"His men attacked me first."
Everyone present was dumbfounded.
None of them had imagined that a Marine Admiral could shamelessly redefine the very limits of human dignity.
In the blink of an eye, Lucas had dumped all the blame squarely onto the Beasts Pirates.
Yet...
No one—Marine or pirate alike—could actually refute him.
The frustrated Marines’ eyes immediately lit up as they hurried to back him up.
"That’s right! We all saw it! The pirates attacked first! Admiral Lucas never even made a move!"
"Exactly! The pirates attacked first, but they were too weak to even touch a single hair on Admiral Lucas before they got blown away!"
"They brought it on themselves! If your strength isn’t enough, don’t gamble with your life! They literally threw their lives away trying to attack him!"
"..."
The harbor instantly erupted into noisy agreement.
Every Marine chimed in.
The pirates standing nearby, however, wore faces as black as thunder.
As pirates...
They knew perfectly well that they themselves were shameless.
But they had never imagined the Marines could be even more shameless.
Unfortunately...
After watching Lucas casually defeat even a Beasts Pirates officer—the very source of their confidence—and embed him into a mountainside...
Their previous arrogance had completely disappeared.
At a time like this...
All they wanted was to become invisible.
If possible...
They desperately wished for an opportunity to slip away unnoticed.
"Admiral Lucas..."
Gion smiled bitterly.
Watching the Marines overwhelmingly support Lucas, she felt all the strength leave her body.
When Tsuru had assigned her and Chaton to accompany Lucas...
It had been precisely to prevent him from doing anything reckless over a 10-million-Berry performance bonus.
Yet before they had even located Whitebeard or Red-Haired Shanks...
Lucas had already wiped out the Beasts Pirates’ entire force.
His efficiency at stirring up trouble was simply unbelievable.
"Vice Admiral Gion..."
Lucas chuckled as he took another sip of strong liquor.
"According to the rules of the sea..."
"The one who throws the first punch is the one in the wrong."
"I’m a Marine Admiral."
"I don’t mind being looked down upon."
"But once they actually attacked me..."
"If I didn’t fight back..."
"Wouldn’t that disgrace Marine Headquarters?"
"If anyone’s to blame..."
"It’s because they were simply too weak."
"Since we’ve already fought..."
"We might as well get down to business."
"Sheepshead."
"I know you’re still alive."
"Pretending to be dead just to save yourself..."
"If Kaido found out..."
"He’d probably reward you with a Thunder Bagua."
Earlier...
Lucas had only used about half his strength when unleashing his Haki.
With Nen ManipUlti on, its power had certainly increased.
But he had deliberately held back.
Otherwise...
There wouldn’t have been a single pirate left alive.
"You arrogant bastard!"
Sheepshead staggered out of the crater, his body covered in blood.
"I’m Lord Jack’s right-hand man!"
"I’d never play dead!"
"If you want my head for military merit..."
"Then come and take it!"
Although he shouted defiantly...
The twitching muscles on his face clearly showed Lucas had exposed his intentions.
Most eye-catching of all...
Were his arms.
They hung limply at his sides, twisted at unnatural angles.
Everyone’s attention immediately focused on them.
Everything had happened far too quickly.
Until now...
No one had fully grasped just how devastating Lucas’s attack had been.
Yet the scene before them made everyone gasp.
Sheepshead—
A Beasts Pirates officer with a bounty of 180 million Berries—
Had failed to injure his opponent at all.
Instead...
Both of his own arms had been completely shattered.
Was this really the so-called overrated Fourth Admiral?
"Kill you?"
Lucas adjusted his glasses and smiled as he shook his head.
"Relax."
"I have no intention of killing you."
"You’re a member of the Beasts Pirates."
"Yet you’ve come all the way into Whitebeard’s territory."
"I doubt you’re here sightseeing."
"I only want to know one thing."
"Where is the Moby Dick?"
"Tell me."
"And we’ll leave immediately."
The location of the Moby Dick?
Sheepshead’s expression changed.
He hadn’t expected Lucas to provoke a Yonko crew over something like this.
Then again...
Just as Lucas had guessed...
The Beasts Pirates had secretly infiltrated Whitebeard’s territory to determine whether Whitebeard and Red-Haired Shanks intended to form an alliance.
In the New World...
The Four Emperors kept one another in balance.
No single Emperor could easily overthrow another.
But if even two of them joined forces...
That balance would collapse.
At that point...
Even Kaido—the man obsessed with suicide—
Would struggle against such an alliance.
To avoid being caught off guard...
It wasn’t just the Beasts Pirates conducting surveillance.
Even the Big Mom Pirates had secretly infiltrated Whitebeard’s territory.
Watching Lucas slowly approach...
Sheepshead clenched his teeth.
"I don’t know."
"We don’t know where the Moby Dick is."
"If you don’t believe me..."
"Then kill me."
In Sheepshead’s opinion...
Although Lucas acted first and asked questions later...
He had still spared his life.
That was exactly why he was willing to gamble.
He was betting...
That Lucas wouldn’t truly dare provoke a Yonko to that extent.
"You don’t know?"
Lucas raised an eyebrow before sighing helplessly.
"I originally wanted to avoid making things more troublesome."
"But since you don’t know where the Moby Dick is..."
"And I don’t intend to lose my 10-million-Berry performance bonus..."
"I suppose there’s only one option left."
"I’ll tie you up."
"Then I’ll call Kaido and demand ransom."
"Let’s see whether your life..."
"Is worth less than a piece of information."
Kidnap him?
Demand ransom from Kaido?
Had he gone insane?
At least...
That was exactly what everyone on the harbor thought.
They had already been shocked enough that Lucas came here seeking information about the Moby Dick.
Now...
He was planning to blackmail Kaido himself.
If that wasn’t madness...
What was?
Most importantly...
Lucas kept mentioning his 10-million-Berry performance bonus.
Didn’t Sheepshead’s head carry a bounty of 180 million Berries?
Wasn’t that worth far more?
Could a performance bonus really be more valuable than a pirate bounty?
For a long moment...
Every remaining pirate and Marine stared at Lucas.
Gion and Chaton were no exception.
All of them desperately wanted to know...
Whether Lucas was actually serious.
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