Hancock fully implemented Alistair's earlier suggestion: "Give them a taste of your power first."
Without hesitation, she turned most of the Marines into stone, then proudly raised her head and pointed at them, asking, "I didn't expect there to be a few people with backbone in the Marines."
"So, you Marines have invaded the territorial waters of our Amazon Lily. Are you trying to start a war with us, Amazon Lily?"
Her words were domineering, she was not polite at all. She immediately turned ninety percent of the soldiers into stone. Clearly, if Sengoku didn't give her a satisfactory answer, Sengoku, Gion, and Hina would have to face all the Kuja Pirates alone.
A miscalculation. Sengoku's expression remained unchanged, but her heart was filled with regret. She hadn't known enough about the Empress. Sure enough, she had immediately aroused the other side's hostility. She hadn't expected that their strength would also work on women. Though she had brought many female Marines, they still couldn't escape the fate of being turned to stone.
This made the difference between men and women insignificant. She hadn't expected that the former slave would have such strength now. Coupled with her ability to traverse the Calm Belt, her existence would undoubtedly pose a huge threat to Impel Down.
If she couldn't recruit her here, then they would have to do everything they could to eliminate the Kuja Pirates.
But thinking about the newly-developed Seastone warship manufacturing process and the Marines' limited manpower, Sengoku had to swallow her anger. She reached out to stop Gion and Hina, who were about to charge forward, a calm smile on her face, and said, "Why would we do that? We're here today to tell you good news."
She held a newspaper roll in her hand and casually threw it over. The Empress didn't even lift her hand or move her chest. Sandersonia reached out and caught the newspaper.
With her nearly 16-foot tall body, holding the newspaper was like holding a piece of cloth. On the cover, she saw an unusual piece of news.
"World Government Decides to Issue Seven Legal Plunder Permits"
"The Warlord System is Established!"
"Warlord List Confirmed for Four Individuals!"
"400 Million Berry Pirate, Donquixote, Accepts Warlord Position!"
"Sun Pirates Captain, 'Fishman' Jinbe, Accepts Warlord Position!"
"Gecko Moria Accepts Warlord Position!"
"Suna Suna no Mi, 'Crocodile' Crocodile, Accepts Warlord Position!"
It could be said that the World Government was sincere this time. They had already finalized the entry of four people before securing Hancock, making the matter more real.
The World Government's credibility wasn't as outrageous as it would be in the future. They even dared to spread false news like Donquixote being stripped of his Warlord title. The current World Economic Journal represented absolute authority, and the news it published was considered fact.
After securing these four people who were eager to become Warlords, they came to find the other three: "Empress" Boa Hancock, "Hawkeye" Mihawk, and "Tyrant" Bartholomew Kuma.
These three were obviously more difficult to deal with than the previous four, but their role was undeniable.
Mihawk, the World's Strongest Swordsman, could be a friend but never an enemy. If he wasn't a lone wolf, he could easily raise a force that was no less powerful than the Yonko.
As for "Tyrant" Bartholomew Kuma, he had a clean record. If it had been during the "World Conscription," he would have been able to jump directly to the position of one of the Three Admirals, like Fujitora and Ryokugyu. But there were no vacancies for Admiral positions now, so he was assigned to the Warlord position. If the World Government knew that Kuma was a member of the Revolutionary Army, they would never have let him come into contact with Vegapunk.
As for the importance of Kuja Island's geographical location, it didn't need to be repeated. In short, these three were even more reassuring to the World Government than the previous four.
Of course, this was all contingent on the Empress accepting the World Government's appointment.
"So, what's in it for us?" The Empress had already understood after reading what her sister had shown her.
Alistair's origins were no longer in doubt. All his predictions had come true. The next step was to follow his advice, join the Warlords, and then demand benefits from the World Government.
"Warlords have certain privileges. They have the right to plunder legally. As long as you don't touch the Celestial Dragons' Heavenly Tribute, those countries that haven't joined the World Government, needless to say, even merchant ships that have joined the World Government, you can plunder them freely, and we won't hold it against you." Heaven knows how humiliated Sengoku felt saying these words. If it hadn't been for the Mero Mero no Mi ability, she wouldn't have come here to negotiate with her. As a strategist, though she knew the reality of the situation and had to bow to it, saying these words as a Marine still made her feel incredibly ashamed. But she had to do it.
Gion and Hina both had a look of anger on their faces, but the two Captains had no right to criticize the World Government's policies at this stage.
In fact, even after becoming Admirals, there were still very few policies that they could really interfere with. Fujitora wanted to abolish the Warlord system. If it hadn't been for Doflamingo's defeat, the revelation of various secrets, Fujitora's new position as an Admiral, and the fact that he couldn't immediately slap him in the face and fire him, Akainu being too tough... all these factors combined, the Warlord system wasn't so easily abolished.
Marine Admirals were powerful, but they couldn't interfere in politics!
"So that's it. Then this concubine demands that your Marines cannot appear within five kilometers of Kuja Island." The Empress, who had already decided to join the Warlords, made a bold demand. Originally, it was supposed to be three kilometers.
But Sengoku readily agreed. In the Calm Belt, three kilometers or five kilometers didn't matter. The real key was the Seastone warship.
She just wanted to bring these Marines back alive, not haggle with the Empress.
"If we rescue slaves of the Celestial Dragons, you won't pursue them either."
Sengoku calculated for a few seconds and decided that appeasing the Celestial Dragons was much easier and more cost-effective than appeasing Kuja Island with countless lives. So she agreed.
"Finally, this concubine can refuse to be dispatched or commanded by the World Government."
This was actually like taking off your pants to fart. In the future, the World Government would dispatch and command the Warlords without hesitation. But Sengoku could easily agree now. In the future, when the Marines were more powerful, with Sengoku, Garp, and three Logia Devil Fruit users as Admirals, and a large number of promising Vice Admirals, how could they compare to their current strength?
As for when they would tear up the agreement when they were stronger in the future, wouldn't that depend on the Marines' mood?
Ultimately, after the Marines brought in the Seastone warship, the Empress, no matter how aggressive she was, was still at a disadvantage. Just as she had always used a tough attitude to cover up her weakness, she was still very proficient in using this set of tricks.
So... congratulations to the Marines for recruiting another great pirate!
Of course, all of Alistair's goals had also been achieved.
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