This wasn't just a passing visit—this would be Kizaru's third time coming to Mary Geoise.
No matter how much dissatisfaction the Five Elders held toward him privately, at least on the surface, they were still willing to give Kizaru—or rather, the soon-to-be Fleet Admiral—plenty of face.
The moment he stepped out of the Bubble Pod, a lavishly dressed and perfectly synchronized orchestra began playing a grand welcoming anthem in his honor.
A brand-new handwoven red carpet extended all the way from the pod's exit to the gates of the World Government.
This was no ordinary carpet—its base price was calculated in millions of Berries per unit, and this one stretched for several kilometers.
Just the cost of that red carpet alone was equivalent to several fully equipped battleships.
And that was only a part of the welcoming ceremony. The entire event, in total, could have emptied the treasuries of over half the world's nations.
The Five Elders put on this extravagant show not just for appearance's sake—more importantly, it was to ease tensions with Kizaru.
Otherwise, while they could theoretically use military funding to force the Navy to comply, they would inevitably be inviting trouble upon themselves.
"Tch. Would've been better to just hand me all that money. What a waste."
Unfortunately for them, their so-called goodwill was completely lost on Kizaru, who not only showed no appreciation, but even marked it down in his mental notebook.
Originally, he only intended to triple the Navy's budget demands.
But now? Looks like he'd have to go for a tenfold increase!
Given the Navy's current military budget, a tenfold increase would likely drive the Five Elders to publicly curse him out, forgetting all about their dignity.
But Kizaru wasn't worried about rejection—because it wouldn't be long before the seas gave birth to a new "Pirate King," one more terrifying than both Rocks and Roger combined.
By that time, forget about ten times the budget—even if he demanded the Five Elders to do a hula dance on stage…
Okay, maybe that was a bit much. He'd settle for them emptying their treasuries instead.
"Let's go. The Five Elders are already waiting for you at Pangaea Castle. Technically, the proper protocol requires inviting the kings of the allied nations to witness it, but…"
Kong, the former Fleet Admiral, rubbed his forehead. As someone loyal to the World Government through and through, he found it hard to accept Kizaru's defiant attitude toward the Five Elders.
Still, he knew that this was now Kizaru's era. As the previous Fleet Admiral, all he needed to do was play his role and handle the necessary procedures.
With that in mind, Kong led Kizaru toward Pangaea Castle, explaining the steps of the promotion ceremony along the way—just to make sure Kizaru didn't cause a scene.
In theory, the Fleet Admiral of the Navy wasn't especially high in the hierarchy established during the World Government's founding.
But after 800 years, the once-glorious Army had become a relic of the past, and the Holy Guard had been hollowed out.
Instead, the Navy, once the weakest of the three military branches, had grown massively powerful, to the point where even the status of the Fleet Admiral had risen with it.
With a strong enough Fleet Admiral, even the Five Elders would feel the pressure.
During Kong's own term as Fleet Admiral, the Five Elders seized the chance to suppress the Navy's growth as much as possible.
But that backfired horribly. The turbulent seas soon gave rise to two Pirate Kings, one after another.
Especially Rocks, a brutal maniac who even began targeting the World Government and the Celestial Dragons directly.
It was then that the Five Elders realized—unintentionally, the Navy had grown into a pillar of stability that could not be allowed to fall.
Otherwise, they wouldn't be bothering to mend ties with a thorn like Kizaru.
"...So in the end, they're desperate to get their hands on that Pure Gold, and I'm the one who has to be 'reasonable'?"
Kizaru couldn't care less about some kings of allied nations—but that didn't stop him from using it as leverage to demand more funding later.
"It's not exactly like that. I mean, the next Reverie is still two years away. You can't really expect the kings to travel back and forth twice in such a short time... Besides, there'll be Celestial Dragons present at your promotion ceremony."
Kong tried his best to explain.
The Kong family had been part of the Army's high command for generations. It wasn't until his generation that they were reassigned to the Navy by order of the Five Elders.
In an ideal world, this would've been the beginning of Five Elders' full control over the Fleet Admiral position.
But Kong, a Fleet Admiral from an army background, failed to keep the situation under control.
Or rather, no one could have suppressed the Navy's power per the Five Elders' orders and still kept the seas stable.
At least the Five Elders hadn't been overly harsh—they still gave Kong the title of Commander-in-Chief of all forces, sparing him the humiliation of a disgraceful retirement.
That's also why, even knowing the Five Elders had used him, Kong was still willing to speak up on their behalf.
"Celestial Dragons? You're telling me some of them are actually willing to attend my promotion ceremony?! What kind of sweet talk did the Five Elders use to make that happen?"
Kizaru could barely hold back a sarcastic remark. Sure, back then he'd kept his actions well hidden—but there were very few people in the world who had the guts to mess with the Celestial Dragons in the first place.
Even with Fleet Admiral Kong protecting him, and the infamous fish-man adventurer Fisher Tiger drawing some of the heat, since when did Celestial Dragons ever care about things like "evidence"?
From that moment onward, Kizaru was placed on Mary Geoise's and the Celestial Dragons' blacklist.
Forget about promotions—even taking a simple vacation would bring out a bunch of idiots hoping to score points with the Celestial Dragons by trying to mess with him.
Kizaru's response was simple: he stopped caring entirely.
He didn't care who was backing those fools. Anyone who tried to provoke him would suffer an "accident" the very next day.
He was never subtle about it either—anyone with half a brain could guess who was behind it.
As a result, Kizaru's name became utterly loathed among the Celestial Dragons.
If not for the Pure Gold, the Five Elders probably wouldn't even want to see his face.
And now? Kong was telling him Celestial Dragons would be attending his promotion ceremony?
"Ahem… Don't overthink it. The Celestial Dragons… they're not that unreasonable, really,"
Kong tried to defend them, but the words died in his throat.
Even a loyal old Fleet Admiral like Kong couldn't bring himself to lie that blatantly.
In the end, he could only offer a vague and careful explanation—he certainly wasn't going to tell Kizaru the truth:
That Saint Peter hadn't been able to convince the Celestial Dragons at all, and had to trick two young ones into attending the ceremony.
"Heh."
Kizaru let out a meaningless chuckle and didn't bother arguing with the old man.
If loyalty could be quantified, Kong's devotion to the Five Elders and World Government would probably score above ninety.
Not a perfect hundred—only because Kong still had a shred of conscience, and also because even the Five Elders couldn't stomach some of the Celestial Dragons' lunacy.
---
Pangaea Castle was one of the tallest palaces in Mary Geoise, said to be the first structure built by the twenty kings who originally founded the World Government.
Of course, Kizaru doubted the truth of that claim.
No matter how grand a palace, it was hard to believe it could remain intact after 800 years.
And the people of Mary Geoise had a habit of linking everything to those twenty kings.
For all he knew, even their toilets were labeled as "used by the Twenty Kings."
As he walked along the so-called Royal Path—the same road allegedly tread by those kings—Kizaru felt absolutely nothing.
In contrast, Kong was practically giddy. He was a hardcore fanboy of the Twenty Kings, able to recite every detail of their exploits.
If he weren't escorting Kizaru to his audience with the Five Elders, he'd probably spend the whole day admiring that road.
---
Because no official guests were invited, the viewing stands were empty—except for two young Celestial Dragons, clearly bored out of their minds.
But the moment Kizaru stepped into the palace, solemn and majestic music echoed throughout the hall.
The Five Elders, clad in formal wear, sat high above on their platform, gazing down at Kong and Kizaru like gods judging mortals.
"Commander-in-Chief Kong, here to pay respects to the Five Elders."
Kizaru himself felt nothing in particular, but Kong had already dropped to one knee, offering the highest possible gesture of respect.
With his rank, he didn't have to be this deferential anymore.
But for Kong, the Five Elders weren't just superiors—they were the lifelong allegiance of his entire bloodline.
"Rise, Kong. With your accomplishments, such formality is unnecessary in our presence."
The Five Elders gave him ample respect in return.
They didn't even wait for him to finish before allowing him to stand and speak.
Even though that gesture wasn't solely out of respect for Kong himself, it was still deeply moving for someone as loyal as him.
"Admiral Kizaru of Navy HQ, here to pay respects to the Five Elders."
Kizaru mimicked Kong's words, but that was about all he mimicked.
He didn't kneel.
He barely bowed—his back only tilted by the slightest visible degree.
Even Kong found it hard to watch. He wanted to reach over and physically force Kizaru to bend further.
Even though the viewing stand only had two dazed-looking Celestial Dragons, this level of disrespect still put the Five Elders in an awkward position.
"At ease! Admiral Kizaru—recently, at Marineford, you slew the Great Pirate Whitebeard, Edward Newgate. You injured Red-Haired Shanks, and severely damaged both the Whitebeard and Red-Hair Pirates. Your merits are immense…"
The bearded Elder's face darkened slightly as he loudly proclaimed Kizaru's accomplishments, listing one prestigious military achievement after another since he first joined the Marines.
He kept going for over ten minutes—because to even be mentioned by the Five Elders, one's deeds had to involve pirates with bounties of at least over 100 million Berries.
Even accounting for the fact that the bounties had skyrocketed during the eras of the two Pirate Kings, rattling off over a hundred names and nicknames left the Elder with a dry throat.
Only now did the other four Elders—those who had only a limited understanding of Kizaru—finally get a clear and visceral sense of what this so-called "problem child" really meant to the Navy.
°°°
If you want to read ahead and access 20 advanced chapters, check the patreon
Link: Patreon/Moziel
Subscription should be made thru the web and never the ios app, it helps you and me.