We Were All Once Who You Used to Be

In the blink of an eye, the Conqueror's Haki Gawain unleashed was about to shatter every furnishing in the Five Elders' chamber.

But just as that was about to happen, the Sword-Wielding Elder abruptly withdrew his own Conqueror's Haki.

"Heh heh, confirmation complete. The one possessing this Haki truly is you.

Not some ambitious schemer hidden among the slaves, who ultimately infiltrated Mary Geoise!"

As he spoke, the Sword-Wielding Elder hugged the long sword in his hand against his chest.

The scabbard struck his chest with a crisp clang.

And as that sound rang out, Gawain's Conqueror's Haki and the Conqueror's Haki of the other four Five Elders all vanished into thin air.

Noticing that his Conqueror's Haki had calmed, Gawain paid it no mind. As though nothing had happened, he continued drawing on the cigarette in his hand.

Through the drifting smoke, the Sword-Wielding Elder glanced at his colleagues, then at Gawain himself, and asked softly.

"However, compared to your unimaginable Conqueror's Haki, what intrigues us more is why such Haki was born within you.

After all, Conqueror's Haki is not some inborn talent as commoners believe. It is a blend of resolve and courage—the resolve that refuses to rest until a certain goal is achieved, and the courage that refuses to stop until a certain ambition is realized!

On top of that, one who possesses Conqueror's Haki must have extreme confidence.

The confidence to believe absolutely that he can accomplish his own goals!

And beyond that, one who possesses Conqueror's Haki must be broad-minded enough.

Historical records show that anyone shackled by external things, anyone unable to remain true to himself, even if he somehow awakens Conqueror's Haki, will never see it advance another step!"

At that, the Sword-Wielding Elder narrowed his eyes. A cold glint flashed across his round spectacles—spectacles that ought to have looked ridiculous, yet seemed anything but laughable on his face!

"So!"

He demanded heavily.

"Answer our question, Gawain!

How did you, having awakened such Conqueror's Haki, find the unknown goal in your heart within the corrupt environment of Mary Geoise?

And what kind of goal, what kind of ambition, could brew the earth-shaking Conqueror's Haki you possess!"

As the Sword-Wielding Elder spoke, the Five Elders stood in a row, their dark gazes fixed on Gawain, who sat upright on the sofa.

But Gawain.

Facing the Five Elders as they eyed him like tigers eyeing prey, he merely chuckled and shook his head.

"Even you yourselves know that Mary Geoise is a corrupt environment?"

As he spoke, Gawain glanced at the cigarette in his hand. It had burned down to the filter.

So he looked around again, but there was nowhere nearby to put it out.

The floor beneath his feet was as smooth as a mirror. With a single glance, Gawain clearly saw his own reflection.

It was the face he remembered as his own, with neatly combed jet-black hair swept back and a fair, radiant complexion.

Apart from the slightly messy smear of blood at the corner of his mouth, he was still the same person his colleagues had called Little Zunlong before he crossed over.

But now, he, who should have continued his career as a diplomat and eventually earned a chance to stand in some position and address the whole world...

Already had the qualifications to stand against the representatives of the highest power in another world?

At that thought, Gawain's smile grew even brighter. Facing the polished floor that reflected his form, he flicked the cigarette butt toward the face of his reflection.

He was still himself, yet he was no longer the same self!

"Five Elders!"

He spoke.

"I once imagined what it would be like to meet you, but without exception, seeing you today has been completely different from everything I imagined.

You ask me why I possess my current Conqueror's Haki?

But why are you the ones asking me?"

Gawain smiled as he rested his arms on the two armrests of the sofa.

Stroking the armrests made from the hide of some unknown sea beast, Gawain considered the current situation while continuing to question them.

"Some questions reveal their answers without needing a response, so I have a question for you as well.

Why did you turn Mary Geoise into such a corrupt environment?"

When his words fell, Gawain fell silent and watched for the Five Elders' reactions.

Under Gawain's gaze, the Five Elders exchanged looks, then all turned to him in unison.

At that moment, warm smiles appeared on their faces again, as though they were looking at a true junior of their own.

"It seems you are far wiser than we thought, Gawain.

Our earlier question was this: why was such extraordinary Haki born in you amid such a corrupt environment?

The answer is that the five of us were born in this very same environment!"

Having said that, the Sword-Wielding Elder stepped forward.

"A family with a famed general as its ancestor finds it difficult to produce another famed general.

A family with a sage as its ancestor finds it difficult to produce another sage.

So, a family with the twenty kings who founded the world as its ancestors..."

The Sword-Wielding Elder fell silent for a long while. Behind him, the other four Five Elders each sighed.

After sighing, the Sword-Wielding Elder shook his head.

"How likely is it for such a family to produce another ruler truly worthy of the title?"

As his words fell, the Sword-Wielding Elder came before Gawain and reached out to ruffle his hair.

"Look at the elders around you, and at those... those peers of yours we cannot even be bothered to pay attention to.

You have lived alongside them since the day you were born. Perhaps you never felt that they had done anything wrong. Perhaps under their influence, you would have become another version of them, exactly the same as they were.

But when you recognized their mistakes, when you realized that everything they did was tarnishing the honor of your ancestors.

When you realized that your future should not be to become the kind of person who could only be feared and despised.

At that time—or perhaps for you, right now.

Right now, don't you desperately want to do something? Hahahahaha!!!"

Amid a burst of laughter, the Sword-Wielding Elder lifted Gawain's sofa one-handedly and turned to walk toward the inner room.

As he carried the sofa, the Sword-Wielding Elder smiled and said to Gawain.

"What happened to you today is indeed rare in Mary Geoise.

But looking back through history, every few decades or centuries, Mary Geoise always sees a similar incident!"

Beside the Sword-Wielding Elder, the Blonde-Haired Elder nodded and laughed along with him.

"The last person to awaken Conqueror's Haki was me. I am the youngest among them. The Five Elders are always five people, but they have never always been the same five people!"

"That is right. He was the last among us to awaken it, and he replaced the elder who came before him.

As for his predecessor, someone of your caliber will eventually become one of us, so there is no need to hide the secrets known only to us.

There will always come a time when we step down!

Once there are true successors we can rely on and entrust things to, we will enter the depths of the Red Line and sleep where those elders have long slumbered.

That is not death. It is a form of rest."

At that point, the Shoulder-Length Haired Elder, who was responsible for culture, took over from the Sword-Wielding Elder.

"Whether it is you or those shallow-minded civilian officers outside, no matter how outstanding they may be, all they see is this world's dark side and the suffering endured by some of those who suffer.

As for us, Gawain, born among us as you are, you need to broaden your sight to a higher vantage point!"

Then the Mustached Elder took over from the Shoulder-Length Haired Elder and continued.

"Commoners, officers, thieves, soldiers...

None of them are you or me. None of them are Celestial Dragons!

And you and I exist to consolidate and perpetuate our rule—that is, the Celestial Dragons' rule over the world!

Next...

We will properly explain to you how we rule this world!"

As his words fell, the Judge-Haired Elder, who had remained silent all along, delivered the final word.

"Perhaps before this, you believed we were scum beyond scum, even more contemptible than ordinary scum.

Then from here on, I hope you come to understand who we truly are!

If all Celestial Dragons were scum, then would not the gifted figures who stirred the seas in every era of the world we have ruled for a full eight hundred years be...

Scum even more foolish and incompetent than scum!

No matter how you viewed us old men before, from now on, I will make you understand...

Every Five Elder was once young!

And every Five Elder was once who you used to be!"