Kong and Sengoku stepped into the Five Elders' office.
The room was vast, austere, designed to intimidate. Tall windows overlooked the Holy Land itself, a constant reminder of absolute authority. Ancient weapons and artifacts decorated the walls, relics from eight centuries of dominance.
Sengoku took in the scene with a quick glance. All five of the World Government's supreme rulers were present, seated in their customary positions around the office.
Before either Fleet Admiral Kong or Admiral Sengoku could speak, Saint Shepherd Ju Peter nodded toward them. His voice was calm, almost cordial. "Ah, you've arrived. Please, sit down."
Kong and Sengoku didn't waste time with excessive formality. They moved to the sofa and sat directly, their postures formal but not servile.
Although teapots and cups sat on the coffee table before them, neither officer reached for them. This wasn't a social visit.
"Take a look at this," Saint Topman Warcury said, reaching out to hand documents to both Kong and Sengoku.
Both Marine officers accepted the papers with visible surprise.
They'd come here expecting to be criticized, berated for the Spring Queen Island disaster. Why were they being shown intelligence documents instead?
Perhaps these contained a detailed analysis of the defeat? But that seemed unnecessary. They already understood exactly what had gone wrong and why.
Despite the confusion running through their minds, neither man showed it outwardly. They each took a document and began reading in silence.
The minutes stretched.
Finally, Admiral Sengoku raised his head and glanced at Fleet Admiral Kong beside him. Kong, in turn, looked toward the Five Elders, waiting.
"Since the 1500 of the Sea Circle Calendar, the global situation has been deteriorating continuously," Saint Shepherd Ju Peter began, his voice measured and clinical. "Three of the Four Blues that were originally relatively stable have now descended into chaos. Only the East Blue can still legitimately be called the Sea of Peace."
He paused, letting that sink in.
"The new calendar year began just two days ago. We've now entered 1503. In the past three years alone, more than eight thousand new pirates with bounties exceeding ten million berries have appeared across the seas. Excluding those who have been eliminated by your Marines, there are currently more than six thousand still active. More than half of those have already entered the New World, temporarily avoiding your forces' ability to suppress them."
Neither Sengoku nor Kong spoke. They didn't quite understand where the Five Elders were going with this.
Saint Jaygarcia Saturn suddenly spoke, his voice deeper, carrying more weight. "In the year 1500, there were a total of one hundred and eighty-seven member nations under our World Government's protection. But as of yesterday's count, that number has dropped sharply to one hundred and forty-two."
He let the number hang in the air for a moment.
"Forty-five member nations have withdrawn from the World Government within these three years. Among those forty-five nations, forty were eliminated entirely. Only five were expelled by our World Government for failure to pay the Heavenly Tribute. Do you understand the significance of this?"
Kong and Sengoku exchanged another glance, their expressions carefully neutral.
The number of World Government member nations had always fluctuated, of course. That was the nature of global politics across such vast distances.
But the range typically remained between one hundred and seventy and two hundred, varying due to various circumstances.
Sometimes nations failed to pay the Heavenly Tribute and were expelled from the list of member states. Other times they were destroyed by pirates or other hostile forces, natural disasters, or internal collapse.
But in previous years, the fluctuations had never been dramatic. The number had never fallen below the critical baseline of one hundred and seventy.
Now, in early 1503, in just under three years, the number of member nations had dropped by forty-five, falling well below that threshold and declining directly to one hundred and forty-two.
It was stark proof of the price the World Government was paying in resisting the chaos of the Great Pirate Era.
Fleet Admiral Kong remained silent, processing the implications.
Admiral Sengoku immediately spoke, his voice carrying urgency. "The pirates' power is overwhelming. Our Marines need—"
But before Sengoku could complete his thought, Saint Shepherd Ju Peter raised one hand in a gentle but firm gesture, stopping him mid-sentence. His voice remained soft, almost dismissive. "Pirates? They're merely a persistent rash. An irritation, nothing more."
The Elder holding the legendary First Generation Kitetsu sword spoke then, his voice carrying deep conviction. "Indeed. Our World Government has stood in this world for eight hundred years. The Great Pirate Era is simply another cycle of chaos and upheaval. One day, this so-called 'Age of Chaos' will settle and calm. For centuries, our World Government has weathered this kind of rise and fall countless times. This era will be no exception."
He leaned forward slightly, his gaze intense.
"Therefore, from our perspective, pirates are nothing more than a superficial problem. From a fundamental standpoint alone, there is no possibility whatsoever that they can establish a lasting foothold in this world and shake our foundation."
The logic was cold but sound.
What was the inherent nature of piracy?
Chaos. That chaotic attribute might allow pirates to dominate temporarily, to rule certain territories through fear and violence. But unless they systematically worked to transform their own chaos into sustainable order, into legitimate governance structures, it would be impossible for them to genuinely threaten the World Government's foundations.
After all, no matter how corrupt the World Government might become, its essential attribute remained order. Yes, there was severe internal oppression, exploitation, systemic injustice. But it was still fundamentally more humane than pirates who massacred civilians indiscriminately, who razed cities and destroyed nations on whims.
So in the eyes of the Five Elders, no matter how much trouble pirates caused, whether this era belonged to Whitebeard, to the remnants of Roger's influence, to Charlotte Linlin, to Kaido, or to anyone else, it ultimately didn't matter.
Whether measured in time or in scale, pirates could never outlast the World Government's institutional inertia.
Of course, this was the assessment of the current era. What the situation might look like in twenty years was another question entirely.
"There are only two factors that could elevate pirates from a minor irritation to a genuine existential threat," Saint Topman Warcury said, his voice matter-of-fact. "But both of those factors have been effectively neutralized, so there's no need for immediate concern."
He held up one finger.
"The first factor is naturally the Poneglyphs, the historical texts. At this point, there's no need to hide the truth from you two. The so-called Void Century, the blank hundred years of history, naturally contains severe criticism of actions taken by the World Government's founders. I don't need to elaborate on the specific details. You can probably guess some of it yourselves."
Saint Shepherd Ju Peter's expression didn't change.
"Now that Ohara has been destroyed, the ability to interpret the historical texts has been effectively eliminated. With that gone, the historical injustices committed by the World Government will remain buried in the currents of history. There's no risk of hostile parties seizing upon that knowledge to claim so-called 'righteousness' or legitimate authority to oppose us."
To put it simply, the Poneglyphs and the Void Century would not be weaponized against them in the foreseeable future.
In this way, even powerful pirate forces like the Whitebeard Pirates, the Big Mom Pirates, the Beasts Pirates, and others couldn't drastically change their fundamental positions in the world order.
For example, if they somehow managed to interpret the historical texts, they might not personally care about the revelations. But they would suddenly possess the option to radically transform their identities.
They could seize upon the World Government's historical injustices, publicize them, and legally challenge the government's very legitimacy. They could transform themselves from pirates—currently understood as simple bandit threats—into so-called righteous revolutionary forces fighting ancient wrongs.
If it came to that point, the World Government would face a genuinely awkward position. Because at that stage, pirates would have shed their chaotic attributes and begun operating within the framework of the order camp. Only then would they be truly qualified to shake the World Government's foundations.
But again, that possibility had been eliminated at this stage through Ohara's destruction.
Saint Shepherd Ju Peter continued, raising a second finger. "The second factor is related: the ancient weapons recorded in the historical texts. Weapons said to possess the power to destroy the world itself."
His voice grew heavier.
"This represents a variable that could, in a very short period of time, allow pirate forces with only a few decades of existence—or at most a century of history, excluding special long-standing groups like the Kuja Pirates—to gain the power to completely confront and potentially destroy the World Government in the most direct and effective manner possible."
He paused.
"Currently, apart from that man Newgate, who already possesses world-destroying power through his Devil Fruit and is therefore closely monitored by us, Kaido and the others are not a comparable concern. We're already quite familiar with Whitebeard's operational style and personal ambitions. We know he's not the type of pirate who would pursue such catastrophically destructive actions, so we're not overly worried about him specifically."
Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro nodded in agreement. "Below Whitebeard in the hierarchy, pirates like Charlotte Linlin and Kaido may harbor ambitions to destroy the World Government and dominate the seas. But to be perfectly frank, they're not qualified to achieve it. Only Shiki had demonstrated the systematic thinking necessary to create a new power structure similar to an actual nation-state, which gave him some qualification to genuinely compete with the World Government's authority."
He dismissed the others with a wave.
"No matter how Kaido and Charlotte Linlin develop their forces, they can never match the institutional foundation accumulated by the World Government over eight hundred years. They will eventually exhaust themselves against our superior resources."
Saint Topman Warcury concluded the analysis. "So these are merely minor irritations. Unless they somehow acquire the ancient weapons and truly gain the power to fight the World Government to mutual destruction... only then would they be worth taking with absolute seriousness."
He settled back in his seat.
"However, we're back to the starting point. Ohara is gone. The ancient weapons remain inaccessible, their locations lost to time. The World Government no longer needs to seriously worry about pirates in that regard."
Therefore, even though this period was being called the 'Great Pirate Era' by the masses, even though chaos seemed to reign, the Five Elders could openly and accurately refer to pirates as merely 'a persistent problem' rather than an existential threat.
After explaining these two critical points, Saint Shepherd Ju Peter continued, his voice taking on a slightly different tone. "So, whether we're discussing your Marines' catastrophic defeat at Spring Queen Island or the Whitebeard Pirates' current prominence, we don't actually take it to heart as much as you might think. We didn't summon you two here today to interrogate or criticize you, as you seem to have assumed."
Sengoku's eyes widened slightly at that revelation.
If you thought about it carefully, the perspective made sense from their position. For the Marines, with their strong institutional sense of justice and duty to protect, it was entirely reasonable to feel profound shame because Spring Queen Island had caused disasters throughout the surrounding region and the Marines had failed to protect the nations and their people.
The subsequent measures taken by the Marines had been quite harsh. Tsuru, a senior veteran of the organization, had been completely stripped of her position and authority. It clearly demonstrated how seriously the Marines had taken this defeat.
But in the eyes of the Five Elders... it genuinely wasn't a major concern at all.
Thousands of sailors sacrificed? What was that in the grand scheme of eight centuries?
The destruction of Spring Queen Island? It wasn't even a member nation, just one of countless autonomous territories loosely under World Government influence. If it was destroyed, so be it.
A great victory for the Whitebeard Pirates?
If they won, they won. Whitebeard was extraordinarily powerful. It was normal for him to achieve victory. It could even be said that he and his crew hadn't suffered a genuine defeat in many years.
Besides, they were just crude, lowborn pirates despite their power. How long could they maintain their prominence? Ten years? Twenty years? Thirty years at most, before age and the natural cycle caught up with them?
In general, from the Five Elders' elevated perspective, Spring Queen Island was not a significant event at all in the broader historical context.
Admiral Sengoku and Fleet Admiral Kong exchanged another meaningful glance, both reassessing the situation.
Then Kong formally asked, "What exactly do the Elders wish to discuss with us?"
"When you really examine it, you may not have noticed that in the past three years, although most of the eliminated member nations were affected by the impact of the Great Pirate Era, the more important underlying reasons are actually twofold," Saint Shepherd Ju Peter said, his voice growing more serious.
He leaned forward slightly.
"The first is internal. There's no need to maintain false dignity here in private. The corruption and moral decay within the World Government's bureaucratic systems is severe. Do you think only you Marines can see it? That the five of us are blind to it? But governing a vast empire is like cooking a delicate fish. If you want to address systemic corruption, you must move slowly, carefully. It happens that we're currently dealing with this chaotic era simultaneously. We cannot be too aggressive with internal reforms, lest we trigger cascading institutional failures and cause complete systemic collapse."
His expression grew darker.
"Therefore, we've analyzed that the chaos caused by the Great Pirate Era has inflicted tremendous damage to the economies and civil infrastructure of various nations. And our World Government has continued to exploit them through multiple layers of taxation and tribute. Eventually, this combination led to complete national collapse in many cases. This is one of the primary factors behind the declining member nation count."
There was genuine surprise in both Admiral Sengoku and Fleet Admiral Kong's eyes. They hadn't expected these five supreme rulers to be so remarkably frank today.
Could they really discuss such sensitive internal matters so openly?
"The second major influencing factor," Saint Shepherd Ju Peter said, his voice taking on a new edge, "is this so-called Revolutionary Army."
Admiral Sengoku and Fleet Admiral Kong tensed slightly, because not long ago, they'd both learned that the Revolutionary Army had been founded by that traitorous bastard Dragon, a former Marine Vice Admiral.
But before they could formulate any response, Saint Topman Warcury interrupted their thoughts. "So far, the Revolutionary Army has only launched three military operations they've termed 'revolutions,' though in reality they were simply rebellions. All three failed militarily. But after extensive investigation, we've discovered they're actually spreading something they call 'revolutionary consciousness' and 'ideological awakening' around the world."
He gestured with one hand.
"Therefore, a significant number of the member nations that have disappeared in recent years suffered from domestically unstable situations after waves of pirate attacks, combined with Revolutionary Army agitation and ideological subversion. The spread of this... troublesome philosophy has caused large-scale distortions in traditional social structures and ultimately led to the nations' destruction."
To put it simply, the Revolutionary Army's direct military actions had failed. So they were trying new methodologies. They'd evolved from military revolution to ideological revolution, from attempting to seize power directly to changing how populations thought about power itself.
"Although it's currently just scattered sparks," Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro said with deep gravity, "if we don't extinguish them soon, they may spread like wildfire across the entire world."
This represented the official assessment giving the Revolutionary Army its true significance and threat classification.
In fact, according to the original timeline, one year from now—in the year 1504 of the Sea Circle Calendar—the World Government would officially begin making comprehensive response preparations against the Revolutionary Army at the World Conference.
It would be from that year forward that the World Government and the Revolutionary Army would officially begin their direct confrontation, their shadow war spreading across continents.
The Five Elders and other high-ranking officials of the World Government all regarded the Revolutionary Army as the only hostile organization currently capable of genuinely shaking the World Government's fundamental foundations at this stage.
Not pirates. Not ancient weapons they couldn't access. Not external military threats.
An idea. A philosophy. A vision of a different world order.
That was what truly frightened them.