Shichibukai

The Shichibukai (七武海), the full title being Oka Shichibukai (王下七武海), are seven (though this number fluctuates throughout the series) powerful and notorious pirates who have allied themselves with the World Government.

Overview
The Shichibukai is an organization of seven 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 modified into their puppet) or even other Shichibukai, and are often considered by the Marines to be no different from any other pirate. On the other hand, they are known as "government dogs" and are despised by other pirates, but are still feared and respected for their infamous reputation and strength before, and even after they become Shichibukai.

The Shichibukai seem to be a mixture of the more chaotic Yonko and the more orderly Marines. The majority of the Shichibukai are composed of New World veterans; those who have met the Yonko or even confronted them.

There is an enormous range in the bounties between the members due to differences in circumstances under which they were recruited, with Doflamingo, who had a bounty of 340,000,000, and Blackbeard, who had no bounty at all. It should be noted that these are their former bounties, and does not represent the current threat they could achieve as active pirates. Jinbe, for example, after his resignation his bounty jumped to over 400,000,000. Another example is Sir Crocodile, who was imprisoned in Level 6 of Impel Down, while Luffy with a bounty of 300,000,000 at the time put him only at Level 5.

The terms that the Shichibukai are on with each other is best described as very unstable. They 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 Jinbe), it is even stated that the very notion of them working together as a team is entirely unthinkable. However, Kuma and Doflamingo do not disregard the notion of allying with another Shichibukai: Kuma offered Moriah assistance in defeating the Straw Hats and Doflamingo offered Crocodile an opportunity for a partnership. Both offers were refused due to pride.

During Boa Hancock's visit at Impel Down's Level 6, Jinbe stated that he did not 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 Moriah 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, though he hopes that he will be successful. 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 anyone who Luffy is on good terms with); Rayleigh, who is her "benefactor"; and Fisher Tiger, who was responsible for liberating her from slavery.

Becoming a Shichibukai
A pirate may choose to join the Shichibukai if a space becomes vacant (which means that at least one Shichibukai must resign or be expelled from the group, the former being Jinbe'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 exhibit 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 Gorosei. 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 unknown pirates can be admitted if they accomplish a feat to prove their strength. Blackbeard's victory over Portgas D. Ace and Trafalgar Law obtaining and sending the hearts of 100 pirates to Marine Headquarters are the examples.

Duties of the Shichibukai
They do not offer open opposition to the authority of the World Government, but are not obligated to follow its orders either. They are only allowed to attack other pirates and must also compensate the Government with a tenth of their plunder though this regulation 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 discussion between Bartholomew Kuma and the Gorosei, it can be assumed that once someone becomes a member of the Shichibukai they must be undefeated to maintain their position, or at least are not allowed to have a widely known debacle or scandal that affects their reputation.

Some of the members do various tasks for the government, such as conquering 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 maintain the balance between The Three Great Powers.

Theoretically, the Shichibukai are allies of the government, and in times of war would collaborate with the Marines. Still, many Marine officers (for example Vice-Admiral Smoker, Admiral Kizaru and former Fleet Admiral Sengoku) despise them and consider the Shichibukai to still be pirates. 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 assist 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 the Whitebeard Pirates, Moriah stated he does not 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. Jinbe and his entire crew were given a pardon for their captain, Fisher Tiger's attack against the World Nobles, and their status as slaves nullified. Donquixote Doflamingo also managed to operate the Human Auctioning House with the government fully ignoring it before passing it to Disco.

Crocodile abused the privilege of being no longer monitored so closely to build himself a large and powerful covert organization, while Blackbeard and Trafalgar Law exploited the benefits their statuses granted them in order to enter facilities that would otherwise have been unreachable to a pirate.

Dismissal or Resignation
Even if they violate 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 Alabasta left the World Government with few options other than his dismissal, although in fact Luffy dealt with him (and his bounty was raised for that).

Moriah'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 disregard the order of the Gorosei, Moriah was able to retain his status for a time, later answering the call to arms against the Whitebeard Pirates. However, after the war the government finally deemed Moriah to be too weak to continue as a Shichibukai, and decided to annul his pact and eliminate him, under the pretense of Moriah dying in the war to preserve the Shichibukai's reputation of strength.

Jinbe forfeited his position as a Shichibukai for his refusal to assist in the war against the Whitebeard Pirates and was incarcerated 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 cooperated with Whitebeard's faction during the battle choosing to abdicate his position permanently and again became a willing enemy of both the Marines and the World Government.

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

Dismissal from the Shichibukai holds not only the individual's loss of title, but in cases also the breakdown of possible politics affiliated to the Shichibukai. As Boa Hancock was warned, while she obeyed the World Government, her nation's 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 implied 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.

Doflamingo had done several illegal activities such as the Human Auctioning House for the slave trade, but having disowned it didn't seem to affect him. He also stated he would quit the Shichibukai should they bore him with menial assignments. He also has a mole in the Marines, Vergo, and has the rogue Marine scientist Caesar Clown to produce weapons for him in the underworld in the New World. All these actions would easily revoke his status, but has managed to keep this from being discovered. However, after Law blackmailed Doflamingo in forcing him to forfeit his title to gain Caesar back less he face Kaido's wrath, Doflamingo was left with no choice but to resign his Shichibukai status. This lead to international uproar.

Relationships
Most Shichibukai seem to have only limited knowledge of each other, such as Jinbe 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 Jinbe and Crocodile snarling at each other over matters with Whitebeard. At times, however, they might be courteous, such as Kuma offering to help Moriah in fighting against the Straw Hat Pirates, though the latter angrily refused. Law used to be Doflamingo's subordinate, but eventually, after joining, Law openly betrayed and blackmailed his former superior to abdicate the Shichibukai, threatening not just the man but the balance of the seven once again.

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 Yonko and the Marines.

In terms of power, the exact relationship between the Shichibukai, Marine Headquarters and the Yonko is unknown. However, considering that these factions are stated to be in balance and the fact that the loss of Crocodile threatened said balance, the most reasonable conclusion is that each organization is approximately equivalent in strength. At least two of the Shichibukai (Gekko Moriah and Dracule Mihawk) are said to have been rivals of Yonko members Kaido 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 former-Fleet Admiral Sengoku himself. This, in addition to the fact that losing a single member of the Shichibukai can disrupt 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 Jinbe were imprisoned there).

Because of their pact 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; also, Buggy has the ability of splitting his body, while Law can split the bodies of other people. In the case of Crocodile and Jinbe, this opposition also extends to the environment where their abilities reach their full zenith (i.e. being a Fishman, Jinbe's fighting abilities are at their peak in the deep and open sea, while Crocodile, having consumed the Suna Suna no Mi, favors the arid desert).

In relationship to each other, it is not entirely known how they compare in strength. However, during the Battle of Marineford several members and former members battle each other and none manage to defeat or significantly injure each other in any fight. Although while most appeared evenly matched, Moriah was quickly subdued by Jinbe. Adding to his defeat by Luffy, Moriah was deemed a liability, and it was decided that he could no longer continue as a Shichibukai. As a result, Doflamingo was ordered to exterminate Moriah along with a group of several Pacifista.

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

Moriah and his rival, Kaido, also fought at some point and while Moriah escaped with his life, his crew was massacred. Moriah would also be inducted the ranks of the Shichibukai. Ten years ago, he established 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 Moriah's Devil Fruit abilities. While fulfilling his duties of controlling pirates, they also abducted Marines and civilian ships. However the World Government, though appearing to know of his felonies, allowed this to go on.

After acquiring his bounty of 250,000,000, Jinbe was recruited some eight years before the start of the series, following the death of Fisher Tiger and the breaking up of the Sun Pirates into smaller groups like the one Arlong led to the East Blue. His recruitment was an attempt to strengthen the bonds between the species, and it allowed the members of the Sun Pirates who did not want to become pirates in the first place to return to Fishman Island, and given a pardon for Tiger's attack on Mariejois.

Around the same time as Jinbe, Doflamingo also joined the Shichibukai at age 31, and has built his reputation in both as a world-famous World Government pirate and an influential underworld broker for the next ten years to come.

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 Alabasta perceive him as a hero while he secretly gained power to dethrone the royal family of Alabasta and obtain control of a weapon known as Pluton.

Sometime after escaping slavery, Boa Hancock embarked on a single pirating campaign so great that when 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.

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

Interest in the Rising Swordsman
The first Shichibukai to appear was Mihawk, having hunted down Don Krieg and his men from the Grand Line. He followed Krieg in a small coffin-like ship as he destroyed Krieg's entire armada. His excuse was that they woke him up from a nap.

When he sliced up Krieg's last remaining ship, Zoro of the Straw Hat Pirates challenged him his title of "World's Greatest Swordsman". He told Mihawk he was the swordsman he was looking for in his travels. Mihawk accepted his challenge, using a knife smaller than a pocket knife to fight. Without any apparent effort, he was able to block and repel all of Zoro's attacks and stabbed him in the chest.

Zoro realized the gap between their abilities and surrendered, asking to be finished off properly. Mihawk honored him by drawing his sword and with one slash, broke two of his swords and ended the fight. Mihawk explained to Luffy he held back to leave the young swordsman injured but alive so they can fight again some day. Mihawk told Zoro to become strong and live, to one day surpass him.

War of Alabasta
Crocodile first appears under the alias of Mr. 0 and phones up one of his agents for a report. However, Sanji picks it up, as Mr. 3 is defeated and is in Mr. 3’s candle house. Understanding that this conversation was not meant for him, and that an enemy is on the other side of the line, he lies to the Shichibukai by pretending to be Mr. 3, claiming to have killed everyone. However, Crocodile has sent the Unluckies to Little Garden in order to give an Eternal Pose to Mr. 3. At that moment, Sanji spots them looking in the window. They start to attack Sanji and he subdues them, but the noise made Crocodile suspicious. Sanji pretended that he had to give the Straw Hats a final blow. However, Crocodile asks Nico Robin to send Mr. 2 to Little Garden in order to kill Mr. 3 for lying to him.

In Alabasta, the Shichibukai Crocodile is seen as a hero. Later some pirates, Puppu and his crew made a grave mistake in attempting to steal from a port city in Alabasta which was under the protection of Crocodile. Puppu insulted Crocodile for being a "government dog", and then when the Shichibukai jumped off of the building to greet the crew, Puppu and his crew impaled Crocodile with all their blades. Thinking that he had won, Puppu's mockery turned to horror when Crocodile created a sandstorm to drain the water content from Puppu and his crew's bodies. They most likely died from severe dehydration, as Crocodile was carrying their corpses out of town after the clash.

Much later on, Crocodile assembles a meeting with all of his Officer Agents at Rain Dinners marking the first time they know the true identity of their boss. They are told the goal of the Baroque Works, their final mission and their respective parts in overthrowing Alabasta. An old face interrupts Baroque Works meeting. It is no other than Mr. 3, who snuck after the other members from Spiders Cafe. He came to be given another chance to defeat the Straw Hats. Crocodile is certainly surprised by this revelation since, after the call from Little Garden, he assumed all of the Straw Hat Pirates and Vivi were dead (he was not aware that it was Sanji who answered the call). Mr. 2 confirms that the Straw Hat Pirates and Vivi are alive since he met them on the way to Alabasta. With the help of his power, they are able to make pictures of the Straw Hats (omitting Sanji), and start to take counter measures so that they can prevent Vivi from meeting with the rebel leader, Kohza. Disappointed with Mr. 3, instead of giving him a second chance, Crocodile dries him up and feeds him to his Bananawani. The Officer Agents all get pictures of Vivi and the Straw Hat crew (excluding Sanji) with the help of Bon Kurei's abilities and are given the order to hunt them down (excluding Chopper as Crocodile believed he was the Straw Hats' pet).

Luffy and his group pressed forward to confront the Shichibukai. Upon arriving at Rainbase, Luffy and Usopp were sent by the rest to ask for some much needed water after much journeying in the desert island. However, upon finding water in a bar, the two accidentally encountered Smoker and Tashigi. Soon enough, another large commotion was caused with Luffy and his crew being chased all around by the Marines. Regardless of the commotion however, Luffy and some of his crew managed to escape from the pursuing Marines and headed into Crocodile's casino, Rain Dinners. As they were running around, Luffy and those with him were tricked into falling through a trap door by the casino. Having fallen for the trick, Luffy and the others, including Smoker, found themselves trapped in a seastone cage. As they were pondering their current predicament, they were greeted by Crocodile.

Having finally met the one who orchestrated the whole mess in Alabasta, Luffy and the others with him were unable to do get at Crocodile because of the cage they were in. As the situation developed with Vivi being brought before Crocodile by Miss All Sunday. She can not control herself at the sight of her enemy and tries to attack him. But she is powerless against the sand man who ate the Suna Suna no Mi. In front of a desperate princess and her imprisoned friends, Crocodile announces the beginning of his plan in order to destroy Alabasta: Utopia starts at 7 o clock. Luffy and the rest learn of Crocodile's awful master plan as he mockingly explained it before them. As it goes further, Luffy and the others find themselves being placed in a little game the Shichibukai decided to challenge Vivi in.

Crocodile takes a lot of pleasure to explain his mischievous plan which he has prepared over so long time. Vivi barely able to move does not give up and still think she can counter the Shichibukai. Amused by this pathetic attempt, Crocodile tells her that he and Miss All Sunday are about to meet her father. He then show her the key of the imprisoned Straw Hat cage but throws it into a pull full of ferocious Bananawani, putting the princess in front of a difficult choice, saving her father, her people or her friends. Explaining further that he deciding to self destruct the room they were in, Crocodile presented before Vivi in front of Luffy and the rest, the choice between getting to Alubarna in time or saving Luffy and those with him before the room completely floods. As Crocodile was explaining this challenge to Vivi, Luffy overheard Toto being mentioned by the Shichibukai and soon learned that it was Crocodile that was causing the sandstorms that plagued Yuba.

Before leaving, Crocodile explains Vivi the solutions she has got: either she tries to reach the rebels which is impossible in the time that remain or she tries to save her friend which will also be very hard because he throw the key of the cell into the Bananawani pool where one of them ate it. Moreover the building will self destruct in a short time. To make her despair even more, he reveals that he was the responsible of the sandstorm that came one after the others to Yuba oasis and mock Toto's stupidity. This makes Luffy full of anger, he beg Vivi to help them so that he can beat Crocodile. However, the destruction mechanism made the water level in the Bananawani pool increase. They escape of their place one after the other and start to hunt Vivi who barely escape these powerful animals. Meanwhile Crocodile receives a weird phone call from the snail phone he uses to contact Billions. The voice and the speech of the person speaking reminds of previous conversation. Sanji, nicknamed as Mr. Prince, fools Crocodile by letting him go outside of the casino by pretending to be dead. When Crocodile see that all his Millions have been beaten by the mysterious Mr. Prince he run after him but it is only Chopper disguised.

Ms. All Sunday asks what if the Straw Hat Pirates already found the key, and Crocodile answers by saying that the key was a fake in the first place and he has the real one. By the time Crocodile arrives at the room, the cage is swinging open underwater, while beat Bananawanis and a beat-up Mr. 3 floats in the water with a piece of paper on him that says "See ya shitty Croc - Mr Prince" on it, to Crocodile's enragement.

Later in the desert, Luffy saved Vivi from Crocodile's Hook but ends separated from the others. Vivi is worried about him but the Straw Hat reassures her: Luffy will win this battle and they will stop the rebellion and retrieve each others in Alubarna. Luffy is now facing Crocodile and Miss All Sunday. The Shichibukai starts to be annoyed of Luffy interfering with his plan. The Straw Hat captain tells him that, since Vivi does not want anyone to die and that she will rather die herself than surrender, he has no choice but to beat him. Crocodile more and more pissed with Luffy's attitude gives him three minutes to try to fight him, after that he will not play anymore. Crocodile creates a giant hole of quicksand, which surprises Luffy. Luffy escapes the quicksand and tries to attack Crocodile several times, but Crocodile is unaffected. Crocodile attacks Luffy and makes his hand wither with his power, which makes Luffy panic. Luffy remembers the water Toto gives him and revives himself, yelling that Toto stated Yuba would never lose to sand. Luffy uses a new technique that probably comes from Wapol and eats the top half of Crocodile, which enrages him. Crocodile tells Luffy to die along with Yuba, and creates a sand twister.

Crocodile tells Luffy his intentions on sending this sandstorm to Yuba, which enrages Luffy. Luffy tries to stop Crocodile, but gets stabbed by Crocodile's hook. Crocodile tells Luffy that rookies like him are swarming all over the Grand Line. Crocodile tells Luffy about how everything would go his way, not Luffy's. We see now that Crocodile had stabbed right through Luffy's water bottle around his neck into Luffy. While the water from Luffy's bottle drips onto Crocodile's arm, Luffy suddenly grabs Crocodile's arm and breaks it, half dead. Crocodile is surprised that Luffy is still alive and throws him into the quicksand and Luffy falls deeper and deeper into it.

Later, Vivi arrives at the palace and gives order for the Royal Army to blow up the palace in order to get everyone's attention, but is stopped by Crocodile. At the castle, Miss All Sunday prevents the guards from helping the King. This gives time to Crocodile to make Vivi despair by telling her Luffy is dead and ask Cobra about is true motive: the search of Pluton. At the castle, Crocodile explains that he needs a weapon to establish his military power and be able to counter the World Government forces. Hence, he is searching for ancient weapon Pluton which is hidden somewhere in Alabasta. It is supposed to be one of the most powerful ever made. To find it Crocodile is searching for a place containing "true history". So as to convince Cobra to help him, Crocodile reveals his last treacherous trump card: a bomb will explode in 30 minutes, killing both rebels and royal guards all together. The Tsumegeri Guards come to save the king. They try to kill Crocodile by drinking Hero water. With their great strength they attack Crocodile, but he avoids the attack by turning into sand. He doesn’t even give them the chance to approach him. The Tsumegeri Guards die as an after effect and then Chaka attacks Crocodile, revealing his Devil Fruit powers. Then Crocodile defeats Chaka.

Kohza wants to warn the city but is stopped by Vivi, who states that it will create a panic. The Royal Army raises the white flag, with Kohza in front, but he is shot down by a double agent in the Royal Army, provoking the rebels. A battle starts on the palace plaza and Vivi watches in horror. Crocodile proceeds to throw Vivi off a palace wall, but she is saved by Luffy who came in flying on Pell's back. Vivi meets the rest of the Straw Hats on the foot of the wall and goes to search for the bomb with them and Pell.

During his previous fight, Luffy noticed that water made Crocodile unable to turn into sand as he and the water barrel that Toto gave were pierced by Crocodile's hook. Realizing this, he brought a huge barrel of water to aid him in his rematch against the Shichibukai. But as Luffy fought Crocodile again, he soon realized that his barrel of water could easily be jeopardized. Figuring this out, Luffy decided to switch tactics by drinking all of his water and storing it within himself, essentially become what he dubbed "Mizu Luffy". While this new tactic infuriated his opponent, it proved very effective for Luffy. Unfortunately, he gained enough of an upper hand for Crocodile to stop holding back.

Crocodile orders Nico Robin to have Cobra lead her to the ponyglyph that contained the location of Pluton, planning to catch up after he finished Luffy. He then used his strongest technique, Ground Secco and Ground Death, to turn the entire area they were standing on into sand. Though Luffy was able to evade Crocodile's devastating powers of erosion, he was caught by his opponent. As Crocodile's hand held Luffy, he was severely dehydrated and was once again left for dead. Fortunately, however, some water bubbles that Luffy misfired earlier revived him from his near death state.

Miss All Sunday easily dispatched the Marine soldiers who had held her up, and defeated Tashigi just as easily with her Devil Fruit ability. As Tashigi struggles for her sword, Crocodile appears, calling her superior Smoker "cowardly" and mocking her and the Marines' ideals of "Justice" before departing again. Tashigi is left crying confused as to what action she should take, and angry she's not strong enough. Miss All-Sunday and King Cobra go in the hidden Grave of the Kings and find the Poneglyph. Crocodile soon arrives, but does not get the information he wants from the stone; as Nico Robin alone could read it, she told him that all that was said on the Ponyglyph was Alabasta's history. He turns his back on Nico Robin, having no further use for her, and impales her with his hook, easily avoiding her attempt to kill him.Cobra triggers a destruction effect on the grave to keep the secrets safe, but Crocodile points out that he can easily escape with his ability. On his way out however, he is confronted by Luffy again.

With Luffy soaked in blood, the punches he delivers to Crocodile negate his powers, due to blood also able to harden sand. Crocodile, now determined to end it once and for all, released the golden cover to reveal a poison hook. Crocodile is now determined to end it once and for all, releasing the golden cover to reveal a poison hook. Annoyed by this stubbornness, he asks Luffy what is his reason for fighting and being killed. To that question, Luffy answers that he need to give back the country. Crocodile laughs because he thinks he has not yet accomplished that part, but Luffy answers him that if it was the case, Vivi shall be happier, and then he run towards Crocodile and give him a direct punch in the face. Crocodile is surprised about that since Luffy carries no more water. He finally understands that what allows Luffy to beat him is the blood from his wounds. Realising that he faces someone he should no more underestimate, he takes the upper part of his hook revealing a poisonous weapon. Luffy fights him and gains the upper hand, but eventually gets struck by the hook and is poisoned. However, his determination to defeat Crocodile easily overpowers this, much to the latter's frustration.

As the battle continues, Luffy kicks Crocodile into the air. Upon doing so, Luffy is blasted with one of Crocodile's powerful techniques. Luffy however withstands the attack and prepares to retaliate. Using a series of moves, Luffy propels himself up to Crocodile to deliver the final blow. As a last resort, Crocodile tries to stop Luffy by turning his hand into blades. This however does not stop Luffy as he breaks through the sand created weapons with his bare fist and delivers a flurry of punches onto his opponent. Delivering the punches, Luffy attacks Crocodile with such force that it penetrates a layer of pure bedrock and sends Crocodile flying, defeating the Shichibukai finally.

The Baroque Works president lands in the center of the capital. After the truth of his felonies was finally known before the rebels and royal guard, Tashigi, going by her own justice as Captain Smoker ordered, arrested Crocodile, who was stripped of all titles and permissions granted by the Marines and the World Government, and all Baroque Works agents in the city were rounded up and arrested, the only one managing to escape being Mr. 2 Bon Kurei, who later helped the Straw Hats escape the country.

He was taken to a prison, and after all of the other Baroque Works members were broken out, he refused to go and instead stayed behind enjoying one of his cigars smiling as he watches his former agents escape. On their way out, Miss Goldenweek uses her Rainbow Color Trap to transform his appearance based on his dream, making him appear as the Pirate King. Crocodile was then seen being sent to Impel Down, with a smile on his face. Along with him were Mr. 1, Mr. 2, and Mr. 3.

The Crisis of the Open Slot
Having now become one member short, the World Government insisted that another pirate be appointed to succeed Crocodile. A summit meeting between the Shichibukai and the Marines was held in which out of the remaining six Shichibukai only Doflamingo, Kuma and Mihawk actually attended. Kuma patiently kept silent, looking through his book as Doflamingo amused himself by using his powers to force the Marines in the room to battle each other until Fleet Admiral Sengoku arrived, ordering him to stand down. As the meeting began, Mihawk showed up on attendance to sit in to keep informed on news of the Straw Hat Pirates. A lone pirate intruded on the meeting, much to Doflamingo's amusement.

The pirate, Laffitte nominated his captain, Marshall D. Teach as a candidate for the position. Since he was an unknown pirate and had no bounty he was not accepted. Nonetheless, Teach was given time to acquire fame and build up a reputation.

After Bellamy captain of the Bellamy Pirates lost a duel 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. Using his powers, he made Sarkies fight Bellamy to the death as he said that they are too weak for the new age coming.

Despite all the efforts from Shanks to convince Whitebeard to recall Ace, Ace finally intercepts Blackbeard on Banaro Island shortly after the Blackbeard Pirates ransack one of its towns. Blackbeard welcomes Ace and offers him to join his crew. He announces he has an agenda to bring Whitebeard's dominion to an end, and that he is heading to Water 7 to capture Luffy and hand him over to the World Government. Ace tells Blackbeard that he can't let him go now, because he is Luffy's brother.

Van Augur shoots at Ace sparking a fight between him and the crew. Ace attacks back but then Jesus Burgess picks up a house and throws it at Ace. Ace summons a pillar of fire and erffortlessly destroys it, and unleashes Hikan, badly burning Blackbeard's front. Blackbeard laughs, admitting he did kill 4th Division Commander Thatch of the Whitebeard Pirates. He tells Ace he had no other choice because he had the Devil Fruit he wanted. That the ships' rule was anyone who found a Devil Fruit could eat it. Blackbeard had spent several decades under Whitebeard's service, believing it would be the best chances of finding the one he wanted with them.

He then reveals the power of the Yami Yami no Mi, believing it to be the most powerful of all Devil Fruits and he is invincible. Just as the two are about to fight, Blackbeard's crew run away to not get caught in between the two. Blackbeard uses Black Hole, and sucks up the entire town of Banaro around them and then spits it out as a pile of destroyed rubble. Ace uses Firefly Light, as many green orbs of flames gather around Blackbeard and then engulf him in flames. Ace questions why Blackbeard is not dodging his attacks if he is a Logia user now. Blackbeard then absorbs the flames and tells Ace he cannot fend off attacks the way other Logia users do, due to the unique ability his darkness can suck in anything, including pain.

Blackbeard then shows off another ability, using Kurouzu to pull Ace towards him and is able to grab him and nullify his Devil Fruit ability. He then sends Ace flying with a strong punch. He attempts it again but Ace hurls long lances made out of fire into Blackbeard's chest. This doesn't stop Blackbeard who hand chops Ace, almost breaking his neck sending him back. Ace puts his index fingers together in a cross shape before launching a cross-shaped column of fire directly at Blackbeard's face but he once again stops Ace's attacks.

Blackbeard then offers Ace one more time to join his crew, but Ace still refuses stating if he gives up now there would be no point to him living. That he wants to life his life free of any regrets, even if it means dying. He then tells Blackbeard he will make Whitebeard the Pirate King, as he summons up a gigantic fireball resembling the sun. The two clash one last time, almost destroying the entire island with fire and darkness clashing together. In the end, Blackbeard is victorious. He successfully captures Ace and hands him over to the World Government, rewarding him with the title of Shichibukai.

One Loss After Another
At Thriller Bark some time later, Luffy and the others arrived. Upon their arrival, Gecko Moriah stole their shadows trapping them on his gigantic island ship. He took Luffy's shadow and put it into the frozen body of the giant, Oars resurrecting it. With its new life, it was able to mimic some of Luffy's abilities and went wild. Despite the damage it caused, Moriah was not worried and was confident it would learn to obey him as all the other zombies did in time.

Luffy eventually confronted him, demanding his shadow back. Moriah did not raise a finger to bother fighting and used his devil fruit powers to engage his shadow to attack. Luffy was able to go around his shadow and strike him, angering Moriah for his insolence. Luffy gave chase, as Moriah chose to run rather than fight. This proved to be a trick, purposely toying with Luffy to lead him away from his crew and the battle going on.

Bartholomew Kuma arrived at Thriller Bark during the chaos from orders on the government. Perona challenged the Shichibukai but was teleported away in an instant. Kuma approached Nami and briefly questioned her about Luffy's brother. When asked why he merely stated what he does here is for him to decide. Kuma met up with Moriah and had news to deliver from the government.

Moriah berated Kuma for being their lapdog, as Kuma offered to send him away with his devil fruit power. He delivered news that Blackbeard was made a Shichibukai to replace Crocodile, despite his unknown status. Moriah asked if this act will restore the balance of power in the world, which Kuma disagreed but chose not to explain himself.

Kuma also delivered a message from the government to him. Ever since the events of Enies Lobby and the downfall of Crocodile, they were was worried that Moriah would fall to them next. Kuma offered aid in the fight to ensure his victory but Moriah outright refused. Enraged at the thought of him being taken pity on and his strength in doubt, he promised by morning that the Straw Hat crew would be his.

Afterwards Moriah joined up with Oars, piloting him from inside his stomach in a cockpit he made. Using his devil fruit powers, he was able to make Oars stretch like Luffy and increase his strength. He occasionally teleported out of the cockpit to fight the Straw Hats directly, stealing more of their shadows. The Straw Hats eventually fell to the combined might of Moriah and Oars. Luffy then appeared, infused with a hundred shadows to combat his giant. Moriah was knocked out by a powerful punch from Luffy and Oars was soon defeated afterwards.

Moriah would not admit defeat, transforming himself huge to increase his strength with all the collected shadows of Thriller Bark. This transformation altered his physical features making his horns grow longer, his feet too large for his shoes to contain, and his body to swell up like a balloon. It also increased his size, making him as large as the giant Oars. Despite this advantage Moriah gained, he still proved no match for Luffy as each blow caused him to release the shadows inside him. He was defeated by the mast of the island collapsing down on top of him, releasing all of his shadows.

Now with Moriah beaten, Kuma asked the World Government for further instructions. Their reply was to kill all witnesses so Moriah could maintain his position. Kuma engaged the crews of the Straw Hats and another crew, the Rolling Pirates. He offered to let them all live if they handed over Straw Hat Luffy. They refused to hand over their captain and savior, as Kuma destroyed Thriller Bark with an Ursus Shock. This attack had taken out both crews, as Kuma picked Luffy's unconscious body out of the rubble. Zoro who had not fallen unconscious like the rest, launched a surprise attack and cut him, revealing his cybernetic enhancements. Realizing he was unbeatable, Zoro pleaded to Kuma to spare Luffy's life in exchange for his own. Kuma was impressed by this and honored the agreement. Using his Nikyu Nikyu no Mi powers, he extracted all the pain and fatigue Luffy endured and gave it to Zoro.

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 engage 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. He interrupts the battle between Rayleigh and Kizaru and whispers into his ear.

He revealed himself to be an officer of the Revolutionary Army, who came to Sabaody Archipelago to save Luffy and his crew from being killed. The Dark King questions Kuma's motives, who responds by saying that he can choose whether to believe him or not. Kizaru demands to know what he told Rayleigh but he refused and then left.

Luffy arrived at Amazon Lily a few days later. The Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock who was arriving home was stopped by the Marines demanding an answer to the call of the Whitebeard War. She turned the crew to stone with her Mero Mero no Mi. She told Vice Admiral Momonga that she refuses to acknowledge the Marines demands and left for her home. When she arrived home from her raids she was greeted with a large celebration of her people welcoming their empress home. 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 held a public execution to punish him for intruding on the sacred isle. She 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. Hancock ordered her audience to evacuate as she broke into tears of shame. Taken aback by Luffy's surprising selflessness and hearing of him striking a World Noble, Hancock divulged her painful past to him showing the slave mark on her back. She befriended Luffy and even fell in love with him. Upon Luffy learning of Ace's fate, he asked her to take him to Impel Down where he was being held. She agreed, answering the call of the Shichibukai to gather at Marineford. Before going to Marineford, she requested to pay a visit to Impel Down and see Ace. She sneaked Luffy on board the Marine ship venturing to Impel Down.

Jinbe refused to assist the Marines against Whitebeard, who was a man he respected and also a friend of Ace. Because of this he was imprisoned in Impel Down along with Ace and his status as a Shichibukai revoked until he chose to cooperate. Meanwhile, the Shichibukai Bartholomew Kuma, Gecko Moriah, Blackbeard, Doflamingo, and Mihawk all met in at a dinner apparently held at Mariejois. 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 Jinbe in the same cell. Another cell in the same floor held former-Shichibukai 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 liberated both Crocodile and Jinbe, both of whom were incarcerated there, as they would be valuable assets in his breakout of Impel Down and his attack against Marineford to rescue Ace. As they made it to Level 4, Blackbeard stole a Marine ship with his crew and infiltrated Impel Down for reasons of his own.

Blackbeard confronts the escaped convicts and upon revealing he was the one who captured Ace, Luffy engages him. Their battle is cut short by Jinbe intervening holding Luffy back. Crocodile confronts Blackbeard asking him why he is forfeiting his Shichibukai title he wanted so much. Blackbeard responded its all part of his plan, and that he doesn't need to explain it to him. Crocodile remarks he doesn't care what Blackbeard is planning, leaving Blackbeard to find his demeanor very disrespectful.

Afterwards him and his crew are attacked and severely poisoned by the Devil Fruit ability of Impel Down's Chief Warden, Magellan. At the same time, Crocodile and Jinbe left to Level 3 along with Luffy. Crocodile and Jinbe made it outside of Impel Down, trying to take control of a Marine ship.

They managed to seize control of a 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, Gekko Moriah, and Dracule Mihawk.

Whitebeard Pirates 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 Jinbe 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, Moriah 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 Gekko Moriah, 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 Moriah 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. Jinbe then declares directly to Sengoku that he abdicates his position. Kuma also fired a mouth laser at Luffy and Ivankov as they began rushing towards the execution scaffold, but it is dodged. Moriah uses his powers to reanimate an battalion of zombies and sends them after Luffy, but Jinbe purifies the zombies with a blast of sea water. When Sengoku reveals Luffy's heritage of being Dragon's son to the public, Moriah is shocked, Mihawk is not surprised, Hancock remains blushing, Kuma stays silent, and Doflamingo laughs.

Moriah and Jinbe proceed to fight, Moriah claiming he will take Jinbe's shadow and augmenting himself with shadows of several Marine soldiers. Jinbe, however, evades Moriah's attacks with ease and deals him a severe blow with Samegawara Seiken forcing him to regurgitate them. 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 is useless to converse with Kuma as the person 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 despised 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 multitude and Ivankov decides to pound Kuma's fear of him back into his psyche, using a dropkick and powerful explosive winks to temporarily knock Kuma to the ground. Ivankov then tells the Luffy and his subordinates to keep moving to the execution stand.

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 cooperate with each other. Luffy continues his advance 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 cannot fight him, because if he gets close to him, Mihawk will just cut him. Seeing he is unable to progress, Marco, commander of Whitebeard Pirates 1st Division, orders Vista the Flower Sword, commander of Whitebeard's 5th Division, to help him out. Vista, also a master swordsman, manages to hold Mihawk back, so Luffy breaks away.



As Whitebeard is stabbed by a deceived Squard, Moriah and Doflamingo look excited, and Mihawk looks indifferent. Later, Crocodile strikes down the executioners who tried to kill Ace, due to him being unable to accept the haughty 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.

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 destroyed more Pacifistas, causing Sentomaru to question her allegiance.

After Ace died, and Luffy suffered a psychological 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 Level 6 of 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 position, having no further use for it, much to Sengoku's disgust and the terror of the Marines. Blackbeard is then attacked by Whitebeard, but then retaliates with his crew and assaults Whitebeard with bullets and blades, ultimately assassinating the Ruler of the Seas.

After witnessing Whitebeard's death, the combatants still active in the battle then witnessed 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 into combat against Sengoku and Monkey D. Garp.

When the Red Hair Pirates arrived to negotiate a ceasefire between the three factions, Mihawk departed as he agreed to battle against the Whitebeard Pirates, not his former rival Shanks. Hancock stole a Marine ship to chase after the submarine, under the claim that she desired Luffy's head. The Blackbeard Pirates left the battlefield, as they achieved the outcomes they wanted.

Members' Post-War Actions
When the war had finally ended, in the backstreets of Marineford, Moriah is surrounded by Doflamingo and the Pacifista, the latter claiming Moriah is too weak maintain his position as a Shichibukai, and that it is better for him to be remembered as a casualty of the war, as opposed to being erased by the World Government. When Moriah questioned if Sengoku made the order, Doflamingo implied either Commander-in-Chief Kong or the Gorosei did. However, Moriah then disappeared with what Doflamingo suggests to be the Kage Kage no Mi powers but Doflamingo does not seem to care since Moriah was critically injured and would probably die soon anyway. Doflamingo later threatened to quit the Shichibukai if dealings with the World Government no longer interest him. The newspaper reports that Moriah died in the war regardless.

Hancock would take Luffy and his allies back to Amazon Lily so they could recover in peace and not be found by the Marines. Jinbe was with them and would help Luffy get out of his depression over his death of his brother and helped him remind him about his crew and his desire to see them again. Hancock and Jinbe would later get acquainted with Rayleigh when he arrived on Amazon Lily and would talk about Kuma's message to them while Hancock could only focus on Luffy and fixed on the idea of marrying Luffy.

After Rayleigh explained the training plan for the Straw Hat captain, Rayleigh, Luffy, and Jinbe with the help of the Kujas would return to Marineford to ring the Ox Bell and send out Luffy's message to his crew. Afterwards, Jinbe would later part ways with Luffy and express his desire to meet him again at Fishman Island. After Jinbe left, Hancock would take Luffy and Rayleigh to Rusukaina for Luffy's training. When Rayleigh said that Hancock or the other Kujas were not allowed to enter the island to disrupt Luffy's training, Hancock was furious but calmed down when he said it was for Luffy's sake. Hancock acquiesced to wait and pray for her love.

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 Moriah was presumed deceased, but Mihawk cited 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; under a deal he made with Vegapunk, he obtained a special mission to protect the Thousand Sunny until a Straw Hat returns to it. 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 Gorosei expressed concern among themselves about how the balance of power has been destabilized by the Shichibukai being reduced to only four individuals, and discussed the need in selecting influential people to occupy the vacant positions.

Unfortunately, Jinbe had to leave Fishman Island with his crew the Sun Pirates shortly after the war ended and could not meet Luffy at Fishman Island as he originally planned to do. Apparently, the Sun Pirates could only reside on the island as long as Jinbe was a Shichibukai. After Jinbe abdicated his position, he and his crew were reinstated as criminals and so could not stay. Some time before he left, he gave Prince Fukaboshi a message to disclose to Luffy, warning him not to confront Hody Jones and that he would be waiting for the young captain in the Sea Forest.

Timeskip
After acquiring a bounty of 440,000,000 due to sending the hearts of one hundred pirates to Marineford, Trafalgar Law was given a position in the Shichibukai.

An unknown pirate who once pleaded for his life and cut off Zephyr's arm filled an empty position in the Shichibukai, prompting the former Admiral to defect from the Marines.

Buggy acquired the status of Shichibukai as well, became leader of a group called the Pirate Dispatch Society, and earned the epithet "Star Clown."

Two Years Later
Two years after the Battle of Marineford, when Franky returned to the Thousand Sunny, Kuma, who was heavily damaged from the one year of constant battles to protect the ship, left, leaving the Straw Hats in his debt. Hancock took Luffy back to Sabaody Archipelago, so he could meet up with the rest of his crew. She stopped a Marine warship from shooting down the Thousand Sunny, and bought enough time for the Straw Hats to submerge, escaping.

Punk Hazard
On Punk Hazard, the Straw Hat Pirates encounter a man with no upper body who presumably holds a grudge against an unknown Shichibukai. It is later revealed that Trafalgar Law is responsible for the aforementioned torso-less man.

When Vice Admiral Smoker and his men approach the research facility, Law asks what they are doing at his "vacation house" and demands them to leave. Smoker reminds Law that the island is off-limits. Replying in kind, Law then tells Smoker that it goes the same for him. Smoker then informs that the Straw Hats are on the island and then demands access to the inside of the research facility, but Law refuses. He states that he is alone on the island and if he encounters Luffy or any of the Straw Hat Pirates, he would deal with them. Just then a group of the Straw Hats accompanied by the imprisoned giant children come out through the door. Chopper sees and accuses Law of kidnapping the children.

The Straw Hats and the children flee back inside after seeing the Marines and Law insists that he did not even know that they were there, and that this is all a surprise to him. As the Marines prepare to chase after them, Law blocks their path. He attacks using his Devil Fruit ability on the Marines' ship, lifting it out of the water, and turning it upside down. Law then tells Smoker that he cannot let him leave the island now.

Law then severs Smoker's battleship in half and left one half attached to a mountain, while the other half remained on the ground, thereby depriving the them of any means of escape. He then turns around, saying that he cannot let the fleeing Straw Hats run away either and proceeds to swap their hearts around with Shambles. When the Marines tell Law that his Shichibukai status would be revoked if they report him to the government, Law does not seem concerned and simply uses "Scan" to steal all of their Den Den Mushi and says that he was not going to let them say a word of what they have seen to the World Government or to Headquarters. Smoker then attempts to attack him, but Law evades his attack and slashes him with his nodachi. Smoker seems unaffected, but the Marines watching get sliced up instead. Captain Tashigi then attempts to attack Law as well, but Law effortlessly slices her and her sword in half. Tashigi tells him that being sliced but not killed is a shame to a swordsman, but Law says that weaklings do not choose their method of death.

Before Law can cut Tashigi more Smoker blocks him with his jutte, and the two battle. As they clash, Smoker demands answers from Law, some regarding on who Law is working for, indicating a hidden agenda. Law manages to gain the upper hand by stealing Smoker's heart with his Mes attack. While Smoker kneels in defeat, Law comments that he does not have to tell him anything. Luffy then arrives at the scene and is pleasantly surprised to see Law.

Luffy quickly expresses his thanks to Law for his help two years ago. Law merely replies that he was just acting on a whim and tells Luffy that he will find something in the back of the research facility. Law then goes back into the building, while still carrying Smoker's heart, and speaks to Caesar Clown. Caesar demands an explanation for his actions, but Law replies that he is the one complaining. Meanwhile the head of the torso-less man divulged to the Straw Hats when he arrived on Punk Hazard to search for his son Momonosuke, Law dismembered him and separated his body parts to various parts of the island.

He later gives Smoker's heart to Caesar. Caesar holds Smoker's heart in his hand, while Law looks on silently with a displeased look in his eyes and a frown. Law then asks what happened to Straw Hat, and Caesar reveals that having taken Monet's warning about the Straw Hats' possible increase in strength seriously, he sent two powerful people after them: the Assassins of the Snowy Mountain, the Yeti Cool Brothers. When Monet informs Caesar about Law's association with Luffy at Sabaody Archipelago and Marineford, Caesar pulls a pistol on Law and questions him about his relationship to the notable pirate. Law denies having anything to do with the Straw Hat Pirates' presence on the island. Caesar then realizes that Law would not betray him, as he would not make things more complicated for them, after becoming a Shichibukai and coming to Punk Hazard. As Caesar is about to leave, Law asks him why the kids will not run away. Caesar tells him that he gave the kids the addicting drug NHC10, to which Law responds with disdain, he also notes that it reminds him of someone. After finishing talking to Caesar, Law heads to the back door of the facility and cuts down some of Caesar's troops along the way, remarking that he can go wherever he pleases.

While Luffy and Franky are fighting against the Yeti Cool Brothers, Law appears and cuts Scotch in half. Scotch gets back up and comes at Law with a knife. Law jumps up and puts both hands on Scotch's chest. He emits an electric current, using a move called Counter Shock. Scotch falls over in a burning heap. Nami thanks Law, but promptly retracts it and asks for her body back. As Luffy breaks Nami's chains with his teeth, Law tells him he wants to talk to Luffy about something. Even though his coming to the island might have been accidental, there is an important key lying dormant on the island that could throw the world into pandemonium. He goes on to say that there are only two ways to survive in the New World, either go under the safety umbrella of a Yonko, or consistently challenge them. Law says he knows Luffy is not the serving kind, which Luffy agrees with. Law then asks Luffy to form an alliance with him. If Luffy accepts, then the two of them can initiate Law's agenda to dethrone one of the Yonko.

When Luffy tries to comprehend how Law wants to defeat a Yonko, Law explains that he wants to think off a strategy and wait for the right chance. After asking Luffy again, Luffy responds that he wants to know which Yonko they are going to defeat. Law gives an answer that is only audible to Luffy and Nami. Luffy then happily agrees.

The Straw Hats protest against the alliance stating that Law is suspicious and cannot be trusted. Declaring the alliance official, Luffy reaffirms his belief that Law is a good guy and that if he does betray them, then he would have to contest with Luffy and his crew mates that have spent two years training. Law watches impatiently as they continue to argue about whether they can trust each other. Afterwards, with the discussion on trust settled, he returns Franky and Chopper back into their original bodies, but is forced to leave Nami (much to Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp's amusement) in Sanji's body. Demanding her body back, Law simply states that he cannot unless her body is nearby.

Quickly changing the subject to the children, he goes on to advise that the Straw Hats should simply leave the children behind, as they would be too much of a burden to bear and Caesar has them addicted to a drug in order to control them. After Chopper states that he knew that and points out that they have grown so big, Law explains that turning humans into giants is a World Government project that has been going for hundreds of years. When Robin asks why they would do that, he guesses that it is an attempt to create powerful soldiers and that Caesar is continuing the research to beat the World Government and Vegapunk, even though it does not seem to be going very well.

Law then asks them again if they really want to save the kids, since they do not even know them or where they are from. Chopper and Luffy both state that they want to and Luffy says that Law has to help them, if he wants an alliance. Luffy then adds that Sanji wants to hang on to the samurai, shocking Law as he was the one to cut him into pieces earlier. Usopp then tells Law about how his and Luffy's ideas about an alliance are probably very different, and that Luffy would be very stubborn and selfish.

Law simply points out that their own wishes of helping the kids and Kin'emon are not part of the alliance, but quickly changes his mind and tells them to do something about the samurai while he goes to try and figure out what medicine the children were administered. Asking who their doctor is as they would need to accompany him, Law is then mortified as Chopper (still paralyzed and injured due to Luffy and Franky's earlier actions) was tied to the top to his hat by Usopp.

Law instead opts to tying Chopper to his sword's sheath and informs the Straw Hats that Caesar wants to get rid of them and the White Hunter, and that he will keep attacking until he succeeds as they have uncovered his hidden base of operations. After he explains to them that Caesar is a scientist for the World Government gone rogue and his dangerous abilities requiring Haki to counter, Luffy asks him if kidnapping Caesar is all they have to do. Law confirms this, stating that the goal is not a ransom but instead 'chaos'. However as they have not achieved anything yet, he chooses to not inform them of any more of his plan and to just focus on capturing Caesar. He assures them though, that he will explain his plan to them in detail, but once they get to that point he warns them that things will begin to move very fast and that they can not go back. Law gives Luffy one last chance to change his mind, Luffy, however, still wants to have the alliance and agrees to convince the rest of his crew of their intentions.

Law later uses his Devil Fruit powers to warp himself and Chopper to the back side of the research facility to begin their part of the plan. They then discuss on how they can begin searching for the drugs. Law is then seen surprised when Luffy's group is launched into the middle of a battle between the G-5 Marines and Caesar's subordinates.

He then enters the facility with Chopper hidden in his bag. He approaches Monet and asks her to come with him. Before leaving with Monet, Law leaves Chopper in the room. While walking in a hallway, Law suddenly collapses to the ground. A mysterious person approaches and Law is surprised to see him.

The mystery man is revealed to be Vergo who then explains to Law that "they" decided to send Monet to infiltrate Caesar's organization as they did not trust him. After Vergo recognizes Law's new position as Shichibukai and tells him how he got to Punk Hazard, Law asks what has he done to receive this treatment from Vergo. He points out to Law that if he had done something he would have been dead and that he cannot hide anything from adults. Law decides that he has to get rid of Vergo, who answers by knocking Law unconscious while telling Law to address him with more respect.

Law is later seen locked in a cage with kairoseki chains, along with Luffy, Robin, Franky, Smoker, and Tashigi. Then Law reveals Vergo as underling of Joker who became a Vice Admiral on Joker's orders. Luffy then asks Law who Joker is, and Law says it is Donquixote Doflamingo, who he was once an underling of.

When Smiley consumes what appears to be a giant piece of candy, it transforms into a giant cloud of poison. After explaining about the effects of the gas, Caesar sends Law, Smoker, Tashigi, and Luffy's group outside of the facility to die as the poison cloud engulfs the island. Law then informs Luffy that it is time for a counter attack.

Law then asks if there is anyone capable of producing fire. Franky affirms that he can and is directed to launch his Franky Fireball at the segregated battleship down below. Setting the wood alight, the smoke then rises up to the cage allowing for them to discreetly take action. Law quickly reveals that he had replaced some of the sea stone handcuffs with regular ones allowing for him to escape easily. Freeing Luffy and the others, Law then coerces Smoker and Tashigi into an alliance with the group after returning them to their own bodies. Before he can reveal his next step however, Law is immediately distracted by Luffy calling out from outside the cage with Robin. After Law yells at him not to act independently, they then later move into the laboratory thanks to Law's power. They open the shutters, allowing everyone outside to escape the poison gas.

Once everyone is safe from the poison cloud, Law tells Smoker and Tashigi not to get in his and Luffy's way. Nami quickly demands that Law switch back her and Sanji's personalities. Law complies and switches them back. Law then tells everyone present that they need to find a door with "R Building 66" on it. He says that they all have two hours to escape. Luffy questions him on what is going to happen and Law replies that he will do something to make the base unsafe.

Law is later seen conversing with Smoker about Caesar's plans to prevent their escape from the facility by sealing the passage between Buiding A and B. He advises him to order his subordinates to progress forward quickly. An emergency broadcast is heard from the D Building that Law is in the manufacture room of the SAD room having defeated the minions assigned to protect the room and performs an action that could lead to anarchy for himself and the New World as well.

Vergo is later seen contacting Doflamgino who is on an island resort called Dressrosa. After being informed of Law's treachery, Doflamingno orders Vergo to destroy the SAD room and to extinguish Law with extreme prejudice. All the while, a woman in a maid outfit known as Baby 5 tries to assassinate him with a variety of weapons that come out of her arms. Another subordinate knocks her away before Doflamingo uses his power to halt her attack. He closes the transmission telling Vergo, Monet and Caesar to be vigilant of Luffy as he has the Haoshoku Haki, that he will be sending Baby 5 and Buffalo as support and for everyone to return to Dressrosa when they have completed their missions.

Law is then confronted by Vergo. Law attempts to use his Devil Fruit ability to retrieve his heart, but Vergo steals it back from him and brutally beats him to the ground by using his heart to incapacitate the Shichibukai. Law manages to hit Vergo with a Counter Shock, but the attack is ineffective. Law tells Vergo that he is the one miscalculation in his plan. Vergo prepares to finish off Law, but Smoker then appears and the two prepare to battle.

During the battle between Smoker and Vergo, the former was able use his Devil Fruit abilities to secure Law's heart despite the latter's Haki. No longer at a serious disadvantage, Law prepares to cut down Vergo while calling out Doflamingo who is revealed to have been monitoring the situation via a miniature Den Den Mushi. Reminding his former underling of the beating Vergo had given him in the past and his inability to defend himself, Law shocks his fellow Shichibukai by easily cutting down Vergo and the wake of his attack cutting the laboratory and surrounding mountains in two. Law then proceeds to slice Vergo into more pieces and attach them to a railing. Vergo then tries to warn Law about Doflamingo until Law cuts his face in half. As Law and Smoker are leaving, Law informs Vergo that the SAD room will explode.

Law and Smoker later find a rail car in the corridor between Building D and R. They are soon reunited with the Straw Hats, the kidnapped children, and the G-5 Marines. When Luffy tells Law that he sent Caesar flying, Law scolds him for not following the plan of capturing him and opted to capture Caesar himself.

Law and the others are still waiting for the Straw Hats to come on board. Luffy says that they will not budge until every member of the Straw Hats have arrived. They make it just in time and everyone piles into the railcart to get away from Shinokuni. Elsewhere in the facility, Monet, still conscious, calls Doflamingo, who tells her to detonate a weapon that would destroy the entire island and leave only Caesar alive. Caesar notices Doflamingo sent help to rescue him and decides to kill Smoker with the heart that was given to him by Law. In the SAD Production room which is coming down, Doflamingo calls Vergo, apologizing to him and thanking him for his hard work which Vergo oddly smiles at. An explosion rocks the building which Law figures came from the SAD room. Debris starts threatening to fall on the the track which the Straw Hats manage to knock aside.

Monet feels it too but knows it won't be enough to explode the island. She readies to hit the ignition switch, saying a silent goodbye to Doflamingo. However at that point Caesar stabs the heart, but Smoker isn't affected. Monet however falls over, dead. Smoker asks Law why Caesar thought he had his heart and a flashback reveals that Caesar had forgotten he had given Law Monet's heart as insurance they wouldn't betray each other. After Law had defeated Smoker he had simply switched the hearts and given Caesar Monet's who thought it was Smoker's.

Meanwhile Doflamingo's crew have noticed that he has left Dressrosa and is flying across the ocean heading toward Punk Hazard having grown concerned when Monet didn't answer his call. Upon realizing that Baby 5 and Buffalo are still alive and the island still stands. He tells the pair that he will be there shortly.

Law and the Straw Hats finally escape outside where Law identifies the Donquixote Pirate members. When questioned by Luffy if they were his friends, Law coldly states the two are his enemies. When Nami and Usopp step up to fight, Law shows concern that Ceasar might escape. Nami tells him to have faith in their alliance. The Straw Hats easily overpower Baby 5 and Buffalo, knocking them out of the sky and stop Ceasar from trying to run. With this the Donquixiote members are defeated and fall into the ocean. Law proclaims the first step of his agenda has been completed.

After the battles are finaly over, Law starts treating the kids. He used his power to dismember the children and systematicaly removed the NHC10 out of their bodies. Upon finishing the treatment, a worried Chopper shows up, calling him a murderer and asking him what he did to the kids. After telling chopper to leave him alone, he gave Chopper a graphic answer, shocking him. When everyone starts celebrating, Law tells Luffy that they must not waste time anymore. Luffy, however, encourages everyone to party more, which shocks Law. Soon he joins the party though and has a cup of soup, together with Smoker. When Smoker suggests that Law is probably using Luffy for something, Law responds that he's not sure who is using who. It is then revealed by in a flashback, that Law formed an alliance with Luffy, to take down the Yonko, Kaido. Law advised Luffy not to underestimate the Yonko, as they once competed with Whitebeard for territory, and continued by saying that the chance of success is only 30%, but Luffy accepted anyway.

As Doflamingo makes his way towards Punk Hazard he encounters a life raft from the SAD tanker ship. On it he finds the severed but alive heads of his crew mates Baby 5 and Buffalo. They apologize profusely to him, but he tells them they were only following his orders. A Den Den Mushi of Law's begins to speak to Doflamingo. Doflamingo notes Law is a hard person to get ahold of. He asks Law what he's done with his crewmates bodies, as Law tells him he doesn't know. Doflamingo laughs at Law's confidence, warning him to not to anger him. Law responds that the only one who is going to be angered is Kaido, one of the four Yonko. Law tells Doflamingo that once he finds out he can no longer produce the SAD he will not be able to bargain with him, and will be killed.

Doflamingo asks what Law wants in exchange for getting Ceasar Clown back. Law demands him to abdicate the position of Shichibukai that he has held for a decade and return to being a regular pirate. That once he is no longer protected, the Admirals will hunt him down. Law tells Doflamingo if the newspapers do not tell he has withdrawn, their negotiations are over. After this, Doflamingo is left simmering in rage over what to do next.

Dressrosa
Just as the Straw Hats departed from Punk Hazard, Doflamingo arrived on the island. He promptly reattached the heads of his subordinates while gliding in from the sea. He used Haoshoku Haki, knocking out a majority of the G-5 Marines. They asked him why he was attacking them, but Doflamingo asked where did the Straw Hat Pirates and Law go. The Marines opened fire, ignoring Smoker's order to stand down as Doflamingo used his string based powers to slice apart the crew and their weapons. Still enraged, he demanded again where the Straw Hat Pirates and Law went.



Smoker confronted Doflamingo stating that he does not know. He lied, telling him there was nothing he could do but let them go, and he intended to report to Vice Admiral Vergo. Doflamingo stated that Smoker knew too much and used Busoshoku Haki, cutting him down. The remaining G-5 Marines despaired, as Doflamingo promised he will kill them as well and catch up to Law and the Straw Hat Pirates. But before he struck the finishing blow to Smoker, the former Admiral Aokiji suddenly arrived and demanded him to step aside.

As these events occurred, Law found himself in the company of the Straw Hat Pirates along with Kin'emon and his son. As they begin sailing down a "Sea Slope" he informed them that these are common to find, with Usopp in disbelief. As the rest learned of their next destination being Dressrosa, he told their strategy is in motion. Luffy informed them of their alliance with the Shichibukai to take down Kaido, with mixed reactions from the crew. Sanji warned Law that his idea of an alliance will be different from what Luffy intended. Law explained to everyone how the powerful pirates rule certain territories with large crews and organizations. He intended to disrupt Doflamingo's rule over the criminal underworld, and by stopping the production of the SAD and creation of Artificial Devil Fruits, he will also halt the numbers of Kaido's growing army. Law told the crew their next step was to destroy the factory producing the SAD in Dressrosa and urged them all to not let their guards down.



Back on Punk Hazard, Doflamingo ignores the presence of the former Admiral, and tries to finish Smoker off. Before he is able to make another move, Aokiji freezes him solid but Doflamingo breaks out of his ice. He tells Aokiji that he has no intention of engaging him. He then questions briefly just what kind of man he has become, saying that the rumors are not good, before leaving with Baby 5 and Buffalo. The next morning, the newspaper reports that he has resigned from the Shichibukai, as well as abdicating his position as monarch of Dressrosa, thus giving into Law's demands.

Shortly after reading about Doflamingo's resignation, Law contacts him, setting the location of where he will leave Caesar for pickup, on Green Bit, with Luffy suddenly interrupting the call with his declarations. As for Law, his alliance with Luffy somehow became public news as well, leading his status to be in jeopardy.

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" when translated directly into 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".

Meanwhile, the One Piece Green: Secret Pieces databook which was released in Japan in November 2010, includes, in the original Japanese version, several romanizations and English names for just about every character and group in the series. The Shichibukai are listed as "The Seven Worlds of the Sea". The word "Worlds" appearing in there is not a translation at all from the Japanese version, and is unexplained in the book. However, it does appear right in the area of the book where the two page spread was split, splitting it as "Wo" and "rlds". It is possible that either Oda prefers to call the group "The Seven Worlds of the Sea", or that this was a mistake, and the book intended to call them "Warlords".

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, One Piece Super Deformed Figures, and One Piece World Collectible Figure series.

Trivia

 * While Yosaku was accurate in describing their immense powers and alliance with the World Government, the shadowy figures he imagined bore no resemblance to the actual members aside from Mihawk.
 * In the SBS of volume 63 Oda drew all the known Shichibukai at the time (formers included) as children. Trafalgar Law was not a Shichibukai then, but he was shown as a child when Oda drew the Eleven Supernovas (which Law is also a member of) as children in the next SBS. Buggy was not shown as a child in any SBS, but was already seen in flashbacks.

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