"The third Warlord of the Sea has been born—none other than Donquixote Doflamingo!"
"There are still four positions left in the Seven Warlords. To become a Warlord of the Sea, great pirates should work on improving their reputation and challenge the big pirates of the New World!"
"The Seven Warlords only accept powerful pirates. Once you become a Warlord, you gain an unparalleled position!"
"Wealth, power, fame—once you're a Warlord, you can have it all!"
...
After the World Government and Donquixote Doflamingo completed their deal, Doflamingo immediately returned the Sky Gold to the World Government. In return, the World Government swiftly issued a statement confirming Doflamingo's new status.
Now, whenever the World Government released news, they praised the Seven Warlords, advertising the benefits of joining, hoping to attract more great pirates to join the Seven Warlords and quickly organize the group.
"It seems the World Government and Doflamingo have made some sort of deal!"
Vice Admiral Tsuru, on her way to hunt down Doflamingo, received an order from Sengoku to "stop pursuing Doflamingo" and saw the news on the latest newspaper. She immediately understood that Doflamingo was no longer a target for pursuit. As a Marine, she could not disobey the World Government's orders.
"Ugh, I wonder how many countries will fall into disaster because of this war. Doflamingo has sold so many weapons to the Infinite Pirate Crew—this is just the North Blue! If it spreads to the other three seas and the Grand Line, it's going to get worse..."
Tsuru sighed helplessly.
She had volunteered to hunt down Doflamingo after realizing the danger his actions were causing. The Infinite Pirate Crew selling weapons had already caused great turmoil in the world, and now Doflamingo was further fueling the chaos by assisting the Infinite Pirate Crew. It was a disaster.
"I can't deal with the Infinite Pirate Crew, so I went after Doflamingo. But now he's become a Warlord of the Sea, on equal footing with me. I have no choice but to abandon the pursuit!"
"Fufufufufu, I've got the Seven Warlord position secured, but from now on, I need to conduct the arms sales in secret. I can no longer do it under my name. At the very least, I need to change my identity or use a pseudonym for the sales."
After securing his position as a Warlord, Doflamingo began to plan his future path.
His most important business was arms trading, which he could not afford to give up. But he didn't want the World Government to catch him openly; he had to use a new identity and operate in the shadows.
"The North Blue is too small. I need to expand my influence to other seas and take over a territory in the Grand Line as a development base!"
"It won't take long. Once my strength increases further, moving my base to the New World will be the best option!"
Doflamingo had originally planned to establish his base in the New World directly, but remembering the time he was easily killed by Esdeath's blade, he immediately cooled down from his excitement about becoming a Warlord.
The New World was a place where the strong preyed on the weak, and many great pirates had their territories there. With his current strength, entering the New World would mean certain defeat, even without facing those big pirates. He couldn't even defeat their subordinates.
With all his wealth, entering the New World was akin to walking into a slaughterhouse. He'd be killed by those pirates in no time!
Following Li Yuan's instructions, Artel McClaren, who had consumed the Mythical Zoan, Yamata-no-Orochi form, arrived at the Grand Line's first half and began developing his own pirate crew.
With the secret aid of the Infinite Pirate Crew, Artel McClaren's Serpent Pirate Crew grew at an astonishing rate, quickly swelling to over a thousand members.
In addition to Artel McClaren, there were three other powerful officers, all geniuses secretly trained by the Infinite Pirate Crew, just like Artel.
"The fastest way to become a Warlord of the Sea? If that's the case, then let's make some noise!"
After the Seven Warlords system was introduced, the Infinite Pirate Crew, learning from Crocodile and Gecko Moria's experiences, devised a strategy for Artel McClaren to join the Seven Warlords quickly.
The plan was to raise his bounty as much as possible in the Grand Line and then enter the New World to challenge a great pirate. After defeating them and escaping, he would return to the Grand Line.
The World Government had two main criteria for selecting Warlords of the Sea: strength and fame, and a personal grudge with one of the New World's big pirate crews.
As long as a pirate met these two standards, they would usually be considered for the Seven Warlords list.
"Hahahahaha, boys, we've expanded enough! Let's go steal some treasure!"
After receiving intel from the Infinite Pirate Crew, Artel McClaren immediately gathered his subordinates to begin raiding other pirate crews for treasure, and if they encountered the Marines, they'd kill them too.
The quickest way to raise his bounty would be to massacre civilians, but Artel McClaren chose instead to raid pirate crews and clash with the Marines.
"Oh, boss, let's go! We want treasure!!"
His subordinates were ecstatic, unable to resist the temptation of treasure. After all, treasure was the ultimate goal for many pirates setting sail!
"Hahahahaha, let's go! I've heard there's a crew called the Pirate Ghost Crew nearby. Their captain has a bounty of 80 million, and we're going to take his head and steal all his treasure!"
Artel McClaren proudly led over a thousand of his subordinates on their way to raid other pirates.
For the next few months, Artel McClaren and his Serpent Pirate Crew moved toward the Sabaody Archipelago, raiding every pirate crew they encountered.
They didn't spare the Marines either. Wherever Artel McClaren went, all the pirates and Marines in his path were killed, and Marine divisions were destroyed without hesitation.
It was a campaign of brutality, savagery, ambition, and greed.
Despite his violence, Artel McClaren was clever enough to share some of the treasure with his crew, ensuring their loyalty while his pirate crew continued to grow.
"Commander Sengoku, aren't we going to capture Artel McClaren? His potential is huge, and if we give him time, he could become another great pirate."
Vice Admiral Tsuru, looking at the intel on Artel McClaren, inquired.
In just over a month, Artel McClaren's bounty had skyrocketed to 110 million Berries.
"No need. Based on his trajectory, he's heading toward the Sabaody Archipelago. It's clear he's going into the New World."
"We just need to watch him enter the New World, let him clash with those big pirates there. There's no need to waste resources on him."
Sengoku replied.
What he didn't say was that the Marine Headquarters no longer had the resources to deal with Artel McClaren. With the Four Monster Generals dealing with pirates in the Four Seas, and with Garp on leave, only Sengoku, the Fleet Admiral, had the power to stop Artel McClaren. Even if Tsuru went after him personally, it wouldn't be guaranteed.
But as Fleet Admiral, how could Sengoku leave the headquarters just to deal with Artel McClaren?
For now, the best option was to force Artel McClaren into the New World.
As Sengoku predicted, Artel McClaren, leading his pirate crew, entered the New World. Shortly after entering, they raided three merchant ships of the Infinite Pirate Crew.
Upon learning of this, the Infinite Pirate Crew immediately sent their newly promoted officer, Kuma from the Mink Tribe, to capture Artel McClaren.
However, Artel McClaren displayed formidable strength, and although he couldn't defeat Kuma, Kuma was unable to capture him.
Later, the core officer, Green Pepper, was dispatched, and Artel McClaren was eventually defeated and captured. His crew suffered over 500 casualties at the hands of Green Pepper.
Despite being defeated, Artel McClaren managed to escape Green Pepper's pursuit with the help of his remaining crew. He was eventually forced out of the New World and back to the first half of the Grand Line.
Soon after, Artel McClaren received the invitation to join the Seven Warlords of the Sea from the World Government and became the fourth Warlord!
"Seven Warlords, I've finally made it. I didn't let the captain down!"
Artel McClaren immediately informed Li Yuan after becoming a Warlord.
"Artel McClaren, well done. Now, your next task is to occupy a place called Veluth in the Grand Line as your base. It's an ungoverned area, a mix of pirates, bounty hunters, fallen Marines, and underground forces."
"Once you've secured it, recruit more people to restore your pirate crew's power."
"Then, eliminate a man named Kiberson. He's the Warehouse King of the Underworld, with great influence and control over many storage warehouses around the world. He's helped many factions store goods."
"I want you to replace him in the Underworld within two years, of course, with help from the Infinite Pirate Crew."
Li Yuan quickly assigned Artel McClaren his new mission.
Li Yuan had already been planning for the Underworld, and spies from the Sand Pirates had infiltrated Kiberson's ranks. They could learn of his movements at any time.
Taking down Kiberson would be easy for the Infinite Pirate Crew, but replacing him in the Underworld and taking control of the warehouses and goods was a challenge.
However, Li Yuan felt Artel McClaren was the right person for this task.
"Don't worry, Captain. I'll make sure it's done!"
Artel McClaren was excited by Li Yuan's new mission.
The title of Warehouse King of the Underworld sounded incredible, and the thought of controlling so many warehouses and goods made him feel that once he succeeded, he would never run out of Berries!
"Do well. I look forward to the day you become the Warehouse King of the Underworld!"
Li Yuan nodded in satisfaction, confident in Artel McClaren's abilities.
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