Very few people on Onigashima knew what was currently happening in Wano Country. Even Wobbegong, who had left earlier, had no idea what kind of chain reaction a few of his routine boasts about his boss had set off.
“This country’s outer sea area is really complicated. With so many whirlpools and reefs, it isn’t easy for ships to get close.”
“With so many resources, yet still being allowed by the World Government to remain closed off from the outside world, this country was special to begin with.
It looks like they want nobody to explore this country. Only then can they achieve their objective.”
As Wobbegong shared his thoughts, he helped Sebastian steer the small boat.
Although the two of them could simply swim back without a ship, deliberately doing so when transportation was available would be rather strange.
For special reasons, Wano Country was also an area that News Coos would not approach. The people inside Wano Country received no newspapers from the outside world, which was why it had remained isolated from the rest of the world for hundreds of years.
Only after Sebastian and Wobbegong left those waters did News Coos reappear within their sight, bringing a newspaper with a new name printed on it.
【Shichibukai】
“Shichibukai? What’s that supposed to be? What are those World Government guys up to now?”
“Legal pirates, huh? Using pirates to keep pirates in check? It seems the era Roger created has put them in quite a difficult position.
Still, the World Government should have enough military strength. Haven’t Giants been joining the Marines recently? It looks like they’re not just trying to balance pirates, they also don’t want the Marines expanding too much during this era.”
The newspaper briefly explained what the Shichibukai were.
Aside from being required to answer mandatory summons from the World Government and hand over a portion of their earnings, they were otherwise free to act as they pleased, completely free from government interference; they were legal pirates recognized by the World Government.
And the requirement for selection is to be powerful enough to intimidate the pirates of an entire sea area.
But Wobbegong felt that if the goal was simply to deal with pirates, expanding the Marines would have been sufficient.
A worldwide military draft could recruit plenty of powerful individuals from among the civilian population.
Combined with Harald’s efforts, Elbaf’s reputation was gradually improving, and some Giants had already joined the Marines.
Thanks to the Giants’ natural strength, those who entered the Marines were immediately granted the rank of Vice Admiral. At the current rate, it would not be long before the Marines possessed a considerable force of Giants.
At a time like this, instead of expanding the Marines, they were recruiting Shichibukai—people who answered only to the World Government and were theoretically on equal footing with the Marines. Wobbegong felt things were not that simple.
“Balance. Doesn’t Boss always talk about that? Those guys are constantly seeking balance. That’s what gives us time to develop.
Why are you paying attention to this anyway? Don’t tell me you’re thinking about placing one of our people among the Shichibukai?
If it’s a Fish-Man, there’s no way those guys would agree. Even an idiot could figure out that they’d be one of Boss’s people.”
“I haven’t really thought about it before, but now that you mention it… it might not be impossible. Boss also has other races under him. There are quite a few capable people on Delta Island, aren’t there?”
“That’s true. They’ve made a bit of a name for themselves too. Still, this sort of thing won’t hold up under close scrutiny. Forget it, there’s no point discussing it ourselves. Let’s head back and see what Boss thinks.”
At present, only the Shichibukai system itself had been established. Forget selecting seven pirates, the roster was still completely blank.
After all, as individuals recognized by the World Government, they couldn’t just be casually defeated by others. If they lost too frequently, there would be no point in the organization’s existence.
But finding people who were both powerful and willing to accept such a position was no easy task.
Even the World Government only had a few candidates in mind at the moment.
Sebastian and Wobbegong could ignore the matter for now, but the Marines could not.
Although selecting who would become a Shichibukai was the World Government’s responsibility, the Shichibukai and the Marines could be considered colleagues. According to the World Government’s vision, they might even need to collaborate contractually.
As such, the Marines were informed and shown a rough list of candidates.
“What kind of nonsense is this? Why create something like this? The Marines are fully capable of handling the situation, we don’t need an organization like the Shichibukai!”
When Kong brought the news back to Marine Headquarters and informed the other Marines, opposition arose from all sides.
What they opposed was not merely the people on the list, but the existence of the system itself.
“Sakazuki, calm down.
The World Government isn’t asking for our opinion. The establishment of the Shichibukai is already a done deal. The World Government has publicly announced it, and there’s no possibility of taking it back.
The only authority we have is to offer some suggestions regarding the candidates.”
Compared to Sakazuki, Sengoku accepted the matter rather quickly. As Kong’s chosen successor, the two had already discussed it beforehand.
“What suggestions are there to make? Everyone on this list is a genuine criminal… Though I suppose it’s not impossible to understand. After all, even that ‘Vampire’ managed to reach an agreement with the World Government.”
There was a hint of sarcasm in Tsuru’s words. It was an unsolvable cycle.
Any pirate with enough fame and strength to intimidate other pirates would naturally have a high bounty.
Such pirates inevitably had major conflicts with the Marines; the only difference was the degree.
News of Moria and Kaido had not yet become public, so Moria’s name was not on the initial list. The first two names were Crocodile and Mihawk.
“Sir Crocodile. His first bounty was already eighty million Berries. The user of Logia-type Sand-Sand Fruit. It seems he’s already negotiating with the World Government…
Forget him, but do we really have to choose Mihawk? That guy is the ‘Marine Hunter’! That title is even worse than the ‘Vampire’!
If someone like him joins the Shichibukai, then what do the Marines even stand for?”
At this time, Mihawk was not yet known as Hawk Eyes, nor did he possess the title of Strongest Swordsman in the World. In the eyes of the Marines, he was a genuine thorn in their side, a troublemaker on the same level as the young Nereus once had been.
Because of certain events, Mihawk had suffered a severe betrayal and was unable to trust anyone. His past experiences had also filled him with hatred toward the Marines. One could say he specifically targeted Marines for slaughter.
Several attempts to eliminate him had failed, and instead only made him stronger. To some of the older Marines, he reminded them of Nereus in the past.
Likewise impossible to eliminate, growing stronger with every failed attempt, eventually becoming a major threat that was exceedingly difficult to deal with…
What the Marines did not know was that it was precisely because of Nereus that the World Government believed inviting Mihawk to become a Shichibukai was the correct decision.
The reason was simple.
【After reaching an agreement with Nereus, didn’t you Marines stop suffering meaningless casualties?】
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