"Is this... a sudden change of heart?"
"No, I've come to terms with reality," Kaido said, gazing at the man before him with six holy wings.
"Since I can never defeat you... my so-called ambition is destined to end in nothing. Why should I cling to it? I'm an ambitious schemer, but I'm no fool."
With that, Kaido sat down, settling himself on the wooden steps of the harbor.
"Before you defeated me, I asked you... what kind of world you wanted to create. Do you remember?"
"Of course," Michael replied with a smile, observing Kaido's calm demeanor. "I said I wanted to create a world where everyone could eat their fill, stay warm, and live happily... and that includes you."
"You said you loved everyone in the world."
"That's right. I love every single person in this world."
"You also said that this world needs people like me—those who rise up to resist when the world goes wrong."
"Exactly."
"I have no interest in becoming a good person," Kaido said, pointing toward the distant horizon, in the direction of Mary Geoise.
"But... I'm very interested in dragging the Celestial Dragons down from their divine pedestal... Perhaps this is the 'right path' you once spoke of."
Michael chuckled, a hint of exasperation in his voice. Sometimes, these old tsunderes are just impossible to deal with.
"You know, the sins you've carried can't be washed away by a single battle."
"That's why I'm here..." Kaido closed his eyes. "Not to atone, but because I want to."
"Tch, Kaido, you always make me wonder... what would have happened if I had recruited you in Hachinosu instead of the Rocks Pirates?" Michael sighed.
"You were meant to be a free-spirited rebel against tyranny, yet you ended up becoming no different from the Celestial Dragons... But thankfully, it's not too late. At least try to be a man Yamato wouldn't be ashamed of."
"So?"
"So come in and join the meeting."
When Michael returned to the frontline command center with Kaido in tow, the room erupted in murmurs.
Kaido said nothing, taking a seat between Charlotte Linlin and Whitebeard. Then he closed his eyes.
But that brief commotion was quelled by Michael's Conqueror's Haki, which swept through the room.
After all... no matter how you looked at it, Kaido wasn't the enemy—at least not for now.
And so, the war council began in an oddly tense atmosphere.
In reality, the so-called war council didn't involve any substantial tactical planning.
It was mostly about deciding the Allied Forces' specific routes of attack, given the varying strengths and priorities of each faction. But that wasn't the main focus of the meeting.
The real focus... was still centered around "Lady Imu," who was none other than Lily.
At that moment, Michael stood up and brought Imu, who had been sitting beside him taking notes, to the front of the group.
"Let me introduce you. This is Saint Imu of the Nerona Family, the woman who led the Celestial Dragons—before they became Celestial Dragons—to overthrow the Great Kingdom's enslavement over eight centuries ago."
Nerona Imu.
The name plunged everyone into silence.
Imu...
Imu!?!?
"Erm, don't look at me like that ლ(′◉❥◉`ლ)," Imu said, unfazed by the attention. "Though I was once a queen, I'm now just a brave woman chasing after love."
As a former queen, she was composed in such situations.
It was all water under the bridge.
"Then... who exactly is this woman called Lady Imu? Why did she kidnap Vivi?! Just like she tried to kidnap Crocodile back then!"
Breaking the tense atmosphere was Cobra, whose expression had remained grave throughout the meeting.
After all, the most crucial objective of this operation was to rescue Princess Vivi of Alabasta.
"Calm down, Cobra. This is... just speculation," Michael sighed, continuing, "Nefertari Lily was my adopted daughter, and also the elder sister of your lineage's ancestor. She carried the blood of both the Nefertari and Nerona families."
"Over eight centuries ago, she underwent the ultimate technique of the Op-Op Fruit, the Perennial Youth Operation, which should have granted her eternal youth and immortality. However, due to potential conflicts with the fruit's inherent powers, she may have been sustaining her life by consuming women who shared her bloodline but lacked fruit abilities, at specific times and locations..."
After Michael revealed this secret, Sengoku, the former Marine Fleet Admiral, who had remained silent among the old guard, looked up.
As the former Fleet Admiral, he had dealt with the Celestial Dragons extensively.
This deep familiarity with the Celestial Dragons' internal structure had led him to become intimately acquainted with their intricate power dynamics.
"Lily... bearing the blood of both the Nerona and Nefertari families... devouring women connected by blood..." Sengoku muttered to himself, his eyes flashing with sharp insight.
"Michael... I don't think this is just a theory anymore."
"Old man, what do you mean?" Michael asked, startled. "Do you have some kind of lead?"
"You said she devours women connected by blood. And I'm absolutely certain that since I became Fleet Admiral and began interacting closely with the Celestial Dragons... the Nerona surname has vanished from their ranks. Not a single person remains."
"The Nerona clan was devoured to near extinction, forcing them to turn their attention to me in desperation..." Crocodile clicked her tongue in annoyance, glaring at Michael. "Look at your precious adopted daughter!"
"Ahem, I never expected her to go mad the moment I left."
"Father, you must be aware of Lily'scomplex, right? She's shown signs of being a yandere and a madwoman before," Kozuki Toki sighed.
"Regardless of what happened after we left eight hundred years ago that turned her into this, we bear the responsibility... even if it means..."
Kozuki Toki didn't finish the sentence. But everyone knew what she meant.
Michael... had to kill his adopted daughter, who had succumbed to madness.
Michael's expression inevitably turned grave. In the end, it had come to this.
But...
"I will kill her."
"I will bring the Celestial Dragons' reign to an end in Mary Geoise."
"A new era will dawn from the rising sun over Mary Geoise!"
"I declare... this war shall be named..."
"The Final Summit War."