Because that ran completely contrary to the fundamental reason the member-nation system existed in the first place.
Only when more and more member nations were driven into bankruptcy, failed to pay the Heavenly Tribute, and were reduced to non-member nations—
would that truly serve the World Government's core interests.
Otherwise, in a world where non-member nations were gradually disappearing, where would they find places to hold the Human Hunting Tournament?
Once the tournament was over, those lands would be absorbed into the World Government's fiscal reserve as natural resource islands!
If they relied only on the normal process of nations joining or withdrawing,
how could they possibly satisfy the need to hold the tournament once every three years?
And so, Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro, who clearly understood the stakes involved, was somewhat displeased.
Without Doflamingo acting as a transit point, the weapons from Wano could no longer be delivered into their hands as smoothly as before.
The same went for Crocodile. Without the chaos he had stirred up, a nation like Alabasta—with its tremendous ability to withstand risk—would find it very difficult to become a non-member nation simply because it could not pay the Heavenly Tribute.
Back when Alabasta had been suffering from drought, Cipher Pol had still been able to organize operations there and make enormous profits from the situation, all while slowly draining the lifeblood from that vast kingdom.
But now, because of this man called Ren, all of it had fallen apart—and not only that, a host of negative repercussions had appeared as well.
The kings of the member nations had begun to lose trust in the Warlord of the Sea system.
At the same time, the World Government itself had been forced to bear the pressure.
To them, the kings of the member nations were pigs, lambs waiting to be slaughtered—but even so, things had to be done step by step.
Otherwise, if another incident like that of the Great Kingdom happened...
that was the last thing the Five Elders wanted to see.
"He actually dared to do such a thing on purpose? And he still thinks he isn't a pirate?
Ridiculous. If a bastard who throws the world into chaos isn't a pirate, then what is?"
Saint Topman Warcury, meanwhile, had fixated on the line Nami had spoken in the report—the one that fell squarely within the domain he excelled in.
'The World Government calls it the World Government's business, but why does them labeling me a pirate mean I have to be one?'
"Defining who is wrong and who is right is the absolute authority of the World Government.
And yet some mere pirate dares to say something like that."
As the Warrior God of Justice, Saint Topman Warcury was deeply dissatisfied. The domain under his control was law and legal affairs.
To put it simply, the rules of the World Government were decided by him.
Even the unique rule aboard the Gran Tesoro—that no one was allowed to fight within that neutral nation—had been approved and enforced by him.
That was precisely why Marines and pirates who encountered each other aboard the Gran Tesoro did not break into battle.
At this point, two of the Five Elders had already expressed their disgust toward Ren.
But not everyone shared that view.
There were disagreements even among the Five Elders.
Saint Marcus Mars, the Warrior God of Environment, said indifferently, "Granted, a person like this must be erased as soon as possible.
But the Marine side's proposal cannot be ignored. He truly is the best replacement candidate.
Because of Doflamingo and Crocodile, most of the kings and nobles of the member nations have already begun to waver in their support for the Warlord of the Sea system.
Among them, King Riku and King Cobra both seem inclined to push for the abolition of the Warlord of the Sea system.
I must remind you all—this is intelligence reported back by Cipher Pol. It is already an established reality."
As the Warrior God of Environment, Saint Marcus Mars was one of the five men holding the highest authority in the world.
Naturally, the things he handled had nothing to do with protecting the environment.
Or rather, what he protected was the "environment" of the World Government and the Celestial Dragons!
Controlling public opinion, manipulating the narrative, running the propaganda machinery—those were all part of his "work"!
"At this stage, the Warlord of the Sea system cannot be abolished."
At that moment, Saint Saturn, the Warrior God of Scientific Defense, spoke up, tapping the table for emphasis.
"Vegapunk's Pacifistas have not yet been fully completed, and Phase Two of the Seraphim is still nowhere in sight.
Although all of us know that Vegapunk's talent surpasses that of any scientist in history, until actual results appear, the replacement for the Warlord of the Sea system cannot be treated as if it already exists.
Most importantly, the Warlord of the Sea system still has a reason to exist. Its greatest function is to reduce the pressure on the Marine organization.
At the same time, it acts as a medium through which we can indirectly influence the state of the world.
The current Warlords still have value as well. Knight of the Sea Jinbe is our bridge to the Fish-Man race.
The existence of Poseidon has still not been located. Severing that bridge carries the risk of letting an Ancient Weapon fall into someone else's hands.
Of course, if Vegapunk succeeds in researching the Mother Flame, then we will have no need for Poseidon.
But the same principle applies—we cannot let something that does not yet exist influence other decisions as though it already does.
Boa Hancock in the Calm Belt is a controllable military force and an indirect set of eyes within the Calm Belt. Though with the advent of ships whose hulls are embedded with Seastone,
that particular Warlord no longer holds much practical value, arbitrarily abolishing or appointing Warlords would still produce negative consequences.
As for Mihawk, there is no need to elaborate. If he were to return to his old ways, the pressure on the Marines would become enormous.
Before we determine that this world has already entered the final phase of our plan, we cannot make such a decision.
As for Kuma and Moria, one is an experimental subject, and the other has already been defeated. There is no need to discuss them."
Saturn's words were spoken from the standpoint of his office.
The so-called Warrior God of Scientific Defense was the one who oversaw everything related to armaments.
For example, the technology for embedding Seastone into the bottoms of Marine warships, Pacifista technology, Seraphim technology, Mother Flame technology, and so on.
Though he had not directly voiced support for Saint Marcus Mars's proposal, he had, from the side, emphasized the necessity of the Warlord of the Sea system at the present stage.
And because of that necessity, Ren's existence gained value.
With his unique style, infamous deeds, and frightening strength, if he were to become a replacement Warlord of the Sea, it would temporarily shut up those dissatisfied kings.
The logic was simple.
He did not harm civilians, and while he was highly likely to carry out some earth-shaking conspiracy within member nations, once he had the title of Warlord of the Sea, his terrifying strength—enough to clash head-on with Kaido and survive—would effectively come with restraints.
After all, if he openly attacked nobles or even kings of member nations, his Warlord status would certainly be revoked.
At present, the balance of opinion had reached a two-versus-two deadlock.
Of course, that did not mean the Five Elders were becoming hostile to one another over a single Ren.
They were merely expressing their positions from their respective standpoints, presenting different policy preferences—each of which still benefited the World Government's rule.
That kind of thought was a necessary quality for rulers. Otherwise, the Five Elders would never have been called the highest authority in the world.
However, even that line of thought had one prerequisite.
That person had not expressed an opinion!
As long as Imu had not turned His gaze toward the matter, all decisions were made by the Five Elders.
"But we also have to consider Red-Haired Shanks's attitude, don't we? He is, after all, one of the Celestial Dragons... even if he is unwilling to return.
The blood of glory still flows through his veins. As for God Valley..."
Saint Shepherd Ju Peter, the Warrior God of Agriculture, who had remained silent until now, had not even finished speaking before he suddenly turned his head toward the outside of the great hall.
At the same time, the other four Five Elders all reacted in their own ways.
"Something happened again?"
A dozen or so seconds later, a Marine officer entered the hall with the utmost urgency.
"Five Elders, this is terrible!"
"What happened?"
The man who had come to report was a Marine officer draped in a Justice coat. With a grave expression, he began to explain in detail.
"What? Red-Haired..."
"Yes. He's already begun making moves!"
"It shouldn't be him acting personally, should it?"
"No. He's taking action by indirectly sending an envoy. But allowing Whitebeard and Red-Haired to make contact is far too dangerous."
"Indeed. Once Red-Haired moves, he is always troublesome."
Saint Saturn first agreed with the Marine officer's assessment, but then changed tone and said, "Yet he is not the sort of man who would change the world for his own selfish desires."
"Do not make any rash moves. Let us observe for the time being."
Saint Shepherd Ju Peter took over the conversation, toning down the information that should have shaken the World Government.
"The most important matter right now is still the issue of the Warlord of the Sea."
Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro shifted the focus with a single sentence.
The reporting Marine officer froze for a moment, then nodded and said, "Regarding that matter, Headquarters previously summoned the other Warlords of the Sea, but none of them came..."
"They are pirates, after all. They're used to acting brazenly."
Saint Marcus Mars revealed an expression that seemed to say as expected.
Among the current Warlords of the Sea—including the three who had died—not a single one of them had ever been a meek, obedient sort.
The World Government had long since grown accustomed to it.
"Enough. Withdraw and get some rest."
"Yes, sir."
After the Marine officer left, Saint Marcus Mars looked toward the other Five Elders and said, "Then—how shall we decide?"
Saturn said, "It seems Red-Haired already has matters demanding his attention. For the time being, he will have no leisure to concern himself with what is happening here.
And since Demon Ren has already entered the New World, then Red-Haired's opinion can be left for Red-Haired himself to resolve.
Afterward, even killing Demon Ren would not matter. His value lies in becoming a Warlord of the Sea and preventing the kings of the other member nations from developing further resentment.
At the same time, we can use that opportunity to complete the replenishment of the other Warlords."
His argument was, in truth, supporting Saint Marcus Mars.
"Is that so?"
After a moment of thought, Saint Topman Warcury said, "Based solely on the information currently in our possession, the difficulty of executing Demon Ren is extremely high.
The Devil abilities he possesses are very likely from a newly appeared Devil Fruit, one that does not exist in our complete Devil Fruit encyclopedia records.
There is too much uncertainty, and according to intelligence from East Blue, he even seemed to have resurrected once.
Although the Marines later concluded it was merely long-distance movement, even so, killing him would still require tremendous effort.
At the same time, we must also consider the mobility of his flying warship. No one knows where he is right now.
We could mobilize Devil Fruit users with abilities suited for searching.
But after finding him, whether we should have Kizaru keep enduring that Forgetfulness ability in order to tail and hunt him down is another matter altogether.
At present, my opinion is that making this man a Warlord of the Sea brings greater benefits than the other available options."
At that point, he looked toward Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro. The implication was obvious.
Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro said nothing. He merely nodded.
No one brought up the issue of Ren's potential. In their eyes, he was merely far stronger than the troublemakers of the past.
But before the merciless flow of time, no matter how limitless one's potential or how mighty a human might become, they would still die in the end.
Only they—
would exist forever!
(End of Chapter)