The debate over the Revolutionary Army alone lasted more than an hour.
Yet the much-anticipated Seven Warlords of the Sea system passed unanimously in just half an hour.
The World Government had drawn up the framework long ago.
A few details might still need changing.
The Shichibukai's rights and obligations
all needed to be clearly defined.
Granting pirates, or other powerful individuals, the legal right to plunder was humiliating.
But it would not affect the Affiliated Nations.
Legal plunder did not extend to them.
Using profit to persuade some pirates to help contain the Great Pirate Era could be useful.
Still, some kings and ministers worried that these ambitious Great Pirates would not behave themselves.
With assurances from the World Government and the Marines, however, they raised no objections.
The World Government could make these pirates Shichibukai, and it could strip them of that status just as easily.
If any of these Great Pirates caused trouble, the Marines would deal with them immediately.
Besides, the "Seven Warlords of the Sea" did not necessarily mean there would be seven Great Pirates.
At present, there was not even one.
And the New World already had no fewer than six Sea Emperors.
How could a special organization of only seven Great Pirates help the World Government balance the seas?
Beyond the Sea Emperors, the New World was home to many other formidable Great Pirates.
Seven would not be enough.
The World Government had set no limit on their number.
There could be nine Warlords, ten, or even more.
The officials knew perfectly well that cooperating with pirates was like making a deal with a tiger.
But truly powerful people would never become the World Government's lackeys.
Giving up some authority was necessary.
The balance the World Government envisioned between the Shichibukai, the Marines,