Thirty million Berries?
Lucas was a little surprised.
He had originally thought that getting twenty million Berries out of this would already be pretty good.
He certainly hadn’t expected Sengoku to be so generous for once.
Free money!
Faced with Lucas’s silence, Sengoku’s nerves tightened slightly as he prepared to probe him again.
But before he could say anything, an unexpected burst of hearty laughter came through the Transponder Snail.
"Hahaha! I never thought a mere Warlord of the Sea would be worth more than the four of us Special Combatants. Now I’m really curious to see what he looks like."
"Brother Fujitora, Brother Naguri, you’ve both been outbid."
"As for the two of us giants who haven’t shown our faces in a hundred years, we don’t really care whether we have any face left!"
The hearty laughter echoed throughout the conference hall.
Everyone’s expressions changed drastically.
Crack!
The Transponder Snail in Sengoku’s hand was crushed to pieces.
Even Tsuru was visibly shaken.
That sudden interruption had caught everyone completely off guard.
But more importantly, the information contained in those few words was simply staggering.
Two giants who had been hidden away for a century.
Naguri—the legendary man who had challenged the Pirate King and lost, who also possessed top-tier Conqueror’s Haki, and whom the world had believed dead for decades.
And then there was Issho, the man whom Akainu had just declared impossible to recruit, and whom Fleet Admiral Sengoku himself had acknowledged as possessing combat power comparable to an Admiral.
Perhaps the first three Special Combatants weren’t particularly familiar names to everyone else.
But there probably wasn’t a single person in this room who didn’t know the name Issho.
And now, Lucas’s ship had already gathered three more people who had taken positions on his Special Combatant roster.
Their strength might not necessarily rival Fujitora Issho’s.
But when one considered their backgrounds and capabilities, each of them was undoubtedly a trump card.
Six days ago, when Lucas had left Marine Headquarters, he had confidently declared that he could find eight or nine Special Combatants.
Most people hadn’t taken that claim seriously.
Even Sengoku had been skeptical.
In their eyes, if Lucas could recruit half that number, it would already be an impressive achievement.
No one had expected that in just six short days, Lucas would have already gathered almost half of his proposed Special Combatant roster.
Most importantly, he had even managed to bring aboard Fujitora Issho—the very man whom Fleet Admiral Sengoku himself had failed to recruit.
For a moment, the enormous conference hall fell into complete silence.
Looking at the fragments of the Transponder Snail scattered across the table, Tsuru couldn’t help asking,
"Sengoku, are you still planning to call Lucas again?"
"I have a feeling his face is somehow worth more than a Warlord’s."
As Marine Headquarters’ Chief of Staff, Tsuru had immediately picked up on the clues hidden in Blue Ogre Dorry’s casual remark.
The two giants who had been hidden for a century.
The man who had challenged the Pirate King and survived that legendary defeat.
And Fujitora Issho, whose combat power rivaled an Admiral’s.
Every single one of these individuals, regardless of their exact strength, had to have a considerable amount of prestige and personal influence for Lucas to gather them all aboard one ship.
At the very least, even Fleet Admiral Sengoku couldn’t accomplish something like that.
Everyone stiffly turned toward Sengoku.
Even Akainu’s expression was grim, though a trace of shock could be seen deep within his eyes.
Yet, for once, Akainu didn’t say anything.
Because he found himself unable to refute Tsuru’s argument.
Feeling the atmosphere in the room change, Sengoku’s expression tightened as well.
He rubbed his throbbing temples and sighed.
"That brat really is the most unpredictable man on the sea. He’s gathered four monsters in just six days."
"At first, I thought his claim about eight or nine Special Combatants was a joke."
"I didn’t expect that I had still underestimated what this brat was capable of."
"Tsuru, prepare another two or three hundred million Berries in bonuses."
"I really want to see what kind of monsters that brat can gather aboard his ship by the time the war begins!"
"As for calling him again..."
"I’ll pass."
"His face really does seem to be worth more than a Warlord’s."
The Marine officers present were utterly stunned.
No one had expected the mighty Fleet Admiral to say something so seemingly irresponsible at a moment when the overall situation was supposedly the top priority.
And yet...
Somehow, it sounded pretty damn satisfying.
"Vergo, why is your forehead covered in sweat?" Hina**?** No—Vice Admiral Onigumo? Wait, the original says Smoker? Let’s keep canon name.**
A moment later, Vice Admiral Onigumo’s? No. The text says 火燒山.
"Vice Admiral Stainless, why is your forehead covered in sweat?" asked Vice Admiral Strawberry?
No, let’s correct this properly:
"Vergo, why is your forehead covered in sweat? Is that coat too hot?"
Vice Admiral Onigumo? Actually, 火燒山 = Bastille in One Piece localization.
So:
"Vergo, why is your forehead covered in sweat? Is that coat too hot?" Bastille said with a cigar between his teeth, laughing heartily.
"Or did the lineup aboard Admiral Lucas’s ship scare you?"
"I really want to know what that arrogant Warlord Doflamingo’s expression will look like when he sees Admiral Lucas."
The teacup in Vergo’s hand developed a crack.
He had indeed been doing everything he could to keep himself composed.
But the fact that even Fleet Admiral Sengoku had just lost his composure badly enough to crush a Transponder Snail spoke volumes.
Lucas’s ship was now filled with all sorts of terrifying monsters.
If Young Master was still completely unaware of the situation and failed to understand when it was time to back down...
Vergo didn’t even dare imagine how things might ultimately develop.
"Vergo."
Tsuru suddenly spoke.
"You’ll stay with me for the time being. I need someone to help me manage intelligence concerning the Yonko."
"During this period, you probably won’t be able to leave Marine Headquarters’ Intelligence Department freely."
Tsuru then quickly called out several other names and assigned them their duties.
Faced with this sudden responsibility, Vergo’s expression instantly became extremely grim.
Once he entered the Intelligence Department, it meant that before the war against the Yonko began, he probably wouldn’t even be able to contact Doflamingo.
But with everyone else readily accepting their assignments, Vergo obviously had no room to refuse.
The only thing he could do was hope that his Young Master would be smart enough to know when to back down.
After the meeting ended, Sengoku quickly issued a gag order.
As for the four Special Combatants mentioned during the brief exchange over the Transponder Snail, Sengoku clearly intended to shroud them in an air of mystery.
In the face of Lucas’s overwhelming personal prestige, Sengoku genuinely wanted to see what kind of lineup would ultimately appear aboard his ship.
Three days later, more than a hundred nautical miles from the Kingdom of Dressrosa.
Momonga, who had been stationed there, anxiously scanned the surrounding sea.
When he finally spotted an enormous warship appearing on the distant horizon, his face immediately lit up with delight.
"Send word! Prepare to receive Admiral Lucas."
"At the same time, issue Doflamingo another summons for the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
"I really want to see whether Doflamingo can still act so arrogantly with Admiral Lucas personally here."
The adjutant looked at Momonga, who was normally calm and composed but now seemed like an entirely different person, his face filled with excitement.
He couldn’t help smiling wryly.
"Vice Admiral Momonga, this concerns the very survival of Marine Headquarters."
"Admiral Lucas certainly doesn’t do things according to conventional rules."
"But for the sake of Marine Headquarters and the bigger picture, I’m afraid even he may be forced to play by the rules this time."
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