Mangaka in the StrawHats

"The target is down!"

"Converge!"

Seven of the Terra Robots, excluding the three still engaged with the remaining Elders, turned in unison toward St. Shepard Ju Peter, who lay crumpled on the ground, reverted to his original form and barely clinging to consciousness.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!!!...

From the eyes of each Terra Robot shot beams of energy, transforming in midair into intense, focused waves of raw power.

Boom!!

In an instant, St. Shepard Ju Peter was engulfed by the converging energy waves. The resulting explosion sent shockwaves rippling through the battlefield, as particles of ice, fire, thunder, light, and intense vibrations fused, each element colliding violently and ripping apart the very fabric of space. Cracks began to appear, deep fractures tearing open the atmosphere around him, revealing brief glimpses of pure, dark void.

Witnessing this devastating scene, St. Marcus Mars let out a roar filled with anger and despair.

First St. JayGarcia Saturn, and now St. Shepard Ju Peter.

They were the Five Elders, the world's supreme authority, figures who had once viewed death as an impossibility, an abstract concept far removed from their reality. And yet, here they were, three of them left watching two of their comrades fall, defeated in brutal succession.

And they hadn't just fallen—they had been obliterated, wiped from existence without a trace! A strange emptiness filled them. They could accept their own mortality in the face of such overwhelming force, but what about us?

If things continued this way, their deaths seemed all too near.

Damn it!

What is Lord Im doing?! St. Marcus Mars seethed internally. What is he waiting for?!

Remembering Lord Im's promise to intervene, St. Marcus Mars felt a wave of frustration. Didn't you say you'd step in? Where are you now???

He was now filled with a burning urge to find Lord Im and confront him.

But, trapped in the heat of battle, escape was impossible. This battlefield had become a cage, and leaving it was unthinkable.

"Will Lord Im still take action??" Ethan Baron V. Nusjuro voiced the question that had plagued each of them.

If he intended to act, why would he watch St. JayGarcia Saturn and St. Shepard Ju Peter fall?

St. Topman Warcury's eyes darkened with sorrow, a subtle glint of understanding dawning within them.

They might just be pawns in Lord Im's game, expendable tools to buy him time to escape. As this thought sank in, the ten Terra Robots pressed forward, encircling the three remaining Elders with silent menace. The battle's tide had long since turned, and despair crept into the hearts of the three remaining Elders.

"Fight!!" St. Marcus Mars shouted, the weight of his words imbued with the finality of a death wish. Just as he prepared for a last, desperate stand, a strange, mechanical rumble echoed from the direction of Mariejois—a sound like an ancient beast's roar or the grinding of a colossal machine awakening from slumber!!

"This is..."

The three Elders' eyes lit up, a glimmer of hope piercing their expressions for the first time.

It was Lord Im, finally taking action!

Logan and the others turned instinctively toward Mariejois, drawn by the sound. Especially Logan, who had long suspected Im's existence but never fully understood his power. Is this the moment?

As someone who had journeyed to this world, Logan had no firsthand knowledge of Im's strength. The plot of One Piece had not yet reached the point where Im's abilities were revealed, leaving Logan with nothing but questions.

Will I finally witness Im's true power?

In the next heartbeat, the battlefield was blanketed in a sudden, overwhelming energy.

High above, a radiant energy surge tore across the sky, like a bolt of thunder ripping through the atmosphere, sending ripples that shook the very heavens.

This was no mere space disturbance—it was the air itself, vibrating with an otherworldly intensity.

Though the sky above was clear, beams of energy pulsed through the air, illuminating it as if the heavens themselves had been torn open.

A thin ray of light, like a knife slashing through a dark canvas, pierced through the sky. The moment this energy appeared, a chilling aura washed over the battlefield, like liquid mercury pouring down, cold and merciless.

"Wow! What's that?"

Luffy's Observation Haki sensed the energy's emergence immediately. Staring up at the source of this power, he couldn't hide his excitement.

"Don't get cocky, you idiot!!! Stay alert!!!" Zoro struck Luffy on the head with the hilt of his sword, his face solemn.

"Aha~?" Luffy blinked in confusion, then finally grasped the gravity of the situation.

"Could it be..." Robin's gaze narrowed as she looked toward the sky, her face etched with worry.

Logan nodded, a grim expression crossing his face. "You're right. This terrifying force... it must be The Uranus."

Both he and Robin had learned of The Uranus while studying the Poneglyph in Raftel. Seeing the unfolding scene, their minds went immediately to the legendary weapon. Simultaneously, the three remaining Elders' faces drained of color.

Though Lord Im had activated The Uranus before, he had never allowed the Five Elders to witness its power firsthand.

Now, with The Uranus' energy gathered ominously above them, the Elders could only watch in horror as the weapon prepared to unleash its full might.

"It's The Uranus! Lord Im has finally taken action!!!" St. Topman Warcury sighed in relief, a relaxed expression crossing his face for the first time.

But St. Marcus Mars's face twisted in anger. "Idiot!! Can't you see we're within The Uranus' attack range as well?"

Warcury's expression faltered as the realization dawned. "No way? Lord Im... would he really attack us too?"

"From the very beginning, he only saw us as pawns!!!"

St. Marcus Mars's face darkened, the flames of betrayal burning in his eyes.

He had finally understood Lord Im's true intentions. Rage simmered within him, growing more intense with each passing second.

From his earlier battles, St. Marcus Mars had learned just how powerful these robots were.

The combined strength of the Five Elders was among the best in the world. Together, they could decimate any of the Four Emperors' pirate crews with ease.

Yet even at their full strength, these five giants of power had failed to eliminate even one of these ten Terra Robots!!!

Faced with such overwhelming force, St. Marcus Mars could easily deduce that Lord Im, too, would be no match for them.

The only solution lay with The Uranus.

But activating The Uranus required time, and once its target was locked, it could not be altered until the attack cycle was completed.

If Lord Im intended to use The Uranus to defeat the Terra Robots, he would need to ensure that they remained within a fixed area. And once fired, The Uranus would require an extended cooldown period.

To guarantee his success, Lord Im had chosen to sacrifice the Five Elders!!!

Sending all five of them to battle was no mistake. Only by deploying them all could Lord Im ensure the Terra Robots were stalled long enough for his weapon to strike. Sending two or three would have been insufficient—they would have been wiped out instantly!

Im couldn't afford to take that risk.

In the next instant, the energy sphere in the sky swelled, its brilliance intensifying like a supernova, expanding to monstrous proportions.

The growing sphere encompassed not only the Elders and the western side of the Red Line, but an immense radius surrounding it.

Even a small section of Mariejois lay within the sphere's range.

Yet Pangaea Castle, Im's fortress, remained untouched by the expanding radius.

Lord Im's cold pragmatism was evident—so long as his own safety was assured, no sacrifice was too great in the quest to eradicate his enemies.

Rumble!!!

The energy gathered above exploded in waves of silvery brilliance, mingling with shattered space ripples, as if the Milky Way itself had been blasted by a high-powered cannon!!!

And this was no ordinary cannon—the caliber of this divine weapon stretched hundreds of kilometers across!!!

Under the three Elders' helpless, furious gazes, the energy surge of The Uranus descended, swallowing the battlefield in an all-consuming storm of smoke and light.