Lucas stumbled, nearly falling flat on his face.
He turned back to look at Hancock, whose cheeks were flushed bright red.
Is this... the legendary love-brain?
Does everything that reaches her ears automatically get translated into a love confession?
"D-Did you all hear that?"
Hancock spoke again.
"He even called me Little Jingjing just now."
Lucas was speechless.
A classic line suddenly popped into his head.
"Back when we watched the moon together, you called me Sweetheart. Now that you’ve found someone new, you call me Auntie Niu."
How did I end up with "Little Jingjing"?
This is getting ridiculous.
Everyone else was equally dumbfounded.
Smoker bit down so hard on his cigar that it nearly snapped.
"This has to be fake..."
"It’s just like before."
"The Pirate Empress must be testing Admiral Lucas on purpose."
Everyone around him eagerly nodded in agreement.
To them, Boa Hancock might be a pirate...
But she was also the world’s most beautiful woman.
If they had to choose...
They would much rather believe this was all part of Hancock’s test...
Than accept that their goddess had genuinely fallen for someone.
Even Elder Nyon and the Kuja warriors were left completely stunned.
Watching their once-proud Empress suddenly behave like a bashful young girl, they hurriedly escorted Hancock away.
To them, it didn’t matter whether Hancock was still testing Admiral Lucas.
As long as the conflict between the Kuja Pirates and Marine Headquarters had been resolved...
That was enough.
"Kid!"
Seeing Lucas preparing to leave, Garp quickly called after him.
"Don’t forget Sengoku’s new assignment."
"I’ll handle escorting the Seven Warlords for you."
Sengoku had deliberately arranged things this way so Lucas could stay out of the spotlight for a while.
Still, if possible, Garp hoped Lucas would eventually complete the mission himself.
Otherwise, people might use it against him later.
"Old man, you’ve finally gone on a mission again, and it’s just to clean up after me."
Lucas turned back with a warm smile.
"I almost feel bad making you run around because of me."
The moment Garp and Tsuru saw that smile, the muscles in their faces twitched.
Tsuru immediately spoke up.
"Admiral Lucas..."
"You’re not about to ask for another performance bonus, are you?"
"We already told you."
"If Sengoku finds out you blasted apart the Gates of Justice..."
"He’ll probably die of anger."
"This is only a routine surveillance mission."
"The objective is simply to determine whether Whitebeard and Red-Haired Shanks are going to clash."
"If you’re still thinking about performance bonuses at a time like this..."
"That’s going too far."
After witnessing Lucas’s usual behavior, they already understood exactly what that smile meant.
Looking around at the heavily damaged plaza...
Anyone else would be worried about disciplinary action.
Only Lucas would have the nerve to ask for extra rewards.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, you’re crushing my enthusiasm for work."
Lucas helplessly rolled his eyes before taking another sip of strong liquor.
"But..."
"If I can determine why Whitebeard and Red-Haired Shanks are meeting..."
"That intelligence should qualify me for a performance bonus, right?"
"You can figure out why they’re meeting?"
Tsuru froze in surprise.
For years, Marine Headquarters had spared no effort monitoring the territories and movements of the Four Emperors.
Whether it was the Vice Admirals...
Admiral Candidates Gion and Chaton...
Or even the three Admirals themselves...
Their surveillance was limited to observing movements from a safe distance.
No one could learn what was actually discussed.
Yet now...
Lucas was claiming he could uncover the reason behind a meeting between two Emperors.
An absurd thought suddenly surfaced in everyone’s mind.
If the performance bonus was high enough...
Would Lucas actually go and fight one of the Four Emperors?
"Kid!"
Garp’s expression turned serious.
"This isn’t the time for jokes."
"Whitebeard alone already gives Sengoku enough headaches."
"Now Red-Haired Shanks has entered the picture."
"Don’t do anything reckless."
"If something happens..."
"Even I won’t be able to save you."
Tsuru nodded solemnly.
"Garp is right."
"Performance bonuses are one thing..."
"But we don’t want you risking your life over them."
"You’re still young."
"You have tremendous room to grow."
"It simply isn’t worth it."
Smoker and the others remained silent.
Every one of the Four Emperors who ruled the New World demanded Marine Headquarters’ utmost caution.
Now...
Two of them were meeting face-to-face.
The threat this posed was so severe that even Marine Headquarters considered it an extremely dangerous situation.
That was why an Admiral had been dispatched to monitor it personally.
Lucas’s proposal sounded no different from dancing on a grave.
Feeling everyone’s eyes on him, Lucas naturally wasn’t about to let such a perfect opportunity to negotiate a performance bonus slip away.
Adjusting his glasses, he smiled.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, don’t worry."
"I’m not stupid enough to gamble with my own life."
"But..."
"If I can ensure my own safety while discovering what the Four Emperors discuss..."
"And allow Marine Headquarters to understand their movements in advance..."
"Then asking for a 10-million-Berry performance bonus isn’t unreasonable, is it?"
Ten million?
Tsuru couldn’t help smiling bitterly.
"Admiral Lucas..."
"There are countless pirates in the New World with enormous bounties."
"Wouldn’t it be easier to simply hunt a few of them?"
"Is risking yourself over a 10-million-Berry performance bonus really worth it?"
After spending so much time with him, Tsuru felt she had finally figured Lucas out.
This young man appeared obsessed with money.
Yet instead of pursuing the easiest way to earn it...
He ignored pirate bounties entirely.
Instead...
He remained fixated on salaries and performance bonuses.
Even as Marine Headquarters’ Chief Staff Officer, Tsuru found that utterly baffling.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru..."
"The bounties on pirates really are tempting."
"But this is the code every salaryman should live by."
"If we don’t value our salaries and performance bonuses..."
"How can we uphold the principles of Marine justice?"
Lucas smiled as he took another drink.
Meanwhile, he couldn’t help complaining inwardly.
Of course the massive bounties in the New World were tempting.
Many pirates were worth hundreds of millions.
The problem was...
The system didn’t recognize bounty money.
Even if he wiped every pirate from the New World off the map...
It would all be for nothing.
Rather than waste his time chasing pirates across the seas...
He preferred living a relaxed life while planning ways to earn more salary and performance bonuses.
As for the 10-million-Berry performance bonus...
He had arrived at that figure only after carefully studying Marine Headquarters’ compensation policies.
Unless a Marine hunted pirates or earned extraordinary merit...
Mission rewards generally couldn’t exceed twice the normal amount.
Anything beyond that was converted into military merit instead.
The system existed to ensure Marine Headquarters always maintained sufficient operating funds during an era of constant warfare.
After all...
If every pirate bounty were immediately paid out in full...
It would eventually place an unbearable financial burden on Marine Headquarters.
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