"Get the officer in charge out here, now!!!"
A furious voice roared like a lion's bellow.
It exploded overhead like thunder out of a clear sky.
In an instant, the sound resounded across the vast valley bristling with cannons and lined with fortifications.
At once—
Inside the World Gate Base, soldiers of the Auxiliary Corps stationed at every post all lifted their heads.
They saw a broad, black silhouette blotting out the blazing sun, casting a massive shadow over them like a drawn curtain.
Though they could not make out the figure's appearance, a wave of unease and tension welled up uncontrollably in their hearts.
The suffocating pressure was so intense it made them feel an almost irresistible urge to fall to their knees.
Soon, that silhouette descended into the heart of the base.
[Step Step Step Step Step]
Hurried footsteps rang out as a man dressed like an officer rushed over at the head of a squad of soldiers.
He wore a crisp olive-green summer uniform, a peaked cap with a black brim, and a tan pistol holster hanging at his waist.
"Reporting in, General Golden Lion!"
"I am Colonel Arthur Ernest Percival, commander of the 2nd Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, 1st Army of the Auxiliary Corps. I am under orders to garrison this post. Please give your instructions!"
He stopped before Shiki, who was floating in midair, and announced his identity loudly, though his expression betrayed unease.
"Colonel?"
Shiki narrowed his sinister eyes, looking down at the frail man.
"So you're not the officer in charge here. Then what did you just say your mission was?"
"Under orders to lead my regiment in garrisoning this base!" Colonel Percival shouted once more.
"Good. Then you can go die!"
Killing intent flashed in Shiki's eyes as he suddenly swung his right palm toward him.
[Boom!]
Colonel Percival had no time to react—only terror and confusion flashed across his eyes.
In that instant, his body and the ten soldiers behind him were blasted away by an invisible shockwave, erupting in midair into a horrific mist of blood.
"General, please calm your anger! Try not to vent it on the rank-and-file soldiers!"
At that moment, Budo, his whole body crackling with golden lightning, rushed up to plead on their behalf.
"Hmph!"
Shiki shot him a cold glance but did not rebuke him.
For this adjutant—reportedly once a general of the Imperial Air Force in the Teigu World—Shiki was satisfied.
Most matters were handled by him.
That gave Shiki time to go out and wander, or else train his body in the "Gravity Training Grounds."
So this bit of face, Shiki was willing to give Budo.
Just then, the sharp swishing of air being torn apart sounded overhead.
Looking up, they saw members of CP7 in black suits descending one after another.
"General Golden Lion, what do you think you're doing?"
One of the men stepped forward, pointing at the bloody carnage in the distance, and demanded coldly of Shiki:
At this moment, the nearby soldiers were already so terrified they had collapsed to their knees, trembling violently, not daring to lift their heads.
"So, you're the CP7 officer in charge here?" Shiki glared viciously at him.
The man in black frowned. "Yes. I am the captain of this CP7 squad, Kimi. May I ask why General Golden Lion struck down Colonel Percival?"
"Stationed to guard the base, yet he couldn't even keep watch over a single woman—causing the entire army to fail to move according to plan. Shouldn't he die for that?"
"And you're just as useless!"
Shiki roared in fury and struck out again, this time changing his palm to a fist.
Captain Kimi felt a sinking dread and instinctively stamped his right foot hard, trying to use "Shave" to evade.
But the gap in their strength was like heaven and earth.
The force of Shiki's punch had already slammed into his chest across the air.
"Urgh—ahhh!"
The CP7 captain's body bent like a shrimp, blood gushing from his mouth.
Like a cannonball, he was sent hurtling back, his figure vanishing into a blurred shadow, leaving behind only his wretched scream.
[Boom!]
In the blink of an eye, the surrounding CP7 members witnessed their captain crash heavily into a distant mountainside, their faces frozen in stunned horror.
"Hmph. I'll spare your dog life."
Shiki's tone dripped with cold disdain.
Behind him, Budo let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Thankfully, General Golden Lion had not gone too far.
If he had actually killed the man, CIPHER POL Headquarters would never have let the matter rest—after all, the military and CP were two entirely different systems.
At that moment, Shiki's terrifying eyes shifted toward the base commander, who had finally arrived.
"Report!"
"I am Major General Douglas MacArthur, commander of the 2nd Infantry Division, 1st Army of the Auxiliary Corps!"
MacArthur fought to suppress the nausea from the stench of blood in the air, his voice trembling as he reported loudly.
"Major General. The commanding officer of this base. Then you must understand the importance of Louise."
Shiki looked at him expressionlessly, his gaze as though fixed upon a corpse.
"Report: as for Miss Louise, the orders we received were to treat her as kindly as possible, so it was difficult to place her under strict surveillance. Under such circumstances, our soldiers are only mortals—they could not prevent her from using magic to leave the base in time!"
Major General MacArthur felt deeply wronged.
How could Louise's disappearance possibly be blamed on them?
If a group of superhumans couldn't keep watch over her, how could ordinary mortals like them be expected to?
"Well said."
Shiki listened patiently and gave a slight nod, as though agreeing with Major General MacArthur.
But in the very next second, his right hand turned into a blade and sliced instantly through the air before him.
Those around him saw only a blinding flash of golden light that forced them to shut their eyes. Yet in their ears came the strange sound of something hitting the ground.
When someone finally dared to open their eyes again—
They saw Major General MacArthur's body had already been cleaved diagonally in two, blood and flesh mangled.
"Dressing up your own incompetence as if it were reasonable—if you're trash, then what use are you?!"
Shiki's twisted expression roared with fury.
The murderous aura spilling from his body, mixed with the stench of blood in the air, left the soldiers kneeling all around him utterly terrified. Even the members of CP7 could not hide their fear.
Budo sighed inwardly as he watched, though he was helpless.
This General Golden Lion truly followed no reason at all. The only ones he held in some regard were CIPHER POL.
As for the Auxiliary Corps—he disposed of them however his mood dictated.
Still, since Louise had gone missing from this base, as the commander, MacArthur indeed bore some responsibility.
But in Budo's view, it was not a crime deserving of death. Unfortunately, he was not the one in charge.
Meanwhile—
In another verdant space within this valley base, Imu too had witnessed Shiki's killing.
Such trivial matters were not for him to handle. If there were to be accountability, it would fall to the High Command.
Compared to that, what Imu cared about now was the "World Gate."
"ROOM!"
A mass of white whirlwind gathered in Imu's palm, spinning at high speed.
In the next instant, the whirlwind burst outward in all directions.
The once green, ghostly space was suddenly washed in a pale blue glow.
Imu had already closed his eyes, using his spirit to carefully sense every detail inside and outside this space.
In the depths of the unseen, Imu's consciousness sank into the world of the sixth sense, receiving countless indescribable streams of information carried by the Devil Fruit's power.
Moments later, he perceived a distinct "point."
That was the exact location of the opposing planet within the "Multiverse Chaos Sea."
Before, Imu might have found it hard to distinguish.
But after learning the fuinjutsu and the theoretical knowledge of space from Namikaze Minato, then further studying the formula of the "Flying Thunder God Technique," he no longer wielded power blindly without understanding its inner workings.
"No wonder… there's a fixed spatial coordinate here. On the other side should be the Yokosuka Port of the Nuclear Weapons World."
Imu kept his eyes tightly shut, silently reciting in his heart.
He sensed deep beneath the mountains, on the surface of a massive "spirit stone," a lavishly intricate circular array was carved. Within it were not only various patterns but also numerous runic characters.
This must be the magical version of a "spatial coordinate formula."
And once activated by a Void Mage with the "World Gate" incantation, the "spirit stone" would also serve as an energy source.
This was likely prepared by that founder of magic, Brimir, out of concern that his descendants would lack the spiritual strength to sustain the immense consumption of the "Gate of World."
"Still, since I can't use magic, I naturally cannot draw upon the spirit stone's energy. That means the power to keep the 'Gate of World' active will have to come from me."
After finishing his study, Imu muttered inwardly.
That was a real problem.
He couldn't possibly remain here supplying energy every time the "Gate" was opened, nor could he keep handling the switch for his subordinates.
Imu knew this was a critical issue that had to be solved!
"Eh—wait a second!"
A sudden idea flashed in Imu's mind.
"Since that 'Brimir' was able, through the 'World Gate' incantation, to delegate the authority of 'opening and closing the gate' to the four Void Mages, then I should be able to do the same."
He could appoint someone else to a lower-level authority, whose sole responsibility would be to help with "opening" and "closing" the gate here.
And ideally, it would still be a Void Mage, since they could draw upon the spirit stone's magic to continuously supply energy to the "World Gate."
"Let Vittorio handle it first. Joseph seems to be involved in something interesting. Since Vittorio is a devout believer, patience should not be lacking. Later, once Louise is captured again, she'll take over, and this place will become her prison."
Imu had never intended to kill Louise, because her Void Magic was the strongest.
Especially that magic which allowed people of different worlds to communicate normally—it was of considerable value to the World Government.
For the World Government, whether something had utility, and how great that utility was, served only as the second measure of importance.
The first measure was always his own will.
Still, Imu felt Louise could not be easily forgiven.
With that thought, Imu departed.
Since it had already been set that the operation would begin in two days, then it would proceed as planned.
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