The two parties sat across from each other at the table.
Shirogai sat calmly on one side, while Lieutenant Commander Brannew faced him with his back to the sea.
"Lieutenant Commander is secured! Ready to respond if anything happens!"
Far off on the Marine warship, soldiers stood tense and alert, anxiously watching the Going Merry. If negotiations turned hostile, they were prepared to act—even if it meant rushing into a hopeless battle to protect Brannew.
Behind Shirogai, the Straw Hat crew stood in formation.
Luffy looked around, suddenly puzzled. He scratched his head and glanced toward the ship's cabin.
"Ro—Ugh!"
Nami clamped his mouth shut and whispered harshly, "Idiot! Didn't Robin say so herself? To the Marines, she's still a fugitive from Baroque Works. Don't mention her!"
"Oh, right!"
Luffy grinned sheepishly, scratching his head. "Haha… I forgot."
Nami rolled her eyes in disbelief. "Is there anything in that head besides meat?"
Zoro and Sanji stood silently behind Shirogai like sentinels.
Their gazes were piercing—Zoro's like a polished blade, Sanji's as sharp as the edge of his kitchen knife. Both were fixed firmly on Brannew.
And in that tense contrast, Shirogai—smiling and composed at the table's center—radiated the presence of a true captain.
Luffy, despite officially holding that title, looked more like a clueless sidekick as he picked his nose.
"Shirogai-san, may we proceed with our discussion now?"
Brannew's expression was calm on the surface, but inside, he was a swirl of uncertainty. The Straw Hat Pirates were far more formidable than their wanted posters suggested.
Straw Hat Luffy already had a bounty of 100 million Berries.
Zoro, the infamous Pirate Hunter, was valued at 60 million.
The black-suited cook with the curly eyebrows looked just as dangerous.
The elegant woman wasn't even on the bounty list, yet carried herself with the confidence of a leader.
As for the small reindeer and the long-nosed man hiding timidly in the back?
At first glance, they seemed like nobodies—just support crew or lucky passengers.
Wrong.
Completely wrong.
Shirogai, having already read Brannew's thoughts using [Observation Haki], smirked inwardly.
That's Chopper—a doctor whose abilities are worth billions of Berries in the right context.
And that's Usopp. "God Usopp." The so-called Miracle Child and Prophetic Liar.
Weaklings couldn't survive on this ship.
Though Shirogai already understood Brannew's purpose, he remained expressionless. Instead, he gestured politely.
"Please, Lieutenant Commander Brannew. Let's hear it."
In the world of pirates, Marines and pirates were natural enemies. But here, a Marine sat willingly on a pirate ship, sharing words instead of bullets.
A rare sight, indeed.
"I was sent here specifically to find you, Shirogai-san," Brannew began, eyes steady but voice slightly tense. "On behalf of the World Government, I extend an invitation. We wish to offer you a place among the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
"To replace Crocodile, who was defeated by your crew."
"To become the new 'Warlord' under the World Government's banner."
The moment he said that, the Straw Hat crew burst into a wave of chaotic reactions.
Nami clutched her face in disbelief. "They're inviting Shirogai to become a Warlord?!"
Usopp's face flushed. "Does this mean we're part of a legendary crew now?!"
Zoro raised an eyebrow. "So the Government already knows just how strong he really is."
Sanji's cigarette wobbled between his lips. "Joining the World Government? This is insane…"
Chopper's jaw dropped. "Whoa! Shirogai is going to become one of the Seven Warlords?! That's amazing!"
Luffy's jaw dropped too, though for a different reason.
"Warlord? You think they'll let us eat at Marineford? Grandpa said the food there's great!"
In a shadowy corner of the deck, a faint sound flickered—flutter.
A long, pale ear twitched as it relayed everything back to Robin in the ship's cabin.
The words reached her clearly: "The World Government is inviting Shirogai to become a Warlord."
Robin narrowed her eyes, deep in thought.
She had predicted this the moment Crocodile was stripped of his title.
The Seven Warlords of the Sea are pirates with enough power to match nations. Shirogai fits that category perfectly.
The World Government had obviously gathered intelligence on his strength and potential. Now they sought to control the threat—before he became one they couldn't handle.
Robin knew their ways well. Since the age of eight, she had lived as the most hunted woman alive—the "Devil Child."
The Government had no morals, only interests.
If someone threatened their power, they'd crush them.
If they couldn't destroy them, they'd try to corrupt or control them.
And if someone could be bought, even a pirate, then they'd make deals in the shadows—no matter how dishonorable.
The Warlord system was just that: a leash.
It granted pirates temporary protection in exchange for working under Marine oversight. A fragile alliance masked by titles and bribes.
Most pirates dreamed of the title. It wiped your bounty, erased your past crimes, and allowed you to pillage without immediate consequence—as long as you handed over a share and didn't rock the World Government's boat too much.
Robin, who'd spent years entangled in the underworld, knew how far the Government would bend for its Warlords.
Boa Hancock demanded total Marine exclusion from Amazon Lily—and received it.
Doflamingo used his Warlord title to operate criminal enterprises worldwide—and the Government looked the other way.
As long as you didn't openly threaten their rule, they'd allow anything—even the massacre of a country.
Crocodile only lost his title because his schemes were fully exposed.
Had he succeeded quietly, the World Government would have let him rule Alabasta like a plaything.
The lives of millions meant nothing to them.
Just ants underfoot.
"Interesting," Shirogai said at last, tapping the table lightly. His tone was relaxed, but his eyes gleamed with quiet amusement.
"The World Government wants me, a rising no-name rookie pirate, to become a Warlord?"
He leaned forward slightly, watching Brannew with subtle intensity.
"This offer… it's not as simple as it sounds, is it?"
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