My Future Is One of the Gorosei

Pangaea Castle was so magnificent that even the king of the giants would have found it awe-inspiring.

Standing before the city gate, Miming felt that he was nothing more than an ant.

The World Government was a colossal entity formed by more than 170 allied nations. Its headquarters was Pangaea Castle in Mary Geoise, and the rulers who held the highest authority were the Gorosei.

Come to think of it, those five old men had already lived for over a hundred years, so the Gorosei had barely changed over the past century. Still, not many Celestial Dragons were interested in becoming Gorosei, because after taking the position, they had to work three hours a day.

Once the doors to the hall closed, Miming realized that it was a vast, empty chamber. Before him stood a broad, majestic staircase leading to an enormous throne. Its back rose straight into the heavens like a sword blade. If someone could sit on it, they would surely feel like the one above all under heaven.

Many swords were planted in the level beneath the throne, as though to forbid anyone from approaching it.

Miming climbed the steps, planning to sit on the throne and see what it was like while the Gorosei were still asleep. In the plot he remembered from his previous life, the Gorosei still had a true ruler hidden behind them—the real king of this world, the one who controlled everyone's fate. Her name was Imu. Yet nothing was known about her, because the author had disappeared before the story ended. That made Imu's identity even more mysterious. Unless he became one of the Gorosei, there was no way to touch that secret.

The steps were no different from climbing a mountain, and Miming was soon panting with exhaustion. Yet after finally reaching the top, he saw that not only was the level below packed with swords, but the area around the throne was also filled with all kinds of weapons—swords, blades, and enormous axes. The seat itself was already higher than his head. He had no idea whether he could even climb onto it.

He tried to climb over the weapons and reach the throne, but an irritating voice rang out almost at once.

"Want to sit on it?" the stern voice said. "But that throne isn't for just anyone."

"The twenty weapons guarding the throne represent the oath sworn by the original twenty people who created this world eight hundred years ago."

"That seat is the very center of the world, a symbol of peace."

"Just as the pinnacle of the world's authority is jointly held by the Gorosei, the highest-ranking Celestial Dragons, there is no one and only king in this world!"

"The Empty Throne represents the equality of all kings and ensures that no one will ever develop a dictator's ambitions!"

The Gorosei entered through the doors, one sentence from each of them, and studied Miming with interest.

"It's just a chair. What's the harm in sitting on it for a moment?" Miming ignored the five old relics below and continued climbing toward the throne. It was too high—even jumping, he couldn't touch the seat. Why had they made the chair so huge? Was it for giants? If sitting on it lets me become the one and only king, then being king is pretty easy. Miming thought, Besides, you five are down there, and it'll take you a while to get up here. It would be perfect if I could force Imu to come out.

"You little bastard, get down here!"

"I'm about to become the one and only king! Who can stop me?" Miming shouted. "You think a few lousy weapons can protect the throne? Some symbol of peace! What a joke! With all these swords stuck beneath it, I'd say they symbolize a war over the throne more than anything!"

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew past. Miming's vision blurred, and he had already fallen flat at the feet of the Gorosei.

What had happened? Miming was stunned. His butt hurt badly, but he wasn't seriously injured. The pain wasn't the problem. The problem was that the Gorosei actually possessed such terrifying strength.

Before the Gorosei could speak, Miming started cursing first. "You five old relics called me here, and when I arrived, there wasn't a single person in sight. If you weren't going to let me sit on that chair, you should've said so from the start! You made such a huge chair and put it in such an obvious place. Clearly, it was meant for people to sit on!"

The expression of the old man wearing a flat hat, with a scar across his face, twitched.

"No one can sit on that throne," said the stern old man in the blue suit with the long beard.

"Oh, give me a break!" Miming climbed to his feet and snorted. "Chairs are made for sitting. No matter how big they are, the same rule applies. Even if you let me sit for a moment, no one would know as long as you didn't tell anyone. I refuse to believe that you don't sneak up there and sit on it yourselves when no one's around."

The Gorosei were speechless as one.

The bald old man in the white robes and glasses suddenly slammed the hilt of his sword against the top of Miming's head. "Remember this! Even as a joke, this matter is forbidden!"

"It hurts like hell! Who are you?" Miming clutched his head and rolled around. It had only been a tap with the scabbard, but it gave him the illusion that his skull had been split in two.

The entire Gorosei were speechless once again.

The veins on Saint Ichi's forehead bulged. "You little bastard, you don't even recognize me?"

Miming examined him carefully. "You're... who again?"

Saint Ichi roared, "I'm your grandfather!"

Miming smacked his fist into his palm. Right, he had heard something about that. So it wasn't a lie? Still, he had no memory of ever seeing him.

Saint Ichi nearly vomited blood under the pitying gazes of the other four.

"Ahem. Come to think of it, I'm partly to blame," Saint Ichi said, giving two light coughs. "But even though I haven't returned to the main family for many years, you should still know who I am. After all, the portraits in the family..."

"Nope. The portraits were replaced with that fellow Saint Ni ages ago!" Miming naturally had no respect for Saint Ni, and he didn't bother hiding it. The more outrageous he acted, the more he embodied the true nature of a Celestial Dragon.

"The statues in the courtyard..."

"Not a single one looks like you," Miming said bluntly. Whether there were even any statues was another question. In any case, if his memory served him, he had never seen Saint Ichi, this exalted grandfather of his, from the day he was born. The reason? It went without saying. Saint Ichi obviously looked down on a useless son like Saint Ni. So spare him the nonsense about being too busy working for the World Government.

Saint Ichi coughed lightly. "I really haven't paid much attention to the family for a long time." His expression changed, and he said sternly, "We'll discuss family matters later. I called you here today because I wanted to see what you're capable of."

"What I'm capable of?" Miming planted his hands on his hips and puffed himself up proudly. "I'm capable of plenty! I can take on three people at once..."

"Don't bother bringing up defeating Charlos and the others," Saint Ichi said, unwilling to waste any more time. "What we want to see is your Haki."

Miming pondered seriously for a moment, then said, "Haki? I'm going to become the king of the world!"

"Not that kind of childish joke." Two beams of light shot from Saint Ichi's eyes and suddenly struck Miming. An overwhelming Haki instantly swept across heaven and earth, violently battering Miming's mind.

Miming felt as though the entire world had twisted. The Haki was incredibly sharp, like a blade that relentlessly hacked his consciousness into fragments. The pieces came together like a kaleidoscope, spinning before collapsing again and again.

Miming fought with all his might to stay conscious. Who would've thought these five old fossils were this powerful? No, I can't collapse here. I still have to go to Alabasta to save Princess Vivi, get Boa Hancock back to Amazon Lily so she can become empress, and go to the orange grove to find Nami. Then we'll live a shamelessly happy life together!

That intense desire stirred Miming's willpower, causing Haki to surge from his body once more and clash with the Haki around him. Yet before that Haki, sharp as a blade, even maintaining consciousness grew increasingly difficult.

At last, when everything faded away, the shattered world finally came back together.

Miming's vision returned to normal. Only then did he realize that his entire body was drenched in sweat.

The Gorosei exchanged glances. The old man with the golden beard and red suit said, "He didn't faint. He really does have talent."

"It's weak, but it is indeed Conqueror's Haki."

"Yesterday's awakening was only a coincidence," Saint Ichi said. "But this boy's potential is unquestionable. Give me some time, and I'll make this power stronger."

"After all, successors are hard to find." The other four nodded together.

"Successor? What successor?" Miming froze.

Saint Ichi narrowed his eyes and stared at Miming until he grew uncomfortable. Then he said, "Boy, have you ever thought about becoming one of the Gorosei?"