So that was it...
After Ace defeated that Shichibukai who had never appeared in the original story, he had also received an invitation from the World Government, only to turn it down. So perhaps it was normal for them to approach Xie Wen now?
But the problem was...
"I'm not a pirate, and I don't plan to become one. I'm not planning to build up any organization, either, so that privateering license would be completely useless to me."
Xie Wen curled his lip, uninterested in the invitation. Leaving aside how the Shichibukai were merely elite cannon fodder-or consumables-the World Government used against the Four Emperors, according to the original plot, the so-called Shichibukai system would be abolished in another few years. Holding the title for a few years meant nothing to Xie Wen.
"Hawk-Eye isn't a pirate, either, and unlike you, he doesn't even have all these Cat Minks around him. But he still became a Shichibukai," Cody offered as an example.
"But he was wanted before he became a Shichibukai, wasn't he?" Xie Wen was not so easily fooled. "I don't have a bounty at all. In fact, I'm a bounty hunter who makes a living catching pirates. There's no problem with me not becoming a Shichibukai."
"Of course, we've considered that as well." Cody poured Xie Wen a cup of black tea and explained unhurriedly, "So the higher-ups have decided to grant you a certain degree of immunity. Take King Bekori, whom you killed in the South Blue, for example. If something similar happens in the future, we'll cover it up for you, as long as you don't go too far. In fact, if you and Morgans hadn't exposed this business with Crocodile beforehand, we would have tried to suppress the news as much as possible, too."
"Bekori?