In the year 1511 of the Sea Calendar, just as 1512 was about to begin, several major events occurred.
First, Yonko Alucard, in collusion with Doflamingo, seized over sixty percent of the Heavenly Tribute.
Second, Doflamingo leveraged the portion of the Heavenly Tribute he held to secure the sixth position among the Warlords of the Sea. With this, only one spot in the Warlords of the Sea system remained vacant.
Third, was the event currently unfolding.
A certain treasure hunter organization, recklessly infiltrating Alucard's territory in an attempt to steal the Heavenly Tribute, was being beaten half to death.
The timeline must be pushed back half a month. At that time, Doflamingo had just been confirmed to receive the title of Warlord of the Sea.
News reports stated that the portion of the Heavenly Tribute Doflamingo held had already been returned to the Celestial Dragons as part of the deal for him to become a Warlord of the Sea.
Upon hearing the commotion outside, Alucard placed Scarlett in her coffin and stepped out of the castle.
Meanwhile, a battle was raging in a withered forest about twenty-four miles outside the kingdom ruins.
The majority of the enemies had been captured, and now only one remained, locked in combat with Stragus.
The enemy was a tall, bare-chested man wrapped in chains, with long, deep-red hair slicked back. He wielded a huge chain, which clashed with Stragus's tachi, sending out fierce sparks.
"A bounty of 240,000,000 Berries, the user of the Chain-Chain Fruit, Mad Treasure, the most ferocious treasure hunter in history. Your target this time was the Heavenly Tribute in the Captain's possession, was it? You've got guts."
As Stragus stated the opponent's identity, a flick of his blade sent the chains flying and went straight for Mad Treasure's heart.
Puff!
Just as Stragus's blade was less than half a meter from Mad Treasure's heart, a massive chain suddenly burst from the man's body and struck Stragus's blade, deflecting it from its original trajectory.
Mad Treasure seized the opportunity, twisted his chain tight, and pulled, slamming it into Stragus's arm and forcing him back over a meter.
Though in pain, Stragus's sword remained in his grasp. Stabilizing himself, he swung his arm and sneered, "Do you know what happened to Red-Haired Shanks, who trespassed here a few years ago with a bounty more than twice yours, and his Red Hair Pirates?"
"Jarararara... Don't try to scare me with the name of a Yonko. If you've got the guts, just kill me!" Mad Treasure showed no sign of distress. Instead, the more perilous the situation, the more manic he became.
The fact that he dared to trespass on a Yonko's territory and last this long proved his extraordinary courage and strength.
"The Red Hair Pirates lost a quarter of their men. How about I just break all four of your limbs?" Stragus licked the blood off his blade.
"Jarararara, the pleasure of treasure is that the more dangerous it is, the more fun it is!"
New chains erupted from Mad Treasure's palms, ripping through his flesh. At that very instant, a gunshot echoed through the air, piercing Mad Treasure's right abdomen and instantly blowing a hole in his flesh.
"Uwaa...!!!"
The manic delight instantly vanished from Mad Treasure's face. He fell to his knees, clutching his wound, but the blood refused to stop flowing.
Clomp, clomp, clomp...
Footsteps approached. The onlookers made way, and Stragus, seeing this, quickly sheathed the tachi on his back and exclaimed, "Captain."
Mad Treasure's bound subordinates watched in despair as the man walked toward them: The Yonko, Alucard.
"Who is this guy?"
Alucard held the black gun, Jackal, in one hand, confirming that he had fired the shot. He looked at Mad Treasure, who was clutching his wound and convulsing on the ground, and asked.
"Captain, he's a treasure hunter. He trespassed into our territory for the Heavenly Tribute," the three subordinates reported.
"Utterly boring."
Alucard instantly lost interest. He seemed to be just another fool who'd let his hot head lead him to trespass here.
Seeing Alucard turn to leave, Stragus called after him, "How should we deal with him?" "Let him go send a message to the idiots in the New World. Let others see." "Understood."
Half a month later, under the lead of Stragus, the members of the Alucard Pirates dumped the heavily injured Mad Treasure and his crew in a gathering town for pirates in the first half of the New World. The news of the notorious treasure hunter's crushing defeat at the hands of Alucard quickly spread.
Interestingly, Mad Treasure received a very similar assessment to Moria, who was defeated by Kaido a few years ago—defeated but not disgraced.
Moria was completely wiped out by Kaido, and Mad Treasure was completely wiped out by Alucard. Both were completely wiped out by a Yonko, and yet one person escaped.
However, outsiders didn't know that neither of them escaped; they were deliberately released.
Another month passed, and for reasons unknown, Mad Treasure accepted an invitation from the Government, becoming one of the Warlords of the Sea.
Now, Mad Treasure's situation became even more similar to Moria's.
Both were defeated by a Yonko, both were entirely wiped out with only one person seemingly escaping, and both were subsequently invited by the Government to become a Warlord of the Sea.
In this way, the seven Warlords of the Sea were gathered, just as the original plan had intended. The World's Strongest Swordsman, "Hawk-Eyes" Dracule Mihawk.
"Heavenly Yaksha," Donquixote Doflamingo. "Tyrant," Bartholomew Kuma.
"Desert King," Sir Crocodile. "First Son of the Sea," Jinbe.
Gecko Moria, defeated but not disgraced by Kaido. Mad Treasure, defeated but not disgraced by Alucard.
All seven were assembled in early 1512 of the Sea Calendar, becoming a huge global news story.
The fourth major event was known only to the high-ranking personnel within the Marines: Zephyr's suspension.
Just as Alucard had predicted, the three Cipher Pol agents who were released and sent back fiercely denounced Zephyr to the World Government.
The Government also needed a scapegoat, so they used Zephyr. Furthermore, he had ignored his mission to save his students, which was a fact.
Kong, Sengoku, and other Marine officers had to go to great lengths to barely save Zephyr's position, resulting in a mere 'suspension,' not a 'dismissal.'
And Zephyr agreed to the arrangement.