Holy Land Mariejois:
"Damn it, it's those two bastards, Golden Lion and Li Yuan, trying to get their hands on our national treasure!"
Compared to Golden Lion, the Five Elders were even angrier at this moment. After all, they were under pressure from Imu while conducting their investigation. They never expected that their inquiry would reveal such shocking news.
They initially thought it was just a lucky guy who stumbled upon Uranus, but it turned out that the two largest pirate crews were both after the national treasure. This meant that these two individuals might know where the national treasure could appear! If the Flying Pirates and Infinite Pirates were to obtain the national treasure, they couldn't even imagine what would happen! "What do we do now?"
Saint Saturn, Warrior God of Science and Defense, wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead and asked.
"What else can we do? We need to hurry and inform Lord Imu! This situation is beyond our control now!"
Saint Ju Peter, Warrior God of Agriculture, said helplessly.
Previously, Lord Imu had ordered them that once they discovered who was after the national treasure, they were to immediately destroy the opponent and do everything possible to keep the news of the national treasure from leaking.
But now, the results of their investigation pointed to the Flying Pirates and Infinite Pirates. Their current strength was simply insufficient to deploy the World Government's forces to eliminate the opponents. If they could have done that, they would have done it long ago, instead of waiting for the enemy to come knocking. They could only remain on standby! "Fine then!"
With that, the Five Elders once again arrived at the void throne where Imu was located to report their findings.
"So, because of your incompetence, the strength of the World Government has been significantly weakened, while the enemy's strength has increased, to the point where even knowing who the enemy is, you cannot mobilize the World Government's forces to eliminate them, right?"
As Imu spoke, a dark power began to surge around him, enveloping the entire room.
"Ah!!!"
In an instant, the Five Elders felt as if they were being gnawed on by millions of ants, the pain causing them to scream in terror.
They didn't know how much time had passed; it felt like countless years to the Five Elders, but eventually, the excruciating pain they felt finally subsided!
"Lord Imu, it is our incompetence. Please forgive us! We will definitely eliminate those pirates!"
Once the pain disappeared, the Five Elders immediately began to bow repeatedly, pleading for forgiveness.
At this moment, all they could do was bow! "Then I will give you another chance. In three months, if you still cannot satisfy me, then you need not come to see me again!"
Imu said coldly.
Although he was rarely angry, he did not want to replace the Five Elders at this time.
Doing so would complicate matters. Cultivating a new set of capable Five Elders who could manage the World Government while he remained in a deep slumber would take a long time to accomplish.
Most importantly, he did not want to take action or let anyone know of his existence. Otherwise, he would have to eliminate everyone who knew of his existence besides the Five Elders, which would be a massive undertaking!
So even though he was furious, he could only let his subordinates handle it. Unless absolutely necessary, he would not intervene! "Yes, Lord Imu, we will definitely accomplish this!"
After saying that, under Imu's signal, the Five Elders were finally able to leave Pangea Castle!
"Revise the plan once more. This time, we all must participate in the battle. We absolutely must defeat those pirate crews!"
Once the Five Elders returned to their office, they immediately convened a meeting.
"Exactly, this time we all must participate. Even if Li Yuan is strong, he is just one person. As long as we send Garp and Sengoku to intercept Li Yuan, there's nothing to fear!"
"It's best if the five of us don't engage at the start. We should wait until the middle of the battle to launch a surprise attack and take out a few of their top fighters. That way, we can secure the greatest advantage for victory!"
"This time, Mary Geoise doesn't need to hold back so many top fighters. Now that Lord Imu has awakened, we naturally don't need to worry about the safety of Mary Geoise. We must deploy as many top fighters as possible!"
"Exactly, and we should also send out most of the Knights of God. We absolutely cannot fail this time; we all know the consequences, and I believe none of you want to face Lord Imu's punishment again!"
"…"
This time, the Five Elders planned to reveal all their trump cards because they had no room left to hold back. If they failed again, they would absolutely believe that even if Imu did not reclaim his power, they would still face dire consequences!
Over the next two months, the Infinite Pirates and Flying Pirates frantically searched for traces of Uranus in the sky. However, no matter how hard they looked or how much aerial combat power they increased, they could never find Uranus.
"Damn it, where the hell has the World Government hidden my ancient weapon!"
The prolonged absence of news about the ancient weapon drove Golden Lion into a frenzy.
"Buru buru, buru buru!!"
Just as Golden Lion was about to ascend further to search for Uranus, a special Den Den Mushi on him rang. This was a Den Den Mushi specially equipped for Golden Lion by Li Yuan, a secret Den Den Mushi that the World Government could not eavesdrop on!
"Ha ha ha ha ha, Li Yuan, what's the matter with your call?"
Golden Lion knew that the Infinite Pirates were searching for the ancient weapon in the sky, but he didn't bring it up. After all, they were all in tacit agreement, just waiting to see who would find the ancient weapon first!
"Golden Lion, I'm calling you for a reason!"
"Now, we in the Infinite Pirates are ready, and it's time to initiate that final battle!"
Li Yuan stated bluntly.
"Ha ha ha ha ha, I naturally look forward to that battle, but isn't it a bit too early to start now?"
Golden Lion still felt that they should delay a little longer. If he could just have a bit more time, he could find the ancient weapon and claim it for himself.
"Golden Lion, you should know that the time we initially agreed upon is almost here. If we continue to delay, Whitebeard and Kaido will become impatient."
"You should understand that once the other allies in the pirate alliance become impatient, continuing to drag this out might lead to the alliance being attacked from within."
"Moreover, I know about your search for the ancient weapon. We are making such a big show of searching in the sky that as long as the World Government isn't foolish, they will naturally move the ancient weapon away. They won't let us find it!"
Li Yuan said.
"…"
Hearing Li Yuan's words, Golden Lion fell silent, especially at the last sentence, which awakened him.
Previously, the temptation of the ancient weapon had made him lose his mind, leading him to subconsciously believe that the ancient weapon would always be flying in the sky.
He completely forgot that the ancient weapon now had an owner. The World Government could control the ancient weapon to unleash devastating power, so naturally, they could control its flight trajectory.
As long as the ancient weapon was under the control of the World Government, it would be nearly impossible for him to find it without the World Government noticing his intentions! "Ha ha ha ha ha, Li Yuan, let's do as you say. We've prepared for so long; it's time to destroy the World Government!"
After hearing Li Yuan's words, Golden Lion abandoned the idea of continuing to search for the ancient weapon.
Instead of wasting time in the sky with the World Government, it would be better to directly attack the World Government's stronghold and eliminate them.
In that case, the ancient weapon would naturally become unclaimed. Once he found the ancient weapon, it would belong to him, Golden Lion!
"Ha ha ha ha ha, now that's the Golden Lion I know! Three days from now, see you at the Calm Belt!"
After Golden Lion agreed, Li Yuan laughed heartily, set the time and place, and hung up the phone.
He then began to call Whitebeard, Red-Haired Shanks, and others one by one to inform them of the time and place. A war that would determine the fate of the entire world was about to unfold!
(End of Chapter)