One Piece: Signing In as a Pirate Begins with Roger's Execution

In the end, Karl was still brought to Mary Geoise by Sengoku to meet the Five Elders.

To be honest, Karl was still a bit nervous about meeting the Five Elders here.

Although he had Sengoku, Garp, and Zephyr backing him, those three only had strength, high ranks in the Navy, and considerable fame. But when it came to power, they were completely overshadowed by the Five Elders.

Karl was worried the Five Elders might seize this opportunity to suppress him, the rising Marine newcomer who had made quite a name for himself. They could very well do something like that!

"You wait here for a bit. The Five Elders will be here soon," Sengoku said.

"Sengoku-san, aren't you staying with me?" Karl asked as Sengoku led him into the meeting room and turned to leave. He couldn't help but ask, instinctively.

For all this time, Sengoku had been the most reliable among Karl's backers. When Sengoku was about to leave, Karl couldn't help but feel uneasy.

The people he was about to face were not small fries; they were the pinnacle of power in this world—the Five Elders!

"Hmph! You made your bed, now lie in it. No one will cover for you this time!" Sengoku snorted and walked out.

However, as he left, his expression was somewhat complicated, though he didn't seem worried about Karl getting into trouble.

Karl was left alone in the room.

At that moment, all Karl could think about was finishing this meeting as soon as possible and getting out of here.

Apart from pirates, Karl despised the Celestial Dragons the most.

But the Five Elders didn't keep him waiting long.

Only a few minutes later, they walked into the room.

The Five Elders were still quite young at this point, and their strides were full of arrogance.

"Five Elders detected. Sign-in available!"

As expected, the system prompted him that the Five Elders were present.

Karl paused for a moment, then the man with a broad smile on his face stepped forward.

"Lord Five Elders, would you mind shaking my hand?" Karl asked, hoping for a gesture of goodwill.

The Five Elders exchanged a glance, and then the one with the large beard coldly took his seat without saying a word.

This made Karl feel awkward.

He begrudgingly withdrew his hand and muttered under his breath.

"What a show-off. Once I become Admiral, I'll be the one taking you five down first!"

Karl thought to himself.

Since they refused the handshake, Karl didn't want to force it, knowing it could easily anger them.

The strength of the Five Elders was unclear, and Karl wasn't sure what abilities they might possess.

"Karl, due to your outstanding past achievements, we originally planned to make an exception and promote you to the rank of Commodore," the Gorosei (Five Elders) with a large beard began to speak, but he stopped midway.

The rest of the statement was picked up by the bald-headed Gorosei (Five Elders) dressed in samurai attire.

"However! The fact that you allowed the people from Ohara to escape is a very serious violation of military discipline!"

"So, after thorough discussion, we've decided to counterbalance your merits and faults. Your rank will remain unchanged, and you will face a five-year house arrest punishment!"

"During these five years, you will remain at Navy Headquarters, either training new recruits under Vice Admiral Zephyr or going out to sea with him. We will not allow you to disappear from the Navy's surveillance!"

"Wait, what? House arrest for five years? Are you joking?"

"And I didn't save anyone. Those actions weren't mine! You have no reason to force this blame on me!" Karl still stubbornly retorted.

The Gorosei (Five Elders) exchanged a look, and then the man in the red suit spoke.

"You little brat! Don't get too ahead of yourself! Do you really think a mere Navy officer can speak to us like that without consequences?"

"You've been acting so arrogant because of your identity. If you knew your true identity from the start, wouldn't you be even more overbearing?"

"True identity? What do you mean?" Karl frowned, sensing that something was wrong.

The Gorosei (Five Elders) exchanged glances again, and finally, the large-bearded Gorosei (Five Elders) spoke to explain.

"We had originally planned to reveal your true identity when you reached adulthood. But since it took you nearly two years to return to the Headquarters, the news was delayed by two years."

"To be honest with you, the villagers of God Valley, whom you believe to be ordinary people, are actually a faction of the Celestial Dragons!"

"That faction once advocated for world peace and equality, which was rejected by the Mary Geoise faction."

"But no one could have predicted that the Rocks Pirates would suddenly descend on God Valley and destroy the Celestial Dragon faction you belonged to. You are the only surviving bloodline, and you are our key individual to protect!"

"Otherwise, why would you think you would enjoy such special treatment, with resources others don't have?"

When Karl heard the large-bearded Gorosei's words, it was like being struck by a thunderclap. He was completely stunned.

All these years, he had hated the Celestial Dragons, only to find out that he was one of them.

It was like firing a bullet only for it to completely miss its target, causing a stray bullet to hit him instead.

Karl had become what he had hated most.

"If you don't believe it, you can ask Sengoku. But neither Garp nor Zephyr know about this."

"Only we five Gorosei, Sengoku, and Kong are aware of this matter."

"Hmph! You're really taking advantage of this situation! No matter how you try to explain it, you won't escape this blame!"

"Don't think just because we're old that we're blind! Be careful what you do!"

"This ends here. No matter what you do in the future, if you betray the World Government, even if you are the last bloodline of God Valley, we won't let you off lightly!"

The Gorosei angrily rebuked Karl, warning him with various threats, mostly aimed at ensuring that Karl would not oppose the Celestial Dragons of Mary Geoise.

Karl had thought this meeting with the Gorosei was going to be about punishment, perhaps stripping him of his military uniform.

But instead, it turned into a massive brainwashing session.

The Gorosei drilled into him all the knowledge and pride unique to the Celestial Dragons.

However, Karl had no interest in listening.

What went in one ear came straight out the other.

This lasted for about an hour before the Gorosei finally allowed Karl to leave.

Relieved, Karl quickly fled the room.

"Although we've revealed his Celestial Dragon identity, should we really leave out the more important details?" the large-bearded Gorosei asked the others after Karl left.

The bald-headed Gorosei sighed and looked at the large door behind him.

"Imu-sama told us during his last awakening not to interfere with his actions and to fully cooperate with him at certain times."

"Since that's the case, informing him of part of his identity is enough. There's no need to tell him everything."

"Otherwise, with his personality, wouldn't he flip Mary Geoise upside down and trample over us five?"

"You're right. Let's leave the rest for when Imu-sama awakens next time."

"By the way, about that spark of fire Imu-sama mentioned, should we continue monitoring it?"

"Monkey D. Dragon? He's Garp's son. He's tricky to deal with, but we'll still send someone to monitor him for a while. Just don't stir things up—be careful!"

"Agreed!"

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