Chapter 8 - The Void Century

"Unification?!!"

At this moment, Gawen was truly shocked. Beneath his seemingly surprised expression lay a barely contained anger!

If Gawen were a born-and-bred Celestial Dragon from the world of One Piece, he might only feel astonishment at the dream of unification. In fact, he might even find such a dream somewhat grand. However, for a traveler like Gawen, who was raised in a prosperous environment and grew up under a national flag, the word "unification" had long been tied to the great emperor of the pre-Qin era!

Moreover, despite the Five Elder Stars' recent explanations, Gawen found it hard to shake the image of the Celestial Dragons as arrogant, treating others like slaves, and claiming superiority while actually disregarding lives in a vile manner! This made him feel an uncontrollable disgust and anger towards the term "unification" that came out of the Celestial Dragons' mouths!

So he suppressed his anger and asked in a deep voice,

"You claim to be my elders, so what do you mean by unification? Is it merely stirring the world into a chaotic mess? Is your execution of unification meant to turn the entire ocean into a haven for pirates, leaving the people to suffer? And what about my foolish peers, like Charlos, those ordinary Celestial Dragons—are they also acting out of your so-called unification?!"

As he finished speaking, Gawen scrutinized the expressions of the Five Elder Stars. Being in the youth phase, displaying a facade of someone who struggles to control his emotions could make it easier for the Five Elder Stars to lower their guard around him. As for whether the Five Elder Stars could get angry? If they had shared so much with him, they wouldn't become enraged over a careless remark. In that case, he wouldn't need to judge whether the history they spoke of was truth or lies!

After examining them for a moment, Gawen had a clearer understanding. Indeed, the Five Elder Stars showed no sign of anger; instead, they laughed for a while longer. Once the laughter subsided, it was still the diplomatic elder, the most skilled communicator, who spoke again, softly addressing Gawen,

"You're absolutely right. Whether it's rampant piracy or Charlos's stupidity, those are all results we've created ourselves! There's no need for misunderstanding, and you don't have to interrupt this old man's words. You'll understand once you hear what I have to say next!"

The diplomatic elder showed a nostalgic expression as he lowered his voice, reminiscing,

"Everything, I fear, must start from eight hundred years ago, right after the establishment of the World Government. Or was it nine hundred years? The first century, known to many as… the Void Century. After our ancestors conquered Elbaf, they were constantly fighting for the rights to the world, warring with over sixty races and two hundred eighty nations! Do you think the hidden history that the scholars of Ohara spoke of would yield an extremely absurd answer? That answer is not absurd, but it certainly cannot be known by people today. For the Disappeared Hundred Years only clearly recorded one history, which is… the history of the Celestial Dragons waging war against every race and nation in the world! We are their enemies."

As he spoke, the diplomatic elder looked at Gawen, sighing,

"During that century, our ancestors conquered countless countries and islands one after another. But no matter how many victories they achieved, the flames of war showed no signs of extinguishing! Do you know why?"

"I don't know," Gawen shook his head, still in shock over the historical secret of the Void Century. Even before his transmigration, in Oda's manga, the Void Century remained a shocking mystery!

The Five Elder Stars were unaware of Gawen's thoughts. Hearing his confusion, the diplomatic elder chuckled lightly and continued explaining.

"Because of transportation!"

As the old man spoke, he stretched his right hand toward the sky, and a massive, dense set of maps suddenly filled the entire room. Gawen immediately understood; no wonder the room of the Five Elder Stars had no decorations. It seemed they had reserved all the space for these maps!

Next, the diplomatic elder proudly pointed to the maps and said, "This is the world's greatest secret of the seas, the great treasure left to us by our ancestors, and the most complete world map that still exists today. Our ancestors explored the various seas of the world and created this series of astonishing nautical charts. Every excellent navigator's lifelong dream is contained within this entire set of maps! Without this set of maps, reaching most hidden islands would rely solely on luck, as not every island would have a permanent pointer left behind. This set of maps is far more precious than any history of the Void Century or the so-called treasure of the Pirate King! If it weren't for you, if you didn't possess the unparalleled Conqueror's Haki, and if you hadn't listened to us, you would never have the chance to become one of the Five Elder Stars, let alone see this set of maps!"

As soon as the old man finished speaking, Gawen quickly nodded and turned his gaze toward the maps. Even though he could see only a limited amount of content, he desperately tried to remember all the details he saw. The map was not complicated; aside from the various islands and the directions of the major currents, Gawen noticed that the world of the Pirate King was surrounded by two intersecting circular bands!

The horizontal band was the Red Line. The vertical band was divided into two parts: one half represented the Grand Line, while the other half was the New World. The Grand Line and the Red Line were arranged in a perfect cross, as if a deity had cut through a watermelon with a knife horizontally and vertically. The planet was thus divided into four sections!

Gawen greedily studied the map for quite some time, and after several minutes, the diplomatic elder continued, "As you can see, the Red Line and the Grand Line divide the world into four parts, which we often refer to as the four seas of east, west, north, and south. Outside of the Red Line, the entire world is ocean—it's water!

In any sea area among the four seas, traveling by ship from the easternmost island to the westernmost island takes at least five months! A full hundred and fifty days, and that doesn't even include the time needed for soldiers to gather or to recruit supplies on each island! During that one hundred years, even though our ancestors were invincible, they could not avoid the rising flames of war across the world. The reason? It was precisely because the transportation across this sea was incredibly inconvenient!

Every time a problem was solved on one island, new issues would arise on islands months away. As months passed, more problems appeared on even further voyages! Thus, after a full hundred years, our ancestors deeply realized that until we fundamentally resolved the issue of transportation, we really did not have the strength to unify the entire sea!"

The diplomatic elder's face was filled with reluctance as he said heavily, "Do you think the World Government's possession of over a hundred member states is our pride? No, that is our shame, our greatest shame! Those are countries that have repeatedly surrendered and rebelled, with the foremost being the D who pursue free will. They forced our ancestors to swallow the foolish concept of member states whole!

Why do we have to erect a vacant throne between the seats of Mariejois that no one dares to sit on openly? Why do we have to announce to the whole world that no one will ever sit on this throne? Why is the throne, filled with blades and stained with blood, instead proclaimed by us as a symbol of peace? Why is there never a unique king in this world? That was not the result our ancestors wanted, but it was a condition they had to accept. Only by establishing such a rule would many countries be willing to lower their flags in surrender!

Even now, do you still think our high status is the pursuit of us, a group of despicable individuals? No one knows that we have never truly been supreme, Gawen!"

The diplomatic elder called out Gawen's name at the end, causing Gawen to feel a slight chill. Is all of this the truth about the relationship between the Celestial Dragons and the various countries of the world? Is this the hidden secret behind the Void Century in the world of the Pirate King? It was truly unexpected!

However, everything the Five Elder Stars said seemed entirely reasonable. Even if Gawen did not dare to fully trust their words, he found it hard to pinpoint any discrepancies. Thus, after immersing himself in the truth for a while, Gawen could only quietly say to the diplomatic elder, "I think I've roughly grasped the truth, and I can slightly understand the responsibility and pressure you bear. But I still have questions; besides the Void Century, I want to know the reason behind the rampant piracy and what you call 'D'!"

For a diplomat, anxiety is an emotion that must be avoided. Yet, at this moment, Gawen, as a fan of pirates, felt a slight, indescribable tension. Facing the Five Elder Stars, he licked his lips and asked expectantly, "What exactly is the will of D?"