Five Elders

Gawain remained silent for a long time. After a moment of silence, Kong finally nodded heavily.

"I understand!"

he said, then waved a large hand.

"Did you hear the orders from the Celestial Dragon?

Clean up everything nearby and properly settle everyone who has fainted!

Not a single slave is to be killed. Saint Gawain still needs them to spread the tale of his great feat of knocking another Celestial Dragon unconscious. Heh!"

After giving those disdainful orders, Steel Bone Kong turned and left, showing everyone only the back of his spiked Mohawk.

After Steel Bone Kong left, the CP0 agents gathered around Gawain.

The CP0 squad captain at the front bent down near Gawain and asked in an incomparably respectful voice.

"Saint Gawain, the Five Elders are still waiting for you. Would you like to..."

"Mm."

Gawain flicked away some ash and nodded.

Seeing Gawain agree, several CP0 agents gathered together and carefully lifted the sofa he was sitting on.

Gawain did not particularly like this posture. It felt a little like a Black funeral procession carrying a coffin, but his injuries were indeed serious. Getting up was truly difficult.

Sigh, Conqueror's Haki... Was that the flame that had ignited in his heart after coming to this world?

He was still too young. His mind had been affected by the Conqueror's Haki brewing within him, making him far more impulsive.

But that was fine. If a young man was not spirited, could he still be called young?

As he reflected, Gawain looked toward the CP agents.

Using the slowest Geppo of their lives, they rushed toward the Five Elders' pavilion above the rear of Sabaody Castle, doing their utmost to keep Gawain comfortable along the way.

Before long, Gawain's gaze passed over Sabaody Castle, the place used to convene the Reverie, receive the Commander-in-Chief, and gather the Shichibukai, arriving at the area where the Five Elders resided.

CP0 did not stop at the Five Elders' door. With orders in hand, they entered directly, crossed the corridor, and set Gawain down on the incomparably polished floor.

After he was set down, the leading CP0 agent stood beside Gawain and extended a hand toward him.

Gawain was slightly stunned. Was he... trying to take his cigarette?

So Gawain shook his head.

Seeing that, the CP0 agent instinctively found himself in a difficult position. He thought over what decision to make.

Should he leave, or allow this Celestial Dragon—someone he was unfamiliar with and had no particular impression of, but who possessed astonishing courage and unmatched Conqueror's Haki—to break the rules?

Fortunately, a voice from nearby relieved CP0 of the pressure of choosing.

"Good lad, hahahaha! Let me see which junior actually unleashed Conqueror's Haki so incredible that even old ghosts like us could never have imagined it!"

Gawain looked toward the source of the voice. An old man in loose Japanese-style clothing, his chest exposed, was walking toward him from afar with a long, narrow sword in his arms.

As he walked, he waved at the CP agents.

"Leave us!"

"Yes, sir!"

The CP agents immediately lowered their heads and bowed, backing out of the room.

After CP left, the other four members of the Five Elders emerged as well, aside from the Sword-Wielding Elder.

Three of them, like those before them, stared at Gawain with sharp, bright eyes.

As for the white-haired Shoulder-Length Haired Elder at the back, he was holding a Den Den Mushi and giving instructions.

Gawain could hear his voice. At least outwardly, the Five Elders seemed utterly forthright, with no attempt to conceal anything in their words.

The old man was speaking to the deadpan Den Den Mushi in his hand.

"No need. No one would dare openly attack Mary Geoise. The Mary Geoise assault led by Fishman Tiger eleven years ago will not happen again!

However, although we do not need your support, you must immediately dispatch Shichibukai member Bartholomew Kuma to Mary Geoise!"

Once he finished speaking, the Shoulder-Length Haired Elder put down the Den Den Mushi and turned to look at Gawain.

"I was wondering who could unleash such unimaginable Conqueror's Haki. So it was you, Little Gawain!"

As he spoke, the Shoulder-Length Haired Elder stood with the other four in front of Gawain's sofa.

The Sword-Wielding Elder was especially enthusiastic. He even stepped close to Gawain and lightly patted his shoulder.

"Unlike him, I knew from the start that it had to be you, lad.

After all, among all the Celestial Dragon juniors in Mary Geoise, there is only one as extraordinary as you in appearance and bearing!

Come, see whether you like my sword.

If you do, then after I die, it will be yours!

What do you think..."

"Cough, cough!"

Before the Sword-Wielding Elder could finish, the round-headed, bald old man beside him, with only two horizontal mustaches above his lip, cut in first.

"Little Gawain has awakened the finest Conqueror's Haki in the world, not the finest Armament Haki!

Conqueror's Haki comes from courage and determination. Those are not the important qualities needed by the one in charge of combat!

On the contrary, Gawain is well suited to succeed me.

No work is more suitable for a man with such overwhelming courage than diplomacy!"

After speaking, the Mustached Elder came before Gawain and asked with a smile.

"Do you enjoy dealing with those so-called kings among the lowly people? If not, then I hope you can adapt and grow to love this work. You can, in my...!"

"Cough, cough!"

As expected, the Mustached Elder was directly interrupted by another cough.

The old man with short blond hair and a neat blond beard stepped forward.

"Narrow-minded thinking. A man with such determination can undoubtedly reach the very top no matter which path he chooses!

Little Gawain, you have already shown us your excellence through your Conqueror's Haki, and we guarantee that we will not, and cannot allow such an outstanding junior to be buried.

The five of us here hold the highest positions among the Celestial Dragons.

We know well that someone capable of unleashing unprecedented Conqueror's Haki must possess a broad heart that yearns to achieve great deeds.

Look at the five of us. I am responsible for everything related to economics!"

"And I am responsible for everything related to culture and education!" the Shoulder-Length Haired Elder said with a smile and a nod.

"Don't listen to them fighting to introduce themselves. Whether dealing with money or ancient writings, how could that possibly be more imposing than commanding the kings of affiliated nations and exerting authority over the Four Blues?

Consider my field more carefully. I am responsible for everything related to diplomacy!" said the Mustached Elder.

After the three of them, the old man wearing a black cap, sporting a classical European judge's hairstyle and a wild, unkempt beard, spoke next.

"Diplomats sure do talk a lot. What I oversee does not need so much pretense!

Gawain, I oversee all matters concerning law. If your awakening has something to do with crime and punishment upon these seas, if you enjoy hearing the wails and screams of criminals...

Then consider my field!"

Once he finished speaking, four of the Five Elders had introduced themselves in turn.

As for the final one—

He was the Sword-Wielding Elder, the one closest to Gawain and the first to appear!

The Sword-Wielding Elder smiled and took two steps back, then lightly planted the sheath of his long sword against the floor.

"Economics, culture, diplomacy, and law—how could any of those compare to commanding the armies of land, sea, and air, overseeing all ten Cipher Pol divisions, marching on pirate strongholds, and conquering the Four Blues!"

At that, the smile on the Sword-Wielding Elder's face deepened.

Invisibly, an aura erupted from the five old men standing before Gawain!

Gawain suddenly felt immense pressure. If not for what had happened earlier, he might not have passed out, but at the very least, the pressure would have forced him to the ground.

Yet now, facing that terrifying invisible pressure, Gawain merely flicked away some ash.

"Are you gentlemen toying with me, tempting me, or testing me?

Otherwise, why release Conqueror's Haki to suppress me?

Is this your courtesy before force?

Seniors!"

The moment the ash hit the ground, Gawain's Conqueror's Haki erupted once again. The violent aura made the clothes of both him and the five old men opposite him flutter wildly!

But that was only the beginning.

Do not forget, Gawain's Conqueror's Haki had long since exceeded the limit!

Even Red-Haired Shanks, that monster now ranked among the Four Emperors—

Even at his peak, his Conqueror's Haki could only barely crack the hull made from Treasure Tree Adam!

But Gawain—

The moment his Conqueror's Haki awakened, it destroyed every inch of every building within several hundred meters!