Chapter 290: The Seven Warlords Are Basically the Black Organization
"An invitation to the Seven Warlords of the Sea... Shouldn't this be delivered by the Marines or World Government officials? Why was it delivered by a single bat?"
The letter, officially stamped with the World Government's heavy wax seal, lay innocently on the table. The group gathered around it, actively discussing what had just transpired.
"Who knows? It's not like we've ever been Warlords before. How would we know standard procedure?" Luna shrugged. "Besides, why did that bat run away immediately after dropping off the letter? Didn't it need to wait for our official reply?"
"Maybe it was scared of Ginny," Inuarashi offered. "After all, it's just an ordinary bat."
As for exactly why a bat would be terrified of a vampire, none of them could genuinely explain it. However, bringing this up caused Luna to turn her gaze toward Ginny.
"Did that bat really run away?"
"It bolted ages ago," Ginny nodded seriously. "I've never seen a bat fly that fast in my life. But just to be safe... let's change conference rooms."
As a dedicated intelligence specialist, Ginny possessed a hyper-paranoid abundance of anti-espionage awareness. The outside environment on their ship might still be under surveillance by an unknown Devil Fruit ability, but once an Air Door was opened, the Door World offered absolute, impenetrable secrecy.
The only downside was that the Door World was completely empty, forcing the group to sit cross-legged on the invisible floor.
"Princess Amphelite was completely right. It really is a Warlord invitation," Luna said, tapping the parchment. "But I haven't seen a single piece of news about this in the papers. How did the World Government even know Moria was defeated? Did they install hidden cameras on his island ship?"
"Unlikely. If they had, they would have contacted us last month," Ginny deduced. "Maybe that guy Moria got his brain so badly damaged by Kuma that he actually reported his own defeat to the World Government, hoping they would avenge him."
Ginny felt Luna's logic was flawed, but they ultimately couldn't reach a concrete conclusion regarding the Government's intelligence network. Compared to the how, they were far more concerned with whether they should actually accept the Warlord invitation, and...
"But Kuma was the one who did all the fighting! Why are they asking me to be a Warlord?" Luna complained.
"Probably because you're the Captain," Kuma replied gently. "Everyone naturally assumes the Captain is the strongest person on the crew. Plus, your bounty is significantly higher than mine, isn't it?"
Indeed. Even though Kuma had done virtually all the heavy lifting in the battle against Moria, Luna was the one invited to become a Warlord. This was simply the deeply entrenched, absolute stereotype of the sea.
If you weren't the absolute strongest fighter, how could you possibly secure the Captain's seat and command a crew of monsters?
Under this simplistic, universal logic, Luna naturally became the primary recipient of the Warlord invitation.
One could even easily deduce the origin of her massive bounty from the photograph printed on her wanted poster. It clearly depicted her in her terrifying Sulong form, single-handedly annihilating a massive Marine warship led by a veteran Vice Admiral.
As for how that photograph was even taken in the middle of a chaotic, high-speed night battle... one would have to ask the Marines' Photography Department.
Every single person in that department was an absolute, terrifying genius. Their stealth and candid photography skills were peerless. From lowly mountain bandits with bounties in the hundreds of thousands to apocalyptic monsters with bounties in the billions, they always managed to snap a perfect, high-resolution picture—unless, of course, they forgot to take the lens cap off.
"So... do we accept it or not?" Ginny asked.
The World Government's letter was meticulously filled with the myriad benefits of becoming a Warlord. From the total revocation of all active bounties and Marine pursuit to the legalized right to plunder, these glorious perks took up the vast majority of the parchment.
Only the final two, tiny lines at the very bottom explicitly stated a Warlord's obligations: remitting a portion of their plundered wealth as taxes, and absolutely obeying the World Government's mandatory military conscription orders.
As an independent organization, although the Warlords theoretically belonged to the same faction as the Marines, they technically only answered directly to the World Government. Even the Marine Fleet Admiral didn't possess the absolute authority to command them.
"If it's hard to decide, why don't we just ask Lord Nereus?" Ginny suggested. "Honestly, I think this Warlord title could be incredibly useful. We might be able to exploit their legalized channels to access classified World Government facilities and steal even more high-level intelligence."
A short while later, deep within the Ryugu Palace, Nereus received Luna's transmission.
"Captain! Long time no see! Something big just happened..."
The former apprentice from all those years ago had now officially received an invitation to join the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
While the veteran crew members from the old days were all still alive and well, Luna was the only one who still affectionately and stubbornly clung to the title of "Captain."
"If you aren't personally opposed to it, go ahead and accept it," Nereus replied casually over the Den Den Mushi. "That title might prove unexpectedly useful somewhere down the line."
Recalling the lineup of the Seven Warlords in the original timeline...
Mihawk, who maintained deep, ambiguous ties with Red-Haired Shanks. Jinbe, who fiercely remembered his debt of gratitude to Whitebeard and would readily betray the Government for him. Hanafuda, who actively used his Warlord status to funnel Devil Fruits to Kaido. And eventually, Doflamingo, who would establish a massive, world-spanning underworld trade empire with Kaido.
Exaggerating a bit, this entire organization was virtually identical to the Black Organization. You couldn't find a single loyal, proper subordinate working for the World Government among them; everyone harboring their own treacherous, hidden agendas was simply the baseline standard.
Buggy was the sole exception. He was arguably the most bizarre, miraculous anomaly in the entire twenty-plus-year history of the Warlord system.
"What? The World Government actually sent them an invitation?"
While Luna and her crew were still sailing the outer seas, Amphelite had long since returned to the Ryugu Palace. She had already recounted the various events of her journey to Nereus.
Although they had bumped into two Warlords, Amphelite hadn't paid the encounters much mind.
This highlighted a rather awkward, fatal flaw in the Seven Warlords system. While they projected a terrifying, absolute deterrence in Paradise, when faced with truly powerful factions—like the apex monsters dominating the New World—the highly fragmented, self-serving Warlords posed absolutely no coordinated threat.
After all, many of the Warlords were ultimately just losers who had been violently chased out of the New World. Taken individually, their true strength was still a tier below the absolute peak.
And expecting a group of treacherous, hyper-arrogant pirates with conflicting hidden agendas to unite and fight as a cohesive front was fundamentally impossible.
"Judging by the outcome, yes," Nereus nodded. "But to be fair, there aren't many pirates actually suited for the Warlord position either. If the Government refuses to publicly broadcast that Luna's crew defeated Moria, then in the eyes of other pirates, Luna will appear somewhat 'obscure' and undeserving of the title.
"There will likely be countless ambitious pirate crews trying to step over them to make a name for themselves. They certainly won't lack opportunities for combat experience in the future."
"Is that really a good idea?" Amphelite asked, pouring a cup of tea. "What if they run into someone they can't handle?"
"The Paw-Paw Fruit combined with the Door-Door Fruit is an incredibly difficult, slippery combination to corner. Even if they can't win, safely evading danger is child's play for them. Besides, they aren't exactly weak. Surviving in a place like Paradise won't be an issue at all."
The two casually chatted about the Warlord situation, neither of them taking it too seriously.
Compared to the colossal military machine of the Marines and the World Government, or the titanic pirate armadas ruling the New World, the Seven Warlords truly weren't much of a concern. To Nereus, they were nothing more than a convenient, legalized channel for espionage.
Meanwhile, in another room of the palace, Nanamo had received a portion of the gold Chloe and Yamato brought back from the Sky Island and formally handed it over to Hermes.
Nanamo possessed an intricate, breathtaking scale model of the Golden City of Shandora. It had recently sustained some minor damage, and to ensure a flawless, historically accurate restoration, she was preparing to use authentic Skypiean gold to repair it.
At the same time, Nanamo was staring at a specific wanted poster with a deeply conflicted, almost horrified expression.
"Big Sis, what's wrong?" Chloe asked, noticing her stare.
"It's nothing," Nanamo murmured, shivering slightly. "I just... occasionally think that never having a massive growth spurt is actually a wonderful, beautiful blessing."
The wanted poster in her hand belonged to Charlotte Linlin.
If you compared the current Moria to his younger, muscular self, you could still find a few fleeting, recognizable similarities. But comparing the bloated, terrifying Charlotte Linlin on this recent wanted poster to the beautiful, imposing Charlotte Linlin from Nanamo's childhood memories...
One could confidently argue they weren't even the same biological species anymore.
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