A Few Days After the Death of the Celestial Dragons
The sea was calm—unnaturally calm. Perhaps even the waves sensed that something terrifying had happened a few days ago on Sabaody Archipelago.
Inside the Beast pirates Ship, Ace sat lazily with one leg over the other, a crumpled newspaper in one hand. The headline spread across the front page in bold black letters:
"Two Celestial Dragons Slain — Killer Identified as Swordsman Kyojin Rengoku. Bounty: 1,000,000,000 Berries."
A crude sketch of Rengoku's katana-wielding silhouette glared from the page.
Ace stared at it for a moment…
Then smirked.
"Heh… killing Celestial Dragons really is the fastest way to earn a bounty."
Yamato, sitting opposite him with her mace resting beside her, leaned forward. "They even gave him a billion right away… that's insane."
Ace folded the paper and tapped it lightly.
"No, Yamato. What's insane is how accurate this information is."
She blinked. "Accurate? About what?"
Ace pointed at a paragraph in the article.
"The newspaper revealed the CP agent casualties around the Celestial Dragons. And the number matches what I told you earlier. Any pirate with around a hundred million strength can kill a Celestial Dragon if they get close enough."
Yamato frowned. "But then… why doesn't every pirate who wants a high bounty just go kill them?"
Ace laughed—a short, dry sound.
"That's the simple part."
His eyes grew sharp, serious.
"If you kill a Celestial Dragon… an Admiral comes for your head."
Yamato swallowed. "And if… the Admiral fails?"
Ace leaned back, expression darkening.
"Then people above Admirals will come.
The Fleet Admiral.
The Gorosei.
And above even them…"
Yamato felt a chill creep down her spine.
"Who… is above the Gorosei?"
Ace gazed at the sky, as if looking for a name that the world itself refused to speak.
"Their king," he said quietly.
"Imu."
Yamato stiffened. "Imu…? A king? Of the entire world?"
Ace nodded.
"I don't know how old it is… at least eight hundred years, maybe more. The last time Imu appeared directly… was at the God Valley Incident."
Yamato's eyes widened. "Father was there… that's when he got his Devil Fruit."
"Yeah," Ace said. "Your father, Big Mom, Whitebeard, Golden Lion… even Roger and Rocks. All the monsters of that era were in that battle."
He paused.
"And they all attacked Imu together."
Yamato inhaled sharply. "A-and? What happened?"
Ace's voice softened, almost unwilling to say the next words.
"At the end…
Imu wasn't defeated."
He looked at Yamato with calm exhaustion.
" Imu converted."
Yamato's brows knitted together.
"Converted…? What do you mean by that, Ace?"
Ace closed the newspaper, his expression turning grim.
"It means exactly what it sounds like. Imu has an ability—
Domi Reversi."
Yamato tilted her head. "Domi… Reversal?"
Ace nodded slowly.
"Domi Reversi is a mysterious ability used by Imu that appears to forcibly transform people into demonic versions of themselves, potentially by tapping into their inner demons and stripping away their personalities"
He tapped his chest with a finger.
"They become Imu's minion. A puppet. A soldier. And worse—"
Ace's voice dropped.
"—they grow stronger. Much stronger."
Yamato felt a shiver crawl down her spine.
"That… sounds like something out of a nightmare."
Ace gave a humorless chuckle. "Exactly."
He looked out over the sea, the memories of a story too large for any one person flickering in his eyes.
"So at God Valley… after that massive clash of legends—Roger, Garp, Whitebeard, Big Mom, Shiki, Kaido, Rocks… all of them—Imu didn't lose."
Yamato leaned forward, breath held.
"What did Imu do?"
Ace exhaled.
"Imu touched Rocks."
Yamato's eyes widened in horror.
"And Rocks… was converted," Ace finished.
"Just like that. From the strongest pirate in the world to Imu's controlled pawn."
For a moment, silence blanketed the boat.
Yamato whispered, "So that's why the world thinks Garp defeated Rocks?"
Ace nodded.
"Yeah. After Imu vanished from the battlefield, Rocks—now a rampaging puppet—turned on everyone. Roger and Garp had no choice but to fight him."
He folded his arms.
"In the end, they managed to defeat him. But… Rocks got killed by Celestial Dragons."
He looked at Yamato with a serious expression.
"And that's the real God Valley Incident.
Not the one written in books."
---
Yamato opened her mouth to respond—but suddenly froze.
Her head snapped toward the horizon.
"…Ace," she whispered, eyes narrowing.
Ace followed her gaze. And then he saw it too.
A fleet of ships gliding across the sea like floating palaces.
Every hull was plated with gold, their railings crusted with gemstones. Even the sails shimmered with silk threads.
And at the very top, glowing in the sunlight—
The emblem of the World Government.
Ace's Observation Haki spread out instinctively.
Dozens of signatures.
Many weak.
Seven—weaklings surrounded by strong people, unmistakably Celestial Dragons, chattering and laughing like children on a festival day.
But among them…
Ace's eyes sharpened.
That presence…
Not as monstrous as Admiral-level giants.
Not as terrifying as Edward Newgate.
But powerful—sharp, precise, and cold.
A CP0 specialist.
No—two of them.
Ace quietly exhaled. "Just my luck."
Yamato leaned closer. "What is it?"
"Two top-tier assassins," Ace muttered. "On the same level as Rob Lucci after the time-skip."
Yamato blinked. "Who's Rob Lucci?"
Ace shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Point is—those three are strong."
A moment passed.
Then Ace smirked.
"Well, Yamato… since we were just talking about Celestial Dragons… should we kill them?"
Yamato didn't even flinch.
She stared at the luxurious fleet as if sizing up prey.
"There are a few decent strong humans on that ship," she murmured. "But the Celestial Dragons themselves…"
Her jaw tightened.
"If they're the cancer of this world—then we should eradicate the cancer."
Ace chuckled softly and nodded.
But his expression quickly shifted—eyes hardening, brows furrowing.
Yamato caught the change immediately.
"What is it? You seem troubled."
Ace tapped his fingertips against the boat's railing.
"I can kill them. Easily."
Then he tilted his head. "But doing so exposes us."
Yamato blinked. "If we kill all of them, who would report it?"
"That's not the problem," Ace replied.
"There are too many Devil Fruits in this world—tracking abilities, surveillance abilities… even fruit powers we don't know exist yet. Someone might leave a trace behind."
He paused, then added:
"And even if we ignore the Devil Fruits… there's another issue."
"What issue?" Yamato asked.
Ace sighed.
"The fight will take at least some time."
Yamato understood instantly.
"During that time…"
"Exactly," Ace said. "Other Celestial Dragons might contact the Government. Admirals could come. Or worse—even the Gorosei."
His eyes narrowed, voice low.
"We'd be exposed. And we might drag unnecessary pirates into this mess."
Yamato crossed her arms, deep in thought.
The golden fleet sailed closer.
The sea grew quieter.
And for a moment, the world seemed to hold its breath.
---