"Hey, Fleet Admiral Sengoku... is the bounty for taking down one of the Three All-Stars worth a lot?"
The voice wasn’t loud.
Yet in the plaza crowded with thousands of people, it sounded jarringly out of place.
Not only were Ain and the others on the clock tower stunned...
Even the pirates in the square froze.
The Three All-Stars were figures they looked up to with awe.
Anyone who encountered one of them would treat them with the utmost respect, terrified that a single careless word might cost them their lives.
And yet...
Someone had just openly talked about collecting a bounty on one of them.
Had they not heard it with their own ears, they would have thought this man was a Marine spy trying to drag them all into the wrath of the Beasts Pirates.
Everyone turned toward the source of the voice.
The first thing they saw—
Made every one of the thousands of pirates shudder.
They looked down at the newspaper in their hands...
Then back at Lucas.
Their faces turned deathly pale, as though they had seen a ghost.
The invitation from the Beasts Pirates was an opportunity none of them intended to miss.
But never in their wildest dreams had they imagined that the very man all of them were searching for...
Would walk right into their midst without anyone noticing.
More importantly...
The first thing this newly appointed Marine Admiral had asked was—
How much was Jack worth?
Did he really think taking down one of the Three All-Stars was a foregone conclusion?
An eerie silence enveloped the plaza.
Standing alone among thousands of pirates, Lucas seemed like a crane among chickens.
Listening to the disconnected tone coming from the Den Den Mushi in his hand, Lucas frowned.
He had planned to settle the bonus first...
Then start fighting.
Now that the call had been cut off, his entire plan had been thrown into disarray.
No negotiation.
No confirmed bonus.
That simply wouldn’t do.
Putting away the Den Den Mushi, he looked at the crowd and asked sincerely,
"Could you all pretend you didn’t see me?"
"I’ll go confirm the reward first, then come back."
"Confirm the reward?"
The pirates stared blankly.
That answer was completely beyond their expectations.
Suddenly, a bald pirate captain’s eyes lit up.
"The Admiral is scared!"
He shouted loudly.
"There are over thirty pirate crews gathered here!"
"Ten captains with bounties over 100 million Berries!"
"More than three thousand pirates in total!"
"No matter how strong a Marine Admiral is, there’s no way he can deal with this many people!"
He raised his weapon excitedly.
"Men!"
"Notify Lord Jack immediately!"
"Then keep this Admiral here!"
"That’ll be a tremendous achievement!"
The thousands of pirates immediately grew excited.
Using overwhelming numbers had always been one of the pirates’ greatest survival strategies.
Normally, a crew of a hundred pirates was enough to dominate a stretch of sea.
Now there were more than thirty pirate crews.
Thousands of pirates.
Such a force could easily attack and destroy an ordinary Marine base.
Most importantly...
As long as everyone fought together, everyone would receive credit afterward.
The bald pirate’s face flushed with excitement.
If this succeeded...
He would earn a tremendous reward.
"This is our best chance to join the Beasts Pirates!"
"Charge with me!"
"Let’s show this Marine Admiral what a true human wave assault looks like!"
"Attack!!"
"KILL!!"
The thousands of pirates charged as one.
Weapons were drawn in unison.
Blades gleamed coldly beneath the sun as they surged toward Lucas like a tidal wave.
Watching from atop the clock tower, Ain and the others had originally wanted to persuade Lucas not to create unnecessary trouble.
But now...
The pirates had attacked first.
All Ain could do was smile bitterly.
After spending so much time with Lucas, she understood one thing perfectly.
If he had to chase pirates himself...
He’d consider it a waste of time.
But if the pirates delivered themselves to him...
Not even a feather would be left behind.
"Retreat!"
Smoker bellowed.
His Smoke-Smoke Fruit powers erupted instantly.
Smoke wrapped around Ain and Hina before pulling them rapidly away from the battlefield.
Even as he retreated, Smoker couldn’t help looking back at Lucas.
The strange sight caused the bald pirate leading the charge to hesitate.
Weren’t they supposed to reinforce their Admiral?
Why were they fleeing faster than the pirates were charging?
"You really couldn’t wait until I finished negotiating the reward?"
Lucas sighed helplessly.
Looking at the thousands of pirates rushing toward him with gleaming weapons...
The Conqueror’s Haki sleeping within his body erupted like a world-ending tsunami.
BOOM!!
A terrifying shockwave exploded outward in every direction.
The charging pirates didn’t even have time to react.
An overwhelming force descended upon them.
BANG!
It felt as though each pirate had been struck head-on by a gigantic Sea King.
Thousands of bodies were blasted into the air.
Blood sprayed from countless mouths simultaneously.
In an instant...
The so-called human wave assault...
Became a sea of blood.
Everything within several thousand meters of Lucas was flattened.
Thousands of pirates crashed into the ground in every direction.
Blood soaked the devastated earth crimson.
The bald pirate captain slammed into the ruins.
His body was drenched in blood.
As the dust slowly settled, disbelief filled his eyes.
One attack...
Had annihilated thousands of pirates.
So this...
Was the power of a Marine Admiral.
No amount of numbers...
Could bridge the gap in strength.
Meanwhile, at the western pier...
Jack had been sitting nearby, waiting impatiently for news.
The violent explosion made his eyes snap open.
"Ulti."
"What happened at the southern harbor?"
Standing beside him, Ulti had also turned toward the explosion.
Before she could answer, the Den Den Mushi in her hand received a transmission.
"Lord Jack."
"It’s intelligence regarding Admiral Glutton Lucas."
"He’s appeared at the southern harbor."
"He finally showed himself?"
Jack’s eyes lit up.
He immediately stood.
"Good!"
"Very good!"
"If he hadn’t shown up soon..."
"I would’ve gone straight to Marine Headquarters myself."
"Since he came to us..."
"We’ll let him witness the might of the Beasts Pirates!"
"As Brother Queen says..."
"This is Leading him into our trap e."
"He’s come here to die!"
He pointed toward the southern harbor.
"Move out!"
Jack took the lead, charging forward without hesitation.
Several hundred pirates hurried after him, all wearing excited expressions.
To them...
Following one of the Three All-Stars—
A pirate with a 1-billion-Berry bounty—
Meant the glory was practically theirs for the taking.
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