Through the Den Den Mushi.
Vongola Storm had no way of knowing the complex thoughts running through Aokiji's mind.
All he cared about was his first bounty.
Ever since joining the SWORD Unit.
Storm had worked hard for so long, finally taking the first step toward becoming a pirate—
A bounty!
Now that he had been issued a bounty by the World Government and the Marine Headquarters.
Becoming a great pirate, venturing into the New World, infiltrating the ranks of the Emperors… could it really be that far off?
Storm daydreamed for a moment before snapping back to reality.
His efforts had paid off, his work had earned him a bounty, and White Dragon was pleased.
But the bounty amount set by the Marine Headquarters was something White Dragon didn't like.
"Isn't this bounty a bit low?"
Storm said with a hint of dissatisfaction.
"For a first bounty, it's not even 100 million Belly.
"When I meet other pirates in the future, they'll think I'm not capable of doing anything big!
"Can't you add another 100 million Belly to my bounty?
"One letter, 100 million."
Vongola Storm.
One letter, 100 million.
Twelve letters, 1.2 billion.
That would make it 1.295 billion Belly.
This bounty amount would be more fitting for Storm's current level of strength.
But Aokiji didn't agree.
"The bounty for every pirate is determined by the Marine Headquarters' strategy department based on their past actions and the level of threat they pose to the government!"
Aokiji reminded him meticulously.
"95 million Belly is already a high number! At least as far as I know, when Sand Crocodile and the Nine Snake Empress received their invitations to join the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea, their bounties weren't this high."
Crocodile, after all his years at sea, had a bounty of only 81 million Belly.
Boa Hancock, on her very first campaign, had directly secured a bounty of 89 million Belly.
These two still have the same bounty amounts today.
Because once invited to become one of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea, a pirate's bounty automatically stops increasing…
Bounty amounts don't truly represent the real strength of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea.
"But 95 million Belly is still a bit low…"
No matter how reasonable Aokiji's words were, Storm was still unsatisfied with the bounty amount.
"At least it should be over 100 million Belly, right?
"100 million Belly is a Supernova, 90 million Belly is nothing."
"Ah, your focus is a bit strange, don't you think…"
Aokiji felt a headache coming on from Storm's persistent attitude.
"If you want a higher bounty, you can go rob, kill, or attack government institutions—
"Why am I, a Marine Admiral, discussing such anti-government matters with you!"
Halfway through, Aokiji suddenly realized what he was doing and abruptly ended the pointless conversation.
"You chose this yourself, sir."
Storm grinned at the Den Den Mushi, which mimicked his expression.
"About the bounty, could you mention it a few more times to Granny Tsuru? She's the chief strategist of the strategy department.
"And one more thing, about the credit I mentioned earlier…"
"Vongola Storm."
Aokiji paused, his tone calm.
"If you still want to talk about the Devil Child—"
"I'm curious, Admiral Aokiji."
Storm interrupted Aokiji.
"From the beginning, I never brought up Robin, did I? It's always been you, unilaterally and repeatedly mentioning that 'Devil Child.'
"Why are you so concerned about Nico Robin?
"Is it because your so-called 'Blazing Justice' burned the fate of that innocent girl?"
Faced with Storm's questioning.
Aokiji was left speechless.
In the end, he could only angrily retort.
"Subordinates are not allowed to talk back to their superiors!"
"Tch~"
Storm dug at his ear, feeling like he'd heard that line somewhere before...
"So, do you want the credit or not?"
Having been repeatedly misunderstood by Aokiji, Storm was starting to lose patience.
"If you don't want the credit, I'll just hand those scum over to the World Government!"
"Those scum?"
Aokiji finally realized that Storm wasn't joking about the "Devil Child," but he was still somewhat confused.
"What did you do this time?"
As soon as he said this, Aokiji paused slightly.
He had almost forgotten how many times he'd said something similar...
Storm responded.
"I went to Banaro Island."
"Banaro Island? The territory of the Lizard King, one of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea?"
Aokiji quickly pieced things together and pressed on with questions.
"Weren't you in Alabasta? How did you end up on Banaro Island? And why did you go after the Lizard King?"
"You're asking too many questions, sir."
Storm replied simply.
"In short, I took care of Hanafuda and also rounded up all the pirates on Banaro Island.
"As for the exact number, I didn't count, but there must be at least a few hundred.
"With so many pirates, I plan to screen them first. Do you want the rest?"
By "screening,"
Storm meant executing those pirates on Banaro Island based on their past crimes!
As for the remaining scum, who in Storm's eyes didn't deserve immediate execution...
they could enjoy their time in Impel Down.
Although they would lose their freedom.
At least they would survive! Storm was truly too kind.
"You took care of Hanafuda..."
Aokiji was momentarily speechless.
Why did a member of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea sound as weak as a clay doll in Storm's words? Aokiji couldn't help but think of Crocodile.
He had seen the news reports and knew that Crocodile had been defeated by Storm.
The words of that sharp young marine from the admiral's office echoed faintly in Aokiji's ears...
If the SWORD Unit could take on a Pirate Emperor, what about the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea?
A faint sense of comfort rose in Aokiji's heart.
Storm had truly aimed the "blade" of the "SWORD" first at the "Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea"...
"When you say 'took care'..."
Aokiji paused.
"Do you mean like with Crocodile?"
"No, the Navy likes 'heroes,' so that 'hero' of Alabasta is still alive and well."
Storm said indifferently.
"As for this so-called Lizard King Hanafuda, I sent him to hell."
"Ara ara, the 'hell' you're referring to isn't 'Impel Down,' is it?"
Aokiji let out a dry laugh, but unfortunately, he received no response.
"Alright, it seems one of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea has fallen..."
"I'll arrange for someone to take over Hanafuda's pirate crew as soon as possible."
"No problem, and as a bonus, here's a free piece of information," Storm kindly added.
"Hanafuda was also a spy, working for Kaido of the Beasts."
"Over the years, all the Devil Fruits Hanafuda collected were sent to the Beast Pirates."
Click!
After dropping this bombshell, Storm immediately hung up the Den Den Mushi.
"Bzzz—Bzzz—"
Aokiji listened to the dial tone coming from the Den Den Mushi, his expression momentarily blank.
Lizard King Hanafuda was also a spy?
And even a spy for the Emperor, Kaido of the Beasts? "Ara ara..."
Aokiji sighed deeply, rubbing his forehead.
"So the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea system is this complicated, huh?"
The latest novel is first published on 69shuba!
...
Banaro Island.
Storm descended from the sky back to the ground.
Robin had already led the team of clay mini-giants to inventory all of Lizard King's assets.
She had also used her Flower-Flower Fruit ability to gather intelligence on the other pirates on the island.
The living people on the island were divided into three different groups by Robin.
"Boss, here's the complete roster of Lizard King's subordinates. Each of them is a pirate who has committed numerous atrocities."
Robin handed a stack of wanted posters to Storm, then pointed to the other two groups.
"This group of pirates, I haven't heard of them doing anything particularly heinous."
"The last dozen or so people have no bounties. They might be spies from other factions, or slaves who accidentally ended up on Banaro Island."
Storm took the thick stack of wanted posters and carefully flipped through them.
The bounties on the pirates ranged from ten million to ninety million, with none exceeding a hundred million.
Even so, the crimes committed by each pirate were too numerous to list.
Storm shifted his attention from the wanted posters to the group of scumbag pirates tightly bound by clay.
"Are there any Devil Fruit users among them?"
During his fight with Lizard King, Storm hadn't had time to pay attention to the onlookers.
The rest of the people on Banaro Island had been swept away by a single wave of "Giant Wave Clay."
Storm wasn't sure if there were any Devil Fruit users in this group.
But still, these people were subordinates of a Royal Seven Warlord of the Sea.
Even if they couldn't compare to the "ability teams" like Baroque Works or the Donquixote Family, they should at least be stronger than that lone wolf, Hawkeye Mihawk, right?
Storm's question was met with a positive response from Robin.
"There are three. Lizard King's three top officers, all of them are users of the Zoan-type Lizard-Lizard Fruit."
Robin pulled out three wanted posters from the stack and placed them together.
"Their abilities are the [Blunt-Tailed Poison Lizard Fruit], the [Komodo Dragon Fruit], and the [Marine Iguana Fruit]."
Poison lizard, Komodo dragon, marine iguana...
What kind of oddball lizards are these? Storm frowned upon hearing this.
"Keep these three ability users separate. As for the others..."
Storm glanced at the group of trash, manipulated the clay, and summoned a giant wave to engulf them completely.
One after another, bloody Silver Trophies emerged from the void, densely packed and countless.
After clearing out a group of sea trash, Storm's mood lifted.
Even the three ugly-looking [Lizard Devil Fruit] users now seemed somewhat pleasing to the eye...
He would take their Devil Fruits later! Storm ignored the group of pirates who "hadn't committed major crimes"—their fate would only be to be sent to Impel Down.
He walked up to the last dozen or so people who had been temporarily judged as "innocent."
"Wuwu—"
Just as Storm approached.
A man in a black suit in the crowd immediately let out a muffled sob.
Storm raised an eyebrow and released the man from his control.
"White Dragon!"
The man in the black suit quickly revealed Storm's identity, speaking rapidly.
"I'm a government agent! You can't harm me!"
"What's so great about the World Government?"
Storm waved his hand, about to crush the black-suited agent.
A World Government agent.
To be precise.
A member of the World Government's secret spy agency—CP (CIPHER POL).
If pirates were the evil on the surface.
Then CP was the sin in the shadows.
The World Government's dirty work was mostly handled by the CP department.
For CP agents, killing ten out of ten might be excessive.
But killing nine out of ten would surely leave some escapees!
"The highest authority! The Five Elders!"
The black-suited agent shouted again.
"I have orders from the Five Elders! The Five Elders specifically want to speak with you! White Dragon!"
The Five Elders?
Storm stopped his movement, frowning as he looked at the black-suited man.
"You can contact the Five Elders?"
"Give me a moment!"
The black-suited man hurriedly said.
"The Five Elders really have orders for you!"
Storm released the man's restraints, watching as he pulled out a Den Den Mushi.
After several transfers through different Den Den Mushi.
The Den Den Mushi in the black-suited man's hand emitted a voice that Storm found familiar.
It was the bald Five Elder who had previously contacted Sand Crocodile—
Nasujuro Saint! "White Dragon? Vongola Storm? Are you on Banaro Island right now?"
"That's right."
Storm replied candidly.
"I'm truly flattered that the Five Elders would know the name of a nobody like me~"
Nasujuro Saint faintly felt that Storm's tone sounded familiar...
But he couldn't recall where he had heard it, so he decided not to dwell on it.
Nasujuro Saint got straight to the point.
"Where's Hanafuda?"
"You mean that terrifying 'Tyrannosaurus Man'?"
Storm said with genuine regret.
"His strength was just too overwhelming~ I couldn't hold back."
"Hanafuda is dead? You really are 'diligent'!"
Nasujuro Saint was somewhat surprised by Storm's speed of action, then he directly extended an invitation.
"White Dragon, would you like to become one of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea?"
The Five Elders had already planned to invite Storm to join the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Who are the current members of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea? Hawkeye is busy farming; the Snake Princess rarely leaves the Calm Belt unless necessary; the Knight of the Sea has gotten involved with the Whitebeard Pirates; the Heavenly Demon is constantly occupied with his business ventures, chasing big money; and Gekko Moriah, who prefers to hide away in the Florian Triangle... let's not even mention him! The only two Royal Seven Warlords actively fighting pirates are the Sand Crocodile and the Lizard King.
However, the Sand Crocodile and the Lizard King have different approaches.
The former is genuinely dedicated to combating pirates; the latter, on the ot
her hand, uses the guise of fighting pirates to recruit subordinates he favors.
In the eyes of the Five Elders,
apart from the Sand Crocodile, who somewhat meets their expectations,
the other members of the Royal Seven Warlords are nothing but headaches!
It's time to inject fresh blood into the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea!
White Dragon, with a clean family background, unwavering principles, and an intense hatred for pirates,
is undoubtedly the most suitable candidate for the Royal Seven Warlords! (End of Chapter)