Eve of the Summit War!

Holy Land, Mary Geoise.

Inside the Five Elders' chamber in the government headquarters tower.

"That's enough. You may leave."

The goateed Elder waved a hand, signaling Zero to say no more.

"Yes!"

Zero's mouth twitched. He was reluctant, but faced with the Five Elders' authority, he could only nod and withdraw.

Once he had gone, the goateed Elder turned to his colleagues with a faint smile.

"You were right, Freyk... Azure Dragon is far too much like Oric."

A Marine...

Colluding with a Shichibukai?

Making contact with Gild Tesoro?

Those were acts of high treason!

Didn't he know that the Five Elders had no fondness for either the Shichibukai or Gild Tesoro? Especially now that Kuma's ties to the Revolutionary Army had been confirmed.

But "guilt" was determined by people.

In other words, only they and Imu, the ruler behind the scenes, had the right to decide it.

Whatever they deemed a crime was a crime.

If the laws and moral standards of ordinary people could be imposed on them, how could the Celestial Dragons even exist?

In the eyes of the Five Elders and Imu, as long as someone continued fighting to preserve the government's rule and did not cross that absolute line, everything else was negotiable.

Ron clearly understood this. Through his attitude toward Zero, he had conveyed that message to the Five Elders and to Imu behind them.

I have the power to change the balance of the world. Shouldn't I be given the authority to match?

"I can't stand him, but we're living through a transformation rarely seen in centuries... We need Azure Dragon as a piece on the board to counter whatever Oric has left in reserve."

The bald Elder dressed as a swordsman gave a grunt, his tone softening slightly.

There was the coming