Chapter 7 - The Goal Of The Celestial Dragons

"They were all once young like me!"

The words of the elder with the judge's hat made Gawain nod in acknowledgment. They were Celestial Dragons too, living in the consistently corrupt and decadent environment of Mariejois alongside other Celestial Dragons. But why had only these five awakened Conqueror's Haki and become the Five Elders?

Gawain had pondered this question multiple times, considering the specific background of the Five Elders and the will of Im that loomed over them. However, before arriving in this world, the version of himself that had always held extreme contempt for the Celestial Dragon group had never contemplated another possibility. What if the Five Elders were genuinely exceptional?

But then Gawain thought, could it be that the Five Elders were just spinning embellished lies? What if their conversations constantly intertwined their past with their present?

From his perspective, applying his current mindset to the past of the Five Elders would mean recognizing their thoughts, which would essentially equate to recognizing their past. Yet, such thinking was still not rigorous enough, because if they had mastered sophisticated rhetoric, wouldn't they still be quite impressive? At the very least, they were good at conversing, right?

Language and thought often form closed loops, and while Gawain silently contemplated everything, the sword-wielding elder finally carried him and the sofa into the office of the Five Elders.

Once Gawain noticed he had been set down, he gently nodded and said, "Thank you."

"There's no need to be polite, little Gawain; this is just understanding your severe injuries. If you were in perfect condition, no matter how talented you are, you would have to walk into our room on your own. That's the rule."

After a brief exchange, the sword-wielding elder and the others settled into their respective sofas. As they took their seats, Gawain looked around; the office of the Five Elders was sparsely furnished, with only a few sofas and no other special decorations. This indirectly confirmed their earlier statement that those who possess Conqueror's Haki would not have an excessive reliance on external objects.

After a moment, the Five Elders got comfortable. The elder with the long beard, the judge-headed elder, and the golden-haired elder each sat separately, while the sword-wielding elder squeezed onto a sofa with the two bearded elders. They didn't seem inclined to keep Gawain waiting, as the sword-wielding elder quickly turned to him.

"Before we converse with you, we need to share an important principle. This principle comes in the form of a question: Gawain, why do you think the Five Elders are five individuals?"

After posing the question, the sword-wielding elder exchanged glances with his colleagues, eagerly awaiting Gawain's answer.

Gawain was not stumped by such a simple question; during his tenure as a diplomat, he had encountered many queries far more intriguing. He began to speak slowly.

"Originally, this question should be quite difficult, as it involves history from eight hundred years ago. The position of the Five Elders has existed since the formation of the World Government. Its meaning is something a mere twenty-something-year-old like me has no reason to fully comprehend. However, after chatting with you five, if I still can't answer this question, that would be truly foolish of me."

At this point, Gawain's gaze lingered on each of the five in front of him for a moment.

"Law, culture, economy, diplomacy, and military—when combined, these five terms yield only one answer: politics! You're trying to tell me that you represent the highest position of the Celestial Dragons, that you are the Five Elders centered around these five aspects, and that you are the very essence of politics in today's world. Am I right?"

"Well said!" the elder, the diplomat, nodded with a smile on his round face.

"The foundation of politics lies in the five aspects mentioned, and the essence of governance is the process through which rulers disseminate their principles from top to bottom. This is precisely why the system of the Five Elders has been in place since the twenty ancestors established the World Government and has continued to this day."

"And this system, along with our core objectives, has become an important cornerstone of the Celestial Dragons' government that has ruled the world for eight hundred years!"

As the words fell, the round-faced diplomat glanced at Gawain's contemplative expression and nodded in satisfaction before continuing.

"Apart from the significance of the Five Elders, which lies in those five political elements, another core of our Celestial Dragon regime is our enduring goal! Gawain, why don't you take a bold guess at what this government established by our twenty ancestors aims to achieve?"

Facing the diplomat's question, Gawain furrowed his brows and replied, "In today's world, with the chaos among the allied nations, the increasingly powerful pirate forces, the rampant corruption within the Marines, and the deepening dissatisfaction of the common people with the Celestial Dragon government… In such an environment, you want me to guess what you are aiming to do?"

After pausing for a moment, Gawain chuckled and continued, "You want to destroy this world, don't you?"

With that, Gawain laughed while quietly observing the expressions of the Five Elders. He saw them first look shocked, then exchange glances, and finally, burst into laughter simultaneously.

The economic elder even playfully slapped the cultural elder on the shoulder. "See? This is really similar to the question I asked back then. He's much more suited to replace my position!"

As he spoke, the economic elder turned to Gawain and confidently added, "But when I asked something similar back in the day, I wasn't so polite! I pointed at his nose and shouted, 'You bunch of useless scoundrels can only lead the world to destruction!' That's how I said it—way more imposing than you, ha-ha!"

As the economic elder laughed heartily, the diplomatic elder continued, "Indeed, just as we expected. Those who awaken Conqueror's Haki in an environment like Mariejois often harbor dissatisfaction with our ruling methods. Because, as you mentioned, whether it's the corruption in the Marines or the dissatisfaction among the common people, those are facts.

You need to understand what I'm about to explain: the foundation upon which the World Government was built. Apart from the emphasis on politics, our other foundational principle—one that we have dedicated our lives to fighting for—is to destroy the rule of over 170 allied nations over their respective territories and, in turn, claim every inch of land in the world!"

As these words fell, the economic elder abruptly stopped laughing. The other Five Elders also turned serious, their gazes fixated on Gawain, observing every slight change in his pupils.

Fortunately, Gawain had long trained himself to maintain a remarkably stable gaze. No matter how cunning the individuals in front of him were, they would never discern the true intentions hidden behind the speeches he had prepared as a diplomat.

Seeing only calm in Gawain's eyes, the Five Elders relaxed. The diplomatic elder nodded and continued, "Fortunately, you can understand our ambitions. Your Conqueror's Haki is not born from some so-called free will!

If that's the case, listen carefully! The twenty kings who were our Celestial Dragon ancestors did not initially aim to create a loose alliance of numerous allied nations! They sought to establish a truly unified, complete nation!"

Bang!

The diplomatic elder slapped his thigh emphatically. "Gawain, no matter who you become in the future, you must remember this! Unlike the garbage in Mariejois, we—those of us who have awakened Conqueror's Haki and found our purpose amid the mud—are the true Celestial Dragons!

Our only meaning of existence is to tear apart the illegal rule of the governments of the various allied nations over their private territories! The existence of these allied nations, each with its own political regime, is a severe provocation to the World Government and centralized thought!

We must unify these seas; we must unify the entire world! Just as our ancestors instructed us when we took office, every dragon must, like our ancestors, harbor the dream of unification!"