Cyrus's attitude infuriated Imu.
Strangely enough, she felt as though her mind had become clearer than it had been in centuries.
Her impossibly long life had burdened her with too many memories, gradually slowing her thoughts beneath their weight.
But ever since Cyrus appeared, the events surrounding him had pushed everything else into the background.
Because of that, Imu understood his attitude perfectly.
"I thought you cared about other people."
She stared at Cyrus as she spoke quietly.
"Cared about other people?"
Cyrus walked around to her side and looked down at the short woman.
"Don't forget where I came from."
"So because of that, you don't care whether this world is destroyed?"
"Leaving aside whether you're even capable of destroying it, it wouldn't matter if you did. I have other options."
"Then why don't you choose one of them now?"
Imu turned toward him.
"Leave my world. I am its true ruler. You're nothing more than an outsider."
If possible, Imu did not want to abandon everything she had built here.
Hearing Cyrus dismiss it so easily filled her with rage. Her entire body began trembling.
"Saying I can walk away doesn't mean I'm willing to let you live happily ever after."
Cyrus leaned slightly closer.
"If I spare you, whatever happens afterward becomes my fault. If I remove you, then the blame remains yours."
Imu fell silent as she considered his words.
She had truly run out of options.
She could not kill him, defeat him, imprison him, or convince him to cooperate.
Only one of them could remain.
Naturally, Imu wanted Cyrus to disappear.
Yet the solution she had once considered only as a final possibility was now becoming her most realistic path.
If she could not fight him, she could still flee.
Cyrus had entered this world and overturned everything within a few short years. There was no reason Imu could not do the same elsewhere.
It would merely take time to seize control of another world.
And if she eventually found a way to defeat Cyrus, she could return for revenge.
The problem was that Cyrus had deliberately allowed the strange creature to be stolen.
He already knew what she intended.
Was the entire situation another trap?
"Don't overthink it."
Cyrus smiled and patted her shoulder.
"You don't have many choices anyway."
"No, I don't."
Irritation flashed through Imu's eyes at his touch, though she did not react openly.
"If I leave this world, will you stop attacking for now?"
"No."
Cyrus rejected the suggestion immediately.
"The attack on Sky Island was broadcast to countries across the world. Countless people saw it, and many of them understand that the World Government was responsible."
"Being attacked without retaliating isn't my style."
"But you suffered no losses."
Imu glared at him furiously.
"And wasn't that attack part of your plan?"
She hated the feeling that Cyrus was constantly several steps ahead of her.
"Look at you getting worked up again."
Cyrus spoke as though gently calming an unreasonable child.
"If you've decided to leave, then none of this should matter much anymore. Keeping the World Government running is exhausting, and your priority should be waiting for another world to appear so you can escape."
"How about this? Release all the people you corrupted and placed under your control. You won't need them once you leave anyway."
"Until a passage appears, we can temporarily stop fighting."
He wore an expression of complete sincerity.
Imu stared at him.
"You're trying to deceive me. Do you think I'm an idiot?"
Her voice turned icy.
She understood perfectly well that the countless servants under her control were the foundation of her power and the only reason she could continue holding Cyrus at bay.
When Cyrus had offered to let her abandon the World Government, she had genuinely considered it.
But the moment he mentioned releasing those servants, Imu immediately realized that he intended to kill her.
If she obeyed, she would become helpless livestock waiting to be slaughtered.
She had no reason to believe Cyrus would honor his promise afterward.
"Of course not."
Cyrus smiled.
"Besides, reclaiming all that power might actually make you strong enough to fight me directly."
"You're remarkably arrogant."
Imu had lived for ages, yet she had never encountered anyone like Cyrus.
Then again, he had come from another world.
Why did she have to endure all this because of him?
"You can think about it."
Cyrus turned and walked several steps away, presenting his back to her.
"Once the situation on Sky Island is resolved, I'm launching a full-scale war against the World Government."
"I will leave. You can wait until then, and the world will belong to you."
Imu restrained the urge to attack his exposed back.
"No means no."
Cyrus did not turn around.
"I'm not negotiating with you. I'm informing you."
"Do you truly have no fear that I'll activate every servant under my control?"
"Then I won't mind becoming the demon who destroys this world."
Cyrus turned and met her gaze.
"You know I'm capable of it."
He was far too troublesome.
With Uranus destroyed, one of Imu's greatest remaining weapons was gone, placing her at an even greater disadvantage.
Even now, the speed of her collapse felt absurd.
In only a short time, the control she had once considered unshakable had crumbled, leaving the world almost unrecognizable.
This invader from another world deserved to die.
Yet she could not kill him.
Instead, he was forcing her to abandon the world that belonged to her.
"Then let there be war—assuming you're capable of carrying it through."
After a long silence, Imu finally answered.
Cyrus stood opposite her with a blank expression. Nothing in his eyes revealed any emotion.
That only made Imu angrier.
"Sorry. A little brat came to challenge me just now, so I had to send him away."
Cyrus abruptly spoke again, scratching his head with an apologetic expression.
"So we're going to war, then?"
A dazzling smile spread across his face.
They stood only a short distance apart, and his tone remained infuriatingly casual.
Imu did not respond.
"Then we might as well begin with the two of us."
Cyrus gestured around them.
"This isolated space will disappear soon. You've spent all this time talking to me because the body you're controlling—the spatial ability user—can't leave either, can it?"
"The ability user must remain inside while the space is sealed."
Since Cyrus had already understood, Imu saw no reason to deny it.
"I'm very interested in that ability."
Cyrus made no attempt to conceal his desire for it.
"You already use the Door-Door Fruit extremely well."
The Door-Door Fruit was also a spatial ability.
But making it truly valuable required extraordinary development.
Otherwise, the World Government would never have assigned it to a relatively inexperienced Cipher Pol agent.
Had Imu known the fruit could be used to such an extent, she would never have allowed it to leave her control.
Now that Cyrus possessed it, however, she could never recover it.
"We may be the only two people in this world capable of wielding multiple Devil Fruit powers."
Cyrus nodded, acknowledging that the Door-Door Fruit was extremely useful.
"If you want the ability in this body, then come and take it."
The moment Imu finished speaking, a black tail appeared directly in front of Cyrus.
Clang!
Cyrus's head jerked backward.
"I see."
His eyes brightened with surprise.
"That ability is powerful."
That single strike had already revealed the general nature of the spatial power controlled by Imu's current vessel.
Whoosh!
A blade of flame appeared and cut straight through Imu's body.
Yet although the fire visibly divided her form, it had not truly touched her.
"Everything inside this space is under my control."
Imu ignored the flaming cut passing through her.
"If there were no time limit, I would be invincible here."
Darkness poured from her body.
Dozens of black tails emerged and instantly surrounded Cyrus.
"Fire doesn't have a fixed shape."
Cyrus allowed the tails to pierce him.
Flames erupted from every wound, restoring his body in an instant.
"If this ability covered the entire world, perhaps you could call yourself invincible."
He smiled.
"But here…"
All color drained from Cyrus's body.
White light began shining from within him.
Imu immediately retreated, her form appearing to be erased from space itself.
Boom!
A horrifying explosion engulfed the entire island and destroyed everything within the sealed dimension.
Fire drifted through the ruins.
Cyrus's upper body reformed within the flames as he looked toward the place where Imu had vanished, then studied the spatial barrier still surrounding the area.
Even the detonation of his clone had been completely contained.
Spatial power truly existed on a higher level.
In almost any world, space and time were among the most powerful forces.
Anyone who completely mastered either would be nearly unbeatable wherever they went.
"Just as I thought."
Not long afterward, Imu's body gradually reappeared within the space.
The instant she emerged, flames ignited her black robe.
She immediately slipped back into the hidden layer of space.
Several breaths later, however, she was forced to reappear.
By then, her entire body had become a torch.
Inextinguishable flames burned across her.
This time, Cyrus raised his hand immediately.
Darkness descended and swallowed the burning Imu completely.
A moment later, the darkness contracted.
The charred body of a woman fell from it and plunged into the sea of fire below.
"She escaped quickly."
Cyrus had hoped to trap Imu's true consciousness through this opportunity, but she valued her own life even more than he expected.
"She probably withdrew the moment this body first appeared."
Still, the spatial ability he had acquired was interesting.
The Devil Fruit created a perfectly isolated area. No physical substance could pass between the inside and outside.
Once the space was created, however, it remained active on its own for a fixed period.
Even the ability user could not end it early.
That was a significant limitation.
Inside the space, though, the user could hide within layers between dimensions.
Imu's initial appearance and both of her later disappearances had relied on that effect.
The user could also fold and reshape distances freely within the sealed area.
"The Duel-Duel Fruit."
Cyrus gave the ability a fitting name.
It was an exceptionally powerful support-type fruit.
It could create an inescapable arena where space itself aided the user.
Most unusually, even killing the ability user did not immediately end the effect. The sealed arena would remain until its predetermined time expired.
For Cyrus, however, the power was somewhat impractical.
Using it normally would only restrict his own movements.
It might be useful against an opponent he genuinely could not control, but if even Cyrus lacked confidence in victory, he would have little reason to lock himself into a fight to the death.
Unless, of course, a clone activated it.
Just as Imu had done here.
She had merely projected her consciousness into another body. Escaping only required withdrawing that consciousness.
After thinking it over, Cyrus absorbed every flame covering the ruined island and recalled his awareness.
…
Sky Island.
The terrifying sight in the sky had already disappeared.
Cyrus's counterattack had taken very little time.
Uranus was probably a creation of the Ancient Kingdom—perhaps a spacecraft or orbital weapon.
It possessed overwhelming firepower but relatively weak defenses.
After Cyrus compressed its own attack and fired the energy back, Uranus lasted less than a heartbeat before it was pierced, torn apart, and completely destroyed.
"Chairman!"
Crocodile's voice reached him shortly after his consciousness returned.
"Immediately issue an order to every Hunter. Begin clearing out all World Government facilities."
Cyrus's voice was solemn.
"What? You mean…"
Crocodile stopped breathing for a moment.
"Exactly that. The World Government no longer has any reason to exist."
Cyrus continued without hesitation.
"If any demonized servants are discovered, send Hunters to eliminate them."
"Also inform the Revolutionary Army, every allied faction, and all nations that have openly chosen our side."
"Understood."
Crocodile ended the call.
His breathing had quickened, and excitement brought color to his face.
War was beginning.
Even Crocodile could not remain calm.
In his eyes, Cyrus was incapable of losing.
In this world, overwhelming strength could solve almost anything, and Cyrus's power stood behind every move the Hunter Guild made.
After collecting his thoughts, Crocodile did not immediately contact the Guild's branches or allied forces.
He called Morgans first.
Morgans was still trembling with excitement.
The events above Sky Island had captured the entire world's attention.
The descending beam and the flames that covered the sky had resembled a battle between gods.
Such power seemed beyond anything a human should possess.
And that only drew even more viewers.
Then Crocodile contacted him.
After hearing Cyrus's orders repeated word for word, Morgans froze.
For one brief moment, the mind of the world's greatest journalist went completely blank.
They were declaring war on the World Government?
With no elaborate preparations or ceremonial announcement?
Cyrus had simply spoken a few casual sentences and ordered the destruction of an organization that had ruled the world for centuries.
The World Government's influence reached nearly every island and had been carved deeply into the minds of generations.
The Great Pirate Era had opened the first crack in that authority.
Now the Hunter Guild intended to shatter it completely!
"Understood. I'll begin preparing immediately."
Morgans's voice became unusually serious.
"But membership in the Hunter Guild isn't compulsory. Some Hunters may refuse to participate."
"That isn't your concern. Just carry out your part."
…
In the New World, Sengoku was still waiting for information.
No report had arrived concerning Kong.
Instead, he received a call from Crocodile.