"Huh??? A gift???"
But Grandpa, Gawain is the best gift that fate has given me!
As for other things, well, I can't think of anything right now.
So, could you gentlemen please decide for me?
At that moment, Hancock's voice sounded as if she had changed from being twenty-six years old to being sixteen years old, just like ten years ago.
Even sixteen years old sounds a bit old; Hancock's voice was almost softer than Shirahoshi's.
Hearing Hancock's sweet and innocent voice, Gion couldn't help but secretly roll her eyes.
As for the Five Elders, to be honest, they were quite satisfied with the answer.
The Elder of Military pondered for a moment, then clapped his hands with a smile.
"Haha, let us old folks decide..."
While this answer greatly satisfied us, it did present us with a difficult problem.
Let me think about it. You have both wealth and a facade, so... how about I give you something else?
For example... time!
At this point, the Elder of Military turned around with a deep look in his eyes and looked at his other colleagues.
The five of them exchanged glances, and then the Elder of Culture, deep in thought, nodded gently.
Immediately afterwards, all five of them turned to look at Gawain. After a long silence, the Elder of Military spoke quietly.
"Little Gawain, do you know the meaning of time?"
If I knew that... then... would you want Pure Gold?
If we want, we can..."
"Etc."
Gawain Teuchi the Elder of Military. He really didn't expect that these old people who didn't know what gift to give to the girl would actually set their sights on Pure Gold!
Gawain truly didn't believe that Mary Geoise didn't have Pure Gold. In this city where the pinnacle of global power was concentrated, they could absolutely obtain anything that could be considered a treasure at sea, if they wanted it.
The only exception is probably the Nika Fruit, since that thing is said to be able to avoid the World Government.
However, that was just talk; the Five Elders and the others still didn't seem to be entirely resolute about the Nika Fruit.
Otherwise, whether it was the people they sent to guard the Nika Fruit back then, or the Nika Fruit being stolen, or even after Luffy ate it.
If the World Government really needed the Nika Fruit, they could just send an Admiral to exchange them, or when Luffy had a bounty of tens of millions, any Admiral could easily crush him.
In short, the Five Elders, who possess almost everything, actually intend to give Pure Gold as a gift.
Is this gift big or small? It's definitely impressive.
But... does the Dark Bird Ship really need that thing?
Or rather, wouldn't placing something like that—ancient life forms—before Dark Bird Ship would create greed and competition that defy the current rules?
Thinking this, Gawain gently shook his head and said.
"Grandpa, I understand your intentions, but Pure Gold is indeed not suitable as a gift."
There's still extra time; it's not time to put it out now.
Our Dark Bird Ship is now in a period of striving forward. Whether it's the elderly or even the young people on board, what we need is an indomitable spirit.
But if we were to possess a long lifespan in such circumstances, then the cherishing of life would inevitably clash with the spirit of striving!
As soon as he finished speaking, Gawain smiled and pulled Hancock into his arms.
While rubbing Hancock's hair and earlobes, Gawain continued speaking to the Five Elders.
"Grandpa, don't worry about whether the gift is expensive or not. I think a gift is just something that is suitable."
How about you send Hancock a few islands?
I'm planning to start a Den Den Den Mushi) business recently; could you guys give me a few more Sabaody Island?
"How about I deal with those lawbreakers myself and turn them into Den Den Mushi -raising machines) farms?"
At this point, Gawain looked at the Five Elders with a smile.
Meeting Gawain's lazy gaze, the Five Elders looked at each other.
Then, the Elder of Military chuckled.
"Little Gawain, you claim to understand your woman, huh? Haha."
Actually, you don't understand anything!
Do you think the Pure Gold I'm about to give you is for those old men on your ship?
"I intend to grant your woman a long and lasting youth!!!"
At this point, the Five Elders waved to Hancock and her two companions.
"Look at your husbands, haha, they don't know anything!"
He simply doesn't understand how important youth, which can be maintained for a long time, is to a woman!
Hearing the Elder of Military's words, Hancock and her two companions exchanged a glance, then nodded frantically!
Although they didn't understand the specific functions of Pure Gold, Hancock and her two companions were indeed very eager for the Five Elders' talk of... eternal youth!
Especially Gion, whose hands clenched involuntarily the moment she heard the Pure Gold!
How could she not know that she was the oldest among the women, and that in ten or twenty years, her appearance would be approaching that of Sister He?
Meanwhile, the Elder of Military continued speaking with a smile.
"In short, Little Gawain, you shouldn't give advice to your women anymore."
This is my decision. In any case, I will prepare some Pure Gold for these wives.
While that thing cannot make people live forever, it can greatly slow down the aging process!
Of course, that stuff also has side effects. Because Pure Gold can slow down cell division, although people age very slowly after using Pure Gold, the rate at which they can improve through exercise will also be very slow!
So..."
The Elder of Military paused for a moment, then smiled slightly and said.
"So, children, you must never use Pure Gold before you are certain that your strength has reached its final peak!"
Hancock still has a lot of potential to be explored, and even Momousagi is far from reaching her peak.
Listen to your grandfather, I'll reserve the Pure Gold for you here first. When you each reach your peak strength, you can come directly to us to collect it.
Not only you, but all the other girls on your ship can come and collect the Pure Gold whenever Little Gawain likes it!
At this point, the Elder of Military grinned, patted the sword in his hand with a smile, and continued to speak to the crowd with satisfaction.
"So, girls, do you like the gift Grandpa gave you?"
However, you guys shouldn't be like the five of us, waiting until our peak years are over before using that thing!
In short, it's settled then. I have given you the best treasures we could offer.
Aside from the Three Ancient Weapons, I have nothing else to offer. Come to think of it, Shirahoshi itself is Ancient Weapon, so I really don't need to worry about those things!
As for the island you need, Little Gawain ..."
The Elder of Military remained silent for a moment, then gently shook his head.
"You can choose the island you want on the Grand Line yourself. I've already handed the Grand Line over to you, so don't even think about causing any more trouble for Sabaody!"
Sabaody must be provided with enough space for outlaws to live in order for pirates to maintain a certain level of activity. Although pirates are somewhat rampant now, in general, it's like what we've discussed before.
Their existence still has some meaning!
At this point, the Five Elders gently waved their hands.
"Alright, alright, haha, it's been a long time since I've had such a long chat with someone."
That's all for today. We have urgent official business to attend to!
In the next two weeks, we will take some time to host a small banquet with you all.
Let's choose a location Room of Rain!
When the banquet is approaching, I will send someone to inform you. In consideration of the gifts I have given you, you must not miss this family feast!
Did you hear that?!
"No problem!!!"
Before Gawain respond, Hancock immediately nodded obediently in agreement. After she agreed, she stood up with a flushed face and bowed deeply to the Five Elders.
Back when she was a pirate, she truly hated the Five Elders so much she wanted to grind her teeth.
Although she herself didn't know why she hated these five people, just because they sat in the highest positions in the World Government, there would never be a shortage of people who hated them.
In Hancock had been a slave in Mary Geoise. Although she had never been personally harmed by the Five Elders, half of her hatred for Mary Geoise and the Celestial Dragon was directed at the five leaders of the Five Elders.
But now...
Facing the Five Elders who treated her like a granddaughter-in-law, Hancock harbored no resentment whatsoever. The Five Elders had truly been incredibly kind to the three of them.
Hancock needs most is not a gift, but respect!
And the Five Elders gave Hancock exactly what she needed most... the respect due to family and younger generations!!!
Just as Hancock was getting excited, Gawain and Hancock group also stood up.
The Five Elders had already indicated that they wanted to see the guests off, so they could not stay there any longer.
Gawain then gave a slight bow to show his respect for the Five Elders, then waved his hand and said with a smile.
"Thank you so much for today, seniors. I'll be leaving now with everyone. I'll definitely come as soon as I receive news of the banquet, so please don't worry."
"Don't worry, humph, I'm not at all at ease!"
The Elder of Military interrupted Gawain, slapping the knife in his hand with displeasure.
"Look at yourself, and look at your women! Didn't you hear how they called us? Can't you learn from them?"
Although we are not the elders of your family, intermarriage is a tradition in Mary Geoise, so you and we are related by blood!
What, you won't even call me "Grandpa"?
As soon as he finished speaking, the Elder of Military glared at Gawain with feigned displeasure, while Gawain smiled and nodded in response.
"Haha, although I've never called you Grandpa, I've always respected you all as my grandfathers."
In short, we won't bother you any longer, we'll leave now.
As soon as he finished speaking, Gawain led the girls away from the Room of Heaven.
They walked out of the Chamber of Authority and arrived in Pangea Castle.
After they escaped the CP's sight, Shirahoshi couldn't help but sidle up to Gawain and ask.
"Gawain, why didn't you call us grandfathers even once in the end?"
They were so incredibly kind to us!
"Hmm, sir, you're usually very polite, but this time it's strange."
After speaking, Shirahoshi looked thoughtfully into Gawain's eyes, and Hancock and Gion also looked at Gawain at the same time.
Meeting the gazes of the three women, Gawain remained silent for a moment, then let out a soft sigh.
"They're good to me, and they're good to you too."
In any case, it is indeed extremely generous.
If you want to call them grandpa, then go ahead and call them that. They deserve it, and you don't need to think about it any further.
But I..."
Gawain suddenly turned around and looked at the area Chamber of Authority in the distance. As he looked, he shook his head and continued.
"In my plan, it will take at most three to five years, after I have laid out the Grand Line with Sea Train and our plan to blockade the Grand Line has been fully implemented."
At that point, I will either challenge their position or confront them head-on!
No matter where we go in the future, that word "Grandpa" will always be a burden for me!
Imagine if I worked with them; how could I, as their grandchild, possibly be qualified to stand on equal footing with them?
If things escalate to an even more dangerous point, wouldn't I, in the midst of this confrontation, be burdened from the very beginning with the accusation of... treason!
At this point, Gawain gently patted Shirahoshi's tail and gave a wry smile.
"Living in this world, we always have many helpless situations to face. All we can do is try our best to eliminate these helpless situations."
That kind of helplessness is sometimes just a word, or even just a name.
They were my seniors, that's true, but I don't want to talk about their feelings for me.
My future path cannot accommodate too much emotion!
After saying that, Gawain sighed softly, then led the women away into the distance.
Following behind Gawain, the girls, who had just been excited, fell silent in an instant.
At this moment, after hearing Gawain's words...
They also felt the pressure that Gawain was facing...
At the same time, Chamber of Authority, Room of Heaven.
After Gawain and his three companions had been gone for some time, the Elder of Military couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
"That brat."
He gave a wry smile and cursed.
"Even at the very end, they refused to yield the slightest bit to us."
"Haha, indeed, his rational demeanor is quite like ours."
In this respect, I admire him even more. If he were someone who could be so easily influenced by us, would he still be worth our continued expectations?
The Elder of Economy smiled and picked up where the Elder of Military left off, swinging his crossed Erlang as he spoke.
As he swung his legs, Elder of Culture nearby reached out and stroked his beard.
"In any case, we have achieved our goal. From our perspective, all we can do for such a junior is to extend a helping hand!"
Moreover, Lord Imu is very satisfied with Little Gawain. Since he is not a light that needs to be extinguished, with his abilities, he is destined to become one of us.
Hopefully, by then, our time-tested governance methods will not fundamentally clash with his reform plans.
If there are disagreements, then we must admit that, having navigated this era, the power he wields is something we cannot afford to underestimate!
After saying this, the Elder of Culture shook his head worriedly, and for some reason, he seemed to see the distant future.
In the future he envisioned, Gawain stood alone in front of the remaining four, creating a stark confrontation between them.
That kind of standoff is exactly what the Five Elders desperately want to avoid.
As they have said before, they may be able to accept a certain degree of reform, but they must maintain the fundamental stability of the World Government no matter what!
Minor issues can be corrected, but major issues cannot. They ruled the world for eight hundred years, not by updating generation after generation.
From beginning to end, they relied solely on the word "stability"!
Beside the elderly Elder of Culture, it seemed that they sensed his concern.
The Elder of Economy gently patted the Elder of Culture on the shoulder.
"Don't overthink it, old friend. Since Gawain isn't a pursuer of so-called free will..."
No matter how much he reforms, as long as he is willing to put himself in the highest position, the reforms he brings will always be centered on the bloodline of the Celestial Dragon and us!
Even if he wanted to abolish the Celestial Dragon, as long as he planned to be the one in a high position, that would be enough, wouldn't it?
Contrary to what you might think, while I do have concerns, my worries have never been about any confrontation or competition between him and us.
What I'm worried about is his attitude towards Lord Imu!
At this point, the Elder of Diplomacy sighed deeply.
"Little Gawain's Conqueror's Haki is too unstoppable. Although I have never witnessed Imu's Conqueror's Haki, I imagine it is no Gawain's."
Could someone with that Conqueror's Haki truly submit to that ancestor like you and me, these mediocre, incompetent fools?
So, well, I just hope that our care and concern for him and his family will have some effect someday.
Just let him have a little more attachment in his heart.
As long as he doesn't reveal his complete dissatisfaction with his ancestors, that's enough.
Wasn't that how we were back then? Even though she was our ancestor, the source of our bloodline, we didn't easily bow down to her.
As long as he doesn't vent his dissatisfaction with the existence of his ancestors in one go, he will eventually adapt, just like we have.
After all, that one was our ancestor...
After he finished speaking, Five Elders, including the Elder of Diplomacy diplomat, fell silent.
Unfortunately, Gawain, who had already left, never had the chance to hear their words.
If Gawain heard Gawain, he would certainly understand the Five Elders' choice.
For example, the Five Elders are like the disappointing Zhu Youjian and Zhu Youxiao, while that Imu is like Zhu Yuanzhang.
As ancestors who built everything through hard work, how many descendants of the Zhu family could hold their heads high in front of Zhu Yuanzhang?
At least the Five Elders think so.
Unfortunately... how could they possibly understand Gawain?
Gawain is really different from them!!!