Chapter 457: Invitation

"Thank you."

Aokiji was not reserved, sat down generously opposite Zhang Zhang Jie, and took the teacup.

"Good tea!"

After a sip of tea, Aokiji's eyes lit up instantly.

This tea looked ordinary at first, without the strange phenomenon of tea fragrance overflowing, but after entering the throat, it was bitter but not astringent,

and after swallowing it into the abdomen, the internal organs were warm, and at the same time,

there was a refreshing sweetness rising, which made people have endless aftertaste.

"As long as the Admiral likes it."

Zhang Zhang Jie smiled and filled it up for Aokiji.

He was not surprised that Aokiji looked like he had done research on tea.

Although because it is the Great Age of Pirates, the audience for wine far exceeds that of tea,

almost all ocean sailors, pirates, and even most Marines are alcoholics,

but with the existence of the Flower Country, which sounds like it is imitating a certain country, and the Wano Country, which is located deep in the New World,

and whose name has not changed much, these two major countries,

tea is also widely circulated among the upper echelons of various forces.

After casual greetings, Zhang Zhang Jie went straight to the point and asked bluntly:

"I don't know what the Admiral is here for? Could it be to capture me?"

Aokiji put down the teacup in his hand and shook his head with a laugh: "You are joking.

You have neither burned, killed, nor looted, nor done anything harmful,

nor have you broken the law, so how could we Marines come to capture you?"

Zhang Zhang Jie nodded secretly in his heart, believing Aokiji's words by eight or nine points.

Although the Marines have been stretched thin in recent years under the Great Pirate Era opened by Luo Jie at the cost of his life,

and there are quite a few scums like Captain Nezumi who collude with pirates and

seek profit for themselves, overall they are still biased toward the orderly and good camp,

and are an indispensable pillar for maintaining the order of the sea from collapsing.

And to say that because he exposed his strength, they would come to target him,

then the Marines could not continue to maintain order—there are quite a few lone rangers with powerful strength like him,

and the two new Marine Admirals, Fujitora and Green Bull, recruited in the future Marine world conscription, are all powerhouses scattered among the people.

Of course, although he believed a few points in his heart, adhering to the principle of not having the heart to harm others,

but the heart to guard against others is indispensable, Zhang Zhang Jie still silently increased his vigilance,

and the *Black God* also entered the highest alert mode. As long as Aokiji dared to have any unusual movements, he would explode with a thunderous blow!

Although Zhang Zhang Jie did not expect that a single ship could defeat a Marine Admiral representing the world's top combat power,

but once the laser cannon installed on it was fired at the highest power, it would inevitably give Aokiji a big surprise.

After all, except for monsters with physiques like Big Mom and Kaido, either born or added by Devil Fruits,

other top powerhouses in the world will also have their defenses broken by low-level attacks.

For example, Garp was slashed by Captain Morgan with an axe, making him the "Axe Emperor" after the "Mountain Bandit King."

And there is the Summit War, when Akainu used the 43 New World pirate captains under the Whitebeard Pirates,

one of the pirate captains, Squard, had an old grudge with the Pirate King Luo Jie (Luo Jie had destroyed his pirate group),

and deceived him by saying that Whitebeard had reached a secret agreement with the Marines,

preparing to sacrifice the 43 captains, including Squard, to save the life of his "son" Ace.

During the white-hot stage of the war, he suddenly stabbed Whitebeard in the chest from behind with a sword, causing fatal serious injuries.

This sneak attack brought huge physical trauma and psychological blow to Whitebeard, who was already old and sick.

Although he chose to forgive Squard, who had been deceived, this wound severely weakened his combat effectiveness,

making him at a disadvantage in subsequent battles with top combat powers like the three Admirals, and finally died in battle due to exhaustion.

"The strength of this pirate traitor is still above the data shown before!"

Feeling the stinging pain coming from his whole body, like when he was facing a tiger alone in his youth,

Aokiji increased his attention to Zhang Zhang Jie a lot.

As the highest combat power of the Marines, the last person who gave him this feeling was Whitebeard, the world's strongest man!

Even though he was considered a monster by the Marines, Aokiji had to admit,

there are still monsters among monsters in this world.

Whitebeard is one, and the young man who is smiling in front of him now,

looking like a harmless herbivore, is also one.

"I came here to represent the World Government and invite you to serve as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."

Aokiji did not sell it, and generously stated the purpose of his coming.

The resolution to invite Zhang Zhang Jie to serve as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea was submitted to the Five Elders, the power holders of the World Government, after Marine Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Marine Grand Staff Officer Vice Admiral Tsuru and

Vice Admiral Garp reached a consensus.

And facing such a proposal that had a hundred benefits and no harm, the Five Elders readily agreed.

It was originally intended to let Vice Admiral Garp be the inviter,

but considering that Zhang Zhang Jie's whereabouts were uncertain and he had entered the Calm Belt, which was unfavorable for warships to enter,

and Vice Admiral Garp's character, which was so honest that it was almost silly, the Five Elders and Sengoku discussed and

urgently transferred him back from the Four Seas to serve as the special envoy for the invitation.

"Invite me to be one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?"

Zhang Zhang Jie tapped the table with his fingers and fell into thought.

In *One Piece*, becoming one of the "Seven Warlords of the Sea" does not have a fixed, public hard standard,

it is more of a flexible "recruitment" strategy adopted by the World Government to maintain the balance of power on the sea.

However, in general, whether a pirate can become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea

depends on two core elements: strength and "transaction" with the World Government.

First, the core foundation is clearly strength and prestige, which is the threshold for becoming one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

The World Government will only invite those pirates who are powerful enough to deter one side.

The first is that they must have disastrous destructive power and combat power comparable to a country.

Secondly, they need to have high popularity, the kind that can make ordinary pirates hear the wind and be terrified.

And strength alone is not enough; they must also reach some form of cooperation or transaction with the World Government.

The first is to pay a "certificate of merit," to obtain a seat by showing loyalty or value to the World Government.

Blackbeard Marshall D. Teach proved his value to the World Government by defeating and handing over "Fire Fist" Ace,

who had a bounty as high as 550 million berries and was the son of Pirate King Luo Jie,

thereby obtaining a seat as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

Trafalgar Law, in two years, was granted the title of one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea by offering 100 pirate hearts to the World Government.

The second is to use one's own special status or conduct interest exchange with the World Government to reach a special agreement.

The most typical example of this is the Heavenly Yaksha Doflamingo,

who used his status as a former Celestial Dragon and his huge underground influence to reach an agreement with the World Government,

not only obtaining a seat as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, but also becoming the King of Dressrosa.

Others include Bartholomew Kuma, the former Seven Warlord who agreed to accept Vegapunk's modification to exchange for the World Government treating his daughter Bonney's illness,

becoming one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and the prototype of the "Pacifista," completely obeying the government.

The third is the active invitation of the World Government: for some pirates whose strength and prestige have reached the standard,

and whose existence is conducive to the World Government's maintenance of rule, the World Government will take the initiative to send an invitation.

Knight of the Sea Jinbe was originally invited by the World Government to promote harmony between humans and fish-men. ===== CHAPTER 458 =====

Furthermore, for pirates whose existence is beneficial to the World Government in maintaining its rule, the World Government will take the initiative to issue an invitation.

The Sea Knight Jinbe was originally invited by the World Government to promote harmony between humans and the Fish-Man race.