That feeling… it was growing stronger and clearer by the second.
Nao narrowed his eyes.
He had never been to the Flower Room before, but ever since stepping into Pangaea Castle, his powerful Observation Haki had faintly sensed an overwhelming, oppressive presence hidden somewhere in this direction.
And now, as he landed before the entrance, that aura was unmistakably distinct.
There was no doubt about it —
Imu was here.
Without hesitation, lightning flaring faintly around his body, Nao prepared to step inside.
But then —
A deep, ancient voice drifted from within the mist-shrouded gate.
"Boy… if I were you, I wouldn't take that next step."
Creak—
As the heavy wooden doors slowly opened, a figure emerged from the darkness within.
It wasn't a towering warrior like the five-meter-tall Hephaestus.
Instead, what stepped forth was a hunched, diminutive old man — clad in a loose, traditional robe, leaning on a wooden staff, and wearing geta sandals. His hair was stark white, his face covered in wrinkles and age spots.
He looked ancient — at least a century old — but the pitch-black eyes beneath his drooping lids were as sharp as a hawk's.
Standing atop the stone steps, the stooped old man gazed down at Nao and spoke coldly:
"Leave, Marine brat. Your opponent should be Hephaestus. Even if you fall to him, at least you'll die an honorable death."
"But if you dare to go further — and disturb the Master's slumber — the fate that awaits you will make death seem merciful."
Nao didn't answer.
Instead, he studied the old man from head to toe, his expression tinged with surprise.
He had thought that the powerful presence he'd sensed earlier — the one radiating through all of Pangaea Castle — belonged to Imu.
But now…
With this old man standing before him, the aura emanating from his body matched that very same presence perfectly.
"So I misjudged…"
Nao chuckled softly. His gaze shifted past the elder's shoulder, toward the deeper shadows within the mysterious hall.
It didn't matter.
Even if his initial assumption was wrong, there was no question this was indeed the Flower Room.
And judging from the old man's words, Imu was still here — hidden somewhere inside this palace.
Still…
For someone this powerful to address Imu as Master, to speak in such a deferential tone — and for Nao to sense absolutely nothing of Imu's presence even from right outside the door —
"Tch. The old monsters really are the scariest ones."
He exhaled sharply. Feeling Hephaestus's aura racing closer from behind, Nao stopped hesitating.
His form blurred into lightning and shot straight for the open gate.
The doorway was nearly seven meters tall — and the old man barely a meter and a half, almost Yordle-sized — plenty of room to rush through.
"Seeking your own demise..."
Seeing Nao charge in without heeding his warning, the old man merely shook his head, his face showing no anger.
But just as the lightning reached the steps, he slammed his staff against the ground.
In an instant, his body surged upward —
ROAR!
Before Nao's eyes, the frail elder transformed into a massive turtle, ten meters tall, bellowing skyward.
Its colossal body filled the staircase completely, sealing the doorway tight.
Nao was too fast to stop. Seeing the sudden transformation, he had no time to change course — and backing away wasn't an option.
His eyes hardened. He drew both of his lightning-wreathed Yone blades and crossed them in a slash.
BOOM!!!
The strike landed — not on the shell, but squarely on the turtle's head.
Yet the sound that followed was a deep, metallic clang, like blades striking iron.
The impact reverberated violently. The shockwave numbed Nao's hands; he nearly lost his grip on his swords and was blasted backward, slamming into a distant wall hundreds of meters away.
Stone shattered and dust filled the air. But before the debris even settled, Nao stepped out of the rubble — unharmed, though his eyes now gleamed with astonishment.
"What a massive turtle… what an incredible body."
Even the creature's softest part — its head — had hardened so completely with Armament Haki that his sword strike couldn't even cut through.
Then just how strong would that jagged, bone-spiked shell be?
A Turtle-Turtle Fruit?
No… that didn't fit. Nao remembered that Pekoms, the lion Mink from the Big Mom Pirates, was the known Turtle-Turtle Fruit user—and even he couldn't transform into a monster of this scale.
The ability this hunched old man possessed was clearly far superior—almost certainly from an Ancient Mythical Zoan.
"The Bixi Fruit?"
He tentatively asked.
"Do you think I would answer such a question?"
The giant turtle looked down expressionlessly, its dark brown pupils showing a human-like cold indifference.
"I gave you your chance. Now that you've forced me to act personally, today you—"
"Are you the spear, or the shield?"
Nao's curious voice interrupted him before he could finish.
For a moment, the question seemed so stupid the answer should have been obvious.
Anger finally flickered in the turtle's eyes. With a guttural growl, the jagged spines covering his shell suddenly straightened and shot upward, wrenching free!
Each spike, coated in dense Armament Haki, launched like a storm of arrows, too fast for the naked eye to follow, all aimed straight at Nao.
Whizz, whizz, whizz!
The deadly barrage poured down like rain—but Nao didn't move from where he stood.
Instead, flickers of blue-white lightning danced around his body; with fluid, almost effortless precision, he slipped through every projectile as though teleporting.
Instant movement?
So that's the terrifying speed of a Rumble-Rumble Fruit user…
The giant turtle narrowed his eyes, gave a cold snort, and raised a dark-blue claw to strike again—
—but from the shadowy corridor behind him, a calm, almost lazy voice echoed:
"Let him in, Agul."
The tone was neutral—neither male nor female, ageless, and utterly composed.
The towering turtle froze. The rage on his face vanished instantly; his massive body shrank in an instant, collapsing back into the small, stooped old man in a bathrobe and wooden sandals.
"Yes, Master."
He bowed deeply toward the doorway—three, four full seconds—before daring to straighten again. Then he turned back toward Nao, his expression cold.
"Well? What are you waiting for, boy? Go in."
Nao didn't reply. Instead, he glanced back over his shoulder.
Beyond the broken wall, Hephaestus had arrived, flames still blazing around his body. He stood atop the ruins, but hesitated, not daring to step forward—
until the hunched old man looked his way and gave the faintest nod, a subtle signal of permission.
He finally exhaled in relief, cast Nao a brief look of pity—then, without another word, turned and headed back toward Pangaea Castle, where the Five Elders awaited.
"Still not going in?"
The hunched old man's cold rebuke echoed beside Nao's ear.
Nao didn't hesitate. He suddenly drove his fist forward, aiming straight for the old man's face—but the elder reacted instantly, his right arm swelling into a half-human, half-turtle limb that clamped tightly around Nao's hand.
The two clashed midair, straining against each other as their Armament Haki spread, coating their arms in deep black.
No matter how much strength they poured in, neither could overpower the other.
After more than ten seconds of deadlock, Nao abruptly tore his hand free, casually flexed his wrist as though nothing had happened, and—under the old man's icy, murderous glare—grinned and gave him a playful wave, as if saying goodbye.
Then he stepped boldly across the threshold and entered the dim, endless corridor beyond.
"Defense stronger than Big Mom's iron balloon body…"
"Strength about the same as mine…"
"Overall power… slightly above Hephaestus, roughly on par with Kaido and Big Mom."
…
So then—
was a shield harder to deal with than a spear?
Nao mused casually in his mind. Before he knew it, he had passed through the red-carpeted corridor and arrived at the center of the Flower Room.
The light suddenly brightened. Clouds and mist billowed around. Lush trees and flourishing flowers could be seen everywhere, and the scents of birdsong and flowers filled the air.
In the center of this hall, the magnificent Empty Throne stood tall. In the shadow behind it, a graceful, tall figure could vaguely be seen seated on the Throne.
While the Five Elders would tremble and crawl before this Throne, Nao walked along with a casual demeanor, looking left and right as if he were back at his own home. He even had the leisure to casually pluck a rose and sniff it.
Mhm, it's real.
"We finally meet."
He toyed with the rose in his fingers, eyes lifting toward the silhouette on the throne, a faint smile curving his lips.
"So… what should I call you? Lady Imu? Madam? Or perhaps… Grandma?"
With a flick of his finger, a nearly invisible thread of blue lightning coiled around the rose's stem. The flower—still glistening with morning dew—floated gently through the air, landing before the throne as if alive.
From within the shadows, a slender, alabaster hand extended. Two graceful fingers pinched the rose.
"Natsuya Nao…"
That same ageless, androgynous voice sounded again—calm, deep, and unhurried.
"It seems… you know quite a lot."
For a moment, it almost seemed as though the rose had come back to life. The instant that pale hand touched it, the petals stirred of their own accord, edges blooming outward softly.
Nao's pupils contracted slightly.
A second later, he pulled his gaze back to the face veiled in darkness, baring a half-smile.
"You tell me."
"You seem to know everything—
and nothing at all."
Imu's tone remained steady, emotionless.
"At first, I thought you attacked Pangaea Castle because you were dissatisfied with the new Fleet Admiral—seeking justice from the Five Elders."
"But now, it's clear your true target is me. The Five Elders were just a distraction."
"You tested the little turtle… and that boy who plays with fire… quite seriously."
"And now, you want to uncover my secrets."
The rose suddenly burst apart, pink petals scattering through the air—
and at last, Imu rose from the Empty Throne, descending the steps one by one.
"How interesting."
The tall, graceful figure halted when only five steps separated her from Nao.
Revealed beneath the light was a face as delicate and pure as that of a young maiden.
Long black hair cascaded down to her waist; she looked no older than sixteen or seventeen.
Her eyes—rippled and piercing, much like Hawk Eyes Mihawk's—studied the black-haired man before her with quiet amusement.
"It seems your purpose here today was merely to probe our strength—
to gather intelligence and leave, never intending to fight to the death."
"But tell me this… Since you know of my existence, what gave you the courage to step into the Flower Room?"
"And where does your confidence come from—the belief that you can escape this place alive?"
"Is it that magnetic teleportation of yours you're so proud of? Or… that strange, inexplicable ability to transmit yourself across space and distance?"
As Imu coolly laid bare his thoughts one by one, Nao's expression remained calm.
But at that final sentence—his pupils abruptly contracted.
Only for an instant.
The next moment, he was smiling again, unbothered, meeting Imu's playful gaze with a laugh.
"You even noticed that? How terrifying, Grandma Imu."
"Let me guess… hmm. Is it Observation Haki so powerful it covers the entire world? Or perhaps your Devil Fruit allows you to see every corner of it?"
"Either way…"
He paused, locking eyes with those ripple-patterned pupils that seemed to crush the air itself, then chuckled.
"For an old monster who's been secretly watching the world for eight hundred years, that's not so surprising.
I'm just curious—was it really necessary to keep your eyes fixed only on me?"
Imu appeared utterly unbothered by the title old monster. Her gaze lingered on his face for a long time before she smiled faintly.
"When someone catches my eye, it's only natural to watch them closely."
"A fine face indeed."
She extended a slender finger, reaching to gently trace his cheek.
"Even more handsome than in the photographs. When you smile like that… even I feel a little tempted."
Nao frowned slightly and turned his head aside, avoiding the "girl's" touch.
Imu didn't seem surprised; she merely laughed softly behind her hand, just like a playful sixteen-year-old maiden.
"But really, little one… you are exactly as I said—you know nothing.
Observation Haki? Seeing through space? Even as guesses, your imagination is far too limited."