"Let's begin" Orion no longer dwelled on whether the face hidden beneath Im veil was that of a man or a woman. He cut straight to the point.
"Since this is a negotiation, everyone should show their sincerity. As the hosts here, shouldn't you all make the first move?"
"Let's start with the issue of naval funding. Previously, it was always allocated by the World Goverment finance department. Starting this year, the World Goverment will increase the annual funding for the Navy tenfold!"
As soon as Orion finished speaking, Nusjuro abruptly stood up, furious.
"What? Tenfold? Do you have any idea how much the Marines annual funding is?"
"Nusjuro—" Before anyone could react, Sakazuki was the first to rise. Completely unrestrained now, he no longer held back even a shred of his temper, and he barked.
"You better shut your mouth until Fleet Admiral Orion finishes speaking!"
"Otherwise—"
"I won't hesitate to take you out!"
"Sakazuki, you're out of line!" Saturn looked up at Sakazuki and said sternly,."Sit down!"
"Who the hell do you think you are?" Sakazuki ripped off his military cap and lunged toward Saturn, his killing intent palpable.
"You're the most despicable of the five old geezers! If you keep ordering me around, I'll take you out too!"
Feeling Sakazuki murderous aura, Borsalino and Kuzan, seated beside him, exchanged a historic glance both their eyes filled with confusion.
What's gotten into Sakazuki?
He's so fired up!
Orion didn't expect Sakazuki to be so quick to threaten violence—first it was Garling, then Nusjuro, and now Saturn. He was like a rabid dog, biting anyone in sight.
Saturn was seething, the muscles on his plump face twitching as he struggled to suppress the fury in his heart. Nusjuro too, was infuriated by Sakazuki "old geezer" remark, his hand gripping the hilt of his katana.
Topman Warcury and the other two Elders were also riled up by Sakazuki rabid behavior, and they all stood up—
"What, don't want to negotiate anymore?"
As soon as all five Elders rose to their feet, a cold glint flashed in Orion eyes. He slammed the table and said.
"Then let's settle this with a fight first. Seven versus seven—fair enough!"
Unexpectedly, Orion also stood up at this moment.
Imu, seated across from him, twitched slightly. However, Imu did not rise but instead gently tapped the table with their hand. As the crisp sound of the tap echoed, the Five Elders immediately felt their bodies stiffen. They promptly sat back down in their chairs, forcibly suppressing the anger in their hearts.
As soon as the Five Elders were seated, Imu turned their gaze to Orion and spoke unhurriedly.
"Continue. No one will dare interrupt you again."
Seeing this, Orion also knew when to stop. He gestured for Sakazuki to sit down, then leaned forward with both hands on the table, looking down at Imu across from him.
"Regarding the issue of naval funding, there is another solution. In the future, the World Goverment will no longer allocate funds. Instead, the Navy will collaborate with the Celestial Dragons' envoys to collect the Heavenly Tribute from member nations. Half of the collected Heavenly Tribute will belong to the Navy."
As soon as these words were spoken, Imu eyes narrowed slightly, and Nusjuro couldn't help but raise his head.
Handing half of the Heavenly Tribute to the Navy?
Why not just rob them outright! At the moment Nusjuro raised his head, Imu shot him a sharp glare, causing him to immediately shrink back and not dare to make a sound.
"No problem!" After silencing Nusjuro, Imu nodded decisively.
"From now on, half of the Heavenly Tribute will belong to the Navy each year. However, in exchange, the Navy must continue to fulfill its duty of protecting the member nations."
"Naturally" Orion nodded, then continued, "Next is the issue of the Navy affiliation."
"There are two options. First, the Navy remains under the World Government and takes orders from the Chamber of Power. However, the positions of the Five Elders in the Chamber of Power must be rotated every six months, with each rotation ensuring that two of the five seats are occupied by officers from the Navy Headquarters!"
"Second, the Navy becomes independent from the World Government, no longer in a subordinate relationship but an equal partnership. This does not affect the first funding issue!"
"Regardless of the final outcome of these two proposals, I must emphasize one point, the privileges of the Celestial Dragons will no longer hold sway over the Navy. The Navy Admirals will no longer be obligated to rush to the aid of Celestial Dragons who are threatened or harmed."
"The Navy exists solely to maintain order and justice on the seas. If Celestial Dragons abuse their status to commit atrocities anywhere outside the Holy Land, they will also face the judgment of justice!"
"Of course, I can make a concession on this point. Any punishment or execution of Celestial Dragons will be handed over to the God Knights, but a Navy Headquarters officer must be present!"
Upon hearing this, Imu eyes narrowed further. It was clear that Orion was aiming to divide the power of the World Government.
By rotating the positions of the Five Elders and ensuring that two seats were always held by Navy Headquarters officers, it meant that while the Navy would still take orders from the Chamber of Power, the two Navy officers in the rotation would have greater authority.
They could directly issue commands to other departments through the Chamber of Power.
As for the second proposal, it was almost unnecessary to bring it up. Under Orion control, the Navy had already reached a point where it could challenge the World Government.
Whether it formally became independent or not was no longer important.
However, Imu had his own plans.
Although Orion intentions were quite clear, given the current situation and some uncontrollable factors in the future, Imu still spoke up decisively.
"The proposal for rotation is excellent! Perhaps this will become a breakthrough for a brighter future between the World Government and the Navy! As for the Celestial Dragons committing heinous acts outside the Holy Land, the Navy will have law enforcement authority, while the adjudication power will remain with the God Knights... That's also acceptable."
Before Im could finish speaking, the Five Elders almost simultaneously raised their heads and exclaimed in unison.
"Absolutely not, Lord Im!"
In contrast to the reaction of the Five Elders, the three Admirals, Gion, Sengoku, and Zephyr were surprised that Im had agreed so readily. After all, the firm proposals Orion had put forward were entirely in favor of the Navy.
As seasoned veterans of the political arena, they could easily see that Orion was trying to use this negotiation to push the Navy officers into the chamber of power and share authority with the World Government.
When Orion proposed the first condition, they had all secretly held their breath, believing that Im would never agree.
Yet, once again, the outcome defied their expectations.
Not only did Im agree to the rotation system for the Five Elders' seats in the future, but he also granted the Navy law enforcement authority over the World Nobles. Whether the Five Elders rotated or not was irrelevant.
What mattered was that from this moment on, the Navy would no longer have to endure the humiliation inflicted by the World Nobles.
For a brief moment, the three Admirals and Gion nearly couldn't hold back from shouting the word "loyalty."
The Navy, which had served the World Government with unwavering dedication for eight hundred years, had finally received the respect it deserved and ushered in a long-awaited moment of glory.
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