The three of them—Sengoku, Garp, and Tsuru—were left completely stunned.
This answer was something they had never expected.
Sengoku had even prepared himself to put righteousness before family.
Now, it felt as though he had thrown a punch into a ball of cotton. He had all this pent-up energy and nowhere to vent it.
At the same time, the heavy stone that had been hanging over his heart quietly disappeared.
The panic that had been written all over his face moments ago vanished completely. Sengoku glared and shouted,
"Lucas, why did you make such a reckless decision? He’s the wielder of the Op-Op Fruit! You have no idea what his existence means."
"Still, since this is your first offense, I won’t pursue the matter."
"This time, you successfully brought back a member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Your ability to get the job done has genuinely surprised me."
"So, on top of the original thirty-million-Beli bounty, I’ll increase your reward to fifty million Beli. I hope you’ll continue doing your job properly in the future."
Increase it to fifty million?
Lucas froze for a moment.
As expected of a high-ranking official—the way he used an indirect approach to achieve his goal was truly unexpected.
Lucas glanced back at Doflamingo, who was still lying in the corner and pretending to be unconscious.
He smiled, took a sip of liquor, and said,
"Thank you, Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
"Next time you need another Warlord brought in, remember to come to me."
"However, I should warn you: next time Dof’s bounty might have to be doubled again. Don’t let him do anything foolish."
Sengoku’s expression immediately darkened.
He looked at Doflamingo, who was being carried over on a stretcher.
As he passed him, Sengoku let out a quiet sigh.
"Dof, you heard what he just said. I hope you’ll behave yourself and obey the law."
"Next time, I don’t want to spend a huge amount of money on you."
Doflamingo’s eyelids twitched violently as he lay on the stretcher.
If not for the circumstances—and the fact that he knew full well he couldn’t beat Lucas—
Doflamingo would have already jumped off the stretcher and unleashed a combination of punches on Lucas.
What Doflamingo had never expected was that, when he had originally thought he could drag Trafalgar Law down with him, things would instead turn into a ridiculous reunion between a "grandfather" and "grandson."
To make matters worse, Lucas was even being rewarded an additional twenty million Beli for successfully bringing back a Warlord.
To Doflamingo, this was nothing less than rubbing his dignity into the ground.
"Gulu-gulu! Emergency notification! Emergency notification!"
The urgent ringing of a Den Den Mushi suddenly sounded without warning.
"World Noble Saint Charlos has been attacked by pirates in the Sabaody Archipelago! Marine Headquarters is requested to provide immediate assistance! Marine Headquarters must dispatch an Admiral as the highest combat power to suppress the situation!"
Lucas raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised.
In the original story, there was only one group that would attack a Celestial Dragon in the Sabaody Archipelago.
If he remembered correctly, this should be the moment when all the Supernovas appeared together.
What Lucas hadn’t expected was that this request for reinforcements specifically emphasized that a Marine Admiral had to be dispatched.
Was it because the incident at the Gate of Justice last time had caused the prestige of the Celestial Dragons to decline?
"A Celestial Dragon has been attacked, and they’re demanding that an Admiral be dispatched?"
Sengoku’s expression changed slightly.
The adjutant standing beside Tsuru had clearly already received the latest intelligence. He hurried forward and reported,
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, among the criminals who attacked the Celestial Dragon this time are several of the Supernovas."
"If I’m not mistaken, they include Straw Hat Luffy, Captain Kid, and the Surgeon of Death, Trafalgar Law."
"Besides them, the other Supernovas have also been appearing one after another on Sabaody Archipelago Grove 1."
"If we want to capture them all, we’ll probably need an Admiral to take action."
"At the same time, there’s a report from a witness claiming that Dark King Rayleigh was also spotted inside the Grove 1 auction house."
Dark King Rayleigh?
Sengoku’s expression changed dramatically.
If it were merely the Supernovas, he wouldn’t have taken them seriously.
But if Dark King Rayleigh had truly become involved, then a Marine Admiral was indispensable if they wanted to resolve the situation.
"Sengoku, Akainu and Aokiji have already departed to mobilize forces."
"Kizaru has also gone to coordinate with the Scientific Division and prepare additional manpower. If we dispatch Kizaru, it will probably take about an hour."
Tsuru spoke in a solemn tone.
"As for Lucas, he’s the closest to the Sabaody Archipelago. He should be able to arrive within a few minutes."
"We just need to prepare his bounty first."
"Another bounty?"
The muscles in Sengoku’s cheek twitched uncontrollably.
But when he looked at Lucas, who was standing nearby with a smile while casually drinking his liquor, Sengoku gritted his teeth.
"If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have increased Dof’s bounty just now."
"For this incident involving the Celestial Dragon, I’ll give you ten million Beli at most."
"If you don’t agree, then I’ll go there myself."
"But remember this clearly: you absolutely cannot attack the Celestial Dragon this time. Otherwise, I’ll have a hard time explaining myself."
Ten million Beli?
Smoker and the others were stunned.
If people outside knew that one day a World Noble had actually been given a fixed price like a slave in a human auction house—only ten million Beli—
Who knew what kind of expression they would make?
Lucas took another sip of liquor, raised the gourd in his hand, and laughed.
"Deal, Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Ten million it is. Better than nothing."
"I’ll go there and be right back."
"Smoker, wait for me at Dock One."
With that, Lucas took a single step forward.
His entire figure vanished from the spot like a ghost.
By the time everyone recovered, Lucas was already several hundred meters away, shooting through the air like an arrow.
Watching Lucas disappear from sight within just four or five breaths, Sengoku’s cheek twitched again.
Sure enough, when it came to dealing with Lucas, nothing worked better than money.
"This brat..."
Sengoku withdrew his gaze and muttered in bewilderment,
"I thought he’d bargain with me. I never expected him to be this straightforward this time, especially when it comes to Law and the Celestial Dragon."
"That’s something you don’t see every day."
"Ahem."
Tsuru cleared her throat.
"Sengoku, seeing how readily you were increasing his payment, I was debating whether I should tell you this."
"But I think I’d better warn you first."
"Hina just told me that five days ago, Doflamingo called the Five Elders for help."
"But Lucas blasted him away again right in front of the Five Elders."
"So that brat is probably planning to have you take the blame for him when you go see the Five Elders."
"He attacked someone in front of the Five Elders?"
Sengoku’s expression froze.
"And he wants me to take the blame for him?"
"Am I being sold off while helping the seller count his money?"
And judging by how happy he had been counting just now, he had apparently been doing it with great enthusiasm.
Remembering how foolishly pleased he had been moments ago, Sengoku immediately became furious.
"That damn brat! Garp, you heard that too!"
"That brat is bold enough to sell even me out. Who knows what he’ll do next?"
"And what are you counting on your fingers? Tell me immediately, or don’t blame me for getting angry."
"You really want me to tell you?"
Garp froze.
Looking at Sengoku, whose eyes were wide with murderous fury, Garp scratched the back of his head and coughed awkwardly.
"Ahem. Sengoku, your interests really are a little strange."
"But since you want to know, I’ll tell you."
"I was calculating something."
"I’m Lucas’s honorary grandfather, and you’ve become Lucas’s honorary grandson."
"So just now, I was calculating..."
"If you’re my honorary grandson, then what does that make you to me?"
"GET LOST!"
◇ 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