Akainu's outburst plunged the conference room into silence for a moment—not because they were awed, but because, one after another, their faces showed anger laced with a hint of contempt.
After a brief silence, Figarland·Garling said coolly, "Sakazuki, we didn't call you here to argue with you."
Marcus Mars picked up, "At the end of the day, the Navy is just the World Government's façade."
"That's right. We don't need you preaching at us. We are the Government." Topman Warcury said.
"You'll get your money on time. Now shut up. If money can't solve it, that just proves how useless your Navy is." Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro said coldly.
Shepherd Ju Peter said, "Enough of that. Let's get on with the meeting and summon those kings."
Akainu's fist clenched even tighter, smoke curling off the crimson knuckles, veins bulging on his neck.
But seeing the Five Elders putting on this air of grave profundity, and that Shamrock from the Divine Knight Order looking utterly unconcerned, somehow he felt a wave of powerlessness, the kind that slowly loosened his fist and smoothed the anger from his face.
Like something inside had died...
Kizaru adjusted his sunglasses, a weird light flashing across the lenses. "So scary, huh..."
How to put it...
Still needs polishing.
If you don't blend into the light, you don't survive in this world.
The higher you stand, the more you feel it.
The Navy really is just the World Government's outer shell; it's been that way from start to finish.
The Navy, Enies Lobby, and Impel Down, three major outward institutions—but in terms of actual functions, the Navy only counts as one of the three because the sea is too vast, and it needs a Navy.
The World Government does have an army and an air force. It's just that they can't interfere in internal affairs of member nations, so the army has no real clout, and there's no real power up on the Sky Island side, so the air force never really shows.
Still, in the end, they do hold a lot of force. Their old boss, "Steel Bone" Kong, is now Supreme Commander of all forces, in charge of the World Government's external military arm.
But it's only force, nothing more.
And even with that force, although the Navy is the largest, it's not without problems—their troops are scattered far too widely, while the Revolutionary Army is now burrowed inside the Red Earth Continent itself. That sheer height of the continent comes with enormous area; with Ability Users hiding, there's simply no way to find them.
The other side certainly has strong fighters, but with coordination between the Divine Knight Order and high-ranking Navy officers, and even scenarios where the Five Elders themselves take the field, the only reason the enemy can still hold on, even strike Mary Geoise again, is because they're not seeking a decisive battle—they're stalling.
The decisive front is down below, among those member nations already stirred up.
But talking about that now is pointless. These old men, who've lived long enough and sit at the top of power, don't care what the world looks like. What they want... even Kizaru still hasn't figured out.
This current meeting exists only because the rules say they still need those member nations. If the day comes when they truly don't...
That will be the end times.
The Radio Snail was activated, its eyes reflecting across the surrounding screens as fifty split windows appeared.
It hasn't even been as long as the four-year gap yet, but the current situation is too special, so they had no choice but to convene.
Fifty split screens, representing fifty member nations qualified to attend the World Conference. Ever since the "Eight-Nation Revolution," the number of member nations has gone down, but overall, the trend has remained steadily positive.
But this time something seemed different. As the four large wall screens lit up one by one, each big screen automatically divided into ten smaller windows, showing a series of conference rooms and portraits of kings.
These were the representatives of Kingdoms from the Grand Line and the Four Seas. Only, on the West Sea, North Sea, and Grand Line screens, a total of nine windows turned dark, failing to connect.
This time, the meeting was via link because Mary Geoise itself is under lockdown. The kings can't come over, and they're not allowed to, either—their own lands are in chaos.
"Nine conference nations have run into trouble, have they..."
Warcury scanned the screens, murmured, then straightened his expression. "Very well, let's begin."
"Save my country!"
Just as he finished, a voice rang out from the top-left window on the North Sea screen.
Crowned like a king from a deck of cards, the man sobbed, "Hurry and save my country, I'm about to be finished! Pirates have emptied all my islands, and that Giant Horn Kingdom—knowing full well it's my territory—still sent people over to occupy it! Even my main island is about to be taken!"
The speaker was the Antelope Kingdom of the North Sea, named for the shape of its territory, which looks like an antelope—an archipelago state: one large island with a dozen smaller ones, quite prosperous, and it pays its Heavenly Tribute in full every year.
As for the Giant Horn Kingdom he mentioned, that's also a member nation participating in this conference.
"Save it!"
On the top-left window, a king wearing a stag-horn crown, face gloomy, shot back, "I haven't occupied your territory. Your territory's already been taken by pirates—you don't have the strength to reclaim it. I'm the one who defeated those pirates. As for those islands, they're uninhabited. I'm expanding my territory—what's wrong with that? It's not like I attacked your Royal City."
"Speaking of which, I don't even know where your Royal City is. The sea is huge. We're just a small kingdom tucked in a corner. Finding uninhabited islands to expand our territory—what's wrong with that? It's not like I'm skipping out on Heavenly Tribute. Those places I took, I'll keep paying tribute on them all the same!"
"That's my land! You're kicking me when I'm down!" the Antelope King shouted.