Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
Pangaea Castle, the Room of Authority.
This was the office of the Five Elders. It occupied an entire floor of Pangaea Castle, yet the interior itself was not complicated—there was only a single table and a few sets of sofas.
Although everything inside was luxurious, it did not exceed the bounds of what ordinary nobility might have—perhaps a deliberate choice to present the Five Elders as "approachable."
In truth, the Five Elders did not have particularly heavy workloads. Most of the time, they only provided direction on major events, while the countless routine affairs were handled by officials throughout the World Government system.
This so-called office, in most cases, was simply a place where the five of them drank tea, chatted, and discussed the so-called "state of the world."
"The great battle between the Golden Lion and Whitebeard is imminent. The Marines have already submitted their plan—Admirals Sengoku and Zephyr will head to Linderland Island together with Garp," Saint Saturn said casually, holding a teacup as he shared the information with the others.
Clearly, as the Warrior God of Science and Defense, his authority in military matters was greater. Whether it was the Marines or the CP agencies, both fell directly under his command.
While the other Five Elders also had the authority to issue orders to these two major forces, they generally refrained from interfering without important reasons. Each of them had their own domain of power.
"Let them fight. As long as it doesn't spill out of the New World, it's a minor matter. No need to put too much pressure on the Marines," Saint Warcury said calmly.
"This year's Heavenly Tribute has already been reported. Out of the 174 affiliated nations, sixteen are expected to fail to pay according to regulations," Saint Nusjuro brought up the matter of the Heavenly Tribute.
This, too, fell under his authority—he was the Warrior God of Finance, holding control over fiscal matters.
Overall, the powers held by the Five Elders balanced one another to a certain extent.
The Warrior God of Environment could check the Warrior God of Agriculture, agriculture and finance in turn constrained defense, and while legal authority seemed to stand at the top, Saturn's control over military power was the true force of arms.
It was difficult to say who truly outranked whom—but in reality, Saturn's authority was clearly more forceful. It was no wonder he had grown somewhat overconfident because of it.
"Judge based on their attitude. Those who have been respectful in previous years and can submit over 80% of the Heavenly Tribute may be granted an extension to make up the remainder next year," Saint Mars said after some thought.
"We should also pick a few as examples—strip them of their status as affiliated nations. Choose suitable targets and let the Holy Knights carry out this year's 'study tour,'" Saint Peter said coldly.
The number of affiliated nations under the World Government typically hovered between 170 and 200, fluctuating constantly. Every year, some nations would lose their status—either because they failed to pay the Heavenly Tribute or for other reasons.
At the same time, many nations outside were lining up, eager to pay the Heavenly Tribute in hopes of being admitted into the system.
The most notable example in recent years was the giant nation, Elbaf, which had been trying every possible way to join.
However, the World Government did not simply accept anyone with money. It wasn't as simple as wanting to pay and being allowed to do so—many factors were considered.
Especially for nations in the New World. Due to the rampant pirate threat, many kings believed that joining the World Government would solve their problems.
But that was not the case.
In recent years, the World Government's influence in the New World had declined significantly. To avoid situations where nations paid their tribute only to see no improvement—thus damaging the Government's credibility—the Five Elders had rarely approved applications from New World nations.
There was also an important distinction to be made: the Heavenly Tribute was merely an offering to the Celestial Dragons, used for the enjoyment of the descendants of the Twenty Kings.
The World Government's finances did not rely on the Heavenly Tribute. Instead, it operated through a vast and complex system.
Many key assets within member nations were absorbed into the Government's control. Its influence extended into various industries, and it also collected taxes.
Take Dressrosa as an example. The country itself wasn't large, yet it had to pay the Heavenly Tribute. After that, it was further drained through various means, leaving its national finances in a miserable state.
As a result, the entire nation remained poor—even the royal family was not much better off.
Through both overt and covert control, the World Government maintained a firm grip over its affiliated nations.
Deciding life or death with a single word was no exaggeration.
For instance, when Saint Peter proposed stripping certain nations of their status—once that happened, their economies would collapse immediately. The World Government would extract whatever remaining value it could, leaving behind an empty shell before departing.
After such a process, the nation would essentially be destroyed—serving as a warning to all other member states of the consequences of being abandoned.
Just as the other Elders were about to finalize a list of nations to be expelled—
Saint Saturn stood up from the sofa, leaning on his cane. "Handle it as you see fit. I'll be leaving now."
"What urgent matter requires your departure?" Saint Warcury asked casually.
"Valthior returns today," Saturn replied calmly, offering no further explanation before walking out.
After Saturn left the Room of Authority, Saint Mars chuckled lightly. "Saturn dotes on that boy a bit too much."
After all, which of them didn't have descendants?
For example, Sommerswas Saint Peter's descendant and the young master of the Shepherd family. Yet his standing in Peter's eyes was nothing like Valthior's in Saturn's.
"Just a few days ago, I heard that boy of his went down to the lower world and joined the Roger Pirates. Truly outrageous," Saint Peter said, shaking his head with a hint of helplessness.
Indeed, Valthior had been gone for three years—but it was only a few days ago, during a casual chat at home, that Peter learned of it from Sommers.
This showed that, until now, none of them had paid much attention to the matter.
"It is rather outrageous," Warcury agreed at first, but then added thoughtfully, "Yet Saturn hasn't punished him, which is strange. Perhaps there's something behind this that we're not aware of."
"I don't usually pay attention to such things, but it seems the Roger Pirates have been acting rather strangely these past few years—keeping a low profile. There are even rumors they are searching for Poneglyphs. Perhaps Saturn allowed Valthior to associate with them for that reason," Nusjuro speculated.
"Is that so? Poneglyphs…" Mars's eyes flickered with thought. After a moment, he said, "You mean Valthior was sent to investigate the Roger Pirates?"
They did not suspect Saturn of harboring ulterior motives.
After all, he was one of the Five Elders. And from the looks of it, while he did not bring up the matter, he also made no effort to conceal it.
Otherwise, with Saturn's methods, they wouldn't have learned about Valthior becoming a pirate unless they deliberately investigated.
This half-hidden, half-ignored approach led them to conclude that Saturn likely had some arrangement in place.
Given that he was the Warrior God of Science and Defense, responsible for such matters, it all seemed reasonable.
"Perhaps it's similar to how he handled Clover. In any case, it's not something we need to concern ourselves with. Let's return to the matter of the Heavenly Tribute," Nusjuro ultimately steered the conversation back.
The other Elders did not dwell on it further and soon resumed their discussion.
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