While Kaido and Charlotte Linlin were playing out their "loyal siblings" drama in the cells, outside, Zephyr and Garp were engaged in a conversation with Harald.
"This time, we really have to thank you, Harald," Zephyr said, looking at Harald, who sat cross-legged before him.
"You helped the Marines deal with a major problem. We've had our eyes on Charlotte Linlin for a long time—it's just that we couldn't openly push deep into the New World."
"It's a pity we didn't capture the Roger Pirates," Harald said with some regret.
"All that effort, and it still fell short."
"Hahaha! Roger's not that easy to catch," Garp laughed loudly.
"I've been chasing him for years and haven't succeeded once. Don't take it too hard!"
"Exactly," Zephyr added with a nod.
"If the Roger Pirates were that easy to deal with, we wouldn't have let them roam the seas for so long."
Harald nodded, then asked with some confusion,
"By the way… that man on Roger's ship—Jaygar Valthior… does he have some special identity? After encountering him on Whole Cake Island alongside the Holy Knights, something about him felt… off."
"Valthior, huh…" Garp's expression turned a bit complicated when he heard the name.
"You didn't know? That guy's a Celestial Dragon! The young master of the Jaygarcia family, one of the Five Elders' bloodlines. No idea what got into him—he just had to go and become a pirate. It pisses me off. He should've joined the Marines instead!"
"A Celestial Dragon!?" Harald was clearly shocked.
"No wonder the Holy Knights seemed so familiar with him…"
"I heard that wound on your chest was caused by him?" Garp glanced at the bandages wrapped around Harald's chest.
"Has he really gotten that strong?"
Harald raised a hand and touched the wound before replying,
"I'm not entirely sure how strong he is. But he's definitely powerful enough to stand firm in these seas. As for this injury… he used an extremely strange ability. My ultimate attack just… vanished, and then somehow struck me instead."
"It's those eyes…" Zephyr clicked his tongue.
"We're well aware of his Devil Fruit—it's a Mythical Zoan, the Ice Zeng. But the power of those eyes has nothing to do with the fruit. It's probably some kind of bloodline mutation. That Jaygrcia family really is mysterious…"
After a brief pause, Zephyr continued:
"Headquarters has already finalized new bounties for the Roger Pirates and raised their threat level again. That young master of the Five Elders' family now has a bounty of 567 million Berries. Intelligence has classified him as a powerhouse on the same level as Rayleigh and Gaban—one of the four main pillars of the Roger Pirates. His codename is… 'Wrath of Winter.'"
"He really made it, huh?" Garp said in surprise, clearly not having kept up with the latest reports.
"Yeah. By tomorrow at the latest, the news will be published across all four seas," Zephyr nodded.
After chatting a bit more, Zephyr turned to Harald again.
"Oh right—this morning, the World Government sent a new order. You're to head to Mary Geoise immediately to receive a commendation."
"A commendation?" Harald was stunned for a moment, then his face lit up with joy.
"Is it about the Holy Knights? I thought it was off the table since the Five Elders didn't mention it before. That's great!"
"Great my ass!" Garp immediately cursed.
"You idiot! How many times have I told you—don't get too involved with those people in Mary Geoise! You'll fall into the abyss because of it, you fool!"
"But Garp," Harald said in a deep voice,
"I need Elbaf to join the World Government as an affiliated nation. We need diplomatic ties with other countries—to change Elbaf's long-standing tradition of raiding."
There was a strict rule for nations affiliated with the World Government:
They could only establish diplomatic relations with other member nations.
Back when Harald hadn't pursued this path, he had managed to establish connections with some countries in the New World.
But soon after, the World Government specifically targeted Elbaf and issued an order forbidding all affiliated nations from maintaining any contact—or diplomacy—with it.
From that point on, Harald began seeking to bring Elbaf under the World Government, hoping it could be treated like a "normal" nation.
To put it simply—only countries affiliated with the World Government were considered legitimate nations. Any others were seen as inferior, unworthy of cooperation. And if any member nation dared maintain ties with those "outsiders," they'd be stripped of their status.
Garp had warned Harald many times not to get too entangled with Mary Geoise, but there was nothing he could actually do to help him.
So when Harald insisted on joining the Holy Knights—and using that opportunity to make Elbaf an affiliated nation—Garp couldn't stop him.
Having gotten the answer he wanted, Harald didn't linger. He soon got up and headed toward Mary Geoise.
...
Time shifted back one day earlier—
At the Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
Inside the Room of Authority in Pangaea Castle—
Saint Saturn pushed open the door and walked in.
The other four Five Elders were clearly waiting for him. As soon as he entered, Saint Nusjuro spoke first:
"Well? What did Imu-sama say?"
It was obvious Saturn had just gone to personally report to Imu.
"I've already reported everything regarding the Roger Pirates," Saturn said calmly.
"Imu-sama has ordered us to closely monitor their movements. He did not reprimand us for the failure at Whole Cake Island. He stated that even if they were to reach the Final Island, it wouldn't change anything. The tide of the Great Era has yet to arrive—we still have plenty of time to prepare for it."
As soon as he said that, the other four visibly relaxed.
"As Imu-sama said, the Great Era hasn't arrived yet," Saint Mars said quietly.
"Over the past centuries, we've extinguished countless 'lights' like Roger and the others. This time, they've only come closer to that island than most."
In truth, Roger's crew wasn't the first to search for the Final Island over the centuries—they were simply the closest so far.
Whenever such an era began to stir, Imu would order certain "lights" on the sea to be extinguished—so that the tide of the era would lose its direction.
As for when the Great Era would truly arrive, the Five Elders understood it well:
It would be when the Sea King was born… and when the Nika Fruit reappeared in the world.
Even if someone found the Final Island, it wouldn't matter much.
In Imu's eyes, the true priority was Nika—the embodiment of Joy Boy's power. Among all the "lights" that had to be extinguished, Nika was always at the top of the list.
If Valthior had been part of their faction—or even a Five Elder himself—he'd probably be so frustrated by Imu's thinking that he'd cough up blood.
He used to think the Five Elders were the ones dragging things down…
But now it seemed like it was Imu, stuck in outdated thinking, holding everything back.
"Besides that," Saturn continued,
"Imu-sama has decided to form a contract with Harald—to bring Elbaf's power under our control."
"Oh?" Saint Warcury raised a brow.
"So Harald has been approved to join the Holy Knights?"
"Not exactly," Saturn replied.
"He'll only serve as a Hedge-Blade for now. Further evaluation will follow."
A "Hedge-Blade" was essentially the equivalent of a trainee—only after becoming a full "blade" would one be considered an official member and be granted Celestial Dragon status.
Unlike Imu's approach, the Five Elders had always welcomed Harald's proposal for Elbaf to join the World Government.
From their perspective, it would greatly strengthen the Government's power and influence.
After all, Elbaf was known across the seas as the "strongest nation."
Having such a country join them would massively boost their authority and deterrence.
Unfortunately, although the Five Elders welcomed Harald and reported the matter, Imu had other ideas.
For some reason, Imu insisted on putting Harald through unnecessary trials…
Even in the original story, it ended up as a complete failure—starting strong but collapsing midway. The whole handling of the situation was a mess, almost incomprehensible.
Even if they couldn't fully control Harald or build a giant army, simply supporting Harald's idea of "demilitarizing" Elbaf would have weakened them significantly in the long run.
Instead…
Imu's decisions ended up pushing Elbaf into becoming a major enemy of the World Government.
A complete disaster of strategy.
...
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