Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
It was clearly a ceremony held by the World Government for the establishment of the newly formed violent organization, the Shichibukai.
Yet at this moment, everyone was gathered tightly around one person.
That man had a composed expression and an innate kingly aura. Simply standing there was enough to make every outstanding figure of the seas lower their heads before him.
He sat at one of the short ends of the rectangular conference table, with a seagull perched across his arm.
Only after he had taken his seat did Mihawk, Crocodile, Doflamingo, and the other Shichibukai slowly sit down on either side of him.
Admiral Sengoku, who had entered the reception room last, sat at the other short end of the long table, directly opposite Austin.
Despite so many heavyweight figures gathered in one place, to Austin, it felt like nothing more than an ordinary get-together.
It was not even as interesting as the amusing seagull he had encountered on the way here, which had instead drawn more of his attention.
"Long time no see, Seagull King~"
Austin looked at the news-delivering seagull standing rigidly on his arm, its sharp eyes fixed ahead as it maintained a flawless military stance, and genuinely found it amusing.
With a casual flick, he teleported a blueberry from the fruit platter on the table into its beak.
Perhaps because he rarely interacted with small animals, his interest was piqued.
"Do you want to learn Haki?"
That little interlude did not last long.
Noticing how excessively quiet the venue had become, Austin raised an eyebrow.
"Don't mind me. Just proceed as you normally would."
Perhaps realizing they should not waste any more time, Sengoku cleared his throat after Austin said that, then looked toward the seven Great Pirates present.
"Then I'll keep