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In the Groudon's dungeon, inside a room made of pure Seastone, Gunko—dressed in a prisoner's uniform—was bound to a pillar with chains. Her eyes were covered with a black cloth, and an iron gag was stuffed in her mouth.
She couldn't move, speak, or see.
To prevent her from escaping or being remotely killed by Imu, preventive measures had been taken to the extreme.
"Tap! Tap! Tap!"
Footsteps approached from the distance, followed by the sound of the door opening.
Gunko slowly raised her head. She couldn't see anything now, but by relying on her hearing, she knew that two people had entered.
As a member of the Knights of God, it was her first time being a prisoner. The fear of falling from heaven to hell filled her heart.
Would she die?
"Did you find anything?"
"Daichi-sama, I found a mark on her back."
"Let me see."
"Please wait a moment."
Gunko felt the chains on her body loosen slightly, and then her clothes were removed. She wanted to escape, but she had no strength.
Both her wrists and ankles were bound with Seastone, and her connection with the Holy Land was cut off. The feeling of being exposed also made her feel utterly helpless.
Her body trembled uncontrollably.
"Huh, what is this?!"
The man's voice was filled with surprise.
Gunko's body stiffened.
Oh no, the mark was discovered!
"Hoof of the Soaring Dragon?!"
Daichi's expression showed shock.
On Gunko's back, there was indeed a brand of the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon—a symbol normally only found on slaves.
However, this particular mark was slightly different. It was surrounded by a five-pointed star magic circle, looking like a combined symbol.
Daichi frowned in deep thought.
His speculation was correct—Gunko indeed had Imu's contract mark on her body. This mark was likely the key to abilities such as summoning, teleportation, and regeneration.
Destroying it might break Gunko's contract with Imu.
But what was with the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon?
He didn't think this humiliating mark, branded on slaves, would appear on the Celestial Dragons who prided themselves as gods.
So there were two possibilities.
First, Imu's contract mark was the complete design on Gunko's back.
Second, the contract mark on Gunko's back was added later and had no relation to the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon in the center.
If the answer was the second option, it meant that Gunko was once a slave. But for a slave to become a member of the Knights of God was itself somewhat incredible.
Unless Gunko had sufficient value.
"Could it be the same as my situation?"
Daichi pondered.
The Celestial Dragons had invited him to join their ranks, and perhaps Gunko was similar—displaying enough talent and uniqueness to be noticed by Imu and granted Celestial Dragon status.
The power Imu had displayed earlier made his heart pound. It was not only beyond common sense, but her Haki was terrifyingly strong.
As the behind-the-scenes boss of the World Government—a person who had lived for 800 years—such power was only natural.
But having both exaggerated abilities and incredibly complex mechanisms gave him a headache. That's why Gunko was extremely important to him.
The woman was currently his only source of information about Imu.
"Kikara!"
"Yes!"
Kikara handed over a branding iron.
Daichi took the branding iron, and its temperature immediately rose. The Groudon mark at the tip turned into a translucent, glowing orange-red, emitting intense heat waves.
Other things could wait, but the mark had to be destroyed. He didn't want Imu descending upon his ship!
Daichi's gaze sharpened, and he struck down with the iron.
"Sizzle~~~"
"Mmmmph!!!"
The smell of burning flesh permeated the room.
Restrained by Seastone, Gunko's current state was completely unable to withstand this pain, and she whimpered before fainting.
"Treat her wounds, and let Speed handle the interrogation. Make her spill all information about Imu."
"Yes."
Daichi tossed the branding iron aside and turned to leave the cell.
Regardless of whether she was once a slave, she was now an enemy. After extracting all relevant information about Imu, he would take her out to experiment whether the contract was truly broken.
Gentleness was impossible.
Soon, Daichi arrived on deck.
The dense fog still permeated the surroundings, with visibility not exceeding fifty meters. Staying in such a strange environment for too long could make one feel depressed.
Fujitora sat at the table, and Priestess also stood nearby, waiting.
"Daichi-sama, you were looking for me?"
"Yes, I want a fortune-telling."
Daichi pulled out a large bill and placed it in Priestess's hand. "Tell me the direction of our next voyage. I'm looking for a ship related to evil things like bats or zombies."
"Bats, zombies?"
Priestess quickly tucked away the money, then pondered Daichi's question.
Could it be that he was looking for a graveyard?
That was simple—she had many related divination tools.
Priestess's eyes sparkled, and she leaned closer to Daichi. "Daichi-sama, do you want a more accurate reading?"
"Huh?"
Daichi glanced at Priestess with mild exasperation and pulled out a few more Berry from his pocket. As soon as he handed them over, the money disappeared.
He couldn't even see how it vanished.
"Daichi-sama, you're so generous!"
Priestess was delighted. Instead of taking out her divination cylinder, she retrieved talismans and various other mystical tools, as if preparing to perform a ritual.
She held a talisman between her right index and middle fingers, made special hand gestures with her left hand, and chanted incantations.
"Entering the shikigami to see the illusory dream..."
As the woman chanted, the talisman in her hand emitted a faint golden light, and the runes on it actually flew out, landing on a paper fox on the ground.
"Poof!"
The paper fox transformed into a translucent fox made of light. It picked up the offering and ran into the sky, stepping on air. Then it turned back to look at everyone.
Priestess proudly lifted her chin, adopting the posture of an experienced shrine maiden. "This is my summoned shikigami, the Jade Fox. As long as you follow it, you can find the defiled places related to zombies and such."
Daichi watched with fascination.
"Is this Onmyōdō?"
"Huh? You know about it, Daichi-sama!"
Kikara deflated instantly.
She had originally wanted to put on an impressive show, but she hadn't expected Daichi to know about Onmyōdō.
Even in Wano Country, not many people knew about Onmyōdō. This was their specialty as shrine maidens. When Kuri Inari Shrine was so poor they couldn't afford to eat, she would follow her mother down the mountain and use Onmyōdō to trick wealthy people out of their money—though in reality, it was all parlor tricks.
But after she ate the Nine-Tails Fruit, her Onmyōdō turned from fake to real. Not only could she summon useful shikigami, but she could also cast some genuine spells.
It just consumed a lot of energy.
"Not bad."
Daichi's eyes showed interest.
A Devil Fruit needed to be matched with the right person to unleash its true potential. Compared to the previous user, Priestess—who knew the legend of the Nine-Tailed Fox and had studied Onmyōdō—might be the most suitable wielder.
He hadn't paid much attention before, but now it seemed there were quite a few potential talents around him.
"Priestess, don't curse me with voodoo dolls anymore."
Priestess shrank back and gave an embarrassed smile.
Was... was she found out?!