The New World Government

The first rays of morning sunlight swept across the sea and shone through gaps in the tender green leaves onto the Sabaody Archipelago.

High among the clouds, the small sky island of Visseria drifted slowly over the archipelago. A great eagle dove with several figures on its back, quickly disappearing into the dense canopy of the giant mangroves.

"Grand Line buns! Fragrant, delicious Grand Line buns!"

"Fresh fish! Elephant Trunk Tuna, just caught! Come take a look!"

On the peninsula of Mangrove No. 41, the morning market was already bustling. As they walked down the busy street, amid streams of people and traffic, vendors' cries rang out on both sides.

They passed a bun stall, where steaming baskets gave off an irresistible aroma.

Krista's nose twitched, and she was immediately drawn toward it.

"That smells so good! Daddy, I want a Grand Line bun."

"Hmm? Didn't we just have breakfast?"

"Heeheehee, but it smells so good!"

Krista spoke with a squinting smile from Lina's back, showing her cute little canine teeth.

Lina smiled and went over anyway, taking a Beli note from his wallet and handing it to the vendor.

"One serving of buns."

"Coming right up!"

"Thank you for your business! Take care!"

"Om nom~~"

"Grand Line buns are the best!"

Krista took a big bite of her bun and raised a hand with an excited shout. As the savory meat juices burst across her tongue, happiness spread over her face.

"It's so lively this early in the morning. Just what you'd expect from the Sabaody Archipelago. It's as bustling as ever."

Sitting sideways on the rear seat of the bubble bicycle, Nami couldn't help marveling at the bustling sights around her.

After buying the buns, they had rented a Bubble Car. Lina pedaled through the crowded streets with Nami, Krista, and Carl riding behind him.

"This is the last stop in the first half of the Grand Line, where all seven routes converge. Of course it's lively. But public safety has improved a lot compared to before."

"It is the New World Government's front doorstep, after all. These days, hardly any hotheads dare cause trouble on the islands."

"Yeah, the government forces have tightened their control over land these past few years, too. Pirates have a much harder time surviving now than they used to."

Lina and Nami chatted idly.

Meanwhile, Carl and Krista gazed around with wide, curious eyes, taking in all the unfamiliar wonders.

Islands made of giant trees, grass that released colorful bubbles, all sorts of different races...

"Carl! Look over there! Mermaids!"

Krista's excited cry made Carl jump.

Looking in the direction she pointed, Carl saw an enormous glass tank where several young mermaids were rehearsing a synchronized underwater dance.

Several mermen were nearby as well, floating above the ground with swim-ring-shaped bubbles around their waists. They wore uniforms bearing the words "Mermaid Paradise."

[Annual celebration dance rehearsal area. No entry for unauthorized personnel. Please do not disturb.]

-Mermaid Paradise notice.

It was a performance prepared especially for the upcoming New Year celebrations. Nami glanced at the sign beside the stage, then turned back with a small smile.

Now, merfolk and fish-men could walk freely on land without having to worry too much about racial discrimination or even unlawful harm.

Though, for the moment, that freedom was still limited to the Sabaody Archipelago and a few islands in the surrounding waters.

Attitudes couldn't change overnight. For now, the New World Government could only ensure that racial discrimination was kept off the nearby islands. Merfolk still didn't dare venture farther afield.

But this was already an enormous step forward. Even this much had taken a dozen years or so-a haven where different races could coexist.

"Perhaps in a few more generations, education will reshape the way people think, giving rise to a whole new ideal of coexistence."

The corners of Nami's lips lifted slightly, and a hint of relief showed in her eyes.

Since the decisive battle twelve years ago, the World Government once controlled by the Celestial Dragons had ceased to exist. Those so-called "gods" had all been stripped of their status as World Nobles and exiled from Mary Geoise.

After the Red-Haired Pirates and the Cross Guild left Elbaf that year, they soon rushed to Mary Geoise to aid the Revolutionary Army, bringing the brutal, deadlocked battle in the Holy Land to an end.

But after the war ended, the World Government hadn't simply disappeared. It had been rebuilt.

The Revolutionary Army hadn't taken part in rebuilding the New World Government. It had only worked behind the scenes to bring together several former World Government Member States, encouraging them to propose that all affiliated nations jointly maintain the New World Government. After that, Dragon had gradually disbanded the Revolutionary Army.

The New World Government's functions hadn't changed much from before. The only difference was that the dictatorship of Imu and the Five Elders had been replaced by joint governance among the affiliated nations.

In terms of efficiency, it wasn't a particularly good system. Conflicts of interest between nations often left resolutions mired in endless delays, and its various shortcomings would need to be addressed gradually.

Still, it was much better than before. At the very least, the World Government now served the world rather than a particular group of people.

Apparently, new council rules had already been announced that year. From then on, only twenty council seats would be available each year, with all affiliated nations voting to elect twenty kingdoms to govern the World Government jointly.

A new vote would be held every year, and no nation could be elected for four consecutive years. The system would enter a trial period the following year...

The election for the following year's council had already begun. Apparently, Alabasta, Fish-Man Island, and Dressrosa had already received nominations and support from many nations, making their election to the world council all but certain.

In just twelve years, the entire world order had changed beyond recognition. Most notably, competition between nations had gradually moved from the battlefield to the negotiating table.

Society was developing by leaps and bounds as well. With funding from the Black Snake Trading Company, many of Vegapunk's technological inventions were spreading across the world at an astonishing pace.

Recently, they had heard that the laboratory had used Den Den Mushi to create a third-generation network system capable of connecting the entire world.

The age of the internet revolution will be here soon.

A gentle smile touched Lina's lips as the thought passed silently through his mind.

Once information technology exploded into civilian use, the world would face a tidal wave of information. What impact would that have in an era when the world order was already changing?

Even Lina and Vegapunk couldn't predict or control that.

But as Vegapunk had said, the world could develop precisely because bold, fearless people existed. If everyone held back out of fear, the times could never advance.

The future, after all, was supposed to hold limitless possibilities.