Third-person POV
The summit began, and Shinzō Motoi first addressed the seven MPC nations, then the three superpowers last. He also explained regarding the Hakaze Inn Incident and how the MPC had handled it well. "The seven MPC nations had cooperated, out of free will, to handle the conspiracy for us and for Japan," Shinzō declared while showing the image of the Crusader cross from the computers of the JSDF headquarters.
The envoys from the Big Three are in the front rows, while the MPC leaders seated on the stage behind the podium.
In the opposite side facing the podium, Rory and the JSDF delegates are in the middle rows with Juan and Boaz and other MPC delegates for this summit.
When Motoi proceeded with the schedule of the interrogation of the Triad Powers agents, one American envoy interrupted him and said that it was for national interests. "The MPC got it all wrong," he claimed maliciously. "Whoever is giving a tip to them might be a dissident against American interests."
"Shut it," Leo said coldly to the American diplomat while standing up from his seat. "You made this conspiracy in the first place."
The envoy recoiled, remembering how his government shook hands with Leo a few months back when Leo was newly elected. "How come?!" he stammered badly. "I thought we were best buds after your inauguration as President of the Philippines a couple of months back!"
"Well, yes, we were," Leo retorted while pulling something from his briefcase and pointing his pocket-sized EFCA hymnbook at him, "until that stupid came about."
Now the American envoy knew that Leo transitioned from a neutral soft man to a harsh, protective one while Boaz in the seating tried not to laugh at that one by putting his EFCA book "The Significance of Silence" (book required for EFCA ministers to be credentialed, and Boaz aimed a credential for that) on his mouth while having a seat next to Odesa and Ioanna. His mind said, "The hymnbook pointing at the envoy...it's so funny...good thing Tito Leo did not open it to sing "A Mighty Fortress is our God" or something, or even brandishing his Bible at him. Phew!"
Paulo Rios stood up and coldly expressed how disgusted he was with the conspiracy and added that his Japanese community back in Brazil would be angry at him if he did not do something about it. "I would never set foot in their communities back in Rio de Janeiro if I just watched and done nothing." he hissed at the envoys from the Big Three.
The Russian envoys were shocked by his retort, thinking it was an "overreaction" by Brazil's Japanese community when it was not just Paulo's concern; it was also personal.
But then, Leo dropped the first roasting bomb at the envoys from the Big Three.
He said, "If you turn Japan into a puppet state for the Special Region, what's next? Are you going to ruin its excellent train systems with more roads for cars and single use neighborhoods? I would rather invest a bit more on train systems in Luzon. Besides, our subdivisions owned by my country's real estate companies are better at making subdivisions that have less space for cars. Plus, I would think of replicating Japan's train system starting from Pampanga to Laguna as a first line if that nightmare for Tokyo ever happens. I did not say I would do it literally, but certainly, this is a contingency plan for me."
The roast shocked the American envoys while Oguz and Paraskevas snickered on that. Santiago hides his laughter. The MPC had broken even more protocols because they tore the rulebook, laughed at it, scribbled on it, and tossed it into the fire.
"Roasted, amigo!" María José wheezed hard before having a fist-bump with Hafid since their middle seats are next to each other.
"Beautiful!" Paul said to his Southeast Asian neighbor. "I would do the same thing for the outskirts of Jakarta!"
Boaz chuckled only to keep his voice down.
"Ford's enemy!" one American envoy shrieked at Leo. "You're a foe to American capitalism and Western progress!"
"Or should I ban American car brands as a starter?" Leo responded with a mischievous glint. "My Senate, Cabinet, and House of Representatives would be very appreciative to swap their Ford cars with Japanese and German cars. I would say Mercedes and Toyota would be good options for them."
"Come on…" Leopoldo chuckled in cringing at the suffering of the American envoy, "…sì, arrivederchi to Ford's sales in the Philippines."
Rory in the gallery glinted her eyes at the suffering of the Americans and at Leo's lines. "Making them suffer with no blades and just words and threats? How delicious..." Juan just a row ahead of Rory's seat shivered at her aura and did the sign of the cross. Even Aias did the Eastern Orthodox way of sign of the cross because Rory was also behind his row. Boaz held his empty cross necklace not for religious responses but to hold on his faith.
"Why is this so unprofessional and funny at the same time?" Itami asked.
"That's how the MPC operated starting with the power grid restoration trick with their Restorationist Drives," Hazama replied. "And I think this will take a while."
"Certainly, their unconventionality would be their potential unique trait." Kazufumi Ryuzaki chuckled.
This was the first roasting because the MPC leaders had a lot to vent to at the Big Three.