Secrets and Rules!

Inside the treehouse Moon Chamber, Imu looked at the latest report from the Five Elders. Taking the helm of the World Government himself was no easy task.

Although he wasn't involved in those tedious little things, he was managing an entire planet—no, two planets—so the amount of information he needed to know was increasing.

But no one can be blamed for this; he can only blame himself for getting into too much trouble this past year.

According to custom.

Imu first picked up the report about the Kabane World.

"The Shogunate has been basically taken over. It seems the subordinates have done a good job. The next step is to take over the entire Hinomoto."

In his view, the world is currently in the investment phase of the World Government in the Kabane World, including investments in human resources, physical resources, and financial resources.

Only when they have complete control of Hinomoto and lead the local people to cultivate crops and exploit various natural resources can they be considered to have entered the harvest stage.

"Um?"

"Kabane Resource Regeneration Plan?"

Opening the document, whose very title was chilling, Imu began to read it expressionlessly, his gaze gradually growing serious.

"What a ruthless Five Elders!"

Look at what's written here. They want to try building a mechanized, semi-automated factory in the Kabane World that integrates functions such as 'farming', 'gathering', 'processing', and 'transportation'.

If this attempt proves successful, more Kabane factories will be built, concentrating the Kabane in these factories and facilitating the extraction of natural resources by other sectors.

It also states that the existing Kabane will inevitably decrease over time, so a method must be developed to 'maintain' the quantity.

To be honest.

As a promising young person who had only been in this world for two years, I read the entire document with a furrowed brow after seeing such a dark and inhumane plan.

He really hadn't thought about the so-called 'renewable resources' issue.

Previously, they just thought that the Kabane were already monsters, so there was nothing wrong with using their Heart Membrane. But now the Five Elders are planning to turn people into Kabane when the Kabane are almost used up!

"Does this mean I need to sign?"

Imu was immediately caught in a dilemma. He knew that once he signed the agreement, countless people would be forced into the factory and turned into Kabane.

Even he had to admit that the Kabane Heart Membrane was indeed a biological material with the word 'black' in its name, and crucially, it could indeed be 'mass-produced'.

[Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock.]

The antique clock face hanging on the wall kept spinning; ten minutes passed, half an hour passed, an hour passed, two hours passed.

Imu hesitated for nearly three hours before finally raising his hand and picking up the pen.

"The conquest of all realms is a matter of fate for the entire Sea Star World. If we don't do everything we can to become stronger, one day we will be conquered by a stronger world."

While reassuring himself, he made a firm stand and quickly signed the word "agree" on the document. After signing, Imu pushed it aside without even glancing at it and picked up the next report.

The rest of the content is normal.

"Convene a government meeting and publicly announce the Star Gate internally—that's no problem!"

Is there still no progress in Amber Lead Syndrome?

"Yes, the Academy of Sciences has figured out the best solution for embedding Seastone in the hull of a ship, and the first knife to 'eat' Zoan Devil Fruit has also appeared!"

Seeing this, Imu knew that the Munch-Munch Fruit he gave Vegapunk had worked, and he figured that Shape Memory Alloy with its own Lineage Factor would be coming out soon too.

"Kaido agreed? That went more smoothly than I expected. But can this guy really beat Kozuki Oden?"

Imu wasn't very confident about this.

According to my memory, Kaido was defeated by Kozuki Oden. In the end, he only managed to succeed by having Kurozumi Higurashi transform into Momonosuke to distract the latter, allowing him to launch a sneak attack from behind.

Kaido in twenty years or so will definitely be fine, but the current Kaido is still too inexperienced.

[Poluporu, Polluporu]

The Den Den Mushi) rang.

"Um?"

"Saint Nerona, your Noah has been Admiral Garp, and relevant departments are being arranged to deal with it."

On the other end of the line was Stussy.

"Okay, you can come back now."

"OK!"

Imu then called Topman Saint Topman Warcury and ordered, "Have the 'Giant God Soldier' stand by in the plaza; I want to see them."

"Yes, sir!"

After putting the microphone back, Imu lowered his head and continued reading the documents and reports.

Two hours later, in the Social Plaza of Pangaea Castle, the grass was still as green as ever, and the tennis court called 'Sanctuary' stood there quietly.

Suddenly.

A series of heavy footsteps sounded, and the grass on the ground trembled slightly. A moment later, three Titans, each nearly twenty meters tall Earth Flow over, one in front and two behind.

The person walking at the very front was wearing an oversized Coat of Justice.

"Brother Saul, why are you still wearing this uniform? Didn't you say you're no longer in the Navy?" Oimo, walking on the left, asked with a smile.

"Because I want to ask that lord some questions, carrying the weight of justice on my shoulders." Saul, with his mane-like orange-red fur, grinned, revealing his teeth.

He was 19.5 meters tall, a head taller than Oimo 16 meters) and Kashi (17 meters).

In terms of strength, he is also the strongest among the Navy's Giant Vice Admiral.

Therefore, even though the three had only met briefly, the two Titans from the former Giant Warrior Pirates called him "Big Brother."

"Hey, what's this?"

Kashi looked at the 'Sanctuary Tennis Court' with curiosity; to him, it was just a blue square painted on the lawn.

"The map above looks like it depicts the major islands of the Grand Line. Look, our Elbaf is on it too!" Oimo pointed to the area representing the 'second half of the Grand Line's and laughed.

Saul, standing to the side, watched it in silence. He knew what it was, and therefore understood even more clearly what it represented.

"Are these the Celestial Dragons?"

[Tap, tap, tap, tap]

Suddenly, the three heard crisp footsteps. They were all excellent soldiers, so their reactions were naturally quick. Their three pairs of large, bronze-bell-like eyes turned to look at the sound.

The newcomers were a man and a woman, a man dressed in white and a blonde woman in a black dress following behind, slowly emerging from inside the castle.

[Boom!!]

When the Titans' gazes met the man's eyes, they felt as if a massive explosion had occurred in their minds, and a powerful sense of fear surged from the depths of their hearts.

Saul performed relatively well; although he was trembling, he remained standing in place, while Kashi and Oimo behind him retreated repeatedly, finally collapsing onto the grass with two loud thuds.

"So these are the Giants? They're huge!"

Imu stood with his hands behind his back, ignoring their disheveled appearance, and instead looked at their enormous size with great interest.

This was the first time he had ever seen this amazing race with his own eyes.

"I heard you have something you want to say to me?"

Imu suppressed the oppressive aura in his eyes, looking aloofly at Saul, who quickly relaxed. Behind him Stussy quietly awaited orders.

"Phew--Yes!"

Saul swallowed hard. He didn't know why this Celestial Dragons, whom he was supposed to 'protect,' had such a terrifying aura, but his obsession made him choose to ignore it.

"As a member of the World Noble, could you please tell me why the World Government is arresting those innocent scholars?"

"They're just a group of unarmed scholars, why must we kill them?"

"The people I've arrested so far, in my opinion, are really just looking to understand the past. If their research is really that dangerous, then wouldn't the government just help them?"

"I would like to ask you, could you provide me with evidence that they are evil people?"

These questions, amplified by his Giants voice, truly gave the impression of being powerful and resounding throughout the Holy Land.

This even attracted Gion and Mihawk, who were practicing swordsmanship nearby.

This made Stussy's gaze turn dangerous as he angrily said, "Watch your attitude! How dare you be so rude in front of Saint Nerona?"

However, Imu waved his hand to signal her to be quiet, because Saul was someone he had specifically summoned in order to change the other's fate.

He was a Giant Vice Admiral, after all. It would be such a waste to squander his talent, especially on those scholars in Ohara.

What is history?

Imu looked calmly at the kind-hearted Giant Vice Admiral, but the latter was clearly hesitant to meet his gaze, though this was of little consequence.

"History is what happened in the past, and the history that is forbidden to be studied is what we do not want, cannot, or are unwilling to let outsiders know about."

"If we consider the World Government as a single entity, then these are secrets it doesn't want others to know, and it has been clearly stated that it refuses to be discovered."

Saul was stunned after hearing this; he hadn't expected such an answer. Then, the Saint Nerona asked him a question in return.

Do you have any secrets you don't want others to know?

"If so, how would you feel if someone still tried every means to find out your secrets even after you've clearly told them you don't want them to know?"

"This..." Saul was speechless when asked.

"That's from a human perspective. But from a legal perspective, studying the Poneglyph is something the World Government explicitly prohibits. So, wouldn't they be breaking the law?"

"But."

"As far as I know, the World Government has given the scholars of Ohara three clear warnings, prohibiting them from continuing to explore and study the Poneglyph, but they are still doing it. Wouldn't that be considered breaking the law knowingly?"

Imu asked about the past again.

"Calculate"

Saul shook his head with a bitter expression in his reply.

"You are Giants from the Elbaf Kingdom, so does the Elbaf Kingdom have its own laws?"

"Have"

Saul nodded with difficulty, and Kashi and Oimo behind him nodded repeatedly. Then Imu asked again:

"In the Elbaf Kingdom, if someone knowingly breaks the law, will they be punished and sanctioned?"

"Yes! Yes! Disobeying the king will get you dragged to the dueling arena and chopped off!"

Seeing that Saul remained silent, Oimo answered the question loudly, then added, "But where I'm from, we call these rules."

"Now that's the case, Saul, do you understand why we arrested those scholars?"

Imu asked.

"Know."

Saul was speechless and could only look up at the sky with deep emotion.

After listening to the Celestial Dragons's questions, one by one.

He suddenly felt that the scholars of Ohara were courting death.

Because he simply couldn't understand what the problem was with those words.

It all sounded perfectly reasonable, and he couldn't think of any way to refute it.

"Yes, even people have their own secrets, let alone a huge World Government."