Looking at the plate on Sasaki’s ship, Olga understood that the circumstances had changed. Following familiar tradition, Olga threw a punch at the plate, and it could be reasonably concluded that this was the real deal.
“Such a lucky kid.”
“Yeah, Lord Arceus’ plate was actually found by a newcomer.”
As they gazed at the plate, several people behind Olga began to whisper among themselves. After all, this was the biggest contribution within the Beasts Pirates, unmatched by any other except for some special deeds.
With this contribution, the previous incident that almost jeopardized their big plan could be overlooked. After all, the end-result of the Shichibukai hadn’t been affected much, but this plate was real.
“This is the meeting gift I prepared for Kaido-sama, and also my joining fee? Is this enough?”
“Yes. With this, you are qualified to join the Beasts Pirates, and you’ll also receive excellent rewards. Follow me.”
Due to the plate, Olga also changed her plans and decided to depart early to return to Onigashima. This, however, led to Sasaki being put on some people’s blacklist.
Originally, Olga planned to stay in the vicinity for a while. Hancock even invited her to visit the Kuja, although the Kuja were also xenophobic, with Hancock in charge, Gloriosa wouldn’t dispute her on such small matters.
At this moment, the people on Kuja’s ship were celebrating due to gaining the position of Shichibukai. This meant that the Kuja had gained another protective umbrella.
With the identity of Shichibukai, the Calm Belt, and Hancock’s current strength, Amazon Lily was essentially in an absolutely safe state in the first half of the Grand Line.
However, when Olga’s call came in, Hancock’s expression turned gloomy.
“Hancock, what’s wrong?”
“Granny, do you recognize this flag?”
“This flag… let me think. It seems to be the rookie, “Overflowing Sasaki”, with a bounty of 88 million Berries. What’s the matter?”
“Nothing much. Just wanted to bear him in my mind. By the way, Granny, you’ve always been knowledgeable, right?”
Upon hearing this, Gloriosa felt something was off. Hancock, who returned to Amazon Lily less than half a month ago, had already started finding her annoying, and addressing her with respect was nearly impossible.
“What are you up to?”
“Nothing, just wanted to ask you, Granny, during the time away from Amazon Lily, have you seen a kind of stone which is hexagonal, wider at the top and narrower at the bottom?”
She had naturally heard about it during her three years on Onigashima. If a random pirate like Sasaki could cause such a big commotion with this, she believed she could do the same.
“No, I haven’t seen anything like that.”
“Tch, useless. Let’s return to the country!”
“Yes, Snake Princess!”
Hancock demonstrated what a lightning-fast change of expression, then she directly returned to Amazon Lily with the Kuja pirates.
While Olga was still on her way back to Wano Country with Sasaki, within the Marine Headquarters, some people were not calm. In the Fleet Admiral’s office, looking at the intelligence handed to him by Kong, Sengoku’s thoughts were quite complicated.
Responses from the pirates came in one after another. Hancock, who actively sought her position, and Gecko Moria and Dracule Mihawk, who were invited by the government.
The information sent back by Comil had confirmed Hancock’s identity as a Shichibukai, and though unruly, her strength was more than enough.
Moria also did not refuse; in the face of the World Government’s invitation to become a Shichibukai, he readily agreed. Despite the increasing recluse tendencies, he still harbored boundless hatred towards Kaido.
However, his ascent to Shichibukai was also thanks to Kaido. World Government did not assess his strength; he obtained this position solely due to his past achievements against Kaido.
Sengoku wasn’t concerned about these two individuals. Hancock, setting sail for the first time, and Moria, who had been silent for a long time, were not enough to shake him. But the last one, Mihawk was different.
“Brother Kong, this guy has attacked many of our people! Can someone known as the Marine Hunter really become a Shichibukai?!”
Hancock’s debut used other pirates, Moria’s was based on past accomplishments, but Hawk Eyes was built on the corpses of Marines. The term Marine Hunter is not a joke.
“Can someone like him be called a Shichibukai? What about our reputation?”
“This is the decision of the Five Elders. They reached an agreement with that guy. From now on, his title as Marine Hunter will be concealed, and he will only be known as Hawk Eyes – Dracule Mihawk.”
Kong stated the decision from above. This was also the World Government’s warning to the Marines. Although the Marines were a ‘state apparatus’, they were not the only one under the World Government’s umbrella. Their decisions do not consider the feelings of the Marines into account.
Whether it was the selection of Mihawk or Whitebeard Jr. in the original timeline, it was like this. In the eyes of those people, the former Admiral who fought for the Marines throughout his life was not worth mentioning.
Even the removal of the title “Marine Hunter” was only achieved after Kong’s reasoned argument and insistence.
“.”
“Sengoku, you must understand, the current Marines are no longer the original Marines.”
The original Marines were merely tools of the World Government. However, as time passed, although the essence of this tool did not change, more Marines with different personalities emerged. Sometimes, the choices made by some Marines were even contrary to the World Government.
The current Marines had a certain degree of independence, but this independence was still within the tolerance of the World Government.
“I understand.”
“Wait until you sit in my position, and you’ll understand. The position of Marine Fleet Admiral is not as easy as it seems.”
The internal opposition within the Marines did not have much effect. Even if some people left the Marines because of this, Dracule Mihawk still became a Shichibukai with the reputation of the Great Swordsman Hawk Eyes.
In the next day’s newspaper, the names of Gecko Moria, Pirate Empress Boa Hancock and Hawk Eyes Dracule Mihawk occupied the front page.
Meanwhile, after sailing for a while, Olga arrived at Onigashima with Sasaki and the others.
Normally, newly joined recruits didn’t have the qualifications to come here, but Sasaki, who brought back a plate, was an exception. He even obtained the opportunity for an audience.
“Lord Arceus, he is here, and your plate is also here.”
“Very well, Sasaki, right? You’ve done well. According to the rules we’ve set, you can obtain a reward.”
“Wait, Lord Arceus.”
Sasaki interrupted Arceus. After all, he had already brought the plate, so he didn’t care about such a trivial matter.
“What?”
“I want to meet Kaido-sama, and I would prefer to receive a reward from him.”
Well, he was an outsider, after all. He wasn’t aware of the real situation within the Beasts Pirates. Moreover, he was an ardent fan of Kaido. Compared to Arceus, who was the apparent second-in-command, he was more eager to meet Kaido.
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