Bang!
The teacup in Sengoku’s hand was crushed to pieces.
Faced with Lucas’s ever-present demand for extra money, the muscles in Sengoku’s cheeks twitched uncontrollably.
Sure enough, talking about "fiery hope" in front of Admiral Glutton was completely wasted effort.
"You bastard. Couldn’t you pretend to be a pillar of the Marines for a little longer? You started asking for more money almost immediately."
Sengoku glared at Lucas with his beard bristling before continuing.
"But this concerns the survival of Marine Headquarters and our chances of winning a simultaneous war against two Four Emperors."
"If you hadn’t asked for more money, I might have actually worried that you were joking. Now that I’ve heard your request, I’m somewhat reassured."
"However, you should also understand our current situation. We’re about to face two Four Emperors, so Marine Headquarters’ finances are going to be extremely tight."
"At most, I can offer a 20 million-Berry bounty for each special combatant you recruit. That’s our absolute limit."
"I hope you can understand."
Twenty million Berries per person?
Lucas raised an eyebrow. He then lifted the wine gourd in his hand and smiled.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I thought you were only going to give me ten million Berries per person. I didn’t expect you to start at twenty million."
"Now that’s what I call a good deal ."
"It’s getting late. I’ll leave this boring meeting to you."
"I’ll go find the people."
With that, Lucas didn’t linger in the conference hall any longer. He simply turned around and walked away.
Watching Lucas leave with such carefree confidence, the Marine officers present were momentarily stunned.
They exchanged glances.
Yet none of them looked particularly uneasy.
Lucas had never actually told them who he intended to recruit.
But, just as Sengoku had said...
As long as Admiral Glutton had asked for more money—
This was practically guaranteed to work!
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, can he really find eight or nine special combatants?"
Doll sat in her chair in a daze, unable to hold back her question.
At the same time, as Marine Headquarters convened its highest-level mobilization conference, spies planted throughout Marine Headquarters by the Four Emperors began transmitting the explosive intelligence they had obtained through every means available.
They didn’t even care if they had to risk their lives.
Being planted inside Marine Headquarters as pieces on the board had always been for this very moment.
New World — Hachinosu
As the headquarters of the Whitebeard Pirates, Hachinosu had long been regarded as a forbidden territory in the New World.
At this moment, the enormous Moby Dick was docked at the harbor.
Whitebeard stared at the intelligence he had just received, his expression darkening to an extreme degree.
"Pops, what does the report say? Did Ace really lose to Teach?"
Diamond Jozu was the first to lose his composure.
Everyone’s faces were filled with anxiety.
Bang!
Whitebeard grabbed the ship’s railing and crushed it with his bare hand.
His white hair fluttered wildly even though there was no wind.
He roared furiously.
"That bastard Teach!"
"Not only did he betray my goodwill and kill one of his own brothers aboard my ship, he has now handed Ace over to the World Government and used him as a bargaining chip for the position of Seven Warlord of the Sea!"
"He’s gone too far!"
"He’s challenging the bottom line of the Whitebeard Pirates!"
"I will kill him with my own hands!"
BOOM!
As his roar faded, Conqueror’s Haki erupted from Whitebeard like a raging tsunami, surging straight into the heavens.
Everyone present turned pale.
Not a single person could utter a word.
After Lucas had left that day, they had already considered the worst possible outcome.
But they had never expected the reality to be even worse.
If Ace had fallen directly into Blackbeard’s hands, they could have immediately mobilized their forces and launched an attack on Blackbeard.
But now Blackbeard had used Ace as a bargaining chip and handed him over to the World Government.
That meant that if they wanted to rescue Ace, they would most likely have to declare war on Marine Headquarters.
The difficulty was enormous.
They would have to gamble the fate of the entire Whitebeard Pirates.
Moreover, Marine Headquarters had been able to stand against the Four Emperors for so many years. Its military strength was not something the Whitebeard Pirates could simply challenge whenever they pleased.
"Pops, what do we do now?"
Izo broke the silence in a solemn voice.
Everyone’s nerves tightened once again.
Jozu hurriedly spoke.
"Pops, as long as you give the word, every one of us here is willing to risk our lives."
"Even if it means declaring war on Marine Headquarters, we won’t hesitate for a second."
His words were immediately met with silent agreement from everyone present.
Whitebeard, however, remained grim-faced and hesitant.
As a father, Ace’s life was precious.
But weren’t the lives of every person standing here precious as well?
They all claimed that they had no regrets.
Yet Whitebeard still couldn’t bring himself to make such a ruthless decision so quickly.
"Pops, we can fight Marine Headquarters."
Marco, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke.
"Do you remember the Marine Admiral who boarded our ship last time—Admiral Glutton Lucas?"
"This time, he was not only responsible for the exchange with Blackbeard. On the way there, he also defeated Drought Jack of the Beasts Pirates and sent him, along with Ace, to Impel Down."
"Given Kaido’s personality, I don’t think he’ll let this go."
"If the Whitebeard Pirates declare war on Marine Headquarters, Kaido will definitely follow suit. He won’t pass up an opportunity to take advantage of the situation."
"When that happens, Marine Headquarters will be under pressure from two Four Emperors at once."
"For the Whitebeard Pirates, that could actually turn out to be a good thing."
"However, according to the intelligence report, Marine Fleet Admiral Sengoku has already decided to open two battlefronts simultaneously."
"Not only will he activate the Seven Warlords of the Sea summons, he’ll also have the newly appointed Marine Admiral, Glutton Lucas, recruit special combatants from across the sea to deal with the two Four Emperors."
"Unfortunately, the report doesn’t say what these special combatants actually are."
"Otherwise, the Whitebeard Pirates could imitate Marine Headquarters and recruit them ourselves."
A succession of words echoed across the deck.
Everyone was stunned.
In their eyes, Marine Headquarters confronting the Whitebeard Pirates alone was already an insane decision.
But now they were openly declaring that they would simultaneously open two battlefronts and declare war on two Four Emperors.
What else could that be if not madness?
If they hadn’t heard it with their own ears, they absolutely would not have believed it was real.
"Declare war on two Four Emperors simultaneously?"
A strange light flashed through Whitebeard’s eyes.
Then he threw his head back and laughed.
"Gurarararara!"
"As expected of Sengoku."
"Just like in the old days, he’s still crazy enough!"
"But he should be thankful that Marine Headquarters has gained that arrogant brat."
"Otherwise, I doubt he’d have the confidence to declare a war like this."
"Since Sengoku is crazy enough to declare war on two Four Emperors simultaneously, then the Whitebeard Pirates can’t afford to embarrass ourselves on the sea."
"Then let’s have a war that shakes the heavens!"
"Pass down my orders!"
"The Whitebeard Pirates declare war on Marine Headquarters!"
"And ask Kaido whether he dares to do the same!"
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT
◇ 1 bonus Chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus Chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70+ Chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789