Mihawk couldn't figure it out either. He just saw a pirate ship on the way here and then carried out his duty as Shichibukai and cut the ship down. When his family's freeloader went over to clean up the spoils, he found this thing.
And the flag of the Pirates is also different from the flag at the bottom.
"Such a high-quality product, even if it is small, it should be circulated in front of people like me, unless it is new."
Kuro held the cigar between his two fingers and said, "But the new product has been circulating for a while. What I'm afraid of is that it's a test subject. They might as well not sell it… This symbol is still a pirate, there's no room for negotiation."
If he had the strength, wouldn't it be better for him to directly destroy the other party's base?
Then the industry would be his.
Don't feel too good.
East Blue, on an island.
"Boss, Boss!"
In a wealthy manor, a middle-aged man with curly hair ran in breathlessly and called out to a brown-haired young man sitting at the head of the long table in the room.
The young man's hair is messy but does not lose its texture. Most of it is combed back, but there are a few strands on both sides of his forehead. On the long table, there is a big map with many places on the map with daggers.
The young man slowly said, "Don't panic, have a drink first."
A subordinate next to him handed him a bottle of rum. The curly-haired middle-aged man picked up the bottle and took two gulps. He took a breath and said, "Our merchant ship was robbed on the Grand Line."
"Grand Line…"
The young man frowned. "You mean the group of merchant ships that went to explore last year? Is there only news now? I thought they were all wiped out."
"Yes, there is news that the subordinate who set up that batch of merchant ship has sold a lot of goods, but it has been robbed recently. He only called here after he recovered from his injuries and we learned of this news." The curly-haired middle-aged man said.
"Forget it…"
The young man shook his head. "It's an experiment in the first place. Our primary base is the East China Sea. Our business in the East China Sea is what we want to do. The Grand Line is too small after all. Although it has a lot of influence, if it fails, so be it."
At the side, a very elegant-looking man nodded and said, "That's right, ever since that Marine went out of the East China Sea, our forces have made full progress in the past two years and we will finally not be restrained."
"But it's still under other people's eyes, I still have to be careful."
The young man said lightly: "But pirates are different from pirates. We just want to do business. As long as we don't make too much trouble, that Marine will not put his eyes back on his hometown. Let's leave it at that. We don't have to worry about Grand Line for the time being. Let's focus on East Blue first."
"Okay, Boss." The curly-haired middle-aged man nodded.
The young man stood up and picked up a dagger on the map and said, "Now the connection of the industrial line is missing a necessary route. When he was here, I didn't dare to go over. Now that he's not here, I can go here to take a look. After all… this is my hometown."
Pfft!
He inserted the dagger into one of the positions on the large map, and the dagger blade sank halfway in.
There was a small line of words on that position, and it said—Gerze Kingdom.
… .
Half a month later, Shichibukai arrived one after another.
In this half month, the second to arrive is Bucky, with Mr. 3 and Alita, yes, Alita …
The famous fat woman of East Blue, Kuro had heard her name when he was in East Blue.
Unexpectedly, after eating the fruit, she became such a beauty.
The third to arrive was Crocodile, and the last was Boa Hancock.
At this moment, they gathered in the conference hall.
Bucky's mouth was wide open and his special makeup and red nose were extremely funny. His hands were separated and he was holding a knife and fork to solve the food in front of him.
Crocodile leaned back in his chair arrogantly, biting his cigar and looking up.
Hancock sat further away from them, her face full of arrogance.
As for Mihawk, he was beside Kuro, his legs crossed on the table, the brim of his hat drooping down over his eyes.
Pirates have no manners.
"Knock, knock…"
Kuro tapped the table with his finger and said lightly, "Okay, everyone is here. Let's start the meeting."
"Humph…"
Crocodile laughed. "It's been a long time since I had such a meeting. It's really grand."
Even before he was removed from the list, this kind of meeting could not be filled with people. Back then, the only one who could stay in the meeting was Bear.
"All here?"
Bucky looked around and said, "Hey, let's forget about Crocodile, there are two missing. Aren't they coming?"
"I said I'm here."
Kuro said and snapped his fingers. Crowe stepped forward and placed a few documents in front of Shichibukai.
"Everyone, starting from me coordinating Shichibukai, this is the first meeting. As the new chief, I should have a new atmosphere, so I will give you a new contract."
Kuro looked at them and said, "Sign it and you will be the new Shichibukai."
Mihawk pointed to the brim of his hat, glanced down, and smiled. "Interesting…"
Bucky's eyes bulged and the noodles in his mouth fell out subconsciously. "Hey, this contract…"
Crocodile glanced at it and raised his eyebrows. "Hey, Kuro, this contract is wrong, right?"
Kuro slowly said, "What's wrong with that? Now you are the 'New Shichibukai', so of course you should follow the new one."
"You can't rob the ships of the allied countries. I don't care if you rob them in private or in public, you can't, and don't play tricks on me in this regard. Similarly, if you have a pirate group under your flag, the same principle applies. You are not allowed to rob the allies. Watch your pirate group."
"Then what do you want me to do!" A trace of haze appeared in Hancock's eyes.
Amazon Lily's geographical environment in the Calm Belt has caused them to have no economic source except for robbing. If they only rely on the output of their own island, they probably won't even be able to feed themselves.
If Shichibukai only had this bit of power, she could completely refuse.
"Let's see it first."
Kuro sighed. "Forget it, I'll do it myself. Although I can't rob you, you can't do it for nothing. It's unrealistic. So I allow you to impose tariffs, but only on merchant ships. As for what a merchant ship is, you are the heroes of the sea and have your own boundaries. You don't have to pay this little amount."
"The tariff is 20%. In addition to Marine's ship, well, there is also the ship of Laozi's industry, the others are allowed to be collected by you. The four of you, you choose one of the seven routes of the Grand Line. It is no longer a few Shichibukai squeezed on one route, but you must be in the New World, and the time in the first half of the Grand Line cannot exceed half of the time in the New World."
"Hey, hey, hey, that's not right!" Bucky shouted and pointed at the contract. "Your share of the contract is wrong, right? 20% of the annual income is given to the World Government, 15% is given to Marines, and 15% is given to G-3? Why do you still want one?!"
In the past, Shichibukai's regulations were very loose. Apart from Shichibukai's responsibilities, they were basically free to do anything. Even if it was a privateering country, nothing would happen if they were not discovered. If they were discovered, they would just pay a sum of money. Unlike now, where half of the profits are gone.
Kuro exhaled a mouthful of smoke and said lightly, "This is my style of doing things. You are no longer wanted and you are not troubled by Marines. What's wrong with paying some money?"
"My territory is in the Calm Belt," Hancock said.
Kuro nodded. "Special circumstances are also taken into account. Hancock, in view of the special circumstances in the Calm Belt, you can trade with Dressrosa and other industries. We will buy the food and specialties produced by you at a premium of 5% to ensure that you have enough goods to maintain your living needs."
"Let me tell you, you can't bring anything by robbing. It's not like I haven't been to your Nine Snake Island before. All of you eat raw meat and drink blood, and some of you wear animal skins. What's the use of robbing so much money? If you can't exchange it in time, it's like waste paper."
"My country does not need other forces to approach!" Hancock frowned.
"Times are changing, Hancock, but I respect your ideas. You can build your own merchant ship to trade. And…"
Kuro looked at them. "The rules of Shichibukai have to change. I don't care if you have failed before, but don't be defeated by a newcomer. Once you are defeated by a newcomer, as long as the newcomer is willing, he will automatically inherit your Shichibukai's full strength. Of course, in the New World, I won't ask how many times you have failed."
"Correspondingly, for the seven routes in the first half of the Grand Line, I allow you to choose an island as your station in the route under your jurisdiction. There is no problem even if it is a commercial route. I guarantee that you will be full without fighting for it."
Kuro continued, "I am now your commanding officer. The rules are set by me. Within the scope of the World Government, I have given you security, wealth, power and reputation, but you must fulfill your obligations."
"I don't care if you want to be a Pirate King or a King or a Yonkō (Four Emperors). Your ambition is not within the scope of the World Government, not under my eyes. You here more or less know a little about me and know who I am. If you play tricks under my eyes, you will bear the consequences."
"Of course, I allow you to release your ambitions in the New World. In the New World, outside the World Government's sphere of influence, you can do whatever you want and I won't ask. I won't charge you a single cent for everything you do in the New World, and you don't have to hand it over to the World Government."
A creature like Shichibukai was born in the chaotic era of pirates. The combat power of these people is a problem, but they have to be taken in for their own use, and they can't be as stupid as the higher-ups in the past, giving so much power, but in the end, they can't help at all.
In the second half of New World, the place where Yonkō (Four Emperors) gathers is also a crime zone where a large number of pirates gather. Almost every island has the power of pirates. Whether it is Yonkō (Four Emperors) or those silver medalists who covet the position of Yonkō (Four Emperors), they all have a foundation there.
Kuro's strategy is very simple. You can collect tariffs and your wealth and power reputation can be freely developed within his approval.
After all, even if they had to pay half of the price, it would be enough to fill their pockets.
But if he wants to develop his forces, he can only go to the New World.
Kuro came up with so many treaties to force them to develop into the New World, or rather, let these Shichibukai declare war on the New World.
It's fine if he doesn't go, as long as he doesn't fail on the Grand Line. That way, he can maintain stability. But once he relaxes, such as being defeated by a newcomer who suddenly appeared, Kuro can't accept it. Then… this position will be given up.
Kuro leaned forward and said to everyone, "Everyone, I have given you enough face. I also hope that you will give me some face. Don't do any more stupid things and don't be defeated by newcomers. That will only make me lose face!"