Chapter 8

"Grand Unification?!!"

At this moment, Gawain was genuinely startled.

Beneath his seemingly surprised expression, there was actually a hidden, inexpressible anger!

If Gawain were truly a native Celestial Dragon of the world, he might have felt only surprise at the dream of grand unification.

He might even have thought this dream somewhat noble.

Yet to a native transmigrator born in the spring breeze and raised beneath the red flag.

The phrase "grand unification" in Gawain's heart had long been bound to that great emperor of the Pre-Qin period!

What was more, even with the recent explanation from the Five Elders, it was difficult for the Celestial Dragons in Gawain's impression to shake off their disgusting image of haughtiness, treating others as slaves, considering themselves noble, and casually taking human lives behind the facade of status!

This very point made him feel an irrepressible aversion and fury toward the words of grand unification coming from a Celestial Dragon's mouth!

Thus, suppressing his anger, he asked in a deep voice.

"You claim to be my elders, then elders, is the grand unification in your mouths meant to throw the world into complete chaos!

Is the statecraft of grand unification you execute meant to plunge the entire ocean into a plague of thieves and misery for the common folk?

And what about those damned peers of mine, ordinary Celestial Dragons like Charlos, are they so foolish and cruel precisely because of this grand unification you speak of!"

As his voice fell, Gawain scrutinized the expressions of the Five Elders.

Since he was currently in his youth, appropriately displaying a semblance of poor emotional control could make it easier for the Five Elders to let down their guard against him.

As for the possibility of the Five Elders growing angry?

If they had told him so much, yet would still grow angry over a casual remark from him.

Then he wouldn't need to judge whether the history in their mouths was the truth or a lie!

After a moment of scrutiny, Gawain had a fair idea.

Sure enough, far from being angry, the Five Elders even shared a prolonged chuckle.

Once the laughter faded, the Elder of Diplomacy, who was most adept at communicating with others, took the lead and spoke softly to Gawain.

"You are entirely right. Whether it's rampaging pirates or Charlos's foolishness, those are all the results we brought about single-handedly!

Do not be perplexed, nor need you interrupt the words of this old ghost. Once you hear what I have to say next, you should understand!"

The Elder of Diplomacy wore a nostalgic look as he lowered his voice and said with lingering sentiment.

"Everything, I fear, must trace back eight hundred years ago to the initial establishment of the World Government.

Or perhaps that wasn't eight hundred years, but nine hundred!

The very first century, the one widely rumored as...

The Void Century.

After occupying Elbaf, our ancestors constantly fought for further rights to world sovereignty against more than sixty races and two hundred eighty nations across the globe at that time!

What sort of utterly absurd answer did you think those scholars of Ohara had been hiding all this time?

That answer was not absurd, but it truly could not be known to the people of the present.

Because the Void Century clearly recorded only one piece of history, and that was...

The history of the Celestial Dragons going to war with every single race and nation upon this earth!

We were the enemies of them all."

Amidst his words, the Elder of Diplomacy looked at Gawain and sighed.

"In that century, our ancestors successively conquered countless nations and islands.

Yet no matter how many victories piled up, the flames of war showed not the slightest sign of extinguishing!

Do you know why?"

"I do not."

Gawain shook his head. Right now, he was still shocked by the historical secret of the Void Century.

Even before his transmigration, in Old Thief Oda's manga, the Void Century remained a startling secret!

The Five Elders had no idea what Gawain was thinking. Hearing his confusion, the Elder of Diplomacy chuckled softly and continued his explanation.

"Because of transportation!"

As his words fell, the old man stretched his right hand toward the sky, and an entire dense, incomparably massive map instantly blocked out the entire room.

Gawain immediately understood. No wonder there were no decorations in the room of the Five Elders.

I suppose all their space was reserved for these maps!

Next, pointing at the map, the Elder of Diplomacy spoke with pride.

"This is the unspoken secret of the entire ocean, the Great Treasure left to us by our ancestors, and the most complete world map currently surviving anywhere on earth.

Our ancestors explored the major waters of the world and charted this series of breathtaking navigational maps.

The lifelong dream of every exceptional navigator in the world lies upon this very set of maps!

Without this map, the only way to reach most secluded islands was to leave it to luck, for after all, not every island afforded someone the opportunity to leave behind an Eternal Pose.

This map is far more precious than any history of the Void Century or any so-called Pirate King's treasure!

Were it not for you, were it not for your peerless Conqueror's Haki, and had you not listened through to our words, you would never have had the chance in your lifetime to become one of the Five Elders, nor would you ever have seen this map!"

Just as the old man finished speaking, Gawain nodded immediately while hurriedly gazing at the map.

Even though he could only see a limited amount, he desperately forced himself to memorize every detail he laid eyes on.

The map was not overly complex. Aside from island after island and the currents flowing between them, Gawain saw that the world of the Pirate King was tightly encircled by two intersecting ring belts!

The horizontal ring belt among them was precisely the Red Line.

As for the vertical ring belt, one half was what people called the Grand Line, and the other half was the New World.

Because the Grand Line and the Red Line were arranged in a perfect cross, it was as if a deity had picked up a blade and sliced a watermelon once horizontally and once vertically.

The planet happened to be divided into four quarters!

Gawain gazed greedily for a good long while. Several cigarettes' worth of time passed before the Elder of Diplomacy continued.

"As you can see, the four sections carved out of the entire world by the Red Line and the Grand Line are what we frequently refer to as the East, West, South, and North Blues.

Aside from the Red Line, the entire world is naught but ocean, naught but water!

In any given sea of the Four Blues, traveling by ship from the easternmost island to the westernmost island requires at least five months!

A full hundred and fifty days, and that hasn't even factored in the mobilization of soldiers and the time spent levying provisions across various islands!

Back during that century, even though our ancestors were invincible, they could not prevent the fires of war from flaring up across the entire globe.

As for the reason, it was precisely because the transportation of this ocean was simply too inconvenient!

The moment one island's problems were solved, new issues arose on islands months away by voyage.

Months passed, and even more problems cropped up further down the distant shipping routes!

And so, a full century went by, and the ancestors realized deeply that before completely solving the issue of transportation, we truly lacked the strength to unify the entire ocean!"

The face of the Elder of Diplomacy was filled with unwillingness as he said heavily.

"Do you think the World Government possessing over a hundred affiliated nations is our pride?

No, it is our shame, our greatest shame!

That was the result of countless nations constantly surrendering and constantly rebelling in the past, headed by the Will of D pursuing freedom. They were the ones who forced our ancestors to swallow the foolish concept of affiliated nations alive!

Why must we erect an Empty Throne in the Throne Room of Mary Geoise, one that no one dares to sit upon openly?

Why must we announce to the entire world that no one will ever sit upon this throne?

Why is a throne covered in blades and stained with blood instead heralded by us as a symbol of peace?

Why does a unique king never exist in this world?

That was not the outcome our ancestors desired, but it was the condition our ancestors had to accept. Only by establishing such rules were the numerous nations willing to lower their banners of rebellion!

Even now, do you still believe that our haughtiness is something our pack of scoundrels has always pursued?

No one knows—we have never even truly been supreme, Gawain!"

The Elder of Diplomacy finally cried out Gawain's name, his words leaving Gawain somewhat stalled.

Was all of this the truth of the relationship between the Celestial Dragons and the large and small nations of the entire world?

Was this the secret hidden behind the Void Century in the Pirate King's world?

How utterly unexpected!

Yet everything the Elder of Diplomacy spoke of actually felt a matter of course. Even if Gawain dared not fully trust the words of the Five Elders, it was difficult for him to pick out flawed points on the spot.

Therefore, after immersing himself in the truth for quite a while, Gawain could only speak softly to the Elder of Diplomacy.

"I more or less know the truth now, and I can slightly understand the responsibility and pressure you bear.

Yet I still have questions. Aside from the Void Century, I am even more eager to know the reason for the rampant pirates, and that so-called D in your mouths!"

For a diplomat, tension was an emotion that had to be avoided.

Yet as a fan of the pirates, at this moment Gawain experienced a trace of unspeakable nervousness.

Facing the Five Elders, he licked his lips and asked with anticipation.

"What on earth is the Will of D?"