The Holy Land of Mary Geoise, the Room of Authority.
The fire in the hearth burned brightly. Orange-red light danced across the Five Elders' faces, casting their timeworn features alternately into light and shadow.
The latest issue of the World Economy News Paper lay open on the table before them. The front-page photograph was exceptionally clear: the newly completed Council Hall, its eight enormous stone pillars, the emblem of a crossed Scepter and King's Chess Piece above the entrance, and the profile of the silver-haired man standing before the raised platform. Even through the paper, they could feel his brazen, almost arrogant presence.
Jaygarcia Saturn Saint spoke first. His voice was low, like muffled thunder rolling out of an abyss, and echoed slowly through the silent room.
"The Norton Kingdom. The second nation founded by a pirate."
"But it's different from Charlotte Linlin's. Totto Land is bound together by blood. However many children she has, they're still her own flesh and blood. But this Norton Kingdom-"
2
Jaygarcia Saturn Saint looked away from the newspaper and toward the pitch-black night outside the window, as though gazing at something far away.
"According to reliable intelligence, more than a hundred thousand people have flocked to that island in just one month. Pirates, merchants, craftsmen, and even some civilians.
"What that silver-haired brat wants isn't a family, or a loose alliance held together by blood ties. He wants a real nation.
"A nation that keeps taking in new people and keeps expanding."
"And most importantly, that nation is still expanding!"
"At this rate, within a year, he'll command a force on par with the Four Emperors.
"Don't forget, he already has three former Shichibukai under him-Crocodile, Moria, and Jinbe. By then, it'll be too late to contain him."
Silence spread through the room,