One Piece: The user of the Nen-Nen Fruit, who overturned the sea.

However, while some fail in their challenges, others find alternative paths.

Those pirates who were defeated but not incorporated by the five major powers did not simply disappear.

Some of them were being targeted by another force.

World Government.

At the suggestion of Saint Satan, the Five Elders initiated a long-planned scheme—

The "Seven Warlords of the Sea" system.

Recruit powerful and renowned pirates, grant them legitimate rights to plunder, and make them "lackeys" under the World Government.

In exchange, they must hand over a portion of the wealth and resources they plunder to the world government.

At the same time, they must also be called up by the World Government when needed to fight alongside the Navy.

The announcement of this plan immediately caused a huge uproar.

Some mocked, some questioned, some watched and observed, and some—

I gladly accepted.

In the autumn of 1500 in the Sea Calendar, the World Government officially announced the first batch of "Seven Warlords of the Sea".

Seven people.

The first one, of course, is my old acquaintance, Don Quixote Doflamingo.

A user of the String-String Fruit, and the overlord of the North Blue underworld.

The second one—

The tyrannical king, Abaro Pizarro.

The former king of a kingdom in the New World was overthrown due to his tyranny and went into exile at sea.

Two years ago, the supernova failed to challenge Whitebeard and fled back to "Paradise," but his escape from Whitebeard greatly enhanced his reputation.

Thus, they were absorbed by the world government.

The third one—

Crescent Moon Hunter, Katarina Demi.

Both were Supernovas two years ago, a female pirate, and the owner of the Mythical Zoan type Nine-Tailed Fox form.

The fourth one—

Hanafza, the King of Lizards.

He is also Kaido's good brother.

As his name suggests, he possesses a Zoan-type Ancient Zoan-type Komodo dragon fruit, granting him venom, immense strength, and regeneration abilities, making him a nightmare for countless pirates.

The bounty is a staggering 720 million Berries.

The fifth one—

The Big Barrel, Basque Chote.

He's a fat man who loves to drink, but don't be fooled by his appearance.

Paramecia-type Devil Fruit, the Sake-Sake Fruit, allows the user to spray alcohol from their mouth, causing an explosion.

The bounty is a staggering 720 million Berries.

The sixth one—

Vinsmoke Judge, the ruler of the North Sea.

King of the Kingdom of Germa and head of House Vinsmoke.

His Germa army is renowned for its technology, possessing powerful combat suits and cloning technology.

His bounty is a staggering 780 million Berries.

The seventh one—

Blizzard, Wright.

Logia-type Devil Fruit user, Snow-Snow Fruit user.

He also failed in his challenge against the Whitebeard, but miraculously escaped and became famous throughout the world.

The bounty is a staggering 720 million Berries.

Along with releasing this list, the world government also announced—

The "Seven Warlords of the Sea" will have the legal right to plunder, but they must not attack member states of the World Government or be enemies of the Navy; otherwise, their status will be revoked and they will be reinstated to the bounty list.

The news caused the sea to boil once again.

Some call them lackeys of the world government, while others envy them for gaining legitimate status.

Others watched coldly, waiting to see their fate.

Meanwhile, on Beehive Island, Roy was looking at the newspaper in his hand, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.

"The Seven Warlords of the Sea..."

He murmured,

"interesting."

Roy put down his newspaper, leaned back in his chair, and looked out the window at the distant sea.

The seven names from the newspaper were still clearly imprinted in his mind.

Don Quixote Doflamingo.

The tyrannical king, Abaro Pizarro.

Crescent Moon Hunter Katarina Démi.

Hanafza, the Lizard King.

Big Barrel Basque Chote.

Vinsmoke Judge, the overlord of the North Sea.

Blizzard Wright.

Seven people, seven names. Apart from the last one, Blizzard Wright, Roy knew more or less about the other six.

Doflamingo, that guy, he's quite the troublemaker.

Having suffered setbacks twice at Roy's hands, he has finally carved out his own niche.

Now that they have the backing of the World Government and have become legal pirates, they will likely be even more unscrupulous.

The tyrannical king, Abaro Pizarro.

The tyrant who was overthrown actually became one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

Roy remembered that in the original story, this guy later joined the Blackbeard Pirates and became one of Blackbeard's captains.

Now that he's been recruited by the World Government, it's uncertain whether he'll go down that path again.

Crescent Moon Hunter, Katarina Demi.

A female pirate, a user of the Mythical Zoan type Nine-Tailed Fox Fruit.

He's a ruthless character too.

Hanafza, the King of Lizards.

An ancient being with venom, immense strength, and regeneration, he's definitely a troublesome fellow.

The Big Barrel, Basque Chote.

The user of the Barrel-Barrel Fruit has the ability to put anything into a "barrel".

He was also a member of the Blackbeard Pirates in the original work.

Vinsmoke Judge, the ruler of the North Sea.

The king of the Germa Kingdom, a technologically advanced nation.

Roy remembered that this guy had a daughter named Reiju and a son named...

Forget it, it doesn't matter.

The important thing is that Judge's technology is actually quite good.

Combat suits, clones, cyborgs...

If we can cooperate with him, it might bring new breakthroughs to the technological development of Beehive Island.

However, now that he is a Shichibukai with the backing of the World Government, he probably won't easily make contact with me.

Finally, Blizzard Wright.

Roy didn't know this guy at all.

The user of the Logia-type Snow-Snow Fruit, who managed to escape from Whitebeard's clutches, is indeed quite skilled.

To survive being personally hunted down by Whitebeard, his strength is definitely not to be underestimated.

Roy put down the newspaper and tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

Shichibukai...

This system, in the original work, stirred up a storm across the entire sea.

They are nominally lackeys of the World Government, but in reality, they each have their own thoughts and calculations.

Doflamingo secretly runs an underground arms trade, and the Evil King and others were originally imprisoned in Impel Down, so they're probably not exactly peaceful characters. Judge has been searching for a powerful marriage partner...

These people, on the surface, obey the World Government, but in reality, they are just using this identity to seek greater benefits for themselves.

The world government isn't stupid; they certainly know what these people are thinking.

But as long as we can keep them in check for the time being and prevent them from turning to the real enemies, that will be enough.

Mutual benefit and mutual gain.

This is the essence of the Seven Warlords of the Sea system.

Roy snapped out of his thoughts and looked back at the list.

Doflamingo...

This guy will probably make a move on Dressrosa soon.

After all, that was his former home, a place he had always wanted to take back.

Although Dressrosa has already been planted with the Roy Pirates' flag and is under their protection,

But given Doflamingo's personality, he certainly won't let this go easily.

What will he do?

Infiltration in secret?

A direct, forceful attack?

Or will he use his status as a Shichibukai to apply to the World Government for a "legal occupation" of Dressrosa?

It's all possible.

Roy's lips curled into a cold smile.

Doflamingo, if you want to play, then I'll play with you.

Perfect, let's see just how much this Shichibukai is really made of.

......