Red Line, Holy Land Mary Geoise.
This is the "center" of world power.
And within this "center," five men representing the peak of world power gathered.
The Five Elders!
——Five elderly human men, the highest leaders of the World Government. Their very existence represents the pillars of the World Government, a position higher than the World Government's Commander-in-Chief.
In front of them was today's newspaper.
It featured a picture of Ryan Rowan.
"The Golden Dawn..."
One of the Five Elders muttered, using a title that should only exist in ancient books.
"Why would a history from eight hundred years ago choose to reappear in this era?"
The other four Five Elders each voiced their opinions.
"He should be one of us."
"...No, it shouldn't be him, but Nefertari."
"The ancestor of the Alabasta royal family? That's right, that Nefertari was supposed to be 'on our side' too."
Crack...
One of the Five Elders clenched his fist, his face gloomy.
"The dead should have been buried along with that history!"
Another frowned and said slowly:
"But he was unwilling to remain silent and crawled back from that desert kingdom."
"Is it a coincidence?"
"Or a game planned eight hundred years ago?"
"..."
"Both are possible."
"If this is a game, who is playing it?"
...
Everyone was silent.
After a moment, one of the Five Elders touched his chin.
"Let's talk about the present."
"In short, what should we do now that The Golden Dawn wants to cross the Red Line and go to the North Sea?"
"Stop him."
"No, we have no 'reason,' but they have 'ample reason.'"
One of the Five Elders tapped today's newspaper with his finger.
"We have declared to the world that the Amber Lead Disease is contagious, and countries around the world are struggling with it."
"Although many high-ranking officials in various countries know it's a lie, their people don't think so."
"The Amber Lead Disease is something they want to avoid at all costs."
"Now, a 'benevolent' country is suddenly loudly announcing that it will provide medical aid to the North Sea, which has been hit by the Amber Lead Disease."
"What will they think?"
Upon hearing this, one of the Five Elders thought and said:
"A few people will be grateful to that country, but most will want to see a 'self-destructive' joke."
"Good," another nodded.
"If the Amber Lead Disease is truly a highly contagious disease, then the Four Seas Alliance is simply asking for trouble."
"But... it isn't."
"The Amber Lead Disease is just a symptom of poisoning!"
"Ryan Rowan is pretending to be ignorant!"
"Because of that Amber Lead patient, Ryan Rowan has found a legitimate reason to cross the Red Line—and we can't do anything about it."
"Once he gains a foothold in the North Sea, we will become passive."
"Either the lie of the Amber Lead Disease will be exposed—and the World Government's scandal will be made public."
"Or the lie of the Amber Lead Disease will continue—and the Four Seas Alliance will have an ongoing reason to maintain their ties with the North Sea."
"..."
After hearing this analysis, the conference room fell into another brief silence.
After a moment, one of the Five Elders slowly said:
"So, not only can we not stop the Four Seas Alliance, but we must also give them the green light on the Red Line and help them go to the North Sea."
"That's letting them do whatever they want!"
"But it's the best choice!"
One of the Five Elders' faces was gloomy as he reminded them: "Don't forget, our goal is to maintain stability under the World Government's rule!"
"Agreed."
"Agreed."
"..."
The other Five Elders all nodded.
However, someone raised their concerns: "If we let them extend their reach to the North Sea, will it create future problems?"
"Ryan Rowan is making an obvious move."
"It's like in a game of chess, we can clearly see where the opponent is moving, but we can't directly stop him."
"But on the other hand, we also have a chance to make a move next,"
One of the Five Elders took out a telegram.
"This was just sent from the Marine Science Institute."
"Hmm?"
The other four Five Elders took the telegram, glanced at it, and their expressions changed slightly.
"Weapons of mass destruction? Real-world testing in the North Sea?"
"Targeting the Four Seas Alliance?"
"Isn't that dangerous? If it affects civilians, we can't explain it, and it will cause further instability..."
Halfway through his words, the Five Elder suddenly realized something.
The Five Elder who provided the telegram nodded, his expression calm.
"Yes, since the Four Seas Alliance can use the Amber Lead Disease as an excuse, we can also use the Amber Lead Disease as an excuse, can't we?"
"Just notify the royal family of the test site to evacuate. As for the civilian casualties, it has nothing to do with us; it's all caused by the 'terrible Amber Lead Disease.'"
"..."
"The Donquixote family... are they the family of that traitor?"
"Who they are doesn't matter."
"Since the bugs of the Underworld want to take the opportunity to profit, let's give them the chance."
"If they spend a little more time fighting, they won't have time to gain a firm foothold and do things that disrupt stability."
"..."
After some discussion, the meeting in the Holy Land Mary Geoise came to an end.
...
The day the news report was released.
Grand Line, Alabasta.
The expeditionary force preparing to go to the North Sea has been assembled!
Rosinante watched the people boarding the ship, his brow furrowed, and his heart was somewhat puzzled.
The lineup before him was a little too "luxurious."
First, there was the leader who was in charge of the overall situation, "The Golden Dawn" Ryan Rowan.
Second, there was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, "Sand Crocodile" Crocodile.
There was also the current temporary king of Drum Kingdom, the Animal-type Devil Fruit user—Dalton; one of the vice captains of Alabasta Kingdom's Royal Guard—Falcon Bell; plus the fish-man Hocka that he had met before.
...
As for the rest, Rowan had not had time to introduce them to Rosinante, but Rosinante could also see that those people were not simple either.
A group of elite royal soldiers from Alabasta;
A group of medical teams from Drum Kingdom;
A group of fish-man warriors.
And a group of... Skypieans?!
The combined number of these people was nearly a thousand!
The number was... small.
But the combat power gathered within was extremely amazing!
They boarded the four large ships docked at the port in a group of about two hundred people.
Those were standard national-level ships of the superpower Alabasta, and their firepower was second only to Marine ships, fully armed to the teeth.
Such a lineup was strong enough to start a real war!
Not to mention a small country, even a medium-sized country would probably have a hard time resisting it!
Rosinante was very puzzled and asked Rowan:
"You declared to the public that this is a... medical support team?"
"Yes," Rowan nodded.
Rosinante, "Then..."
He wanted to say, wouldn't that be a bit too much?
But Rowan pointed to the four ships and introduced them:
"A medical team naturally needs doctors."
Rosinante nodded.
"Drum Kingdom's doctors are traveling, and Drum Kingdom's king and guards are personally protecting them, reasonable."
Rosinante paused, then nodded again.
"Alabasta, as the leader, send escorts, reasonable."
Rosinante nodded again.
"A tour group from Skypiea plans to conduct weather observations, reasonable."
Rosinante: "?"
Something's not right.
Rowan continued: "There are many Devil Fruit users on this voyage, and a fish-man underwater rescue team is accompanying them, reasonable."
Rosinante: "..."
Rowan boarded the ship, leaned against the mast, and looked up at the distant sea.
He said with a smile:
"In short, everything is very reasonable."
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