Imu and the Five Elders!

Imu had heard plenty of One Piece fans in his previous life blame the Celestial Dragons for the world's darkness, believing that their excessive privileges and constant misdeeds were what made the World Government so evil and corrupt.

He half agreed and half disagreed.

The part he agreed with was that the Celestial Dragons were indeed inseparably connected to it. After all, Imu himself was a Celestial Dragon—the king of the Celestial Dragons, even their god.

The part he disagreed with was that he believed the greater reason lay in the World Government's fundamentally unreasonable and overly rigid system. It was basically the same as it had been eight hundred years ago, with no real progress or change.

This naturally had much to do with the previous Imu. Lacking political acumen and the ability to govern, he had only wanted to maintain the balance of the status quo. He believed that change bred chaos and that every problem could be crushed flat with absolute authority and military force.

Honestly, how many Celestial Dragons were there?

Even counting every last one, there were only five or six hundred of them. And they did not all roam around outside. Most preferred to stay in Mary Geoise, unless they grew restless and wanted to go out for a walk. Otherwise, they had no interest whatsoever in the filthy air of the mortal world.

Then there were the royal families and nobles of the various nations, who were also a major problem. Do not think there were many good royal families like those of Alabasta, Dressrosa, and Fish-Man Island. They were rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

When it came to evil, most royal families and nobles were not necessarily much more restrained than the Celestial Dragons. Their numbers and the scope of their impact far exceeded the latter's!

But regardless, placing the Celestial Dragons under house arrest was Imu's first change to the World Government.

Did they not cause trouble whenever they went out?

Then they simply would not go out. They could stay obediently in the Land of the Gods residential district. There was food and drink inside, plenty of space, gardens and rivers alike. It could hardly be called abuse.

As for stripping the Celestial Dragons of their privileges and status, that was something Imu would never do.

As the saying went, one's position determined one's thinking. A person had to understand their own stance and identity.

At the end of the day, his core authority still came from the Celestial Dragon group. More specifically, it came from the Five Elders throughout the generations.

Did that sound a little strange?

Clearly, Imu was the king of the Celestial Dragons. He had even granted the Celestial Dragons their original status, and the existence of the Five Elders had been designated by him. It should have been said that their power came from him.

But on closer thought, Imu had remained secluded in the Moon Chamber at the deepest part of Pangaea Castle for the past several centuries. Only the Five Elders of each generation had the right to contact him, and he controlled the World Government indirectly through them. The other Celestial Dragons and the people of the outside world simply did not know he existed.

So conversely, it was not wrong to say that his current authority came from the Five Elders.

Even if he chose to step into the spotlight and reveal his identity, the World Government's member nations would most likely not acknowledge him. They might even launch widespread resistance.

At that point, he would have to consider using his own strength and the National Treasure in his hands to suppress them bloodily.

But that would be too troublesome. There was no need for it, truly no need—at least not at this stage.

All in all, he, the Five Elders, and the entire Celestial Dragon group were essentially one body. Therefore, the Celestial Dragons had to continue existing, and their privileges and status had to remain. That was nonnegotiable.

But that did not mean their range of activity could not be restricted, or that their thinking could not gradually be reshaped in the future, with a small number of elites cultivated.

For the time being, Imu only demanded that they not create trouble for him!

Eh?

Thinking of elite Celestial Dragons, Imu, seated by the window and looking out at the vast galaxy and gray-white craters, recalled the two brats from the Donquixote Family who were outside.

"Doflamingo and Rosinante."

He considered how to arrange and make use of those two, especially Doflamingo. If used well, that fellow really could help him with quite a few things.

The reason that brat wanted to destroy the Celestial Dragons was because his father's foolishness had led to his mother's death.

Then, when he tried to return to the Celestial Dragon group carrying his father's head, he had been collectively rejected and mocked by the Celestial Dragons. That was why he had developed an extreme hatred for them from childhood.

But from another perspective, did that not also prove how desperately Doflamingo wanted to return to the Celestial Dragons?

"I can give it a try. Scholars in my previous life guessed that this brat was an agent working for me. That means it is entirely possible to win him over."

It was just that, for the moment, Imu truly could not think of what he needed Doflamingo to do. And after winning him over, then what?

He needed to think that through carefully.

Over the next few days, the Celestial Dragons outside gradually returned to Mary Geoise. This did not attract much attention, since there was nothing unusual about it.

As for how angry these Celestial Dragons became after being forcibly recalled, how they questioned the order, or how they caused a scene after being informed that they were forbidden from leaving the Land of the Gods without permission, none of that concerned Imu.

Faced with a group of Celestial Dragons who had been spoiled useless, the Five Elders, who held great power, had no difficulty handling them.

And when the furious Celestial Dragons heard the words, "Violators will be stripped of their World Noble status," they could only quiet down helplessly. No matter how useless or foolish they were, they did not dare gamble with their Celestial Dragon identities.

The upper ranks at Marine Headquarters had little interest in the movements of the Celestial Dragons either. Unless they were harmed, the Marines generally let them do as they pleased.

After Sengoku and Garp received Fleet Admiral Kong's notice, the two arrived together at the Fleet Admiral's office. They found two intelligence reports already placed on the coffee table and noticed that the fleet admiral did not look very happy.

"Take a look."

"Yes, please wait a moment."

Sengoku sat down and picked up a report. Across from him, Garp casually crossed one leg over the other and began reading. But as they continued, both men frowned.

"This Bullet has some nerve!"

After finishing the report, Sengoku said angrily, slapping it back onto the coffee table. He then turned to Fleet Admiral Kong. "Fleet Admiral, we cannot let him continue running wild. I suggest we arrest him immediately. I can depart at once!"

On the other side, Garp clicked his tongue in amazement as he read the report. What a guy. In just over a month, Bullet had attacked dozens of ships. There were pirates among them, but also Marine warships, passenger liners and cargo ships from various nations, even ships carrying royal families. Without exception, everyone aboard had been slaughtered.

In other words, the brat was basically destroying everything he saw on the Grand Line. That included several inhabited islands. He had completely gone on a killing spree!

He had turned the sea upside down. Everywhere he went, blood flowed like rivers and corpses littered the ground.

There was just one regrettable thing—how had no Celestial Dragon been unlucky enough to run into him?

"Mm, he has made quite a mess. It is time to rein him in." Fleet Admiral Kong agreed completely. "The Five Elders just called about this matter."

"What instructions did the Five Elders give?" Sengoku asked in confusion.

"Yes. They want Garp to go over, defeat Bullet one-on-one, and bring him back under arrest!"

Hearing that, Sengoku found it even stranger. Fleet Admiral Kong gave a wry smile. "Do not ask me. I do not know why either. The Five Elders did not explain."

"Hahahaha! What is there to it? I'll go myself. I heard that this brat even fought Rayleigh to a draw. Interesting, very interesting!" Garp burst into laughter, laughing so hard tears came out. Still laughing, he stood and headed out of the room.

Today was the day to get signed!