Holy Land Mary Geoise, the Chamber of Authority.
This was the summit of the world, the absolute nerve center that decided the life and death of countless souls.
Five figures sat or stood in silence, eyes fixed on the Den Den Mushi at the center of the table, its face twisted in fear.
The air was as heavy as the deep sea, enough to crush any mortal foolish enough to trespass here.
Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro rested his hand on the long blade at his side and spoke, each word as if drawn from an ice cellar.
"Waveguide King Kael Grylls, how did you learn who we are?"
The voice on the other end stretched its syllables with a teasing nostalgia.
"Oh, that. Back at God Valley, my good brother Saint Jaygarcia Saturn told me himself."
"???"
The room's temperature seemed to drop by ten degrees.
Four pairs of severe eyes snapped toward the cane-bearing figure in the brimmed hat.
Saint Jaygarcia Saturn's eyelid twitched hard. His face all but shouted, I did not, I have not, stop talking nonsense.
When had he ever called some pirate brother? At God Valley he would have gladly ground every last scrap of the Rocks Pirates to dust.
A soft chuckle from the receiver cut off the silent interrogation at just the right moment.
"Kidding. Don't take it to heart." Kael's tone turned airy. "Truth is, the only reason I didn't lop Saturn's head off that day was because I was feeling merciful."
Silence.
Saturn's face went from white to black. Veins rose on the knuckles gripping his cane.
"Actually, it was Rocks who told me," Kael went on, voice drifting as if chasing a bright, bygone age.
"He said he used to stroll in and out of Mary Geoise seven times over, and walk Im around the flower gardens like a dog."
The words crashed like thunder across the chamber.
The name Im was absolute taboo.
For the first time, raw shock and killing intent bled through the masks of the five old men.
The air congealed. An unseen pressure made the room tremble.
Kael seemed not to notice the fury hot enough to set the heavens alight. He sighed to himself.
"Say what you will. I always liked Rocks. Not for treasure, not for fame. He just wanted to upend the world. That man was a real pirate."
Dead quiet.
On the other end, the five elders fell into a long, heavy silence.
Their anger was a volcano on the verge of eruption, yet a deeper calculation forced it down.
At length, Saint Marcus Mars spoke, his long white beard unmoving, his voice drained of all color.
"Kael Grylls, we have investigated everything about you."
Filtered through the Den Den Mushi, his tone betrayed neither favor nor fury.
"Your existence poses a threat to the current world order without precedent. We also acknowledge that erasing you outright would demand an unacceptable price."
It was a veiled concession.
"Let the past lie," said Saint Shepherd Ju Peter, curt and clean. "Your destruction of Marineford can be considered an admonition to the Navy."
Saint Topman Warcury folded his arms. His voice tolled like a bell.
"We can rescind your bounty and permit you to recover the remains of Gol D. Roger for burial."
Finally, Saturn forced his fury down and studied the receiver with a cool, evaluating gaze.
"The World Government is drafting a new system to stabilize the increasingly lawless seas. A framework for state-sanctioned pirates who can legally plunder, field private forces, and receive governmental recognition."
He paused, then tossed out a branch olive enough to drive any ambitious soul mad.
"We call it the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
"Kael Grylls, we invite you to be the first Warlord. You will enjoy supreme privileges and serve as a cornerstone of world balance."
They sought to leash an untamable beast with a chain forged of gold and turn it into a guard dog.
On the line, Kael went silent.
Just as the elders pictured him weighing gains against losses, a voice floated out, three parts playful and seven parts scorn.
"But I refuse."
The hush that followed was deeper than any before. Through the Den Den Mushi, Kael could almost see the five old faces darken to the point of dripping ink.
At last Saturn spoke again. The pretense of recruitment was gone. Only the cold edge of threat remained.
"Kael Grylls, you fail to grasp your position. A captain's crimes are often paid by his crew. Though Roger's men have disbanded, we track the movements of each one."
"Silvers Rayleigh the Dark King, Douglas Bullet the Demon's Heir, and those apprentices still weak. Did you truly think we cannot find them?"
A competent statesman lures with gifts and presses with fear.
What answered him was a short, absurd snort.
"Heh."
Kael sounded as if he had just heard the joke of the century.
"Tell me, has life in Mary Geoise rusted your brains?"
His voice turned lazily mocking.
"You have this backward. The Roger Pirates disbanded. They did not die."
"Or is it that…" His tone shifted, steel glinting beneath calm waters, a blade bared to daylight,
"…you want to see us regroup with your own eyes?"
The elders' pupils tightened in unison.
Regroup?
That legend of a crew whose mere existence put thorns beneath the World Government and Navy.
That monster fleet that conquered the Grand Line and reached the Final Island.
If those monsters truly reassembled because of government pressure…
They did not dare imagine it, nor could they bear the cost.
In an instant, the balance on both ends of the line reversed.
The talk stalled.
Kael broke the suffocating quiet, sounding more bored than anything.
"Listen, old men."
His voice was calm again, but final as a drawn verdict.
"Time to lay my cards on the table. I have never been to Laugh Tale. I do not care about your little secret, the Void Century, or whether the D. bearers live or die."
"Everything I do is not to inherit someone's will or to chase power and wealth."
He paused, then spoke each word with care.
"I do what I want."
"Simple, isn't it?"
"So put away your lofty trades and threats. Here are my terms. No, this is a notice."
"First, I am taking Captain Roger's body."
"Second, any Celestial Dragon I see dies. On the Grand Line or in Mary Geoise."
"I want it both ways, and I will have it both ways. I want you to watch with eyes wide open and be unable to do anything."
This was no longer arrogance. It was open contempt for the highest authority in the world.
"Want to kill me?" Kael's voice curved with a hunter's pleasure.
"Anytime. All five of you at once is fine by me."
"No, let's not wait."
"I will come to Mary Geoise myself."
The line clicked.
In the loft, silence returned.
Kael walked to the window. His gaze passed over the countless heads below and came to rest on the cold, empty scaffold.
The clamor of the square receded from him. The shouts and curses seemed far away.
In his golden eyes, the mockery, pride, and killing will from moments ago drained away, leaving only a deep, complicated quiet.
He remembered the deck of the Oro Jackson, many years before.
A man in a straw hat, always swigging rum, always bellowing at him with that unmistakable voice.
"Kael. Quit scowling. Come on, smile. We are going to be the freest men on these seas."
Freedom, is it…
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