"Yeah, that's true! It wouldn't be fair to make any of them leave!"
Nalandesheng had barely finished speaking when Ye Chen propped up his chin and voiced his agreement.
The Celestial Dragons bared their teeth. They hated Ye Chen so much they could hardly stand it, yet there was nothing they could do about him.
He had slipped into his role with ease. By now, he clearly considered himself one of them. One moment he said they must not provoke Ye Chen, the next he called Ye Chen a ruthless man, and then he nodded along when someone said they could not simply remove a Shichibukai.
There would have been nothing strange about hearing that from a Celestial Dragon. The trouble was that it came from Ye Chen.
"How about this? Forget having seven Shichibukai. Just make it eight."
After thinking for a moment, Ye Chen made another startling suggestion.
It sounded rather like something Luffy had once said: "He's a Shichibukai? Then I'll be the eighth!"
"Eight Shichibukai?"
Akainu and the others nearly lost their minds. But plenty of people in the hall were amused, including Hancock, Ain, and Princess Vivi. Even Wapol doubled over laughing.
"Does that brat have any idea what he's saying? He wants to be the eighth Shichibukai!"
Sengoku did not know whether to laugh or cry. "How about this? We can give you a place as a Shichibukai candidate. If you conduct yourself well, we'll certainly allow you to join officially!"
"A candidate?"
Ye Chen smiled. What kind of joke is that? A Shichibukai candidate was not a real Shichibukai. The Marines could strike his name from the list whenever they pleased.
"No. Once word gets out, everyone will laugh at me. Besides, you're hardly showing any sincerity."
As he spoke, Ye Chen turned