Five Elders

Ahoy! This here is the 200th Featured Article. “Five Elders” has been featured, meaning it was chosen as an article of interest.

The Five Elders^[2] are a group of the highest-ranking Celestial Dragons^[1] that make up the head of state for the World Government. They essentially hold the greatest authority over the entirety of the world; the only exception being the mysterious sovereign Im whom they answer to.

Their influence over the World Government and its military is paramount and limitless, including command over the Marines, Cipher Pol, and even the Seven Warlords of the Sea prior to their abolishment, making them one of the main antagonistic groups of the series.

So far, none of their names have been revealed and it is unknown how they became the leaders of the World Government or how long they have been ruling it. They are almost always found in the Room of Authority in Pangaea Castle.

Appearances

Despite being Celestial Dragons, none of the Five Elders wore the full-body white suit that their lower-ranking brethren wear. Also, none of them wear the bubble or glass case that separates their air supply from other people over their heads. They are all rather tall, comparable in height to the over 10 feet tall Sakazuki.^[3] It would appear that none of them has physically changed in appearance over the course of twenty-two years (from the destruction of Ohara to current times).

Personalities

Their primary concerns are protecting an unstable world from the influence of piracy and maintaining the public image of the World Government, going to great lengths to keep their oppressive reputation a secret from the public. They have ordered the killing of an entire island of people to hide the discovery of the Void Century, they have hidden the fact that Gecko Moria was beaten by Luffy and later ordered his silent assassination to make it look like he died in the war for a better image, and they have even kept the escape of Level 6 inmates of Impel Down a secret, a decision that even angered Sengoku, the former fleet admiral of the Marines. They are extremists who will sacrifice a countless number of innocent people for the sake of maintaining the World Government’s political power and authority and even turn a blind eye to political corruption such as the atrocities of the Warlords of the Sea Crocodile and Doflamingo, and when it should ever be exposed, they will simply give the Marines credit through falsified propaganda.

They each personally take note of Monkey D. Luffy not only for his heritage as Dragon’s son, but also for all the trouble he and his crew has caused by rebelling against them such as invading Enies Lobby and defeating CP9 to save Robin, causing the first mass breakout of Impel Down and later intruded on the Summit War of Marineford to save Ace and most of all defeating multiple Warlords of the Sea such as Crocodile, Moria and Doflamingo.

Though not to the same extent as the other World Nobles, they take great pride in their heritage, as at least one of them considered the Nefertari Family to be traitors for not joining their ranks 800 years ago. Unlike other World Nobles, they are capable of showing respect and reverence to a few people such as Shanks and Im, and that they do not wear the same full-body suits and bubbles that separate their air supply from the lesser status when in their presence. Also unlike their lower ranking brethren, who mainly enjoy abusing their own powers for hedonistic pleasures, the Five Elders show themselves to be more responsible and concerned of the world’s activities and even demonstrate being regretful and upset at times such as when they ordered the death of all of Ohara’s scholars. This shows that despite being willing to take extreme and questionable measures, the Five Elders, unlike most World Nobles, are not without remorse. While typical Celestial Dragons would attack anyone of lower social statuses who tried to argue or protest with them, the Five Elders are more tolerant in that they are willing to at least give the benefit of counterarguments, as when Sakazuki openly insulted them, they bickered with him instead of threatening him with death.

Relationships

Im

Despite being reputed as the greatest authority in the World Government, the Five Elders all answer to Im, the current sovereign of the Empty Throne that the Elders revere in high regard. As such, they immediately turn to Im’s guidance regarding whichever “light” deserves permanent erasure from history, indicating their role in the Government’s oppressive tyranny for centuries.

Sakazuki

After the World Government played a role in falsifying the news of Doflamingo’s resignation from the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Sakazuki was outraged by how the Five Elders would go out of their way to protect him, even not caring if it would tarnish the Marine’s reputation. During a heated argument, Sakazuki even insulted, provoked, and mocked them because CP-0 acted over their heads, testing his limits and showing that he does not agree with everything the Five Elders do.

Nefertari Family

Despite descending from one of the 20 Kings that founded the World Government, the Five Elders consider the Nefertari Family to be traitors, since their ancestors preferred to stay in Arabasta instead of joining the other Kings who moved to Mary Geoise. It appears that they keep that opinion to themselves and they try to avoid conflict with the family.

Enemies

Shanks

Though Shanks would be considered an enemy given his status as a pirate, the Five Elders showed respect towards him and even allowed him to speak with them inside Mary Geoise.

Monkey D. Luffy

The Five Elders hold tremendous hatred towards Monkey D. Luffy not only for his heritage as the Revolutionary Dragon’s son, but also for all the trouble he and his crew had caused by invading Enies Lobby and defeating CP9 to save Nico Robin, causing the first mass breakout of Impel Down, intruding on the Summit War of Marineford to save Ace, and most of all for defeating multiple Warlords of the Sea such as Crocodile, Moria, and Doflamingo.

They are shown to acknowledge his strength and see that he is truly Garp’s grandson, as well as a deadly element.

Ohara Scholars

The Five Elders were strongly against the research that was conducted by the Ohara Scholars and had them killed for uncovering too much information about the Void Century. Despite ordering their deaths, the Five Elders expressed some regret for their decision, and one of them looked distraught when the order was given.

Known Knowledge

The tall thin one with the mustache (second from right) spoke with Professor Clover and ordered Spandine to kill him before the archaeologist could speak the Great Kingdom’s name. They have shown to have at least a basic knowledge of the occurrences of the Void Century, according to their shocked reactions to Professor Clover’s statements.

They have shown a paranoid fear of someone learning the history of the Void Century, masking it as fear of the discovery of ancient weapons. They forbid its research and ordered the utter destruction of the entire country of Ohara, though given what is known of the Void Century, they may simply be using that as an excuse in order to prevent information they do not want leaked to the public from getting out.^[4]

Abilities and Powers

Known as the Highest Authority of the World Government (世界政府最高権力 Sekai Seifu Saikō Kenryoku^? ), the Five Elders are the rulers of the entire world with tremendous political power superior to their fellow World Nobles, second only to Im. They have complete control over all government affiliated organizations such as the police, the ten Cipher Pol units, and even the Marines as they are all completely subservient to their commands. Even the orders of the fleet admiral of the Marines can be vetoed by their decisions. They can declare a Buster Call attack on any island that they deem a threat and can pass that authority onto lower World Government ranking agents. They can revoke a Warlord of the Sea title, if they decide that he/she is not living up to their duties as a Warlord.

Their primary concerns are protecting an unstable world from the influence of piracy and maintaining the public image of the World Government. They will go to great lengths to keep the public’s view of them in a good light. They have ordered the killing of an entire island of people to hide the discovery of the Void Century; they have hidden the fact that Gecko Moria was beaten by Luffy and later ordered his silent assassination to make it look like he died in the war for a better image, and they have even kept the escape of Level 6 inmates of Impel Down a secret. When blackmailed by Doflamingo, they agreed to deliver false news that he resigned from the Warlord of the Seas, and then retract it accordingly yet ordering the citizens to remain calm and peaceful despite the tremendous scandal this caused. Some of these decisions have even angered the fleet admiral of the Marines of current times, Sengoku and Sakazuki.

Political powers aside, it is currently unknown how strong each one of the Five Elders are. However, due to their clear muscles and scars, and that one of them is wielding a sword, it would appear that they have some battle experience and fighting capabilities. Also in Robin’s flashback, it appears that their appearances haven’t been altered at least, despite it being taking place twenty two years ago.

Like other Celestial Dragons, The Five Elders can summon a Marine Admiral if they are under attack.

History

Past

Nothing is known of their early lives, and how they became the leaders of the World Government is also unknown, aside that they are the highest ranked Celestial Dragons.

Their membership (and appearances) have not altered at least in the last twenty two years, when they ordered the Buster Call against Ohara. During Professor Clover’s speech, he began to reveal the name of the kingdom removed from history, so one of the Elders ordered Spandine to shoot the scholar. They then ordered the destruction of the island.^[4]

Less than fourteen years ago, Spandam manipulated them to give him the authority to seek out the blueprints for Pluton.^[6]

Sky Island Saga

Jaya Arc

The Five Elders discussed the situation around Shanks and Whitebeard. They were determined to keep Whitebeard and Shanks from making direct contact. They were also distressed with Crocodile due to his actions in Arabasta and his subsequent dismissal from the Seven Warlords of the Sea.^[7]

Water 7 Saga

Long Ring Long Land Arc

Later, they heard of Aokiji sneaking out of Marine Headquarters and became disappointed with him. They remarked that he should be careful with his rank.^[8]

Post-Enies Lobby Arc

Later, after the Enies Lobby raid, they were shocked to hear that Shanks had successfully met with Whitebeard.^[9]

Summit War Saga

Post-War Arc

After the Summit War of Marineford, they gathered to discuss the state the world was in. They talked about how Monkey D. Luffy had become a huge threat, as well as his relations to Garp and Dragon. One of them commented on how their power structure had almost completely collapsed, and asked how they would fill the three vacant Warlords of the Sea positions. They decided to observe world events for now until they could find influential enough people to become new Warlords.

They then discussed Blackbeard and his activities in the New World, mentioning that he had defeated one of the Supernovas and that he was in the lead for replacing Whitebeard as one of the Four Emperors. They believed that the only people who could stop his rise to power were the three remaining Emperors and the Whitebeard Pirates, who were currently under Marco’s command. They also expressed concern about the Will of D. and that it had reached the public too much as of late.^[10]

Dressrosa Saga

Dressrosa Arc

Following the discovered falsehood behind the story about Donquixote Doflamingo’s resignation from the Seven Warlords of the Sea and abdication of his throne, Fleet Admiral Sakazuki confronted the Five Elders about this, where they engaged in a heated argument. Sakazuki angrily asked the elders why the whole world had to be misled for Doflamingo’s sake, noting that if an incident like this were to occur again, he as fleet admiral would be disgraced. The elders ignored him, saying that they were not concerned with his reputation as the Marines were only the public face of the World Government, and that the case had been left to the Cipher Pol.

Sakazuki retorted that even the elders had been walked over by the Celestial Dragons and called them their puppets. They responded in anger, blaming Sakazuki for Kuzan joining Blackbeard. Sakazuki replied that Kuzan’s actions after he resigned from the Marines were not the concern of the government or the Marines. Suddenly, a Marine interrupted the meeting and reported about what transpired on Dressrosa. Much to their shock and displeasure, they learned of Doflamingo’s defeat at Luffy’s hands.

Admiral Fujitora publicly announced Doflamingo’s defeat to the world along the exposure of the crimes he committed by abusing his Warlord of the Sea position. Since the announcement was given before the elders were informed of it, this prevented them from covering up the debacle, allowing the Straw Hat Pirates to take credit for exposing the Heavenly Yaksha’s criminal enterprises.^[3]

Four Emperors Saga

Levely Arc

The Five Elders questioned Shanks on why he felt it was necessary to speak with them despite the Levely being so important and his criminal status not being appropriate for global diplomacy. They stated the only reason Shanks was granted a private audience with them was because he is one of the Four Emperors. Shanks expressed his gratitude and the Elders ordered their guards to leave their chambers. Shanks conveyed his desire to discuss a certain pirate with the Five Elders.^[11]

Sometime after the Levely had formally begun, the Five Elders headed towards the chamber containing the Empty Throne as they discussed Nefertari Cobra’s request to have an audience with them even though they saw the Nefertari Family as nothing more than traitors to the World Nobles for choosing to stay in the “world below”. Upon arriving at the chamber of the Empty Throne, the Five Elders quickly knelt down as they were greeted by a mysterious figure who then proceeded to sit upon the Empty Throne itself, a figure whom they addressed as Im, the true ruler of the World Government.^[12]

Merchandise

Video Games

Non-Playable Appearances

• One Piece: Grand Battle! 3
• One Piece: Grand Battle! Rush!

Translation and Dub Issues

The Japanese word for the Five Elders, “Gorōsei”, translates more closely to “Five Elder Stars”. When Oda translated the word in Chapter 907, he left out “star” from the translation.

Trivia

• The Five Elders resemble the concept of the real world five permanent members of the UN Security Council: France, the United Kingdom, Russia, China, and the United States of America.

References

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