Chapter 7

They were all once young like me!

The words of the judge-headed old man made Gao Wen nod in agreement.

They were all Celestial Dragons, living in the always corrupt and decadent environment of Mariejoa, along with other Celestial Dragons.

Then why did only the five of them awaken the Conqueror's Haki and become the Five Elders?

Gao Wen had pondered this question many times, considering the specific backgrounds of the Five Elders and the will of Imu that lay above them.

But before coming to this world, the self who always held extreme disdain for the Celestial Dragons never considered another possibility.

What if the Five Elders were truly outstanding?

But then Gao Wen thought, could the Five Elders be speaking polished lies?

If it was all rhetoric, they constantly overlapped their past with his present in their conversations.

Then, from his perspective, if he put himself in the shoes of the Five Elders' past, wouldn't acknowledging his own thoughts mean acknowledging their past?

But this line of thinking was still not rigorous enough, because if they were skilled in sophisticated rhetoric, weren't they still very outstanding?

At least they could chat, right?

Language and thought always tend to form a closed loop, and as Gao Wen silently pondered everything, the knife-wielding old man finally brought him and the sofa into the Five Elders' office.

Noticing that he had been set down by the knife-wielding old man, Gao Wen nodded lightly and said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome, little Gao Wen. This is just out of consideration for your severe injuries. If you were unharmed, no matter how outstanding you are, you would have to walk into our room on your own. That's the rule."

The knife-wielding old man made small talk, and then the five of them each took their respective sofas.

As they sat down, Gao Wen looked around. The room of the Five Elders had almost no decorations, except for a few sofas, there were no special embellishments.

This indirectly proved the Five Elders' previous words, that those with Conqueror's Haki do not overly rely on external things.

A moment later, the Five Elders settled down. The bearded, judge-headed, and blonde old men each sat separately, while the knife-wielding old man and the two-bearded old man sat together on a sofa, leaning on each other.

They didn't seem to want to leave Gao Wen alone, as the knife-wielding old man quickly said to him, "Before we talk to you, we need to tell you a principle. This principle is a question. Gao Wen, why do you think the Five Elders are five people?"

After posing the question, the knife-wielding old man and his colleagues exchanged glances, then looked forward to Gao Wen's answer.

Gao Wen was not stumped by such a simple question. During his tenure as a diplomat, he had encountered many more interesting questions.

He spoke calmly, "Originally, this question should be difficult, as it involves the history of eight hundred years ago. The position of the Five Elders has existed since the founding of the World Government. Its meaning, a mere twenty-something like me has no reason to fully understand. But after talking with the five of you, if I still can't answer this question, then I am truly foolish."

As he spoke, Gao Wen's eyes lingered on each of the five people in front of him.

"Law, culture, economy, diplomacy, and military. These five words combined can only lead to one answer. That is politics! You are trying to tell me that you are the highest of the Celestial Dragons, the Five Elders who are the core of the above five points, and the very embodiment of the current world's politics. Is that right?"

"Very well said!"

The diplomatic old man nodded, his round face full of smiles.

"The foundation of politics is precisely the above five points, and the meaning of governance is the continuous dissemination of the rulers' principles from top to bottom. This is the reason why the system of the Five Elders, established by the twenty ancestors who founded the World Government, has been sustained until today. This system, along with our core goals, has become the important foundation for the Celestial Dragons' government to rule the world for eight hundred years!"

As he finished speaking, the round-faced diplomatic old man glanced at Gao Wen's thoughtful expression, nodded in satisfaction, and continued, "Apart from the meaning of the Five Elders, which are the five political elements, another core of our Celestial Dragons' government is our ultimate goal! Gao Wen, why don't you boldly guess what the government, established by our twenty ancestors, is really trying to achieve?"

Faced with the diplomatic old man's question, Gao Wen frowned and countered, "In the current world, the affiliated countries are in chaos, the pirate forces are growing, the Marine corruption is rampant, and the people's dissatisfaction with the Celestial Dragons' government is deepening. In such an environment, you want me to guess what you are really trying to do?"

Gao Wen paused for a moment, then laughed lightly, "Are you trying to destroy this world!"

As he spoke, Gao Wen laughed while subtly observing the expressions of the Five Elders.

He saw the Five Elders first look stunned, then exchange glances, and then burst out laughing together.

The economic old man even laughed as he patted the cultural old man's shoulder, "See, it's really similar to my question back then. He is really more suitable to take over my position!"

As he spoke, the economic old man looked at Gao Wen and continued with authority, "But I didn't ask such a question in that tone back then! I pointed at his nose and shouted, 'You parasites who just occupy positions can only lead the world to destruction!' That's what I said, more domineering than you, hahaha!"

The economic old man laughed and patted the cultural old man's shoulder. Clearly, the person he was referring to was the former cultural old man.

On the side, taking advantage of the economic old man's continuous laughter, the diplomatic old man continued, "Indeed, just as we thought, those who awaken the Conqueror's Haki in the environment of Mariejoa mostly have dissatisfaction with our governance methods. Because, as you said, the corruption of the Marines and the dissatisfaction of the people are all facts. Regarding these issues, you need to understand the foundation of the World Government that I will explain to you. Apart from the emphasis on politics, our other foundation, the goal we strive for our entire lives... is to destroy the rule of the 170+ affiliated countries over their respective territories and occupy every inch of land in the world!"

As he finished speaking, the economic old man suddenly stopped laughing. The other Five Elders also became solemn.

They stared intently at Gao Wen's eyes, observing every change in his pupils.

Fortunately, Gao Wen had long cultivated a particularly stable gaze. No matter how cunning a person, they could not discern from an excellent diplomat's eyes the true intentions behind the statements they made, which their country might be hiding!

The Five Elders saw only calm in Gao Wen's eyes, so they relaxed.

The diplomatic old man nodded and continued to Gao Wen, "Fortunately, you can still understand our ambition. Your Conqueror's Haki is not for some so-called free will! Since that's the case, listen carefully! The twenty ancestors of the Celestial Dragons who founded the World Government. They did not initially want to establish a loose alliance with countless affiliated countries! They wanted to establish a true, completely unified, and complete nation!"

Slap!

The diplomatic old man slapped his thigh hard.

"Gao Wen, no matter what kind of person you will become in the future, you must remember this now! Unlike the other trash in Mariejoa, you and I, who have awakened the Conqueror's Haki and found our own goals in the mire, are the true Celestial Dragons! Our only purpose is to tear apart the illegal rule of the affiliated countries over their private territories! The existence of these countries with their own governments is a serious challenge to the World Government and the idea of centralization! We must unify this sea, we must unify the entire world! Just as our predecessors instructed us when we took office, each dragon must, like our ancestors, harbor the dream of unification!"