Headquarters

Feeling the surging instinct, that natural sensation made Dawn subconsciously feel like he could use something.

It was as natural as breathing, but at the same time, it felt somewhat different.

If he had to describe it, it might be like a person gaining the ability to fly—as natural as running, yet psychologically still a bit strange.

Because "Meatball" left a deep impression on Dawn, he subconsciously released a cyan halo.

When the halo enveloped him, Dawn immediately felt as if his weight had lightened, his body more agile, able to run faster.

"Is that the 'Black Meatball' pirate's Devil Fruit ability? A halo? Then what's the other ability?"

Thinking it over, Dawn recalled the other pirate's ability again.

Then, imagining the ability's effect in his mind, he reached out and placed his hand on a nearby basket.

A mark seemed to appear on the basket, and as Dawn subconsciously moved, it flew automatically into his hand.

In that instant, Dawn knew his guess was correct!

"Heheheheheh!!!"

"Hahahahaha!!!"

Dawn could no longer suppress the excitement inside him, bursting into unrestrained laughter.

The laughter carried the release of pent-up pressure, loud enough to seem like it would echo across the entire island, startling flocks of birds drawn by the scent of food.

Though there was no one to share his inner joy, Dawn knew he had succeeded!

This once-in-a-lifetime gamble.

He, Abraham Dawn of this life, had won!!!!!

The cyan halo beneath his feet spread outward, while he tossed the basket far away. With a stretch of his hand, the basket, thrown far off, flew back into his grasp on its own.

Unprecedented dual Devil Fruit abilities!!

"Aura Fruit!"

"Snatch-Snatch Fruit!"

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

And in that regard, Dawn had unparalleled confidence!

Dawn believed that with the abilities of these two fruits, combined with his own creativity and understanding of the world, he could modify and complement them, eventually merging and evolving them into an incredibly powerful fruit!

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

First to develop was the Aura Fruit, because its support abilities could greatly enhance Dawn's strength at this stage.

Dawn had made up his mind to first develop buffs that boosted himself, so even if he encountered danger on the island, his self-preservation ability would be significantly improved.

Dawn activated the cyan speed-boosting halo.

Using the technique of "Soru," his light body instantly allowed him to stomp the ground more than ten times—a move previously impossible for him.

"Boom!"

But before Dawn could react, the explosive force and speed generated in that instant sent him crashing headfirst into a tree ahead.

Still, Dawn couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Fortunately, the island was empty after the recent feeding, or else someone might have been disturbed during their meal and come looking for trouble.

After testing these two abilities, Dawn's joy was understandable.

After all, though these two fruits seemed useless in the hands of those two meatballs, even one of them in Dawn's hands would surely be developed into something immensely powerful.

The seemingly useless Snatch-Snatch Fruit wasn't as simple as it appeared on the surface. Dawn had also thought about how to develop it if he only had the Snatch-Snatch Fruit's single ability.

And the boldness of that idea was such that even Dawn didn't know if it could succeed.

But now it was different!

With the cooperation of the Aura Fruit, Dawn's chances of successfully realizing that bold idea in his mind had increased considerably.

And then there was the Aura Fruit. Just from its name, Dawn could think of a bunch of buffs, like various enhancements, debuffs, and even attack-type buffs.

And what if he could also envelop others with it? How much of an effect could it have in war?

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

First of all, the Marines had the most abundant resources, and their faction was relatively aligned with Dawn's inclinations.

If before, Dawn had feared he wouldn't get the Marines' resources, now he would surely be heavily cultivated.

Though the Celestial Dragons were disgusting, that was a problem to consider after becoming stronger. For now, what Dawn needed to do was keep getting stronger.

Because Dawn understood that in this world, only the strong had a voice; without power, everything was just empty talk!

And now, Dawn had the confidence to become strong and ride the tide of the era!

It lies at the very center of the "Grand Line," right next to the Sabaody Archipelago, the Red Line, and the "Holy Land" of Mary Geoise.

Between the "Impel Down" undersea prison and the "Judicial Island" of Enies Lobby, there are three "Gates of Justice" that form a vortex sea current channel used exclusively by the government.

On that island, there was also 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 had everyday living functions, and the residents were essentially the families of Marines.

Looking into the distance, around the fortress one could see a staggering number of heavy cannons and Marine warships docked nearby.

On the front of the fortress, the massive words "Marine" were emblazoned alongside the Marine emblem in the center!

This was Marine Headquarters—Marineford!

"Right now, even the 'Sir Crocodile' we plan to invite is only under observation. According to intelligence, he's preparing to challenge Whitebeard. Once he becomes a stray dog, we'll extend the invitation."

Sengoku, seated at the head, spoke in a stern tone: "The Shichibukai plan has been officially approved. Once we invite the first member, the subsequent steps will be easier to carry out."

At this moment, in the meeting room, Sengoku was discussing the implications of the Shichibukai with the Marine high command.

Once the so-called Shichibukai plan was implemented, it would mean handing over freedom, authority, and status entirely to the Shichibukai members.

But this was a necessary measure, because those eligible for invitation to the Shichibukai all wielded dangerously powerful forces or abilities.

Though ostensibly neutral, once announced and enacted, they would be regarded as enemies by both the Marines and pirates alike!

In truth, it was merely a relationship of mutual exploitation with the World Government.

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

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

According to the requirements of the "Shichibukai,"

a pirate's status, strength, and influence were taken as references, and sometimes, to promote interracial relations, the Knight of the Sea, Jinbe, would be invited.

But without exception, the Shichibukai had to possess enough power to intimidate pirates.

Otherwise, if a random pirate were chosen and got killed within two days, not only would it fail to suppress piracy, but it would also embarrass the World Government.

Those with high strength were mostly proud and unwilling to accept the invitation, while some pirates had dangerous identities and unclear motives.

Such dangerous individuals, if given an official protective layer, might do who knows what, so finding targets that met the Shichibukai criteria was also difficult.

Their first target was Crocodile, a Logia user of the Suna Suna no Mi, who was about to recklessly challenge Whitebeard and face defeat.

If he survived the encounter with Whitebeard, then stationed in the first half of the Grand Line, both his reputation for intimidating pirates and his strength would be more than enough to handle the pirates emerging from the Four Seas.

But this plan, which Sengoku was deliberating, was interrupted by a phone call.

No one knew exactly when the Shichibukai plan would be implemented, but Crocodile was essentially the first confirmed Shichibukai. At age 20, he fought Burter to a draw, gaining fame, and that same year, he lost to Whitebeard, becoming a Shichibukai around that time.

Such an important proposal couldn't be decided on a whim, so it's not impossible that it was proposed in 1495, since it's just a proposal, not an implementation. In 1522, Crocodile was 46; in 1496, he was 20. My timeline is in 1495, a year earlier, but as a mere proposal, it still fits logically.

After all, the data is incomplete, and much of it is cross-calculated from multiple characters' experiences. Please bear with me, esteemed readers~

If you can't find the book by its title, try searching by the author—it might just have been renamed!