Imu suddenly shifted his gaze toward Saturn.
"Saturn."
His voice was calm, but there was a weight in it.
"Y–Yes, Imu-sama…" Saturn answered, his voice trembling. A cold, uneasy feeling crawled down his spine the moment Imu spoke. He didn't know why, but fear gripped him instantly—pure, suffocating fear.
Imu's expression remained cold and unreadable as he stared at him.
"Saturn… did I, or did I not, command the destruction of that giant?"
Saturn's breath hitched. His face drained of color. A bead of sweat rolled down his temple, then another, until his whole back was soaked.
"I… I… Imu-sama… I—I was going to—" Saturn attempted to speak, but his nervousness tangled his words. His voice cracked like dry glass.
Imu didn't blink.
"Did I command you to destroy the giant that attacked Marie Geoise—yes, or no."
"Y-Yes, Imu-sama…" Saturn whispered, unable to stop trembling.
Imu continued, voice colder than ice.
"Then why did you not follow my order? Are you trying to rebel? Or does my word mean nothing to you anymore?"
His red eyes narrowed.
"If so, tell me—where did you find the courage to disobey me?"
Saturn dropped to his knees, panic overtaking reason.
"I—Imu-sama, I–I thought… if we could study the giant's body… obtain its technology… i-it could become a great asset to our military!"
The other Elders stood completely still. Heads lowered. Bodies stiff with terror. Not a single one dared to breathe loudly, let alone intervene. the God Knights in the room stood frozen shivers running down their spines.
Imu's eyes shifted slightly, a faint gleam appearing.
"I see. But tell me, Saturn… why didn't you inform me?"
His tone sharpened.
"Were you planning to surprise me?"
Saturn opened his mouth—
"I… I… I—"
But before he could utter another word, an invisible force wrapped around his body like a vice. Saturn's eyes widened as he was lifted off the floor, limbs dangling helplessly.
"Imu-sama! Forgive me! I will never disobey your orders again! Great One, please—have mercy!"
He screamed, his voice cracking in desperation. All dignity vanished. His life was in Imu's hands—literally. And he knew well Imu could erase him anytime he wished.
"Trash."
The word fell from Imu's lips as a blue spark flared in his eyes—bright, cold, merciless.
"AAAAAHHHHH—!!"
Saturn's scream rattled the chamber as his entire body twisted unnaturally. Bones snapped like dry branches. His right arm bent backward at a grotesque angle before tearing off completely, ripped from its socket. Blood splattered across the polished floor. Strangely Saturn's wound wasn't regenerating at all.
Before he could process the pain, his body was violently flung backwards—
BOOOOM!
He crashed into the wall with a thunderous impact, stone cracking around his enormous frame.
Saturn spat a mouthful of blood. His ears and eyes were bleeding. He looked at the floor, instinctively reaching with his right arm—only to realize it was gone, a jagged stump dripping blood.
He immediately forced himself into a deep bow, forehead slamming against the floor repeatedly.
"Imu-sama! Forgive this lowly creature for its mistake!"
Bam!
Bam!
Bam!
He kept bowing, again and again, humiliation long forgotten—only fear remained.
"Ugh. Annoying. Shut up, you useless bum." Imu muttered, clearly irritated by the noise.
Imu looked around the room. Each Elder and each God Knight stood trembling, sweat dripping down their backs. Their expressions were twisted with a mix of awe and paralyzing fear.
"Alright. This is your last warning. And it applies to all of you."
His gaze swept the room.
"Do not disobey my orders. Do not act clever. Understand?"
All of them nodded rapidly, hands shaking, faces pale. No one dared raise their eyes.
"Good."
A faint smile curved Imu's lips—calm, yet terrifying.
"If you wish to change something, or if you have doubts, ask me directly. There is no need to act smart."
"Y-Yes, Imu-sama. We understand…" they all answered in unison, voices weak and strained.
Imu turned away.
"Well, that's all. I'll take my leave. I still have many things to do… and clearly I cannot leave any work in the hands of you bums who can't even follow a simple command."
And with that, Imu's figure flickered—
Then vanished from the meeting room, leaving a suffocating silence behind.
It took a full minute for the Five Elders to recover from the shock.
Saturn's hand which had stopped healing midway suddenly resumed its regeneration, flesh and tissue repairing themselves rapidly until it looked as though the injury had never existed.
After a long, tense silence, each of them straightened up and pretended nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. Without exchanging a single word about it, they immediately began their preparations, determined to carry out Imu's command flawlessly.
---
Inside Pangaea Castle, Imu sat alone in the Room of Flowers. The chamber was filled with the soft perfume of rare blossoms, carried gently by drifting mountain winds.
Imu's crimson eyes were half-lidded, lost in thought. He was contemplating the future how to handle it, what needed to change, and what should remain untouched.
For now, the World Government still held a firm grip over the seas… but that stability would not last. Not with the so-called "Great Pirate Era" that Roger would ignite in the coming years. Of course, Imu could prevent all of it easily — he could simply kill Roger before that era ever began.
But he would not.
Roger's journey would be meaningless if he did not allow the Great Pirate Era to happen.
Imu didn't care about pirates, or kings, or the countless beings crawling across the seas. His desire was singular:
To control everything.
To achieve that, he needed to reshape the foundation of the world. The Marines needed to be strengthened. The Cipher Pol agencies needed greater authority and power. The God Knights needed expansion.
And finally, the Celestial Dragons had to change.
He required a system through which the World Government — through him — could create individuals who truly deserved the title of "Celestial Dragon." He could not simply abolish the current ones or execute them; that would be troublesome.
Instead, he needed categories:
Normal Celestial Dragons… and elite ones.
This generation was worthless, spoiled, weak, and embarrassingly incompetent.
But the next generation would not be.
He would ensure that personally.
He would establish a system in which Celestial Dragon children, not adults, underwent specialized training. They possessed potential , immense potential. They had unparalleled resources, the finest tutors, the greatest security in the world. Leaving that potential wasted was foolish.
He would forge a new generation of elites.
The plan was simple: create an academy within Mary Geoise. A place where Celestial Dragon children would be molded from the ground up.
Not only them, but talented individuals from across the world could be brought in, trained, conditioned, shaped into perfect instruments of the World Government.
All of them future subjects loyal to the throne. Loyal to the Government.
Loyal to him.
From childhood, their minds would be shaped — their tastes, perspectives, limits, values, and abilities. Everything would be defined by the World Government.
A generation engineered from birth.
The thought brought a faint smile to Imu's lips. A quiet laugh escaped him as he swirled the tea gently.
This is going to be interesting, he thought. Hehe~.