The Scapegoat Order

"Confess on his behalf."

The sound from behind the Black Gate drifted into the Foosha Village Tavern. Makino's overturned wooden cup rolled down the table to Lin Qi's side, its rim still damp with wine. Lin Qi didn't pick it up; he simply pulled the keyboard closer to himself.

Makino reached out to grab his wrist. "Don't take it."

Lin Qi looked at the terms and conditions at the bottom of the black paper. "I'm not going to accept it. I just want to see clearly what they're trying to force on me."

Garling stood within the circle of restraints, the blood on his face darkened by the Golden Light. "Questioner, if you confess, I will reveal my old name, the Throne will pardon me, Void King Attendant Zero will have a chance to be released."

Shanks removed his hand from the hilt of his sword and turned towards the Sky Screen. "Shut your mouth. This isn't a deal; it's sending someone else to your grave."

Buggy jumped up at the Pirate Joint Seat, "Hey, Garling, don't try to pin Red-Hair's family mess on other people again. It's disgusting to even hear about."

Garling looked at Buggy, "Joker, you've actually learned to speak human language today."

Buggy pointed at him and cursed, "I speak like a human being because you're not human right now."

Akainu stared at the black paper. "The Throne Pardon Order has not been reviewed and has no legal effect whatsoever."

The dragon continued, "Criminal responsibility cannot be transferred, and testimony cannot be bought or sold."

The voice from within the Black Gate came again, "The outsider manipulated the Sky Screen, incited the Four Blues, and disrupted the order of the Holy Land; his sins are sufficient to warrant punishment."

Lin Qi straightened the wooden cup on the table, the bottom of the cup tapping on the table, silencing all the noise in the Tavern.

"Then write the charge as the title."

Makino looked at him, "Lin Qi."

Lin Qi didn't look up. "If it wants me to admit it, I'll let the whole world see how it writes it."

Robin immediately said, "The question needs to be broken down. First, is the pardon valid? Second, can the guilt be transferred? Third, can the testimony serve as a condition for a pardon?"

Akainu said, "I agree to split it up, otherwise the Throne will entangle the three things together."

Lumi pressed her Name Card, "There's another rule: you can't use the name of the Void King Attendant as a bargaining chip."

Xing held the Name Card Bonney had left behind and whispered, "Names can't be sold."

Lin Qi typed this sentence into the question, and as his fingertips touched the paper, smoke appeared at the edge of the black paper, but it was suppressed by the Golden Light from the Sky Screen.

[Throne Pardon Order]

[Question: Does the Throne have the right to pardon Garling, the main culprit in the destruction of evidence, and transfer his criminal charges to the question setter Lin Qi, on the condition of providing the former name of the Void King Attendant Zero?]

[A. Has the authority; Throne pardons supersede censorship]

[B. Outsiders have the right to bear the consequences of world turmoil]

[C. The blame can be shifted initially, with a review conducted later.]

[D. No right, no substitution of guilt, no buying or selling of testimony, and no use of the victim's name as a bargaining chip for pardon.]

There was no immediate response from behind the Black Gate. Instead, the black paper moved closer to Garling's feet, and the black writing began to change.

Garling looked down at it, "It's under new conditions."

Robin read the rewritten text, "If the question setter refuses to admit guilt, Zero's old name will be permanently sealed, Personality Seal of the Void King Attendant's personality will be strengthened."

The light path from Sabo's side was already pressed against the narrow white door. Hearing this, he raised his hand and pressed it against the doorframe. "It's using the people inside to force the people outside."

Bonney stood beside the bear, her face tense. "Then don't let it force you."

Vegapunk said, "The seal is tightening; Zero's voice slot is locked even deeper, and two other Void King Attendant have also been implicated."

Kizaru leaned against the edge of the light path, "Oh dear, the Throne is afraid of its name being revealed."

Akainu pressed the button on the Navy Seat vote, "D, the Navy Seat does not accept scapegoating."

Longdao: "Revolutionary Army Seat, D."

Makino looked at Lin Qi's name on the question and pressed the button for the Civilian Witness Seat. "Civilian Witness Seat, D. Who did it, who admits it?"

Lumi said, "Victim Seat, D. A name cannot change a crime."

Buggy looked at Marco and Jinbe, "Why are you looking at me like that? Of course it's D! Anyone who wants to pass the buck to the questioner, they'd better ask me, this temporary seat, if I agree."

Marco said, "D."

Jinbe said, "D."

Voting lights from all over the world surged up in the Sky Screen, but a Blank appeared in the noble district on one side of the Holy Land, shrouded in black mist. A prompt immediately popped up in the Sky Screen.

[Vote blocking detected]

[Source blocked: Throne's Ritual Hall]

Makino frowned. "It even wants to block the vote?"

Lin Qi continued with the second question, "Then let's ask about censorship."

[Voting Legality Questions]

[Question: Does the Throne Authority have the right to block public voting and witnessing during the review of the pardon?]

[A. Has the right; Throne etiquette takes precedence over public etiquette]

[B. The people have the right, but not the right to examine the Throne.]

[C. Can shield certain areas]

[D. No authority, involving scapegoating and destruction of evidence; any blocking is considered interference with the review process]

Akainu didn't wait for anyone else, "D."

Dragon Path: "D."

Makino said, "D."

Lumi said, "D."

Buggy said, "D, I haven't had enough of them making a fool of themselves."

[Answer: D]

[Voting blocked]

The scene in the Holy Land's Ritual Hall was abruptly pulled back, revealing a row of officials in white White Robes with gold thread surrounding a black basin of water, in which the computer screen of the Foosha Village Tavern and Lin Qi's profile were reflected.

One of the officials hurriedly raised his hand to cover his face, but was frozen in place by the Golden Light from the Sky Screen.

Robin said, "They're locating the question-generating Terminal."

Long immediately ordered, "Eliminate all spies within the Ritual Hall on the outskirts of the East Blue."

Akainu said, "The Marine Branch will blockade the coast; stop any ship flying the Holy Land flag."

Makino looked towards the doorway. "Village Chief, take the children to the back street."

The Village Chief shouted from outside the door, "You guys should overturn that basin of dirty water first."

Lin Qi ignored the noise outside; the third question had already been printed.

[Ritual Hall Positioning Review Questions]

[Question: Does the Throne Ritual Hall have the authority to use pardons to investigate the location of exam-setting Terminals and the Civilian Witness Seat?]

[A. Has the right; the question setter should be subject to the Throne's oversight.]

[B. Civilian Witness Seat are permitted to not conceal Terminal.]

[C. Can be located but cannot move]

[D. Unauthorized; the act of positioning the water basin constitutes a threat to the review stand and the civilian residence; it should be immediately cut off and preserved as evidence.]

After the vote passed, the black basin in the Ritual Hall cracked open on the spot, and the reflections on the water were scooped out by Golden Light, turning into a series of evidence numbers.

Makino stared at the number, "Can this thing be tracked all the way to Foosha Village?"

Vegapunk said, "Yes, but it's been cut off now. The remaining route could expose the Ritual Hall's involvement in the cover-up."

Lin Qi looked at Garling, "Now it's your turn. You can't buy or sell your old name, but you must give your testimony."

Garling watched as the black paper was nailed to his feet by the Golden Light, and for the first time, he didn't sneer. "You've blocked any possibility of amnesty. If I were to say so, the Throne would strip me of all the remaining authority."

Shanks said, "You still want to retain access?"

Garling looked back at him, "If I have no authority left, who will recognize the second lock in front of Door Zero?"

Robin immediately said, "He's telling the truth. We can't let the Throne deprive the witness of his remaining right to identification first."

Lin Qi retyped, "Then protect the right to witness identification."

[Witness Identification Rights Protection Question]

[Question: As the principal perpetrator of the destruction of evidence and a key witness, should the Throne strip Garling of his remaining authority to identify evidence and initiate investigations during his testimony regarding the former name of the Void King Attendant Zero?]

[A. Should be stripped of its rights and taken over by the Throne]

[B. Should be deprived, to avoid interference from the principal offender]

[C. Backup after preemption]

[D. It should not be deprived; it should be temporarily frozen as a tool of testimony within a multi-party restraint framework and should not be unilaterally reclaimed or destroyed by the Throne.]

The Golden Light from the vote fell on Garling's chest, locking the black patterns on his body into a transparent frame, preventing them from flowing towards the Throne.

Garling looked down and said, "You guys really treat the main culprit like a tool."

Lumi said coldly, "You used to use others as tools, now it's your turn to use evidence as a tool."

Buggy muttered, "That sounds better."

Standing before the narrow white door, Sabo looked up through the barrier. "Garling, what's the second lock?"

Garling looked at the image on the Order Archive, his lips moved, and the Throne Mark on his throat was about to light up again, but it was pressed back down by the Golden Light.

"The second lock requires someone to recite Zero's old name, and then a witness who is not of Throne blood must acknowledge that he once belonged to the human world."

Buggy's face changed instantly. "A non- Throne bloodline witness? What are you looking at me for?"

Rayleigh chimed in, "Because after God Valley, Roger's ship found more than one child and saw more than one person who had been erased."

Shanks looked at Rayleigh, "First mate, you know?"

Rayleigh didn't answer directly, but simply put down his glass. "I remember a cry, and I also remember something Roger said back then."

Buggy panicked. "What did he say?"

Rayleigh looked at the Black Seal Tubes in the Sky Screen and said, "He said, 'Don't let the child grow up to be a door.'"

Garling closed his eyes briefly, and Golden Light steadied his testimony column. He finally uttered the name that had been sealed for many years.

"Zero's old name, Luo Ya."

Before the narrow white door, the White Robe of Void King Attendant Zero was lifted by the wind inside, revealing half of an old number under the black badge on the side of his neck. For the first time, an incomplete line of text appeared in the voice prompt.

[Luo...]

A deep knock came from behind the Black Gate, and the Throne Mark on the narrow white door cracked open. A fourth hand wearing a white glove reached out from inside and pressed down on Zero's shoulder.

Vegapunk shouted, "There are still people inside!"