Who told him to become the Pirate King!

Chapter 69: An Invitation to Serve as a Warlord of the Sea! (Seeking First Subscription!)

It's through a Den Den Mushi (a type of electric scooter).

Storm was naturally unaware of Aokiji's complex inner thoughts.

He only cares about the amount of his initial bounty.

Since joining the Sharp Blade unit.

After working so hard for so long, Storm has finally taken his first step towards becoming a pirate—

Bounty!

Since they've already been put on a bounty by the World Government and the Navy Headquarters.

So becoming a great pirate, delving into the New World, and infiltrating the ranks of the Four Emperors... is it still far off?

Storm dreamed for a moment, then returned to reality.

Hard work pays off, and the bounty is rewarded; Bai Long is very happy.

However, Hakuryu did not like the bounty amount set by the Navy Headquarters.

"Isn't this reward a bit low?"

"I'm not entirely satisfied," Storm said.

"The initial bounty wasn't even 100 million Berries."

"If I meet other pirates in the future, they will mistakenly think that I am incapable of doing anything great!"

"Could you add another 100 million Berries to my bounty?"

"One letter, plus one hundred million."

Vongola Storm.

One letter plus one hundred million.

Twelve letters plus twelve billion.

That is 1.295 billion peles.

This bounty amount is very much in line with Storm's current normal strength level.

However, Aokiji did not agree.

"The bounty for each pirate is determined by the headquarters' staff based on their past actions and the degree of threat they pose to the government!"

Aokiji reminded him meticulously.

"9500 million peles, that's a very high number!"

"At least as far as I know, neither Crocodile nor Empress Kuja accepted the invitation to become Shichibukai, and neither of them had a bounty this high."

Crocodile, after so many years at sea, only has a bounty of 8100 million Berries.

Boa Hancock, on her very first mission, earned a bounty of 8900 million Berries.

The current bounty amounts for these two individuals are also this figure.

Because once you're invited to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, a pirate's bounty will automatically stop increasing...

The amount of the bounty does not represent the true strength of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

"But a bounty of 9500 million Berries is still a bit low..."

No matter how reasonable Aokiji's words were, Storm was still not satisfied with the bounty amount.

"It should be at least over 100 million Berries, right?"

"One hundred million Berries is a supernova, ninety million Berries is nothing."

"Oh dear, isn't your focus a bit too strange...?"

Aokiji was somewhat annoyed by Storm's persistent attitude.

"If you want a higher bounty, you can rob, kill, or storm government buildings—"

"Why should I, a Marine Admiral, discuss such anti-government issues with you?!"

Halfway through the conversation, Aokiji suddenly realized what was going on and abruptly ended the pointless topic.

"You chose it yourself, sir."

Storm looked at the Den Den Mushi with a grin, and the Den Den Mushi mimicked his expression and mannerisms.

"Regarding the bounty, please mention it to Granny He a few more times for me. She's the chief strategist of the General Staff."

"There's one more thing, about giving you credit for what I just mentioned..."

"Vongola Storm".

Aokiji paused for a moment, then said in a calm tone.

"If you still want to say 'child of the devil'—"

"I'm very curious, Admiral Aokiji."

Storm interrupted Aokiji.

"I didn't bring up Robin at all, did I?"

"It's always been you who unilaterally and constantly brings up that 'Devil's Child'."

Why are you so concerned about Nico Robin?

"Was it because of your 'burning justice' that this innocent girl's fate was scorched?"

Faced with Storm's questioning.

Aokiji was speechless.

In the end, all he could do was say angrily.

"Subordinates are not allowed to talk back to their superiors!"

"Tch~"

Storm picked at his ear; he felt like he'd heard those words somewhere before…

"So, do you want credit or not?"

Storm was getting impatient with being misunderstood by the blue chicken one after another.

"If you don't want credit, I'll just hand those scum over to the World Government!"

"Those scum?"

Aokiji finally realized that Storm wasn't playing a "devil girl joke" on him, but he was still a little confused.

"What have you done now?"

Upon hearing this, Aokiji was slightly taken aback.

He's almost forgotten how many times he's said similar things...

Storm responded.

"I've arrived at Banaro Island."

"Banaro Island? One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, the territory of the Lizard King?"

Aokiji instantly cleared his mind and asked repeatedly.

"Weren't you in Alabasta? How did you end up on Banaro Island? And you even went to see the Lizard King?"

"You're asking too many questions, sir."

Storm gave a simple answer.

"In short, I took care of Hanafda and also captured all the pirates on Banaro Island."

"I haven't calculated the exact number, but there are at least several hundred people."

"With so many pirates, I'm planning to filter them first. Do you want the rest?"

The so-called "screening".

Based on the past crimes of the pirates on Banaro Island, they should be killed if they deserve to be!

As for the rest, those who, in Storm's eyes, weren't worthy of immediate execution...

Let them go to the city and enjoy their lives.

Although these people have lost their freedom.

But at least it means I can live!

Storm is so kind.

"Khanafda has been dealt with..."

Aokiji was speechless for a moment.

Why is it that the mighty Shichibukai is described by Storm as weak as a clay doll that he can knead at will?

Aokiji couldn't help but think of Crocodile.

He also saw the news reports and knew that Crocodile had been defeated by Storm.

The words of that sharp-tongued young marine, spoken in the admiral's office, still echoed in Aokiji's ears...

If the Blade Force can launch an attack on the Pirate Emperor, then what about the Seven Warlords of the Sea?

A sense of comfort welled up in Aokiji's heart.

Storm really did point the "sharp blade" at the "Seven Warlords of the Sea" first...

"The 'solution' you mentioned..."

Aokiji paused.

"Like Crocodile?"

"No, the Navy likes 'heroes,' so that Alabasta 'hero' is still alive and well."

"I said indifferently."

"As for this so-called Lizard King Hanafda, I sent him to hell."

"Oh dear, the 'hell' you're talking about, you don't mean 'Imperial City,' do you?"

Aokiji gave a dry laugh, but unfortunately received no response.

"Well, it seems one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea has died..."

"I will find someone to take over Hanafda's pirate subordinates as soon as possible."

"No problem, here's one last free message."

Storm offered a friendly reminder.

"Hanafuda is also an undercover agent; he is one of Kaido's men."

"Over the years, all the Devil Fruits Hanafda has collected have been given to the Beasts Pirates."

pat!

After dropping this intelligence bomb, Storm immediately hung up the Den Den Mushi.

"Sizzle—sizzle—"

Aokiji listened to the dial tone from the Den Den Mushi and looked blank for a moment.

Is Hanafda, the Lizard King, also an undercover agent?

Is he even an undercover agent for Kaido, one of the Four Emperors of the Beasts?

"Ara la la..."

Aokiji sighed deeply, rubbing his forehead.

"The Seven Warlords of the Sea system, is it really that complicated?"

……

Banaro Island.

Storm returned to the earth from the sky.

Robin and her team of clay giants have already taken stock of the Lizard King's entire fortune.

She also used her Flower-Flower Fruit ability to gather information on the other pirates on the island.

Robin divided the living people on the island into three different teams.

"Boss, this is the complete roster of the Lizard King's subordinates. Every single one of them is a pirate who has committed numerous atrocities."

Robin handed a stack of bounty posters to Storm, then pointed to two other groups of people.

"This group of pirates has never been known to have done anything that would incur divine wrath or public resentment."

"The last dozen or so people, without any bounty, were probably spies from other forces, or slaves who accidentally ended up on Banaro Island."

Storm took the thick stack of bounty posters and carefully read through them.

The bounties on the wanted posters for the pirates range from ten million to ninety million, with none exceeding one hundred million.

Even so, the crimes committed by each pirate are too numerous to count.

Storm shifted his attention from the bounty posters to the group of scum pirates tightly bound by clay.

Are there any Devil Fruit users among these people?

While Storm was engaged in battle with the Lizard King, he had no time to pay attention to the onlookers nearby.

The rest of the people on Banaro Island were all overturned by a single wave of "Giant Wave Clay".

Storm wasn't sure if any of the people in the group were Devil Fruit users.

But no matter what, these people are still subordinates of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

Even if it can't compare to "teams of ability users" like Baroque Works or the Don Quixote Family.

But he should at least be better than that Maverick Hawkeye Mihawk, right?

Storm's question received an affirmative answer from Robin.

"There are three, the three top officers of the Lizard King, all of whom are Zoan-type Lizard Fruit users."

Robin pulled out three bounty posters and put them together.

"Their abilities are the [Blunt-tailed Poison Lizard Fruit], the [Komodo Dragon Fruit], and the [Sea Iguana Fruit], respectively."

Poison lizard, monitor lizard, marine iguana...

What kind of weird and deformed lizards are these!

Storm frowned as he listened.

"These three ability users will stay behind alone, as for the others..."

Storm looked at the group of trash, manipulated the clay, and created a giant wave that completely submerged them.

One after another, blood-stained silver trophies leaped out of the void, densely packed and countless.

Storm felt cheerful after cleaning up a lot of marine debris.

Those three ugly-looking users of the [Lizard Fruit] ability suddenly became handsome...

We'll take their Devil Fruits in a bit!

Storm ignored the group of pirates who "hadn't done anything seriously wrong"—their fate would only be to be sent to Impel Down.

He walked up to the last dozen or so people who had been temporarily deemed "innocent."

"Waaah—"

Just as Storm approached.

A man in a black suit in the crowd immediately let out a sob.

Storm raised an eyebrow and released the other party's control.

"White Dragon!"

The man in the black suit immediately recognized Storm's identity, speaking rapidly.

"I'm a government agent! You can't hurt me!"

"What's so great about a world government?"

Storm waved his hand, intending to crush the black-suited agent to death.

World Government Agent.

To be precise.

CP (CIPHER POL), a secret intelligence agency directly under the World Government.

If pirates are evil in the open...

Then CP is a sin in the darkness.

Most of the dirty and tiring work of the world government is handled by the CP department.

For CP agents, capturing and killing ten out of ten might be a bit excessive.

But if you catch ten and kill nine, there will definitely be some who slip through the net!

"Supreme authority! The Five Elders!"

The agent in the black suit shouted again.

"I have orders from the Five Elders! The Five Elders specifically request to speak with you, White Dragon!"

The Five Elders?

Storm stopped what he was doing and frowned at the man in the black suit.

"Can you contact the Five Elders?"

Give me some time!

The man in the black suit quickly replied.

"The Five Elders really did issue an order!"

Storm released the other party's restraints and watched as the man in the black suit took out a Den Den Mushi.

Then it went through several more Den Den Mushi (transfer stations) transfers.

The Den Den Mushi in the black suit emitted a voice that seemed familiar to Storm.

That was the bald Five Elders who had previously contacted the Sand Crocodile—

Nasujiro Sei!

"White Dragon? Vongola Storm? You're on Banaro Island now?"

"That's right."

Storm responded readily.

"I'm truly flattered that the Five Elders would know the name of an unknown nobody like me!"

Nassshuro felt vaguely that he had heard Storm's tone somewhere before...

But he couldn't recall it for the time being, so he simply stopped paying attention to it.

Nasujiro asked directly.

"What about Hanafda?"

"You mean that terrifying 'Tyrannosaurus Rex Man'?"

"I'm quite disappointed," Storm said.

"His strength is just too great~ I couldn't stop myself."

"Hanafda is dead? You're really 'diligent'!"

Nassuro was somewhat surprised by Strom's speed of action, and then he extended an invitation directly.

"Haku, do you want to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?"

The Five Elders had been planning to invite Storm to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

Who are the current Seven Warlords of the Sea?

Hawkeye is farming;

Boa Hancock rarely builds Calm Belt unless absolutely necessary;

The Knights of the Sea got entangled with the Whitebeard Pirates;

The Heavenly Demon was always busy doing business and making big money;

Gecko Moria, who only liked to hide in the Devil's Triangle... let's not even mention him!

The only two Shichibukai who are actively fighting pirates are Crocodile and Lizard King.

However, the sand crocodile and the lizard king have different styles of doing things.

The former is genuinely serious about fighting pirates;

The latter, however, used the pretext of fighting pirates to recruit his favorite subordinates.

In the eyes of the Five Elders.

Apart from sand crocodiles, which are more in line with the requirements.

None of the other Shichibukai are easy to deal with!

It's time to replenish the Seven Warlords of the Sea with fresh blood!

Bai Long comes from a respectable family, has a firm stance, and utterly despises pirates.

He is absolutely the perfect candidate to be one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea!

(End of this chapter)