Imu’s Death

Imu’s expression changed slightly. "Hmph, does the truth matter? No matter what, Sunlight Tree Eve and I have already become one. As long as Sunlight Tree Eve doesn’t die, no one can kill me!"

"Is that so?" As Yota drew closer, he withdrew his half-beast form and returned to human shape. He no longer seemed intent on attacking, merely staring coldly at Imu.

"You really are despicable, using yourself to threaten the entire world?"

"This world has always belonged to the strong! Staying alive is more important than anything else. As the most crucial link in this world’s stability, you can’t do without me!"

Yota carefully formed hand seals. "That makes a lot of sense. However, I don’t believe you!"

"Soul Transfer Sealing Jutsu!"

A strange force tore at Imu’s soul. For the first time, panic and terror appeared on her face. "What’s going on? What Devil Fruit power is this?"

A smile curled at Yota’s lips as purple light flashed in his eyes. He pressed one hand against Imu’s forehead, using the Rinne Tenseigan’s Mind Dive ability at the same time.

Under the simultaneous tearing of the two powers, Imu’s soul could no longer hold on. It was directly absorbed into Yota’s body and transformed into a strange seal.

"Hmph! If you really were Sunlight Tree Eve’s soul, I truly wouldn’t know what to do with you. Who knows whether extracting Sunlight Tree Eve’s soul would kill the tree itself?"

"But you’re nothing more than a parasite forcibly bound to Sunlight Tree Eve. Even if your soul is completely annihilated by me, Sunlight Tree Eve won’t lose a single leaf… though this tree doesn’t seem to have any leaves."

Looking at Sunlight Tree Eve before him, golden sap flowing from it as it had long since completely fused with the Red Line, a bizarre thought even arose in Yota’s mind. Could the so-called Red Line have been created to protect Sunlight Tree Eve?

"No… probably not. Sunlight Tree Eve doesn’t circle the entire Pirate World… But Mary Geoise is two or three thousand meters lower than the rest of the Red Line… Most likely, the Red Line beneath Mary Geoise was created later, or simply dug down by human hands."

"Otherwise, there’s no way to explain why the Red Line’s height differs so drastically. It may have been for the sake of protecting Sunlight Tree Eve."

"As for Sunlight Tree Eve’s trunk and leaves…" Yota raised his head toward the cliff-like Red Line on both sides of Mary Geoise. "They’re probably still at the very top of the Red Line, ten thousand meters up in the sky."

Still, as long as Sunlight Tree Eve was fine after Imu’s soul had been sealed, that was enough.

Yota then pressed his palms together and activated his Wood Release, beginning to repair Eve’s injuries. Though his Wood Release had become extremely powerful, Yota discovered that Sunlight Tree Eve’s vitality far surpassed that of ordinary trees. Repairing it was therefore particularly difficult and required pouring massive amounts of Yang Release Chakra into it.

Though the Soul Transfer Sealing Jutsu did not guarantee death upon use like the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, it still consumed an enormous amount of Chakra. Moreover, as the sealed person’s soul grew stronger, the Chakra expenditure rose exponentially.

Sealing Imu had consumed nearly seventy to eighty percent of Yota’s Chakra due to the strength of her soul. Under such circumstances, naturally, treating Sunlight Tree Eve was rather taxing.

It took Yota more than two hours to fully restore all the exposed roots of Sunlight Tree Eve. After dealing with all the aftermath, he activated the Flying Thunder God Technique and returned directly to Dressrosa.

Dressrosa was currently locked in a standoff with Navy Headquarters and the original Navy G-1 Branch.

This new Navy Headquarters was now under strict guard. Navy Hero Garp, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, former Fleet Admiral Kong, and former Naval Admiral Zephyr had all been deployed here. The Navy had even drawn all elite forces from its various Grand Line branches, determined to block every pirate crew from the New World here.

After the three Pirate Crews arrived at Dressrosa, they went to Navy Headquarters almost every day to wander around. Their method of fighting was also rather old-fashioned—both sides simply sent out their admirals for one-on-one duels!

Whitebeard, Charlotte Pudding, and Kaido took turns fighting, while Garp, Sengoku, Kong, and Zephyr also rotated in. The two sides exchanged dozens of rounds, then stopped after an hour or two. It all looked remarkably harmonious.

Both sides seemed to understand that the true deciding factor of the war did not lie with them, so they were all waiting for news from Mary Geoise.

Yota’s battle in Mary Geoise had only lasted half a day. After returning to Dressrosa and seeing this harmonious style of fighting, he simply did not show himself before the Navy. He let the three Pirate Crews hold friendly matches with those veteran Navy officers—after all, there were no casualties, and Yota could see that they were having quite a good time.

However, this situation only lasted a few days before Fleet Admiral Sengoku secretly came to Dressrosa.

"What?! You said Sengoku has come?" Yota looked utterly confused as he turned to Violet and asked.

"Yes, he’s already at the harbor. Chief of Staff of the Navy Tsuru is with him as well. Do you want to go greet them?"

"What is that guy doing here? Then again, that makes sense. He hasn’t been able to contact the World Government for so long. He isn’t an idiot; he clearly already knows the outcome of the battle."

After thinking it over, Yota said to Violet, "Then bring Sengoku here. Let’s see what exactly that guy wants to say."

After leaving the dock, Sengoku and Tsuru, both grim-faced, walked toward King’s Heights while observing Dressrosa’s current scenery.

Seemingly wanting to break the somewhat silent atmosphere, Sengoku spoke.

"Tsuru, did you hear what those people of Dressrosa were saying? Doflamingo has become the most diligent and benevolent king in all of Dressrosa’s history? Why does that sound like a joke to me?"

"That may not be a joke, Sengoku." Tsuru, who looked like a little old lady, spoke with an unreadable gaze. "According to Navy intelligence, Doflamingo has indeed been very abnormal lately."

"According to those intelligence agents, Doflamingo now spends no less than eight hours a day handling documents. Whenever something major comes up, he even works through the night."

"Furthermore, Dressrosa’s laws, public welfare, politics, and other areas have all been divided and regulated with extreme precision. When dealing with these matters, Doflamingo has been both meticulous and fair… Most importantly, many of his policies benefit only Dressrosa’s people and have little to do with the Donquixote Family."

"Ha, has our bad boy been completely replaced by someone else? He’s actually learned how to be a king." Sengoku spoke with a hint of mockery.

"Maybe Doflamingo really has been replaced." Tsuru’s voice carried an inexplicable note.