In his previous life, Imu had heard many One Piece fans attribute the darkness of this world entirely to the Celestial Dragons. They believed that the root of the World Government's evil and corruption lay in the excessive privileges of the Celestial Dragons and the way they brought chaos wherever they went.
To that, his attitude was... half agreement, half disagreement.
He agreed that the Celestial Dragons were undeniably involved. After all, Imu himself was one of them—no, more than that. He was the king of the Celestial Dragons… even their god.
But where he disagreed was in thinking that the problem lay solely with them. In his view, a much bigger reason was the overall structure of the World Government—flawed, stagnant, and stuck in the past. What it was 800 years ago was pretty much what it still was now. No progress. No reform.
That stagnation had everything to do with his former self—Imu, who lacked political acumen or governing ability, and was obsessed with preserving the status quo. He believed that change would lead to chaos, and that any problem could be resolved through absolute authority and overwhelming force.
But really, how many Celestial Dragons are there?
At most, maybe five or six hundred. And it's not like they're all out in the world causing trouble. Most of them preferred to stay in Mary Geoise. Unless they got bored and wanted to stretch their legs, they had zero interest in the filthy air of the outside world. The only time a large group of them would descend from Mary Geoise was during the Native Hunting Competition, but since the God Valley Incident, this event has not been held again.
Besides, the royal families and nobles of various nations were also a huge problem. Don't think that kingdoms like Arabasta, Dressrosa, or Fish-Man Island—with their good-hearted royals—are the norm. They're rare. Exceptionally rare.
When it comes to oppression and cruelty, most kings and nobles weren't much better than the Celestial Dragons. In fact, in both number and influence, they were far worse.
Still, placing the Celestial Dragons under house arrest was Imu's first real reform to the World Government.
If they only caused trouble when they went outside...
Then fine. Don't let them go outside. Just keep them safely within the 'Domain of the Gods' residential district. They'd have food and drink, plenty of space, gardens, rivers—the works. It wasn't abuse by any means.
As for stripping the Celestial Dragons of their privileges and status?
Absolutely out of the question.
There's a saying: Your position shapes your perspective. A person must understand their role and identity.
At the end of the day, his core power still stemmed from the Celestial Dragons. More specifically—from the Five Elders throughout the generations.
Imu had been hidden in the deepest reaches of Pangaea Castle. Only the Five Elders had the right to meet him, and through them, he ruled the world indirectly.
To the rest of the Celestial Dragons—and the entire world—Imu's existence wasn't even known.
So in a way, it wasn't wrong to say that his current authority came from the Five Elders.
And now, even if he were to step into the spotlight and publicly reveal his identity, there was a good chance the World Government's member nations wouldn't accept him. They might even resist en masse.
If that happened, he'd be forced to rely on violence and unleash the 'national treasure' at his disposal to crush them in blood.
Why bother?
At least for now, such drastic measures were completely unnecessary.
In short, Imu, the Five Elders, and the entire Celestial Dragon caste were part of the same body. The Celestial Dragons had to exist. Their status and privileges had to remain intact. That part was non-negotiable.
Even the God's Knights, being the elite among the Celestial Dragons, have a deeply ingrained idea of what 'proper' conduct for World Nobles should be.
However, that didn't mean he couldn't restrict their movements. In fact, he could gradually reshape their thinking, training a few elite individuals among them.
For the time being, all Imu asked was that they didn't make things harder for him.
Huh?
Sitting by the window, gazing at the vast galaxy and the pale full moon, thinking about the elite Celestial Dragons reminded him of those two brats from the Donquixote family.
"Doflamingo and Rosinante."
He began to ponder—how should he handle and make use of those two? Especially Doflamingo... if used properly, that guy could actually prove very useful.
The reason this guy wanted to destroy the Celestial Dragons was because of a foolish act committed by his father, which ultimately led to his mother's death.
Later, when he tried to return to the Celestial Dragon ranks by presenting his father's severed head, he was met with collective rejection and ridicule. Since childhood, he had developed an intense hatred for the Celestial Dragons.
But looking at it another way, didn't that also prove Doflamingo's deep desire to return to the Celestial Dragons?
The only problem was... he couldn't quite think of what he'd actually need Doflamingo to do.
So what would happen after recruiting him?
That was something he needed to carefully think through.
...
In the next few days, Celestial Dragons who had been outside gradually returned to Mary Geoise. The event didn't attract much attention — after all, there wasn't anything particularly unusual about it.
As for how furious those Celestial Dragons were after being forcibly recalled, how they questioned everything, and how they threw tantrums upon being informed they were no longer allowed to leave the Domain of the Gods at will — well, that wasn't something Imu cared about.
Dealing with a bunch of spoiled, useless Celestial Dragons wasn't difficult for the Five Elders, who held real power.
And as for the enraged Celestial Dragons, once they heard, 'Anyone who disobeys will be stripped of their status as World Nobles,' they had no choice but to quiet down. No matter how useless or foolish they were, none of them dared risk their Celestial Dragon status.
The top brass of Marine Headquarters didn't have much interest in the Celestial Dragons' affairs either. Unless the Celestial Dragons were actually harmed, they were usually left alone.
Sengoku and Garp, having received a message from Fleet Admiral Kong, arrived together at his office. On the coffee table were two intelligence reports, and they immediately noticed that Kong's expression wasn't good.
"Take a look."
"Yes, just a moment."
Sengoku sat down and picked up one of the reports. Across from him, Garp casually propped up one leg and began reading lazily. But as they read, both their expressions grew more serious.
"This Bullet guy has some serious guts!"
Sengoku growled after finishing the report, slamming it back onto the table. He turned toward Kong and said sternly, "Fleet Admiral, we can't let him continue running amok. I suggest we arrest him immediately — I'll head out at once!"
Meanwhile, Garp kept reading, clicking his tongue in disbelief. This guy, Bullet, had attacked dozens of ships in just over a month. Not just pirate ships — he went after Marine warships, cruise liners from various nations, cargo vessels, and even royal fleets. And in every case, the result was the same: total slaughter.
In other words, on the Grand Line, this guy destroyed whatever he saw — even inhabited islands weren't spared. He was on a full-blown killing spree.
He had practically turned the seas upside down. Wherever he went, rivers of blood followed. The aftermath was nothing but corpses as far as the eye could see.
The only pity was... why hadn't a single unlucky Celestial Dragon crossed his path?
"Yeah, he's making quite a mess. It's time someone stepped in," Kong said in full agreement. "The Five Elders just called about this."
"What did the Five Elders say?" Sengoku asked, puzzled.
"They want Garp to go. One-on-one — defeat Bullet and bring him back."
Sengoku looked even more confused after hearing that. Kong gave a bitter smile and said, "Don't ask me why. They didn't explain it either."
"Bwahaha! What's the big deal? I'll go myself." Garp burst out laughing — so hard his eyes started to water. "I heard this brat fought Rayleigh to a draw. Now that's interesting. Real interesting!"
Still laughing, he stood up and walked out the door.
"This matter… let Garp handle it. Sengoku, take a look at this intel—I believe this is far more urgent."
Kong pulled a report from his drawer and slid it to the edge of the desk. Sengoku walked over, picked it up, and his expression instantly changed.
"This… this could cause a major incident!"
"Do we know who started the rumor? We must treat this seriously!"
Kong shook his head with a sigh. "The information came from Cipher Pol. They haven't located the source yet. All they know is—it's not just the Grand Line. Even the Four Blues are spreading it."
"Then it's already too late!" Sengoku frowned.
"If that's the case, then this rumor wasn't spread by chance. Someone has planned this for a long time—and with a large enough network to push it into all sea regions nearly simultaneously!"