Who Gets the First Question?

"The first question is with me."

Makino stood in front of the counter, not looking at Black Spear, but simply tightening the apron strap that had been shaken askew, tugging at the knot with her fingers, as if she were about to greet a customer who had just entered.

Lin Qi reached out to pull her back. "Stop messing around."

Makino dodged to the side. "When you dragged the whole world into this, no one had time to pull you back."

Lin Qi opened his mouth, but in the end only managed to utter one curse, "This system really knows how to pick people."

Shanks had completed his access to the Pirate Witness Seat, and a semi-transparent title board floated in front of him as he looked towards Foosha Village.

"The Civilian Witness Seat can ask questions first, but the questions must be designed to prevent the Throne from eliminating any seats."

Akainu said coldly, "Asking whether civilian witnesses constitute a crime is simply dismissing their reason for interference."

Dragon replied, "That's not enough. The Throne will say she's not an ordinary witness, but someone who assists the abnormal."

Robin looked at the black patterns in the Sky Screen: "We need to break down the term 'assisting the abnormal.' Miss Makino is protecting the civilian witnesses at the scene, not the authority itself."

Clutching her Name Card, Lumi timidly asked, "May I ask, shouldn't helping someone result in being killed?"

Bonney's eyes reddened, but her tone was firm. "Just ask this. Don't let them complicate things."

Vegapunk stamped his foot in frustration. "The problem statement needs to satisfy the system rules; we can't just shout slogans."

Looking at the grayed-out input box, Lin Qi realized for the first time that his ability to type out questions before was practically a backdoor opened by the system for him.

"Hey, Fifth Seat, listen to me."

Akainu raised his eyes. "You don't have the right to set questions right now."

Lin Qi said, "I know, so I'm only offering suggestions; it's not overstepping my authority."

Makino looked at him. "Speak."

Lin Qi pointed to the dark Sky Screen and said, "The Throne labeled you an accomplice of the aberrant because you stood in my way, but the truth is that the CP entered the village first with the Silencing Chain,' the Clippers shelled the civilian area first, Black Spears wanted to kill the witnesses first."

Robin continued, "So the first question should revolve around whether civilians at the scene who intervened to stop the Silencing Chain can be convicted in reverse."

Shanks nodded. "Okay."

Longdao added, "Add one more thing: the Throne shall not be held accountable for crimes committed by commoners who witnessed them."

Akainu looked up at the Sky Screen: "The Navy Review Seat agrees."

Lumi held up Name Card: "The Victim Witness Seat also agrees."

Makino looked at the question box and slowly read out the question formed by the five seats.

[First Question from the World Witness Seat]

[Question: Does a civilian protecting a witness at the scene of Silencing Chain constitute aiding and abetting a crime?]

[A. Structure, the Throne can be cleared first]

[B. This constitutes a crime and requires taking the person away for questioning.]

[C. Not yet constitutes a requirement, but the target must be submitted]

[D. Not true, and the Throne cannot be held accountable for a crime witnessed by a commoner.]

The Black Spear was blocked by the question, and the Light Screen in front of Makino finally thickened.

Garling looked at the question and said coldly, "She's protecting the person with the authority to set the questions."

Makino looked up. "I'm protecting the customers in my shop."

Lin Qi whispered, "Actually, I'm the boss."

Makino didn't look at him. "He's one of the shop's employees too."

Luffy a punch. "D, what's wrong with Makino protecting Lin Qi!"

Nami followed suit and chose D, but she didn't let Lin Qi off the hook. "Once you survive, you'd better explain the Tavern's accounts from all these years."

Lin Qi immediately replied, "My accounts are clean."

Usopp shouted from the side, "Didn't you just say that privacy shouldn't be broadcast?"

Lin Qi said weakly, "That's privacy regarding time travel, not financial privacy."

Zoro looked at them. "Is this the time to talk about this?"

Sanji kicked aside a knight near the exit and turned back to say, "Curly-browed Green Moss, shut up and guard the gate."

Zoro's forehead twitched. "Who are you calling Curly Eyebrow?"

Sanji, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, said, "Did I say anything to you?"

Robin didn't join the argument. She watched as the voting dots quickly filled the question page and whispered, "This question not only protects Miss Makino, but also all ordinary people who are willing to testify in the future."

Akainu stamped. "Marine Headquarters, D."

Sengoku Guodao: "I second that; stopping the Silencing Chain does not constitute a crime."

He added, "The right of ordinary citizens to witness and record events needs to be included in the protection clauses."

Dragon confirms. "Revolutionary Army, D."

Shanks raised his sword. "The Red Hair Pirates, D."

Lumi whispered, but clearly, "D, the protector shouldn't have their name stolen."

Dan shouted from the exit of Sabaody, "D, if anyone in the underworld dared to help me, I wouldn't have had to carry around prototype crates for so many years!"

Ka Mi Er holds up a sign that reads, "D, Witnesses of criminals cannot be tried by the perpetrators."

The Sky Screen curtain has been lowered.

[Answer: D]

[Civilian Witness Protection Established]

[The Throne may not remove Civilian Witness Seat in the name of assisting the aberrant.]

The Black Spear broke off at the forked pattern of Makino, and the Golden Light forced the spear back to Lin Qi's brow.

Lin Qi breathed a sigh of relief, "Good, at least you're safe."

Makino turned to look at him. "And you?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the main force of the Black Spear bypassed the Civilian Witness Seats and locked onto Lin Qi's name again.

Garling said, "Her safety doesn't mean you're safe."

Lin Qi looked at the thing still pressing against his face and couldn't help but mutter a curse under his breath.

Akainu looked up at the Sky Screen: "Now that the World Witness Seat has been established, the second question should address the projection of the Throne Weapon."

Long Dao: "Agreed. We must deprive Black Spear of its operational basis."

Vegapunk said urgently, "Be careful, the Black Spear is a Throne Weapon, not necessarily subject to ordinary scrutiny. We must start by investigating the violation of orders."

Shanks asked, "Lin Qi, is the Black Spear locking onto your body, your authority, or your memories?"

Lin Qi looked at the detection bar that popped up on the corner of the computer screen. "All three are locked. They also want to pack up my computer."

Nami said, "That's too greedy."

Lin Qi said, "It's a traditional skill of the World Government, since we're already here."

Robin said in a deep voice, "The question should include three points: the body cannot be erased, memories cannot be extracted, and equipment cannot be confiscated."

Akainu raised his hand. "The Navy Review Seat agrees."

Dragon: "The Revolutionary Army agrees."

Lumi: "The Victim Witness Seat agrees."

Makino: "The Civilian Witness Seat agree."

Shanks: "The Pirate Seats agree."

The second question appeared in front of the Black Spear.

[Second Question from the World Witness Seat]

[Question: Can the Throne Weapon bypass public scrutiny and be used to eliminate key witnesses, extract memories, and seize equipment?]

[A. Yes, the Throne Weapon is above the censorship threshold]

[B. Yes, but a record is required afterward.]

[C. Equipment may only be seized]

[D. No, all three constitute destruction of evidence and contamination of evidence]

Looking at the questions, Lin Qi couldn't help but say to Makino, "They're learning pretty fast."

Makino said, "You've corrupted the whole world."

Lin Qi thought about it seriously, "I can't refute that."

Once the voting began, Garling didn't wait any longer. He placed his palm on the crack in the Chief Adjudication Platform, and new Crown Patterns emerged on the outer layer of the Black Spear.

Vegapunk's expression changed. "It's trying to steal the decision time."

Kizaru narrowed his eyes. "Although I can't cross the East Blue, I can still reach this Chief Adjudication Platform."

As soon as he finished speaking, Kizaru's beam of light sliced towards the edge of the Chief Adjudication Platform, and Sabo rushed forward, smashing a flaming water pipe at Garling's sword-wielding hand.

Garling blocked with his sword, the Black Spear trembled in the Foosha Village Tavern, and the Golden Light in front of Lin Qi was torn open, causing a warning to pop up on the computer screen.

[Witness protection layer damaged]

Makino grabbed the tray from the counter and stood in front of Lin Qi.

Lin Qi pressed the tray down. "This can't stop the Throne Weapon."

Makino said, "That's still better than you covering your face with it."

Luffy paced anxiously at the exit of Sabaody, asking, "Can I even get through?"

Robin stopped him. "No, the Old Days Index will be captured by the Forced Arrival program."

Luffy gritted his teeth. "Then what can I do?"

Usopp suddenly raised his hand. "I can vote, I can get people to vote, I can guard the exit."

Nami chimed in, "And don't cause Robin any trouble."

Luffy hesitated for a moment, then finally roared at the Sky Screen, "Everyone, choose D!"

Votes continued to rise around the world after this call, and even many previously silent islands began to light up.

On the East Blue coast, the branch's naval artillery fire forced the last two speedboats to a halt. The major, while directing the capture of men, shouted towards the Sky Screen, "East Blue Branch, D!"

The handcuffed CP Agent captain suddenly looked up, his mouth sealed by Golden Light, yet he still managed to squeeze out muffled sounds from his throat.

Lin Qi looked down at him. "You want to choose A?"

The special agent captain stared at him, veins bulging on his forehead.

A notification popped up on the Sky Screen.

[Those Executor the Silencing Chain are not eligible to participate in the vote on this question.]

Lin Qi chuckled, "Sorry, you've been kicked out of the group chat."

The judgment fell.

[Answer: D]

[The Throne Weapon Projection's Implementation Was Illegal]

[Black Spear Removes Permission Stripping]

The main body of the Black Spear broke off at one level, and the spearhead left Lin Qi's brow, retreating into the crack in the Sky Screen.

Before the people in the Tavern could even breathe a sigh of relief, the Crown Pattern transformed from the broken point into a thin Black Line, which wrapped directly around the computer.

Vegapunk shouted, "It's given up killing and started seizing the control carriers!"

Lin Qi reached out to close the laptop, but the Black Line had already seeped into the gaps in the keyboard, and the third black question popped up on the screen.

[Request for Throne Takeover]

[Target: God's Live-Streaming Q&A System Question Terminal]

[Reason: The holder's identity is suspicious; the Terminal must be sealed by the World Government]

Makino looked at Lin Qi: "It's here again."

Lin Qi pressed down on the computer, his joking expression vanishing.

"This time it's going to steal the pen."