One Piece: I am Imu-Chapter 291: Emma’s Path to Power

"Huh————"

"So this is the underworld of the Titan World? It looks a lot more comfortable than the one in Starfish World."

With the Enma sword in hand, Imu stepped through the black rift behind him and set foot on the soul plane of the Titan World.

With just one glance, he could notice the peculiar atmosphere of the place.

The grey sky, the vast expanse of land covered in white sand, and a chill in the air. Unlike the underworld of Starfish World, there was no sulphurous stench or dry feeling in the air here.

At that moment, the Enma sword in his hand was covered in a purple glow, separating from him and taking shape in front of his eyes: a figure emerged from the violet mist.

It was little Emma.

"Father, that's because the King of Death, although born from the icy waters of the River Styx, for some reason prefers scorching environments. That's why he used his control over the rules of the underworld to change the environment.

"I see." Imu nodded.

The landscape was strangely familiar, especially the white desert that stretched as far as the eye could see.

If it weren't for the fact that he didn't see any withered trees or the moon in the sky, he might have really thought he had entered Hueco Mundo.

"Are you sure there is no Lord of the Underworld in this place?"

Enma closed her eyes, concentrating on perceiving her surroundings, and after a moment she responded in a low voice. "Father, in theory there shouldn't be. Except for ordinary souls, I haven't felt any particularly strong or unique presence."

"So, are you going to burn everything down?"

"Yes."

"The process will extinguish countless souls, but the spiritual particles left behind will serve as nourishment for me. However, it will take some time."

Emma opened her eyes, stretched out her right hand, and a flame of purple and black hues burned on her palm. Licking her lips in anticipation, she asked, "Father, may I begin?"

"Wait a moment." Imu shook his head, stopping her. "Before that, I want you to check if there is an intermediate space between the soul plane and the mortal plane."

"Huh?" Emma raised her head curiously and blinked.

Imu immediately understood that she was unaware of Ymir's matter, so he briefly explained the existence of the coordinate space to her.

Previously, Ymir had banned his access to the coordinate space using her absolute control over the Eldian Path.

So this time, Imu intended to give him a 'surprise'.

"I see. Just a moment, Father, I'll check it out right away!"

Enma closed her eyes again, while Imu silently stared at the desolate vastness of the underworld.

He spread his Haki across the area and detected numerous presences, some weak and some stronger.

Some of the more fragile auras slowly faded away, while other more powerful ones appeared out of nowhere and wandered aimlessly.

There were some that, upon meeting, seemed to engage in combat. Moments later, one of the presences would disappear and the other would become slightly stronger.

This situation raised a doubt in Imu's mind.

In theory, a competition system based on soul absorption should have given rise to the existence of powerful souls over time. Beings strong enough to establish order and lead this underworld.

But the current situation is not like this

"I'm very sorry, Father..." Emma opened her eyes and lowered her head in regret. "Although I have detected a dimension located between the underworld and the world of the living, with my current abilities I am unable to open an entrance."

Imu couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed, but he didn't let it show on his face. Instead, he remained calm and looked at her serenely. "So, you mean that in the future you'll be able to do it?"

"Yes! When I become the Lord of this place, I will naturally have the power to do so," Enma stated with determination. She clenched her fists and, with an indignant air, exclaimed, "By then, I will definitely help you teach that Ymir a lesson!"

"Okay." Imu nodded.

He then expressed the doubts he had just had. He felt that this supposed daughter could give him an answer.

After all, she had stayed by the Death King's side for more than fifty years, so she should know a lot about these kinds of matters.

Enma began to think about Imu's question.

Enma looked at Imu seriously. "I remember! The King of Death mentioned something about it at the time."

"A newborn underworld, if not interfered with by an outside force, will be completely dependent on the mortal plane it is bound to. The less supernatural power exists on that plane, the more difficult it will be for a soul powerful enough to rule the underworld to emerge."

She paused briefly before continuing, "Another possibility is that the underworld, from birth, has its own will or rules of operation. In that case, it will wait silently until a suitable soul appears to take on the role of lord of the underworld."

"However, because the underworld lacks intelligence of its own, once it chooses a soul, it rarely changes its mind."

"Do you mean to say that the will of this underworld has chosen Ymir as its ruler?"

"Yes!"

"That's right!" little Emma replied firmly. "According to what you told me earlier, Father, this Ymir must possess the strongest soul in this world."

"However, due to her extreme obsession, she has been trapped in that so-called coordinate space, serving her descendants. As a result, the will of the underworld has been patiently waiting for her."

"In addition, Ymir has retained the souls of all the former holders of the Intelligent Titans in that space, which has caused this place to only receive common souls with little potential."

Hearing this, Imu felt like she finally understood everything.

Now that he thought about it...

Ymir had always longed for death, she talked about things like breaking free...

Is it possible that her real purpose was to free herself from the coordinate space and come to this underworld?

If she managed to do so, she could immediately become the ruler of the underworld.

Although, on second thought...

Maybe Ymir wasn't aware of all this, but either way, if she really died, her soul would end up here and, sooner or later, she would discover the truth.

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"Well, since we've cleared everything up, I'll be heading back for now. You may proceed."

Expressionless, Imu turned and walked through the dark crack.

"I hope that next time I see you, you will be the master of this place."

"Yes, Father!" little Emma replied excitedly.

As soon as Imu's figure disappeared, her body spun in the air and she returned to her original form.

In an instant, numerous purple and black spheres of fire shot out in all directions.

She didn't stop, not even when the flames engulfed the desperately screaming souls.

...

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

There are only a few days left until the new edition of Levely is celebrated with great pomp in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise.

With the participation of the United Council of the Teigu World, it has evolved into an inter-world scale event.

As a result, public interest and expectation have grown enormously.

It is worth noting that Edward Newgate and Charlotte Linlin will attend the event as the King of the Whitebeard Kingdom and the Queen of the Totto Land Kingdom, respectively.

However, during this period of time two formal requests reached the hands of the World Government, which even caught the attention of the Five Elders, they were the request of Hinomoto of the Kabane World and several nations of the Demon Slayer World to become affiliated nations of the World Government.

It was clear that they had been inspired by the situation in Teigu World.

Among them, the nations of the Demon Slayer World have proposed the creation of a unified organization, similar to the model of the Teigu World, in order to send a representative to Levely.

In fact, they already have a similar structure: the League of Nations.

On the other hand, the current Shogun of Hinomoto, Yomogawa Ayame, has not requested a seat on the Levely; she simply wishes for her nation to be recognized as an affiliate nation of the World Government.

"Hehe, what do you think of these two applications for joining?" Warcury asked, opening the meeting.

"The Kabane World's request could be accepted. After all, they just want to be an affiliated nation," Nusjuro opined.

"I agree. Over the years we have extracted countless resources from them. A simple affiliated nation status is a reasonable concession, and we legitimize the Yomogawa dynasty as a royal family in the process," Mars added.

He felt a certain admiration for that brave and diligent young Shogun, who had always cooperated with the World Government without objection.

"I agree too," Ju Peter nodded.

As the top leader of Cipher Pol, he knew best how honest Ayame was. She had never attempted any conspiracy behind the World Government's back.

Warcury looked around at the others. "If no one has any objections, then we'll approve Hinomoto's accession."

"All right." Saturn, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.

"And what about the nations of the Demon Slayer World?"

Warcury pondered for a moment before replying, "In principle, the Demon Slayer World has provided us with nearly ten million workers and a huge contingent of auxiliary troops over the years. Generally speaking, they could qualify for affiliation. However, they have requested a seat in the Levely."

Nusjuro shrugged indifferently and said, "Then let them join, but without a seat on the Levely."

"But the location of the Demon Slayer World is crucial." Saturn interjected in a firm voice. "It's right between the Titan World and our world. In the future, our relationship with the Demon Slayer World will be much closer than with any other world, except for the Titan World."

"Then I think the Demon Slayer World should have a joint organization to better provide logistical support for the Titan World. Moreover, there are many excellent scientists in this world. Didn't Academy City recruit some people to be teachers?"

"From this point of view, it is barely reasonable to give them a seat."

Saturn's words left the others thoughtful.

Indeed, if the Demon Slayer World were to unite in its entirety, it could be considered worthy of a seat on the Levely. In fact, many of the nations in the Starfish World that already possessed one were less relevant than them.

Ju Perter crossed his legs and voiced his opinion. "Let's have all the nations of the Demon Slayer World form a unified entity. Then, let's make Kibutsuji Muzan their main leader and have him represent them in the next Levely."

Warcury frowned and looked at Ju Peter strangely. Saturn tapped his staff on the ground and asked in bewilderment, "But why him of all people?"

"First, we already know Muzan's personality well. Second, he has also come to understand our power and our rules. If he takes charge of the Demon Slayer World, there will be no problems." Ju Peter paused, then added with a meaningful look, "Lastly, tell me... where do you think the confidence of the nations of the Demon Slayer World comes from to demand a seat on the Levely?"

Warcury's expression hardened. "Are you implying that this confidence comes from Kibutsuji Muzan?"

"Exactly." Ju Peter shook his head and laughed silently. "In fact, the request for the nations of the Demon Slayer World to join has been directed by him from the shadows, and he has done so completely openly, without attempting to hide it from us."

One might say that Muzan may be a coward in some ways, but in others he is surprisingly bold.

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