Seven Heroes of the World

The Seven Heroes of the World (??? ???) are a collection of seven incredibly powerful and famed Marines who have decided to align themselves with the No Beard Pirate Army whilst still operating as fully commissioned Marine officers.

Overview
The Seven Heroes of the World are an invention of Francis' upon creating and developing his armada of various criminals and pirate crews. As such, Francis created the organization of the Seven Heroes of the World to aid his No Beard Pirate Army; whereas the pirate army is intended to directly combat the Marines and the World Government's forces itself, the Seven Heroes are strictly used to fend off the threat of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, whom the Seven Heroes were loosely modeled after. As such, they, like the Seven Warlords, are something of a cross between the orderly and lawful Marines, and the more chaotic and liberal pirates. Likewise, while their main focus are the Warlords themselves, the Seven Heroes of the World are allowed to support the No Beard Pirate Army by dispatching various members and factions of the Marines, Cipher Pol and the World Government, much like the pirate army does already.

Much like the Seven Warlords, the Seven Heroes are not obliged to ally themselves with each other and are all brought together only with the act of supporting the No Beard Pirate Army in mind. Therefore, relations between the Seven Heroes can be wildly varied, with some tolerating one another to outright disgust at others. This causes each individual within the organization to more or less act independently of the others unless outright cooperation is necessary or demanded from No Beard. This however does not outright rule out the possibility of partnerships due to the varied nature of the Seven Heroes' personalities and behavior.

While working as allies for No Beard, not all the Marines in this partnership may respect nor care for No Beard and his ambitions or worldview. At best, they are true partners who will carry No Beard's burdens on their shoulders and see his plans through to the end, and at their worst, they are simply taking up the job for an ulterior motive kept secret from the No Beard Pirate Army and are liable to turn traitor at a moment's notice. No matter the case however, every Marine in the Seven Heroes of the World are inherently traitorous to the Marines and World Government or are secretly working against The No Beard Pirates in some way. And likewise, due to being allies of the No Beard Pirate Army and following orders directly from Francis himself, the Seven Heroes are not affiliated in any way with The No Beard Pirates themselves and do not work as their subordinates; being free to do as they please so long as they don't betray Francis or obstruct his goals.

Becoming a Hero
Due to the very nature of the group acting as a foil against the Seven Warlords of the Sea, the usual methods seem to apply for the Seven Heroes of the World as well. In order for Francis to pick those he can trust with the position, a Marine must prove himself to be effective, powerful, dangerous and famous among criminals and the government alike. However, a spot can only be occupied if there is vacant room in the first place, because as the title indicates, only seven Marines can be allowed into this organization at a time. Normally rank doesn't matter much when examining an applicant or new prospect, but often times a high rank such as Commodore, Rear Admiral or even Vice Admiral will help sway opinions of the Marine in question greatly. Upon joining the Seven Heroes of the World, the Marine will agree to work alongside Francis in return for benefits from him and his pirate crew. Despite great fame and status helping one become a Hero, an unknown rookie can join the ranks if he or she proves their strength and skill enough to impress Francis.

Duties of a Hero
Unlike the Seven Warlords whom are mostly meant to intimidate and discourage others from acts of piracy as well as ransacking and defeating any pirate they come across, the Seven Heroes are solely meant to assist the No Beard Pirate Army's efforts to resist the power and might of the World Government by acting as a counter force to the Seven Warlords of the Sea. As each Warlord is incredibly infamous and powerful in their own right, so too must each Hero be fearsome and strong to combat the Warlords' collective might. When not engaging and aiming to defeat or kill a Warlord, the Seven Heroes can be called upon to aid various members of the No Beard Pirate Army, or even the army's Fleet Admiral himself, in fighting back against the government and building up the army's strength and resources.

In the meantime, they are still official Marines and are meant to carry out their duties as given to them by Marine HQ and other high ranking officials. This means each member of the Seven Heroes must both support a criminal organization in dismantling the World Government while also working to arrest and dispatch whatever criminals they cross paths with, so long as they aren't affiliated with the No Beard Pirate Army.

Despite their alliance with the No Beard Pirate Army, the Seven Heroes of the World may not necessarily always fully respect or carry out their orders for varying personal reasons, be it out of pride or hidden agendas. However, even if their individual loyalties waver from time to time, they will sometimes be ordered to assemble together to act as one unit against common threats or during times of crisis such as war. And in return, not all members of the No Beard Pirate Army may show the same level of respect or care towards the Seven Heroes due to them being still enlisted Marines who may turn traitor at any time and arrest a high profile army member for great fame, reputation or even a promotion. As a result, relations between the army's subordinates and the Seven heroes can be unstable at times as well, and it's considered shocking by many of Francis' followers if a Hero shows genuine loyalty or adherence to Francis and his orders.

Benefits and Concessions
In order to ensure the loyalty and success of the Seven Heroes of the World, Francis has arranged a self-admitted risky proposal; that being that in return for supporting him and his allies and crews in their endeavors, the Seven heroes of the World are free to pin all sorts of outrageous acts they perform as Marines on the pirates instead. So should a Marine slaughter an entire nation in the name of Absolute Justice or run illegal operations on the side, they can easily frame Francis and his crew for the crimes, as it would be more believable for a pirate to do such things. Despite the increased danger this gives him, Francis has pointed out that this also will add more infamy to him, his crew and his pirate army, which he sees as good advertisement for future recruits and applicants. In such a situation, Francis has deemed this a "win-win."

By allowing absolute freedom to the Marines to do as they please, this encourages them to put thought and care into their duties lest they lose their privileges of working outside the law while ironically supposedly upholding it too. The only targets they are restricted from chasing after as Marines however are those who sail as part of The No Beard Pirates or those who are aligned with the No Beard Pirate Army. Other rewards given to the Seven Heroes are access to supplies and territories owned by the No Beard Pirate Army, such as Guardrones and full protection from army members within No Beard Pirate territory. All this and more is readily given to the Seven Heroes of the World so long as they continue to oppose the Seven Warlords of the Sea and support the No Beard Pirate Army.

Dismissal or Resignation
Resignations from the Seven Heroes of the World is considered difficult to do regarding Francis' particular attitude regarding disloyalty. As Francis detests betrayal from his subordinates and allies, resignation from the Seven Heroes of the World is an act done only by those who believe they can get away with it. For those unfortunate enough to leave the position and incur Francis' wrath, the particular Hero will most certainly be horribly punished in a number of ways, be it torture, death, the loss of loved ones and personal valuable possessions, or outright being exposed of their dealings with pirates to the Marines and World Government. As shown, there are far more losses to be had in leaving the Seven Heroes of the World than there are benefits to joining the group.

Dismissal is somewhat less dangerous however, albeit it can still be dreadful to those who value their perks as one of the Seven Heroes. Should a Hero betray the No Beard Pirate Army in any way, such as attacking, killing or attempting to arrest a member of the army, or should they be deemed too weak or useless to fulfill their job, they shall be cast out of the Seven Heroes without a second thought. Upon doing so, the former Hero will be considered an enemy to the No Beard Pirate Army once more and will be once again exposed to their hostility and violence. Should their acts of treason be considered too severe to allow them to live, Francis can order the former Hero to be killed for his betrayal.

Relationships
Because of the wildly varied assortment of Marines gathered under the alliance with No Beard, not many members of the Seven Heroes may know each other as well as others. Some may be total strangers to one another while others may be more akin to close friends, family or even lovers or spouses. Some may even only vaguely know bits and pieces of the identity of others, such as pointing out names and aliases or the accomplishments the Hero has performed as a Marine. Likewise, various Heroes may or may not cooperate with each other, depending on certain circumstances and personalities and behavior. Some may be perfectly willing to team up with one or more fellow Heroes while others may choose to go it alone, and still there are those who may hate the others enough to outright discourage any team-up with them whatsoever.

Trivia

 * The name for the Seven Heroes of the World was an attempt by Wyvern 0m3g4 to make a contrasting reference to the popularly used English translation for the Shichibukai; known alternatively as the Seven Warlords of the Sea in the 4Kids, Viz and FUNimation translations. Wyvern expressed belief that while the Seven Warlords are considered "seven top class pirates who rival the Four Emperors in infamy and strength on the open ocean, the Seven Heroes of the World are largely considered the seven greatest defenders of peace and justice to the public and the World Government, outside the thee Admirals and the Fleet Admiral himself." As such, the name is meant to both sound impressive and carry a similar air about it as the Seven Warlords of the Sea does.
 * Likewise, Francis himself seems to have chosen the name as a way to openly mock and tease not only the World Government and its reliance on the Seven Warlords to maintain the balance of power in the world, but also as a way to insult the Seven Warlords of the Sea themselves for choosing to side with the government as its "dogs." This is not so different from why he chose to structure his pirate army after the Marines themselves.