representatives like a king looking over his subjects.
"What's wrong, Otohime? You don't look very well."
Otohime, who had been sitting with her head down in silence, snapped out of it. She looked up, expecting to see Alucard, but found a young girl sitting there instead. However, the voice was identical to Alucard's.
"You... you are..." Otohime stammered.
"Who are you!?"
Hundreds of Government soldiers still remained in the hall. At the sight of Loli A's sudden appearance, they all leveled their halberds. They knew for a fact that no such person existed among the Government's high-ranking officials.
"Why so tense? I'm just revisiting an old haunt out of boredom." Loli A's gaze shifted to Otohime. "And, I'm here to remind someone not to be so easily fooled."
Otohime's large eyes were filled with confusion. As she processed Loli A's words, her expression grew complicated. Before coming to this meeting, Neptune and the Ministers had warned her, but she had been so blinded by the joy of the proposal's potential success that she hadn't paid them much mind. Thinking back now, this proposal really was shrouded in a strange atmosphere.
"Slanderous lies."
As a contemptuous voice rang out, the chair beneath Loli A suddenly snapped shut like a mousetrap catching a rodent. The two sides of the chair slammed together at the center, instantly crushing Loli A's seated body into a pulp.
When the mechanism released, the representatives below saw the upper body of the girl turned into a gory mess, with blood streaming down the steps.
"Ah...!"
"How...?"
The representatives of the allied nations stared in horror, their mouths hanging open wide enough to fit a fist.
From the shadows behind the stage stepped a man in his forties. He wore a light blue suit with a white trench coat draped over his shoulders, bearing the Government's cross-star symbol—not in navy blue, but in red.
"What a fool. To not even notice my presence."
The man flicked his hand and walked to Loli A's "corpse." He placed one hand over his chest and bowed to the officials below.
"Commander Glauca Flurette of the Government's Karathoka Banuyar Knight Order. My apologies for the disturbance, but the intruder has been dealt with. Please, be at ease."
Who could even remember such a long name?
All anyone saw was the "corpse" of the girl rapidly knitting itself back together. She pulled a black handgun, the Jackal, from her coat and pressed the muzzle against the back of the man named "Flurette's" head.