In the New World, at the base of the Whitebeard Pirates, e was sitting in a pub, a neer in his hand, his expression shifting as he took iest news.
"Both the World Destroyer and that Bullet taken down by the Marines? Now that's quite the headline," e muttered.
"First the Red t, and now this? The Marines seem to be making moves again, and they're still cooperating with pirates?" Marco said, surprise g his voice.
"The st time could've been a one-off, but this time, there's more to it. Look at this here, what do you make of this 'Seven Warlords of the Sea' title?" e poio the name Crocodile in the neer and asked.
"Father, isn't it obvious? That sand crocodile's just sold out to the gover. The Seven Warlords of the Sea, huh? Recruiting pirates now… It looks like the Wover's running out of options," Marco said, a hint of disdain in his tone.
"Gurararara," e's deep ughter filled the room before he spoke again. "It does seem desperate, but I 't shake the feeling that there's moing oh the surface."
"Definitely a ploy. See here? The Seven Warlords will ahe Wover's summons, w for them and hunting down other pirates. No matter how you look at it, it spells trouble," Marodded.
Meanwhile, on the Sabaody Archipego, Rayleigh pushed open the door to Shakky's bar, a small box under his arm.
As he entered, he found Shakky mid-interrogation, holding a rough-looking thug by his colr, while several more battered bodies y crumpled at her feet.
Catg sight of Rayleigh, Shakky let go of the thug, who slumped to the ground, unscious. "Doh your work already?" she asked.
Rayleigh grinned. "Just some ship-coating. The job was quick."
"No plications?" Shakky smiled knowingly.
"Not a one," Rayleigh chuckled.
"Great. Now, would you mind tossing these troublemakers out for me? I'm just a frail woman, you know, nth to spare," Shakky said, gesturing to the unscious thugs.
Rayleigh didn't bat a Shakky's cim of being a 'frail woman' and instead asked, "You got their money, right? 't let them leave without paying up."
Shakky poio a pile of wallets sitting on the bar, undoubtedly collected from her ret 'ers.'
Satisfied, Rayleigh tossed the thugs out of the bar, then sat at the ter and took a sip from his hip fsk, feeling at ease.
"Have you seen today's paper?" Shakky asked after a moment.
"No, I haven't had the time. Something big happen?" Rayleigh's curiosity iqued.
"Pretty signifit. The Mariook down both the World Destroyer and the Demon Heir," Shakky said.
Rayleigh's eyes widened in surprise. "Dougs Bullet?"
"Yeah, wasn't he one of your old crew? Quite the powerhouse, wasn't he?" Shakky asked, leaning forward.
"Ihe kid had an incredible talent for bat. Ba the day, I wouldn't have bet on winning against him. It's hard to believe he's been captured by the Marines," Rayleigh said, a touch of nostalgia in his voice.
"That's just the start. The real shocker es after that. The Wover has rolled out a new initiative called the 'Seven Warlords of the Sea.' Here's the gist…" Shakky expined, ying out the details.
Rayleigh shook his head slowly as he absorbed the information. "The Wover's getting more daring. This strategy splits the pirate world in two, pin and simple."
"Exactly. Pirates who work for the gover and pirates who oppose it. It's quite a scheme," Shakky nodded.
"And the first of these Warlords?" Rayleigh pressed.
"A guy called 'Sand Crocodile,' named Crocodile. Acc to the paper, he helped the Marines capture both World and Bullet and earned himself the title of Warlord for it," Shakky said.
"The first, huh? So they're not rolling out all Seven Warlords at once?" Rayleigh asked.
"No, it'll probably take some time. The gover's openly inviting capable pirates to 'sign up' for this new position," Shakky said with a slight smirk.
"The times are ging. The world's being even more chaotic," Rayleigh said softly.
At the same time, within the Holy Land of Mariejois, Cudius was walking alongside the Nia heading toward the hall where sves were bought and sold.
"Why the sudden i in buying sves?" Cudius asked, giving Nia a curious look.
Nia replied, "Yhness, isn't it too lonely for young Master Ace to be in the pace by himself? I thought it'd be good to find him a couple of pymates. I heard there'll be some young sves at the market today."
"Pymates?" Cudius repeated thoughtfully.
Over the past couple of years, Ace had indeed spent most of his time alone in the pace. Cudius rarely had time to eain him, and while Nia tried, she couldn't always be around, and the age gap didn't help.
"You're quite siderate," Cudius said with a smile.
The sve market in Mariejois was uhe aus held elsewhere. Only the Celestial Dragons were permitted to purchase here, making it a more exclusive and tightly trolled enviro.
Cudius hadn't often visited the pce before, as he'd never found muterest in owning sves.
As they walked in, they passed rows of iron cages taining various individuals, newly captured and only partially trained. Many still retaiheir will, their rebellious spirits not yet broken.
This, in itself, was a selling point, as some Celestial Dragons preferred sves with some fight left in them, enjoying the 'challenge' of breaking them in themselves.
There were also Celestial Dragons looking to offload sves they had grown bored of, not for profit but for the sheer eai of participating in erce.
Cudius and Nia made their way through the hall, the se. Cudius stopped suddenly in front of one particur cage and smirked as he looked inside.
"Fisher Tiger, huh? Iing," Cudius muttered.
Ihe figure ihe cage was her than Fisher Tiger, a powerful merman with striking red ski in the er, his expression dark, eyes burning with defiand seething hatred.
Cudius g him briefly before turning away and moving on.
As they walked further, they heard the voice of a female Celestial Dragon nearby. She was holding three s, each attached to a sy figure oher end. Her voice rang out with irritation.
"Get rid of these three. They're no fun anymore. I evehem Devil Fruits, and all it got me was two of them turning into snakes. B!"
