Chapter 247: Awakening of the Unseen King

The Five Elders of the World Government had already made their decision: Im must be awakened. They wouldn’t have done this if the situation weren’t truly dire.

Every time Lord Im goes into a deep sleep, being disturbed is the last thing they want. They could only hope Im wouldn’t hold it against them.

The scene shifted. In a vast empty room, the Five Elders knelt on one knee. Before them stood a golden throne. Sitting atop it was a humanoid figure clad in a crimson robe.

A haunting voice drifted from the throne above, filled with curiosity. “Karl?”

“Is he still alive?”

“Who would’ve thought? Turns out this variable has a tougher life than expected.”

“So, where is he now?”

Im had grown truly interested in Karl. He was the first variable ever to escape the hands of the Heavenly King. The King’s attacks weren’t something just anyone could avoid — no matter what abilities they possessed.

Over these 800 years, the Heavenly King had been used at least a dozen times, yet only Karl managed to slip away. Im’s curiosity only grew. What kind of power made him slip past the King’s pursuit?

But a variable is still just a variable. Im wondered how much longer Karl could last. At least he brought a little spice to these centuries of solitude.

Hearing Lord Im’s inquiry, Saint Mars quickly answered, his tone heavy and grave. “Intelligence indicates he’s in the North Blue right now.”

“According to intel from CP0, the Lanternfish died in North Blue just today. Based on that, Karl likely has his hands on Pure Gold.”

The sound echoed through the empty hall. Cold sweat glazed the foreheads of several Five Elders.

The task of monitoring Pure Gold was entrusted to them by Im personally. Now, clearly, they’d botched it. None of them knew what kind of punishment awaited.

Tap. Tap. Tap!

Im tapped a finger on the armrest, thinking that things were getting interesting.

At that sound, the Five Elders were seized by a wave of terror. Their bodies trembled ever so slightly.

Punishment wasn’t what they feared most — if punished, at least there’d be a chance to redeem themselves in the future.

What truly terrified them was silence. If Im said nothing, that meant they’d lost the chance to make things right.

“Pure Gold?”

“Looks like there’s yet another reason I’ll have to act personally.”

Hearing the inflection in Im’s voice, the elders quietly let out a sigh of relief.

Apparently, Lord Im wasn’t nearly as concerned about Pure Gold as they’d feared. Which made sense, given Im had already undergone the Immortality Operation. The allure of Pure Gold wasn’t as strong — probably just a collectible to someone like that.

Things seemed to ease a bit. Then Saint Derlin, in charge of intelligence, had to pour fuel on the fire. “According to our latest reports, Vegapunk — the one who ate the Brain-Brain Fruit — is also on Cake Island.”

“CP0 tried launching an assault, but the whole team was wiped out. Besides, Cake Island is Karl’s main base. Right now, we have no effective plans to extract Vegapunk.”

At the mention of Vegapunk in Karl’s hands, Im’s tapping paused. Having received the Immortality Operation, Im didn’t care much for Pure Gold — that was something the other Celestial Dragons craved. But Vegapunk was different. Im knew exactly what the Brain-Brain Fruit could do.

If unchecked, even without the Pluton blueprints, Vegapunk could probably build a Pluton. Given enough time, he might even replicate the Heavenly King Uranus. That was something Im absolutely could not tolerate.

Even the Five Elders had no idea about the existence of the Heavenly King. All they knew was the World Government had a powerful trump card, but what Uranus truly was — that remained a secret.

If Uranus could be replicated, the power balance of the World Government would shift uncontrollably, like a set of scales with weights piling up on the wrong side.

“Is there anything else you need to report?” Im’s tone, for the first time, carried a hint of urgency — so rare that it caught everyone off guard, as if Im wanted this meeting wrapped up as quickly as possible.

Below, the Five Elders exchanged quick glances. It was the first time they’d ever detected urgency in Lord Im’s voice, and it immediately transformed their opinion about Vegapunk.

No wonder Im was uneasy. If a second Heavenly King Uranus were created, that meant there’d be forces capable of rivaling the World Government — something neither Im nor the Government could abide. Im refused to share the power over the One Piece World with anyone else.

Even if there was only a slim chance of Uranus being replicated, sometimes a one-in-ten-thousand risk was still too much.

A few quick glances signaled a tacit understanding among the Five Elders. Saint Mars nodded slightly and spoke: “Lord Im, that’s all we have to report for now. Nothing further at the moment.”

Minor matters they could handle on their own. Only Karl’s emergence was a threat to the World Government’s hold over the seas, which was the only reason they’d troubled Im.

Fortunately, Im hadn’t expressed any intention to punish them. It looked like they were safe, at least for now.

Im commanded, “Send my best subordinates. I want to hear that Vegapunk is working for the World Government.”

“If you fail, don’t let him fall into the hands of pirates either.”

“Devise a plan to target the entire Karl Family. I don’t want to hear another word of Karl or his people stirring up trouble in the New World.”

Im waved a hand as the conversation ended. “You may go.”

“Yes, my lord!”

As Im spoke, the elders stood, offered a slight bow, then left the room.

After the Five Elders departed, Im rose. Passing through another door and down a long corridor, Im entered a chamber brimming with futuristic technology. In just a few steps, Im was at the control console.

A few presses on the console brought up a virtual globe. Looking closely, it was the world of pirates.

With a twist of the right hand, the globe spun to the North Blue. Blood-red eyes narrowed in on the map. Using some special device, Im scanned for high-energy signatures, quickly locking onto Karl — only to find he was no longer in the North Blue.

Right now, Karl was sailing through the Calm Belt. Their destination: the Sweets Sea of the New World, straight for Cake Island.

This little ship was able to travel the Calm Belt thanks to a large crew of fishmen. With them on board, the ship could pass through safely without provoking the Sea Kings.

Unfortunately, the vessel was nothing but a small boat — nowhere near fast enough. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been stuck in the Calm Belt so long.

Having locked on to his target, Im murmured in that haunting voice, “Found you.”

Aboard the boat, relaxing on the deck, Karl suddenly sensed a wave of lethal malice above his head. Instantly, he sat upright, his brow furrowed. That killing intent hammered through every inch of him.

“What is this feeling? Why do I suddenly sense a danger that could kill me?”