The Ancient One attacked immediately.
Golden mandalas morphed into a long whip, lashing out at Imu.
Imu sidestepped it, firing back an Energy Blast to force her away.
Dormammu's laughter shook the entire dimension.
"Fascinating."
The Ancient One looked at Imu. "You have no idea what you are doing."
"I know exactly what I am doing," Imu replied.
"Your world will be devoured by him," the Ancient One said.
Imu's eyes were as cold as ice.
"My world belongs to me. Anything that tries to swallow it will end up kneeling at my feet."
Saturn felt a chill crawl up his spine.
The words sounded domineering enough.
But inviting Dormammu to the One Piece world?
Wouldn't Shop Manager Blake just string them all up on a tree the moment they got back?
Ju Peter couldn't help but send a telepathic message: Saturn, did Lady Imu forget about the man in Foosha Village?
Shut up, Saturn snapped back telepathically. If you have a death wish, leave me out of it.
Mars chimed in: If she really brings this thing over, Shop Manager Blake might not be too pleased.
Not 'might not be', Warcury corrected. He will absolutely be displeased.
Which means we cannot give him the coordinates to Foosha Village, Nusjuro added.
Then where do we give him? Ju Peter asked.
The Five Elders fell into a brief silence.
Finally, Saturn said, Give him the ruins of Mary Geoise.
Isn't that our home? Ju Peter asked.
The center of the world has already relocated. The old site is empty anyway, Saturn replied.
Makes sense, Mars agreed.
Imu heard their telepathic chatter and shot them a freezing glare.
The Five Elders instantly shut up.
Dormammu cared nothing for their petty schemes.
He only wanted access to more reality.
"I accept the deal."
The Dark Dimension rioted.
The Ancient One's expression turned grim.
With Dormammu personally entering the fray, the pressure on her would multiply exponentially.
Which was exactly what Imu wanted.
She didn't need a head-on war of attrition with the Ancient One.
As long as the Ancient One was distracted suppressing Dormammu, Imu could snatch the Time Stone.
A giant hand of darkness slammed down from the depths of the dimension.
The Ancient One raised the Time Stone. Emerald light rippled outward, severely slowing the giant hand's descent.
Imu seized the opening and lunged at the Ancient One.
Nusjuro flanked her closely, his blade sealing off escape routes.
Saturn and Warcury pincer-attacked from both sides.
Mars spewed flames from above, forcing the Ancient One to stay grounded.
Ju Peter erupted from below, his massive jaws snapping at the space beneath her feet.
The Ancient One was forced to simultaneously parry six different attacks while using the Time Stone to restrain Dormammu.
She was finally pushed to her absolute limit.
Imu shattered an Eldritch Shield with a single punch and snatched at the Eye of Agamotto.
The Ancient One reached up and grabbed Imu's wrist.
The two locked eyes at point-blank range.
"Even if you take the Time Stone, you cannot win," the Ancient One said.
"That is my concern," Imu replied.
Suddenly, the Ancient One let go.
Imu's fingers brushed against the Eye of Agamotto.
But the very next moment, the Time Stone ejected itself, flying directly into the Ancient One's palm.
A magical array lit up in her hand.
She had willingly unsealed the stone.
Imu's expression flickered.
The Ancient One raised the Time Stone, pointing it directly at Imu.
"Since you wish to see the rules, then look closely."
An explosion of green light followed.
The world before Imu's eyes instantly morphed.
She saw herself taking the Time Stone.
She saw herself helping Thanos assemble all six Infinity Stones.
She saw Thanos snap his fingers.
[Dungeon Settlement: Failed]
Then, she saw herself betraying Thanos and stealing the Infinity Gauntlet.
But the power of the Gauntlet triggered a massive backlash.
Her life force was completely burned away by the six stones.
The Five Elders were reduced to ashes.
The coordinates to the Grand Line were exposed, and Dormammu descended.
And then, she saw the doorway of the Partys Bar in Foosha Village.
Blake was sitting in a chair, drinking coffee.
The moment Dormammu poked his head into the world, Blake simply raised a hand and pressed down.
The vision shattered.
Imu snapped back to reality.
For the first time, her face visibly changed.
The Ancient One didn't know what she had seen.
That fragment of the future didn't belong to this universe. The Time Stone could only capture a blurred outcome.
But Imu saw it clearly.
There was no fluctuation of energy before Blake made his move.
He just raised his hand.
And Dormammu was gone.
That wasn't a battle.
That was taking out the trash.
Imu's hand froze mid-air.
The Ancient One seized the gap, slamming a palm into Imu's chest.
Imu stumbled backward.
The Five Elders instantly moved to protect her.
"Lady Imu?" Saturn asked anxiously.
Imu didn't answer.
She stared at the Time Stone in the Ancient One's hand. The greed in her eyes hadn't vanished, but it was now laced with deep dread.
She wasn't afraid of the Ancient One.
She was terrified of Blake in that future vision.
The Ancient One took the opportunity to speak. "Call off the deal. Otherwise, Dormammu will devour something you cannot possibly afford to lose."
Dormammu was furious.
"Ancient One!"
A massive maw of darkness pressed down toward them.
Imu looked up at Dormammu.
She suddenly smiled.
"The deal is off."
Dormammu's wrath instantly pivoted toward her.
"Outsider! You dare toy with me!?"
Imu raised her hand.
"I was merely testing your worth."
A crimson Energy Blast slammed into Dormammu's face.
The strike obviously wouldn't kill the master of the Dark Dimension.
But it was enough to infuriate him.
Dormammu's dark energy crashed down in a frenzy.
The Ancient One's eyes widened. "Are you mad?"
"No," Imu said calmly. "But now we share a common enemy."
The Ancient One finally understood.
Imu wasn't giving up the stone.
She had merely realized that Dormammu was far too dangerous a knife to borrow.
So she had to force him back first.
Once they escaped the Dark Dimension, she would resume her attempt to steal the Time Stone.
The Ancient One found these outsiders to be incredibly troublesome.
Even more so than Dormammu.
At least Dormammu was straightforward with his evil.
Imu's brand of evil was cold, calculated, and meticulous.
The Five Elders also understood.
"Focus on the big face first," Saturn sneered.
"Maybe don't call it a big face, he can hear you," Ju Peter whispered.
Dormammu roared.
Tentacles of darkness swept toward them.
The Five Elders attacked in unison.
Left with no other choice, the Ancient One was forced to cooperate.
The Time Stone slowed the tidal wave of darkness.
Imu burned her ki, firing a barrage of Energy Blasts.
Nusjuro sliced through the incoming tentacles.
Mars incinerated the fragments of darkness.
Saturn and Warcury took the brunt of the frontal assault.
Ju Peter was tasked with tearing open an escape route through the dimensional debris.
The battle waged on for several minutes.
Catching a moment when Dormammu's power briefly receded, the Ancient One pushed the Time Stone to its absolute limit.
"Now!"
Ju Peter widened his jaws, ripping open a weak point in the space.
Imu and the Five Elders immediately bolted through.
The Ancient One followed last, sealing the passage behind her.
Before the entrance to the Dark Dimension fully closed, Dormammu's furious roar echoed out.
"Ancient One! Outsiders! I will remember you!"
Landing back in the physical reality, Ju Peter immediately began patting the dark residue off his body.
"Remember us all you want, just don't show up at our doorstep."
Saturn shot him a glare. "You dodged the fastest just now."
"I was on vanguard duty, tearing open the path!" Ju Peter retorted. "Ever heard of division of labor?"
They had returned to an abandoned church somewhere near New York.
Outside, the fires of war still raged.
The Ancient One stood opposite them, the Time Stone hovering in her palm.
Imu stood at the forefront of the Five Elders.
Neither side immediately attacked.
Their brief, forced alliance against Dormammu had left the situation highly precarious.
"What did you see?" the Ancient One asked.
Imu didn't answer.
"The Time Stone made you stop. That means there is something in the future that even you cannot accept," the Ancient One pressed.
Imu's gaze was glacial.
"It is none of your concern."
Saturn knew the truth in his heart.
For Lady Imu to react like that, it was an eighty percent chance it involved Blake.
That man was like a lingering ghost.
He hadn't even entered the dungeon, yet his presence made them second-guess their every move.
Was that logical?
Perfectly logical.
Because he was Blake.
Imu looked at the Ancient One.
"I won't take the Time Stone for now."
The Five Elders were stunned.
Even the Ancient One was somewhat surprised.
"But don't think you can guard it easily," Imu continued. "Thanos is coming. And the others will come for it too."
"What are you planning?" the Ancient One asked.
Imu raised a hand, tearing open a spatial rift.
It was a short-range transit portal she had acquired through her faction privileges in the dungeon.
"I'll retrieve the other stones first."
"Lady Imu, where to?" Saturn asked.
Imu gazed off into the distance, toward New York.
Over there, purple light, blue glows, golden lightning, and black-red Haki were still erupting in a chaotic storm.
"The Power Stone."
Ju Peter gulped.
"The one in Hela's hand?"
"Are you afraid?" Imu asked coolly.
Ju Peter instantly straightened his posture.
"No. I just think she doesn't look very friendly holding that thing."
"Obviously," Saturn sneered. "She just brought Ronan to his knees."
Warcury looked at Imu.
"Should we regroup with Thanos?"
Imu paused for half a second.
On Titan, Thanos was currently engaged in a brutal bloodbath with Akainu.
She couldn't sense the exact details of the fight, but she could tell Thanos wouldn't be breaking away anytime soon.
"Not yet."
Watching them prepare to leave, the Ancient One suddenly spoke up.
"If you continue to fight over the stones, the universe will collapse even faster."
Imu didn't look back.
"Then let it collapse a little slower."
The spatial rift sealed shut.
The Five Elders vanished alongside her.
Inside the church, the Ancient One was left completely alone.
She looked down at the Time Stone in her palm.
The future was still a chaotic mess.
She couldn't see the entity who had sent these people in.
But she was now certain of one thing.
The true variable in this war wasn't Thanos.
Nor was it the Infinity Stones.
It was these monsters from the outside world.
The Ancient One closed the Eye of Agamotto.
In the distance, an even larger explosion echoed from New York.
She muttered softly, "Strange... you had better grow up quickly."
Meanwhile.
In the sky above the ruins of New York, a spatial rift tore open.
Imu and the Five Elders descended.
Below, Hela sat upon her Purple-Light Throne, the Power Stone embedded in her palm, her right arm having been shredded and repaired by its energy multiple times.
Kaido was covered in blood, but still laughing maniacally.
Shiki was steering his floating fortress, bringing it crashing down.
Thor, Loki, the Avengers, and the Guardians of the Galaxy had all been swept to the periphery of the battlefield.
Imu looked at Hela.
Hela looked right back at Imu.
The two queens locked eyes across the void.
"Is it just me, or is the atmosphere even worse than before?" Ju Peter whispered.
"Shut up and prepare for battle," Saturn said coldly.
Imu took a step forward.
Crimson ki flared around her.
"The Power Stone is mine."
Hela slowly stood up, purple-black blades unfurling behind her back.
"Yet another one asking to kneel."
Hearing this, Kaido's laughter grew even louder.
"Hey! Newbie! Get in line! I'm not done fighting yet!"
Imu shot him a side-glance.
"Guard, get lost."
The grin froze on Kaido's face, instantly replaced by a boiling, murderous fury. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING A GUARD?!"
───
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