Every country in the world of One Piece, which is usually led by a monarch such as the Nefertari royal family of Arabasta or the Riku royal family of Dressrosa, has the right to govern their own land and people. After all, they are independent nations with unique rules and customs.

That being said, there is one governing body that can rule them all, which is the World Government. This is the sole institution that can force its rules onto other nations. On the same note, they are also the ones that will protect those nations and the people who live within them from external threats like pirates. Their existence within the story of One Piece is so ubiquitous that most people might not realize just how complex they actually are. So here's everything that you need to know about the World Government.

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A Brief History of The World Government

One Piece Mary Geoise

Approximately 800 years before the current story, at the end of the 100-year void, an alliance of 20 kingdoms manage to topple the powerful ancient kingdom who ruled the world at the time. The kings and queens of these 20 kingdoms, later on, formed the World Government and shared the power equally between them, thus making sure no one man could rise to the summit of the world's power, which was symbolized by the “Empty Throne”.

Other than the Nefertari family who chose to live among regular people, the descendants of these 19 kings are now considered to be the world Nobles, otherwise known as the "Celestial Dragons". The center of the World Government, and the place where the World Nobles live, is the holy land Mary Geoise.

There are currently around 170 nations under the World Government. Once every four years, 50 of the biggest nations will come to the holy land for the world summit called the Reverie. In this meeting, the leaders of these nations will talk about current issues and plans for the future. This is pretty much the meeting that will decide the future of the world. The leader of the nations will take turns in leading the meeting.

Every nation that joins the World Government has to pay a heavy tax under the name of “Heavenly Tribute”. In exchange for this tax, they will receive the protection of the Marine and other benefits. Therefore, for those small nations who could not afford to pay this tax, their country will turn into a lawless land, such as the case in Whitebeard's hometown, Sphinx island.

The Management of The World Government

One Piece Five-Elders and Akainu

While the direction and the policies of the world are decided by the results of the Reverie, the ones who conduct the day-to-day operational activities are a council of the "Five Elders". They are pretty much the one who holds the highest authority in the world. However, what people don't know is the fact that they are secretly operating under the direction of a mysterious person known as "Im".

Although the Five Elders are technically placed under the world nobles and the collective nations who attend the reverie, more often than not, they tend to act independently. Not only that, they shape the direction of the world based on their personal brand of justice.

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At present, they are among the handful of people who seem to know the true history of the world and what happened during the 100-year void. And they are willing to do anything and sacrifice anyone just to hide the truth and make the world believe their own version of history. And if there's anybody who seems to gain access to that forbidden knowledge, they won't hesitate to annihilate them. That is basically the reason why they decided to eradicate the Ohara scholars and everybody who lived there, and actively tried to capture Nico Robin.

The Military Might of The World GovernmentOne Piece Buster Call Enies Lobby

One of the reasons why the World Government is so feared and respected is due to their colossal military might, which is the Marine. While the Five Elders often use the Marine to do their personal bidding, the one who actually holds the authority over the military aspect of the World Government is the “Commander-in-Chief”, who sits directly under the Five Elders.

The World Government's current Commander-in-Chief is a man named Kong. There are two main branches of the World Government's military, the intelligence branch called Cipher Pol, and the regular frontline military branch, The Marine. The leader of the Marine is called The Fleet Admiral. The position of Commander-in-Chief is usually given to a Fleet Admiral who is deemed worthy for the promotion. Kong himself used to be the Fleet Admiral who managed to make a name for himself during the Gol D. Roger time. Directly under the Fleet Admiral are the three admirals.

The Marine operates under the doctrine called "Absolute Justice", which basically means that upholding the World Government's law and eradicating anybody who violates it is the highest priority. They are even willing to initiate their greatest military power, the "Buster Call", to annihilate anyone who they deemed as a threat, even if it means they have to kill innocent people, or even members of the marines itself. The people who they deemed as criminals are held within an impregnable prison called Impel Down.

The World Government cares a lot about the balance of power in the world, which is why they allowed the existence of the "Four Emperors of The Sea", and even employed strong pirates under the term "Seven Warlords of The Sea". Needless to say, they are willing to do anything to preserve that balance.

There are certainly a lot of questionable things that the World Government has done in order to achieve the balance of power and uphold their absolute justice. However, as the story progresses, they begin to lose their grip on the world, and the "Forbidden Knowledge" also starts to reveal itself.

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