"Brubrubru, brubrubru".
The crisp sound of the bell echoed, making everyone, whose palms were sweating, sigh and wonder why time seemed to drag on so slowly.
"Hello!" The short, powerful voice came from the Den Den Mushi, seemingly the kind of charisma one cultivates only through years of holding a high position.
"Tsk tsk, as expected of the Five Elders, they can make me wait this long just to answer a Den Den Mushi." Roy's expression on the Den Den Mushi in front of the Five Elders was extremely impatient.
"Watch your words, Pirate Roy." A different voice came from before, clearly another of the Five Elders speaking.
"I'm not one of your subordinates. Leave your usual tactics to the Navy." Although Roy was tight-lipped about the World Government, it didn't mean he would be timid in his communication.
After all, the Five Elders are essentially politicians who focus on gains and losses and will not change their stance based on whether Roy is respectful or rude.
Of course, this is because Roy has the strength and confidence to do so. Otherwise, if an ordinary pirate dared to speak to the Five Elders in such a tone, being dealt with on the spot would be the only outcome.
"Hmph, truly an arrogant pirate who doesn't know his own limitations. Fine, let's talk about your desire to become Shichibukai." This time, the voice was even more peaceful, with a peacemaker's tone.
"Crocodile the Sand has been defeated. A defeated Shichibukai cannot deter other pirates on the sea. Since there will be a vacancy anyway, I might as well take on that title."
The Five Elders were not surprised by Crocodile the Sand's defeat, after all, even Garp had suffered a setback at Roy's hands.
"Ignorant. The Shichibukai are an important force for balancing the balance of power on the seas, not a bargaining chip. If the position of the Shichibukai can be obtained by threatening the World Government, then this system has lost its original purpose."
"Don't be so sure. I remember that Doflamingo's position as one of the Shichibukai was obtained by threatening you, wasn't it?" Roy casually tossed the Den Den Mushi in his hand, his frivolous and arrogant expression clearly displayed to the Five Elders through the Den Den Mushi.
There was a moment of deathly silence on the other end of the Den Den Mushi. After two or three seconds, a cold, eerie voice came through. "You even know about such secret things. It seems you have your own information channels."
"Now that you know how Doflamingo became Shichibukai, you should know even more about how many ambitious people like you were bred from this wrong beginning, and what terrible consequences it caused. We will absolutely not allow a second rift to appear."
Although the Five Elders spoke with absolute certainty, Roy remained unconcerned, saying, "There is never a deal that cannot be made in the world. If there is, it is simply because the bargaining chips are not enough."
"The bargaining chip you're talking about isn't those two Marine Vice Admiral, is it? Hmph, compared to the threat you pose, their sacrifice is nothing. The situation with the Four Emperors is already chaotic enough; we will not allow a fifth Emperor to appear."
If these words were to spread across the seas, they would undoubtedly cause a huge uproar. After all, the person who uttered these words was one of the Five Elders, the world's most powerful figures. Even they acknowledged Roy's potential, demonstrating that Roy's series of deeds had indeed greatly shocked them.
Crocodile remained silent, but he was also deeply shaken, never expecting the Five Elders to have such a high opinion of Roy.
"Tsk tsk, I am truly flattered by the Five Elders' high regard for me!" Of course, there was no hint of surprise in Roy's words. "I am not so naive as to think that you high and mighty leaders would care about the lives of a few Marines. Those two Vice Admiral were just an excuse to persuade the Marines."
"Hmph!" The Five Elders with white curly hair snorted coldly, slightly annoyed. He wasn't bothered by Roy's sarcasm, but rather by Roy's comparison of the World Government and the Marine Headquarters.
"The bargaining chip I'm offering is the Nefertari Royal Family's records about Ancient Weapon."
There was silence again on the other end of the Den Den Mushi for a while. The Five Elders all frowned, feeling for the first time that things seemed to be getting out of their control.
"The Poneglyph of Alabasta? I didn't expect you to have already started dealing with the Ancient Weapon. This ambition makes us even more uneasy." The voice that came out this time was clearly filled with killing intent. Obviously, the existence of the Ancient Weapon had crossed their bottom line.
"If you think you can use this as a bargaining chip, you are sorely mistaken. As long as you are wiped out, the Poneglyph will eventually fall into the hands of the World Government, and the outcome will not change."
The Five Elders were unfazed, as the Poneglyph were inscribed on indestructible Poneglyph. The World Government had tried countless methods to destroy the Poneglyph over the past eight hundred years, but all had failed, leaving them with only the option of prohibiting Poneglyph on them.
From this perspective, the Kozuki Family, who are able to inscribe Poneglyph on Poneglyph, must possess unimaginable profound knowledge or cutting-edge technology from the Great Kingdom.
"Actually, the Four Emperors are not scary to you. Even if more Five Emperors or Six Emperors appear, they will only cause you some trouble at most." Faced with the Five Elders' question, Roy changed the subject. "Because the power of the Four Emperors comes from themselves. A Four Emperors Pirate Crew without the Four Emperors is just a slightly larger Shichibukai."
"Even someone as powerful as Whitebeard cannot escape the constraints of time. Therefore, the World Government's policy towards the Four Emperors is often one of laissez-faire. After all, the World Government has controlled the world for eight hundred years, and time is the last thing it lacks."
"As long as we keep dragging this out without any regard for anything else, the ultimate winner will only be the World Government. So, if you say you're afraid of my rise, I absolutely don't believe it." Roy said slowly and deliberately, seemingly unconcerned about the killing intent coming from the Den Den Den Mushi.
"What exactly do you mean?" The Five Elders sensed something was wrong and were extremely wary of Roy. How could a pirate have such insight? It was as if he had completely stripped them bare and exposed them to the world.
Not to mention them, even the cadres who thought they knew Roy well were dumbfounded. It was the first time they had ever seen Roy speak so eloquently like a politician, and he even left the Five Elders speechless.
If their feelings for Roy were simply one of respect, then Robin and Crocodile's feelings for Roy were more of a mixture of apprehension and a subtle fear.
Because of their special status, they usually pay close attention to the World Government," but they could never have such a high-level perspective.
The Four Emperors, who inspire fear and dread in countless people, were described by Roy as nothing more than a minor nuisance. While they found this amusing, they couldn't help but agree with what Roy said.