"Declaring war…"
Those two light words caused the entire Socializing Plaza to fall into a strange silence.
Chap's sudden kneeling had already drawn plenty of attention, and in the context of interactions between nations, the topic of war was undoubtedly of utmost importance.
Not to mention over 170 countries, even among 170 people gathered together, there would be plenty of conflicts. Although these nations had all joined the World Government, quite a few still harbored deep-seated grudges against one another.
Most of the time, they maintained a certain level of restraint. Even when meeting here, they would keep up a facade of politeness.
Though each king stood here alone, on this sea, a king's words and actions inherently represented their entire nation.
Earlier, through Morgans, Nereus had issued a worldwide manhunt against Hardinge. This made the king of the Deul Kingdom feel as though he had been slapped in the face.
The identity of an "official pirate" couldn't be openly stated, but no matter what, Hardinge was still a member of the Deul Kingdom, and his actions outside were in service of its higher-ups.
At the time, Nereus had put up a real bounty with actual money, and a significant commotion had been stirred up in the Underworld as well. As a result, the protests Chap published in the newspapers were largely ignored, practically dismissed altogether.
Combined with the long-standing atmosphere within the Deul Kingdom, Chap had already accumulated a great deal of dissatisfaction.
Most importantly, in Chap's mind, since Nereus had chosen to participate in the Levely, he would definitely take many factors into consideration.
At most, the two sides would argue here. There was no possibility of actual violence; at worst, they would just throw things at each other across the round table.
As royalty born in the Four Seas and raised in luxury from a young age, the strongest individuals they had encountered were mostly from the Marines or the World Government.
Whether it was the World Government or the Marines, they would always show the proper respect when dealing with royalty. Thus, Chap, who grew up in the North Blue, found it difficult to comprehend the power possessed by a top-tier powerhouse from the New World.
Take action?
If not for needing to consider public opinion, Nereus wouldn't even need any physical movement to wipe out all the royalty present.
The vast majority of them wouldn't even be able to withstand a single glance from him. With just a slight use of his Devil Fruit ability, he could achieve that level of effect.
If someone were to suddenly die here right after speaking with him, even if he hadn't directly acted, it would be nearly impossible to explain.
If he truly wanted to kill such people, Nereus didn't need to resort to petty methods like assassination.
Just as Nereus had said before, attacking a nation's soldiers already constituted an act of war. Even within the context of the Levely, no one could find fault with that reasoning.
Faced with Nereus's questioning, Chap instead became the one put on the spot.
Declaring war required a reason—something politically correct and justified. Hardinge's actions simply couldn't stand up to scrutiny.
But if he denied it…
Was he supposed to back down in a situation like this? He had stepped forward on his own, only to end up kneeling inexplicably, and now he didn't even dare to utter a single harsh word.
At that moment, however, the guards from the Deul Kingdom helped ease Chap's embarrassment.
"Your Majesty Chap!"
"What did you do to our king?!"
Upon entering the Socializing Plaza, the guards had consciously remained outside, not entering alongside the royalty.
Those who could accompany their king to the Levely might not be the strongest, but they were undoubtedly the most loyal to the royal family.
Kings might take various considerations into account, but these guards didn't think that far. The moment they noticed something was wrong with their king, they rushed forward without hesitation.
"Such nerve… it's been a long time since I've seen anyone dare to take the initiative to attack Lord Nereus. Looks like it's our turn to step in—Bro… skeleton! You're jumping the gun!!"
Nereus hadn't come without guards. If he personally made a move at a time like this, it would somewhat lower his standing.
Just as Hermes thought his chance to shine had come and was about to "mentor the newcomer," he realized Brook had already set off ahead of him.
To better resemble a guard, Hermes adjusted his body structure into Iron Cloud mode and even shaped himself accordingly.
From an outsider's perspective, he now looked more like a pure white armored figure.
However, this reshaping didn't grant Hermes any combat advantage. On the contrary, the fixed form reduced his original flexibility.
As a result, by the time he set out, Brook had already prepared his Iai slash.
"Sir Cloud, I was the captain of a royal guard decades ago. I know very well what a guard is supposed to do."
However, neither the guards of the Deul Kingdom nor Brook and Hermes got the chance to act.
Before any of them could move, several figures dressed in white suits appeared from the surroundings and, without exception, chose to restrain the Deul Kingdom's guards.
"Everyone, this is Mariejois, not a place for violence. Please exercise restraint."
"Why are you only stopping my people?! He was the one who acted first! What are you all doing?!"
In Chap's eyes, these CP0 agents were clearly showing favoritism, and he immediately voiced his dissatisfaction.
Even so, with someone backing him, Chap's tone gained a bit more confidence.
The World Government had stepped in, surely Nereus wouldn't continue to act in front of them, right?
With that thought, Chap quickly regained his bravado.
"My apologies, King Chap. I have been observing this place from the shadows and did not notice King Nereus making any move. If you are feeling unwell, Mariejois has the best doctors in the world who can examine you."
The CP0 agent didn't side with Chap. Instead, he spoke in an almost indifferent manner, stating what he had "seen."
He could guess there was something off here, but what could he do?
An incident like Mariejois being struck by a meteor could fool the outside world, but not those directly involved. If "Nereus" and "meteor" sounded the same, he might have been able to accept it.
Even without knowing the details, this CP0 agent had a clear understanding of Nereus's strength. The reason he stopped only the Deul Kingdom's men and not Brook was precisely because of that.
If Brook acted, at most one or two people might die, and they could block his attacks with their own bodies if necessary.
But if Nereus made a move… it wouldn't be a matter of how many died, but how many could survive.
Under normal circumstances, CP0 only concerned itself with the safety of the Celestial Dragons and wouldn't interfere in matters like this.
If not for Harald's identity making it unsuitable for him to appear in the Socializing Plaza, the Five Elders would likely have had Harald accompany them the entire time, rather than assigning CP0 to handle "security issues" here.
CP0 didn't dare to directly control Nereus either. However, when the Five Elders gave their orders, they had said one thing:
"That man, Nereus, isn't here to fight. If you don't give him a reason, there won't be any trouble."
Given that, CP0 reached a conclusion: resolve the conflict in advance, and there would be no need to worry about Nereus causing bigger problems. That was how this obvious favoritism came about.
"It seems you, like Harald, have some special mission?"
"You jest, King Nereus. We are merely acting impartially…"
Nereus's voice made the CP0 agent shudder, but he still had to respond. At this moment, all he wanted was to move past this situation as quickly as possible. If something were to happen, at least let it not happen in the area under his responsibility.
"King Nereus, the conference is about to begin. How about… I escort you to the conference hall first?"
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