Several days later.
The whole world was in an uproar.
After Saint Garling's fall.
Marine Headquarters announced that Garp the Hero would pursue the Roger Pirates to prevent them from harming the world.
Soon afterward.
A brand-new piece of news spread across the world.
It shook the seas once more.
At first, people dismissed it as nothing more than a rumor.
But now it had been made public.
The Shichibukai!
They had arrived!
Even Shane had not expected this news.
It had come more than a decade early!
By all rights, Crocodile should have been the first to receive an invitation to become a Shichibukai, in the year Roger turned himself in.
Why had it happened so early?
And the people who had become Shichibukai were entirely unexpected, too.
Wang Zhi, Silver Axe, John, Stussy, and Flame Flower!
Forget seven-they had only gathered five to begin with!
The problem was.
One of those people was still aboard the Black Pearl.
Everyone brought the newspaper to Stussy.
Stussy also took out an invitation.
It had arrived not long after they left Beer Flower Island.
"I was invited, but I refused right away."
Forced to become a Shichibukai, Stussy herself looked utterly helpless.
Huh!
They could do that?
"Maybe the others' situations are unusual too. Kong plans to give you the title first, then leave it to you to decide what to do about it."
Shane stepped out of the Black Pearl.
His body was covered in bandages, but his complexion had already returned to normal.
He held a large serving of roasted senbei, eating them as a snack.
He also had a large barrel of wine to drink.
"That's probably it. They said they were willing to give me substantial funding, and Vegapunk is about to establish a brand-new scientific laboratory,