Headquarters

Feeling the instinctive surge within him, Dawn subconsciously sensed that he seemed able to use something.

It felt as natural as breathing, yet at the same time, somehow different.

If he had to describe it, it was like gaining the ability to fly. It came as naturally as running, but mentally, it still felt strange.

Because "beef ball" had left a particularly deep impression on him, Dawn instinctively released a cyan aura.

As the aura enveloped him, Dawn immediately felt as though his weight had decreased. His body became lighter, and he could run faster.

"Is this the Devil Fruit ability of that 'Black Ball' pirate? An aura? Then what's the other ability?"

After thinking for a moment, Dawn recalled the other pirate's ability.

Then, Dawn imagined the effect of that ability and stretched out his hand toward a basket not far away.

A mark seemed to appear on the basket. With a subconscious thought from Dawn, it automatically flew into his hand.

At that instant, Dawn knew his guess had been correct!

"Hehehehehehe!!!

"Hahahahahaha!!"

Dawn could no longer suppress the excitement in his heart and laughed wildly.

His laughter carried the liberation of long-suppressed emotions, loud enough to seem as though it would echo across the entire island, startling flocks of birds that had been drawn over by the scent in search of food.

Though there was no one with whom he could share his joy, Dawn knew that he had succeeded!

The one gamble that came only once in a lifetime.

He, Abraham Dawn in this life, had won the bet!!!!!

The cyan aura beneath him spread outward from under his feet. He tossed the basket far away, then reached out, and the basket that had been thrown into the distance automatically flew back into his hand.

An unprecedented dual-Devil-Fruit ability!!

"Aura Fruit!"

"Snatch-Snatch Fruit!"

Two Paramecia Fruits! And both were fruits that required imagination to develop!

And in that regard, Dawn possessed incomparable confidence!

Dawn believed that with the abilities of these two fruits, along with his imagination and understanding of this world, he could modify them to complement each other and eventually fuse and evolve them into an incomparably powerful fruit!

Thinking of this, Dawn could no longer restrain his excitement and immediately began training.

The first fruit he needed to develop was the Aura Fruit, because its support abilities could greatly improve Dawn's strength at this stage.

Dawn had already made up his mind to first develop buffs that enhanced himself. That way, even if he encountered danger on the island, his ability to protect himself would increase dramatically.

Dawn activated the cyan speed-boosting aura.

Using the technique of Shave, his lightened body instantly allowed Dawn to stomp the ground more than ten times, a move that had previously been impossible for him.

"Bang!"

Before Dawn could react, the explosive force and movement speed generated in that instant sent him headfirst into the tree in front of him.

Yet Dawn still could not help but burst into laughter.

Fortunately, it was just after feeding time, so the entire island was empty. Otherwise, someone whose meal had been interrupted might have come looking for trouble.

After testing these two abilities, it was only natural for Dawn to be delighted.

After all, although these two fruits had seemed trashy in the hands of those two meatballs, even if only one of them had fallen into Dawn's hands, he would definitely have been able to develop it into something immensely powerful.

This seemingly useless Snatch-Snatch Fruit was not as simple as it appeared. Dawn had even considered how he would develop it if he had obtained only the Snatch-Snatch Fruit's ability.

The idea was so bold that even Dawn did not know whether it could succeed.

But things were different now!

With the Aura Fruit's assistance, the chances of succeeding with that bold idea in Dawn's mind had risen considerably.

And just from its name, Dawn could already think of a whole pile of buffs for the Aura Fruit, such as various enhancements, debuffs, and even buffs with offensive properties.

And what if he could place them on other people as well? How great an effect could that have in war?

With this ability alone, Dawn became even more certain of his decision to join the Marines.

First of all, the Marines truly possessed the most abundant resources, and their faction generally aligned with Dawn's own inclinations.

If Dawn had previously worried that he might not obtain the Marines' resources, then now he would definitely receive heavy cultivation.

Although the Celestial Dragons were disgusting, that was something to consider after becoming stronger. What Dawn needed to do now was continuously grow stronger.

Because Dawn understood that in this world, only the strong had the right to speak. Without strength, everything was just empty talk!

And now, Dawn was confident that he could become strong and ride the tide of the era!

It was located at the very center of the Grand Line, bordering the Sabaody Archipelago, the Red Line, and the Holy Land Mary Geoise.

Between Impel Down, the great undersea prison of "Impel," and Enies Lobby, the "Judicial Island," stood three Gates of Justice that formed a government-exclusive whirlpool sea route.

The island also contained a massive military fortress and a large town where the families of military personnel lived.

It could be said that aside from combat facilities, the island also had all the functions needed for daily life. The island's residents were basically the families of Marines.

From afar, one could see an overwhelming number of heavy cannons around the fortress, along with Marine warships docked nearby.

On the front of the fortress were the enormous words "MARINE," along with the Marine emblem in the center!

This was Marine Headquarters—Marineford!

"Even Crocodile, the 'Desert King' we intend to invite, is only under observation for now. Intelligence indicates that he is preparing to challenge Whitebeard. We will invite him once he becomes a beaten stray."

Sengoku sat at the head of the table and said sternly, "The Shichibukai plan has officially been approved. Once we invite the first one, the rest of the plan will be easier to carry out."

At that moment, Sengoku was discussing the impact of the Shichibukai with the Marine higher-ups in the conference room.

Once the so-called Shichibukai plan was implemented, freedom, authority, and status would be handed entirely to the members of the Shichibukai.

But this was also a necessary measure, because every candidate invited to become a Shichibukai controlled forces or power that were far too dangerous.

Though they appeared to hold a neutral position, once the arrangement was announced and implemented, they would be regarded as enemies by both the Marines and pirates!

To put it bluntly, it was merely a relationship of mutual exploitation with the World Government.

The Shichibukai possessed the authority granted by the World Government to seven pirates, and they would not be pursued by the Marines.

In return, the Shichibukai were obligated to suppress the pirates running rampant across the seas.

And according to the requirements for the Seven Warlords of the Sea—

A pirate's status, strength, and influence would all be taken into consideration. They might even invite Jinbe, the Knight of the Sea, in order to promote relations between races.

But without exception, every Shichibukai had to possess enough power to deter pirates.

Otherwise, if they casually picked a pirate who was killed a few days later, not only would he fail to serve as a deterrent, but it would also make the World Government look bad.

Those with great strength were mostly proud and arrogant, unwilling to accept an invitation. Some pirates also had identities that were too dangerous, while their goals remained unclear.

If such dangerous individuals were given the protection of an official layer, who knew what they might do? That made suitable Shichibukai candidates very difficult to find.

And their first target was Crocodile, the Logia user of the Suna Suna no Mi, who was about to challenge Whitebeard without knowing his own limits and face defeat.

If he could survive after facing Whitebeard, then stationing him in the first half of the Grand Line would be more than enough. Whether in reputation for deterring pirates or in strength, he would be fully capable of dealing with pirates coming from the Four Seas.

But Sengoku, who had been discussing the plan, had his meeting interrupted by a phone call.

It was unclear exactly when the Shichibukai plan would be implemented, but Crocodile was basically the first confirmed Shichibukai. At age twenty, he fought Burter to a draw and gained fame. That same year, he lost to Whitebeard and became a Shichibukai around then.

Such an important proposal could not possibly have been decided with a slap on the thigh, right? So it was not impossible for the proposal to be raised in 1495. After all, it was only a proposal, not implementation. In 1522, Crocodile was forty-six; in 1496, he was twenty. My timeline is set in 1495, which is one year earlier, but it still makes sense if it is only the proposal.

After all, the information is incomplete. Much of the timeline can only be calculated by cross-referencing the records of multiple characters' experiences. Please bear with me, everyone~

If you cannot find the book by searching its title, try searching for the author instead. It may simply have been renamed!