"What?! If you're not going to eat it, then give it to me!"
Bonney, completely oblivious to the awkward atmosphere, grabbed the steak from in front of Cifer and stuffed it into her mouth.
Cifer didn't take anything else; he simply sat with his legs crossed, his eyes fixed on Lafitte.
"Mr. Ulquiorra, I mean no harm. My captain is a Great Pirate who can shake the seas! We simply want to help the Navy!"
Lafitte's legs were trembling slightly. He forced himself to stand steady with the stick in his hand and tried to portray himself as a good person.
"Hey Ulquiorra, why don't you let him speak? Maybe that Teach is actually quite talented, hehehehehehe~"
Mingo always likes to make a big fuss, and the fact that Lafitte dared to storm Marineford alone is enough to prove the arrogance of his pirate crew.
"Doflamingo, don't interrupt. I'm afraid I won't be able to resist killing you too."
"Hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm~ Okay, okay~ Just like the rumors say, he's recklessly unruly. He truly is a madman~"
Mingo raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, but a smug smile lingered on his face.
The more unreasonable and crazy Cifer, the more he liked him.
"Seriously, here we go again. Can't we just have a proper meeting?"
Sengoku had a headache. Couldn't these two guys just attend the meeting quietly like Hawk Eyes and the Empress?
Vice Admiral Tsuru maintained the position of resting her chin on her hands; what she needed to do was wait for the group to quiet down before discussing the matter.
Maintaining order is something that should naturally be left to the eldest brother.
"Lafitte, right? I don't think your captain ever told you that he's afraid of me."
"Go back and tell him I'll look for him."
Cifer's fingers tapped rhythmically on the table, each tap seeming to strike Lafitte's heart, making him tremble.
At this point, the latter had no intention of recommending the captain anymore. What Cifer said was tantamount to a kill order for the captain, but at the same time it was also a pardon for himself!
"I will certainly convey Mr. Ulquiorra's message!"
He bowed deeply, and suddenly a pair of huge, pure white wings spread out from his back, intending to escape this dangerous place.
"Never mind, we'll meet again in a couple of days anyway, so there's no need for you to make the trip. I'll take you all to reunite then!"
Extremely terrifying words came from behind.
Lafitte felt a growing sense of crisis and was about to spread his wings and fly away when he felt a jolt in his body and then he couldn't muster any strength at all.
He turned around in a shiver and saw that the man's finger was pointing at him. Looking down in the direction of the finger, he discovered that there was a hole the size of a round bowl in his chest, and blood was gushing out.
"How strange~"
Lafitte collapsed to the ground, unable to understand until his death how he had lost his life so inexplicably after simply delivering a message recommending the captain to become the new Shichibukai.
"Hmm hmm hmm hmm~ Interesting~"
Mingo, like a loyal supporter, clapped vigorously on the table.
"Seriously, Doflamingo, you bastard, shut up... get someone to clean this up!"
Sengoku was somewhat irritated. He hadn't expected that Cifer would kill someone in the conference room without a word. He really was a bastard just like Sakazuki!
"Alright, let's get down to business!"
While the other officers were sending people to deal with Lafitte's body, the crowd present became unusually quiet, and Vice Admiral Tsuru quickly seized the opportunity.
"This meeting is to discuss who will take over Crocodile's place after he was removed from the Shichibukai of the Sea."
"You are all renowned Great Pirate on the high seas, so why don't you recommend one or two reliable individuals?"
Vice Admiral Tsuru got straight to the point.
The World Government's top brass is taking the Shichibukai incident very seriously and has demanded that the Marineford select a replacement as soon as possible, otherwise it will affect the balance of the entire sea.
After all, anyone with connections knows that the Sand Crocodile was defeated by a rookie, which severely diminishes the prestige of the Shichibukai!
We must find someone powerful enough to command respect across the sea to replace him as soon as possible.
"It's very simple. My second-in-command is a perfect fit. At the very least, his strength far surpasses that of Sand Crocodile."
Enel, who was originally high in offense but low in defense, is now developing into a more balanced character. His progress has been noticed by Cifer, who naturally does not hesitate to praise him to others.
"Second-in-command? Are you talking about me?"
Bonney, who was still eating and drinking heartily, suddenly froze, her adorable eyes staring Cifer.
"Don't talk, just keep eating."
"Oh~"
Hearing that it wasn't about her, she buried her head in her rice again.
"You're talking about Enel, right? He's definitely one of the few Logia powerhouses!"
Sengoku had never met Enel, nor had he ever heard of any impressive feats or achievements Enel had accomplished.
However, the fact that he was Ulquiorra's acknowledged second-in-command, and that he was also Devil Fruit User the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, combined with these two factors, made him far from weak.
"It's a pity that he doesn't have any impressive achievements, and he's also one of your crew members, otherwise I would really consider it."
The Sengoku couldn't help but sigh.
As Cifer's second-in-command, Enel had no Bounty, so the world could not directly judge how strong he really was.
Moreover, having two Shichibukai in the same pirate crew might attract some negative comments.
"I'm curious, why didn't you invite the Straw Hat Kid Luffy who defeated Crocodile?"
Hawk Eyes asked one of the questions he had about his trip.
There are two ways to become Shichibukai: one is to become Great Pirate whom the World Government deems capable of intimidating other pirates.
Another possibility is that the victor defeats the former Shichibukai, after which the World Government will extend an invitation to the victor to take his place.
It is obvious that the World Government did not choose the latter.
"I can't give you an answer to this question either, because that's what I originally thought too."
Sengoku was also helpless. This Straw Hat Kid was the grandson of his best friend. If he could invite him to become Shichibukai, everyone would be happy.
Unfortunately, his proposal was rejected by the Gorosei, who said that such a young boy would not have any deterrent effect.
Sengoku felt something was amiss, but as the saying goes, "a higher rank can crush a lower one," not to mention that the other party was the highest authority in the world. He could only obediently convene a meeting of the Shichibukai to discuss the matter further.
"Let's not discuss that issue anymore. Since none of you have any recommendations, here are a few you might want to take a look at."
Vice Admiral Tsuru He waved his hand, and the officers handed several documents to the group.
"These dozens of people are all well-known Great Pirate on the high seas. Who do you think is most suitable to replace Crocodile?"
Even so, Cifer flipped through the pages but didn't find any familiar faces until the last few pages.
"Edward Weevil?"