"Kizaru…"
Standing nearby, Kong felt a deep sense of pride. He looked at Kizaru with warmth and gratification.
He might not have been the most successful Fleet Admiral, but to have raised and promoted someone like Kizaru, who now stood on the brink of becoming the new Fleet Admiral, wasn't something he—or the Navy—needed to be ashamed of.
"…Therefore, we hereby promote Kizaru to the position of Fleet Admiral of the Navy!"
As the elder concluded, Kong immediately began clapping enthusiastically.
Though he was the only one clapping, the atmosphere didn't feel awkward at all. Even the two Celestial Dragons seated in the observation gallery awkwardly joined in with a few half-hearted claps.
It wasn't until Kong had nearly clapped his hands raw that an attendant finally stepped forward and handed Kizaru the official letter of promotion.
Of course, this was only the ceremonial promotion—Kizaru still needed to return to Marineford for the formal inauguration and oath-taking ceremony.
Only then would he officially become the supreme commander of hundreds of thousands of marines, holding the highest authority within the Navy!
"Alright, alright, that's enough. Listening to all that is kind of embarrassing,"
Kizaru muttered, casually accepting the appointment letter before cutting off Kong, who was still clapping like a madman.
It felt weird being the only one applauding here. If he wanted to enjoy real cheers and celebration, he'd wait until he got back to Marineford, where tens of thousands of Marines would be shouting his name in unison—that was more his style.
"Don't you dare be rude to the Five Elders in a moment!"
Kong leaned over and whispered urgently.
In theory, becoming Fleet Admiral meant one should be even more respectful to the Five Elders.
But Kizaru was infamous in the Navy for being the very definition of uncooperative. Expecting him to suddenly become obedient now that he was Fleet Admiral was pure fantasy.
Kizaru simply snorted in amusement.
He had always shown respect to those who deserved it—even someone like Kong, whose unwavering loyalty to the Five Elders bordered on blind devotion, still earned Kizaru's respect.
In other words, if Kizaru didn't respect someone, it was because they weren't worth respecting.
"Kizaru, do you have anything you'd like to say?"
The Elder suddenly asked.
Kong, still anxious about Kizaru's attitude, feared the worst—that the Five Elders would take offense at Kizaru's lack of etiquette.
But what he didn't realize was that the Five Elders were even more pragmatic than he'd imagined.
Even Saint Mars, known for his obsession with decorum—someone who had previously revoked an allied nation's status over the slightest rudeness from a king—now sat silently, as if blind to Kizaru's irreverent behavior.
Perched at the very pinnacle of the World Government's power structure, the Five Elders now stared unblinkingly at Kizaru.
All of them waiting—for him to hand over the Pure Gold, the very treasure generations of Elders had dreamed of obtaining.
"Ah, yes. I do have something,"
Kizaru said, pulling a crumpled sheet of paper from his pocket.
"This is next year's Navy budget. I'd like the Five Elders to approve it."
He handed it off to a nearby attendant, whose face barely hid his rising panic.
To be a personal attendant to the Five Elders—even just a glorified errand-runner—was already enough to be considered a "big shot" in certain circles.
But in all his years serving at the summit of the World Government, he had never seen anyone treat the Five Elders like this.
"You're going too far, Kizaru!"
Saint Ethanbaron growled as he took the paper—then glanced at it, and immediately exploded in anger.
Not because the individual budget items were outrageous (though they probably were), but because Kizaru had taken the printed budget total… and just added a zero to the end in bold, black marker.
"Calm down, Ethanbaron… Let's just see how much he—YOU BASTARD!"
The blond-haired Elder, Saint Peter, tried to defuse the situation, attempting to smooth things over for Saint Nusjuro. He had long mentally prepared for the possibility that Kizaru would make outrageous demands, and had even been secretly amused at Nusjuro's lack of composure.
After all, as long as they could obtain the Pure Gold, what did one round of overspending matter? They could always pass the costs on to the kings of the allied nations anyway.
But the moment Saint Peter glanced at the paper, his face also twisted with fury.
This wasn't just a case of Kizaru asking for too much—this was a deliberate provocation!
"Kizaru! Are you looking to die?!"
"Don't think that just because you're Fleet Admiral now, we can't deal with you!"
"You're getting too full of yourself!"
…
The other three Elders were still confused—wasn't this just typical Kizaru behavior? He'd always been a loose cannon, so why were Peter and Nusjuro reacting so strongly?
But once they each took a look at the paper, they blew up one after the other, like a chain of powder kegs being set off.
The collective fury of the Five Elders was so intense that everyone present began to tremble, even the two Celestial Dragons in the observation gallery started to look visibly unsettled.
Fleet Admiral Kong was especially anxious, unsure of what was written on the document that had provoked the Five Elders so severely.
"So? Are you giving it to me or not?"
Facing the Five Elders' overwhelming fury, Kizaru let out a lazy yawn, then casually pulled a dazzlingly radiant piece of Pure Gold from his pocket.
Even Kong, standing beside him, couldn't help but have his eyes drawn to the brilliant glow.
Even setting aside its rumored ability to preserve youth, the Pure Gold was more dazzling than the finest gemstones. Watching Kizaru toss it casually up and down like a toy, the Five Elders looked like they were on the verge of lunging forward to snatch it from his hands.
"It's so beautiful… Hey, you over there! Give me what's in your hand! I'll give you ten—no, a hundred slaves in exchange!" Shouted a female Celestial Dragon from the gallery.
Like dragons hoarding treasure, women—especially Celestial Dragons—couldn't resist anything that sparkled.
And the radiance of Pure Gold was something even Tatsumaki couldn't resist—let alone a spoiled Celestial Dragon.
"What would I want slaves for?"
Kizaru smirked, eyeing the Five Elders with deliberate arrogance.
"Besides, this is Pure Gold. Forget a hundred slaves—even a hundred billion Berries couldn't buy it~"
The female Celestial Dragon hadn't fully grasped what he meant, but the other one suddenly gasped, clearly aware of the true power Pure Gold held.
"Wait! That demand is completely unreasonable! A tenfold increase is out of the question!"
"I can authorize a five… no, a sevenfold budget increase at most!"
The long-bearded Saint Mars sensed things were about to go south and quickly stepped in, making a promise to Kizaru.
Though the Five Elders were indeed the highest-ranking Celestial Dragons, that didn't mean they could completely ignore pressure from the broader Celestial Dragon class.
If they could, they wouldn't have needed to negotiate or compromise—they could have simply taken the Pure Gold outright.
"...Fine, seventy percent it is. Let's say I'm doing it for Old Man Kong's sake!"
Kizaru had been about to throw in a mocking comment, but suddenly sensed a flash of Observation Haki—sharp and fleeting. He changed his mind on the spot, and casually tossed the piece of Pure Gold into Fleet Admiral Kong's hands.
Before that huge potential headache could arrive, even backed into a corner, the Five Elders would never bow their heads to him.
A tenfold military budget wasn't just astronomical—it would essentially allow the Navy to become independent of the World Government.
In other words, the World Government would no longer be a necessary entity for the Navy's survival—something the Five Elders absolutely could not accept.
They would never risk the possibility of the Navy breaking free from their control.
"Kong! Bring the Pure Gold here, now!"
shouted the samurai-garbed Elder, overjoyed.
Even though Kong still hadn't fully processed what was happening, the Elder didn't care.
He didn't know why Kizaru suddenly had a change of heart, but at this point, it didn't matter.
"The Pure Gold! Bring it up now!"
Saint Peter was also elated. For a moment, the Five Elders had even mentally prepared to turn on Kizaru completely—even if it meant starting a war right there in Mariejois, they were ready to seize the Pure Gold.
Luckily, the worst-case scenario hadn't happened.
Turns out, Kizaru wasn't completely unreasonable after all. Thanks to the Pure Gold, the Five Elders had temporarily forgotten their earlier anger.
"Y-Yes! Here, quickly—bring it up..."
Fleet Admiral Kong instinctively tried to hand the Pure Gold to a nearby attendant, but under the Elders' impatient urging, he had no choice but to climb the sacred staircase himself—nervously stepping up to present it directly.
The Five Elders exchanged glances, and finally the highest-ranking among them, Saint Mars, reached out to accept the priceless artifact.
As the Pure Gold landed in his obviously well-maintained, but still aged, hands—his fingers trembled slightly.
"You've done well, Kong. Truly worthy of the Steel-Bone lineage!"
Saint Nasujuro gave a hearty laugh and clapped Kong on the shoulder, leaving the grizzled old general momentarily stunned by the unexpected praise.
Yet, after the surprise came a strange twinge of disappointment in Kong's heart.
From the moment he caught the Pure Gold tossed to him by Kizaru, something had stirred inside him—a thought he knew he shouldn't have.
After all, Kong was no longer young. The youngest of the Five Elders, Saint Peter, was still several years younger than him.
Faced with something that could grant eternal youth, it was only natural for Kong's resolve to waver a little.
But years of ingrained loyalty had pushed him to deliver the Pure Gold without hesitation.
If he had to do it again, perhaps he would make the same choice.
But... he might regret it afterward.
"Interesting..."
Kizaru, watching the whole scene play out, couldn't help but let the corners of his mouth curl into a smile.
Even someone as hard-core loyal as Old Man Kong could waver under the allure of Pure Gold.
If that was the case, then maybe—just maybe—toppling the World Government would be even easier than he had imagined.
°°°
If you want to read ahead and access 20 advanced chapters, check the patreon
Link: Patreon/Moziel
Subscription should be made thru the web and never the ios app, it helps you and me.