One Piece: Rising to Fleet Admiral Through a Coup

Xayuki's words, though delivered with casual indifference, exploded like thunderclaps in the ears of the five Holy Knights standing behind Gunshi.

The God Valley Incident from thirty-two years ago had been meticulously erased from history. Not only had the event itself been expunged from all records, but the very island of God Valley had vanished from every map in existence.

Consequently, even within Marine Headquarters, those with knowledge of the incident could be counted on one hand. Among the Marines, only Garp—who had personally participated in the event—knew of these five individuals' involvement in the God Valley Hunting Game. Not even Fleet Admiral Sengoku possessed such classified information.

Most crucially, this was unquestionably their first encounter with Xayuki.

Even if Garp had somehow shared these details with him, Xayuki could not possibly have recognized them at first glance!

The five Holy Knights weren't alone in their astonishment—the three Admirals standing behind Xayuki also raised their heads in profound bewilderment.

Despite holding the highest military rank in the Marines, they had been mere youths during the God Valley Incident. Sakazuki and Borsalino had been teenagers or young adults, while Kuzan had been only eleven years old. Their knowledge of the incident remained fragmentary at best. Even as they rose through the ranks and gained access to classified archives, their understanding came solely from piecing together anomalies in records concerning Rocks, the fearsome pirate ruler of that era.

But that wasn't what truly mattered now.

What stunned them was that even as Admirals of Marine Headquarters, they lacked comprehensive knowledge of the God Valley Incident. Yet Xayuki, who until recently had been merely a Vice Admiral, not only demonstrated intimate familiarity with the event but confidently identified these five Holy Knights as participants in the God Valley Hunting Game. This revelation left them with an unsettling sense that they were novices standing before Xayuki's vast authority and knowledge.

"You... you know about the God Valley Incident!"

After a moment of stunned silence, the long-haired woman beside Gunshi lurched forward. The skeleton-masked man reflexively gripped his scythe's handle, while the hooded spearman instantly retreated, assuming a defensive combat stance.

Confronted by their alarmed reactions, Xayuki remained utterly composed. He took a single measured step forward and spoke with quiet authority:

"I've already made myself clear—worthless pawns like you lack the standing to negotiate with me. Return to the Holy Land and have the Five Elders address me personally."

After a brief pause, Xayuki's tone shifted dramatically as he delivered his next statement with devastating precision:

"No, wait. The Five Elders have shown no response, yet you arrive via teleportation circle. Should I conclude that your orders come not from the Five Elders, but from... Imu?"

The moment "Imu" left Xayuki's lips, all six Holy Knights' expressions transformed into masks of horror.

"Damn you! You know of Lord Imu's existence!"

"You know far too much!"

As these words erupted from their mouths, murderous intent flashed in their eyes. Leading the assault, Gunshi silently activated her Devil Fruit ability. A massive arrow, wrapped in bandages, materialized in midair and hurtled toward Xayuki with terrifying velocity.

The sudden attack caught everyone off guard.

The three Admirals and Vice Admiral Gion, positioned just behind Xayuki, were momentarily frozen in shock.

First, the name "Imu" was entirely unfamiliar to them. They hadn't anticipated that merely uttering this name would provoke such an extreme reaction, driving the Holy Knights to launch an immediate, desperate attack.

Even Gion, who had learned of Imu's existence, was stunned by the severity of the response. She hadn't realized that Imu's very name constituted such a forbidden taboo that its mere mention could instantly ignite conflict. In that moment, she finally understood Xayuki's earlier caution against investigating the Flower Room or pursuing the truth about Imu's existence.

"Does a mere firefly dare challenge the moon's radiance?"

Before the Admirals or Gion could react, Xayuki's voice suddenly resonated with lethal intent.

In one fluid motion, he reached back and grasped the hilt of Gion's sword at her waist.

The instant Xayuki's hand closed around the hilt and began drawing the blade, visible waves of black and crimson Conqueror's Haki erupted forth. Strangely, this overwhelming power didn't emanate from Xayuki's body or feet—it surged directly from the scabbard itself in a bizarre, terrifying display.

Before the blade had fully emerged, the oppressive Conqueror's Haki had already engulfed the entire rooftop.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The enormous arrow that had been streaking toward Xayuki shattered inch by inch under the onslaught of his Haki, disintegrating into ash that scattered on the wind.

Witnessing her attack obliterated so effortlessly, Gunshi's pupils contracted in shock as she gasped:

"Conqueror's Haki!"

"No... this is impossible!"

The long-haired woman beside her stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

"This Haki... it's even more formidable than Rocks' Conqueror's Haki from that era. Who are you?!"

"Damn it! I can't withstand this pressure!"

The other Holy Knights felt as if their bodies and souls were being forcibly separated. Paralyzed and unable to move, they experienced a primal fear unlike anything they had ever known.

Under the terrified gazes of the Holy Knights, Xayuki, still gripping the sword hilt, showed no hesitation. With a decisive motion, he fully unsheathed Gion's blade.

Hummmm—

As the sword left its scabbard, an even more overwhelming surge of Conqueror's Haki erupted. Centered on Xayuki, it rolled outward like a tidal wave, accompanied by swirling fiery clouds and a low-frequency vibration that seemed to distort the very air.

Neither Gunshi nor her companions could withstand this onslaught. One by one, they were forced backward against their will.

"Get back to where you came from!"

"Tell Imu that from this day forward, it's not just Nika they should fear—they should fear Xayuki as well!"

As these words thundered forth, the sword, now fully imbued with Xayuki's system-enhanced Conqueror's Haki, slashed horizontally through the air.

In that instant, violent winds whipped across the rooftop as thunder seemed to rumble from the heavens above. Visible shockwaves distorted the space around them, intertwined with the black and crimson Haki as they engulfed Gunshi and the five Holy Knights.

"Arghhhh—!"

Agonized screams echoed across the rooftop as the six Holy Knights, who had arrived moments ago via teleportation circle, were swept up by the overwhelming Haki. Like human cannonballs, they were launched skyward toward the Holy Land atop the Red Line.

"!!!!"

Behind Xayuki, the three Admirals stood with eyes widened in absolute shock, their expressions frozen in disbelief.

While they couldn't precisely gauge the strength of the Holy Knights, the sheer magnitude of Xayuki's Conqueror's Haki had transcended their wildest imagination.

Even Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King executed at Loguetown sixteen years prior, couldn't have used Conqueror's Haki to propel opponents so far with such devastating force.

In that moment, Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan were utterly convinced of Xayuki's overwhelming power. They finally understood the true foundation of his confidence in launching the coup.

It wasn't the officers and soldiers who had pledged their loyalty to him over the years—it was his own inherent strength, the unmistakable quality of one born to rule.

After blasting the six Holy Knights away with a single strike, Xayuki calmly returned Gion's sword to its scabbard. He then turned to gaze imperiously at the warships approaching Marineford's outer walls, his tone dispassionate:

"Borsalino, sink those vessels. They're an eyesore."

"Understood—"

Borsalino quickly composed himself, setting aside his amazement. Without hesitation, he activated his Glint-Glint Fruit powers and leapt skyward to execute the command.

~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~

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