Saturn was very angry about Vic's phone call last night. He was very dissatisfied with Vic's attitude towards him, but what angered him the most was Kuma, his former slave. He had already let Big Bear run away once before. Since the other party didn't know what was good for him, he would make sure to make him pay for the painful lesson he had been taught.
" Vic called me last night. He found another suitable candidate for the Shichibukai. I think he's a good fit, since he ate the Devil Fruit that was the prize for God Valley. It's just that Bartholomew Kuma refused!"
A former slave dares to refuse to serve the government? He defied my will! I've already told him I'd make him suffer ten times more than when he was a slave. I've come to you to discuss a plan to make him regret ever being born!
Saturn began the first topic of the day: to sanction Kuma. His words were law, a testament to the authority of the Five Elders, the highest echelons of the World Government.
"You can decide such a simple matter yourself. Why bring it up for discussion? Let's discuss whether we still need to send reinforcements for Fisher Tiger," the long-haired, Five Elders said calmly.
"It's no small matter either. Runaway slaves are the property of us Celestial Dragons, whether they live or die. Disobeying orders is a rebellion against the authority of the Celestial Dragons, and we must make an example of them."
The Five Elders with glasses said seriously that they believed the Celestial Dragons were the heavens of this world, and no one could defy Celestial Dragons will. Moreover, they believed that people in the lower realms should always respect the Celestial Dragons, so making an example of them was essential.
Just like Fisher Tiger, who set fires and released slaves throughout Mary Geoise, this was their biggest concern now, because the navy had not yet caught anyone, which annoyed them. However, as a fellow escaped slave, the matter of Kuma could not be ignored.
"You were in charge of the God Valley incident back then, and you were there in person, so you understand him better. What do you think he cares about most?"
The Five Elders the big mustache asked, clearly wanting to contribute to punishing Kuma.
" Kuma has no family left, but he met two slaves his age in the God Valley, one named Ginny and the other Ivankov. All three of them have now joined the Rebel Army."
Ivankov joined earlier, while Kuma and Ginny joined five years ago. Before that, they had lived in the Sorbet Kingdom and grew up together, so these two should be the ones Kuma cares about the most.
Saturn was furious after being hung up on by the Den Den Mushi last night, so he had the Cipher Pol contact the agents lurking in the Sorbet Kingdom. The agents' investigation revealed that Kuma and Ginny had been living in the Sorbet Kingdom all along.
If you want to make Kuma suffer ten times more, you have to work on them. After all, Kuma has no family left. Killing him isn't suffering; it's giving him a quick death, a release!
"So that means Kuma and that woman named Ginny have a deeper relationship. They've lived together for so long, they might already be married. Ginny is the key. How do you think you can manipulate things around Ginny to make Kuma, this slave, suffer even more?"
The blonde Five Elders quickly grasped the crux of the matter; it seemed that younger people had different focuses, and they even knew to work on love.
"They might be married? Do they have children? Kuma is Buccaneer Tribe! Having children would be a disaster; he must be executed!"
The bald, bespectacled Five Elders said fiercely, "What we fear most is the remnant descendants of Joy Boy. The races that allied with Joy Boy back then were not ordinary races, and they posed a great threat."
"They've lived together for over a decade, but they don't have any children. Maybe they have, but they've hidden them, just like Roger hid his bloodline back then!" Saturn continued, answering the questions he had gathered.
"Whether or not there are children, just find an opportunity to capture that woman named Ginny and bring her to the Holy Land for an examination. If there are no children, then we'll create one for them, so Kuma can be a father without having to work hard!"
"Isn't this enough to make Kuma suffer? Don't we still have those rare viruses? Let's give Ginny and the child one, and then send them back to Kuma. What do you think Kuma will think when he sees his lover with a terminal illness and her child with another man? How much pain will he feel wanting to save her but being unable to? What if that man is his former master, Celestial Dragons?"
"Yes! We need to find viruses that children can still be treated, but adults have even shorter treatment times. You're telling me, Kuma watched his beloved die in front of him, powerless to do anything about it."
The thought that his beloved's child with another man would also die soon fills Kuma with even more pain.
If Kuma takes care of the child out of consideration for his former lover, and goes to great lengths to seek medical treatment for the child, and the two develop feelings for each other, and then we use curing the child as leverage to make a deal with Kuma, forcing him to completely obey us, do you think he would agree? And how would he feel inside?"
"I think the disease Sapphire Scales is quite good. If a woman is infected, she can transmit it to the baby in her womb. Haven't we tested it many times?"
We happen to have the same virus that causes the disease, but to think that we can restrain the Kuma just by relying on this trade seems a bit unreliable to me.
"Didn't the Vegapunk already break through the artificial human technology? We can have them erase Vegapunk 'Kuma self-awareness as a bargaining chip, turning him into a war machine completely subservient to our government. We can't waste the Paw-Paw Fruit's power."
"We could even slip the method for treating Sapphire Scales into some kind of manual and unintentionally give it to Vegapunk, then at a crucial moment spread the news that Vegapunk could cure the disease, and Kuma would definitely go to Vegapunk."
In that moment of certain death, Kuma would definitely agree to any condition. His Paw-Paw Fruit ability makes him difficult to track, but all we need to do is monitor Vegapunk. This way, we can both punish Kuma twice over and make Kuma Shichibukai, serving the government completely.
"Since it was Saturn who proposed this, let Saturn handle and monitor it. The rest is just our plan; it's hard to say whether it will develop according to our arrangements."
All of this is based on Kuma's feelings for Ginny, and we're also unsure how Ginny views Kuma's relationship with another man's child. So we'll take it one step at a time and adjust as needed. If Kuma doesn't have feelings for the child, then we'll use Ginny as leverage; the final outcome will be about the same anyway.
"There shouldn't be any problem. The agent's feedback is that Kuma is kind to everyone, a kind-hearted but foolish person, basically a pushover. He won't leave Ginny's child to die."
This plan should be fine, so let's talk about something else. Through our several phone calls, I've noticed that Vic has no respect for me and doesn't seem to think we Celestial Dragons are superior. I think he should be taught a lesson, to know who the creator of this world is! We can't let him act lawlessly just because of his strength!
"It's true that someone so young with such strength is prone to arrogance, but he is indeed a rare talent. It's necessary to let him experience the majesty of us Celestial Dragons. We'll have to arrange for the Holy Knights to teach him a lesson sometime, and he'll behave himself."
"He grew up in the East Blue and hasn't been in the Navy for long. He's just a kid who hasn't seen much of the world. Isn't there Reverie this year? Let him escort a king to the Holy Land to admire the greatness of the Celestial Dragons."
"Hasn't Garp always wanted to support him becoming Marine Admiral? He even caused a huge scene at Marine Headquarters before because of the Shichibukai issue."
"Ku and Sengoku have already compromised. Even if he achieves great merit, they'll both support that kid. If the entire Navy supports him, we can't refuse. What do you guys say?"
"I think we should take a two-pronged approach. On one hand, we need to make that kid feel the supreme authority of the Celestial Dragons, and on the other hand, we need to test his loyalty to the World Government. We don't just want a loyal Marine Admiral; if both aspects satisfy us, what's wrong with giving him the position of Marine Admiral!"
"Let's wait until he really achieves great merit. He's currently on a Shichibukai mission, he doesn't have time to make any great contributions. Even after we confirm the Marine Admiral, his mission might not be completed. Let's just drag it out, that kid's young anyway."
"Let's talk about that later. Let's discuss the capture of Fisher Tiger and the reinforcement of troops first..."
The five top decision-makers of the World Government arranged the rest of two people's lives with just a few words; this is their view of all living beings!