Half a day later, in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, within the Hall of Authority.
The expressions of Is, Yamamoto, Zelafa, and the other members of the Five Elders were grim.
Staring at Spandine, who was kneeling below with his head nearly buried in the floor, Yamamoto erupted in anger.
"Spandine, you actually have the nerve to come back?"
"If it weren’t for the unwavering loyalty your family has shown the Five Elders, I would have crushed you with one slap!"
"I ordered you to drive a wedge into Marine Headquarters, weaken the Marines from within, and make them easier for us to control!"
"And now you’re telling me that not only did Zephyr stay loyal to the Marines, but even the new Seven Warlords of the Sea candidate we selected is lying on a stretcher?"
"Is this some kind of joke?!"
His furious roar echoed throughout the chamber.
Spandine’s entire body stiffened as he pressed his forehead against the floor.
At this point, he didn’t even dare make a sound.
All he could do was pray that someone would step in and save him.
"Enough, Yamamoto."
"This isn’t entirely Spandine’s fault."
The tall Elder in a neatly tailored suit, Zelafa, spoke in a deep voice.
"If anyone is to blame, it’s us for underestimating that brat."
"We allowed him to become the Marines’ fourth Admiral in the hope that it would divide the senior officers, create internal conflict, and gradually weaken Marine Headquarters, making it easier for us to control."
"Instead, we underestimated his methods."
"Not only has he firmly established himself within Marine Headquarters, but he’s also earned considerable prestige."
"It seems that hardly anyone questions his position as the Fourth Admiral anymore."
"We made a bad move."
The faces of the other Five Elders darkened.
With the rise of the Three Admirals and the continued presence of the veteran Marines, the strength of Marine Headquarters had grown steadily stronger.
Fearing that the Marines might eventually slip beyond their control, the Five Elders had deliberately tried to weaken them from within.
Yet they had never imagined...
That once Lucas became involved, everything would spiral completely beyond their control.
"Enough."
"There’s no point wasting any more words now that things have reached this stage."
Leaning on his cane, Is spoke solemnly.
"We’ve just received a report from Marine Headquarters."
"Blackbeard, Marshall D. Teach, has offered Fire Fist Ace in exchange for a seat among the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
"And the Admiral assigned to handle the exchange..."
"...is our newly appointed Fourth Admiral."
A cold smile appeared on his face.
"Since he ruined our plans..."
"We’ll make our move there instead."
"I only hope he returns safely."
"Send word to Ulti."
"The time for the harvest has come."
"Yes, my lord!"
Spandine hurriedly acknowledged the order.
Feeling as though he had just been granted a pardon, he quickly withdrew from the hall.
Meanwhile, on an island at the edge of the Calm Belt...
Thousands of native warriors, spears in hand, charged toward a gigantic figure that towered like a mountain.
Their armor clanged loudly as they sprinted forward.
The hundred-meter gap vanished in the blink of an eye.
Before they could launch their attack...
The enormous mammoth suddenly spun around and let out a thunderous roar.
Its colossal body exploded forward with terrifying force, crashing straight into the charging crowd.
Boom!
Hundreds of warriors were launched into the air.
The immense impact caused many of them to explode like balloons.
Blood mist filled the sky as severed limbs and shattered bodies were scattered everywhere.
Without slowing down in the slightest, the mountain-sized mammoth slammed headfirst into a massive rocky hill over ten meters tall.
BOOM!!
The hill shattered instantly.
The earth shook violently, and the deafening rumble continued for nearly half a minute before finally subsiding.
"Hmph!"
"Worthless trash."
"You can’t even scratch my hide."
The mammoth turned around as its massive body rapidly shrank back into human form.
It was none other than Jack.
His blood-red eyes widened with fury.
"But Ulti..."
"How much longer are you planning to make me wait?"
"I’m starting to feel like killing you instead!"
His thunderous roar made the surrounding pirates turn pale.
No one dared approach him.
Everyone knew that getting close to Jack when he was enraged was practically asking to die.
"Hehe..."
"My lord Jack, there’s no need to worry."
The graceful Ulti stepped forward through the crowd with a charming smile.
"I’ve already obtained that man’s route."
"His next destination is the Chels Sea."
"It’s only a few days’ journey from here."
"So, Lord Jack..."
"Prepare yourself."
"You’ll soon get to witness the look of despair on his face."
"The Chels Sea?"
Jack’s eyes widened.
His giant body finished shrinking completely into his human form.
Gripping his enormous crescent-shaped scythe with both hands, he smashed it into a nearby boulder.
Crash!
"Good!"
"Very good!"
"I’ve waited long enough."
"I hope he doesn’t disappoint me."
"I hope he can at least put up enough of a fight to make things interesting."
He raised his weapon.
"Everyone!"
"Set sail!"
"Before King, Queen, and the others learn what happened to Sasaki..."
"I’m going to give them a surprise!"
As the orders rang out, the pirates hurried aboard their ships as though they had been granted amnesty.
Watching them depart, Ulti’s seductive smile widened even further.
She lowered her gaze to the photograph of Lucas in her hand.
"What a handsome young man..."
"I wonder what kind of expression you’ll wear..."
"...when you fall into despair."
Three days later.
The Chels Sea.
A Marine warship cut through the waves.
Standing on the deck, Lucas stretched lazily before opening the System interface in his mind.
His previously depleted System Currency had surged to 15,000,000 thanks to the reward from Weevil’s mission.
Judging from past experience, the System—like a greedy landlord—never liked letting him keep any savings.
It would undoubtedly tempt him into spending everything.
But remembering that his first month’s attendance was almost complete, and that his long-awaited monthly salary would arrive in another day or two...
Lucas forcibly resisted the urge.
Even so...
Counting the days one by one was strangely agonizing.
"Admiral Lucas."
Ain walked over quickly from behind.
"Blackbeard still hasn’t finalized the exact meeting location."
"Our next stop will be Swu Island to resupply and rest."
"But we’ve discovered... something unusual."
Lucas raised an eyebrow and took another sip of liquor.
"What kind of unusual situation?"
He smiled broadly.
"The stranger the situation, the bigger the bonus."
"I’ve been getting bored lately."
Ain froze.
Looking at Lucas’s eager expression, all of her previous worries vanished instantly.
What kind of mindset was that?
Anyone else assigned a mission that could potentially provoke one of the Four Emperors into action would be praying nothing unexpected happened along the way.
But Lucas...
He seemed to welcome trouble with open arms.
Perhaps there truly wasn’t anyone else quite like him.
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