CP0 and the Celestial Dragons (Part 2)

Stussy did not answer directly, but what she said was even more terrifying to Mousse.

"I'm just a low-ranking agent stationed abroad. How could I possibly know how strong the organization's top experts are? But among the squads I know of, there are more than a few people who could defeat me within three moves."

If Stussy had not lied, CP0's strongest members were probably no weaker than the famed Marine Admirals.

And because so little was known about them, if he ever had to face them, they might pose an even greater threat than Garp or Sengoku!

Having figured this out, one of Mousse's greatest pre-transmigration doubts—The Marines claim to uphold justice and possess immense strength, so why do they obey those seemingly useless Celestial Dragons and serve as their lackeys?—was finally beginning to be answered.

Even if CP0, with only two or three top-tier experts, could not compare to the Marines at their peak, when they had as many as six top combatants, it was still enough to suppress opposition within the Marines.

Just as in ancient China, even when a dynasty was on the verge of being overthrown, before the old regime had completely lost its mandate, only a small portion of the official army would defect or rebel.

On top of that, the Celestial Dragons controlled the Marines' military funding—the World Government's taxes were combined with the Celestial Gold, handed over to the Celestial Dragons once collected, and only then did the Celestial Dragons allocate a portion to the World Government and the Marines. Holy Land Mary Geoise also possessed a "national treasure" suspected to be an Ancient Weapon, which deterred the Marine high command, along with the legitimacy they had steadily reinforced over eight hundred years.

Tightly restrained by these four measures, the Marines had no choice but to obediently serve the Celestial Dragons like dogs. Only after Luffy emerged out of nowhere and threw the situation into chaos did they have an opportunity to secretly form a covert force opposed to the Celestial Dragons.

Learning of CP0's strength answered Mousse's biggest question, but it also gave rise to several new ones.

For example, if CP0 was so powerful, how had Fisher Tiger managed to set fire to Holy Land Mary Geoise and free so many slaves by himself, then escape unscathed?

By then, Stussy had finally put her clothes back on, and her expression was clearly much more composed.

Even though Mousse's questions were somewhat frightening, she leisurely smoothed her bangs before parting her red lips. "No one should have that much nerve, right? But if someone truly managed to infiltrate Holy Land Mary Geoise and start a fire, they might indeed cause considerable damage."

It turned out that although CP0 was filled with experts, there were even more Celestial Dragons than powerful CP0 agents. To live more comfortably, they all resided outside Pangea Castle, each in their own separate residence, scattered across the area in a layout unfavorable for security.

Under such circumstances, CP0's foremost duty was to protect the Celestial Dragons. If their masters were injured or even killed, then even if they captured the culprit, they would still be unable to escape a death sentence.

Therefore, they would certainly prioritize escorting their masters to safety rather than fighting the intruder. As long as the intruder was strong enough to crush CP0's ordinary combat agents, they had a chance of escaping unharmed.

"Indeed. There are already very few people unafraid of death, and those unafraid of dying while taking the blame are rarer still. Especially when it is for the sake of a dark and decayed regime? Anyone whose brain isn't broken knows what to choose." Mousse nodded, accepting Stussy's explanation.

Then Mousse asked about the exact relationship between CP0 and the Celestial Dragons. "CP0 answers directly to the Celestial Dragons. Does that mean you cannot disobey any order from a Celestial Dragon?"

Stussy sensed that Mousse was not about to say anything pleasant, but she still answered truthfully. "In principle, yes."

"In principle? So there are exceptions?" Mousse immediately caught the issue.

"Of course there are exceptions. For instance, if two World Nobles give you contradictory orders, then no matter which one you obey, you would be disobeying the other, wouldn't you?" Perhaps Stussy did not consider this an important secret, so she did not hide it. "By the rules, orders from the Joint Council take highest priority, followed by one's own master, then the Five Elders, and only after that come the other Celestial Dragons."

Mousse was exceedingly perceptive. He immediately caught the two key points in Stussy's words and pressed further. "What is the Joint Council? And what do you mean by 'one's own master'?"

"Each Celestial Dragon family sends one representative, for a total of fourteen members in the Joint Council. It handles all matters concerning the collective interests of the Celestial Dragons, and it also mediates and adjudicates internal disputes among them." Before Stussy could finish, Mousse spotted a problem.

But before she could explain, Mousse had already guessed the answer himself. "Huh? Aren't there nineteen Celestial Dragon families? Why are there only fourteen representatives? Uh, fourteen plus five makes nineteen. Could it be that the families of the Five Elders are excluded?"

"Little Mousse, you're so smart!" Stussy had long known that Mousse was exceptionally intelligent. Though she praised him aloud, she was not particularly surprised inwardly. She merely nodded slightly in confirmation and continued.

At last, Mousse fully understood.

"So that's it. This Joint Council is basically equivalent to ancient China's Imperial Clan Court! No, more than that. It also manages the distribution of Celestial Gold and the Celestial Dragons' shared assets. It should be the Imperial Clan Court plus the Imperial Household Department, perhaps even the Imperial Treasury! No, wait. The World Government's funding is also drawn from the Celestial Gold, so it actually includes part of the Ministry of Revenue's functions as well. That gives it far too much power! No wonder fourteen people have to manage it jointly, and the Five Elders who lead the World Government have to be excluded. It is to prevent a few families from growing too powerful and breaking the internal balance among the Celestial Dragons, right? And with an even number of seats, tied votes are unavoidable when making decisions. At that point, they probably can only seek Im's instructions, making his transcendent status all the more apparent."

Even by the standards of a transmigrator, this system was exceptionally sophisticated in terms of balancing power.

Combined with the World Government's model of collecting money without governing, which effectively dumped all responsibility elsewhere, and the separation of the Marines from the bureaucratic system, while promoting justice to cultivate the officers' and soldiers' sense of honor, it largely ensured that the crucial military did not rot—at least, not too badly.

And above it all sat Im, an old monster suspected of having lived for more than eight hundred years, steering the ship and ensuring no grave mistakes were made. No wonder the Celestial Dragons had been able to rule this world for eight centuries!

Having understood all this, Mousse could not help but sigh inwardly.

Holy Land Mary Geoise's national treasure suddenly doesn't seem so important. If we only consider maintaining rule, this system is even more despairing than the Qing Dynasty, the peak of ancient China's autocratic rule. If this world did not have such vast differences in individual strength, requiring force to keep those top experts in check, then as long as Im remained alive and no powerful foreign enemy invaded, this system alone could probably endure for ten thousand generations, couldn't it?

Mousse had thought of the Qing Dynasty because the Celestial Dragons' rule over this world bore too many similarities to the Qing Dynasty's rule over China.

And CP0's experts had to choose one of the Celestial Dragons' nineteen families and acknowledge it as their master, just as the Qing Dynasty's Eight Banners were, in truth, the servants of their respective banner lords.