What a Real Great Treasure Is!

At Mary Geoise, in the Room of Authority within Pangaea Castle, the Five Elders had gathered together as usual. Each of them held a thick stack of documents.

"I never thought I would live to receive an original manuscript personally written by Lord Imu. This is enough to be called a priceless heirloom!"

As usual, Saint Topman Warcury, who sat in the central seat due to his responsibility over the State Council, looked excitedly at the exquisitely beautiful writing on the document. Even its commas and periods appeared utterly perfect in his eyes.

The other four Five Elders were breathing somewhat heavily, their eyes filled with complex emotions such as envy and jealousy.

But in the end, they could only helplessly look at the documents in their own hands. Though the handwriting was identical, these were copies. While they still considered them immensely valuable and worthy of careful preservation, they nonetheless fell short of the handwritten originals.

This was the first time in centuries that Lord Imu had informed them of their upcoming tasks through documents.

From that alone, their generation of Five Elders was truly fortunate.

Still, seeing the thickness of the documents, they could understand Lord Imu's reasoning. After all, if they discussed so much content in the Empty Throne Hall, even kneeling there for an entire night probably would not be enough.

"By the way, Dragon's fleet has already arrived in the South Blue. According to intelligence sent back by CP2, he has done quite well. Especially when it comes to using his brain—he's nothing like that bastard Garp's son!"

Saint Shepherd Ju Peter changed the subject. He was in a foul mood at the moment, so he wanted to discuss something else first before seriously going over the documents in their hands. Thus, he briefly recounted the information he had learned, while the others listened attentively.

"Dragon's plan does carry a bit of Sengoku's style. He considered all the issues in the South Blue and ensured he would not alert the Slave King or give him time to prepare in advance."

Saint Marcus Mars chuckled.

"Indeed. If it were Sakazuki, Borsalino, or Kuzan, they might not have considered things so thoroughly," Saint Jaygarcia Saturn agreed.

At this moment, Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro, who held Shodai Kitetsu, revealed a hesitant expression.

"If this mission is completed smoothly, Dragon can be promoted to Vice Admiral. But I have been wondering—what happens afterward?"

As the highest-ranking official in charge of the World Government's entire military, with the so-called commander-in-chief merely handling the complicated practical work on his behalf, he was naturally more sensitive about such matters.

"You mean the Admiral position. That is indeed a major problem!"

Saint Topman Warcury turned serious as well. Navy Admirals represented the World Government's highest combat power, so the matter could not be taken lightly.

Since the founding of the World Government, the Navy had been limited to a maximum of three Admirals. Now that Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan had been designated Admiral candidates, what would happen to Dragon in the future?

Dragon's talent, strength, and Devil Fruit ability were all enough to stand alongside those three. Furthermore, he was the son of the Marine Hero Garp, and his pedigree was even more impeccable.

By all rights, Dragon was fully qualified to become a Navy Admiral. But there were not enough positions. They could not simply give him the title of Admiral candidate and have him sit on the bench for decades, could they?

After all, Dragon had no advantage in age either. He was thirty-four this year, while Sakazuki was thirty-one, Borsalino was thirty-four, and Kuzan was only twenty-five. If nothing unexpected happened in the future, would he not have to keep waiting?

Unless Dragon, like his father, was willing to remain a Vice Admiral for the rest of his life. But would that not be too much of a waste?

Garp's repeated refusal to be promoted to Admiral had already greatly annoyed the Five Elders.

Of course, the two situations were different. Garp had refused when there was a shortage of Admirals, whereas Dragon had no place because there were too many Admiral candidates.

"Forget it. Promote him to Vice Admiral first. We can talk about the future later," Saint Topman Warcury said helplessly. Beside him, Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro could only nod.

"Once Dragon deals with that Slave King, this year's Reverie will already be halfway advanced," Saint Jaygarcia Saturn said, changing the subject again.

When it came to the Admiral positions, they truly had no authority to decide, nor did they dare alter them without permission. After all, these rules had been established by Lord Imu himself. Unless Lord Imu took the initiative to demand reform, they would never bring it up.

Both the current Five Elders and every generation before them understood very well how much Lord Imu disliked "chaos" and "change."

This was also the main reason the World Government's system had remained unchanged for eight hundred years, and why the Five Elders had always sought to maintain the "stability" of the entire world situation.

Although the entire World Government was now attempting changes because of the Great Prophecy, no one knew what degree of "change" Lord Imu could tolerate.

Thus, the five of them had long formed an unspoken understanding in this regard: whatever Lord Imu said to do, they would do it!

"Mm. Lord Imu's demand to deal with the Slave King before the Reverie is very wise. It prevents many unexpected situations."

Saint Marcus Mars asked, "But there is still a major issue before us. Once the proposal passes, what will we do with the hundred thousand or so slaves in Mary Geoise?"

Within this dazzling Holy Land, a vast number of slaves purchased by the Celestial Dragons were imprisoned. They were all supposedly "premium" or "top-grade" goods—the women were beautiful and adorable, the men strong and capable, or skilled in some special craft, or perhaps members of some demi-human race. After all, they were slaves whom the Celestial Dragons had taken a liking to and been willing to bring home.

"What else? Kill them." Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro stroked Shodai Kitetsu's scabbard and answered expressionlessly before continuing.

"If we release them, their hatred for us Celestial Dragons will definitely create negative repercussions. More than half may even take to the seas and become pirates. The number of pirates is already steadily increasing!"

His words silenced the other four. After a moment, Saint Topman Warcury shook his head. After thinking it over, he felt that would be inappropriate.

"Though killing them all would be easy, the consequences would not be minor. Improving the public's trust in the World Government, restoring its positive image, and reducing the growth of piracy are among the reasons Lord Imu pushed this year's proposals. If someone discovers it and spreads the news, there is no need to explain the consequences, is there?"

"Then what should we do?" Saint Shepherd Ju Peter asked.

"Release some, imprison some!"

"Just as we previously returned the Merfolk and Fish-Man Race, bring Tsuru over to cleanse a batch of slaves of their resentment. Then broadcast their escort back to their homelands live to the entire world, claiming that Mary Geoise has released all its slaves. As for the rest, temporarily lock them somewhere and deal with them slowly. The Red Line is huge—there are plenty of places."

Saint Topman Warcury's suggestion made the other four Five Elders' eyes light up. They all felt it was indeed a good solution.

Once the number of people exceeded ten thousand, they became an endless sea. As long as they released over ten thousand people and controlled the camera angles, the spectacle would be enough to fool the people of the world.

At that moment, Saint Shepherd Ju Peter found inspiration and smiled. "Could we adapt this method to deal with the rumors about the great treasure first?"

"Didn't some people become pirates because they were tempted by Roger's treasure? Then we can organize a worldwide live broadcast of bringing that great treasure back to Mary Geoise, claiming that we have already found One Piece. It may not completely stop pirates from emerging, but it will definitely have a considerable effect."

Saint Jaygarcia Saturn smiled.

"That is indeed a good idea. Isn't a great treasure just wealth? We'll let the people of the world see with their own eyes what a real great treasure is. Once they have seen it and been satisfied, they'll settle down!"

When it came to wealth, was there anyone on this planet who could compare to the World Government?

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