Only half a month remained until the scheduled resurrection day of the [Great Sage].
This former land of samurai had become the epicenter of a global storm.
The island was a mix of all sorts, the air thick with an undercurrent of turbulence.
The Gourmet Navigation Group established strict rules for these outsiders.
Initially, not everyone took these rules seriously.
Some lawless pirates quickly served as warnings with their fates.
Bartolomeo the Cannibal, a Super Rookie who caused trouble in the pleasure district, was slain with a single sword stroke by [Nightmare] Cavendish.
An envoy from a former World Government's member nation secretly contacted old samurai factions, attempting to instigate unrest, and was burned to charcoal by [Flame Emperor] Ace's fire.
Two notorious pirates, each with bounties exceeding 800 million Belly, attempted to infiltrate the core area of the Flower Capital at night. They were crushed on the spot by [Dark Admiral] Zephyr.
Amidst this chaos, many were shocked to discover that nearly all the top executives of the Gourmet Navigation Group possessed strength on par with Emperors or Admirals.
The news that the Red Hair Pirates had been defeated and suppressed by [God of Lightning] Enel sent shockwaves through the world.
One executive of the Gourmet Navigation Group had single-handedly subdued an entire Emperor crew. It seemed like pure fantasy.
Suddenly, speculation about how the Gourmet Navigation Group had nurtured so many top-tier strongmen in just a few years became the most hotly discussed topic among various factions.
"Some kind of ancient technology? Or a special training method left by the [Great Sage]?"
"Is it connected to the secrets of [God Valley] or [Laugh Tale]?"
Opinions varied, with no consensus.
Regardless, the Gourmet Navigation Group's overwhelming power kept all factions in check.
Just ten days before the resurrection ceremony, an indescribable darkness blotted out the sky.
"What is this?"
"Someone is standing in the sky?"
"What terrifying pressure! Who is it?"
The powerful figures gathered in the Flower Capital looked up to see a figure enveloped in shadow slowly descending.
Three pairs of dark wings spread behind her, radiating a chilling presence.
"I-Imu!" Some who had witnessed Imu's power during the Godfall Battle cried out in terror.
The 'God' of the previous era had reappeared!
Imu spread her hands: "Ignorant masses, before this absolute authority, kneel, submit, and... accept your destined fate."
Her declaration was like a divine oracle, asserting sovereignty over the world.
As vice-captain, Ace stepped forward: "Imu, you're nothing but a defeated opponent of our captain, a stray dog that narrowly escaped! What right do you have to call yourself a 'god' here?"
"Defeated opponent? Heh..." Imu chuckled lightly. "Your captain never truly defeated me back then. It was merely a mutual exchange. He exhausted his trump cards, and I lost much as well."
"But that matters little now. Once I regain control of this world, I will erase you, Chiaki Setsuna, and every trace of that battle... completely from time and memory, just as I erased that foolish history eight hundred years ago."
She lowered her head slightly, as if looking down at a noisy ant: "That way, no being will ever know of the... insignificant 'embarrassment' I once suffered."
"Arrogant!" Ace's eyes blazed with fury. "Erase us? You? Our captain won't need to lift a finger. I'll bring you down right now!"
As he spoke, an unprecedented white-hot flame erupted from his body.
After two years of hellish training, coupled with consuming the Fruit of Might Setsuna had recently given him, Ace was confident his strength had reached a new level, capable of challenging any legend on these seas.
"Great Flame Commandment: Flame Emperor!"
Limitless white-hot flames surged from his body, instantly forming a colossal fireball over one hundred meters in diameter, radiating destructive energy like a miniature sun.
The air around the fireball twisted and evaporated from the intense heat. The watching crowd, even at a great distance, felt their skin sting and had difficulty breathing.
Facing this attack, capable of incinerating mountains and boiling seas, Imu lightly waved her arm.
An equally massive fireball descended from the sky, pushing Ace's flames back.
Ace barely had time to let out a short cry of pain before he was blasted away by the fire.
Everyone watched in disbelief. Ace, renowned as the [Flame Emperor], had been blasted away by fire.
Ace himself was even more shocked: "How do you also have the power of the Mera Mera no Mi?"
He was one hundred percent certain that what Imu had just used was not the Magu Magu no Mi, nor some Mythical Zoan's accompanying flame, but the genuine Mera Mera no Mi.
Imu seemed to relish Ace's shocked expression, letting out an amused laugh: "Getting scared already? There's more. Watch closely, and see how ridiculous the limits of power you mortals can imagine are before me."
The next moment, a devastating lightning bolt fell from the sky, aimed at Enel.
"What?" Enel was shocked and furious, but even his full-powered lightning could not stop it.
Following that, golden light showers rained down upon Kizaru, who was observing nearby.
"Moshi moshi, I'm just here to watch," Kizaru said, his expression somewhat frustrated.
Imu paid no mind to the shouts of a mere 'monkey', then exhaled a breath towards Aokiji.
A frigid wind, capable of freezing even the soul itself, howled forth, shattering the ice wall Kuzan had hastily erected.
Imu, like a deity, casually wielded various powerful Logia abilities.
But her power did not stop there. She swung her delicate fist towards Whitebeard.
Shockwaves more terrifying than those from Whitebeard's prime radiated outwards, shattering the atmosphere like glass.
The Flower Capital, and indeed all of Wano, trembled violently from the aftershock of this single punch, as if struck by the most severe earthquake.
Then, she pressed her five fingers down towards another area.
Boom!
Gravity in that area multiplied a hundredfold. The ground caved in, forming a massive crater.
Some unlucky pirates who couldn't escape were crushed into paste.
After demonstrating various powerful Paramecia abilities, Imu transformed into a massive azure dragon before Kaido's very eyes.
The dragon lowered its head, its cold vertical pupils sweeping over the livid Kaido, who was cracking his knuckles, as if silently mocking him.
The scene was utterly shocking.
Any top-tier Devil Fruit ability, whether Logia, Paramecia, or Mythical Zoan, came to her as naturally as breathing, wielded effortlessly, and with power surpassing the originals.