Chapter 3: Star Maps and Stargates!

"Hoo—"

Returning to his own exclusive top-floor space, Imu subconsciously let out a breath.

Immediately, beneath the endless starlight and moonlight overhead, he walked toward the strange, large tree not far away.

This place had a name: the 'Flower Room.'

The overall environment was exactly the same as the surface of the moon.

At a glance, it was nothing but silver-gray ground and craters of various sizes.

The galaxy and the bright moon in the sky above were, in fact, real.

However, during the day, it would simulate the night sky of that particular date, so it was always night here.

Because of this, the lush, verdant tree appeared extremely abrupt.

Yet, as Imu approached the tree, one would discover a door and two windows on its trunk.

When he pulled open the wooden door and stepped inside, it was a complete suite.

Bedroom, dining room, living room, bathroom with separate wet and dry areas, a bathtub, and all sorts of furniture and Den Den Mushi—everything was provided.

As it turned out, this was a spacious treehouse, and there was even a staircase leading to the floor above!

Honestly, he was satisfied with all of this.

After all, before he transmigrated, he couldn't have afforded such a nice place.

Since he had returned to his wooden house and there were no outsiders present, the coldness and aloofness on Imu’s face relaxed significantly as he plopped down onto the soft sofa.

He leaned back against the sofa, tilted his head, and stared blankly at the ceiling of the wooden house.

Thinking back, it had been nearly a year since he transmigrated into this world and took over this body and identity.

From the initial shock, agitation, and excitement to calmness, it had actually taken less than three days.

After all, no matter how surging a person's emotions are, they cannot last for long.

Once he calmed down, he didn't immediately start taking action; instead, he first figured out the timeline.

Then, just like the original Imu, he silently stayed holed up in this Flower Room.

The goal was to familiarize himself with and master the abilities he possessed, and of course, the memories.

First, regarding his abilities.

Before he transmigrated, he was just an ordinary person; it was impossible for him to adapt to the power of this body right away.

So, he practiced in secret for a period of time.

To the maids responsible for his daily life, this Lord Imu had simply become a bit more active lately, often practicing swordplay under the moonlight outside.

The memories were equally important.

This Imu had lived for over eight hundred years. Even if the brain automatically filtered out useless, trivial memories, the total volume of information was far beyond that of an ordinary person.

Moreover, becoming familiar with the memories was actually a process of understanding himself.

He had to understand what the original owner's personality and habits were like.

Otherwise, he would be very likely to slip up when facing those Five Elders.

As for the future, he could just change gradually.

For the sake of these two points, even when Roger became the Pirate King outside, he hadn't stepped a single foot out of the Flower Room.

Because he knew very well that at this stage, nothing was more important than fully mastering his own strength!

It wasn't until a few days ago that he could be considered to have successfully emerged from seclusion.

He had revealed Roger’s place of seclusion to the Five Elders, ordering the Navy to go and capture him.

Although that guy Roger would have turned himself in voluntarily in a few days, turning oneself in and being arrested were actually two different things.

Even if he turned himself in, the World Government could still announce it to the public as an arrest.

But Imu felt it was better to get him arrested as soon as possible.

At the same time, he also held the intention of boosting the merits of Sengoku, Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan.

As for Garp, that was just to provide an extra layer of insurance.

Even if Roger was terminally ill, he was still the Pirate King, Roger.

Who knew if he would choose to resist if he wasn't turning himself in voluntarily?

If Roger really did make a move, Sengoku alone might not be able to hold him off, and it might even implicate the "Chicken, Dog, and Monkey" trio.

The three of them hadn't reached their peak strength yet.

If one or two of them were really crippled, he would be devastated!

Now, everything was going smoothly.

"Regardless, stopping the emergence of the Great Pirate Era is definitely the right move," Imu thought silently to himself.

"Star Map."

Immediately after, he once again called out the 'Goldfinger' that had accompanied him to this world.

Yes, a Goldfinger. In this day and age, as a transmigrator—and one who had transmigrated into such a high-risk world as One Piece—how could he get by without one?

Although he actually felt that the identity, status, power, wealth, and lifespan he currently possessed were already quite 'cheated' in themselves.

Compared to his peers who transmigrated as slaves, pirates, or commoners, his could be called a perfect starting hand—a lucky opening.

Even if, according to the plot of the original work, there was a high probability he would be overthrown and killed in twenty-four years.

As Imu called out in his heart, a magnificent virtual image of a spiral galaxy disk appeared out of thin air within his field of vision.

Every star within it was shining brightly.

At the same time, the prompt in the bottom left corner was still quietly waiting for his response.

【A random small star gate can be opened】

Regarding this Goldfinger, he had basically learned everything there was to know about it over these past days.

He had read the included manual over and over again.

After all, it was very likely to be the reliance he would depend on for survival in the future.

But he was wrong.

Dead wrong.

It wasn't that the Goldfinger was useless.

It was that, for the time being, it was useless for the situation he was currently in.

According to the manual, it wasn't some kind of system.

It was a star map that recorded every galaxy, star, planet, and satellite in the universe, and it even updated automatically in real-time—it looked incredibly impressive!

At the same time, it came with a feature called 'Star Gate.'

Every year, it would randomly open a small star gate leading to another planet.

It was said to be three meters high and two meters wide—not exactly small, but not exactly large either.

According to the manual, the planet connected by this star gate, while not guaranteed to be inhabited by a civilization, was definitely a solid and stable planet.

So there was no need to worry about stepping through and finding nothing but a mass of inexplicable gas on the other side.

And once he chose to open this star gate, the exact location of that planet in the universe would be marked on the star map.

In other words, as long as Imu had the ability, he could completely pilot a spaceship there.

Although this seemed a bit idiotic—having a star gate that could instantly transport him—

Eh, but what if it were the other way around?

That is to say, if one day he arrived at a certain planet by spaceship, then this planet would also be marked on the star map, and the star gate access would be automatically unlocked.

He would be able to return to the 'Sea Star' (the One Piece planet) instantly, or instantly travel to other planets where star gates had already been opened.

Wouldn't that be much more useful?

But then again...

This star map and star gate were of little use for the situation he was currently facing.

As the saying goes, to repel external aggression, one must first ensure internal stability.

He hadn't even fully controlled or cleaned up this 'Sea Star' yet, and he was facing a massive crisis twenty-four years down the line.

Why bother thinking about that completely unknown sea of stars?

In the end, for the things coming up next, this star map and star gate would be hard-pressed to help him.

Of course, it was also possible that he just hadn't thought of a use for them yet.

"Perhaps, if I am truly pushed to the brink in the future, this star map and star gate might just become my escape route."

Thinking of this, Imu felt even more settled in his heart.

With his terrifying combat power and various abilities, he figured that as long as the planet's environment wasn't too harsh, making a living wouldn't be much of a problem.

"Since the escape route is already secured, then next, I shall properly tidy up this world!"

(End of chapter)