"You've done quite well, Kizaru. If you have any other requests, just say the word."
In excellent spirits, The Elder spoke with a smile. In the face of the eternal youth-granting Pure Gold, Kizaru's earlier "minor" offenses were now fully forgivable.
Right now, the Five Elders only wanted to quickly send Kizaru on his way—so they could divide up the Pure Gold among themselves as soon as possible.
Otherwise, once the news spread and other Celestial Dragons came knocking, the share of Pure Gold they'd get might shrink.
Even though the size of the gold supposedly didn't affect its effects, a smaller piece just felt more painful to part with.
"Any request?"
Kizaru toyed with the appointment letter in his hands, smiling faintly, half-mocking.
Seeing that smile, Warcury felt a strong sense of unease.
"Increasing the military budget is out of the question—we've already pushed it up by seventy percent. Any more, and the World Government simply can't cover it."
Warcury reminded him.
The annual Heavenly Tribute already placed a heavy burden on the member nations.
If Kizaru wanted even more, they'd have to find creative ways to offset the costs.
Cutting into non-member nations might be a decent strategy.
But most of those nations were poor to begin with—how much they could actually extract from them was uncertain.
"You all know I'm engaged to Tsuru, right? Lately I've been struggling over what engagement gift to give her. And now I've finally thought of the perfect one… How about a Supreme Grade Sword?"
Kizaru said with a cheerful smile.
Everyone's eyes followed his gaze—to the katana in the hands of Saint Nasjuro.
Compared to the Navy budget—which even a 1% increase could bankrupt smaller nations—a sword, even a Supreme Grade one, didn't seem like such a big ask.
But the problem was… this particular Supreme Grade Sword was Nasujuro's treasured possession.
The moment he realized everyone was staring at his Shodai Kitetsu, Nasujuro nearly exploded in rage.
For a swordsman, their blade was second only to their life—sometimes it was even more important than life itself.
A good sword, especially one of the Supreme Grade, was the kind of treasure that swordsmen dreamed of for a lifetime.
Nasjuro may have been one of the exalted Five Elders, but he was also a true swordsman.
There was no way he'd be willing to hand over his prized sword just to be used as Kizaru's engagement gift.
"Pick something else. That sword is out of the question."
"How about a fiefdom instead? I'll authorize you to have an independent countship—on the Red Line or elsewhere."
Saint Warcury forced a dry laugh after being fiercely glared at by Saint Nasujuro.
In truth, he thought handing Kizaru a Supreme Grade Blade to settle things was a pretty good deal—but saying that aloud might get him sliced.
Back in his younger days, Nasjuro was the type to draw his sword at the slightest provocation.
Warcury didn't have the guts to suggest he hand his beloved sword over to Kizaru.
"Tch, so stingy. Fine, forget it—let's just pretend you already gave it to me."
Kizaru's tone carried a hint of disdain, which made the Five Elders, still in high spirits after acquiring the Pure Gold, feel a sudden urge to curse him out.
Pretend they gave it to him? They were the Five Elders, the highest authority in the world—when did it become acceptable for the Navy's Fleet Admiral to mock them like this?
The worst part was, even though Kizaru was now saying "forget it," based on what they knew about him, he'd definitely use this as a bargaining chip in the future.
It could even become the basis for his next outrageous demand.
Even though they now had the Pure Gold and were theoretically no longer under Kizaru's thumb, the Five Elders didn't want to leave him any leverage.
"Come up with something else—something proper. No more of this nonsense," Saint Mars said coldly, emphasizing his words to keep Kizaru from further pushing boundaries.
"…Then how about Vegapunk?"
Kizaru's gaze turned sharp. "I know you've been planning to cut ties once he's outlived his usefulness. But the Navy still needs Vegapunk's technology. Until I give the word—don't lay a hand on him."
Kizaru stared the Five Elders down.
Just because Vegapunk was currently working under the Navy's Science Division didn't mean he was safe.
If the Five Elders wanted, they could make that genius brain—five hundred years ahead of its time—disappear overnight.
For many people, strength alone was enough to dismiss everything else.
But Kizaru wasn't one of them—he never underestimated the value of science and technology, even with all his power.
Especially when it came to Vegapunk, whose technology skills made him more valuable than any Emperor of the Sea, at least in Kizaru's eyes.
"What do you want Vegapunk for?"
Saint Warcury frowned as he asked.
Limiting the Navy's access to advanced technology was one of the main ways the Five Elders kept it under control.
That's why, even as the Pacifistas were being equipped with laser cannons, ordinary sailors were still using flintlock muskets—and some Navy branches couldn't even get those, leaving them to fight pirates with swords alone.
Even Navy ships were outdated.
Some pirates were already using steam engines, while the Navy was still stuck in the age of sails.
Sure, limited budgets played a role, but the main reason was the World Government's fear of the Navy growing too powerful.
As long as the Navy could keep the seas relatively stable, that was enough.
Beyond that, the weaker the Navy, the better—as far as the Five Elders were concerned.
"What do you think I want Vegapunk for?"
"To improve the Navy's tech, of course. Or do you expect him to go bounty hunting for me?"
Kizaru said loudly, pretending not to understand their concerns and acting like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
At a time like this, any hint of scheming would only make the Five Elders more suspicious.
Instead, the more nonchalant and direct Kizaru acted, the more it helped ease their nerves.
"Vegapunk's research is far too dangerous. We can't hand him over directly to the Navy," Nasujuro said, after exchanging a look with Warcury.
"But the Navy can be given access to select technical data from his lab."
As long as Vegapunk remained under their control, they didn't have to worry about the Navy growing beyond their reach.
In fact, they could use the technology Vegapunk provided to steer the Navy's development however they saw fit.
"Fine. But until I say otherwise, you're not to lay a hand on Vegapunk."
Kizaru gave them a less-than-satisfied expression, but still reluctantly agreed to Nasujuro's condition.
He never really expected to gain control over Vegapunk right away. As long as he had a starting point, the right opportunity would eventually let him seize both Vegapunk and his entire lab.
The promotion ceremony had been stripped down to its barest essentials—no commendation speeches, no celebration.
Kizaru's visit to Mary Geoise, supposedly a major event, lasted less than an hour. After receiving his appointment as Fleet Admiral, he left.
This alone showed how unwelcome he was among the Five Elders.
Anyone else might have felt depressed or disheartened by such cold treatment.
But Kizaru?
He couldn't have been happier to get as far away from that so-called Holy Land as possible.
Even the Five Elders breathed a sigh of relief, feeling fortunate to have gotten rid of him so 'easily.'
Sure, they'd agreed to increase the Navy's budget by 70%, a bit more than planned—but other than that, they'd paid almost nothing in exchange for the most valuable prize: the Pure Gold.
However, just as they were celebrating and preparing to divide the spoils, the two Celestial Dragons who had left earlier returned—with dozens more of their kind in tow, storming the palace in outrage.
The Five Elders were the highest-ranking of the Celestial Dragons, true—but the temptation of eternal youth wasn't something average Celestial Dragons were willing to give up so easily.
In fact, Kizaru hadn't even left Mary Geoise before the Hall of Pangaea turned into a fish market.
The Celestial Dragons were trying to bargain with the Five Elders using Heavenly Tribute as leverage.
But there was no way the Five Elders were giving up any of the Pure Gold they'd just acquired.
That said, they also couldn't afford to reject their kind outright.
The current group—dozens strong—represented just two of the Celestial Dragon families.
When the World Government was founded, twenty kings had formed it. Excluding the Nefertari family, the remaining nineteen had all become Celestial Dragons.
Which meant… there were still seventeen more families out there.
Dealing with this batch was manageable. The real headache would be when all the others came knocking.
---
"You know… if we stayed just a little longer, it looks like we'd be treated to quite a show,"
Kizaru said with a grin, glancing at the still-distracted Commander-in-Chief Kong.
Even now, Kong was a former top-tier powerhouse of the seas.
With their mastery of Observation Haki, and the events they'd already witnessed, the two of them could more or less sense what was happening inside the palace, even from this far away.
"The Celestial Dragons are the descendants of the gods. They are not to be profaned…"
Kong reflexively murmured, still half-lost in thought. But as he turned, he caught a glimpse of something in Kizaru's hand—
A small piece of glowing Pure Gold.
Though smaller than the one handed to the Five Elders, its radiant glow left no doubt—it was genuine.
Gulp.
Kong stared wide-eyed at the shining gold in Kizaru's palm, involuntarily swallowing as his hand inched forward by instinct.
He quickly caught himself and retracted his hand, regaining his composure.
"Strange, isn't it?" Kizaru chuckled, deliberately flipping the gold between his fingers.
"Someone must've dropped a piece of Pure Gold around here. Wonder which lucky guy might pick it up…"
The gold in both the Five Elders' possession and this one came from the Dimensional Chat Group—a cheap knockoff.
Though it did contain trace amounts of real Pure Gold and retained its youth-restoring effect for a time, Tony Stark's most advanced instruments had shown that its lifespan wouldn't exceed five years.
And even that was under optimal conditions.
Its effects diminished over time, and after three years, the difference would become obvious.
Kizaru had several of these on hand, prepared for exactly this kind of moment.
°°°
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