Half a day later, after the farce involving the Warlords of the Sea finally came to an end, everyone gathered in the conference hall at Marine Headquarters.
Blackbeard, who was lying on a stretcher, suddenly struggled to sit up as though experiencing a brief return of strength.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I want to file a complaint!"
"I want to report this new Admiral for recklessly attacking and injuring people!"
"As long as you properly punish this new Admiral, I’ll tell you the true secret hidden behind Fire Fist Ace!"
"The true secret?"
Sengoku and the other senior officers immediately became serious.
In their eyes, Ace’s identity as the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates was already enough to make them treat him with utmost caution.
On top of that, there was the explosive information Lucas had revealed over the Den Den Mushi not long ago.
If an even more significant piece of intelligence emerged now, the situation could very well spiral completely out of control.
Feeling everyone’s eyes upon him, a smile finally appeared on Blackbeard’s face.
After suffering that astonishing slash from Lucas, Blackbeard had spent three whole days playing dead and keeping a low profile.
He had literally lain on that stretcher for three days.
Now, he had finally regained some sense of relevance, and his smile grew wider.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I believe you’re a smart man. You understand perfectly well what matters are urgent and what matters can wait."
"I can reveal a little of the truth first."
"Besides being Whitebeard’s godson, Fire Fist Ace is also the biological son of a certain great pirate!"
"If you want to know who, I hope you can first make this new Admiral stand right there and take a punch from me without dodging."
"Otherwise, I’m afraid the negotiations won’t go any further."
As he said this, Blackbeard looked toward Lucas with considerable interest.
Seeing Blackbeard’s smug expression, Lucas immediately found the situation amusing.
He reached out and patted Blackbeard on the shoulder.
"Thanks for the assist."
"You just helped me secure another bonus."
"Old Man Sengoku, you heard him too."
"You’re perfectly willing to pay me that ten-million-Berry bonus, right?"
Sengoku’s expression changed slightly.
After instinctively glancing at Garp, he said,
"Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you get your bonus."
"But Blackbeard, is that really the ’true secret’ you were talking about?"
"While you were unconscious, Fire Fist Ace already admitted it himself."
"He is the biological son of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger."
"At first, I thought Lucas was simply making things up to squeeze another bonus out of me."
"But now that you’ve mentioned it yourself, I believe it."
"If you have any other secrets you’d like to exchange with Marine Headquarters, you can think about them carefully before speaking."
Blackbeard’s smile froze.
The words he had been about to say were forcibly swallowed back down.
Had he just been sold out and then made to count the money himself?
The secret he had regarded as his greatest bargaining chip...
The Pirate King’s son was only worth ten million Berries?
Blackbeard desperately wanted to crack open Lucas’s skull and see what kind of bizarre thought process was going on inside.
Surely this piece of information alone should have been worth several billion Berries!
Looking at Blackbeard standing there dumbfounded, Sengoku withdrew his gaze.
Several Marine officers in the room also underwent drastic changes in expression.
Until moments ago, this secret had been known only among the highest-ranking members of the Marines.
Now that Sengoku had revealed it openly in front of them, it meant that the truth would soon become public knowledge.
The Pirate King’s son.
The bearer of the bloodline once branded as the bloodline of a demon.
Back then, in order to locate the unborn child of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, the World Government had slaughtered countless children of the same age in an attempt to eliminate any future threat.
Under such a brutal campaign of suppression, the fact that Ace had survived at all was beyond their expectations.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, now that the information has been confirmed, are we really going to execute him publicly?"
Tsuru spoke in a solemn voice.
After learning this secret from Lucas, Sengoku had gathered the highest-ranking officers and spent several days discussing the matter.
In the end, they had reached a decision.
A public execution.
"Sengoku, you need to think this through carefully."
Garp, who had remained silent from beginning to end, clenched his fists tightly.
His face was grim.
"You know Whitebeard’s temperament better than anyone."
"If we execute Ace publicly, he will absolutely declare war on Marine Headquarters."
"We don’t need to take things this far."
"No."
Akainu suddenly spoke.
"I agree with Fleet Admiral Sengoku’s decision."
"Only by doing this can we make the entire sea understand the justice of Marine Headquarters."
Garp’s expression became even more unpleasant.
"No, Sengoku."
"This isn’t just about Whitebeard anymore."
"Don’t forget that Lucas also brought Jack the Drought back here in chains."
"If we insist on carrying out a public execution, Kaido’s temperament means he certainly won’t stand by and watch."
"If we mishandle this, we could end up declaring war on two Four Emperors at the same time."
"Don’t forget what it means when one action affects everything else."
Lucas raised an eyebrow.
He hadn’t expected Garp to suddenly start speaking so formally.
But there was no denying that Garp’s words had struck directly at the heart of the problem.
The enormous conference hall immediately became oppressive.
The expressions of many Marine officers turned grim and solemn.
One Four Emperor was already enough to put them on full alert.
If they had to face two Four Emperors simultaneously...
They would probably have lost half the battle before it even began.
For a moment, the entire conference hall fell silent.
Even Akainu, who was normally so forceful, sat there with a dark expression and had nothing to say.
Sengoku felt a headache coming on.
He glanced at Lucas, who was sitting off to the side with his legs crossed.
For a moment, he nearly lost his temper and slapped Lucas across the back of the head.
All this over a mere twenty million Berries in bonuses.
Lucas had even brought one of the Three Calamities back in chains.
The situation had practically become a deadlock.
Even Sengoku, the Marines’ renowned strategist, couldn’t make a decision immediately.
In the end, he let out a long sigh.
"Forget it."
"No matter how much we discuss this, we aren’t going to reach a conclusion."
"The Five Elders will still have to make the final decision afterward."
"For now, send Fire Fist Ace and Jack the Drought to Impel Down."
"As for who will escort them..."
"Let Lucas make another trip."
"Me again?"
Lucas smiled and raised the liquor gourd in his hand toward Akainu and Garp.
"Thank you all for your continued support."
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, you’ve been increasing my bonuses rather aggressively lately."
"But I like it."
"Ten million for one trip. Nobody minds, right?"
The muscles in the cheeks of the Marine officers twitched.
Everyone else was racking their brains over how to deal with two Four Emperors.
Yet somehow, the very person responsible for creating this mess was still talking about getting paid more.
Sengoku’s face turned dark.
After glancing at Akainu and Garp once more, he finally sighed helplessly.
"Fine, fine. We’ll add it."
"That brings the total to forty million Berries."
"I’ll have Tsuru transfer it to you later."
"But you absolutely must deliver them to Impel Down."
"If anything goes wrong, don’t expect to receive this ten million."
"Not only that—the previous bonuses will be deducted as well."
During this period, Lucas’s habit of constantly talking about money and treating everything like paid work had certainly given Sengoku plenty of headaches.
But in Sengoku’s eyes, compared with Akainu’s uncompromising Absolute Justice and Garp’s sentimental attachment to those he cared about...
Lucas was undoubtedly the one he trusted most to get the job done.
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