Wang Shi drew his sword with a clang.
As the blade touched the cell bars, the bars mysteriously vanished.
This gave Aramaki Mu a preliminary understanding of the abilities of this [King of Exile].
The emperor's sword, worn by the Wang Shi, rested on Aramaki's shoulder, his expression solemn and dignified.
"The path to promotion for the meritorious Baron under my command is very clear."
"As long as your strength is recognized by me, you only need to defeat a pirate with a bounty of tens of millions to be granted the title of Imperial Baron!"
"Similarly, defeating a pirate with a bounty of 100 million will grant you the Viscount in the Empire."
"Earl 300 million, Marquess of 500 million, Duke of 1 billion!"
"If you possess the strength of Admiral, the Royal Duke of the Goa Empire will be yours."
Wang Shi casually outlined the power blueprint of the Goa Empire to Aramaki.
I know your strength.
"Now I'll give you two choices."
"Firstly, I will directly bestow upon you the title of Duke, but since you are currently unknown, you may face criticism and endure some gossip and abuse."
"Secondly, I will bestow upon you the title of Baron, allowing you to rise through the ranks and demonstrate your formidable strength and renown to the world through force!"
Wang Shi placed his sword on Aramaki's shoulder, presenting Aramaki with two choices.
'Direct Duke?'
Aramaki's eyes widened in shock; His Majesty the Wang Shi valued him so highly.
This is the title of Duke!
It should be noted that Grand Duke Harada is the Duke of the Taya Kingdom.
Miss Shinagawa is the daughter of a Duke.
They firmly controlled Aramaki's path to promotion in the Guard Army.
He could even be imprisoned for a single charge of 'offense'.
Now, Wang Shi is actually willing to grant him the title of Duke, placing him directly on par with Grand Duke Harada.
No, the Duke of the Goa Empire are even more prestigious than the Duke of the Taya Kingdom!
If he were to become Duke in the Goa Empire, he could not only disregard the Duke's daughter Shinagawa, and Grand Duke Harada, but he could even despise Prince Qizhi!
This is so exciting and crazy!!
Eric, Van Augur, Zoro, and Saka were all stunned when they heard that the Wang Shi wanted to grant Aramaki a Duke.
Is this Aramaki really that strong?!
Doesn't this mean that this Aramaki must at least possess the strength of Three Disasters Four Sweet Commanders, or a candidate for Admiral?
How could such a powerful person be imprisoned in this jail?
···
Upon hearing the choice Wang Shi made, even Aramaki, who possessed the strength of Admiral, was thrown into turmoil.
After all, he is now just a prisoner; even before the incident, he was just a high-ranking police officer in the Taya Kingdom.
Now he has the opportunity to rise to the top and become an Imperial Duke in one fell swoop.
This made it difficult for him, an unknown nobody who had never left the South Blue, not to feel uneasy.
A long silence followed.
Even the prison guards and Taya's entourage were sweating profusely.
They hadn't expected Wang Shi to look at Aramaki like that; had they offended an imperial Duke?
"Your Majesty, granting me the title of Baron of the Goa Empire is sufficient; I will rise through the ranks myself!"
Aramaki revealed a confident smile; as long as there was a path to climb, that was enough.
His biggest fear is not seeing a path to promotion.
The path to nobility was firmly controlled by those powerful nobles, who could manipulate him at will, despite his relentless pursuit of advancement.
Otherwise, with his military achievements, he could easily have become a Baron, Viscount, or even Earl in the Taya Kingdom.
Starting today, he will follow the Haki Emperor Wang Shi and embark on his path to rise to power.
He aims to achieve the promotions of Viscount (100 million), Earl (300 million), Marquess (500 million) within a year!
I plan to be promoted to a billionaire Duke within two years!
He doesn't have a clear understanding of his own abilities yet; he needs to figure out his true strength first.
It seems that His Majesty the Wang Shi understands himself better than he understands himself.
Moreover, being promoted to Duke within two years is a much more promising prospect than his more than ten years in the Taya Kingdom's Guard Army.
Actually, the feeling of climbing up step by step is quite exhilarating.
He rose through the ranks from a trainee police officer to a senior police officer.
Each promotion brought him joy and satisfaction.
He enjoys the feeling of upgrading; he wants to climb to the top step by step and trample the inferiors under his feet.
···
"Then I hereby formally bestow upon you the title of Baron of the Goa Empire!"
Wang Shi placed his sword on Aramaki's shoulder and announced loudly.
"Thank you, Your Majesty! Aramaki will forever be loyal to Your Majesty!"
Aramaki shouted excitedly, "He's become an Imperial Baron! He's become a nobleman!"
"Let's go, go out and bathe and change, put on the Baron's uniform, and I'll pin the Baron's medals on you!"
Wang Shi sheathed his sword, helped Aramaki up, and spoke with a smile.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Aramaki stood up, and he felt as if his soul and his entire future had also stood up.
He no longer needed to be beholden to the officers and nobles of the Taya Kingdom.
He only needs to be loyal to His Wang Shi.
He was an Imperial Baron with the 'status of Duke's in the eyes of the Wang Shi!
Seeing the excited look on Aramaki's face, Wang Shi was secretly laughing too.
Finally...
He recruited an Admiral- level subordinate into his ranks.
He can stand even taller from now on!
The emperors of the Underworld and the intermediaries sent by the Big Mom Pirates have recently displayed a domineering attitude, seemingly intent on forcibly buying Germa Technology.
Wang Shi did not respond to them directly.
But now, he dares to slap them back, and he's not afraid of their retaliation at all.
If Big Mom Linlin dared to leave the New World herself, then Wang Shi would immediately request the World Government and Marine Headquarters to escort her.
If they only send out some Sweet Commander experts, Wang Shi will make sure they don't return!
You dare try to force me to buy your stuff? No way!
And then there's Doflamingo, who acts as the middleman. If he dares to utter a single word, Wang Shi will still slap him across the face.
When interests are at stake, they won't give you face, regardless of whether you're an ally or not.
···
Wang Shi left the Royal City Prison with Aramaki and his men.
The prison officials and guards, drenched in sweat, were left behind, having been ordered by Prince Qizhi to forbid the delivery of food to the Aramaki.
I wonder if this new Baron of the Goa Empire will hold a grudge against them.
Inside the Royal Hotel.
They bathed and changed clothes, donning their full Aramaki.
Under the watchful eyes of two princesses, four Baron, and a host of naval and Guard Army.
Wang Shi personally pinned a gold Imperial Baron's Medal on Aramaki's chest.
This made Aramaki extremely happy.
This imperial uniform is really Haki; it's even more comfortable than the uniforms of the Taya Kingdom's Guard Army.
Wang Shi greeted Aramaki with warm words of concern and inquired about his family.
As a result, Aramaki and Beast Kaido were similar; both lost their parents at a young age and joined the reserve Guard Army to survive, climbing the ranks step by step.
That's even better. Since he's all alone, he can simply leave with Wang Shi and change his nationality to the Goa Empire.
On the other hand, perhaps they learned that the Wang Shi recruiting Aramaki.
The Duke's Shinagawa, and Prince Qizhi, who were quite frightened, went into hiding on the orders of King Qizhi VI and traveled to a neighboring country overnight.
They were afraid that if the two encountered Aramaki, something unexpected might happen.
The Duke's daughter Shinagawa, never imagined that her dream of becoming an empress would be rudely interrupted by Aramaki, a scoundrel police officer.
She didn't even have the chance to conquer His Majesty the Wang Shi with her beauty.
This is truly a cruel twist of fate!
She vented her resentment on Prince Qizhi had 'arbitrarily' severely punished the Aramaki.
It's all Prince Qizhi's fault; she never intended to 'kill' Aramaki.
Otherwise, she might have been able to use the Aramaki to get close to Goa Emperor Wang Shi of Goa and become the Empress of the Empire.