Seven Warlords of the Sea

The Shichibukai (七武海, Seven Military Seas), the full title being Ouka Shichibukai (王下七武海, Royal Seven Military Seas), are seven (reduced to four after the Battle of Marineford) powerful and well-known pirate captains who have allied themselves with the World Government.

Who are the Shichibukai?
The Shichibukai is an organization of seven former pirates turned privateers in the service of the World Government. Although they work for the World Government, the Shichibukai do not care about or respect the Government (excluding Bartholomew Kuma, who was transformed into their puppet) or even other Shichibukai, and are often considered by the Marines to be no different from any other pirate.

The Shichibukai seem to be a mixture of the more chaotic Yonkou and the more orderly Marines. There is an enormous range in the bounties between the members due to differences in circumstances under which they were recruited, with Donquixote Doflamingo, who has the highest known former bounty of the Shichibukai (or any other known person so far) at 340,000,000, Hancock with a comparatively low bounty of 80,000,000 (however this was her starter bounty, so far the highest known) and Blackbeard, with no former bounty at all.

The majority of the Shichibukai are composed of New World veterans. Those who have met the Yonkou or even confronted them.

The terms that the Shichibukai are on with each other is best described as very unstable. They practically have very little (if any) respect for each other and will for the most part not accept help from one another, apparently from a firm sense of pride. During the battle meeting for the Shichibukai where only two members are absent (Hancock and Jinbei) it is even stated that the very notion of them working together as a team is entirely unthinkable. However Kuma and Doflamingo don't disregard the notion of teaming up with another Shichibukai: Kuma offered Moria help defeating the Straw Hats and Doflamingo offered Crocodile a chance to team up. Both offers were refused due to pride.

During Boa Hancock's visit at Impel Down's Level Six, Jinbei stated that he didn't know much about her, possibly suggesting that only some of the Shichibukai are familiar with each other or even have personally met all the other members. Despite this as of chapter 575, all of the Shichibukai (including former) fought at the war between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Marines.

Most of the Shichibukai have a jaded attitude of the world, as their vast amounts of experience have disillusioned them. Crocodile and Moria both disregard Luffy's arrogant behavior, saying that he is too inexperienced to know what the world is truly like; Mihawk behaved in a similar fashion in his duel with Zoro. Doflamingo believes that there is no true justice in the world, and that both the Marines and Pirates are foolish if they think that they are upholding it. Hancock, through her horrid experience as a slave, considers all men of the world to be scum, outside of Luffy with whom she is in love and Rayleigh who is her "benefactor".

Becoming a Shichibukai
A pirate may choose to join the Shichibukai if a space becomes open (which means that at least one Shichibukai must leave or be kicked from the group, the former being Jinbei's case and the latter being Crocodile's case). However, in order for one to become a Shichibukai once this position opens up, one must be able to show their strength against other pirates while choosing to pledge loyalty to the World Government (this ironically encourages pirates to gain infamy to become a Shichibukai) by making a pact with the Gorousei. If the pirate in question can be used as intimidation, the position may be offered to them, if no other pirate has accepted the position or proven to be more of an asset to the World Government. As expected, most members were already notorious pirates with high bounties, but even relatively unknowns can be admitted if they accomplish a feat to prove their strength. Blackbeard's victory over Ace is one example of this.

Duties of the Shichibukai
They do not offer open opposition to the rule of the World Government, but are not guaranteed to follow its orders either. They are only allowed to attack other pirates and must also pay the Government a tenth of their loot, though this rule is not usually followed at the very least. Each member of the Shichibukai must also have strong intimidation skills and a fearsome representation to put off others becoming a pirate and make them fear them. In addition, given the dialogue between Bartholomew Kuma and the Gorousei, it can be assumed that a member of the Shichibukai are not allow to be defeated and have to maintain their position, or at least are not allowed to have a widely known loss.

Some of the members do various tasks for the government, such as taking over new islands for the World Government (described as "liberating") and guarding nations, but their ultimate purpose is to keep other pirates in check. Most importantly, the Shichibukai serve to help keep the balance of The Three Great Powers.

Theoretically, the Shichibukai are allies of the government, and in war time would fight alongside the Marines. Still, many Marine officers (for example Commodore Smoker, Admiral Kizaru and Fleet Admiral Sengoku) dislike them and think of the Shichibukai as any other pirate. Several high-ranking Marines expressed surprise that even two of the Shichibukai actually bothered to show up when summoned for the meeting about Crocodile's removal, and they were very shocked when a third arrived. Tellingly, of the others besides Kuma that showed up, Doflamingo came out of sheer boredom (passing the time before the meeting by nearly forcing two marines to duel each other), and Mihawk came only to hear about the pirates being discussed in the meeting. When they are not under orders of the World Government, they have no commitment to aid the efforts of the Marines. Most of the Shichibukai appear to show general apathy towards the World Government and in some cases even hostility. During the battle with Whitebeard, Moria stated he doesn't care who wins and Boa Hancock openly attacked both Marines and pirates.

Benefits
In exchange for these services, the Shichibukai are pardoned for their former actions and any existing bounties are rescinded.

As the Shichibukai are no longer outlaws, they can make money through legitimate business, as well as bounty hunting. Some, however, are content to simply float around the sea on their ships. The government does not seem to mind, and the Shichibukai are granted a great deal of autonomy in how they operate, at least thus far. Other benefits include access to resources normally out of bounds to normal citizens and pirates, such as the use of Kairoseki equipment.

Boa Hancock, in particular, has a treaty that acts as a restraining order for all ships that come near Amazon Lily.

Crocodile, abused the privilege of being no longer monitored so closely to build himself a large and powerful covert organization, and Blackbeard took advantage of the access the rank grants him to get into facilities that would otherwise have been unreachable to a pirate.

Dismissal
Even if they break the law, the World Government and Marines may choose not to take any notice. Doflamingo used to own the Human Auctioning House before giving it to Disco. Crocodile seemed to have gone unsupervised for an extremely long period of time, as he had created a large, malevolent organization that the World Government seemed to be completely unaware of. Because of the risk involved with maintaining the three great powers, the Government tolerates the illegal activities of any Shichibukai and attempts to protect them if possible (or at least maintain their fame).

That is not to say they would not dismiss a Shichibukai for such actions. There are several Shichibukai who have been dismissed from their positions for several reasons. Crocodile's actions in Arabasta left the World Government with few options on his dismissal, although in fact Luffy dealt with him (and his bounty was raised for that).

Moria's defeat was met with horror by the World Government as they had only just replaced Crocodile's loss. Fearing what would happen if another fell, the World Government attempted to cover up his defeat by killing all of the survivors of Thriller Bark before word got out. Even though Kuma (the one sent to deal with the problem) chose to go against the command of the Gorousei, Moria was able to retain his status, later answering the call to fight Whitebeard. Unfortunately, after the war, the government has finally deemed Moria to be too weak to go on as a Shichibukai, and decided to strip him of his status and eliminate him, under the cover-up of Moria dying in the war.

Jinbei has forfeit his position as Shichibukai for his refusal to assist in the war against Whitebeard and was locked in Level 6 of Impel Down. After Monkey D. Luffy helped him escape, he assisted the young pirate in breaking free from Impel down and traveling to Marineford and sided on Whitebeard's side of the battle.

Blackbeard only wanted to be a Shichibukai so as to be able to reach Impel Down in order to free Level 6 prisoners and create a stronger crew. As soon as he achieved this goal, he is no longer interested, and resiged from his Shichibukai title.

Dismissal from the Shichibukai holds not only one's loss of title, but in cases also the breakdown of possible politics linked to the Shichibukai. As Boa Hancock was warned, while she obeyed the World Government, her peoples' treaty with the World Government would be respected. However, if she did not heed the call of the World Government, then the treaty with her home island of Amazon Lily would be made void. Smoker has hinted that Hancock and her people will suffer repercussions for helping Luffy during the war, however throughout the war events related to her were often interpreted incorrectly by the Marines and others, thus her status as a Shichibukai seems to not have been brought into question.

Relationships
The Shichibukai seem to have only limited knowledge of each other, such as Jinbei never meeting Hancock before her visit to Impel Down. However, some others, such as Doflamingo and Crocodile, converse as though they are familiar with each other. In fact, Doflamingo is knowledgeable of Kuma's participation in the Pacifista program, yet does not know of his past relationship with the Revolutionaries. During these interactions, most of them are hostile, such as Jinbei and Crocodile snarling at each other over matters with Whitebeard. At times, however, they might be benign, such as Kuma offering to help Moria in fighting against the Straw Hat Pirates, though the latter angrily refused.

Personal Affiliations
Aside being allied with the World Government, each Shichibukai have (or had) affiliations with other groups.
 * Juracule Mihawk: Friendly-rivalry with Shanks; interest in Roronoa Zoro's skills and agrees to train him, as well as keeping an eye on the Straw Hat Pirates.
 * Jinbei: Second captain of the Sunny Pirates (former); Whitebeard Pirates ally
 * Crocodile: President of Baroque Works (former); Hero of Arabasta (former); Manager of Rain Dinners (former)
 * Bartholomew Kuma: Revolutionaries member (former); Pacifista project
 * Donquixote Doflamingo: Leader of the Bellamy Pirates (former); Owner of the Human Auctioning House (former)
 * Gecko Moria: Captain of an unknown crew that was massacred by Kaidou (former); Master of Thriller Bark and Mysterious Four (former)
 * Boa Hancock: World Noble slave (former); Captain of the Kuja Pirates; Empress of Amazon Lily and the Kuja tribe; Loyal to Monkey D. Luffy and is his self-proclaimed lover.
 * Marshall D. Teach: Subordinate of Whitebeard Pirates second division (former); Captain of the Blackbeard Pirates

Frictions Against the World Government
Despite being allies of the World Government, most of the behavior exhibited by the Shichibukai have caused much conflict against their employers.
 * Jinbei: He refused to fight on behalf of the World Government against Whitebeard, he forfeited his position as a Shichibukai member and was imprisoned in Impel Down. He escaped from Impel Down and waged war against Marineford in order to prevent Ace's death, which ended in failure. Upon landing in the war, Jinbei told Sengoku that he officially quit the Shichibukai, then participated the war on behalf of Whitebeard. After Ace's and Whitebeard's deaths, he remained sided with the Whitebeard Pirates and Monkey D. Luffy.
 * Crocodile: He abused his title and privileges, was stripped of his status, arrested and then imprisoned in Impel Down. Has invaded Marineford with Monkey D. Luffy and Jinbei.
 * Bartholomew Kuma: He assisted the Straw Hat Pirates by allowing them to escape from death in two almost consecutive situations: during the aftermath of Thriller Bark and during the battle against Admiral Kizaru, Sentoumaru, and a Pacifista. Is said to have hated the World Government before conversion into a Pacifista. After the conversion's finalization, he has lost his free will, and becomes a fully obedient puppet.
 * Gecko Moria: His abduction of civilians and Marines was troublesome and his defeat against Monkey D. Luffy almost caused a global uproar if it hadn't been covered up. He also didn't care whether which side of the war won, but only thought that Whitebeard's death would be a treat. Doflamingo and the Pacifista later attacked him, claiming that the World Government decided to disown him due to his weakness.
 * Boa Hancock: She initially refused to live up to her title as Shichibukai and fight Whitebeard, and she accepted to fight Whitebeard only because this allowed Monkey D. Luffy to rescue the important prisoner Portgas D. Ace (latter action yet unknown to the World Government). Even though she agreed to fight against Whitebeard, she has made it clear that the Marines are not her allies by attacking without any distinction both pirates and Marines alike during the war. She has openly assisted Luffy by striking Commodore Smoker and even declared Luffy as her beloved. No official actions have yet to be taken against her position.
 * Marshall D. Teach: He stole a Marine ship with his crew, using it to break into Impel Down, attacking the prison guards in the process. He recruited Shiliew and several other legendary Impel Down prisoners into his crew. Upon arriving at Marineford, he forfeited his title and he tried to destroy Marineford.

Apparently, the only members who did not cause any major conflicts against the World Government are:
 * Juracule Mihawk: He did get acquainted with the Straw Hat pirates prior to the Marines becoming aware of them and appears to be a friend of the Yonkou, Shanks.
 * Donquixote Doflamingo: His former ownership of the Human Auction House may have had some impact on the justice system, but apparently not enough to lose his position. He has also said that he has very little interest in the World Government and will leave the Shichibukai if they start giving him work that doesn't interest him.

Yonkou
Many of the Shichibukai have some form of tie to the Yonkou, whether it be friendly or hostile.
 * Juracule Mihawk: Former rival of Shanks, though the two seem to be on good terms.
 * Jinbei: Loyal to the Whitebeard Pirates because of Whitebeard's protection of Fishman Island.
 * Crocodile: In the past was defeated by Whitebeard. As a result he still held a grudge against him.
 * Donquixote Doflamingo: None known.
 * Bartholomew Kuma: None known.
 * Gecko Moria: Despises Kaidou for the massacre of his crew. Would find it "hilarious" if Whitebeard died.
 * Boa Hancock: None known.
 * Marshall D. Teach: Former member of Whitebeard Pirates, earned Whitebeard's wrath due to killing his fourth division captain, Thatch. He gave Shanks the three scars on his eye. Turned in Portgas D. Ace, Whitebeard's second division captain, to the World Government. With the help of his crew, he killed a weakened Whitebeard.

Strength
The Shichibukai are a group of seven of the strongest pirates in the world and one of the Three Great Powers, the others being the Yonkou and the Marines.

In terms of power, the exact relationship between the Shichibukai, Marine Headquarters and Yonkou is unknown. However, considering that these organizations are stated to be a balance and the fact that the loss of Crocodile threatened said balance, the most reasonable conclusion is that each organization is roughly equivalent in strength. At least two of the Shichibukai (Moria and Mihawk) are said to have been rivals of Yonkou members, Kaidou and Shanks respectively. Bartholomew Kuma has also allowed himself to become part of the Pacifista project. The strength of at least one Shichibukai, Boa Hancock, has been acknowledged by Fleet Admiral Sengoku himself. This, in addition to the fact that losing a single member of the Shichibukai can throw off the balance of the world powers and cause distress to the World Government, indicates the extreme power each individual has. The strength of a Shichibukai is so great, that should they be imprisoned for any reason, they would be sentenced to Level 6 of Impel Down, the lowest and most secure level of the prison (as both Crocodile and Jinbei were sentenced).

Because of their deal with the World Government, the Shichibukai are considered "Government Dogs" by other pirates. At the same time, they are also feared by them because all of the Shichibukai are insanely strong, each capable of destroying an average pirate crew on their own with no effort as seen with Mihawk and Crocodile. They have such a fierce reputation that even other powerful and famous pirates are unnerved by them as seen with the captain of the Kid Pirates, Eustass Kid, actually seemed heavily disturbed when he witnessed the arrival of a Pacifista cyborg (mistaking it for the real Kuma) on the Sabaody Archipelago, close to where his crew were, despite the fact that his bounty was higher than Kuma's former bounty, demonstrating how their strength is even greater than that implied by their frozen bounties in the eyes of others.

Each member has some ability or power, the majority of which are Devil Fruit. These abilities can often times vary depending on the Shichibukai's theme. Some of their abilities appear to conflict with each other: for example, Blackbeard's power involves drawing people to him, while Kuma's involves rejecting people away from him; and Doflamingo's power allows him to control the motion of other people to his will, while Hancock immobilizes them by turning them into stone. In the case of Crocodile and Jinbei, this opposition also extends to the environment where their abilities reach their full zenith (i.e. being a Fishman, Jinbei's fighting abilities are at their peak in the deep and open sea, while Crocodile, having consumed the Suna Suna no Mi, favors the dry desert).

In relationship to each other, it is not entirely known how they compare in strength, however during the Whitebeard war several members and former members fight each other and none manage to defeat or significantly harm each other in any fight. However Moria was deemed too weak to continue to be a Shichibukai and Doflamingo was ordered to kill him.

Previous Actions
For many years, Mihawk fought his rival swordsman Red-Haired Shanks in great battles that shook the Grand Line. Mihawk joined the ranks of the Shichibukai at a currently unknown point in time.

Moria and his rival, Kaidou, also fought at some point and while Moria escaped with his life, his crew was no more. Moria would also join the ranks of the Shichibukai. Ten years ago, he set up an organization called Thriller Bark recruiting Dr. Hogback into his ranks. While Thriller Bark sailed around in the Florian Triangle they began to amass an army of zombies using Moria's powers. While fulfilling his duties of controlling pirates, they also took Marines and civilian ships. However the World Government, though appearing to know of his actions, allowed this to go on.

Jinbei was recruited some eight years ago, following the death of Fisher Tiger and the breaking up of the Sunny Pirates into smaller groups like the one Arlong led to the East Blue. His recruitment was an attempt to strengthen the bonds between species.

Crocodile set up his Baroque Works organization four years prior, recruiting the criminal Nico Robin into his ranks. For the next four years, Crocodile would work to make the kingdom of Arabasta view him as a hero while he secretly gained power to bring down the royal family of Arabasta and take control of a weapon known as Pluton.

Sometime after escaping slavery, Boa Hancock went on a single pirate campaign so great that, combined with the existing fearsome reputation of the Kuja Pirates, she was visited by the World Government with an offer. Hancock made a treaty with the World Government that protected her people from them in exchange for becoming a Shichibukai.

Two years ago, when Portgas D. Ace was gaining fame as the captain of the Spade Pirates, he was invited to join the Shichibukai, meaning there was an opening for him, but he refused.

Interest in the Rising Swordsman
The first Shichibukai to appear was Mihawk, having hunted down Don Krieg and his men from the Grand Line. While there he sliced up Krieg's last remaining ship and battled with Zoro of the Straw Hat Pirates over his title of "World's Greatest Swordsman". Mihawk utterly crushed Zoro, stopping every blow with a knife smaller than a pocket knife without any apparent effort. After Zoro's failed attempt, Mihawk left the young swordsman injured but alive so they can fight again some day.

The Crisis of the Open Slot
In Arabasta, Crocodile began his plan Operation Utopia. Under the alliance between Vivi and the Straw Hat Pirates, Crocodile's plan failed. Since he abused his Shichibukai privileges so much that the government could not ignore it, he was stripped of his rank and arrested by Smoker and Tashigi of the Marines.

Having now become one member short, the World Government insisted that another Shichibukai take Crocodile's place. A meeting between Shichibukai and Marines was held in which out of the remaining six Shichibukai only Doflamingo, Kuma and Mihawk actually attended. An intruder to the meeting, Laffitte, put forward the name of Marshall D. Teach as a candidate for the position. Teach was given time to acquire fame and build up a reputation.

After Bellamy of the Bellamy Pirates lost a battle miserably to the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, Luffy, Doflamingo approached his subordinates to punish him for his actions, and effectively discarding Bellamy from his allegiance.

While Luffy, Teach's intended target was being tracked down, his former Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Fire Fist Ace caught up with him. The two fought and Teach came out the victor, handing over the 2nd division commander to Marine officials, he was awarded the title of Shichibukai.

One Loss After Another
At Thriller Bark some time later, Luffy and the others arrived. Moria's army of the undead was beaten. Bartholomew Kuma was sent in to help, but Moria had refused his aid. Now with Moria beaten, Kuma asked the World Government for further instructions, his reply was to kill all witnesses so Moria could maintain his position. Kuma attempted to wipe out the crews of the Straw Hats and another crew, the Rolling Pirates, however, he made a deal with Zoro. In exchange for his own life, Kuma would spare his captain's head. Kuma left Thriller Bark, reporting later that the Straw Hat crew, his primary targets, had escaped.

Preparation for War
After the Straw Hats raided the Human Auction House, Doflamingo told Disco, a worker there, that he could have the organization as the future was becoming much clearer; the Shichibukai were to fight against the Whitebeard Pirates. Kuma arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago while an attempt to bring the Straw Hats to justice for their actions was being made. He interfered with Kizaru's battle with them as they were about to be defeated and instead of Kizaru bringing them in, Kuma "wiped" out the crew one by one by sending them away to other islands, scattering the crew.

Luffy arrived at Amazon Lily a few days later. Boa Hancock arrived home from her raids. During her bathing session, Luffy, having given the Kuja warriors on the island the slip while they attempted to kill him, fell into her bath. He witnessed something familiar on her back and she attempted to turn him into stone. Luffy not phased by her a bit, attempted to run away and got caught. Afterwards Hancock had her younger sisters fight him, but they were defeated with Luffy covering the mark on Sandersonia's back since they would rather die than let anyone see it. Taken aback by Luffy's surprising selflessness and hearing of him striking a World Noble, Hancock divulged her painful past to him. She befriended Luffy and even fell in love with him. She also sneaked Luffy on board the Marine ship taking her to Impel Down by him hiding under a large robe.

Jinbei decided to fight the Marines and was prepared to have his status as a Shichibukai revoked. Five of the Shichibukai met in at a dinner apparently held at marine headquarters. Meanwhile, Hancock and Luffy arrived at Impel Down with Hancock sneaking Luffy in under her robe.

After Luffy snuck away, Hancock was taken to see Ace, yet also encountered Jinbei in the same cell. Another cell in the same floor held Crocodile, who was taunting both pirates for their defiance and to reaffirm the power of the world. After delivering an enigmatic message regarding Luffy's arrival, Hancock departed to make her way to the other Shichibukai, hoping that Luffy will be safe from harm.

Luffy broke into Level 6 of Impel Down and freed both Crocodile and Jinbei, both of who were imprisoned there, as they would be valuable assets in his breakout of Impel Down and his attack against Marineford to save Ace. As they made it to Level 4, Blackbeard stole a Marine ship with his crew and infiltrated Impel Down for reasons unknown. After a short battle with Luffy, Blackbeard and his crew were severely poisoned by the Devil Fruit ability of Impel Down's Chief Warden, Magellan. At the same time, Crocodile and Jinbei left to Level 3 along with Luffy. Crocodile and Jinbei made it outside of Impel Down, trying to take control of a Marine ship.

Crocodile and Jinbei managed to conquer the battleship, and along with 239 other prisoners, they managed to enter the Gates of Justice and fled Impel Down, approaching Marineford. At the same time, Blackbeard and his crew were saved from poison, thanks to death row prisoner Shiliew, who was recruited into the crew in the process. 3 hours prior to the execution of Portgas D. Ace, only five of the Shichibukai were present: Bartholomew Kuma, Boa Hancock, Donquixote Doflamingo, Gecko Moria and Juracule Mihawk.

Whitebeard vs. The Royal Shichibukai
After Sengoku revealed that Ace's father is none other than Pirate King Gol D. Roger, the Whitebeard Pirates and their 43 New World pirate allies have arrived. At the same time, the Gates of Justice opened, allowing Jinbei and Crocodile to leave the Tarai currents and prepare to join the war, along with their comrades.

Mihawk made the first move among the five Shichibukai by sending a massive slashing shock wave at the Moby Dick, Whitebeard's flagship, to test out their differences in abilities, but Jozu intercepted it with his diamond body.

When Oars Jr. appeared, Moria declared that he wanted his corpse, and Doflamingo made a remark at how the battle was about to get interesting. The Shichibukai then began their assault. With the combined efforts of Bartholomew Kuma, Donquixote Doflamingo and Gecko Moria, Oars Jr. was wounded and collapsed.

During Oars Jr.'s rampage, some pirates were able to penetrate the lines of defense. Boa Hancock defended herself from oncoming pirates by turning them into stone with her Devil Fruit abilities and shattering them. She also managed to get some of the Marines in the crossfire, which made them question whether or not she was going to betray them. She simply stated that she does not define herself as an ally of the World Government but she has agreed to fighting along with them against the Whitebeard Pirates. Luffy's arrival in Marineford prompts comments from the Shichibukai with Moria showing anger, Mihawk and Doflamingo showing amusement, Kuma remaining silent, and Hancock blushing and being relieved that Luffy managed to get out of Impel Down. Jinbei then declares directly to Sengoku that he abdicates his position. Crocodile attempts to kill Whitebeard, but is stopped by Luffy. Kuma then fires a mouth laser at Luffy and Ivankov, but it is dodged. Moria uses his powers to raise an army of zombies and sends them after Luffy, but Jinbei purifies the zombies with a blast of sea water. When Sengoku reveals Luffy's heritage of being Dragon's son to the public, Moria is shocked, Mihawk and Jinbei are not surprised, Hancock remains blushing, Kuma stays silent, and Doflamingo laughs.

Moria and Jinbei proceed to fight, Moria claiming he'll take Jinbei's shadow and augmenting himself with shadows. Jinbei, however, evades Moria's attacks with ease and deals him a severe blow with Samegawara Seiken. Hancock then attacks and threatens Commodore Smoker for pinning Luffy to the ground and declares Luffy as her beloved. Meanwhile, Ivankov deals with Kuma, though Doflamingo says it's useless to talk to Kuma as the Kuma Ivankov knew is already dead.

Hancock proceeds to give Luffy the keys to Ace's handcuffs (which she obtained through unknown means), and when he hugs her, she collapses, mistaking the hug for marriage. She then attacks Smoker when he goes after Luffy, breaking his jutte and effectively initiating a battle between them, with Hancock not worrying about any of the consequences. Meanwhile, as Luffy confronts Kuma along with Ivankov, Doflamingo tells the story of Kuma being slowly modified into a Pacifista by Dr. Vegapunk, until the final modification (of the head) turned him into little more than a puppet of the World Government. It is also revealed that the "Tyrant" Kuma hated the World Government and only agreed to become a weaponized human under some sort of deal; the first completed Pacifista Kuma is known as PX-0. Kuma then proceeds to attack Luffy, Ivankov, and Ivankov's men and Ivankov decides to pound Kuma's fear into him, using a dropkick and powerful winks to temporarily knock Kuma to the ground. Ivankov then tells the others to go on. Meanwhile, Crocodile and Mr. 1 began making their way back to Whitebeard when Jozu charges at Crocodile and slams into him with his diamond forearm. Crocodile is launched back, but before Jozu can attack again, Doflamingo stops his movement, suggesting to Crocodile that they team up. As Luffy continues his charge to Ace, Mihawk appears and unsheathes his sword, stating that he will not hold back against him. Right after that, Mihawk attacks Luffy, stating that he was within "range." Luffy tries to escape because he has no time to fight strong guys like him. Luffy realizes he can't fight him, because if he gets close to him, Mihawk will just cut him. Seeing he is unable to continue, Marco, commander of Whitebeard Pirates 1st Division, tells Vista the Flower Sword, captain of Whitebeard's 5th Division, to help him out. Vista, also a swordsman, manages to hold Mihawk back, so Luffy breaks away.

As Whitebeard is stabbed by a deceived Squardo, Moria and Doflamingo look excited, Jinbei looks shocked, and Mihawk looks indifferent. Crocodile, shocked to see that Whitebeard got struck so easily, wonders how Whitebeard could be so weak. Later, Crocodile strikes down the executioners who tried to kill Ace, due to him being unable to accept the smug looks in the Government's faces. This results in Doflamingo getting jealous that Crocodile would choose Whitebeard and the two clash.

When Luffy is injured by Aokiji, Hancock attempted to jump in to avenge him, but Marco struck first. Later, when Luffy is blocked by a Pacifista, Hancock stood in between. As the Pacifista recognized her as a comrade, it ceased its attack. However, when it told her to move, she broke its head and proceeds to annihilate the rest, in order to prevent them from giving Luffy chase. At the same time, Jinbei has decided to fight to the death on behalf of the Whitebeard Pirates.

Mihawk attempted to attack Luffy again, but Mr. 1 intervened. Mihawk easily defeated Mr. 1, who is then saved by Crocodile. Crocodile and Mihawk clash with each other. Meanwhile, Boa Hancock crushed more Pacifistas, causing Sentoumaru to question her allegiance.

When Ace sacrificed his own life to save Luffy from Akainu, Jinbei jumped in, to protect Ace from further harm, leading to his right arm being badly burned by the Admiral's magma. After Ace died, and Luffy suffered a mental breakdown, Hancock stated that she was extremely worried. As Whitebeard kept suffering damage, Doflamingo made a sudden claim that things keeps getting interesting, as the Blackbeard Pirates returned to the battlefield, with several legendary criminals from Impel Down as new recruits.

Blackbeard revealed his sole reason for wanting the title of Shichibukai: to have access to Impel Down, which normal pirates find impossible, in order to recruit powerful prisoners to increase his crew strength exponentially. After this goal is achieved, he resigned from his post, having no further use for it, much to Sengoku's fury and the terror of the Marines. Blackbeard is then attacked by Whitebeard, but then retaliates with his crew and barrages Whitebeard with bullets and blades, ultimately killing him.

The End of the War
After Whitebeard's death, Blackbeard then proceeds to absorb the Gura Gura no Mi's power from his former captain's corpse, through unknown means hidden under a black cloth. When Blackbeard emerges with his power of darkness and earthquake, he announces worldwide that it is now his era, and entered combat against Sengoku.

Jinbei continues to carry an unconscious Luffy to safety, to which results him being injured by Akainu, but is saved by Crocodile, and then is seen being carried by Buggy to Trafalgar Law's submarine. When the Red-Haired Pirates arrived to end the war, Mihawk left as he agreed to war against Whitebeard, but nobody else. Hancock took over a Marine ship to chase after the submarine, under the claim that she wanted Luffy's head. Blackbeard and his crew left, as they got what they wanted.

Aftermath of the War
When the war had finally ended, Hancock manages to catch up with the Heart Pirates, and demands to know the status of Luffy's condition, as well as moving him to Amazon Lily for treatment, while Jinbei comes out of the submarine to thank Law for saving him. Hancock and Jinbei remained at Amazon Lily, watching over a recovering but psychologically tormented Luffy. Jinbei managed to persuade Luffy to stop his self-pity and injuries and live for what he does have left. Hancock then brought food for Luffy, while still under the delusion that he proposed to her for marriage. The two Shichibukai, along with the newly arrived Silvers Rayleigh, then accompanied Luffy to Marineford to ring the Ox Bell in order for the Straw Hat Captain to signal his lost crew. However, Hancock was not seen amongst the rest of them when Luffy, Rayleigh and Jinbei stole a Marine battleship to accomplish their deed, thus leaving her position as Shichibukai safe at the moment. Jinbei eventually left home for Fishman Island and promised to see Luffy two years later, after his Haki training with Rusukaina with Rayleigh. Hancock was also willing to wait for her love.

At the backstreets of Marineford, Moria is surrounded by the Pacifista and Doflamingo, the latter claiming Moria is too weak to carry on as a Shichibukai, and that it is better for him to be remembered of dying during the war, as opposed to being erased by the World Government. When Moria questions who made the order, Doflamingo implies the World Government. However, Moria then disappeared with what Doflamingo suggests to be the Kage Kage no Mi powers. Doflamingo later threatened to quit the Shichibukai if dealings with the World Government no longer interest him. The newspaper notes that Moria died in the war regardless.

Mihawk returned to his home at Kuraigana Island, where he found Perona and Roronoa Zoro, sent there earlier by Kuma. He told them the results of the war from the newspaper, that Moria was presumed deceased, but the article lacked credibility. He also gave Zoro a boat to leave the island for Luffy. Zoro, however, returned after receiving Luffy's message of waiting two years to get stronger, and begged Mihawk to train him. Mihawk, having understood Zoro's intention, accepted.

Later, Kuma appears once more at Sabaody Archipelago, in front of the Rosy Life Riders. Crocodile read in the newspaper about Luffy ringing the Ox Bell to signal his crew, and commented how stupid it was. He then invited his right-hand man, Mr. 1, to return to the New World with him, to which Mr. 1 agreed.

Due to the defections and casualties that happened around the war, the Gorousei expressed concern among themselves about how the balance of power is affected by the Shichibukai being reduced to a mere four, and discussed the need in finding influential people to fill the gaps.

Blackbeard and his crew had captured the Bonney Pirates with ease, and made a negotiation with the Marines to exchange them for a battleship, in order to accommodate for Sanjuan Wolf's immense size, but when Van Augur saw Akainu on board of the ship, it was clear that the exchange was not going to happen. Blackbeard and his crew then fled, leaving the Bonney Pirates to be arrested.

Manga Influences
They are loosely based on the privateers of old Europe. The privateers were approved pirates, considered heroes in their homeland and pillagers in others. Their main goal was to plunder the villages and towns of Spain.

Translation and Dub Issues
The title of Shichibukai is a Japanese term made by Oda which literally means Seven Military Seas in English. Due to its meaning being lost when literally translated into English, various translations used slightly modified titles in order to convey the term in English. Early scanlations used "Seven Gods of Pirates" while Viz, 4Kids, and FUNimation adaptations use "Seven Warlords of the Sea".

Merchandise
As popular characters, they have made many appearances in the fan merchandise such as the Portrait of Pirates series. The Shichibukai have been featured in the series of One Piece Shichibukai Cellphone Strap and in the One Piece Super Deformed Figures (excluding Crocodile). All 8 are set to be released in July 2010 in the One Piece World Collectible Figure series.

Trivia

 * While Yosaku was accurate in describing their immense powers and alliance with the World Government, the shadowy image of them bares absolutely no resemblance to them, aside from Mihawk.
 * It was revealed that the World Government considered making Portgas D. Ace a Shichibukai, but he refused and eventually joined Whitebeard's crew. It is unknown why the position was open at the time or who the previous Shichibukai was.
 * So far two Shichibukai have resigned the title and two have had their titles revoked. Both of the Shichibukai that have had their titles revoked (Crocodile and Gecko Moria) were defeated by Monkey D. Luffy. Both of the Shichibukai that resigned (Jinbei and Marshall D. Teach) did so during the war.
 * It is said that the Shichibukai were former pirate captains, but Bartholomew Kuma was part of the Revolutionaries instead. It is unknown whether this is some sort of mistake, or if the World Government is willing to make exceptions and have other infamous criminals join. However, as Doflamingo had no knowledge of the relationship between Ivankov and Kuma, it is possible that the Government had no knowledge of Kuma being an actual Revolutionary, but instead just a high-leveled criminal.

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