Chapter 12: The Seven Warlords of the Sea Are Established! Marine Ozawa Quietly Builds His Strength
Chapter 12: Establishment of the Seven Warlords of the Sea! The Developing Marine, Koze (Please Bookmark, Please Recommend)
Zepha did not reject Choi Ze’s “enlistment application.”
The navy was, after all, a grand melting pot of inclusivity. Any righteous soul determined to oppose evil pirates and stabilize the seas could join.
Moreover, Choi Ze came from a reputable family and possessed a truly terrifying "combat record"—
“Defeated General under the Emperor!”
Few formidable figures like him could be found across the entire ocean.
Zepha held Choi Ze in high regard.
“The elite training camp for this year is already halfway through.
“The island we are about to reach is ‘Little Garden,’ an ancient island at the initial stage of the Sabaody Archipelago.
“We’ll rest there for a day, then the training ship will turn back to headquarters at Marineford to commence the second half of the training camp.
“Since you volunteered to join the navy, your strength is not a concern.
“But when participating in the latter half of the training camp, remember to avoid bullying other recruits.”
What did he mean by “strength is not a problem”?
And what about “don’t bully other recruits”?
Choi Ze’s mouth twitched slightly.
If his strength wasn’t sufficient, why would he seek to join the navy and latch onto its power?
Taking the documents Choi Ze handed back, Zepha casually returned them to the drawer.
“Any other questions?”
Choi Ze did have many questions, but they were mostly trivial doubts.
After a brief hesitation, he finally asked the most crucial one.
“Admiral Zepha—no, Instructor Zepha.”
Choi Ze awkwardly changed his form of address.
“Don’t you mind that I joined the navy to avenge the Big Mom Pirates and the Beast Pirates?”
“Are there not many who enlist every year driven by hatred against pirates?”
Zepha shook his head and sighed.
“I only hope your eyes won’t be blinded by hatred.
“Be it Kaido of the Beasts or Charlotte Linlin, they are monsters reigning at the top of the seas! Seeking revenge recklessly before reaching a certain level of strength is just courting death!”
“I understand.” Choi Ze nodded solemnly.
When he was strong enough, he would fight the two Emperors together.
“As for other matters regarding the training camp, I will arrange for someone to explain them to you—Tina, the recruit who just escorted you here,” Zepha gestured to see him off. “If there’s nothing else, you may leave.”
Choi Ze mimicked Tina’s earlier movement, giving Zepha a somewhat awkward navy salute, then left the room.
Unbeknownst to him, after he left, Zepha took out two more intelligence reports.
The old one detailed the “Mary Geoise Attack Incident” from half a month ago!
Fisher Tiger, the adventurer from Fish-Man Island, had scaled Red Soil Continent barehanded, successfully infiltrated Mary Geoise, and liberated countless slaves, stirring a huge commotion throughout the seas!
The new report was yet to be made public; only a handful within the navy knew of it.
In response to the “Mary Geoise Attack Incident” and to intimidate the increasingly rampant pirates, the true power core of the World Government—the Five Elders—planned to establish a brand-new system—
The Seven Warlords of the Sea System!
“By accepting compulsory conscription by the World Government and regularly paying a portion of their earnings, major pirates will be granted ‘legalized rights of plunder’ and tasked with maintaining fearsome reputations and suppressing other pirates.”
Zepha’s evaluation of this new system was blunt.
“What a load of nonsense!”
The new intelligence was filled with numerous stipulations; evidently, the “Seven Warlords of the Sea” system was in its late preparation stages.
The Five Elders had no intention of consulting the navy’s opinion—they issued a unilateral notification.
Suppressing his disgust, Zepha continued to skim through the new report.
“Pirates recruited under the Seven Warlords system must meet requirements in both strength and prestige…
“The initial plan is to recruit those who have previously been defeated by Whitebeard, the Beasts, Big Mom, and others…”
Upon reading this, Zepha froze, suddenly recalling the young man who had just left his office.
“Hm… huh?”
...
Choi Ze stepped out of Zepha’s office, catching several lines of phantom text flickering in his peripheral vision.
[Joined the Navy Elite Training Camp. You have obtained an E-rank information tag: Elite Marine!]
[E-rank Tag: Elite Marine]
[Description: A title bestowed only upon navy soldiers who have undergone rigorous selection and emerged among the best.]
[Effect: Grants +1 E-rank bonus to Strength, Endurance, and Agility.]
[Evaluation: Returning to the city, you are practically a supreme warrior king.]
[Your Strength and Agility attributes have improved to E-rank.]
[Your Endurance attribute has improved to D-rank.]
[Your overall evaluation has seen a slight increase.]
“Joining the navy elite training camp comes with such perks? Automatically gaining an E-rank information tag?!”
Choi Ze quickly scanned the information on the light screen, feeling his physical qualities surge, unable to hide his delight.
“And if marines all have information tags, then corporals, lieutenants, captains, admirals, and even the strongest Marine Headquarters Admirals and Fleet Admirals must have even more powerful tags?!”
Choi Ze instantly reached this conclusion, his excitement growing.
Theoretically speaking,
If Choi Ze could obtain the [Marine Headquarters Admiral] information tag, he would instantly advance to an A-rank expert!
He’d take off like a rocket on the spot.
“What did Instructor Zepha say to make you so happy?” Tina’s voice sounded beside Choi Ze’s ear.
Choi Ze smiled and turned to face Tina.
“Just that I’ve gained a chance to get close to the beautiful Miss Tina.”
“What do you mean?” Tina blinked, her jewel-like eyes sparkling.
Choi Ze replied softly, “Admiral Zepha is willing to accept me into the navy, to form a bond with you, Miss Tina, one where we can entrust our lives to each other.”
“Can you please speak properly!” Tina quickly recovered, cheeks slightly flushed as she rolled her eyes at Choi Ze.
“Every righteous comrade in the navy is someone you can entrust your life to!”
“But Miss Tina is different,” Choi Ze shook his head.
Because Miss Tina is…
About to be praised by a handsome guy, Tina instinctively puffed out her chest, her snow-white long legs pressed tightly together.
“Miss Tina, of course.”
Choi Ze finished with a smile.
Because Tina is Tina!
The unprecedented words of affection crashed like waves into the naval maiden’s mind, causing her fair, smooth face to flush deeply, steam almost rising from her head.
Her watery eyes glared at Choi Ze with a mixture of mock anger and affection as she strode forward, stamping her feet, leading Choi Ze toward the new recruits’ mess hall.
Clearly, Tina remembered Choi Ze’s earlier comment about being hungry in the office.
Watching the crisp silhouette clad in navy uniform, Choi Ze sighed inwardly.
‘Blue sky, white clouds, navy maiden—this is a reasonable and serene way to start life...’
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—
In the original story, the establishment time of the Seven Warlords of the Sea is not clear.
The earliest record the author found was after Crocodile fought Barrett and then received the invitation to become a Warlord; Crocodile was 20 years old then.
That was in the year 1496 of the Sea Calendar.
Roger had not been executed yet, and the Great Pirate Era had not begun…
There are no records of when Moria became a Warlord;
Hawkeye’s rise is unknown but roughly contemporaneous with Shanks;
Hancock became a Warlord at 18, in 1509;
Doflamingo likely became a Warlord after 1510, following the Battle for the Ope Ope Fruit;
Jinbe became a Warlord after becoming captain of the Sun Pirates, around 1510;
Bartholomew Kuma’s appointment likely came after Ace received his invitation, post-1517…
Thus, the author decided to set this system’s establishment in 1507.
But this is purely a fictional invention for this book.
(End of chapter)