“What…?”

The two Elders’ eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Gone.

Gion and her group of five had vanished right before their eyes.

Where did they go?

No one knew, but it was certainly far away.

“Why?”

The Elders voiced their soul-deep confusion.

Why?

Kuke wasn’t a Devil Fruit user.

Gion and her crew were Devil Fruit users, but none had space-related abilities.

They were frozen, unable to make sense of it.

“Could it be… that Kuke is a Devil Fruit user?” the bald Elder hesitantly suggested.

It was the only plausible explanation.

Surely, no other member of the Radiant Eclipse could teleport their companions across such vast distances from an unknown location.

“Hmph!”

Imu’s cold snort silenced the room.

The two Elders dropped to their knees, trembling in fear.

“What kind of ability is this?”

Imu’s crimson eyes locked onto Kuke with an unyielding intensity.

She confirmed once again.

There was no trace of Devil Fruit factors in Kuke’s body. He was not a Devil Fruit user.

A non-user who had developed space-manipulating abilities? That wasn’t something achievable through mere talent or effort.

Imu, who believed she knew every secret of the seas, found herself at a loss.

Could it be… I’ve slept too long, and the era has changed?

“Can you also use invincible defense and resurrection now?”

Imu’s previously cold voice betrayed a hint of unease.

“Take a guess,” Kuke replied nonchalantly.

Imu froze for a moment.

Such a critical matter, and he expected her to guess?

“Even if you can use these abilities, the difference in our strength is undeniable,” Imu said with a sharp snort. “My combined strength with Uranus far surpasses yours.”

That was a fact.

“I guess you can use them,” Imu analyzed confidently. “But I’m even more certain that these abilities are not limitless.”

She continued her analysis with conviction:

“If you could resurrect infinitely, the Elders and the Navy would already be dead before I awakened. Instead, you chose to invade the Holy Land when our forces were elsewhere.”

“If you could always use invincible defense, why didn’t you use it during the battle?”

“And if you could teleport infinitely, why not use it strategically during combat?”

“Thus, it’s clear that each of these abilities comes with significant limitations—either a time restriction or a steep cost.”

Imu raised her head arrogantly.

“Exactly! Lord Imu sees through Kuke’s tricks with one glance!” the two Elders chimed in, sycophantic as ever.

They had long suspected as much.

The World Government’s repeated large-scale assaults on the Radiant Eclipse confirmed that invincible defense and resurrection weren’t limitless. What they hadn’t expected was the sudden emergence of long-range teleportation, which had rendered their plans futile.

“You should understand by now—you cannot defeat me. How many times can your abilities save you?” Imu declared, looking down at Kuke with condescension.

“And how long can you maintain your state? Who will falter first?” Kuke countered.

Imu’s arrogance diminished instantly.

She knew all too well the strain on both herself and Uranus.

She was supposed to remain dormant to recover from centuries of erosion and prepare for the upcoming great era.

Every move she made now came at a steep cost.

Imu fell silent, her gaze fixed on Kuke.

Killing him would require a significant price. Even though she knew his abilities weren’t infinite, she couldn’t gauge their exact limitations or costs.

If the battle dragged on, she feared she would falter before he did.

Even if she succeeded in killing Kuke—ending him so thoroughly that he couldn’t resurrect—the state she and Uranus would be left in would take decades to recover.

That wouldn’t leave them ready for the next great cycle, expected to begin in just ten years.

“What do you want?”

Imu’s tone softened, her question carrying a mix of negotiation and threat.

“Lord Imu, we cannot let him…!” the Elders exclaimed in alarm.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

How could they negotiate with the enemy?

No price was too high to eliminate Kuke.

“Silence!”

Imu’s sharp rebuke silenced the Elders instantly.

“What I want?”

Kuke’s desires boiled down to two things.

Achievement points and strong crewmates.

“Their lives.”

Kuke pointed at the two Elders.

They had been running their mouths incessantly—time to end it.

“What?”

The Elders’ anger exploded.

He wanted to kill them?

After all the trouble he’d caused the World Government, they hadn’t demanded retribution. And now he dared to ask for their lives?

Ridiculous.

They were the Five Elders, the most loyal servants of Lord Imu, the highest authorities in the World Government. Surely, Lord Imu wouldn’t…

“Agreed.”

Without hesitation, Imu nodded.

The Elders’ confidence shattered.

They turned to Imu, their eyes wide with disbelief, looking at their master.

She agreed?

Without even hesitating?

“For the greater good, your sacrifice is necessary,” Imu said calmly, her gaze steady as she looked at the two Elders.

To her, the Five Elders and even the World Government itself were insignificant compared to the importance of the coming great era.

“But…”

The Elders couldn’t accept it.

They were the Five Elders—the visible leaders of the World Government, the embodiment of its authority.

“They’re yours. In exchange, you are not to interfere with the World Government, including the Navy, for the next ten years,” Imu proposed. “Naturally, during that time, we will not attack the Radiant Eclipse or its members.”

A ten-year truce.

That was Imu’s goal.

In ten years, the long-awaited cycle of 800 years would begin again.

The reincarnations of key figures and the emergence of those carrying the torches of destiny would shape the world’s course for the next 800 years.

For that, Imu was willing to sacrifice anything.

“Ten years?”

Kuke pondered.

He recalled that ten years from now marked the rise of Luffy and the “Worst Generation.”

“No wonder he’s the protagonist, the child of destiny. Looks like this sea is once again dictated by fate and bloodlines,” Kuke thought with a sneer.

What a narrow vision.

This small, island-bound world of manga couldn’t escape its obsession with lineage and destiny.

“Luffy is already one of the most well-connected individuals in this sea. Now it’s certain—he must have an even deeper backstory. Is he the reincarnation of some legendary figure? A bearer of someone’s will? Or does the Gum-Gum Fruit hold some secret?”

Kuke speculated but didn’t dwell on it.

Today had confirmed much.

The combat ceiling for individuals on this sea was around two million. The very strongest might approach three million.

While higher than Kuke’s current power of 1.5 million, it wasn’t far beyond his reach.

Soon, he would surpass it.

No matter what destiny or bloodlines this sea had to offer, none could match the power of his “system.”

——

DONT FORGET POWER STONE

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep