The Turning Point in the War Criminal List

In just a few minutes, emotions across the world had been on a roller coaster, from grief over Ohara to Akainu's punishment, then to the ecstasy of Ace receiving an undying flame. Everyone's heart was pounding.

But the sky screen gave no one time to rest.

The golden letters assembled into new words.

[The countdown of the Ten Great War Criminals continues]

[Fourth place will soon be revealed]

[Hint: This person was the chief mastermind behind the Paramount War. Without one move on his part, the war would never have happened]

In the tavern, Lin Qi tilted his head as he read the hint, chewing on a peanut.

"The chief mastermind? Isn't that Sengoku? But Sengoku was already ranked seventh."

He glanced at the name he had entered and chuckled.

"The one further behind the scenes than Sengoku is the person sitting up high, moving the pieces."

A name appeared on the sky screen.

[Ten Great War Criminals, fourth place]

[Commander-in-chief of the World Government's armed forces, a figure above Sengoku the Buddha—the "shadow" above the Fleet Admiral of Marine Headquarters]

[The executor of the Celestial Dragons' supreme authority, commander-in-chief of the World Government—Kong]

The air at Marine Headquarters froze instantly.

Not Akainu, not Kizaru, not Aokiji.

It was Kong.

The man above the Fleet Admiral, the liaison between the World Government and the Marines, a powerful minister in gray who rarely appeared in public.

Sengoku's eyes widened.

"Kong."

He murmured the name, his mind racing.

Kong, the World Government's commander-in-chief, had previously served as Fleet Admiral. After retiring, he had been promoted to the World Government's highest military officer, nominally the ultimate authority approving all Marine operations.

In other words, if Sengoku was the one who carried out the Paramount War, then Kong was the one who had nodded his approval and allowed it to happen.

A question appeared on the sky screen.

[Question: What role did Kong, commander-in-chief of the World Government, play in the Paramount War?]

[A. He approved the plan to use Ace's execution as bait to eliminate the Whitebeard Pirates]

[B. During the war, he issued secret orders restricting the actions of the "moderates" within the Marines]

[C. After the war spiraled out of control, he authorized the use of a Buster Call]

[D. All of the above, and after the war, he pushed for an operation to silence everyone who knew the truth]

As soon as the four options appeared, the atmosphere at Marine Headquarters grew extremely delicate.

Sengoku looked at option B, and his mouth twitched.

Restricting the moderates' freedom of action.

He recalled the period before the war. Aokiji and Kizaru had each expressed doubts about it through different channels, but every time, orders from higher up had suppressed them.

He had always thought those orders came from the Five Elders. Now it seemed Kong had been the one directly carrying them out.

"Old bastard."

Sengoku muttered the curse, unsure whether he meant Kong or himself.

Aokiji leaned against the corridor wall, his hands in his pockets. As he looked at the options on the sky screen, his mouth curled into a mocking smile.

"So that's how it was. No wonder the peace proposal I put forward was rejected before it even reached the discussion table."

"You proposed peace talks?"

Kizaru walked over to him, a rare trace of seriousness in his voice.

"I did, a month before the war began."

Aokiji looked up at the sky screen.

"I suggested contacting Whitebeard through secret channels and offering to release Ace in exchange for a promise that the Whitebeard Pirates would withdraw from part of their territory in the New World."

"The proposal was sent back a day after I submitted it. The reason was that it went against the path of justice."

Kizaru fell silent for a moment and adjusted his sunglasses.

"The path of justice."

He repeated the words slowly, but even the stones by the roadside could have heard the mockery in them.

The countdown to answer on the sky screen was still ticking, but this time, not many people were in a hurry to respond.

Everyone had realized one thing: the livestream was peeling back the layers, starting with the pieces on the outside and working its way up to the people moving them.

Teach was the most active variable on the board.

Koby was the faintest light on the battlefield.

Doflamingo was a microcosm of the Shichibukai.

Sengoku was the one who carried out the war.

Hancock was proof of the system's corruption.

Akainu was the embodiment of extreme justice.

And Kong was the hand that signed and sealed the orders behind all of them.

What lay further up?

Who were the top three?

People all over the world were asking the same question.

The Five Elders?

The Celestial Dragons?

Or an even higher power?

In the Holy Land Mary Geoise, five elders sat around a table in a room whose heavy curtains were always drawn.

The blond elder's fingers stopped tapping on the table.

"It has named Kong."

"Kong is one of ours."

The elder with the long sword tightened his grip on the First Generation Kitetsu.

"If it keeps investigating up the chain, we'll be next."

"No."

The blond elder shook his head.

"We won't necessarily be next."

"There could be others in the top three. One of the Four Emperors or someone from the Revolutionary Army is also possible."

"But in the end, it will get to us."

The bald elder spoke softly.

"The question is whether it will find Lord Imu."

At the mention of that name, all five fell silent.

The air in the room grew stiflingly heavy.

"It won't."

The blond elder's voice returned to its usual calm.

"Lord Imu's existence is the world's most closely guarded secret. The people who know that name can be counted on one hand. There's no way that livestream could know."

"But it knows about the National Treasure."

The elder with the long sword reminded him.

"Knowing about the National Treasure doesn't mean it knows about Lord Imu."

"What if it knows about both?"

The five exchanged glances, something unfathomable hidden in every pair of eyes.

The countdown on the sky screen reached zero.

[Correct answer: D]

There was no suspense.

The whole world had chosen D. At this level, everyone understood one thing: in the pyramid of power that ruled this world, the higher a person stood, the more blood stained their hands. They merely covered the stains with documents and seals.

The sky screen began playing the explanation.

A magnificent office appeared in the image. An elderly man in a gray military uniform sat behind an enormous desk, with a document bearing a wax seal in front of him.

The old man was Kong.

He opened the document, glanced over its contents, then picked up a pen and signed his name at the bottom.

The sky screen magnified the document's title.

[Final authorization order for the public execution of Fire Fist Ace and the operation to annihilate the Whitebeard Pirates]

One signature.

One line of text.

That was all it took to decide whether tens of thousands of people lived or died.

In the tavern, Lin Qi watched the scene, the smile gradually fading from his face.

"People like him are the worst."

He muttered to himself and tapped a few keys.

"He doesn't go to the battlefield himself or spill a drop of blood, but all those deaths begin at his desk."

"His punishment needs to be heavier."

The judgment began to appear on the sky screen.

[Subject of punishment: Kong, commander-in-chief of the World Government]

[Reason for punishment: Using his authority as the highest military officer, he approved a war of conspiracy waged in the name of justice and pushed for the truth to be covered up afterward]

[Punishment: The complete files of all "top-secret military operations" approved during his tenure will be forcibly disclosed, including but not limited to the final signatory of the Ohara massacre order and the records of seventeen undisclosed operations to secretly encircle and suppress the Revolutionary Army]

This punishment was just like Sengoku's: it did not weaken him personally, but it spread classified documents out before the entire world.

Revolutionary Army Headquarters, Baltigo.

When Dragon heard that the records of seventeen undisclosed secret operations against them were going to be released, he finally turned around.

"Sabo."

"Yes, sir."

"Call everyone from the staff department here. Have paper and pens ready."

Sabo looked at Dragon's expression, and barely contained excitement spread across his face.

"You mean...?"

"Those seventeen operation records contain every tactical template and intelligence network the World Government uses against us."

A sharp light flashed in Dragon's eyes.

"Once we have that information, we can completely rebuild our defenses. We may even be able to work backward and identify the spies the World Government has planted in different countries."

"This livestream is more useful than a thousand spies."

Sabo grinned.

"I'll go get everyone right away."

He turned and ran out, his steps so light it was as if he were flying.

Dragon watched him leave, then turned back to the sky screen.

His expression returned to its usual gravity, but the fingers curled into his fist were tighter than ever.

The judgment on the sky screen came to an end.

The golden words faded, replaced by a preview of the next round.

[The top three of the Ten Great War Criminals will soon be revealed]

[Hint: The countdown of the top three will enter deep waters, involving the World Government's core secrets]

[The entire world, please prepare yourselves]

Hearts raced all over the world.

The top three.

Core secrets.

In the tavern, Lin Qi stared at the system-generated preview and froze.

"Wait, I haven't entered the top three yet. System, how did you generate a preview automatically?"

He opened the system panel and found a new message.

[The question setter's emotional inclinations have been detected to closely match the expectations of the global audience. The system has automatically generated candidates for the top three. Question setter, please confirm or modify them]

Three candidate names were listed on the screen.

Lin Qi took one look and his eyes went wide.

"No way. System, you're even more ruthless than I am."

He stared at the three names on the screen for a full ten seconds, then slowly broke into a smile.

"All right, these three you recommended..."

"They really are more explosive than the three I had in mind."

He raised his beer can in a toast to the screen.

"Then it's settled."

He pressed the confirm button.

The preview on the sky screen remained for three seconds, then slowly began to change. A new line of text took shape.

[Ten Great War Criminals, third place]

The whole world waited.

The golden characters assembled stroke by stroke, finally settling into a name.

A name that caught everyone in the world completely off guard.

[Monkey D. Dragon]

The air was sucked out of Revolutionary Army Headquarters at that moment.

Sabo had just run back with pen and paper. His legs gave way, and he nearly fell to the floor.

Dragon himself stood where he was, a visible change appearing on his face for the first time.