Super Card System

In the Holy Land of Mariejois, within the highest authority of the World Government, five elderly men of varying appearances and statures occupied a vast hall. Four of them either sat or stood in silence, quietly listening as the bald elder communicated with Tokugawa Izumi, the Shogun of Wano Country, through a special black and white Den Den Mushi.

The bald elder was the only one among the Five Elders who did not wear a suit, instead donning traditional Wano Country attire. He wore round glasses atop his bald head and held a long katana in his hand, even while on the phone.

Being from Wano Country himself, the bald elder was naturally the best candidate to negotiate with its shogun. After hearing Tokugawa Izumi's sarcastic remarks, he remained unruffled and replied, "You must understand that, for the World Government, justice in the shadows is omnipresent. Especially with Wano Country, which is a key surveillance target—we become aware of any disturbances immediately."

"…" Tokugawa Izumi was silent for a moment, saying nothing.

He fully grasped the meaning behind the bald elder's words. He had long known that CP agents were embedded within Wano Country, but he couldn't identify who they were. The World Government's practice of espionage was both infuriating and impossible to guard against.

After a moment of silence, Tokugawa Izumi sighed and said, "You people are as annoying as ever! Tell me, why are you calling?"

"Who was the assassin?" the bald elder asked. "Was the sole purpose to assassinate you, or was the assassin seeking something from you?"

Tokugawa Izumi snorted, "Aren't you supposed to be omniscient? And now you're asking me?"

"In truth, we very much want to uncover the assassin's identity," the bald elder replied. "But we later discovered that Emperor Black Dragon Ian had already engaged with the assassin before us. Reluctantly, our people had to withdraw, so we do not know the assassin's identity."

This time, it was the bald elder who fell silent.

Damn it, if we could communicate with Black Dragon Ian, would we need to come to you!?

Ian's meteoric rise had shocked not only the world but also the Navy and the World Government. Although after the Battle of New Edd war, they understood that Ian might one day become an Emperor, their calculations had him more likely succeeding Whitebeard, believing Ian still lagged behind the established Emperor forces.

No one expected that Whitebeard wouldn't pass his mantle to Ian, and that Ian would directly eliminate Big Mom on Whole Cake Island! Even though it was during Big Mom's loss of sanity, the fact that he could kill her under such circumstances spoke volumes. When the news arrived, the entire World Government was caught off guard.

What troubled them most was that after seizing Big Mom's territory, Ian only stayed long enough to consolidate before appearing in Wano Country!

Not only that, but he immediately became entangled in this incident, causing the World Government a massive headache as they feared his involvement would render the situation uncontrollable once more.

Therefore, they needed to confirm the assassin's identity through Tokugawa Izumi.

If the assassin was a loyal retainer of the Kozuki family, that was manageable; a mere vassal couldn't stir up too much trouble. But if it was someone else…

However, Tokugawa Izumi seemed to know what they were thinking. With a hint of mockery in his tone, he said, "The assassin is Queen the Plague of the Beasts Pirates! She came looking for 'that thing'!"

Bang!Upon hearing this, one of the Five Elders sitting at the table couldn't help but slam his fist down in anger.

Damn it, that bastard Kaido is indeed after that thing…

The other elders held their heads in their hands, pondering what to do.

Finally, the bald elder calmed down first and asked, "So, has that thing fallen into Queen the Plague's hands?"

His tone had become exceedingly cold.

"…No!" Tokugawa Izumi deliberately paused before slowly saying, "You're well aware of how secretive the hiding place is for that thing…"

Hearing this, the Five Elders finally breathed a sigh of relief. But immediately, the bald elder said with some annoyance, "I told you long ago that bringing in the Beasts Pirates was a foolish move! Even if your strength isn't sufficient to eliminate the Kozuki family, the World Government could dispatch the Navy to assist you…"

Before he could finish, Tokugawa Izumi interrupted, "I've also told you before: I don't trust your World Government! I will never allow the Navy to set foot in my country!"

The bald elder sighed, "Lord Shogun, you must understand that because I, too, am from Wano Country, communication channels between Wano Country and the World Government have always remained open. The door for dialogue is always open to you. As long as you're willing to hand over that thing, the World Government is ready to accept Wano Country as a member nation at any time and provide it with the best treatment. Why are you so stubborn?"

"No need to say more, bald elder! Precisely because you are also from Wano Country, you should understand what a promise means to a samurai!" Tokugawa Izumi retorted. "My Tokugawa family has been the shoguns of Wano Country for generations, and that thing has been passed down through the hands of each shogun. It cannot be surrendered during my tenure! I will honor the original agreement, keeping Wano Country in a state of isolation and safeguarding the secret. Likewise, you had better uphold your end of the bargain!"

The bald elder raised his head, exchanging glances with the other four elders. Seeing them nod, he said, "Very well, we understand. As long as that thing doesn't get out, we will abide by the agreement and not interfere with Wano Country. As for Kaido…"

"That's my concern!" Tokugawa Izumi declared. "Since I used Kaido to deal with the Kozuki family, I will find a way to handle him as well!"

"Alright, we hope so," the bald elder replied, ending the call.

As the Den Den Mushi returned to its dormant state, one of the elders sighed and said, "It seems we need to make alternative preparations…"

"Agreed!"

"Agreed!"

…

On the other side, Tokugawa Izumi also hung up the phone, sneering to himself, "Bald elder, your stance has completely changed. Have you fully aligned yourself with the other Five Elders? Where is your samurai pride?"

He stood up, opened a nearby closet door, and cleared out the decorations inside. Gently pushing against the wall within, a dark passageway appeared. Tokugawa Izumi entered, descending through this secret tunnel all the way to the underground of the Tenshukaku.

He arrived at a highly secretive underground chamber, silent and devoid of other sounds. Only the shoguns of each generation could enter here; it was the most confidential place of the Tokugawa family.

In the grand hall of the underground chamber stood three massive stone tablets!

They were perfectly square, made of indestructible material, and inscribed with ancient, intricate characters—these were three Poneglyphs!

With his hands behind his back, Tokugawa Izumi slowly approached one of the Poneglyphs, observing the inscriptions. Noticing the still-wet ink marks from recent rubbings on the tablet, a smile crept onto his face.

In fact, all three Poneglyphs bore such fresh ink marks!

"Information about the Ancient Weapon Uranus…" Tokugawa Izumi reached out and wiped away a bit of ink from the inscription, musing, "The rubbing of Uranus should have been taken away by Queen the Plague by now. I wonder whether it will ultimately fall into Kaido's hands or into Black Dragon Ian's. Hmm… This will be interesting!"

Yes, these three Poneglyphs were the "that thing" mentioned in the conversation between Tokugawa Izumi and the Five Elders! This was something no one had anticipated.

As the Poneglyphs that recorded the truth of the Void Century, the World Government had always strived to make them disappear. But unable to destroy them, they could only declare that any study of ancient scripts and Poneglyphs was a criminal act. Under their directive, with the Navy acting as enforcers, they had even established the inhumane Buster Call as a punitive measure.

O'Hara, for instance, was annihilated in this manner—the entire island reduced to ashes under the Navy's bombardment.

As a clan of stonemasons who carved the Poneglyphs, the Kozuki family not only inscribed these stones but also passed down the methods of reading and writing the ancient script within their family. How could the World Government not be aware and vigilant of this?

Similarly, as the shoguns of Wano Country, how could the Tokugawa family be oblivious to what the Kozuki family was doing under their rule?

In modern terms, how could they not have a clue!?

Even so, the Kozuki family had continued to pass down their legacy over hundreds of years, generation after generation. Naturally, this was due to the protection afforded by the Tokugawa family.

The reason for this was that the first head of the Kozuki family, after carving the Poneglyphs, entrusted three of them to the Tokugawa family for safekeeping. The others were disseminated through various means.

Perhaps out of a sense of duty, the Tokugawa family accepted these three Poneglyphs that recorded information about the Ancient Weapon Uranus. As shoguns of Wano Country, they led the nation in negotiating with the World Government.

Due to their strong national power and their location deep within the New World, the World Government and the Navy were unable to exert sufficient force against Wano Country. So, despite knowing that Wano Country safeguarded three crucial Poneglyphs, the World Government ultimately decided to back down after weighing their options.

The price was that Wano Country had to remain isolated, limiting interactions with the outside world, and ensuring that the contents of these three Poneglyphs did not spread!

I'm currently Translating the following novels: Super Card System! the best novel in the universe If you want to support me and read more chapters please subscribe to my Patreon!⏬⏬⏬⏬⏬⏬