The enormous conference hall was deathly silent.
Before the new King of the World, the more than two hundred kings present did not utter a single word. They simply waited in silence.
They were waiting for the Sun King to raise the first issue.
However, after Luffy finished speaking, he remained silent, calmly observing every ruler present.
His gaze swept across every face.
Until someone finally decided to speak first.
"Sun King."
The one who spoke was Emporio Ivankov.
He was simultaneously a king and a member of the Revolutionary Army, making his position far more complicated than that of most people present.
"Before we begin the meeting, I believe there is a question that needs to be answered first."
"You may ask."
Luffy smiled faintly. He already had a good idea of what the question would be.
At that moment, the eyes of more than two hundred people turned toward Ivankov.
Ivankov spoke calmly:
"Regarding the military forces... the Marines, the New Marines, and the Revolutionary Army. How do you intend to organize these three armies?"
Military affairs had always been among the most important concerns of any government.
For that reason, the rulers present were far more concerned about the military structure of the new regime than any other matter.
Everyone focused their attention on Luffy.
He answered calmly:
"They are three different forces with three different functions."
"The Marines will continue to serve as the military force of the World Government. The New Marines will serve as the direct military force of the Sun Kingdom. As for the Revolutionary Army..."
At that point, Luffy could not help but smile.
The Revolutionary Army could not simply be dissolved.
There were still many places that needed reform.
Furthermore, he had just announced the abolition of slavery and the Heavenly Tribute.
Perhaps many nations would accept these changes.
Perhaps others would not.
Those who refused to accept the new era would inevitably become obstacles to progress.
Naturally, Luffy had no intention of saying that directly in front of the assembled kings.
After all, those who had attended the temporary World Summit had already demonstrated a willingness to cooperate.
"As for the Marines, their future will also be tied to the reform of the World Government."
After thinking for a moment, Luffy continued:
"In the past, the World Government held a Reverie every four years, inviting member nations to discuss important matters. I consider that system far too inefficient."
Upon hearing this, King Nefertari Cobra took the initiative.
"Then do you intend to reduce the interval to two years?"
Luffy shook his head.
"No. The Reverie will still be held every four years."
"However, in the past, the Five Elders handled virtually all administrative matters. They will no longer exist."
"Therefore, to maintain the operation of the World Government, every member nation must send permanent representatives."
Luffy had no intention of wasting time persuading anyone.
Instead, he directly presented his proposal.
All member nations would nominate representatives.
From among them, twenty would be selected.
These twenty representatives would form a World Council responsible for the daily administration of the World Government.
Naturally, those twenty representatives would defend different interests.
Conflicts would be inevitable.
Whenever deadlocks arose, Luffy would have the final say.
Or he would send someone to resolve the matter on his behalf.
At the same time, to preserve his authority, he would retain the absolute right to approve or remove any of the twenty representatives.
In simple terms:
If he disliked someone, he could remove them immediately and require their nation to appoint someone else.
Or he could simply transfer the seat to another nation.
There were more than two hundred member nations.
But only twenty seats.
If someone failed to perform adequately, there would be countless alternatives.
"Therefore, in addition to the Reverie held every four years, these twenty representatives will conduct regular World Council meetings."
"The remaining nations will also be able to participate by submitting proposals and requests."
"They will assume the responsibilities previously carried out by the Five Elders."
"The selection of the twenty representative nations will be renewed at every Reverie."
The focus would be on the nation.
Not the individual.
Representatives could be replaced at any time.
Of course, from Luffy's perspective, even nations could be replaced.
He possessed absolute authority within the World Government.
Everything he was doing was simply creating rules for nations to play within.
If someone crossed the line...
He would intervene personally.
And if the problem could not be resolved?
Then he would deal with the nation causing the problem.
In short, he was both the creator and the guarantor of the rules.
Upon hearing this, the kings began whispering among themselves.
Since they had not brought their ministers or advisers, they could only quietly discuss matters with the people seated beside them.
The discussion continued for several minutes.
Finally, someone raised a hand.
"Sun King, regarding the division of responsibilities among these twenty representatives..."
"Who are you?"
"Ahem... I am the king of the Goa Kingdom in the East Blue..."
"Oh, the Goa Kingdom."
Luffy waved casually.
He did not even bother memorizing the man's name.
"The specific responsibilities can be discussed later."
"First, let's elect the representatives of the twenty nations."
The expressions of many rulers changed immediately.
After all, the benefits involved were enormous.
"How will the selection be made? Could we have some time to prepare?" someone suggested.
"No."
Luffy snapped his fingers.
In the next instant, paper and pens appeared before everyone.
"Each of you may write down the names of twenty countries."
"The twenty countries receiving the most votes will become the first official representatives."
"This first term will last only two years."
The next official Reverie would take place in 1522.
In other words, the countries elected today would perform duties equivalent to those of the Five Elders for the next two years.
If there were time to prepare, many nations would attempt to negotiate votes and favors.
But Luffy had no intention of giving them that opportunity.
"You have thirty minutes. Conversation is not allowed. When time is up, the votes will be counted."
After saying that, Luffy leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and rested.
The kings exchanged glances.
No one dared disobey.
Everyone began writing.
There was no doubt that nearly everyone included their own country on the list.
Some also wrote the Sun Kingdom first.
But there were still nineteen remaining positions.
And this was an extremely political decision.
Boa Hancock picked up her pen and began writing without even thinking.
Sun Kingdom.
Amazon Lily.
Ryugu Kingdom.
Alabasta.
Drum Kingdom.
Kamabakka.
And so on.
Interestingly, many other leaders produced remarkably similar lists.
Cobra, Neptune, Tama, and many others ended up writing nearly the same names.
Half an hour passed quickly.
Then Kalifa, now serving as secretary of the World Government, collected all the lists and began counting the votes.
Shortly afterward, the twenty representative nations were determined.
Everyone looked at the results.
The most-voted nation was naturally...
The Sun Kingdom.
Elected unanimously.
The remaining nineteen countries were largely what Luffy had expected.
Among them were the Ryugu Kingdom, Amazon Lily, Alabasta, Kamabakka, the Drum Kingdom, and various other allies.
More than half the seats had effectively been guaranteed from the beginning.
After all, several of those nations had been informed beforehand that an election would take place.
After finishing the reading, Kalifa returned to stand behind Luffy.
Luffy smiled.
"Very well. Now let's move on to the main topic."
The kings who had not been elected exchanged glances.
Upon seeing the results, they immediately understood the situation.
Even so, none of them expressed dissatisfaction.
The true competition would take place at the next Reverie.
This election had merely established the initial structure.
And thus, the World Summit officially began.
---
Two days later.
The results of the World Summit were announced to the entire world.
The headline on every newspaper read:
"A NEW ERA!"
The first article reported that the World Government had officially ceased being an organization controlled by the Celestial Dragons and had become an international institution formed by the nations of the world.
The Sun King was now the supreme and absolute authority of the World Government.
Beneath him stood the World Council, composed of representatives from the twenty elected nations.
Below the Council were the remaining member countries.
Additionally, the creation of the World Food Corporation was officially announced.
Although the news occupied only a few lines, very few people realized how important it would become in the future.
Another major headline announced that Sakazuki, Akainu, had officially resigned from his position as Fleet Admiral.
His successor would be Kuzan, Aokiji.
The newspapers were packed with information.
One earth-shattering piece of news after another.
Everything pointed toward one conclusion.
The world had entered a new era.
---
Elegia.
Beneath the Royal Castle.
Luffy stood before a completely white tree.
It was not very tall.
Only five or six meters high.
At that moment, a fruit was slowly growing on one of its branches.
It was the Dark-Dark Fruit.
The fruit rapidly matured until it completely transformed into a Devil Fruit.
Luffy raised his hand.
The fruit fell from the branch and flew into his palm.
"The Yami Yami no Mi..."
Luffy murmured.
"So Blackbeard is dead."
The power of the Uta Uta no Mi had dragged nearly ninety percent of the world's population into the World of Song.
But finding Imu had not been his only objective.
The pirates had also been targets.
While their spirits remained trapped within the World of Song, their real bodies were left defenseless.
This allowed the Marines and the New Marines to capture them with ease.
In the past, the World Government avoided executing Devil Fruit users because they feared the fruits' reincarnation.
But Luffy no longer had that problem.
Now there was the White Tree.
After being judged, criminals would be executed regardless of whether they possessed powers or not.
Their Devil Fruits would be reborn directly on the tree.
As the years passed, the number of Devil Fruit users would decrease dramatically.
Perhaps within a few decades, there would be almost no people with supernatural powers left in the world.
Thinking about this, Luffy looked up at the White Tree.
One Devil Fruit after another continued appearing among its branches.
"The Great Pirate Era is over."
A smile appeared on his face.
"From this moment onward, a new era begins."
"The Age of Discovery."
Luffy turned and left the underground chamber.
As soon as he opened the door, he found several girls waiting for him.
"Luffy!"
"Mr. Luffy!"
A series of cheerful laughs echoed through the castle corridors.
(End)
---
A/N:
To be honest, I don't really know what to say.
I spent nearly two years of my life working on this fanfic, and more than once during that time I seriously considered abandoning it.
Whether I wanted to admit it or not, the truth is that this story should have been finished a long time ago. But there was always some real-life difficulty, scheduling problem, or simply periods when I lacked the motivation to write.
I also made many mistakes throughout this journey.
When I look back at the early chapters, I can clearly see how poor my grammar skills were at the time. On top of that, I barely made any significant changes to the original story, to the point that there are several sections which, when I reread them today, make me think:
"Why didn't I change this?"
Even so, despite all the mistakes, difficulties, delays, and moments of discouragement, this fanfic continued moving forward.
It became an important part of my journey here on Patreon/Webnovel.
And now, at last, that chapter of my story has come to an end.
I sincerely want to thank everyone who followed this journey, whether from the very beginning or only for part of it.
Thank you for reading, commenting, supporting, and staying here throughout all this time.
And with the completion of this fanfic, I will finally have more time to focus on creating future stories.
Once again, thank you all very much.