Chapter 158: Silhouette of an Old Friend
"I will go over by myself. You don't need to be so worried. Even if someone is going to die, they won't die here."
Nereus's tone remained flat, yet it sent a shiver down this CP0 agent's spine.
For some reason, he had the distinct feeling that Nereus meant if they were meeting anywhere else, he would have killed him.
In the end, Chaplin was led away directly by these CP0 agents through a mix of coaxing, bluffing, and thinly veiled threats.
Although the World Government was composed of various member nations, it was not a loose alliance. The World Government itself could be seen as a special, sovereign entity, and these member nations were nothing more than underlings taken under its wing.
Most countries were unwilling to come into conflict with the World Government. Coupled with the fact that he currently couldn't defeat Nereus, Chaplin ultimately followed those CP0 agents and left the area.
"Old man, that fearsome reputation you've built up seems quite handy. Those agents are quite terrified of you."
"When you kill enough of them, they naturally become afraid. This sea has been exactly like this for hundreds of years. Only those who are strong enough are qualified to discuss the rules. When I go to the meeting in a bit, you can chat casually around here.
Don't go looking for trouble, but don't be afraid of it either. Understand what I mean?"
"Relax, my dear royal father. I'm not some battle-crazed maniac. Rather than fighting with them, I'd rather promote Fish-man Island's insurance business. If I succeed, can I get a cut?"
Maritime shipping and deep-sea salvage were the easiest industries for Fish-man Island to dip its hands into. They didn't even require any technology; everything could be accomplished with simple manual labor.
And this happened to be exactly what ordinary humans couldn't do.
"It's not impossible if you can negotiate it. Let's see your effort."
Exchanges between kingdoms were essentially business—trading interests for interests. Approaching it from a commercial perspective wasn't a bad idea at all.
However, Nereus noticed that Brook had been staring toward a distant corridor since just now.
"What's wrong, Brook? Is there a problem over there?"
"It's nothing, Your Majesty Nereus. I just saw someone... who seemed somewhat familiar. But it has been a very long time; I must have been mistaken."
Originally, due to various reasons, Brook had drifted in that sea area for decades. The prolonged isolation had a massive impact on him. What he remembered most clearly were his crewmates from the Rumbar Pirates.
But now, the time Brook had spent trapped in the Florian Triangle hadn't been as devastatingly long. He remembered some things from the past much more clearly.
Just now, he saw a silhouette that somewhat resembled someone he had met before becoming a pirate.
At the same time, in the direction Brook had just been staring, a blue-haired figure had already appeared before the Five Elders.
"Saint Saturn, nothing major has happened over at the Social Plaza. The others in the Domain of the Gods haven't interfered with the conference there either. I have already relayed the order; they are not allowed to leave the Domain of the Gods for these seven days."
"Well done, Gunko. However, because Garling and the others recently received new information regarding Roger, they are not here right now. We will have to trouble you with this side for these next few days."
The blue-haired figure was Gunko, the former "God's Hail of Blades," who was now an official member of God's Knights.
If one were to ask which group was most likely to cause conflicts at the Levely, it would undoubtedly be the other Celestial Dragons. The Five Elders knew this as well.
In the past, they wouldn't have restricted them so strictly. But to prevent Nereus from triggering a massive "downsizing" event in Mary Geoise, they decided to restrain them.
Although these Celestial Dragons could throw their weight around and act tyrannically in the outside world, there was a strict hierarchy internally. God's Knights possessed the authority to execute ordinary Celestial Dragons, which was enough to make them behave.
The Levely officially commenced. The procedure wasn't complicated; the fifty nations would take turns chairing the conference, proposing various issues, and discussing solutions.
Occasionally, new nations like the Ryugu Kingdom would appear to replace a previous seat.
No one would care about the nation that had been stripped of its right to participate. After all, that signified decline or the World Government's disfavor.
Even in the original timeline, when Neptune came to participate in the Levely, quite a few countries were willing to establish exchanges with them.
Of course, prejudiced glares still existed. Given the massive population base, that was unavoidable.
Among the many nations, those most willing to establish exchanges with Fish-man Island were the kingdoms from the New World.
The previous sea ban had sharply reduced the number of pirates in the New World, and the troubles they experienced had decreased significantly.
"King Nereus, if possible, could you try your best to curb the pirates crossing the border? We can provide Fish-man Island with a certain amount of military funding and support."
"Gentlemen, you all know that the accumulated number of those pirates is too high, which is also a hassle for Fish-man Island. However, I can provide some security guarantees on the shipping routes in the New World. There is a high probability of allowing your ships to pass unimpeded.
As for those pirates, through certain means, we should be able to guide their sailing routes toward remote, uninhabited islands."
Having them pay military funding for Fish-man Island's people to act as mercenaries and block all pirates at Fish-man Island was not cost-effective for Fish-man Island. Maintaining that kind of sea ban for a long time also didn't align with Fish-man Island's current interests.
But the long-term business Nereus proposed heavily interested these kingdoms. Coupled with Dold taking his side, they achieved quite a bit of success.
After several consecutive days of exchanges, quite a few state letters were signed. These nations promised to treat citizens of all countries equally within their borders. Even members of the Fish-man or Merfolk races could settle and live peacefully there.
These kinds of paper agreements were things the Fish-man Island of the past could never obtain. While they couldn't entirely trust these agreements, it was a good start.
The countries that harbored hostility towards the Ryugu Kingdom were mostly those that practiced slavery. Nereus's consistent abolitionist stance was a thorn in their eyes.
But these people had no direct conflict with Nereus and didn't want to be the ones to stick their necks out. Thus, during the break, they sought out Chaplin.
Based on that single "kneel," they were certain Chaplin wouldn't forget this matter, not to mention the uproar caused by the sea ban earlier.
"This is the Levely's 'Roundtable of Peace.' No matter what, he wouldn't dare directly attack you here, right?"
"You don't need to ask for anything else, just make him give you an explanation. You have to get back the face you lost, don't you?"
"We will support you too. Every conference is like this. If you don't dare to do it, then forget it."
Chaplin could certainly tell that these Kings were goading him. However, he inherently harbored resentment over the matter, and what they said aligned with the past conventions of the Levely.
For the first few days, to facilitate smooth communication, everyone would tacitly avoid conflicting topics and reduce the frequency of arguments.
But the afternoon of the seventh day was the time to resolve conflicts. Therefore, at the tail end of the conference, in front of the other forty-eight Kings, Chaplin once again brought up that topic to Nereus.
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