Holy Land Mary Geoise, Authority Room.
While Ash was enjoying himself on Gourmet Island, the Five Elders were discussing the Dawn's continued journey through the New World after clashing with three Yonko crews and emerging untouched.
What concerned them was not the Dawn's strength itself.
To the World Government, power was merely a weapon. As long as it could be controlled, even the sharpest blade could still be used.
The real problem was that Ash's rise had become far too rapid. If things continued this way, the balance of the seas that had been maintained for years could collapse completely.
The current Dawn Pirates were no longer a force the World Government could casually pressure like ordinary Warlords.
Their strength had already matured.
The moment the Dawn openly rejected the World Government's authority, it would signal to the entire world that both sides had completely turned against each other.
And taking action against the Dawn now would be no different from starting a war against a Yonko crew, something the Five Elders had no desire to do.
To them, Ash had grown too powerful without their notice, like a beast that had already slipped free of its leash.
Eventually, after a lengthy discussion between Saint Saturn and Saint Warcury, the Five Elders reached a decision regarding Ash and the Dawn Pirates.
Wait and observe.
Human desire was endless.
According to the intelligence they had gathered, Ash possessed an extreme love for gourmet food.
And appetite was one of humanity's strongest desires.
Among all desires, hunger was difficult to resist, lust was even harder, and vanity was nearly impossible to escape.
Big Mom was the perfect example.
She had become completely enslaved by food, and because of that, the Five Elders never truly considered her a threat beyond raw destruction.
Ash's obsession with food was nowhere near as extreme, but it was still an exploitable weakness.
More importantly, Ash was nearing adulthood.
Soon, he would inevitably face another dangerous temptation.
The Five Elders were curious whether he would eventually become consumed by it.
What they feared most, however, was vanity.
If Ash began chasing glory and recognition, he could easily walk the same road Gol D. Roger once did.
The world had no need for another Pirate King.
Because of that possibility, the Five Elders prepared a second plan.
Based on Ash's history, he possessed a natural hatred toward pirates. The chances of him inheriting Roger's will seemed low, but they could not ignore the possibility entirely.
Since that was the case, they decided to support his current actions publicly.
If Ash continued hunting pirates, then the World Government would amplify those actions through propaganda and public opinion.
If they could not stop him from becoming a legend, then they would simply guide that legend in a direction beneficial to the Government.
"If he cannot become the Pirate King, then let him become the people's hero."
As long as his vanity could be satisfied elsewhere, the situation would remain controllable.
The meeting soon came to an end.
...
Another week passed in the blink of an eye.
It was finally time for the Dawn to head toward Gran Tesoro for resupply.
During this period, both Sali and Wyper contacted Ash about the same matter.
CP agents from the World Government, accompanied by Marines, had approached them and requested cooperation with the Marine Science Unit for upcoming tests.
The exact details had not yet been revealed, and the notice merely served as an advance warning.
Ash immediately understood what they were planning.
The World Government had already begun preparing for the Seraphim project.
What surprised him slightly was the timeline.
Without Kuma serving as the primary test subject for the Pacifista experiments first, Vegapunk had somehow skipped directly toward Seraphim development.
Still, Ash did not care much.
Cooperation was impossible anyway.
At the same time, the incident made the World Government's fear of him painfully obvious.
Sali and Wyper had both received notice days earlier.
Ash, who was closest to Marineford, had received absolutely nothing.
The meaning behind that silence was clear.
After telling the two to ignore the Government's nonsense, Ash departed for Gran Tesoro with Bonney two days ahead of schedule, planning to enjoy themselves while waiting.
Normally, pirates visiting Gran Tesoro tried their best to avoid Ash entirely.
Even though everyone knew he rarely caused trouble in places like Sabaody Archipelago or Gran Tesoro itself, nobody wanted to risk provoking him accidentally.
After all, if Ash happened to lose money gambling, who knew whether he would vent his frustration on nearby pirates?
Of course, those fools had no idea what really happened whenever Ash entered a casino.
The Goddess of Fortune practically threw luck directly into his hands.
"Lose money?"
Impossible.
It was like multiple people buying the same lottery ticket yet receiving completely different outcomes.
But today, the atmosphere in Gran Tesoro suddenly changed.
A pirate crew openly appeared within Ash's sight without the slightest attempt to hide.
Their leader wore an absurdly flashy top hat alongside a yellow high-collared coat. In his hand rested a pink candy cane that he licked every few steps with a disgusting grin.
Charlotte Perospero.
The eldest son of the Big Mom Pirates.
"A Yonko crew actually showed up?"
Countless hidden spectators immediately revealed expressions of excitement.
Unlike ignorant rookies, experienced pirates already understood what Ash represented now.
The Dawn had already fought against the Beasts Pirates, the Red Hair Pirates, and the Whitebeard Pirates.
Yet Ash remained completely unharmed, and the Dawn continued sailing through the New World openly.
More importantly, aside from the first clash against Kaido where multiple Warlords participated, the later battles against the Red Hair Pirates and Whitebeard Pirates had been fought solely by the Dawn.
Although no official results had been announced, the silence from all three Yonko crews spoke volumes.
The world had already acknowledged Ash's strength.
He lacked only the title itself.
To many people, Ash already stood at the level of an Emperor of the Sea.
The foolish stayed behind hoping to watch entertainment unfold.
The smarter pirates immediately rushed back toward the docks.
They needed to leave Gran Tesoro immediately.
No, they needed to put as much distance as possible between themselves and Totto Land.
Two days later, the auction officially began.
Ash only participated once during the early rounds, purchasing a high-quality sword for 22 million Berries.
Another weapon added to the collection.
Soon, the final item of the night appeared.
A Paramecia-type Compression Fruit.
Starting bid: 100 million Berries.
To Ash's surprise, Perospero suddenly joined the bidding war.
An ordinary Paramecia Devil Fruit rapidly climbed higher and higher under their competition.
300 million.
500 million.
700 million.
Finally, the price reached an outrageous 1 billion Berries.
Even Baccarat standing on stage looked slightly pale.
It was not because she had never seen such an amount before.
She was simply terrified that Ash might lose his temper after paying such a ridiculous price.
Fortunately, Ash had no intention of embarrassing himself over money.
It was only Berries.
Not something truly valuable.
As for wealth, even Tesoro's reserves could not compare to the riches hidden within Skypiea.
What Ash lacked the least was money.
Inside his storage space alone were countless pirate bounties worth well over 1 billion Berries.
Solo Mission Progress: Devil Fruit Collection [76/500]