"Yo, you're back."

Seeing Naruse Mio and Banriya return, Duanmu Huai raised his hand to greet them.

"How was it?"

"Completely hopeless."

Naruse Mio said nothing. Instead, Banriya shook her head, looking utterly disappointed.

"And they call themselves the Guardians of the Galactic Republic. I thought they'd be impressive, but they were even weaker than the followers of a High-level Demon!"

"Huh? Are they really that weak?"

Hearing Banriya's remarks, Greiya looked a bit surprised. In the Tribunal's combat group, Banriya ranked among the lowest, with only the Jellyfish Sisters, Bambi, and Kula being weaker than her—though these three were more like mascots and rarely participated in battles.

If Banriya developed her Nightmare power, she could increase her strength slightly.

But unfortunately, she insisted on choosing melee combat…

"Really weak."

Once again, Banriya spread her hands, looking speechless. She had hoped to showcase her skills this time, but the opponent's strength was truly… too weak to even impress elementary school kids.

"The Spiritual Energy level here is generally low, so it's understandable."

Duanmu Huai wasn't surprised. In fact, when he first arrived and gathered information, he noticed this fact. It was like being in the Last Dharma Age or a low-magic world from a fantasy novel—where an archmage's trump card is merely five Fireballs.

In a high-magic world, starting with five Fireballs and a regular attack was basic operations.

Naruse Mio and Banriya were ordinary in their world, but the ceiling in that world had Indigenous Gods, whereas this galaxy didn't even have Indigenous Gods, let alone deities from other galaxies. So fighting the Jedi was like Immortals from the "Investiture of the Gods" battling demons from "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio," totally crushing them.

Honestly, Duanmu Huai thought it was a miracle that this galaxy had managed to develop peacefully until now—such weak strength, and no Indigenous Gods to protect them… It's surprising no one has paid attention to them, but thinking about it, if the Middle East didn't have oil, who would bother with such a godforsaken place?

Hmm, understandable.

Of course, the Tribunal is different. Its duty is to protect humans, which differs from other deities.

"We might as well just attack directly. The fleet in this place isn't strong, and the Jedi Knights are weak too, so why waste time?"

After complaining, Banriya looked at Duanmu Huai again, curiously asking him.

"If we conquer it, then we have to manage it. Do you have the time for that, or do I?"

"Hahaha... well..."

Hearing Duanmu Huai's words, Banriya forced a laugh. Indeed, the Tribunal's main feature is never to conquer. They typically hand over the aftermath to the locals after solving a problem. So, from this perspective, Duanmu Huai's choice to collaborate with Palpatine is understandable—if Palpatine doesn't govern the Galactic Republic, should the Tribunal do it?

He definitely won't!

That's why Duanmu Huai cooperated with Palpatine, and setting up something like this in Tatooine was merely similar to a special zone—basically, letting Palpatine experience the Tribunal's attitude towards humans. As for whether Palpatine has the capability to understand this, Duanmu Huai isn't worried.

If he doesn't, they can just change someone. There are plenty of people in this world.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan also returned to the Jedi Council to report the situation. It must be said that upon hearing their report, the Jedi Council members were all shocked. Not just because of the Tribunal's attitude, but also because of its strength. Qui-Gon Jinn was an experienced Jedi Knight, yet he was easily defeated by a mere twelve or thirteen-year-old girl?

"Wasn't it because you held back?"

The black Jedi Knight suspiciously stared at Qui-Gon Jinn, voicing his doubts, but Qui-Gon Jinn shook his head.

"No, although I can say I was careless, it wasn't..."

As a Jedi Knight, Qui-Gon Jinn wouldn't make excuses for himself in such matters. Indeed, when he first saw Banriya's appearance, he relaxed his guard, naturally going easy on her. But the problem lay in Banriya's subsequent moves, which truly stunned Qui-Gon Jinn.

Hand-to-hand combat against a Lightsaber!

That thing could even burn through the hull of a warship, yet she handled it barehanded, and won!

So Qui-Gon Jinn didn't feel ashamed about losing—any Jedi Knight witnessing this spectacle would be dumbfounded.

"I never thought that the Tribunal would have such powerful individuals..."

After listening to Qui-Gon Jinn's explanation, the Jedi Knights present all gasped in shock. However, before they could calm themselves, they heard Qui-Gon Jinn continue to speak, leaving them dumbfounded once again.

"I don't think so. In fact, I believe that those two might be considered relatively weak within the Tribunal."

"Master? Are you serious?"

Upon hearing Qui-Gon Jinn's response, Obi-Wan was dumbfounded. He had been soundly defeated by them, and if they were considered powerful, losing was just losing. But to say they were among the weaker ones in the Tribunal?

"That's how I see it."

Unfortunately, Qui-Gon Jinn apparently had no intention of sparing his apprentice's dignity and quickly explained further.

"After defeating us, that little girl named Banriya said something like, 'Even you can't beat us, it seems the Jedi Knights aren't that impressive.'

".............."

Hearing Qui-Gon Jinn's words, everyone's expressions turned twisted, but what could they do?

They could only endure it! It's so frustrating!

However, Qui-Gon Jinn remained composed and continued.

"You see, when she said 'even you can't beat us,' it indicates that she might not be considered strong within the Tribunal. It's like if someone challenged a Jedi Master but couldn't even defeat a Jedi Padawan, the latter would say the same thing, 'You can't even beat a Padawan like me, and you want to challenge a Master?' I think that's essentially what she meant."

".............."

Faced with Qui-Gon Jinn's response, everyone was speechless. After a moment, another Jedi Knight coughed to break the awkward silence.

"So, what do we do now? Should we report this truthfully to the Galactic Senate?"

"And what good would it do? The Galactic Senate currently can't allocate enough resources to Tatooine; it's still Hutt territory..."

"Sending Jedi Knights isn't feasible either..."

They discussed it for a long time and ultimately decided to report this to the Galactic Senate and let the Hutts handle it themselves. After all, it's their territory, and the Senate can't reach that far. Sending Jedi Knights isn't impossible, since their job often involves operations like this. However, the problem is that the Tribunal can send just two people to defeat Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice. Who do you plan to send next?

Anyone with clear eyes can see that this time they showed mercy and spared your life. If you go again, there's no guarantee they'll be merciful next time.

"Master, I just don't feel right about this."

Leaving the committee's doors, Obi-Wan looked at Qui-Gon Jinn and expressed his unease. Qui-Gon Jinn nodded in agreement.

"I understand your point, Obi-Wan. This is not a righteous course of action, and once it's reported, the War Advocate Group in the Senate is sure to become more aggressive, and things may spiral out of control."

As he spoke, Qui-Gon Jinn looked out at Coruscant with a worried expression. He was well aware of the current situation within the Galactic Senate. Due to the Separatists' agitation, internal conflicts were intensifying, and more representatives were joining the War Advocate Group, calling for the Senate to form its own army to prevent the breakup of the Galactic Republic.

Their argument makes sense as well: if you tolerate it once, you'll have to tolerate it twice. If the Senate can't decisively suppress the Separatists, other planets will follow suit, everyone will go back to their homes and find their parents, who will care about the Senate? At that point, the Galactic Republic would be nominally existent at best.

So, a strong response is necessary!

Fortunately, Chancellor Palpatine is relatively stable and hasn't been pushing for military buildup, which is why the War Advocate Group hasn't succeeded yet.

Therefore, Qui-Gon Jinn is certain that when the Jedi Council reports the situation on Tatooine to the Senate, the pressure from the War Advocate Group will increase to the point where even Chancellor Palpatine may not be able to suppress it.

But in fact, Qui-Gon Jinn can't imagine that from the very beginning, this was all a performance orchestrated by Palpatine with Duanmu Huai's cooperation.

Unlike Duanmu Huai, Palpatine is well aware of the Jedi Council's position and influence within the Senate. Initially, he did want to stir up a conflict between the Trade Federation and Naboo to incite internal tension and then appear as a reformist councilor, gaining trust by supporting Naboo.

However, there's also a problem: Palpatine had to personally get involved, and any demand for military construction would easily arouse the Jedi Council's suspicion.

But now, with the Tribunal and Duanmu Huai, Palpatine can change direction and shift from a reformist to a member of the Sturdy Faction. He believes that under pressure from the Tribunal, even without his hints, the other representatives will voluntarily propose military construction!

In this way, he not only achieves his goals but also successfully removes himself from the Jedi Council's sight. At that point, whoever the Jedi Council suspects, it won't be him!

After all, when the weather gets cold, it's others who voluntarily put on—give me pajama robes.

I didn't want to wear them; it was just an offer too enthusiastic to refuse!

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