The Void Hall was silent, but the moment the door opened, a rush of noise poured in as the chaotic sounds of battle from outside flooded through.
Ortoren and Imu stepped out together.
The instant the two of them appeared, the fighting outside came to an abrupt halt. Whether it was the Five Elders or Isshō and the others, everyone stared at them with expressions full of shock and uncertainty.
What was going on?
They were fighting to the death out here, yet those two walked out chatting and laughing?
That couldn't be right.
As they took in the scene outside, Ortoren and Imu wore very different expressions. Imu looked faintly pleased and even cast a deliberately provocative glance at Ortoren.
The reason was simple.
In the midst of the melee, only Dragon, Bartholomew Kuma, and Isshō were still in good condition. Doflamingo, on the other hand, was covered in wounds. Even though he had awakened his ability, he still wasn't quite up to the task. Hina, as a Phoenix ability user, was holding on, but her face was pale and weak, clearly close to her limit. As for Lucci, the kid was already down.
At least for the moment, it could be said that the Five Elders' side held the advantage.
That was why Imu looked a little smug. But it wasn't the smugness of someone gloating arrogantly. It was more like the kind of pride a friend might show off after pulling off something impressive. For some reason, it left Ortoren feeling both amused and exasperated.
"Don't think they can really win," Ortoren said, rolling his eyes at Imu.
Dragon, Bartholomew Kuma, and Isshō might only be three people, but in Ortoren's eyes, they were the ones who would win in the end.
The Five Elders could only pick on people like Doflamingo, who never managed to grow any further, or Lucci, who genuinely hadn't grown up yet.
"At least I look better than you right now, hahaha," Imu laughed.
Then he stepped forward and patted Saint Warcury on the shoulder.
"There's no need to keep fighting. Just take care of them here and wait for Ortoren and me."
Saint Warcury nearly dropped to his knees in panic when he felt those pats on his shoulder.
He had served Imu for many years. When had he ever received treatment like this? Normally, the five of them would kneel in the hall, waiting for Imu-sama to appear and reprimand them. Being patted on the shoulder?
Because of that, he was absolutely certain that Imu-sama was in an exceptionally good mood, the kind of mood he had never seen in all these years. So good, in fact, that even his attitude toward them had softened.
"Could it be… that betting on Ortoren back then was neither a blessing nor a curse yet to be decided?" Saint Warcury felt a surge of excitement.
At first, when Ortoren had been loyal, Saint Warcury was quite satisfied. Later, when Ortoren stopped being loyal, he lived in constant fear, worried that Imu-sama would eventually settle the score and have him flayed alive.
But now, he felt steady again.
Imu-sama's attitude clearly showed that there would be no reckoning afterward. And among the Five Elders, he was the one with the best relationship with Ortoren.
Looking at it that way, no matter how things turned out between Imu-sama and Ortoren, he would still have an advantage over the other Elders.
When Imu patted his shoulder, the other Five Elders were completely stunned, utterly confused. What was going on? Wasn't Ortoren supposed to be a traitor?
Perhaps this was exactly why Imu never truly regarded the Five Elders highly. Between them and Imu lay an unbridgeable gap, whether in mindset, perspective, or sheer strength.
All the things they valued so dearly, rule, the World Government, the Celestial Dragons, the World Nobles, all that messy nonsense, were things Imu could discard at any moment without a second thought. Put together, they weren't worth even a single hair of Uranus, let alone compared to someone like Ortoren, who could stand on the same level as him.
For the first time in hundreds of years, Imu had met someone who could truly stand alongside him, someone he could actually look upon favorably. For someone who had stood at the highest point for centuries, enduring endless loneliness and cold winds, how could he not be pleased?
Celestial Dragons? No, no, no.
Ortoren was his own kind.
The rest were nothing more than mortals, not worth mentioning at all.
Imu had already given his orders to the Five Elders and the others, so Ortoren could only nod to Isshō and the rest.
"I'm going to have a little spar with this old man. You all wait here for me."
The Five Elders were shaken. He called Imu-sama an "old man"?
What shocked them even more was that Imu-sama didn't get angry. Instead, he laughed and scolded, "Brat, don't get too arrogant."
One called the other "old man," the other called him "brat." Neither sounded particularly polite, yet everyone present found it strangely… sticky, almost unbearable. What had happened in the hall during that short time? Why did the two of them suddenly feel like close friends who hadn't seen each other in years?
No one explained anything to them. Soon enough, Imu led Ortoren out of Pangaea Castle.
The Abode of the Gods, the residence of the Celestial Dragons. Aside from their servants and slaves, no one else was permitted to enter.
At this moment, the Abode of the Gods was eerily quiet. The Celestial Dragons were all hiding in their castles and estates, waiting for the outcome of the war at the front. Not a single one dared show their face.
Imu-sama walked Ortoren straight into this so-called Abode of the Gods as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
They headed to the base of the God's Knights.
A grand castle rose there, and outside it lay a massive training ground, sturdy and meticulously built, clearly the place where the God's Knights normally sparred and trained.
"We're standing on Uranus," Imu said, stopping in the middle of the training ground.
Ortoren glanced down, but couldn't see anything unusual.
"The entire Abode of the Gods is built on top of Uranus," Imu explained. "Of course, only a handful of people know that."
At Ortoren's puzzled look, Imu continued, "The Red Line has a special meaning and a special mission. If it collapses here, you'll have a headache on your hands later. But Uranus is unbelievably sturdy. Only this place can withstand the power of both of us without collapsing too badly."
"A special meaning and mission?" Ortoren's eyes showed a hint of curiosity.
"Hah. Don't overthink it," Imu said, waving a hand. "If you win, then you can worry about the future. If you lose, you're leaving this world with me. Even if floodwaters swallow everything, it won't concern you."
It was obvious he had no intention of saying more, so Ortoren didn't ask.
They walked to the center of the training ground and stood facing each other.
Imu spoke first. "Touching the limit of strength, reaching the so-called other shore, standing in the heavens. That's how you describe this realm, isn't it?"
Ortoren's face heated up. Not this again.
So you know that line too, "standing in the heavens"?
"Something like that," Ortoren said, brushing it off.
"You reached this state with strength as your foundation," Imu continued softly. "But different roads lead to the same destination. Strength isn't the only way to arrive here."
As he spoke, he slowly raised his arm and gently clenched his fist, then lifted an eyebrow.
"Take a guess. What do you think I used as my foundation to reach this realm?"
Imu looked slender. Unless he could suddenly explode in power, he clearly wasn't a pure strength-type fighter. Ortoren knew that better than anyone. As a man standing at the very end of strength, he could say with certainty: unless you'd eaten the right Devil Fruit, there was no such thing as someone who looked frail on the outside but could suddenly burst out with monstrous brute force from a thin body. That was nonsense.
A body's build was itself a reflection of strength.
"Haki," Ortoren answered without hesitation.
From the moment he first saw Imu, even before a single blow was exchanged, Ortoren had already felt it, Haki so dense it seemed ready to overflow, almost as if it could spill out and run along the ground.
Imu hadn't even consciously used Haki. And yet the pressure leaking from him was impossible to contain.
What did that mean?
It meant Imu's Haki had reached the point where "full to the brim" wasn't a metaphor anymore. His body could no longer hold it all, so it constantly seeped outward.
Ortoren had seen plenty of Haki masters, but someone like this… it was his first time.
And it was probably the only time.
"Correct," Imu said, nodding in approval. "Haki."
As the words fell, he clenched his fist tight, and in the next instant, a tsunami of Haki erupted, surging out with terrifying force.
"I call this power the World," Imu roared. "If you want to take this world, then shatter this world first, Ortoren!"
Facing that crushing tide of Haki, Ortoren's mouth twisted into a savage grin.
"The end of strength is unity of body and mind, a single will driven straight through. World or anything else, my strength moves forward without stopping!"
A wild, violent aura exploded from Ortoren as he declared it. His silver-white hair spilled down over his shoulders like pure moonlight.
Lightning flared.
Thunder tore through the oncoming Haki storm, roaring back across the skies above Mary Geoise, refusing to yield.