Teigu World, Imperial Capital.
When news of the great defeat at Mount Farm spread, the entire Imperial Capital was thrown into panic.
This only fueled rumors that the world government was invincible and that the entire world would soon be conquered by invaders from other worlds.
At this moment, inside the imperial palace, hidden in the space of the Hachimon no Nirvana, the current emperor was reading the war reports in the throne room with a grave expression.
The atmosphere in the room became more oppressive and solemn.
Finally, the emperor let out a long sigh, causing the high-level officials to look up.
"General Bulat has fallen in battle, his body has not been recovered, and General Esdeath is missing, her condition uncertain. Luckily, we still have General Budo to hold the army's flag high; otherwise, I really don't know what else we could do." The emperor said as he put down the documents and rubbed his temples.
"Your Majesty, we attempted to use a divination Teigu to calculate General Esdeath's position and situation, but the result was a failure." Najenda said softly: "This could mean two things: either she has died, making the Teigu unable to detect her, or she has been taken to another world."
"Killed in battle or captured?" Gozuki shook his head and said indifferently: "No matter which one it is, it is not a good thing, especially the latter. General Esdeath knows a lot of secrets of the empire."
"Since it has already happened, there is no point in talking about it." Shuar intervened, then respectfully addressed the emperor. "I think the most urgent task now is to consider how the empire will deal with the threat from the north next."
"It's obvious that our high-level military strength is inferior to that of our enemies. General Budo can barely stand up to a lieutenant general of the world government. Our only hope lies in the three ballistic missiles we have left."
Those present understood this situation as well as Shaur. But what was the point of knowing?
"So, what do you propose?" The Emperor asked, looking at him with an impassive expression as he considered whether he should tell them about the Ultimate Teigu.
"I suggest that, taking advantage of the impact of the recent ballistic missile launches, we send a diplomatic team to talk to the enemy. Perhaps we can resolve this through negotiation." Shaur suggested cautiously.
"Indeed, this is a solution." Esdra nodded in agreement.
"Well, then, that will be it. Let the Ministry of Foreign Affairs send a delegation to negotiate. Since the enemy calls itself the world government, I suppose they will not refuse a conversation." The Emperor said after thinking about it.
However, Najenda expressed her concern. "Couldn't this be interpreted as a betrayal by the Alchemy Realms and the Gods Islands? Shouldn't we consult with them first?"
"This…" Shaur and Esdra exchanged glances.
"You are right, I will inform them personally with a letter."
The emperor stood up and looked at the golden sky outside the window.
'If I use the Ultimate Teigu and collaborate with the Stigma Alchemists, as well as the Saint Swordsman, combining them with the ballistic missiles, perhaps we can get the World Government to be cautious at the negotiating table.'
[Knock, knock, knock!]
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
As soon as Kurome entered, she told everyone the shocking news.
"Your Majesty, one of the dimensional gates of the Hachimon no Nirvana is being attacked and our forces are currently engaged in combat with the enemy!"
Gozuki was furious. "What nerve! They dare to attack us on our own territory?"
"What's the situation now?" The emperor asked in a deep voice.
"It is serious. The attacker is reported to be emitting a white and violet poisonous gas; anyone who inhales it falls unconscious. We suspect that this is the same individual who assassinated Governor Numa." Kurome reported.
Hearing her, Gozuki frowned. "That's a Logia-type Devil Fruit user? That means our soldiers can't stand up to him." Then he turned to the emperor. "Your Majesty, allow me to confront that insolent murderer."
After so much effort, Gozuki had learned to use Haki, which gave him great confidence.
However, Kurome commented: "No need. Our Imperial Guard has already sent someone over. Calculating the time, they should have fought by now."
"Oh?" Gozuki looked at her, surprised. "Besides you, is there anyone else in the Imperial Guard who has mastered Haki?"
"Humph, even though I hate to admit it, there's someone stronger than me. If he can't defeat him, then there's no point in you leaving!" Kurome replied bluntly, causing Gozuki's face to turn gloomy.
...
At the same time, in one of the dimensional gates of the Hachimon no Nirvana outside the palace, chaos reigned. The most notable thing was the mist of violet and white gas that enveloped the scene.
Within the violet mist, two figures could be seen moving rapidly, with the sound of swords clashing at high speed.
[Clang!]
The combatants crossed paths again, and the clash of their weapons sent sparks flying that illuminated their faces.
"Wow, I didn't expect to meet a warrior from the Empire who mastered Busoshoku Haki and Kenbunshoku Haki." Amatori Biba said, as he blocked the opponent's blow with his sword and showed a charming smile.
"I guess even if I ask you, you won't tell me how you learned Haki, right? Then, can we get to know each other? My name is Amatori Biba, from the Kabane World, and you?"
The opponent looked at him with crimson eyes and sharp fangs appeared in his mouth. "Tatsumi, the Imperial Guard." He replied calmly.
As soon as he finished speaking, his sword deflected Biba's sword, and immediately, he launched a series of rapid slashes with his sword.
"Serpent Breathing: Viper's Nest!"
Amidst the purple mist, Biba moved swiftly around Tatsumi, his figure agile and deadly.
With the movement of his sword, a huge purple and white snake emerged from nowhere and wrapped itself around Tatsumi in a fierce constricting attack.
Looking closely, one could see that this snake was not just an illusion created by the breathing technique, but a large poisonous snake with a core of poisonous gas.
Tatsumi, sensing the force that was imprisoning him, showed no signs of panic; instead, he quickly swung his Water-Dragon Sword, coated with Busoshoku Haki, and with each movement, a blast of cutting air tore apart the snake's body, dispersing the gas in all directions.
Tatsumi took this opportunity to turn into an afterimage, quickly retreating.
"Soru!"
Biba wouldn't give him much time to rest. In an instant, he crossed several meters, appearing behind Tatsumi.
"Serpent Breathing: Poison Fang!"
As he swung his sword a purple snake coiled around Tatsumi's body and bit his neck.
But thanks to his Kenbunshoku Haki, Tatsumi lowered his body, dodging the attack, and, twisting his waist, launched a quick kick towards his opponent.
At the same time, his Water-Dragon Sword released a flurry of sharp slashes, turning into a whirlpool of sword slashes.
Biba immediately adopted a gaseous form, quickly retreating, at the same time, he exhaled a burst of poisonous gas and threw a lighter towards Tatsumi.
[Boom!]
Suddenly an explosion and a fiery glow enveloped Tatsumi.
...
"Hey, it was supposed to be just a reconnaissance mission, and they've made a ruckus of this magnitude!"
A kilometer away, on the roof of a three-story building in the Imperial Capital area, Yasopp watched the pillar of fire through his sniper rifle.
Meanwhile, when the explosions and flames had subsided, the poisonous gas had been exhausted, leaving only black smoke floating in the air.
"Hmm?"
Biba narrowed his eyes in surprise as Tatsumi slowly emerged from the smoke.
"What are you doing?"
Tatsumi was kneeling, his clothes torn and burns on his skin, but with surprising speed, his wounds began to heal as he bit the neck of an Imperial Fist warrior he was holding in his arms, absorbing his energy.
As the Imperial Fist warrior's body turned grey and thin, Tatsumi retracted his two sharp, blood-stained fangs, then put the person back on the ground and slowly stood up.
Biba immediately noticed that Tatsumi's aura had become stronger than before.
As the power of the Teigu Absordex began to take effect on him, Tatsumi unhesitatingly activated the Water-Dragon Sword.
As the eyeball on the hilt turned blood red, his body also began to rapidly strengthen.
[Swish!]
In the blink of an eye, Tatsumi turned into a black shadow that moved at high speed, appearing behind Biba before he could react.
"What a fast speed"
Biba touched his throat with lingering fear.
In a moment of pure intuition, Biba had used Busoshoku Haki to harden that area and protect himself.
For the next three minutes, Biba and Tatsumi fought to the best of their abilities, locked in a deadly dance of blades and shadows.
Bursts of light flashing from their weapons, at the same time as the sound of their swords clashing echoed in the air.
"Hahaha! How could you possibly beat me?" Biba shouted, before letting out a triumphant laugh. He then captured the weakened Tatsumi and transformed into a cloud of purple gas that ascended into the sky.
Shortly afterward, the Emperor, Kurome, Najenda, and others in the palace received news that Tatsumi had been captured. The news added a touch of hopelessness to the gloomy atmosphere of the Empire.
...
"Why did you bring him back?" Yasopp asked, looking in disbelief at Biba, who was holding the unconscious Tatsumi.
"This person claims to be an imperial guard, he should know many things, and he can also use Busoshoku Haki and Kenbunshoku Haki." Biba answered with a smile.
"What?!" Yasopp exclaimed in surprise.
They had been traveling towards the capital of the Empire and had not yet contacted the command center. If they had, they would have learned about this situation from Bullet.
"Well, I guess it was a good idea to bring him along. But we have to complete our mission. How's your investigation going?" Yasopp looked towards the direction where one of the Hachimon no Nirvana's dimensional gates was located.
"It's interesting. In that small fortress there is a luminous door, similar to the Dimensional Gate. Inside it is a gray and hazy space, where nothing can be seen clearly, and Kenbunshoku Haki can barely spread."
Yasopp frowned.
"Another dimension? This is getting complicated. So far, we've detected seven such gates, and on top of that, the entire central area of the capital seems like some sort of illusion with no real substance."
"Indeed, it is extremely difficult to find the correct entrance and exit in the eight space gates, and who knows whether the other party can change the position of the correct gate at any time?" Biba added, lifting Tatsumi up. "So I think this imperial guard named Tatsumi is the key. He probably came from that other dimension!"
...
A few days later.
At the base of the Dimensional Gate, Sakazuki received two important news.
The first news is that the naval fleet that was fighting with the kingdom of the Gods Islands at sea was suddenly attacked by a huge sword slash that was powerful enough to split the surface of the sea.
As a result, three battleships and five cruisers were severely damaged and sunk, and thousands of soldiers were killed and injured.
It was clear that the attack came from a swordsman with the power of a Great Swordsman at the very least.
The other report stated that the Empire had sent a diplomatic team of over a hundred people, saying that they wanted to negotiate with the World Government.
Sakazuki, however, didn't seem very convinced. With the World Government's domineering nature, it was unlikely that they would agree to negotiate with the weak.
But as a general, Sakazuki knew he had to relay the situation to his superiors and let the politicians make the final decisions.
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