This time, Sengoku acted swiftly; in no time at all, the navy brought all the slaves of the Amazon Lily in Mary Geoise before Zesi.
Somewhat surprisingly, in addition to the Hancock Sisters, there were also more than a dozen warriors from the Amazon Lily.
To prevent Zesi from causing trouble for the Celestial Dragons, the World Government had all the slaves from the Amazon Lily found and handed them over to Zesi.
Zesi kept the Hancock Sisters, and asked Shanks to take the others back to the New World and give them to Bullet.
These slaves of the Amazon Lily were all young people.
In fact, if they were too old, they would have been tortured to death by the Celestial Dragons long ago...
Let the Azure Emperor Military Academy train them well. If they prove capable, they can become Hancock's future core group.
"If I'm not mistaken, you are the Boa Sisters, right?" Rayleigh asked the Hancock Sisters.
Upon hearing Rayleigh's question, the Hancock Sisters looked at Rayleigh with suspicion and wariness.
" Gloriosa is an old friend of mine. She even asked me to help her find you a while ago. I never expected you to fall into the hands of the Celestial Dragons!" Rayleigh said.
" Zesi, what do you want with Hancock and the others?" Rayleigh suddenly asked.
Rayleigh hadn't originally planned to ask about Zesi's affairs.
After all, with such a large market and such a great reputation, Zesi is no longer someone he can control.
However, upon seeing Hancock, Rayleigh had no choice but to ask her a question.
Just recently, his old friend Gloriosa asked him to help her find the whereabouts of the three Boa sisters.
So he had no choice but to ask.
"Actually, it's nothing. Rayleigh, you probably already know this. Nowadays, pirate crews, especially the top-tier ones, are not like we were back then, where a few or a dozen people could handle them. Even Whitebeard's headquarters now has thousands of people, and he has dozens of pirate crews following him..." Zesi said.
"Indeed, you occupy such a large territory now, without manpower, it's impossible to take care of it!" Hearing Zesi's words, Rayleigh nodded in understanding.
"Occupying such a large territory was unavoidable. In a moment of passion, we drove all the marines out of the New World, which was truly exhilarating. But without the marines, those pirates became too unscrupulous, capable of destroying countries and even nations. So I lent them the pirate flag, which gradually led to the formation of the Azure Emperor Territory," Zesi said.
" Zesi has his eye on them and plans to have them join the Azure Emperor Pirates," Rayleigh said, puzzled.
"You could say that, or more accurately, that they should be made into the Shichibukai under the Azure Emperor Palace!"
" The Shichibukai under the Azure Emperor Palace?" Rayleigh asked, puzzled.
If it were Shakky, she would naturally know what the Azure Emperor Palace Shichibukai were.
Rayleigh is now semi-retired, at most dealing with disputes among the leaders of the Dragon Hall.
I don't know much about some things in the New World, and this event has only just happened.
Rayleigh is probably out drinking somewhere during this time.
"Our Azure Emperor Pirates currently has over three thousand members at headquarters, five divisions, and over ten thousand captured pirates under our command, trained as a Death Army. Feeding and providing for so many people is a huge expense. Therefore, leveraging the power of the Azure Emperor Pirates, we are launching the Azure Emperor Shipping Offensive and establishing some passenger shipping services," Zesi said.
Rayleigh was speechless after hearing Zesi's words.
If you call Zesi a pirate, he has never robbed anyone. He only lends out pirate flags to collect protection money and even runs passenger shipping businesses that are specifically designed to oppose pirates.
If you say he's not a pirate, then he's actually the strongest and largest pirate crew on the high seas right now.
Of course, Rayleigh wasn't saying that the Azure Emperor Pirates' development was bad.
It just feels like the Azure Emperor Pirates have grown far beyond the scope of a mere pirate crew.
He's a force to be reckoned with!
A warlord!
Even an entire country wouldn't be an exaggeration!
However, Rayleigh felt he was starting to lose track of the current situation at sea.
The four major pirate crews of the New World have gradually grown into behemoths.
Even the Whitebeard Pirates have grown so large; before, the Whitebeard Pirates weren't much bigger than the Roger Pirates.
"Now that our Azure Emperor Shipping has established a presence throughout the New World, our next step is to develop the first half of the Grand Line."
"However, although the Azure Emperor Pirates have a great reputation, they are still separated from the first half of the Grand Line by the Red Line. No matter how great their reputation is, there will always be some reckless individuals. Therefore, we have formulated the Azure Emperor Palace Shichibukai Plan, which requires seven powerful pirates to help me guard the seven routes in the first half of the Grand Line!" Zesi said.
Let alone the first half of the Grand Line, even in the New World, there are often many reckless individuals who dare to challenge him, so this Shichibukai is truly necessary.
" The Amazon Lily is right next to the first half of the Grand Line. If someone from Amazon Lily Kuja Pirates, they could become one of the Shichibukai to deter the first half of the Grand Line. I just saw her and she seems promising. With a little training, she could become one of the Azure Emperor Palace Shichibukai," Zesi said, looking at Hancock.
"Her?" Rayleigh frowned, somewhat doubtful.
It's not surprising that Rayleigh would have such doubts; Hancock is still too young, and having just been rescued, she seems somewhat timid.
Zesi smiled slightly, then an overbearing aura emanated from him, pressing down on Hancock.
At the same time, Hancock exuded a domineering aura, resisting Zesi's aura.
" Conqueror's Haki?"
Rayleigh was slightly surprised.
I never expected that this seemingly timid little girl would have the potential to be a champion.
Even the others were surprised.
"I'm getting old, my eyesight is failing. So, she certainly deserves it!"
It was only then that Rayleigh noticed that although Hancock's face showed some timidity, her eyes were incredibly firm.