A week later.
Mariejois.
In a conference hall.
In front of the huge oval conference table, the Five Elders sat down one after another.
Afterwards, the commander-in-chief of the World Government army, Kong, entered! Then came Marshal Sengoku, who arrived at the World Government yesterday, followed by the three Admirals, Staff Officer Crane, and finally officers from CP1 to CP9, and some other high-level department heads.
As soon as he sat down, Sengoku rested his chin on his hands, feeling secretly startled.
It was the first time even Sengoku had seen such a solemn meeting.
Although he had come to the World Government to participate in conferences in the past, none of them could compare to this one.
It used to be just a one-on-one meeting between them, Marine, and the Five Elders.
But this time?
High-ranking officials from almost every department under the World Government were present.
"What on earth happened? What could have caused such a big move by the World Government?" Sengoku was puzzled and looked at Marshal Kong.
Kong felt Sengoku's gaze and shook his head slightly.
Seeing this, Sengoku was even more startled. "Even Marshal Kong doesn't know?"
Kong was the previous Marine Marshal and now served as the commander-in-chief of the entire army. Even within the World Government, he was considered to be at the core level. But if even Kong didn't know the content of this meeting, Sengoku realized the seriousness of it.
With all the members present, everyone in the conference room looked toward the Five Elders.
Cough, cough.
The old man with a figure-eight beard coughed, without wasting any time, and started the meeting.
"Today's meeting is of great importance," he began.
"It concerns the future of the World Government."
"Before I reveal the specifics, I will announce three things."
"Just be quiet and listen."
Having said that, the old man picked up a document and spoke in a flat tone. "First, as of today, we will begin forming an army. The World Government will invest significant funds into this, likely comparable to that of the Marines."
"What?"
The first statement alone left everyone astonished.
An army?
What a joke.
Why did the World Government suddenly want to form an army?
Although there was already an army on the Red Line, it was purely symbolic and not a true military force.
But what the Five Elders mentioned now clearly referred to forming a real army, at least one on the same level as the Marines.
What was the purpose behind this?
Were they planning to start intervening in the affairs of countries worldwide?
After all, armies weren't necessary on the Red Line.
Everyone was confused.
While they were filled with astonishment, they were also filled with doubt.
"Silence," another elder said in a deep voice.
At his words, the room fell silent. Everyone turned their attention back to the elder with the figure-eight beard.
The first announcement was already shocking, and the next was unlikely to be any less significant.
Indeed.
The elder with the figure-eight beard continued, "Second, Marine funding will be increased. The purpose of this funding is to enable the Marines to strengthen their dominance over the Four Seas and the first half of the Grand Line, to ensure as much stability in civilian life as possible!"
"The increase in funds this time is about half of the previous budget."
His words rang out loudly.
But again, everyone was stunned.
Everyone, including Sengoku, was dumbfounded.
If Sengoku hadn't known that the Marines hadn't achieved anything particularly significant recently, he would have thought they had made some monumental contribution.
The Marines were already enormous in scope.
In recent times, the World Government had even been deliberately suppressing the Marines, fearing they might overshadow other departments and inflate their sense of importance.
But now?
Not only were they increasing the Marines' funding, but there was also the mention of ensuring the stability of civilian life worldwide?
Was that something the Five Elders would actually say?
If anyone else had said such a thing, they would have been dismissed as out of touch.
Given how cold-blooded the top officials of the World Government were, could they truly care about the lives of civilians?
What a joke!
It was absolutely impossible.
But in the face of the serious Five Elders, no matter how baffled everyone felt, they could only keep their doubts to themselves and wait for answers.
"Third, a new Ministry of People's Livelihood will be established in various departments, including the Marines. The role of this department will be to investigate the living conditions of civilians in different sea areas and address civilian difficulties. Members of this department will be dispatched directly by the World Government, and Celestial Dragons will be in charge."
Pfft!
At this, many who were drinking water spat it out in shock.
If the first two announcements were surprising, this third one was incomprehensible.
Setting up a Ministry of People's Livelihood was fine.
After all, it was a good initiative.
But putting Celestial Dragons in charge?
Was this some kind of joke?
The World Government should be well aware of the reputation of the Celestial Dragons.
Or was it that they simply didn't care if civilians in various sea areas lived miserable lives?
Faced with the suspicious gazes of many, the Five Elders remained calm, and the elder with the sword spoke up. "The Celestial Dragons being dispatched will be elites specially trained by the World Government. So, there's no need for concern."
Phew.
Hearing this explanation, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and nodded in understanding.
If they were elites, then there shouldn't be any issues.
Everyone also knows that among the Celestial Dragons in the World government, although most of them are arrogant and domineering self-proclaimed descendants of gods, there are also a few who have been carefully cultivated by the World government. The core position of the world government.
Their abilities were even superior to some of the elites in the Marines.
Still, the sudden formation of this new department was puzzling.
The World Government's past attitude towards civilians had been so cold-blooded, treating them like mere statistics.
Hundreds of thousands of deaths had never been a concern.
Now, this sudden change in treatment towards civilians was hard to believe.
But the Five Elders offered no further explanation.
Instead, they continued, "Now, for the real subject of this meeting. But it will not be us to explain it."
At this, one of the Five Elders motioned to a black-clad bodyguard behind him and gave the order, "Go and request His Royal Highness Kaos to join us."
"Yes," the bodyguard replied respectfully before turning and leaving.
At the conference table, Sengoku and the others looked on with astonishment.
Your Highness?
To hear that word come from the Five Elders was truly shocking.
For the Five Elders to address someone as "Your Highness"...
Whoever it was must hold an extremely important position in the World Government.
A position even on par with the Five Elders!