-Real World-
Holy Land Mary Geoise
With the Sky Screen's broadcast concluded for the evening, the Five Elders urgently summoned Saint Figarland Garling, Supreme Commander of the Holy Knights. The matter of Joy Boy demanded immediate resolution—tonight's closed-door session would determine the World Government's response to this existential threat.
With the Empty Throne's occupant choosing to remain in slumber, six men gathered in the highest chamber of power. Their decision would reshape the entire world's trajectory.
"Joy Boy is supposedly Kaido," Saint Jaygarcia Saturn stated with clinical precision, his scientific mind dissecting the problem methodically. "I believe the Sky Screen is deceiving everyone. We cannot accept these future revelations as absolute truth."
As the Warrior God of Scientific Defense, Saturn dealt with the World Government's most advanced technologies daily. His faith lay in empirical evidence and verifiable data—not prophetic visions of uncertain origin.
"Eight hundred years is an eternity," Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro countered, his aged voice carrying the weight of accumulated wisdom. "Only those who lived through that era truly understand what transpired. We've found no concrete evidence linking Joy Boy to the Nika Fruit in recent centuries. Perhaps this is an elaborate deception—mixing truth with falsehood to cloud our judgment."
Nusjuro's position leaned toward accepting the Sky Screen's claims. After all, hadn't some details already proven disturbingly accurate?
Consider the grandson of the Marine Hero—Monkey D. Luffy had consumed what they believed to be the Gomu Gomu no Mi. Intelligence reports confirmed this fact, yet the Five Elders had taken no action against him. They weren't afraid of a mere Vice Admiral, but something had stayed their hand. Perhaps, subconsciously, they had always known to tread carefully around that particular fruit.
In the original timeline, Luffy's rubber powers were common knowledge. The boy announced his abilities to every new acquaintance: "My name is Monkey D. Luffy, I'm a rubber man who ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi, and I'm going to be the Pirate King!"
Throughout his journey, he had toppled Shichibukai, decimated CP9 and brought chaos to Enies Lobby, liberated Impel Down's prisoners, participated in the Paramount War, struck down World Nobles, and ultimately defeated Yonko Kaido. All of this occurred under their passive observation.
As Straw Hat Luffy continued his meteoric rise, the World Government had never seriously moved to stop him. Only after the Nika Fruit's awakening did the Five Elders finally gather with genuine urgency to address what they had allowed to fester.
Rather than incompetence, this suggested a deeper pattern—the Five Elders preferred maintaining stability through inaction, delegating messy situations to government agents and the Marines. They claimed the Nika Fruit could overthrow the World Government, yet they remained safely ensconced in Mary Geoise rather than personally hunting down the threat.
Most disturbingly, countless forces across the seas seemed to be waiting for Joy Boy's emergence. The Revolutionary Army, ancient creatures like Zunesha, Dr. Vegapunk's scientific faction—even the villainous Five Elders themselves appeared to be anticipating that damned destiny. The world had become twisted around this singular prophecy.
Whether the Nika Fruit was merely a red herring that had deceived the Celestial Dragons for eight centuries remained uncertain. No records existed of the fruit's awakening during the World Government's reign, though there were theories that Devil Fruits possessed a form of consciousness that allowed them to evade capture.
The five elderly rulers argued endlessly about the Nika Fruit's significance, each presenting compelling but contradictory evidence. Neither side could definitively disprove the other's position, creating an intellectual stalemate that threatened to paralyze decision-making entirely.
Figarland Garling, who had remained silently observing from his position, finally spoke with the authority of the Holy Knights' Supreme Commander.
"I've been wondering why Shanks would risk challenging Kaido directly. What grudge could two Yonko possibly share that would justify such a dangerous confrontation?" His scarred features reflected years of violent service to the World Government. "If Kaido truly carries Joy Boy's legacy, then everything becomes clear."
Garling's implication was unmistakable. The Red-Haired Pirates' clash with the Beast Pirates hadn't been coincidental—it was orchestrated. The Celestial Dragons had used Shanks to verify former CP9 agent Who's-Who's intelligence, forcing one Yonko to reveal another's true capabilities.
The strategy had succeeded brilliantly. Kaido's identity as Joy Boy's heir was now exposed, painting a target on his back for multiple opposing factions. Like the Twenty Kingdoms alliance eight hundred years ago, government agents, revolutionaries, pirates, and the Holy Knights would unite against this singular threat.
"The D lineage represents inherited will," Saint Marcus Mars observed, his warrior's instincts recognizing patterns of destiny. "Perhaps Joy Boy operates under similar principles—a legacy passed between worthy successors rather than a single individual."
Mars chose to trust the Sky Screen's revelations. Any manifestation connected to the Sun God had to be treated as Joy Boy incarnate. The Celestial Dragons had learned to fear sun imagery for good reason.
The Five Elders' ancestors had systematically destroyed all records of the Great Kingdom eight centuries ago, leaving modern descendants to piece together fragments of deliberately obscured history. Poneglyphs scattered worldwide contained clues they couldn't fully decipher, while oral traditions about the Nika Fruit might have been corrupted over generations. The cruel irony was that their predecessors' thorough historical erasure had created the very uncertainty now threatening their regime.
"I'm less concerned with Joy Boy than our economic projections," Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro interjected, his financial expertise revealing different priorities. "Currency devaluation continues accelerating. If newspapers cost two thousand Berries 5 years from now, the World Government faces severe fiscal crisis. This inflation rate exceeds all models—something fundamental has changed in the global economy."
The Heavenly Tribute collected from member nations directly funded Celestial Dragon lifestyles. As the ancient saying warned, ascending from poverty to luxury was simple, but the reverse journey proved nearly impossible. Any reduction in living standards would generate complaints that inevitably reached the Five Elders' ears.
More troubling was the Marines' apparent financial independence. Marshal coins had been circulating within military ranks, with second-generation currency already in production. Such massive minting suggested the Marine was preparing for economic autonomy—a violent organization with independent funding represented an existential threat to Celestial Dragon authority.
"Future events suggest Shank finally accepting his heritage, and join us," Saint Shepherd Ju Peter analyzed with cold pragmatism. "According to the timeline, eight Marine Admirals ambushed the Red-Haired Pirates after their defeat. Only Shanks escaped alive. This indicates the Marine has become completely uncontrollable."
Shepard Ju Peter doubted the Five Elders had ordered such an operation. Eliminating someone with Celestial Dragon bloodline, even it was Shank, he is still a Garling, so this was moronic—more likely representing the Marines' independent decision-making.
Shanks's rise to the Fourth Emperor was not solely his own doing, but also the result of quiet maneuvering by the Five Elders. To them, the son of Figarland Garling, a Celestial Dragon, was the perfect instrument: a pirate with Celestial Dragon blood, trusted enough to shape the seas without overturning the world order.
Unlike the Revolutionary Army, whose open defiance endangered the Heavenly Tribute and the authority of member kingdoms, Shanks claimed no fixed territory and showed no appetite for conquest. He drifted across the seas like a wandering saint, maintaining a precarious balance of chaos and order. For the Five Elders, he embodied the ideal kind of Emperor, and they longed for others who could wield power as he did—without threatening the throne.