The Five Elders' Scrutiny, Azure Austin vs. the Three Admirals

Whether to promote Austin to Admiral had, in fact, left the World Government wavering for quite some time.

His identity was far too unusual, his talent too exceptional, and his backing too formidable.

They not only had to guard against those black cubes of unknown quantity, but also worry that another peerless monster carrying Black Spear and glowing red eyes might emerge someday.

More specifically, the Five Elders themselves had some disagreements over how to handle this matter.

Some believed that Austin, as one of the sea's clearly identifiable top-tier combat forces, was someone they absolutely had to win over. For that, they could even overlook Kong Ao's previous killing of Celestial Dragons.

But the other side believed Austin was too dangerous. Since they had already missed the best opportunity to eliminate him, they should simply keep him stable. Letting him remain a Vice Admiral until retirement, just like Garp, would be fine.

And honestly,

Kong Ao posed a top-tier threat to the World Government because his Observation Haki, paired with spatial abilities, could completely blockade the World Government on a physical level. Anyone weaker than him would undoubtedly die.

The World Government did not want its ruling structure to be reduced to only Imu, the Five Elders, and the Knights of God because of a single Kong Ao.

So they had no choice but to let Old Gick return home and raise Austin.

Yet what pleasantly surprised the World Government was that Austin had not, as he had at God Valley, eaten the Warp Fruit that symbolized invincibility.

So the question was...

Was that invincible Austin still this Austin?

Should the World Government still raise Austin's strategic priority to Kong Ao's level?

That was a question well worth exploring.

Thus, Saint Saturn proposed a strict condition.

Austin would have