As the glittering gold filled the room, turning even the walls into a shimmering yellow hue, every Giant warrior present was shell-shocked. Their throats went dry as they stared at the treasure, their pupils practically turning into the shape of gold coins.
When had they ever seen this much money? Even the two well-traveled chieftains felt their lips trembling. It was too much. Far too much.
"How... how much is this gold worth?!"
"Renault, is this... all for us?" Hank asked, unable to believe his eyes.
"Of course," Renault nodded. "I understand the risk the Giants are taking. This gold, worth 100 billion Berries, is compensation for your people."
"What?! 100 billion Berries?!" A warrior in the back shrieked in a high-pitched tone and promptly fainted from sheer excitement.
"Not only that," Renault said with a grand sweep of his hand, "once this money is spent, I will cover every single future expense for the Giant race!"
Jorul and Jarul were willing to bet the fate of their entire race when nothing was certain. The Giants deserved this treatment. Besides, it was only because of Hairedin's Moa-Moa Fruit that he possessed such wealth anyway. Whether professionally or personally, he was doing the right thing.
After a long silence, the elders finally snapped out of their shock. Jorul stroked his beard and said, "Renault, in that case, we shall accept this grand gift."
"As it should be."
"Chieftains, I'd like to go see that Giant village now, if I may?" Renault said, his eyes darting around.
"Of course! Hank, take Renault there immediately," Jorul urged, though his eyes never left the pile of gold. "Ahem... Renault, Jarul and I still have some matters to attend to here, so we won't go with you. Let Hank handle the rest."
"No problem," Renault replied with a knowing smile. He led his group out of the room with Hank.
Thud.
The moment they stepped out, the door behind them slammed shut. Renault shook his head and laughed. Compared to the rings the elders wore, this pile of gold was nothing. But some things were better kept between fewer people.
On the way, Hank gave a detailed introduction of the village. As it turned out, the village Jorul had assigned was Hank's own.
Total population: 220. Hank was their leader.
"I didn't expect to be betting my life with you!" Hank slapped his chest. "Since the chieftains decided, we are at your service! Let's show those bastards just how terrifying an angry Giant can be."
Even Renault was beginning to look forward to the Giants' performance at Marine Headquarters.
"Hank, I have one more thing I need your help with."
"Our lives are in your hands, just say the word," Hank said boisterously.
"It's like this..."
About two hours later, Renault left Elbaf with Shakky and Hancock.
Aboard the Golden Ark, Renault lay lazily in his rocking chair while the two women prepared afternoon tea.
"Open System."
[System Panel opening!] [Host: Renault] [System: Great Sailing System] [Swordsmanship: Lv 63 —> 64 / 1,000,000] [Observation Haki: Lv 45 —> 46 / 1,500,000 (Future Sight)] [Armament Haki: Lv 50 (MAX!)] [Conqueror's Haki: Lv 50 (MAX!)] [Sailing Points: 50,250,000] [Luck: 210]
When his eyes landed on the Sailing Points column, Renault's mouth curled into a smile. A full 50 million points! How could he not be happy?
These points were provided by the 220 Giant warriors. They were all battle-hardened warriors with incredible talent. Nearly 200 of them were A-rank recruits, while the rest were A+ rank. A-rank members granted 200,000 points, and A+ rank granted 300,000. This was the largest single gain of points Renault had ever received.
The process had been simple. Since they were willing to die for him, getting them to "join" the crew was easy. Renault had given each of them 100 million Berries on the spot! More importantly, he promised that even after joining, he wouldn't order the Giants to do anything after the final battle was over. They could return to Elbaf. To the Giants, it was a win-win deal.
50 million points were deposited instantly. For the first time in years, Renault felt the cold system voice actually sounded a bit warm.
As for recruiting all the Giants for massive points? Renault never considered it. First, a member had to join willingly. Second, once recruited, the system established a link that influenced their thoughts to a degree. This was both a strength and a weakness. The upside was that they would never betray him, but for the Giants, it wasn't necessarily a good thing. They belonged to Elbaf; they had their own faith and home. With the system's bond, Renault would become their first priority. They weren't like Hairedin or Brogy, who genuinely wanted to follow him long-term.
Renault had always been on good terms with the Giants. If it weren't for the final battle involving the fate of the world and the need to guarantee victory, he wouldn't have done this. Since Jorul had assigned him the village, he had effectively placed their lives in Renault's hands. That was the only reason Renault felt comfortable gaining points through them. As for the Giants not involved, he would never exploit them.
While he felt a tiny sliver of guilt, the priority was business. Currently, his Armament and Conqueror's Haki were maxed out. Only Swordsmanship and Observation Haki remained.
After a moment of thought, he made his decision. His Observation Haki was at Level 45; he spent 10 million points to max it out. The remaining 40 million points were all dumped into Swordsmanship.
The system responded quickly.
[Swordsmanship: Lv 80 —> 81 / 3,000,000] [Observation Haki: Lv 50 (MAX!)]
Feeling the surge of power within his body, Renault nodded with satisfaction. Now that the Giant business was settled, it was time to visit the Fish-men!
Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
Inside a massive palace, the atmosphere was far more solemn than usual. Clearly, the Five Elders were facing a problem that gave even them a headache.
"To think that Roger's bloodline is actually still alive in this world!!"
"If it weren't for Teach, we would likely still be in the dark!!"
The Five Elders were furious. Just recently, Blackbeard had led his men to kill Silver Axe—one of the Seven Warlords—and then rushed to Marine Headquarters with Ace in tow. Upon meeting Sengoku, he proposed trading Fire Fist Ace for a position in the Warlords.
Initially, Sengoku was dismissive, thinking Teach had lost his mind. But when Teach revealed Ace's true identity, Sengoku couldn't sit still. He didn't care that Ace was a Division Commander for Whitebeard, but the fact that he was Roger's son—Roger's only living child—was earth-shattering. Sengoku immediately contacted the Five Elders for a decision.
"Tell Sakazuki to handle this. I can't believe he let the boy slip through. What a useless waste!" The long-haired Elder sitting on the sofa with crossed legs said, his eyes dark with irritation.
Back then, they had been extremely focused on this matter, ordering Kong that success was the only option. When Sakazuki returned from the mission, he had been adamant that all of Roger's potential children had been snuffed out in the cradle. They had actually believed his nonsense.
"There's no point in discussing that now. Since Ace's identity is confirmed, we cannot let him live," the blonde Elder said, his voice low.
Though they didn't know how the boy had escaped the Navy's hunt, it wasn't too late to fix the mistake. Ace was currently just a small-time commander in Whitebeard's fleet; he hadn't reached his full potential yet. Moreover, he was currently locked in a cell at Marine Headquarters. His life or death was entirely up to them.
"There is nothing to discuss. Kill him immediately! Every day Roger's son lives is another day of threat to us!" Without hesitation, the blonde Elder made his decision. They still remembered Roger's final moments vividly. The start of the Great Pirate Era hadn't toppled the government, but it had certainly caused them a lot of trouble. They would never let history repeat itself. Once Ace was dead, Roger's bloodline would be severed forever, and they could sleep peacefully.
"Wait, I have a better idea." Just as the others were nodding in agreement, the calmest of the five—the one holding a sword—spoke up. "The fact that Ace is Roger's blood can be both a curse and a blessing for us."
"What do you mean?" the Elder with the handlebar mustache asked. They only saw the downsides. Where was the benefit?
Under their confused gazes, the sword-wielding Elder spoke coldly. "Instead of simply killing him, we should use his identity to our advantage. We should hold a public execution at Marine Headquarters!""Let the whole world know Ace's true identity. A public execution of the Pirate King Roger's bloodline will surely strike terror into the hearts of pirates everywhere."
"By then, our rule over the seas will be more stable than ever!"
The Elder clutching the sword believed that when the commoners witnessed this event, they would be paralyzed by fear.
"It's a good plan. But if I'm not mistaken, Whitebeard likely already knows Ace's true identity. Once we make this news public, Whitebeard will not take it lying down."
"As you know, that man cares for nothing more than his 'sons'."
Whitebeard was an old rival of theirs, and they knew his temperament well. He cared nothing for wealth, fame, or status. But if anyone dared to touch one of his sons, he would fight to the death. Given Ace's special lineage, it wasn't impossible that Whitebeard would launch a full-scale assault on Marine Headquarters.
"Laughable! Are we supposed to fear a single, aging Whitebeard?" The blonde Elder slammed his cane down, and a surge of Armament Haki erupted, punching a deep hole into the reinforced floor. "If we can use this opportunity to terrify the pirates of the world and solidify our reign, it is worth a total war with the Whitebeard Pirates!"
"The Navy is at its peak. This is the perfect chance to wipe out the Whitebeard Pirates and excise that tumor once and for all!"
The others nodded in agreement. While Whitebeard was hailed as the World's Strongest Man, he was in his twilight years. His prestige remained, but his strength had significantly declined. As for the rest of his crew, they were mere small fry in the eyes of the Elders—not even worth mentioning.
"Then it is settled. Sengoku, in one month, you will hold a public execution for Ace at Marine Headquarters. Ensure that all preparations are foolproof."
"Success is the only option. Failure will not be tolerated. Do you understand?"
"Rest assured. I will arrange everything."
"Go and prepare."
Both sides disconnected the Den Den Mushi. Suddenly, the room fell into a deathly silence once more. The Elder with the handlebar mustache furrowed his brow, his voice low and grim.
"Ace is a priority, but let us not forget about Renault."
At the mention of that name, the temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees. Even though there had been no word of him for over twenty years, the killing intent that radiated from the Five Elders was almost palpable.
"Is there news of him?" The blonde Elder instinctively gripped his cane tighter.
"No."
"However, several World Government affiliate nations across the four seas and the Grand Line have recently reported that someone is secretly trying to recruit them."
"What?!"
The other Elders were furious. Someone was publicly trying to undermine their foundations? This was rebellion.
"You suspect it's Renault?" the sword-wielding Elder asked, his voice remaining as calm as a still pond.
"I can't be certain." The mustache-wearing Elder shook his head. "But besides him, I can't think of anyone else with that kind of capability. If it were just one region, it might be someone else. But this is happening across all five seas."
"To have tendrils stretching into five different sectors... who else could have that kind of reach?"
The other Elders fell silent. They already had their answer. Indeed, they couldn't think of anyone besides Renault. When Renault slaughtered those Celestial Dragons at God Valley, his ambitions were clear. Unlike the arrogant and loud Rocks, Renault was planning to take over the world using a different, more subtle method.
"What about the recruiters? Were any captured?" the long-bearded Elder asked impatiently.
"No. As soon as they were rejected, they vanished without a trace. The men sent by the affiliate nations to follow them were all killed."
The mustache-wearing Elder shook his head in frustration. If they could have captured just one or two, they might have squeezed out some clues. But so far, they had zero solid information on that group.
"Hmph, no need to guess. Who else has that much ambition combined with that level of skill and reach? I even suspect the disappearances of Shiki the Golden Lion and Douglas Barrett are linked to that bastard."
After Shiki lost the Battle of Edd War against Roger, he had vanished. After Roger disbanded his crew, Barrett had also disappeared. It was as if they had evaporated from the face of the earth. It was the exact same pattern as the members of the Renault Pirates. They didn't for a second believe those two monsters had simply died in some obscure corner of the ocean. The highest probability was that they had been recruited by Renault.
"If that's the case, things might be troublesome." The sword-wielding Elder's expression turned uncharacteristically grave. He looked at the others and asked tentatively, "Do you think... Renault might try to cause trouble while we are executing Ace at Marine Headquarters?"
The Five Elders looked at one another, their brows tightly knit. That certainly sounded like something Renault would do.
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