Chapter 9 - The Secret Of D

"Hmph, you don't need to ask; I will bring it up with you anyway."

The diplomatic elder sneered disdainfully, and the other Five Elder Stars also shared his contemptuous smile. Amidst their cold laughter, the diplomatic elder began to speak.

"Regarding the reasons for the rampant piracy, heh. Eight hundred years ago, the war ended, and the World Government was officially established. After that, our ancestors, along with the countries that had fought for a hundred years, buried most of the bloody history from the century of war. Although the century-long war tormented us, the commoners of various kingdoms suffered even more. No one longed for peace more than they did. However, there was always a small group of people who thought otherwise.

In Wano Country, the Kozuki clan always believed that stopping the war and establishing treaties was a betrayal of Wano by the hundred countries of the world. Thus, the Kozuki clan privately carved historical records onto stone tablets! If not for everyone wanting to cover it up, could the history that everyone personally experienced really disappear out of thin air? Eight hundred years ago, the entire world was aware of the events; could we Celestial Dragons truly erase it so easily? That was the hatred of generations and the memories of each individual!

The reason we could hide history was simply because, compared to hatred, the countries of the world preferred to embrace peace! They set aside their obsessions and discarded their hatred and memories just to welcome a peace that had long been awaited. But as time passed, after the older generation who had experienced the wars gradually passed away, the selfish actions of the Kozuki clan finally ignited a new wave of resistance.

About seven hundred and forty years ago, the world was engulfed in smoke and flames once more. We had to adopt some special strategies in response. Initially, we dispatched soldiers in small groups to roam around the world, active near almost every island. We didn't seek to suppress the local kingdoms; we only wanted them to create enough disturbances and troubles for various countries to restrain their military strength, preventing them from easily raising their flags in rebellion.

However, after several decades, the soldiers who had been released had long become accustomed to a life of wandering and plundering. They transformed from mere soldiers into true pirates. We did not implement coercive measures regarding this, as our only enemy was the entire world's countries! Whether they were pirates, soldiers, or even revolutionaries, as long as they brought trouble to the countries of the world, we would turn a blind eye!

At the same time, we undertook a truly grand undertaking on a global scale. In order to completely resolve the fundamental problem of inconvenient transportation, which made it difficult for central power to manage the localities, we decided to build a grand infrastructure project between all the islands of the world called the Continental Bridge!

Since seven hundred years ago, the Continental Bridge plan has never ceased, with countless workers being deployed to this project. For a full seven hundred years, even until today, this project has weathered storms and never interrupted! It was like this in the past, it is like this now, and it will be like this in the future!

And before the Continental Bridge is completely finished, before we have the conditions to simultaneously conquer the countries of the world and quickly deploy troops to suppress the rebellions on every island, the existence of pirates is necessary. Pirates scattered across the world will bring sufficient pressure to the nobles of various countries, deepening their reliance on the World Government. That pressure will prompt the nobles to seek our protection more eagerly, and this protection will lead the nobles to readily hand over the taxes they owe—known as the "gold from the sky."

For seven hundred years, this situation has persisted. Although there have been occasional skirmishes, the larger environment has never changed. Until…"

"Until the appearance of that former Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, right?"

Gawain's eyes brightened as he thought of many things, so he interrupted the diplomatic elder's words and asked softly. Hearing his inquiry, the diplomatic elder gritted his teeth and said angrily, "Exactly.

For the past seven hundred years, although pirates have appeared in droves, they have been evenly distributed under our guidance. Apart from some large pirates occupying that small area of the New World, there are enough pirates in the four seas and the Grand Line to create pressure for the countries. That pressure isn't extremely large, but it's certainly not small enough for them to ignore. This situation has been maintained very stably by us. Before Roger, neither Rocks nor any other great pirate ever shook this stability. Until Roger appeared!"

The Five Elder Stars must have hated Roger intensely; the diplomatic elder spoke with great emotion, practically gritting his teeth.

"The Pirate King, heh. After seeing the history of the Void Century on that island where he buried secrets, he probably thought he had made some great decision, right? It was his declaration about the great treasure before his death that completely disrupted the order of this sea, which may not have been very good but was stable and possessed a basic order! Young people from the four seas responded to his call, rushing toward the so-called treasure he spoke of, all flooding into a corner of the New World!

You may not understand the disaster this caused, but I will explain it to you thoroughly; the excessive loss of population brought tremendous trouble to this world and the various islands of the four seas! This matter…"

"No need!"

Gawain suddenly interrupted the diplomatic elder.

"I can imagine the harm caused by this phenomenon!"

As he spoke, Gawain forced a bitter smile. He certainly understood that trouble because, in some respects, it was not much different from the place he used to live. Pirates barged into the New World, hoping to get rich, but the dangers of the New World caused most pirates to fall along the way.

In the four blues, the majority of those who can go out to sea are young and able-bodied individuals. Since Roger's death, far too many young people have taken the path of piracy in the four seas, never to return! Doesn't this situation mirror the northern folks leaving their homes in droves to head south? Whether it's to work elsewhere or strive for success, aren't they all just trying to get rich or make ends meet?

And this mass exodus of young people... doesn't it mean that the folks back home can no longer drink the sweet well water? Just imagining it, Gawain could visualize that scene. After losing a large number of young men, the four seas face an increasing aging population, a decline in newborns, and reduced productivity. But while productivity declines, the pressure of "gold from the sky," or taxes, does not lessen.

This back-and-forth situation only increases the pressure on the common people of the four seas! Besides this pressure, combining it with what the Five Elder Stars said earlier, Gawain could also think of other impacts caused by the Age of Great Pirates. In the past, most pirates occupying the four seas came from the local islands. With them around, the nobles responsible for each island wouldn't exploit the commoners too cruelly. After all, the hometown pirates were right there; if they bullied the wrong person, wouldn't they be beaten to death?

However, the mass departure of local pirates has left ordinary islanders without a certain invisible but undeniably present protective force! For many years, the Celestial Dragons have collected the same amount of "gold from the sky" from each island and country. So why are the lives of commoners becoming more difficult, while the spending of nobles in the affiliated countries on Sabaody Archipelago has been increasing year after year?

Moreover, historically, the naval branches established in the four seas were supposed to correspond in number to the local pirate population. But with the onset of the Age of Great Pirates, the pirates of the four seas transformed from semi-fixed criminals roaming a certain area into full-fledged marauders. All the pirates focused on charging towards the Reverse Mountain, the Grand Line, and the New World! Who would even pay attention to the navy in the four seas?

Thus, the branches in the four seas became increasingly weak. The pirates, who were once a stable source of achievements for the branch navies, no longer contributed. The branch commanders found it hard to gain promotions, leading to a ridiculous situation where a branch commander could hold his position for decades without any chance for advancement. Gawain understood what this would lead to—rapid degeneration of the navy in the four seas.

It was just like when Luffy and his crew were in the East Blue; whether it was Morgan or Nezumi, there were corrupt and degenerate naval officers everywhere. But when Luffy and his crew reached the Grand Line, this phenomenon was much less common. Besides the connections and spies, as well as a few psychological deviants, the quality of the navy in the various G-type branches of the Grand Line was significantly higher than that in the four seas.

Thinking of this, Gawain looked up and signaled to the Five Elder Stars. "Whether you believe it or not, I think I can understand what you haven't yet said. For those, I don't think a solution can be found in the short term. Compared to issues that can't be solved immediately but whose answers are known, I prefer to explore the new unknown. So, can you tell me... tell me... what exactly is the will of D?"

"Hmph, hehe, ahahaha!!!"

Hearing Gawain's question, the Five Elder Stars burst into laughter together.

"Gawain, you can't shake off your youthful nature! You just have to chase after those so-called secrets relentlessly!"

This time, it was the military elder who spoke. Holding his long sword, he teased, "If the so-called will of D were really some terrifying secret, could we allow Karp, a descendant of D, to become the greatest hero of the entire navy? Are we really such fools that we wouldn't even deal with the bombs right in front of us?"

"Uh..."

When the sword-wielding elder said this, Gawain suddenly felt something was off. He was indeed too impatient! He normally shouldn't be like this; no matter how curious he was, he should have maintained enough calm based on the situation. But now…

Gawain recalled the feeling he had just now, and after a moment, he understood the reason. His internal organs were increasingly painful, but the pain had been suppressed by his earlier tension and hadn't caught his attention until now.

Once he stopped feeling tense and began to pursue the secrets of the Pirate King world to satisfy his curiosity, the pain hit him, and he started to feel increasingly dizzy. In an instant, his vision began to blur. Fortunately, in his eyes, the increasingly blurry military elder smiled and spoke.

"The so-called will of D, do you think it's freedom, dreams, or death? No, no, no, not every D descendant pursues those things! Look at every D descendant you've seen, then look at their annoying cheerful smiles. Their mouths are wide open in laughter, and that radiant smile, as if they don't know the sorrows of the world, isn't that a big D? They once established a country called D and painted a giant smile on its flag, naming that nation the Land of Joy.

However, although they brought us some trouble, they aren't worthy of being our most feared enemies. We are Celestial Dragons, and we never fear any single country, no matter how powerful it is! The only thing we worry about is the affiliated countries of the world uniting again and completely opposing us! As for the existing D descendants, yes, some of them are indeed not weak, but that isn't due to any innate talent; it's just because they love to laugh.

Those who love to laugh are cheerful and optimistic, resilient and tenacious, making it hard to completely crush them regardless of failure or setbacks. Are such people really supposed to be weaker than others?"

...

On the soft sofa, listening to the military elder's explanation, Gawain felt darkness clouding his vision and a sense of joy in his heart. He finally heard… the secret he had been most concerned about before crossing over!

Beside him, the sword-wielding elder still wanted to say something else. But before he could speak, the diplomatic elder sitting on the same sofa pushed him aside.

"Damn it!" the diplomatic elder shouted. "I got so carried away that I forgot about young Gawain's injuries!"

Next to him, the cultural elder exclaimed, "Quick! Urge Kizaru to hurry up and bring Kuma! If something happens to young Gawain, we might have to kneel before Lord Im for a whole year!"

...

If Gawain could hear those last words, heaven knows what he would be thinking. But unfortunately, at this moment, he couldn't hear anything at all.