Seven Warlords of the Sea

The Seven Warlords of the Sea (七武海, Shichibukai), the full title being The Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea (王下七武海, Ouka Shichibukai), is a group that appears in the One Piece series. They are seven powerful and notorious pirates who have allied themselves with the World Government.

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 * —About the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

Overview
The Seven Warlords of the Sea is an organization of seven pirates turned privateers in the service of the World Government. Although they work for the World Government, the Warlords do not care about or respect the Government (excluding Kuma Bartholomew, somewhat) or even other Warlords, and are often considered by the Navy to be no different from any other pirate. On the other hand, they are known as "government dogs" and are despised by other pirates, but are still feared and respected for their infamous reputation and strength before, and even after they become the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

The Warlords of the Sea seem to be a mixture of the more chaotic Four Emperors and the more orderly Navy. The majority of the Warlords are composed of New World veterans; those who have met the World Emperors or even confronted them.

There is an enormous range in the bounties between the members due to differences in circumstances under which they were recruited, with Edward Weevil, who had a bounty of 480,000,000 Berries, Bartholomew Kuma of 340,000,000 berries, Don Quixote Doflamingo with 250,000,000 berries, and Blackbeard, who had no bounty at all. It should be noted that these are their former bounties, and do not represent the current threat they could achieve as active pirates. Jimbei's bounty, for example, after his resignation his bounty jumped from 250,000,000 berries to over 400,000,000 berries. Another example is Crocodile who was imprisoned in Level 6 of Impel Down, while |Luffy with a bounty of 300,000,000 Berries at the time put him only at Level 5.

The terms that the Seven Warlords of the Sea are on with each other is best described as very unstable. They have very little (if any) respect for each other and will for the most part not accept help from one another, apparently due to a firm sense of pride. During the meeting of the Warlords where only two members are absent (Hancock and Jimbei), it was stated that the very notion of them working together as a team is entirely unthinkable. However, Kuma and Doflamingo do not disregard the notion of allying with another Warlord: Kuma offered Moria assistance in defeating the Straw Hats and Doflamingo offered Crocodile an opportunity for a partnership. Both offers were refused due to pride.

During Hancock Boa's visit at Impel Down's Level 6, Jimbei stated that he did not know much about her, possibly suggesting that only some of the Warlords are familiar with each other or even have personally met all the other members. Despite this, as of chapter 575, all of the Warlords of the Sea (including former) fought at the war between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Navy.

Most of the Seven Warlords have a rather jaded attitude of the world, as their vast amounts of experience have disillusioned them. Crocodile and Moria both disregard Luffy's arrogant behavior, saying that he is too inexperienced to know what the world is truly like; Mihawk behaved in a similar fashion in his duel with Zolo, though he hopes that he'll be successful. Doflamingo, spoiled by his former Celestial Dragon heritage and twisted by being repeatedly tortured afterwards, believes that there is no true justice in the world, and that both the Navy and Pirates are foolish if they think that they are upholding it. Hancock, through her horrid experience as a slave, considers all men of the world to be scum, outside of Monkey D. Luffy, with whom she is in love (and anyone who Luffy is also on good terms with); Silvers Rayleigh, who is her "benefactor"; and Fisher Tiger, who was responsible for freeing her from slavery. Weevil believing that his alleged blood heritage is what makes a true family, not by bonds of friendship.

Becoming a Warlord
A pirate may choose to join the Seven Warlords if a space becomes vacant (which means that at least one Warlord must resign or be expelled from the group, the former being Jimbei's case and the latter being Crocodile's case). However, in order for one to become a Warlord once this position opens up, one must be able to exhibit their strength against other pirates while choosing to pledge loyalty to the World Government (this ironically encourages pirates to gain infamy to become a Warlord) by making a pact with the Five Elder Stars. If the pirate in question can be used as intimidation, the position may be offered to them, if no other pirate has accepted the position or proven to be more of an asset to the World Government. As expected, most members were already notorious pirates with high bounties, but even relatively unknown pirates can be admitted if they accomplish a feat to prove their strength. Blackbeard's victory over Portgaz D. Ace and Trafalgar Law obtaining and sending the hearts of 100 pirates to Navy Headquarters are examples. The World Government can also be blackmailed into giving the position, such as when Doflamingo, held the tax money meant for the World Nobles hostage to become one.

Duties of the Warlords
They do not express open defiance to the authority of the World Government, but are not obligated to follow its orders either. They are technically only allowed to attack other pirates, and must also compensate the Government with a portion of their plunder, although this regulation is not followed most of the time. Each member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea must also have strong intimidation skills and a fearsome image to put off others becoming a pirate and make them fear them. In addition, given the discussion between Kuma Bartholomew and the Five Elder Stars, it can be assumed that once someone becomes appointed to the Seven Warlords they must be undefeated to maintain their position, or at least are not allowed to have a widely known debacle or scandal that affects their reputation.

Some of the members do various tasks for the government, such as conquering new islands for the World Government (described as "liberating") and protecting nations, but their ultimate purpose is to keep other pirates in check. Most importantly, the Seven Warlords of the Sea provide assistance to maintain the balance of The Three Great Powers.

Technically speaking, the Seven Warlords of the Sea are considered allies of the government, and in times of war are obligated to collaborate with the Navy. Still, many Navy officers (for example Vice Admiral Smoker, Admiral Kizaru and former Fleet Admiral Sengoku) despise them and consider the Seven Warlords of the Sea to still be pirates. Several high-ranking Naval officers expressed surprise that even two of the Seven Warlords actually bothered to show up when summoned for the meeting about Crocodile's removal, and they were very shocked when a third arrived; tellingly, of the others besides Kuma that showed up, Doflamingo came out of sheer boredom (passing the time before the meeting by nearly forcing two naval officers to duel each other), and Mihawk came only to hear about the pirates being discussed in the meeting. When they are not under orders of the World Government, they have no commitment to assist the efforts of the Navy. Most of the Warlords appear to show general apathy towards the World Government and in some cases even hostility. During the battle with the Whitebeard Pirates, Moria stated he does not care who wins and Boa Hancock openly attacked both Navy and pirates.

Benefits and Concessions
In exchange for these services, the Seven Warlords of the Sea are pardoned for their former actions and any existing bounties are rescinded.

The Enemy Ship Capture Warrant (敵船拿捕許可状, Tekisen Daho Kyoka-jō) allows the Warlords to legally plunder other pirates and uncivilized lands (most likely referring to countries not affiliated with the World Government), so long as they give a portion of their loot to the Government.

As the Seven Warlords of the Sea are no longer outlaws, they can make money through legitimate business, as well as bounty hunting. Some, however, are content to simply float around the sea on their ships. The government does not seem to mind, and the Seven Warlords of the Sea are granted a great deal of autonomy in how they operate, at least thus far. Other benefits include access to resources normally out of bounds to normal citizens and pirates, such as the use of Sea-Prism Stone equipment.

Boa Hancock, in particular, has a treaty that acts as a restraining order for all ships that come near Amazon Lily. Jimbei and his entire crew were given a pardon for their captain, Fisher Tiger's attack against the World Nobles, and their status as slaves nullified. Don Quixote Doflamingo also managed to operate the Human Auctioning House with the government fully ignoring it before passing it to Disco. Buggy also utilizes the perks of his position to run Buggy's Delivery, an organization that rents mercenaries.

Crocodile abused the privilege of being no longer monitored so closely to build himself a large and powerful covert organization, while Boa Hancock, Blackbeard and Trafalgar Law exploited the benefits their statuses granted them in order to enter facilities that would otherwise have been unreachable to a pirate.

The privilege of protection and pardon extends to any of the Warlord's subordinates, as Jimbei was able to have Arlong released from Impel Down and the rest of the Sun Pirates to return to Merman Island freely, while Caesar Clown, guilty of destroying Punk Hazard via illegal chemical experiments, was given a pardon simply for working directly under Don Quixote Doflamingo. Prior to joining the Straw Hat Pirates, Nico Robin sought to be Crocodile's partner mainly for protection. Had Law said the Straw Hat Pirates were his subordinates instead of allies, the notorious crew would have been amnestied.

Dismissal
Even if they violate the law, the World Government and Navy may choose not to take any notice. Doflamingo used to own the Human Auctioning House before giving it to Disco. Crocodile seemed to have gone unsupervised for an extremely long period of time, as he had created a large, malevolent organization that the World Government was completely unaware of, while Moria was abducting civilians and Navy alike to create an army of zombies without the Government raising any complaints. Because of the risk involved with maintaining the Three Great Powers, the Government tolerates the illegal activities of any Warlords and attempts to protect them if possible (or at least maintain their fame).

That is not to say they would not dismiss a Warlord for such actions. There are several Warlords who have been dismissed from their positions for several reasons. Crocodile's actions in Alabasta left the World Government with few options other than his dismissal, although, in fact, Luffy dealt with him (and his bounty was raised for that.

Moria's defeat was met with horror by the World Government as they had only just replaced Crocodile's loss. Fearing what would happen if another fell, the World Government attempted to cover up his defeat by killing all of the survivors of Thriller Bark before word got out. Even though Kuma (the one sent to deal with the problem) chose to disregard the order of the Five Elder Stars, Moria was able to retain his status for a time, later answering the call to arms against the Whitebeard Pirates. However, after the war, the government finally deemed Moria to be too weak to continue as a Warlord, and decided to annul his pact and eliminate him, under the pretense of Moria dying in the war to preserve the Warlord's reputation of strength.

Jimbei forfeited his position as a Warlord for his refusal to assist in the war against the Whitebeard Pirates and was incarcerated in Level 6 of Impel Down. After Monkey D. Luffy helped him escape, he assisted the young pirate in breaking free from Impel Down and traveling to Navyford and cooperated with Whitebeard's faction during the battle choosing to abdicate his position permanently and again became a willing enemy of both the Navy and the World Government.

Blackbeard only wanted to be a Warlord so as to be able to reach Impel Down in order to release several Level 6 prisoners and create a stronger crew. As soon as he achieved this goal, he was no longer interested, and resigned from his Warlord title.

Dismissal from the Seven Warlords of the Sea holds not only the individual's loss of title, but in cases also the breakdown of possible politics affiliated to the Seven Warlords of the Sea. As Hancock Boa was warned, while she obeyed the World Government, her nation's treaty with the World Government would be respected. However, if she did not heed the call of the World Government, then the treaty with her home island of Amazon Lily would be made void. Smoker has implied that Hancock and her people will suffer repercussions for helping Luffy during the war; however, throughout the war, events related to her were often interpreted incorrectly by the Navy and others, thus her status as a Warlord seems to not have been brought into question.

Doflamingo has participated in several illegal activities such as the Human Auctioning House for the slave trade, but having disowned it did not seem to affect him. He also stated he would quit the Seven Warlords of the Sea should they bore him with menial assignments. He also placed a deep cover agent in the Navy, Vergo, and has the rogue Navy scientist Caesar Clown to produce weapons for him in the underworld in the New World.

These crimes could easily revoke his status, but he has managed to keep this from being discovered. However, after Law blackmailed Doflamingo into forcing him to renounce his title to retrieve Caesar lest he face Kaido's wrath, Doflamingo was left with no choice but to resign his Warlord status. This provoked international uproar (though it was later revealed to be a deception). By designating Caesar as his subordinate instead of associate, Doflamingo was able to maintain his position while releasing Caesar from his status as a wanted criminal. Doflamingo's ability to make the world falsely believe that he resigned is a privilege beyond any Warlords, and Law suggested it was something that only a World Noble can accomplish. However, Doflamingo's status was eventually revoked when he was taken into custody of the Navy after he tried to destroy the entire Kingdom of Dressrosa to conceal his vast crimes and his subsequent defeat by Luffy. In a way, Doflamingo was parallel to Crocodile's downfall from the Seven Warlords two years ago.

When Law's alliance with the Straw Hat Pirates and Fairy Tail was in the news, his seat as a Warlord fell into jeopardy. Eventually Fujitora revoked his status as a Warlord. As a result his bounty was reinstated and raised to 500,000,000 berries.

Current Warlords

 * Dracule Mihawk - "Hawk-Eyes" (鷹の目, Taka no Me), Age 43, 198 cm. (6'6"), March 9, Unknown, abilities and powers, Hawk-themed, Active
 * Bartholomew Kuma - "Mountain Tyrant" (山暴君, Yama Bō-kun) and "PX-0" (ピーエックス・ゼロ, Pī-Ekkusu Zero), Age 47, 692 cm. (22'7"), February 9, 340,000,000, abilities and powers, Bear-themed, Active
 * Boa Hancock - "Snake Princess" (蛇姫, Hebihime) & "Pirate Empress" (海賊女帝, Kaizoku Jotei), Age 41, 250 cm. (8'2"), September 2, 81,000,000 berries, All-Haki User, Love-Love Fruit User, and Salome, Snake-themed, Active
 * Trafalgar D. Water Law - "Surgeon of Death" (死の外科医, Shi no Gekai), Age 26, 191 cm. (6'3¼"), October 6, 440,000,000, abilities and powers, Spotted Seal-themed, Tentative
 * Buggy - "The Clown" (道化, Dōke) and "The Star Clown" (千両道化, Senryō Dōke), Unknown, Unknown, August 8, 15,000,000, abilities and powers, None Animal-themed, Active

Former Warlords

 * Crocodile - "King of the Desert" (砂漠の王, Sabaku no Ō) and "Sir" (サー, Sā), Age 46, 253 cm. (8'3"), September 5, 80,000,000, abilities and powers, Crocodile-themed, Revoked
 * Gecko Moria - None, Age 50, 689 cm. (22'6"), September 5, 320,000,000, abilities and powers, Gecko-themed, Revoked
 * Jimbei - "First Son of the Sea" (海侠, Kaikyō), Age 46, 301 cm. (9'8"), April 2, 250,000,000, abilities and powers, Whale-Shark-themed, Resigned
 * Marshall D. Teech - "Blackbeard" (黒ひげ, Kurohige), Age 40, 340 cm. (11'2"), August 3, No bounty, Flintlocks, and Dark-Dark Fruit User, Hippopotamus-themed, Resigned
 * Don Quixote Doflamingo - "Heavenly Demon" (天夜叉, Ten Yasha), Age 41, 305 cm. (10'0"), October 23, 250,000,000, String-String Fruit User, Flamingo-themed, Revoked

Relationships
Most Warlords seem to have only limited knowledge of each other, such as Jimbei never meeting Hancock before her visit to Impel Down. However, some others, such as Doflamingo and Crocodile, converse as though they are familiar with each other. In fact, Doflamingo is knowledgeable of Kuma's participation in the Pacifista program, yet does not know of his past relationship with the Revolutionaries. During these interactions, most of them are hostile, such as Jimbei and Crocodile snarling at each other over matters with Whitebeard. At times, however, they might be courteous, such as Kuma offering to help Moria in fighting against the Straw Hat Pirates, though the latter angrily refused. Law used to be Doflamingo's subordinate, but eventually, after joining, Law openly betrayed and blackmailed his former superior to resign from the Seven Warlords of the Sea, threatening not just the man but the balance of the seven once again.

Strength
The Seven Warlords of the Sea are a group of seven of the strongest pirates in the world and one of the Three Great Powers, the others being the Four Emperors and the Navy.

In terms of power, the exact relationship between the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Navy Headquarters and the Four Emperors is unknown. However, considering that these factions are stated to be in balance and the fact that the loss of Crocodile threatened said balance, the most reasonable conclusion is that each organization is approximately equivalent in strength. At least two of the Warlords (Gecko Moria and Dracule Mihawk) are said to have been rivals of Four Emperor members Kaido and Shanks, respectively. Bartholomew Kuma has also allowed himself to become part of the Pacifista project. The strength of at least one Warlord, Boa Hancock, has been acknowledged by former-Fleet Admiral Sengoku himself. This, in addition to the fact that losing a single member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea can disrupt the balance of the world powers and cause distress to the World Government, indicates the extreme power each individual has. The strength of a Warlord is so great, that should they be imprisoned for any reason, they would be sentenced to Level 6 of Impel Down, the lowest and most secure level of the prison (as both Crocodile and Jimbei were imprisoned there). The only exception to this may be Buggy, who appears to have gained the position through his reputation and influence, being on casual talking terms with the Four Emperors Shanks and commanding a large number of Impel Down escapees, rather than actual fighting strength. Although it remains to be seen if Buggy's fighting abilities has changed at all during the 2 year time-skip.

Because of their pact with the World Government, the Seven Warlords of the Sea are considered "Government Dogs" by other pirates. At the same time, they are also feared by them because all of the Seven Warlords of the Sea are insanely strong, each capable of destroying an average pirate crew on their own with no effort, as seen with Mihawk and Crocodile. They have such a fierce reputation that even other powerful and famous pirates are unnerved by them, as seen when the captain of the Kid Pirates, Eustass Kid, actually seemed heavily disturbed when he witnessed the arrival of a Pacifista cyborg (mistaking it for the real Kuma) on the Sabaody Archipelago, close to where his crew were, despite the fact that his bounty was higher than Kuma's former bounty, demonstrating how their strength is even greater than that implied by their frozen bounties in the eyes of others.

Each member has some ability or power, the majority of which are Devil Fruits, with Jimbei and Mihawk being the only exceptions so far. These abilities can oftentimes vary depending on the Warlord's theme. Some of their abilities appear to conflict with each other: for example, Blackbeard's power involves drawing people to him, while Kuma's involves rejecting people away from him; and Doflamingo's power allows him to controling the motions of other people to his will, while Hancock immobilizes them by turning them into stone; also, Buggy has the ability of splitting apart his own body, while Law can split apart the bodies of other people. In the case of Crocodile and Jimbei, this opposition also extends to the environment where their abilities reach their full zenith (i.e. being a Merman, Jimbei's fighting abilities are at their peak in the deep and open sea, while Crocodile, having consumed the Sand-Sand Fruit, favors the desert sand). It should be noted that Mihawk and Jimbei are the only two known Warlords to rely on their own abilities, as they are not Devil Fruit users.

In relationship to each other, it is not entirely known how they compare in strength. However, during the Battle of Navyford several members and former members battle each other and none manage to defeat or significantly injure each other in any fight. Although while most appeared evenly matched, after Moria was defeated by Luffy, he was deemed a liability and it was decided that he could no longer continue as a Warlord. As a result, Doflamingo was ordered to exterminate Moria along with a group of several Pacifista.

Previous Actions
For many years, Mihawk fought his rival swordsman Red-Haired Shanks in great battles that shook the Grand Line. Mihawk joined the ranks of the Seven Warlords at a currently unknown point in time.

Moria and his rival, Kaido, also fought at some point and while Moria escaped with his life, his crew was no more. Moria would also join the ranks of the Warlords. Ten years ago, he set up an organization called Thriller Bark recruiting Dr. Hogback into his ranks. While Thriller Bark sailed around in the Florian Triangle they began to amass an army of zombies using Moria's powers. While fulfilling his duties of controlling pirates, they also took the Navy and civilian ships. However the World Government, though appearing to know of his actions, allowed this to go on.

Jimbei was recruited some eight years ago, following the death of Tiger Fisher and the breaking up of the Sun Pirates into smaller groups like the one Arlong led to the East Blue. His recruitment was an attempt to strengthen the bonds between species.

Around the same time as Jimbei, Doflamingo of the Don Quixote Pirates also joined the Seven Warlords of the Sea at age 31, and has built his reputation in both as a world-famous World Government pirate and an influential underworld broker for the next ten years to come.

Crocodile set up his Baroque Works organization four years prior, recruiting the criminal Nico Robin into his ranks. For the next four years, Crocodile would work to make the kingdom of Alabasta view him as a hero while he secretly gained power to bring down the royal family of Alabasta and take control of a weapon known as Pluton.

Sometime after escaping slavery, Boa Hancock went on a single pirate campaign so great that, combined with the existing fearsome reputation of the Kuja Pirates, she was visited by the World Government with an offer. Hancock made a treaty with the World Government that protected her people from them in exchange for becoming a Warlord.

Two years ago, when Portgaz D. Ace was gaining fame as the captain of the Spade Pirates, he was invited to join the Warlords, meaning there was an opening for him, but he refused.