Chapter 6 - We Were Like You

In the blink of an eye, Gawain's Conqueror's Haki threatened to shatter everything in the room of the Five Elders. But just as this reality was about to unfold, the sword-wielding elder suddenly retracted his Haki.

"Heh, confirmation complete. The one possessing this power is indeed you, and not some ambitious individual hidden among slaves who has infiltrated Mariejois!"

As he spoke, the sword-wielding elder tucked his long sword into his embrace. The blade's sheath clashed against his chest, creating a crisp clang. With that sound, Gawain's Conqueror's Haki, as well as that of the other four members of the Five Elders, vanished into thin air.

Noticing his Haki calming down, Gawain didn't mind; he continued to smoke as if nothing had happened. Through the swirling smoke, the sword-wielding elder glanced at his colleagues and then at Gawain, quietly asking, "However, compared to your unimaginable Conqueror's Haki, we are even more curious as to why such Haki has emerged within you. After all, Conqueror's Haki is not a natural gift as rumored among the common folk; it is a mixture of determination and willpower, a resolve to achieve a specific goal, and the courage to realize that goal! On this foundation, the possessor of Conqueror's Haki must also have extreme confidence—confidence that they can absolutely achieve their goals! Besides this, the possessor must be open-minded. Throughout history, anyone who is troubled by external factors and cannot be sincere to their own existence, even if they accidentally awaken Conqueror's Haki, will not make any further progress!"

As he reached this point, the sword-wielding elder's gaze sharpened, and the round glasses on his face, which seemed absurd yet somehow dignified, flickered with a cold glint.

"So!" he asked heavily. "Answer our question, Gawain! How did you awaken such Conqueror's Haki in the corrupt environment of Mariejois? What kind of goal, what kind of ambition, could brew such an extraordinary Conqueror's Haki within you?"

Accompanied by the sword-wielding elder's words, the Five Elders formed a line, their eyes darkly fixed on Gawain, who was seated on the sofa.

But Gawain, facing the watchful eyes of the Five Elders, merely smiled and shook his head. "Do you even realize that Mariejois is a corrupt environment?"

As he spoke, Gawain glanced at the cigarette in his hand, which had burned down to the filter. He looked around; there was no place to extinguish it. The floor beneath him was polished like a mirror, and with just one look, Gawain could see his own reflection.

That appearance was just as he remembered himself: pure black hair neatly combed back, a bright and radiant face. Aside from a slight smear of blood at the corner of his mouth, he was still the same person who would have been referred to as "Little Zunlong" by his colleagues before his transmigration.

But now, he was someone who was supposed to continue a diplomatic career, eventually standing in a position to address the world...

Had he already gained the qualification to confront representatives of the highest authority in another world?

Thinking of this, Gawain's smile grew even brighter. Facing the glossy floor that illuminated his shape, he flicked the cigarette butt at the reflection of his own face.

He was still himself, but he was no longer the same!

"Five Elders!" he began. "I had imagined scenarios of meeting you, but without exception, today's encounter is completely different from what I envisioned. You ask me why I possess this Conqueror's Haki? But why is it you who asks me?"

Gawain smiled as he positioned his arms on the armrests of the sofa.

Rubbing the unknown sea creature leather on the sofa's armrest, Gawain pondered the current situation and continued to respond with a question of his own: "Some questions do not require an answer to clarify their answers, so I have a question to ask you."

"Why did you create such a corrupt environment in Mariejois?"

Once the question fell, Gawain fell silent, observing the reactions of the Five Elders. In his gaze, the Five Elders exchanged glances before turning to look at him in unison. At that moment, warm smiles reappeared on their faces, as if they were looking at genuine juniors.

"It seems you are much wiser than we thought, Gawain. Our previous question—why did you awaken such extraordinary Haki in such a corrupt environment?—its answer is simple: it's because we five were also born in this kind of environment!"

At this point, the sword-wielding elder stepped forward. "In families with renowned generals as ancestors, it's hard to give birth to another general. In families with sages as ancestors, it's difficult to produce another sage. Therefore, in families with the twenty kings who established the world as ancestors..."

He fell silent for a long time, and behind him, the other four members of the Five Elders each sighed. After sighing, the sword-wielding elder shook his head.

"What are the odds that such a family can produce another truly qualified ruler?"

With that, the sword-wielding elder walked up to Gawain and gently rubbed his head.

"Look at your elders beside you, and those peers of yours... those who we can't be bothered to pay attention to. You've lived with them since birth; it's possible you may never feel they did anything wrong. You might spend your whole life becoming just another version of them, completely the same.

But when you realize their faults, when you see that what they do tarnishes the honor of your ancestors, when you understand that your future shouldn't be one of fear and disdain, that moment—perhaps it's now.

Isn't the current you eager to do something? Hahahahaha!!"

Accompanied by a series of hearty laughs, the sword-wielding elder lifted Gawain's sofa with one hand and turned to walk into the deeper room. While carrying the sofa, he smiled and said to Gawain, "It's rare to see you like this in Mariejois. But looking back, similar events tend to occur every few decades or even every century in Mariejois!"

Beside the sword-wielding elder, the middle-aged man with yellow hair nodded, chuckling. "The last person to awaken Conqueror's Haki was me. I was the youngest among them. The Five Elders are always five, but they haven't always been the same five!"

"Exactly. He was the last to awaken among us, replacing his predecessor. As for his predecessor, with your talent, you will surely become one of us, so there's no need for me to hide secrets that only we know. We will always have our time to step down! When there's a true successor we can rely on and entrust to, we will retreat into the depths of the Red Line, where our ancestors have long slumbered. That's not death, but rest."

At this point, the elder responsible for culture took over from the sword-wielding elder. "Whether you or those shallow-minded civilian officers outside, even the most outstanding among them see only the dark side of this world, along with the suffering endured by a portion of the afflicted.

As for us, Gawain, you, who were born among us, need to expand your vision to a higher position!"

At this, the two-bearded elders continued from the cultural elder's words. "Those civilians, officers, thieves, soldiers... they are neither you nor I; they are not Celestial Dragons!

You and I, our existence is to solidify and perpetuate the dominion of Celestial Dragons over the world! Next...

We will have a proper discussion with you about how we rule this world!"

Once this was said, the elder with the judge's hat, who had remained silent all this time, made the final statement. "Perhaps in the past, you thought of us as the worst of the worst.

Now, I hope you can recognize the true us! If all Celestial Dragons are the worst of the worst, then in the eight hundred years we have ruled the world, the talented individuals who have stirred the seas in each of those eras—aren't they even worse than the worst... the more foolish and incompetent wretches?

No matter how you viewed us old ghosts before, I will now let you know... every one of the Five Elders was once young! And every one of the Five Elders was once the past version of you!"