Mary Geoise, Pangaea Castle, Room of Authority. As per tradition, the Five Elders had gathered together, each holding a thick stack of documents in their hands.
"Who would have thought that I, in my lifetime, would receive an original manuscript personally written by Lord Imu? This is truly a treasure to be passed down through the ages!"
As usual, Topman Warcury Saint, who was responsible for the administrative affairs and thus seated in the central position, gazed excitedly at the exquisitely written characters on the document. Even the commas and periods appeared flawless in his eyes.
The other four Elders breathed heavily, their eyes filled with a mix of envy, jealousy, and other complex emotions.
Yet, in the end, they could only helplessly look at the documents in their own hands. Although the text was identical, these were merely copies. While they were still valuable enough to be carefully preserved, they paled in comparison to the original handwritten manuscript.
This time, Lord Imu had notified them of their upcoming tasks in the form of documents—a first in several centuries.
From this perspective, it seemed that their generation of Five Elders was truly fortunate.
However, judging by the thickness of the documents, they could also understand Lord Imu's reasoning. After all, if such a vast amount of content were to be discussed in the Void Palace, they would likely have to kneel for an entire night.
"By the way, Dragon's fleet has already arrived in the South Blue. According to the intelligence from CP2, he's doing quite well, especially in terms of using his brain—completely unlike that bastard Garp's son!"
Shepherd Ju Peter Saint shifted the topic. His mood was somewhat foul, so he wanted to discuss other matters first before seriously delving into the contents of the documents. Thus, he briefly recounted the situation he had learned about, while the others listened attentively.
"Dragon's planning does indeed have a bit of Sengoku's touch. He's considered all aspects of the South Blue, ensuring that the 'Slave King' won't be alerted or prepared in advance."
Marcus Mars Saint chuckled.
"Indeed, if it were Sakazuki, Borsalino, or Kuzan, they might not have thought it through so meticulously," Jaygarcia Saturn Saint chimed in.
At this moment, Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro Saint, who held the First Generation Ghost Cutter, showed a hesitant expression.
"If this mission is successfully completed, Dragon's promotion to Vice Admiral can be arranged. But I'm wondering, what about the future?"
As the highest-ranking officer of the World Government's military, the so-called Commander-in-Chief merely handled the complex practical work on his behalf. Thus, he was particularly sensitive in this regard.
"You're referring to the Admiral position, aren't you? That is indeed a significant issue!"
Topman Warcury Saint also grew serious, as the Marine Admirals represented the World Government's highest combat power and could not be taken lightly.
Since the founding of the World Government, it had been stipulated that there could be no more than three Marine Admirals. Now that Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan had been confirmed as Admiral candidates, what would happen to Dragon? Dragon's talent, strength, and Devil Fruit abilities were all on par with these three, and he was the son of the Marine hero Garp, making his lineage even more impeccable.
Logically speaking, Dragon was fully qualified to become a Marine Admiral, but there simply weren't enough positions available. It wouldn't make sense to give him the title of a reserve admiral and have him sit on the bench for decades, would it? After all, age wasn't on his side either. He was 34 years old, while Sakazuki was 31, Borsalino was 34, and Kuzan was even younger at 25. If nothing unexpected happened in the future, he'd just have to wait.
Unless Dragon was willing to follow in his father's footsteps and remain a vice admiral for life, but wouldn't that be a waste of his potential?
Garp's repeated refusal to be promoted to admiral had already been a source of frustration for the Five Elders.
Of course, the two situations were different. Garp had refused the promotion when there was a shortage of admirals, while Dragon was simply left out because there were too many candidates for the position.
"Well, let's promote him to vice admiral first and deal with the rest later," Topman Warcury Saint said helplessly, and Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro Saint beside him could only nod in agreement.
"Once Dragon takes care of that Slave King, half of this year's Levely agenda will already be pushed forward," Jaygarcia Saturn Saint shifted the topic again.
When it came to the admiral positions, they truly had no say and didn't dare to make any changes without authorization. After all, these rules were established by Lord Imu himself, so unless Imu initiated a reform, they would never bring it up.
Whether it was the current Five Elders or their predecessors, they all knew very well how much Lord Imu disliked "chaos" and "change."
This was also the main reason why the World Government's system had remained unchanged for 800 years, and why the Five Elders strived to maintain "stability" in the world order.
Although the World Government was now attempting to adapt due to that "Great Prophecy," no one knew to what extent Lord Imu would tolerate "change."
Thus, the five of them had long formed an unspoken understanding: whatever Lord Imu said, they would do it without question. "Indeed, Lord Imu's demand to deal with the Slave King before the Levely is very wise. It prevents many unforeseen complications."
Marcus Mars Saint then asked, "But there's still a major issue before us. Once the agenda is passed, what should we do with the hundreds of thousands of slaves in Mary Geoise?"
This glorious holy land held a vast number of slaves purchased by the Celestial Dragons, all of whom were considered "premium" or "top-tier." The women were beautiful and charming, the men strong and capable, or skilled in some special ability, or even of some demi-human race. After all, they were slaves the Celestial Dragons had taken a liking to and brought back.
"What else can we do? Kill them!" Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro Saint replied expressionlessly, stroking the sheath of the First Generation Ghost Cutter, before continuing.
"If we release them, their hatred for us Celestial Dragons will undoubtedly cause negative repercussions. Most of them would likely turn to piracy, and the number of pirates is already increasing as it is!"
His words left the other four silent for a moment. After a while, Topman Warcury Saint shook his head, thinking it over and finding the idea rather inappropriate.
"Killing them all might be easy, but the aftermath would be troublesome. One of Lord Imu's goals in pushing this year's agenda is to boost public trust in the World Government, restore its positive image, and reduce the rise of pirates. If this were to be discovered and spread, the consequences would be dire. What then should we do?" Shepherd Ju Peter Saint asked.
"Release some, detain some!"
"Just like how we returned the Mermen and Fish-men before, have Tsuru come to cleanse the grievances of a batch of slaves, then broadcast their escort back to their homelands worldwide. Declare that Mary Geoise has released all slaves, and temporarily detain the rest somewhere for gradual processing. The Red Line Continent is vast; there's plenty of space."
Topman Warcury Saint's proposal made the other four Five Elders' eyes light up, and they all agreed it was indeed a good plan.
With tens of thousands of people, the scene would be overwhelming. By releasing over ten thousand and controlling the camera angles, it would be enough to deceive the world's populace.
At this moment, Shepherd Ju Peter Saint was inspired and smiled, "Can we adapt this method to address the rumors of the Grand Treasure first?"
"Some people became pirates because they were lured by Roger's treasure, right? Then let's organize a worldwide broadcast of escorting that Grand Treasure back to Mary Geoise. Declare that we have found ONE PIECE. While it might not completely eradicate the rise of pirates, it would certainly have a significant effect," Jaygarcia Saturn Saint said with a smile.
"Indeed, a great idea. The Grand Treasure is just wealth, right? Let the world's people see what a real Grand Treasure looks like. Once they've seen it and are satisfied, they'll quiet down!"
In terms of wealth, who on this planet can compare to the World Government?