"Inviting a Warlord of the Sea?"
Kai's eyes flashed.
So that was it.
That explained everything.
No wonder a veteran powerhouse like Vice Admiral Tsuru had to personally take action.
So…
the proposal for the Seven Warlords of the Sea had officially begun.
And now…
the Marines had to prepare to go out and invite candidates for the Warlord system.
Representing the Marines to invite a Warlord naturally required sending someone with enough strength to ensure nothing went wrong.
After all…
any pirate qualified to be invited as a Warlord was a vicious criminal with a terrifying reputation.
Every one of them was a true great pirate of the sea.
If the Marines wanted to invite them to join the Seven Warlords…
they naturally had to take it seriously.
Only by sending powerful Marines could they prevent those brutal pirates from counterattacking.
That way…
even if the invitation failed, the Marines would not suffer heavy losses.
Because of this, Fleet Admiral Kong had assigned Tsuru to handle matters related to inviting Warlords.
As for Kai?
He was an added layer of insurance.
With Kai's strength, there was no need for him to fear pirates at the Warlord level.
Whitebeard Jr., Weevil, had possessed the qualifications to become a Warlord of the Sea.
Yet even someone as strong as Whitebeard Jr. had been defeated and captured by Kai.
From that alone, one could see that with Kai's strength, even if he did not accompany Tsuru, he could still handle such a difficult mission alone.
"I just became a Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral, and now they've already assigned me such an important task."
"I'm truly flattered."
Kai chuckled.
He did not dislike this mission.
On the contrary…
he was deeply looking forward to it.
Especially…
to the moment he met a pirate at the level of a Warlord of the Sea.
"All right. I understand the mission."
"Go back and tell Fleet Admiral Kong that tomorrow, I will set sail with Vice Admiral Tsuru."
Kai waved his hand.
The Marine Colonel standing outside the door quickly took his leave.
Kai watched him depart before slowly withdrawing his gaze.
Then he turned around and closed the door.
His eyes were filled with anticipation.
Inviting a Warlord of the Sea?
That truly was something worth looking forward to.
"I just wonder…"
"which Warlord candidate are we inviting this time?"
Kai fell into thought.
The Seven Warlords proposal had only just officially passed.
In other words…
the positions were still vacant.
The most urgent task was to invite someone to become the first Warlord.
Kai was very curious.
Who would be the first pirate invited by the Marines to become a Warlord of the Sea?
"In this era…"
"The Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock, clearly hasn't truly grown yet. She hasn't become a top-tier powerhouse capable of intimidating one side of the sea."
"So she can be ruled out for now."
Kai thought silently.
At present, Hancock was likely still an ignorant young girl. She had not even become the ruler of Amazon Lily yet, so she naturally did not have the qualifications to become a Warlord of the Sea.
After ruling out Hancock, Kai continued thinking.
"Gecko Moria?"
"That's quite possible…"
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Gecko Moria had fled back to the Grand Line from the New World in disgrace a few years ago.
According to the intelligence held by the Marines…
Moria's pirate crew had encountered Kaido, captain of the Beasts Pirates, in the New World.
As a result…
his entire crew had been destroyed by Kaido alone.
Moria had fought Kaido and escaped miserably. His entire crew had been wiped out, leaving only Moria himself as the sole survivor.
After that incident, Moria fled back to the Grand Line and became terrified of the New World.
That defeat was also what shattered Moria's old ambition.
If nothing unexpected happened…
he was probably already beginning to prepare.
He would gather enough zombie soldiers, then launch a major assault on the New World with the goal of overturning the Beasts Pirates. For that purpose, he would hide in the Florian Triangle in the first half of the Grand Line.
The current Moria, despite having suffered defeat at Kaido's hands, had precisely that defeat to prove his strength.
Being able to escape from Kaido alone…
was enough to show Moria's formidable combat power.
Therefore, Moria becoming a candidate invited to join the Seven Warlords was very possible.
Aside from Moria…
Kai thought of several other candidates.
First: Crocodile, the Sand Crocodile.
He was also a top-tier figure with a famous name on the Grand Line.
A Logia-type Devil Fruit user.
Although Crocodile's bounty was not especially high, his strength was unquestionably powerful.
It would be reasonable for the Marines to invite him.
Second: Doflamingo, young master of the Donquixote Family.
A cruel and malicious great pirate.
Even in the New World…
Doflamingo already possessed a fearsome reputation.
On top of that…
his complicated background made him even more special.
It would be normal for the Marines to invite Doflamingo to become a Warlord.
At this stage, Doflamingo's strength was already terrifying.
Third: Dracule Mihawk.
He would most likely receive an invitation as well.
After all…
this world-class top swordsman had both overwhelming strength and an extraordinary reputation.
Across the sea, he was almost undefeated in the field of swordsmanship.
A swordsman of that level would naturally be invited by the Marines to join the Seven Warlords and intimidate the restless pirates of the sea.
Finally…
there was one more candidate Kai could think of.
One of his cheap father's subordinates.
A Revolutionary Army officer.
Bartholomew Kuma!
In the West Blue, people called him Tyrant Kuma.
A terrifyingly powerful great pirate.
He was once known for his cruelty and slaughter, which earned him the title Tyrant.
"At this point, I wonder if Kuma has already joined the Revolutionary Army."
Kai pondered.
Only after Kuma joined the Revolutionary Army did his personality gradually become gentle and free himself from the title of Tyrant.
No one could deny it…
Kuma's strength definitely belonged among the top ranks of the sea.
After a moment, Kai suppressed his thoughts.
For now…
he could only think of five possible candidates qualified to become Warlords of the Sea.
Aside from Hancock and Jinbe…
five future Warlords had already become top-tier powers on the sea.
They all possessed terrifying reputations.
Crocodile.
Gecko Moria.
Doflamingo.
Bartholomew Kuma.
Dracule Mihawk.
Those five were the candidates Kai believed were qualified to become Warlords.
Only Hancock was still young and had yet to grow.
As for Jinbe?
At this stage, Jinbe was already quite strong.
But as a Fish-Man, Jinbe lacked a sufficiently famous reputation.
So for now, he could be ruled out as well.
"Of the future Seven Warlords, five already possess the qualifications."
Kai's eyes carried curiosity and anticipation.
Who exactly would he and Vice Admiral Tsuru be inviting on this mission?
Which one of those five?
"Tomorrow, I'll know."
Kai stopped wasting time thinking about it.
…
Time passed in the blink of an eye.
The next morning.
Kai arrived at Marineford's harbor.
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