One Piece, I'm just an adventurer.

Kizaru's lips twitched. Damn nouveau riche.

"You should put those things away. Now, please come with me, Mr. Tesoro." After saying that, Kizaru didn't wait for Tesoro's reaction and turned to leave.

Tesoro didn't care about Kizaru's attitude. Seeing that Kizaru wouldn't accept his gift, he closed the box again and casually said to his subordinate, "Here you go."

The unexpected pie delighted the subordinate, who quickly thanked him, saying, "Thank you, boss."

Tesoro nodded in satisfaction, then led his men to follow Kizaru, who was leading the way.

After taking Tesoro to the arranged accommodations, Kizaru left. However, as he reached the door, he turned back to Tesoro and said, "Mr. Tesoro, please keep your men in check while you are in Marineford."

Tesoro's expression darkened upon hearing this; he knew it was Kizaru's warning. However, he quickly regained his smile and said, "I will, Admiral Kizaru."

Seeing that he was somewhat sensible, Kizaru left satisfied.

"Hmph, I'll bury you all in money one day," Tesoro said, waving his big gold watch.

After arranging things for Tesoro, Kizaru returned to the dock, pulled up a chair, lay down, and quietly waited for the rest of the group to arrive. According to the plan, all the Shichibukai would arrive today.

Sure enough, before Kizaru could lie on the deck chair for long, two warships sent to pick him up arrived at the dock together.

The people who came this time were Jinbe and Mihawk.

Of the two, he wasn't very familiar with Jinbe, only knowing that he had been very active on the seas in the past year and was known as the Knight of the Sea for his dedication to rescuing slaves. He was a respectable person.

The other person is Hawkeye Mihawk, who is a very troublesome opponent. His strength is so great that even Kizaru is not confident that he can defeat him, because his attacks are too powerful.

After disembarking, Jinbe and Mihawk exchanged a glance, various thoughts swirling in their minds.

"As expected of Hawkeye Mihawk, his mere presence is intimidating."

"Is this Jinbe, the knight of the sea? His strength is just average."

Although they had different thoughts, they nodded to each other amicably, but neither of them intended to talk.

Kizaru walked towards the two of them, a chrysanthemum-like smile on his face, and said, "Welcome to Marineford. We have arranged your accommodations. Please follow me now."

Mihawk and Jinbe nodded politely, neither of them being particularly talkative, so they didn't intend to engage in conversation.

Seeing this, Kizaru happily led them in the direction of my lodging. It is worth mentioning that, in order to avoid unnecessary trouble, each member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea has a different lodging location.

After settling the two people in, Kizaru returned to the dock to continue waiting. However, this time the wait was a bit long, and it wasn't until almost noon that a warship came back to pick them up.

The person who arrived this time was Crocodile.

Speaking of this person, Kizaru is actually quite curious. A few years ago, this guy was very active in the Alabasta Kingdom, but he seems to have faded into obscurity in the last two years. If it weren't for the World Government summoning him this time, Kizaru would have almost forgotten that such a person existed.

"Mr. Crocodile, welcome to Marineford," Kizaru said, flashing his chrysanthemum-like smile for the fourth time today.

"Admiral Kizaru, it's an honor to have you personally come to greet us," Crocodile said in a friendly manner. His main purpose in coming was to gather information, so he naturally wouldn't want to provoke a Marine Admiral.

His attitude surprised Kizaru slightly. This guy wasn't as difficult to get along with as the rumors suggested. It seems the rumors weren't reliable after all.

If Lin Yi knew his thoughts, he might tell him that the rumors did have some credibility.

"Hehe, Mr. Crocodile, this way please," Kizaru said with a smile.

Crocodile followed Kizaru towards their lodgings. On the way, Crocodile asked, seemingly casually, "Admiral Kizaru, what big operation is this, summoning all of us Shichibukai for?"

Kizaru, still all smiles, dodged the question, saying, "Mr. Crocodile, you'll know when the meeting starts once everyone is here."

Crocodile was eager to know, but he didn't press the matter further.

Upon arriving at their lodgings, Kizaru reminded them, "Mr. Crocodile, please follow the rules in Marineford."

Crocodile smirked. "Don't worry, I won't cause any trouble."

Back at the dock, Kizaru picked up a deck chair and waited.

The person who came this time was Bartholomew Kuma. Kuma and Kizaru can be said to be old acquaintances. They had met when Kuma brought his daughter Bonney to Vegapunk for treatment of Blue Scale Disease. After that, Kuma greatly admired this gentle man during their time together.

"Kuma, long time no see, how are you?" Kizaru said with a smile as he stepped forward and punched the tall man. This time, Kizaru's smile was much more sincere than the previous ones.

"Long time no see, Kizaru." Kuma greeted his old friend with a smile. Back when Kizaru was Vegapunk's security captain, the two had a pleasant conversation when he took Bonney to seek medical treatment, and they were considered good friends.

"Haha, Kuma, wait for me. There's one more person who hasn't arrived yet. After I've settled her in, I'll treat you to a drink," Kizaru said, bringing over another chair for Kuma to sit down.

"Okay," Xiong said with a smile.

The two then chatted while waiting. Having not seen each other for many years, they had plenty to talk about.

The two chatted until lunchtime, and after lunch, they waited another hour before the last person arrived.

Empress Hancock's steed—the Kuja Ship—resembled a moving castle, slowly sailing towards the dock. These two snakes were not only the symbol of the Kuja Ship but also the powerful assistants of the Kuja Pirates, whose unique abilities allowed the Kuja Pirates to freely enter and exit the Calm Belt.

As the Nine Serpents approached the dock, the two menacing serpent heads suddenly rose, opening their gaping maws and flicking their scarlet tongues, looking down at the navy below. The scene was chilling; the previously noisy crowd on the dock instantly fell silent, replaced by chaos and panic. People stared in terror at the two terrifying serpents, unsure if they would suddenly attack.

"He really is a capricious person," Kizaru chuckled.

Meanwhile, the bear looked curiously in the direction of the Nine Serpents Ship.

"Is that a sea monster? It looks terrifying," a navy officer said, gripping his spear with some fear.

"Damn it, we're the navy, how can we be afraid?" one of the navy men shouted.

"That's right, if this monster dares to cause trouble, we'll kill her."

"Oh, who wanted to kill my pet?" Hancock slowly stepped out of the Nine Serpents ship and said in a cold voice.

With the arrival of Empress Hancock, the naval soldiers on the dock all wore expressions of infatuation.

"She...she's Empress Hancock? She's so beautiful."

"The legendary beauty truly lives up to her reputation..."

A group of naval soldiers, completely captivated by the Empress's charm, had now fallen utterly under her spell.

Seeing this, Kizaru transformed into a flash of light and arrived in mid-air to look at the Empress at eye level. He said with some distress, "Your Majesty is really putting me in a difficult position."

"Heh, so you've finally deigned to come out and greet me? What an ungrateful fellow."

As the Empress finished speaking, two tall figures appeared behind her, none other than Boa Marigold and Boa Sandersonia, the two sisters of Empress Hancock. Each of them was accompanied by a pet: a vulture wearing a hat and a black leopard, respectively, looking quite imposing.

Despite Empress Hancock's seemingly provocative behavior, Kizaru remained unperturbed and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, the Navy has prepared accommodations for you and your subordinates. Please follow me."

Empress Hancock frowned slightly as she looked at Kizaru, who was completely unaffected by her Devil Fruit powers, but said nothing. She was no longer the pure-hearted war goddess who dared to kick Barrett ten years ago.

Seeing that Empress Hancock had no objections, Kizaru immediately called Kuma and led Hancock to their lodgings.

On the way, Kuma smiled amicably at Empress Hancock and the others, but Empress Hancock and the others seemed quite indifferent.

Xiong wasn't angry; he was just being polite.

After settling Empress Hancock and her entourage, Kizaru hurriedly pulled Kuma away. He was exhausted from the day and now all he wanted to do was have a drink with his old friend Kuma.

The following day, the Shichibukai meeting officially began.

Although the meeting was held at the Navy Headquarters, it was not chaired by personnel from within the Navy, but by a high-ranking official from the World Government.

This high-ranking official is named Saint Ryan, a name that resonates throughout the World Government. He currently serves as the First Secretary-General of the World Government, a position that represents not only power and status but also his influence and decision-making power within the World Government.

Saint-Aman's strength and abilities are top-notch. He has performed exceptionally well in his work for the World Government, earning the respect and praise of many through his outstanding leadership and decisive decision-making. His high status is such that even ordinary Celestial Dragons dare not show the slightest arrogance or pretension when they meet him.

Saint Li Yanan arrived at Marineford yesterday. The reason he didn't immediately convene a meeting of the Seven Warlords was to observe the quality of these Warlords, but the result left him slightly disappointed.

Chapter 93 Seven Warlords of the Sea? More than half of them are my men.

Although the Seven Warlords of the Sea have some fame on the seas, their strength is somewhat disappointing. The weakest, like Gecko Moria, barely reaches the level of a Vice Admiral thanks to his Devil Fruit ability. The strongest, like Mihawk and Bartholomew Kuma, are among the strongest Admirals.

But it doesn't matter, since the purpose of gathering them this time is to strengthen their ties with the government; strength is secondary.

Shaking his head to clear his mind of the jumbled thoughts, Sheng Liyan got up and walked towards the conference room.

At this moment, in the conference room arranged by the Navy, the seven Shichibukai from different places had all arrived.

The seven people did not know each other before, but had only heard of each other's names, so they did not intend to talk to each other for a while. They just looked each other up and down, wanting to see if the others who were also Shichibukai were qualified to be ranked alongside them.

As a representative of the cool and aloof type, Hawkeye stood by the window, looking out at the scenery with a pretentious air, carrying his black sword, Night.

Although Xiong was a gentle person, he was introverted, so he just sat quietly on the table.

Empress Hancock merely nodded to Jinbe upon entering and then ignored the others, her beautiful face filled with impatience.

Jinbe greeted everyone politely, but seeing that no one seemed inclined to talk, he didn't say anything more.

Gecko Moria and Crocodile started talking. They were from the same era; one had fought Kaido, and the other had fought Whitebeard. Both were defeated and lost confidence, so they felt a sense of sympathy for each other.

Tesoro was the most at ease among them. He first gave everyone a gift, and then tried to befriend Xiong, who had once been a slave, but to little avail.

The sound of footsteps approached, and everyone looked towards the conference room door. There, a man in his thirties named Saint Lia, dressed in a black suit, walked steadily in.

Saint Rianan walked to the conference table, his gaze sweeping over everyone present. Seeing that they only glanced at him coldly and then ignored him, he wasn't angry. He cleared his throat and said, "Fellow members of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, welcome to Marineford. Let me introduce myself first. My name is Saint Rianan, the current Secretary-General of the World Government, and also the person in charge of this Seven Warlords of the Sea meeting."

Seeing that these people still ignored him after he finished speaking, Sheng Liyan just smiled and continued, "The World Government has summoned you this time to re-establish the rights and responsibilities of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed slightly, and they looked at Saint Rian again. Empress Hancock spoke first, saying, "Didn't the World Government make it clear when they invited us? What, is the World Government going back on its word?"

"Hmph, do you expect us to risk our lives for you completely?" Golden Emperor Tesoro said coldly.

Saint-Lian waved his hand, still smiling, "Please don't worry, everyone. It's not that I'm backing down. It's just that the situation on the sea has changed, and pirates are becoming increasingly rampant. In order to better maintain world peace, it is necessary to make some adjustments to the powers and responsibilities of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."

Hawkeye, still with his back to the crowd, said coldly, "Speak plainly, don't beat around the bush."

Saint-Lian paused for a moment, then said, "The World Government hopes that the Seven Warlords of the Sea will cooperate more actively with the Navy when necessary to eliminate those extremely dangerous pirate crews. In return, the World Government will provide the Seven Warlords of the Sea with more resources and support."

Crocodile sneered: "That sounds nice, but you just want us to be your henchmen."

Jinbe frowned and said seriously, "If it is truly for the sake of maintaining peace on the sea, I will consider cooperating with reasonable missions, but we cannot allow the Seven Warlords of the Sea to become tools of the government."

Saint-Lian's brow furrowed deeply; he hadn't anticipated such a strong reaction from these people to the World Government's demands. In his original assumption, the conditions proposed by the World Government weren't unreasonable. After all, the mere fact that the World Government would grant them legal status was enough to bring them enormous benefits.

"Hmph, have you all forgotten who gave you the title of Shichibukai? If you're unwilling to cooperate, you're welcome to withdraw. However, once you withdraw, your lives won't be as easy as they are now," said Sheng Liyan with a cold expression, his tone clearly threatening.

When Saint Liyan made his threatening words, apart from Hawkeye and Bear, the other five people all looked grim. If it were before, they could have walked away without a second thought, but their legitimate rights had given them a taste of success, and they would not easily give up unless absolutely necessary. This was not for themselves, but for the people behind them.

As for Hawkeye and Bear, their expressions remained unchanged throughout, as if they couldn't hear the threat in Saint-Lianan's words.

Seeing that these unruly fellows had fallen silent, Saint-Lian sneered inwardly, but he also knew he couldn't go too far, since the World Government's goal wasn't to push these people to the opposite side.

Saint-Lia said with a calm expression, "Although the World Government has certain requirements for the duties of you Shichibukai, it will also reward you with some rare items, such as technology or some uncommon resources. You can obtain these by working for the World Government."

"It seems you planned this all along." Crocodile sneered. Although he didn't want to lose his status as a Shichibukai, he didn't care much. After all, his boss was powerful.

"Hehe, Mr. Crocodile, you must know that in this world, if you want to gain something, you have to give something in return. Besides, these demands from the World Government are just a piece of cake for you, so why not?" Saint Ryan laughed.

Crocodile nonchalantly spread out his golden hooks, leaning back in his chair with an air of "might makes right."

At this moment, Jinbe spoke up and asked, "Do we need to provide long-term assistance to the Navy on missions?"