"Clothes?"
The expressions of Hancock and her two sisters changed instantly.
They carried a terrible secret.
If it were exposed in front of so many people...
It would be far worse than death.
Without another thought, Hancock quickly looked down.
But the moment she lowered her head, the Marine flag hanging from a nearby warship suddenly snapped free without warning and draped itself over her, covering her completely.
The unexpected turn of events left Marigold and Sandersonia frozen.
Was that... just a coincidence?
As they watched Lucas’s departing figure, uncertainty flickered across their faces.
"What a pain... There are just too many troublesome things."
Lucas took another swig of his strong liquor.
"Whatever. Let’s just call it compensation for beating her up earlier."
With that, he headed straight toward the Gate of Justice.
Hina and the others were dumbfounded.
Then they glanced once more at the battered Saint Charlos, who still lay unconscious, his life or death uncertain.
Their hearts couldn’t help but twitch.
In a situation like this...
Only Lucas could completely ignore whether a Celestial Dragon lived or died.
Meanwhile...
Inside Fleet Admiral Sengoku’s office at Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
A heavy silence filled the room.
Everyone stared intently at the reports spread across the desk.
Since Red-Haired Shanks had reshaped the balance of the New World and become the youngest of the Four Emperors six years ago...
The Marines had never faced such a tense situation.
"What time is it already?!"
Sengoku slammed the desk with a loud bang.
"Why isn’t Borsalino here yet?"
"He’s one of the Admirals—the Marines’ greatest military power!"
"Why is every one of them so unreliable?"
"One Lucas is already enough to give me a headache."
"Can’t Borsalino at least make my life a little easier?"
"Doesn’t he realize how serious the situation in the New World has become?"
His furious voice echoed throughout the office.
The Marine officers present instinctively lowered their heads.
This was a matter for the top brass.
None of them wanted to become collateral damage.
"Sengoku."
Tsuru, seated at the head of the table, spoke calmly.
"Calm down."
"Borsalino responded to an emergency call from a World Noble."
"That’s why he left."
Very few people dared interrupt Sengoku when he was furious.
As the Marines’ Chief Staff Officer, Tsuru was naturally one of them.
"A Celestial Dragon got into trouble?"
Sengoku paused.
"Who was blind enough to attack one?"
"It’s been years since anything like that happened."
"The last time was six years ago."
"Garp accidentally kicked one."
"It took us forever to smooth things over afterward."
"Hahaha!"
Garp burst into laughter.
"They’re just a bunch of trash."
"So what if I kicked one?"
"The only thing that hurt was losing three months’ salary."
"I lived on rice crackers for three whole months."
"..."
Nearly every Marine officer’s face twitched.
The Celestial Dragons were the greatest source of trouble in the entire world.
Who would ever dare touch one?
Probably only someone as unconventional as Garp.
"Garp, shut up."
Sengoku shot him an annoyed glare.
"Just hearing about that gives me another headache."
"Forget it."
"I’m too tired to argue with you."
He turned back toward Tsuru.
"Where did the attack happen?"
"I know Kizaru went to respond..."
"But I still have a really bad feeling about this."
"A bad feeling?"
Tsuru frowned before suddenly remembering something.
"I believe it was at the entrance to the Gate of Justice along the Red Line."
"Wait..."
"Not long ago, Hina sent me Lucas’s location."
"They’re at the Gate of Justice too."
She slowly looked up.
"...Do you think..."
"...That brat is the one who caused it?"
Pfft!
Sengoku immediately spat out his tea.
The uneasiness in his heart instantly multiplied.
He grabbed a Den Den Mushi in panic.
"Quick!"
"Call that brat!"
"Tell him..."
"If he absolutely has to hit a Celestial Dragon..."
"At least don’t hit him in the face!"
"If the face isn’t ruined..."
"We might still be able to smooth things over!"
"..."
Every Marine officer’s expression completely collapsed.
At a time like this...
Was the face really the biggest concern?
"Well, well, well..."
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
"So you’ve already figured it out."
"Looks like I came back a little too late."
"I was hoping to surprise everyone."
Golden light gathered in the room.
In an instant, Kizaru’s body reassembled itself.
Seeing him appear, Sengoku nearly lunged at him.
Suppressing his anger with great effort, he gritted his teeth.
"A surprise?"
"This is a heart attack!"
"Kizaru!"
"What exactly happened?"
"Why did Lucas attack a Celestial Dragon?"
"Doesn’t he know..."
"That’s even more troublesome than beating up Zephyr?"
Beside him, Zephyr’s eyelids twitched.
If they hadn’t been in the middle of an important meeting...
He would already have punched Sengoku for dragging him into the comparison.
Still...
He also wanted to know why Lucas had caused another incident.
"Don’t worry, Fleet Admiral."
Kizaru smiled lazily.
"Lucas is actually quite thoughtful."
"He recorded everything with a Den Den Mushi ."
He handed over the recording.
"Apparently, CP0 deliberately used the Celestial Dragon to force Lucas into provoking Boa Hancock, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
"But in the end..."
"CP0 claimed they could protect the Celestial Dragon."
"They ended up digging their own grave."
"On my way back, I watched the recording."
"Lucas’s Conqueror’s Haki has become downright monstrous."
"It creates actual physical shockwaves."
"He instantly blasted both the CP0 agent and the Warlord away."
"Under those circumstances..."
"CP0 couldn’t possibly protect the Celestial Dragon."
"Then they threw a tantrum..."
"And Lucas stood there without moving and defeated the CP0 agent in a single strike."
"It’s hard to explain with words."
"You should watch it yourselves."
"..."
Everyone was stunned.
A Conqueror’s Haki shockwave?
Defeating CP0 in one attack without even moving?
None of it sounded believable.
At least...
Not according to everything they knew.
Sengoku and Zephyr had already heard reports that Lucas’s Haki had blasted people away.
But hearsay...
Could never compare to seeing actual footage.
The office fell silent.
After everyone finished watching the recording...
Every face was filled with utter disbelief.
Only then did they realize...
Kizaru hadn’t exaggerated in the slightest.
Everything he described—
The Haki shockwave.
Defeating CP0 while standing still.
It had all happened exactly as he said.
"Garp!"
Sengoku grabbed Garp by the collar.
"Did that brat deliberately hold back during his Admiral evaluation?"
"Why is he still hiding so many abilities?"
"Hahaha!"
Garp laughed heartily.
"I told you from the beginning."
"That kid has what it takes to be an Admiral."
"Now do you finally believe me?"
"As for Lucas..."
"I only brought him into the Marines."
"How far he could go..."
"Was always up to him."
His expression gradually turned serious.
"But now that I’ve brought him into the Marines..."
"I’ve already done everything I could."
He looked Sengoku straight in the eye.
"So tell me..."
"Are you going to let a bunch of trash force Lucas out of the Marines..."
"Just like what happened last time?"
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