"Marines?"
Fujitora, dressed in a black cloak, returned his cane sword to its sheath and raised an eyebrow.
"Someone who can attack the Seven Warlords of the Sea without the slightest hesitation... You must be Admiral Glutton Lucas, the Marines’ fourth Admiral?"
"Indeed. For someone so young, your courage is quite extraordinary."
"But aren’t you worried that the Seven Warlords will hold a grudge?"
"Hold a grudge?"
Lucas smiled, pulled out his gourd of liquor, and took a gulp of strong liquor.
"I only know that this counts as performance worthy of a promotion and pay raise."
"I don’t care about this so-called status of the Seven Warlords."
"If Fleet Admiral Sengoku gives me more money, I’d even cut down the Five Elders!"
The moment those words were spoken, everyone’s scalp went numb.
As the true rulers hiding behind the World Government, the Five Elders were people everyone tried to avoid.
Yet Lucas was actually talking about them so casually, even willing to cut down the Five Elders for the sake of a bonus.
There was probably no one else in the entire world who would dare say something like that.
As for whether Lucas would actually do it...
Perhaps they would only find out after Sengoku offered him more money.
"Even the Five Elders?"
Fujitora was stunned for a moment before bursting into hearty laughter.
"Hahaha! No wonder people across the sea say that the Marines’ new Admiral is a strange one."
"I never imagined that, in your eyes, the authority of the Five Elders is merely a matter of how much bonus they’re worth."
"However, Admiral Lucas, you should understand that I have already rejected the invitation from your Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
"Even if you came personally, I still wouldn’t accept."
Fujitora had obviously assumed that Lucas’s appearance was related to the invitation to become special combat power that had been extended to him not long ago.
"No, Lord Fujitora."
Doll couldn’t help speaking up.
"Admiral Lucas just said that the person he’s looking for isn’t you."
Fujitora was stunned.
Taking advantage of the brief respite earlier, Doll had already examined everyone in the area several times.
Unfortunately, no matter how carefully she looked, she still couldn’t find the second special combat power target Lucas had mentioned.
Fujitora’s confidence also faltered.
"Admiral Lucas, is what this Marine just said true?"
"You aren’t planning to use this method to attract my attention and trick me into boarding your ship, are you?"
Fujitora had also heard about Marine Headquarters’ plans for recruiting special combat power.
As one of the people who had been invited, he naturally understood the level of strength required.
Anyone on that list had to possess enough power to participate in the coming Summit War.
These certainly weren’t common individuals one could find anywhere.
Yet Lucas was now telling him that there were two such people at Nanohana Port.
Was he treating special combat power like ordinary cabbages being sold on the roadside?
"Lord Fujitora, I only have two methods of extending an invitation: openly and through pressure."
Lucas smiled and shook his head.
"I don’t bother with cheap tricks like that."
His gaze shifted toward the crowd.
"Lord Naguri, you should understand what I mean, shouldn’t you?"
Naguri?
Everyone present was stunned.
The name was completely unfamiliar to them.
Compared with the renowned Fujitora Issho, the name Naguri left them utterly bewildered.
But the moment the name reached Fujitora’s ears, his expression suddenly changed.
His cane sword slid slightly out of its sheath.
In the next instant, his entire body vanished from where he stood like a phantom.
When he appeared again, Fujitora was already standing before an elderly figure who had been curled up and hiding among the crowd.
His cane sword instantly flashed out of its sheath.
Everyone’s expressions changed.
No one had expected Fujitora to attack without warning.
And even less had they expected him to attack an unkempt old man wearing a tattered sheepskin coat.
As the blade, surrounded by swirling gravitational force, slashed toward the old man like lightning, Doll hurriedly shouted:
"Admiral Lucas, hurry and intervene! If he’s mistaken, someone could die!"
BOOM!
A deep collision suddenly rang out.
The resulting blast of force violently drove everyone nearby seven or eight meters backward.
When everyone finally managed to see what had happened, their pupils contracted in shock.
He blocked it!
The shabby old man whom they had assumed Fujitora could kill instantly had actually blocked Fujitora’s descending cane sword.
Pitch-black Armament Haki rapidly surged across Naguri’s hands.
Even Naguri was deeply shocked by Fujitora’s sudden attack.
For several decades, he had gone to great lengths to play the role of an ordinary passerby.
He had never imagined that one day someone would expose his identity with a single sentence.
"You really are Giant Hammer Naguri."
Fujitora’s expression darkened slightly as he recalled the events of the past.
"When I first ventured out onto the sea and became a Marine mercenary, I once pursued you."
"I’ve never forgotten your presence."
"Originally, I thought that after you challenged the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, and your entire crew was defeated, you had been lost to the sea."
"I never imagined you were still alive."
"And you’ve even ended up on this Admiral’s list of special combat power."
"Looks like I owe this Marine Admiral a thank-you."
"Fujitora, I don’t have time to reminisce with you."
Naguri clenched his pipe between his teeth, his expression turning grim as he looked around at everyone.
"This so-called special combat power means nothing to me."
"Marine Admiral, all I want to do now is leave."
BOOM!
A violent surge of Conqueror’s Haki suddenly exploded from within Naguri.
Like a hurricane, it rapidly swept outward in every direction.
The enormous Haki shockwave far exceeded everyone’s expectations.
Everywhere it passed, ordinary civilians who had already retreated hundreds of meters away were instantly knocked unconscious by the overwhelming force.
Even Fujitora was no exception.
He was directly pushed four or five meters backward.
"This is Conqueror’s Haki!"
Doll and the others were utterly stunned.
This was the disposition of a king possessed by only one person in a million.
From the moment Lucas had announced that there was a second special combat power target here, to the moment Fujitora had suddenly targeted an inconspicuous old man, they had been filled with doubt.
But after Fujitora had identified the man’s origins with a single sentence and they had personally witnessed his extremely rare kingly disposition...
Could an old-era figure who had once possessed the qualifications to challenge the Pirate King really be an ordinary man?
Seeing that his attack had succeeded, Naguri didn’t hesitate.
He immediately turned around and fled.
Fujitora, who had just been forced backward, sensed Naguri rapidly moving away.
His expression darkened, and he quickly pursued him once more.
However, the moment the two of them moved, an indescribable presence suddenly erupted behind them.
"Sorry."
"Fighting in front of me tends to trigger my passive skill!"
BOOM!
A tangible wave of Conqueror’s Haki exploded once again.
Centered around Lucas, the overwhelming Haki surged toward both Fujitora and Naguri.
The sudden development completely exceeded everyone’s expectations.
Especially when they saw that Lucas had included Fujitora Issho in his attack.
Could he really be crazy enough to attack two special combat power targets at the same time?
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