Chapter 374: Imu Appears, Hidden Power
The Five Elders were extremely uneasy about the origin of Uchiha Dali.
They had exhausted every method and mobilized every power they could, yet in the end they discovered they had not managed to obtain so much as a scrap of information about this mysterious man.
All they knew was that he called himself Uchiha Dali — beyond that, nothing.
That uncertainty about the unknown left the five men inwardly anxious.
After much thought, they finally agreed they had to report the matter to that Great One.
"Steelbone, you'll take over here from now on. Keep a close eye on this guy. We'll be leaving for a while."
After reminding Steelbone Kong, the Five Elders rose and departed one after another.
Soon they arrived at the core area of Pangaea Castle, the Room of Flowers.
On the Empty Throne sat a dignified figure.
Before this person — the one who towered above the world in everyone's eyes — the Five Elders immediately knelt, paying respectful greetings.
Then the blond Elder began his report.
"Lord Imu, we have an issue to report to you."
"Has the Whitebeard Pirates situation been resolved?"
The person called Imu, seated on the Empty Throne, asked.
It turned out to be a woman.
The Navy had used Ace as bait, planning to encircle and annihilate the Whitebeard Pirates.
Of course she had known about that plan long ago.
As she asked this question, the Five Elders exchanged glances.
The blond Elder replied, "Not yet. Some complications have appeared above Marineford…"
"Hmm? What complications?"
The Elders hurriedly reported everything in full.
After hearing their report, a terrifying aura instantly emanated from Imu.
"Uchiha Dali?"
"Yes. That man introduced himself by that name. We considered the possibility he was using a false name, so we analyzed relevant leads and investigated by other means as well."
"But we still found nothing."
"He seems to have appeared out of nowhere!"
The Elders voiced their worries.
Imu's expression likewise grew grave.
A person of unknown origin had come to Marineford to stir up trouble.
Especially now, when the Navy and the Whitebeard Pirates were locked in mortal combat — it was hard not to suspect his motives, or whether a greater force was secretly pulling the strings.
After a moment's thought, Imu said in a deep voice, "The most important thing now is still to deal with the Whitebeard Pirates. Since we can't determine who this man is, and he hasn't yet posed any further, concrete threat to us, ignore him for the time being."
"Inform Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan to kill the enemy if possible; if they can't, then delay them as much as possible!"
"Commit the remaining main naval forces to the operation against the Whitebeard Pirates! And tell those Seven Warlords of the Sea to stop slacking off! If anyone continues to loaf, consider removing them!"
"What about Vegapunk's research?"
Having spoken, Imu looked to the Five Elders.
Still kneeling, they answered at once, "The Pacifistas are already in position, but now does not seem to be the right time."
"Good. In any case, the Whitebeard Pirates must be completely destroyed today!"
"If that's not possible, consider deploying the Divine Knights!"
At the mention of the Divine Knights, the Five Elders' faces hardened.
This was one of the World Government's core forces — one of the Celestial Dragons' strongest military units. They seldom deployed it.
No matter how much trouble the pirates caused on the seas, the Divine Knights would rarely act.
Yet now Imu was prepared to commit them, if necessary, against the Whitebeard Pirates.
From this it was clear how seriously she regarded that mysterious Uchiha Dali.
Although the Elders had reservations — for if the Divine Knights were sent out, the Celestial Dragons' safety might be compromised — it was, after all, Imu's order.
So they dared not protest.
Having received the command, the Five Elders withdrew from the Room of Flowers.
...
The orders from Holy Land Mariejois were quickly relayed to Marineford.
Sengoku received the message and his expression turned solemn.
"The Five Elders at Mariejois are also watching this matter."
"The Five Elders' orders have come down: we must do everything we can to deal with Whitebeard. That is our top operational priority."
"Second is to delay Uchiha Dali's actions. Since he demanded one day, grant him that."
Hearing Sengoku, Vice Admiral Tsuru immediately used her Den Den Mushi to issue orders to the naval units hidden around Marineford.
"So the plan begins as well," she said.
Sengoku was silent, his gaze fixed on the distance.
On the misty sea surface, some vague shapes began to appear.
They were enormous — not like ordinary humans, more like giants.
They were, in fact, the Navy's secret combat units prepared specifically for this battle with the Whitebeard Pirates.
Those towering figures were war machines developed based on the Seven Warlord Bartholomew Kuma, called the Pacifistas.
Extremely powerful, they specialized in annihilating large numbers of enemies.
Seeing the Pacifistas emerge and surround them, the Whitebeard Pirates realized the situation had turned dire.
Whitebeard himself, sensing imminent danger, immediately understood this was the trap the Navy had set.
"As expected of Sengoku — still as crafty as ever!"
Whitebeard looked toward Sengoku on the execution platform, then made a quick decision.
He turned to his sons and shouted, "Marco! Ace has been recovered — retreat immediately!"
But it was already too late.
Once the Pacifistas appeared, they began attacking every preprogrammed target at once.
In an instant, the Whitebeard Pirates suffered heavy casualties.
At the same time, the Navy's three admirals — Sakazuki, Kuzan, and Borsalino — were about to strike at the clone of Uchiha Dali.
"For one day, you may attack however you wish, using any techniques you have."
"During this period, I absolutely will not fight back."
Uchiha Dali's clone told them.