After dealing with the God's Knights, the path to the Room of Flowers was no longer obstructed.
Surrounded by a group of powerful fighters, Rowan pushed open the heavy door and, under the gaze of countless viewers, walked into this room that almost no one had ever entered before.
As Rowan walked, he said, "Everyone in the world knows that when the twenty kings established the World Government, they made a pact of equality with one another and swore never to develop the desire for dictatorship."
"So they created a throne."
"The Empty Throne."
"And they placed their weapons before this throne to protect the Empty Throne."
"The power of the world was handed to the Five Elders, the five highest-ranking Celestial Dragons, to govern together, telling everyone in the world that there was no single unique king in this world."
"But unfortunately, you were wrong."
"The Empty Throne has never been empty."
As Rowan spoke, the Visual Den Den Mushi in Nico Robin's hand slowly moved away from Rowan and landed on the Empty Throne.
On the throne that should have been empty, someone was now sitting there openly and grandly.
Naturally, this scene was broadcast by the Visual Den Den Mushi in Nico Robin's hand.
Everyone in the world saw it.
There was actually someone sitting on the Empty Throne.
This left countless people dumbstruck and speechless.
Wasn't it said that no one could sit in that position?
Wasn't that the promise?
Why was there someone on the Empty Throne?
Who was he? Who exactly was the person sitting in that position?
At that moment, whether ordinary citizens or the member nations of the World Government, everyone felt that they had been deceived.
At the same time, Rowan's voice sounded again, echoing in the ears of everyone watching the screen.
"Imu."
"The master behind the Five Elders, the ruler of the God's Knights, an old monster who has lived for eight hundred years, the true ruler of the World Government, and the king of the world who has sat on this chair for eight hundred years."
The moment Rowan finished speaking, the person on the throne slowly opened his eyes.
A pair of cold, merciless eyes fell upon Rowan.
Boom!
The next second, black lightning burst out. Conqueror's Haki, violent to the extreme, erupted from the body of this king of the world and pressed toward Rowan with the force of mountains collapsing and seas overturning.
Feeling this powerful Conqueror's Haki, Rowan's own Conqueror's Haki erupted as well.
His Conqueror's Haki, not inferior to Imu's in the slightest, and even stronger, fully exploded.
The two forces collided with a crash, and black lightning splattered through the void again and again.
The ground, the walls, and the ceiling shook and cracked.
One crack after another spread in every direction like spiderwebs.
The entire Room of Flowers was on the verge of collapse under the clash of these two Conqueror's Haki.
Above the Room of Flowers, the sky slowly split open under the clash of these two overwhelming Conqueror's Haki.
After confirming that Conqueror's Haki could not do anything to Rowan, Imu decisively withdrew his Haki and asked curiously,
"Who are you? Mu has never seen you before."
He had always believed that the Revolutionary Army was the greatest threat, and that the clan of D were the natural enemies of the gods.
Yet now, the one standing before him was neither the Revolutionary Army nor a member of the D clan.
It was someone he had never seen before.
This made Imu very curious. Who exactly was this man, and how had he managed to reach him?
Rowan looked at Imu sitting on the throne and smiled slightly.
"Logically speaking, we should exchange a few lines of trash talk right now, then fight with all our strength, turn the world upside down, and flatten the entire Holy Land Mary Geoise."
"After that, I would completely suppress you. Then you would make a comeback from desperation, absorb the power of the God's Knights and the Five Elders, and transform into an even stronger form."
"Then I would defeat you again in an even stronger form, shatter your heart, and make you doubt your entire life."
"Finally, I would mock you a little before swinging my blade and cutting off your head."
"That would match the audience's expectations."
"It would both display your powerful strength and show my unbeatable posture."
Imu looked at Rowan in confusion.
"What are you talking about? Mu does not understand at all. Is this some kind of prophecy?"
"It doesn't matter if you don't understand. I'm just reading the script."
"I'm merely telling the viewers watching this live broadcast that this is how things were originally supposed to go."
"Unfortunately, I'm actually not very good at fighting."
"Up until now, I haven't even fought many battles."
"Asking me to jump straight into a fight with a monster of your level? Spare me."
"So, Serie, I'll leave the rest to you."
The next second, a magic circle appeared, and Serie materialized in front of Rowan out of thin air.
"Then leave it to me."
The instant Serie appeared, a wave of Conqueror's Haki that surpassed Rowan, surpassed Imu, and even surpassed Joy Boy erupted violently.
The strength of this Conqueror's Haki was simply earth-shaking.
At the same time, outside, the Five Elders, who were fighting fiercely with their enemies, were struck by the shockwave of this Conqueror's Haki and were actually forced out of their awakened forms.
Saint Garling and Saint Shamrock were hit by the aftershock of this Conqueror's Haki, and their minds went completely blank.
And this was only the residual wave of Serie's Conqueror's Haki.
The one who truly felt the terror of this Haki was Imu.
He bore the brunt of it.
The violent Conqueror's Haki directly covered his body. Imu felt as if his brain had been smashed by a heavy punch. In an instant, the world spun around him, and he could no longer tell east from west, north from south.
By the time he came back to his senses, Serie had already walked up to him.
"Mu…"
Just as Imu wanted to say something, he saw Serie raise her hand and grab.
Then his soul was pulled out from inside his body by Serie.
Like the Five Elders and the God's Knights, Imu also possessed an immortal body.
So Serie did not target Imu's body. Instead, she targeted Imu's soul directly.
For Serie, who had eaten the Soul-Soul Fruit, this was not difficult at all.
After eating the Soul-Soul Fruit, Serie had begun researching its power and gradually understood the essence of that power.
She had even developed several spells specifically targeting souls based on the Soul-Soul Fruit's abilities.
What she had just used was a spell she had recently developed.
Soul Extraction.
That was why Imu's soul had been so easily pulled out.
It was the same principle as before: Haki could counter Devil Fruits, but it could not counter magic.
"Let me see what exactly is inside your soul."
Serie curiously activated another spell.
Soul Reading.
Imu's experiences over the years, his thoughts, and the secret of his fruit were all clearly seen by Serie.
"I see. One of the world's earliest Devil Fruits—the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Devil—was eaten by you."
"No wonder you look so much like a demon."
"No wonder you fear the Nika Fruit so much."
"Gods and demons are natural enemies, after all."
Imu's soul looked at Serie in disbelief.
Who exactly was this person? Why could she pull his soul out from his body?
"Hmm… You didn't dare face the first Nika directly and only dared to hide in the shadows to scheme against him?"
"That really does fit the nature of a demon that loves using tricks and conspiracies."
"No wonder the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Devil chose you as its host."
After understanding Imu's personality and experiences, Serie quickly lost interest in him.
She turned to Rowan.
"What do you plan to do with him?"
"Kill him."
Rowan said expressionlessly, "This world will soon welcome an entirely new era. In that era, there is no place for an antique like him."
Serie gave an "oh," then froze Imu's soul.
After that, she threw it onto the ground.
With a crisp bang, Imu's soul shattered into pieces, scattering fragment after fragment. Finally, under the sunlight, it turned into flying ash.
And with Imu's death—
Outside, the Five Elders, who had been locked in battle with Kaido, Charlotte Linlin, and the others, howled at the same time.
"No! How is this possible?"
"Lord Imu! Lord Imu…"
"I don't want to die! I don't want to die!!!"
Clusters of pitch-black flames erupted from their bodies. Under everyone's horrified gazes, the once-lofty Five Elders were burned from the inside out into piles of white bones.
At the same time, Saint Garling, Saint Shamrock, and the other members of the God's Knights followed in the Five Elders' footsteps.
Their immortal bodies had all been granted by Imu. Their lives and deaths had long since been held in Imu's hands.
Once Imu died, none of those who had signed contracts with him escaped.
All of them died.
At that moment, the entire world lost its voice.
Everyone watching the screen was stunned.
Garp, Whitebeard, and the others widened their eyes, staring at this scene in disbelief.
More than thirty years ago, the six of them had joined forces and still failed to do anything to this mysterious Imu.
But now, more than thirty years later, this guy had been crushed by someone who had appeared from who knew where.
From beginning to end, he had not even been able to fight back.
Terrifying.
Truly terrifying.
They could not understand where such a powerful person had come from. They had never heard of her at all.
At the same time—
Holy Land Mary Geoise, Pangaea Castle, Room of Flowers.
"Boss."
Nico Robin once again aimed the Visual Den Den Mushi in her hand at Rowan, letting that face appear before countless viewers.
"He's dead already. Why are you still filming me? It's time to turn it off."
Rowan reached out to take the Den Den Mushi.
Nico Robin took a step back, avoiding Rowan's hand.
"No. I still have a few questions I want to ask you."
"Ask me?"
"That's right."
Nico Robin looked at Rowan with a smile.
"Then ask. Let me see what trick you're trying to pull now."
Rowan glared at Nico Robin irritably.