Sengoku stood frozen.
He couldn't believe it.
The Five Elders—he'd dealt with them for nearly three decades. From Admiral to Fleet Admiral. He knew them.
These were the people who'd launched a Buster Call on Ohara over the possibility of forbidden knowledge. Who'd erased an entire island from existence.
Ruthless didn't begin to cover it. And they never tolerated disobedience.
So why had they just... backed down?
"Sengoku understands!" He forced the words out quickly.
"Good. We're done here."
CLICK
The line went dead.
Sengoku stared at the Den Den Mushi, listening to the dial tone.
What just happened?
One of his two biggest problems had just... vanished.
Mary Geoise
World Government Headquarters
"Boss." The round-faced Elder with the white beard looked confused. "The Marines just openly defied our orders. And we're letting it slide?"
The Elder in the flat cap—curly hair spilling from beneath it—frowned.
"Five more years," he said quietly. "Then it will be exactly nine hundred."
Every Elder in the room went still.
Even the bald one in white robes—who'd been focused entirely on polishing his blade—looked up. Put the sword away.
The blonde Elder in the suit hesitated.
"Boss... the nine-hundred-year deadline." His voice came out careful. "What exactly happens?"
Silence stretched.
The others assumed their leader would stay quiet. He always stayed quiet about this.
Then—
"The deadline's almost here." The flat-capped Elder's voice went heavy. "It's time you all knew."
He paused. Seemed to consider where to begin.
"What happened during the Void Century, why we became the Five Elders—I won't get into that. But the nine-hundred-year deadline—"
"Boss." The round-faced Elder couldn't contain himself. "What is it?!"
"Shut up!" The bald Elder snapped. "Let him talk."
"It's fine." The flat-capped Elder waved a hand. "I've kept this from you for nine centuries. Your impatience is... understandable."
His eyes went distant.
"Before I explain the deadline, you need to understand something else first." He met each of their gazes in turn. "The true origin of the Celestial Dragons."
That got their attention.
"Nine hundred years ago..." His voice took on a strange quality. Almost nostalgic. "I was a pirate. Set sail from the East Blue."
The others stared.
Their leader? A pirate?
None of them interrupted.
"Reverse Mountain. Grand Line. Arabasta, Skypiea..." He listed the locations like a roll call. "Coated my ship at Sabaody. Passed through Fish-Man Island. Reached the New World."
"Fought there for ten years. Clawed my way to the top." His jaw set. "And finally reached the place every pirate dreams of."
He paused.
"Laugh Tale."
"What?!" The blonde Elder couldn't help himself. "You reached—"
"Yes." The flat-capped Elder nodded. "I was the first person to set foot on Laugh Tale. Gol D. Roger was the second."
"Then what's on it?" The round-faced Elder leaned forward. "What did you find?"
The flat-capped Elder's expression went grave.
"Celestial Dragons."
Silence.
"More precisely—twenty sleeping Celestial Dragons."
The shock on the others' faces was total.
"I woke them." His voice stayed level. Clinical. "And learned the truth. They're not from this world. Their own world was destroyed. Only twenty escaped."
He let that sink in.
"They made me an offer. Help me conquer this world in exchange for waking them. So I found you four. And with their power, we fought the D Clan's royal family for a hundred years."
"The Celestial Dragons didn't expect the D to be so strong. We lost seventeen of them before we won. The remaining three fell into semi-dormancy."
The flat-capped Elder's eyes went cold.
"But I made them a promise on Laugh Tale. No matter what happened—after nine hundred years, I would surrender control of the world."
He paused.
"That's the deadline."
"Wait." The bald Elder's voice cut like his sword. "Does that include giving up that thing?"
Every eye turned to their leader.
Whatever that thing was, it clearly mattered to all of them.
"Yes."
"Absolutely not." The bald Elder's objection came instantly. His hand went to his sword hilt. "Boss—if we give up that, we'll die. Quickly."
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