"Then don't implant the Heavenly Celestial Dragon's Identity Chip into him, lest he peek at any secrets…"
Another old man voiced his agreement, utterly unconcerned about this minor matter: "All the privileges other Heavenly Celestial Dragons enjoy in this world can be given to him. The power of the Seven Warlords of the Sea is also a part that the World Government can make use of. Granting him a small request is nothing out of line…"
"Very well."
"In any case, no one will be leaving the Holy Land for a while…"
The other elders of the Five Elders all chimed in. Before the threat of the Konoha Pirates was eliminated, the Heavenly Celestial Dragons wouldn't dare rashly leave the Holy Land…
"Anything else, Sengoku?"
After discussing this matter, the Five Elders turned to Sengoku the Buddha again: "If it's only this trivial issue, it wasn't worth you coming in person, was it?"
"There's another troublesome matter…"
Sengoku took a deep breath and continued in a low voice: "Donflamingo has reported something else. The Konoha Pirates left dozens of World Nobles, including Saint Figarland Garling, on Island 1 of the Shampodi Archipelago and are using Donflamingo's Slave Auction to sell them…"
"What!"
"A bunch of pirates dare to…"
"How dare they do such a thing!"
The faces of the Five Elders instantly turned ugly!
How dare that group of lowly pirates auction off the noble Heavenly Celestial Dragons as slaves!
Those pirates could have used the Heavenly Celestial Dragons as bargaining chips to negotiate with the World Government for things ordinary people could never obtain. Why auction the Heavenly Celestial Dragons as slaves instead? Do they not realize this makes it a feud of mutual annihilation for both sides!
However…
It seemed they were already in a mutual-annihilation situation to begin with…
The Konoha Pirates had broken into the Holy Land and killed so many Heavenly Celestial Dragons. From top to bottom, the Heavenly Celestial Dragons regarded it as an unprecedented humiliation and wished they could grind that group of pirates' bones to dust…
"..."
The corners of the Five Elders' eyes twitched; each of them felt a headache coming on.
If it were any other pirate crew daring to do this, the Five Elders would definitely rack their brains to mobilize all forces to annihilate them; even the Four Emperors' Pirates would be no exception…
The problem was…
The strength of the Konoha Pirates was a bit excessively overwhelming.
Yet as the Five Elders, they couldn't just sit back and watch. They couldn't possibly turn a blind eye to the Konoha Pirates auctioning Heavenly Celestial Dragons, could they? That would utterly destroy the reputation of the Heavenly Celestial Dragons and might even make it impossible to maintain their authority ever again!
Besides…
They had to think of a way to rescue them…
One of the old men sighed, forced to issue an order: "Immediately dispatch warships to monitor the Shampodi Archipelago. By any means necessary, rescue those World Nobles who were abducted by the pirates. Even if we must deploy all the Admirals, it is not too high a price. If need be, we will move personally as well…"
"We still need a thorough plan…"
Another elder put forward his own idea: "We must also send people to infiltrate the Shampodi Archipelago, then launch a coordinated inside–outside operation to rescue Saint Garling. His combat strength can also be put to use. We must stop this auction…"
"If necessary…"
"Go summon Red Hair…"
"After all, that man's strength is formidable and should be of use as well. If Saint Figarland Garling is auctioned off, his dignity will be utterly ruined…"
The Five Elders knew most of the hidden secrets on this sea. They knew the true lineage of Red-haired Shanks, and they also understood Red-haired Shanks' stance.
Nothing more than…
All for the sake of maintaining the balance.
They simply couldn't yet infer Red-haired Shanks' real intentions, but one thing was certain: Red-haired Shanks was unlikely to ignore the matter of Heavenly Celestial Dragons being sold as slaves.
"However…"
"There's one more thing…"
Sengoku hesitated, narrowing his eyes slightly as he relayed the intel Red Sand Sasori had given him: "Not long ago, Borsalino destroyed a powerful pirate crew. That powerful pirate crew was attempting to return from the latter half of the New World to Paradise in the first half of the Grand Line. Their purpose in returning to the first half was to participate in a hunting game with Heavenly Celestial Dragons as prey…"
This was definitely a lie.
Sengoku was not afraid the lie would be exposed by the Five Elders, because Kizaru was his accomplice to begin with, and he had indeed destroyed a powerful pirate crew.
Conveniently…
The supposed source of the intel could be pinned on that destroyed pirate crew.
"The timing is still unclear, but it should not have started yet…"
Sengoku shook his head, pushed up his glasses, and continued his report in a deep voice: "This hunting game that uses Heavenly Celestial Dragons as prey is open to pirates. A certain status and strength are required to participate. We've already pinpointed the location—Sky Island above Gaya Island…"
"It is said…"
"The Konoha Pirates intend to use this hunting game to look for allies. Perhaps they also plan to use it to build a great power of their own…"
When he said this…
Sengoku himself almost believed all of it.
After reporting to the Five Elders, Sengoku planned to go back and call the Konoha Pirates, so they could, following their own ideas, use this hunting game to gather those powerful New World pirates together, and then let that group of pirates and the Four Emperors' Pirates tear each other apart…
"!!!"
The faces of the Five Elders showed shock as if the heavens had collapsed!
This kind of thing…
The people of the Konoha Pirates had already mentioned it back when they broke into Mary Geoise and spoke with them over the phone; they had guessed the other side might really do this…
But…
The Konoha Pirates actually went and did it for real…