The World Summit tinued for several days, and for Cudius, most of it was mind-numbingly dull.
Nothing signifit had happened during the sessions. It was mostly a group of kings pushing their own agendas, occasionally desding intuments ay disputes. The Wover, with its vast system of more than a hundred member nations, naturally harbored old grudges among its ranks.
That being said, a few hy events mao catch Cudius's attention.
For example, North Blue had sent representatives from four newly ed kings this year. The reason? The Kingdom of Germa had stirred up a storm.
Listening to the details nearly made Cudius ugh out loud.
It seemed that Vinsmoke Judge, leader of Germa 66, had finally snapped. After years of feeling slighted by the Wover, whose demands he felt were never met, Judge went on a rampage in North Blue. With Germa 66's floating kingdom, which wasn't eveo nd, Judge had attacked four neighb kingdoms, killed their kings, aheir decapitated heads as a gruesome message ahead of the World Summit.
The i was a clear embarrassment for the Wover, as these four tries were allied nations. pints from the newly ed rulers of these kingdoms had beeed at the Summit. The Five Elders issued a statement promising "strict measures" to reprimand the Kingdom of Germa, as well as assurahat such acts would not happen again.
However, anyone who looked closely could tell that the Wover itself had mistreated Germa for years. While all member natioheoretically equals, Germa had loreated as an outlier, excluded from many bes grao others. Judge's as, while brutal, stemmed from years of frustration.
This wasn't o Cudius, who could see why Judge would grow disillusioned. Even so, turning to pirates for support—as Judge eventually did with the Big Mom Pirates, was sheer lunacy.
While the Wover might be corrupt, they still maintained some level of atability. Pirates, oher hand, operated purely on treachery and greed. In aligning with Big Mom, Judge had effectively pced Germa 66 at her mercy. Unsurprisingly, Judge's gamble ended in disaster. Not only did Big Mom betray him, but his alliah pirates also resulted in Germa losing its status as a member nation of the Wover.
In the end, Judge was left without support, hounded by the Wover arayed by the pirates. A cssic case of "losing the rice while trying to steal the chi."
Meanwhile, Dressrosa had stepped forward with its ow of grievaaking up the mantle once held by Abasta. King Riku Dold III openly criticized the Wover for failing to maintain order in the New World, g Dressrosa's deing ey as evidence. He proposed a redu in the Heavenly Tribute and other taxes imposed by the Wover.
From Dressrosa's perspective, the request was entirely reasonable. King Riku was a benevolent ruler, prioritizing his people's welfare. However, from the Wover's point of view, the proposal was entirely uable.
If taxes were reduced for Dressrosa, other member nations would undoubtedly demand the same treatment. With deing revehe Wover would be forced to cut expenditures, including funding for the Marihis would weaken Marine influend further destabilize the New World, creating a vicious cycle.
It was a cssic example of g priorities. From King Riku's perspective, the Wover was exploiting Dressrosa. From the Five Elders' perspective, Dressrosa was ag irresponsibly by prioritizing its own needs at the expense of global stability.
Cudius, the dispute, couldn't help but think of Dofmingo. During Dofmingo's rule, Dressrosa's ey had flourished, albeit through morally questionable means. rofiteering and underground dealings had funded Dressrosa's prosperity. Regardless of the methods, the results couldn't be denied.
Now that King Riku's family had regained trol, they seemed determio uphold their moral values, even at the expense of the kingdom's ey. And now they were begging the Wover for relief.
Cudius could uand why the Wover had been willing to install Dofmingo as Dressrosa's ruler. While his status as a former Celestial Dragon may have been a factor, it was clear that the Riku family's inability to govern effectively also pyed a role.
As these petty issues dragged on, the final days of the World Summit shifted focus to a more serious matter: the Revolutionary Army.
Many member nations expressed their frustration with Monkey D. Dragon, acg him of ing rebellions aabilizing their govers. Dragon's revolutionary efforts had left these nations in turmoil, and his movement had bee a stant thorn in the side of the Wover.
That being said, Dragon's revolutions were far from universally successful. While he had successfully overthrown several regimes, many of his attempts ended in failure. With over 170 member nations in the Wover, even a lifetime wouldn't be enough fon to dismahe entire system.
Additionally, the number of member nations fluctuated each year, as new nations joined and others were expelled. On average, the total hovered between 170 and 200, with minor variations.
As discussions about the Revolutionary Army heated up, the atmosphere in the room grew tehe Five Elders, in particur, looked displeased, though they refrained from speaking much.
Then, just as the tension reached its peak, Cudius suddenly smmed his hand oable with a resounding bang!
The entire room fell silent. Even the Five Elders flinched in surprise, startled by the ued outburst.
All eyes turo Cudius, who leaned ba his chair, exuding his usual calm yet anding presence. His gaze swept across the room before he took a sip from his teacup and spoke.
"I have a proposal regarding the Revolutionary Army," Cudius announced. "Something that might actually mitigate their impact."
The Five Elders exged gheir expressions subtly shifting. They hadn't expected Cudius to tribute to this discussion, but now their i iqued.
No oerrupted, so Cudius tinued. "Stussy," he said, addressing the queeed beside him. "Distribute the dots we prepared to everyone present."
For the past few days, Stussy had remained quiet and seemingly oral. Now, with a graceful smile, she rose from her seat. "Of course, Yhness," she replied.
She began handing out stacks of dots to each attendee, including the Five Elders, as well as Kiune of Fish-Man Isnd. While une barely g the papers, finding the subject irrelevant to his kingdom, the other royals read them carefully, though many seemed fused.
The Five Elders, too, examihe dots with curiosity. While the materials outlined advaeological cepts, it wasn't immediately clear how they ected to the Revolutionary Army.
After a moment, one of the Five Elders, the bald one, spoke up. "Cudius, this is intriguing, but the e isn't obvious. Care to expin how this teology addresses the Revolutionary Army problem?"
Cudius smiled faintly, as if he had been waiting for this question. "On the surface," he said, "it may seem ued. But iy, the e runs deep."
AnnouChey new books:
☆DC: Rise Of The Kryptonian Tyrant
☆GOT/ASOIAF: Ruler Beyond the Ice
☆Drift Of The Multiverse
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