"Ace compared to that Marine brat?"
Whitebeard took another swig of sake, a gentle smile briefly crossing his face before he burst into hearty laughter.
"Gurararara!"
"Marco..."
"Ace has been making a name for himself far longer than that kid."
"That Marine just popped out of nowhere like a bamboo shoot after the rain."
"If you ask me..."
"Sengoku probably cooked him up just to boost Marine Headquarters’ image."
"After all..."
"The Seven Warlords system has already begun falling apart."
"If they actually run into each other..."
"I doubt Ace or even Atmos would have to lift a finger."
"The moment that brat sees our flag..."
"He’ll probably turn around and run."
"Hahaha! Pops is right!"
The pirates on deck immediately broke into laughter.
"That so-called Admiral doesn’t even have any real accomplishments!"
"He’s nothing but a paper tiger!"
"Don’t forget—Commander Ace fought Jinbe, one of the Seven Warlords, for several days straight!"
"It ended in a draw!"
"And Ace even turned down an invitation to become a Warlord!"
"That’s the kind of strength that deserves respect."
"How could that newly appointed Marine Admiral possibly compare?"
The entire deck erupted with excitement.
Marco smiled as he watched everyone laughing together.
This absolute trust...
This family atmosphere...
It was exactly what their old man had always wanted.
If Blackbeard hadn’t betrayed them...
This peaceful scene would never have been shattered.
Yet...
Thinking about Blackbeard, who had spent decades aboard the ship while pretending to be an ordinary crewmate...
Marco still couldn’t shake a lingering sense of unease.
With Red-Haired Shanks suddenly requesting a meeting...
He could only hope nothing major would happen.
Meanwhile...
At Marine Headquarters.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku stared grimly at the enormous stack of repair invoices covering his desk.
His heart practically ached.
When he had first received the report in Mary Geoise that the Plaza of Justice had been destroyed...
He had thought he was mentally prepared.
But after seeing the endless string of zeros on the repair bill...
He realized just how unprepared he truly was.
Gion and Chaton had even volunteered to cover part of the expenses themselves.
Even so...
Sengoku felt as though his heart were bleeding.
He had originally planned...
That if Marine Headquarters ever ran short on funds...
He could squeeze a little money out of his subordinates’ savings with a few commendation banners.
Now...
That emergency reserve plan had completely fallen apart.
Thinking back to how he had practically thrown away his dignity before the Five Elders just to protect Lucas...
Only to end up cleaning up Lucas’s mess afterward...
Sengoku’s temper finally snapped.
Without warning...
He smacked Garp across the back of the head.
"Garp!"
"So you’ve finally decided to show up?"
"How much longer were you planning to make us wait?"
"Who’s the Fleet Admiral here?"
"You or me?"
"I’m already getting a headache from these repair bills..."
"And you’re still two minutes late!"
"Are you treating me like I don’t even exist?"
His furious roar echoed throughout the office.
Every Marine officer present instinctively shrank their necks.
Everyone knew...
Normally, even if Garp showed up ten or twenty minutes late...
Sengoku wouldn’t even bother mentioning it.
Today...
He had simply walked straight into the line of fire.
"Hahaha!"
Garp rubbed the back of his head as if nothing had happened.
"Sengoku..."
"That slap’s still got plenty of strength behind it."
He plopped into a chair, pulled out a bag of rice crackers, took a bite, and continued,
"Don’t worry."
"I know those repair bills are giving you a headache."
"But I’ve got good news."
"That kid Lucas has already sailed out."
"He’s headed to Whitebeard’s territory on an assignment."
"No matter how much trouble he causes out there..."
"Or how many things he destroys..."
"You won’t have to pay for it."
"That’s good news, isn’t it?"
"Sengoku..."
"I think from now on..."
"Whenever he comes back..."
"Just send him out on another mission immediately."
"That way..."
"He won’t have a chance to wreck any World Government facilities."
"And I’ll finally get some peace and quiet."
"He’s already gone?"
Sengoku paused.
An uneasy feeling immediately rose within him.
"He accepted the mission..."
"Without making any demands first?"
"That doesn’t sound like him."
"Isn’t he obsessed with raises and performance bonuses?"
As the Marines’ famed strategist...
Sengoku had long since figured out Lucas’s personality.
A hopeless salaryman.
Obsessed with nine-to-five hours...
Weekends off...
And performance bonuses.
Would someone like that really accept an overseas assignment so willingly?
Impossible.
Hearing Sengoku’s questions...
The gathered officers also looked toward Garp.
Garp dug lazily at his nose before popping another rice cracker into his mouth.
"Sengoku..."
"You really are the Marines’ great strategist."
"You figured it out immediately."
"Getting that kid to accept the mission wasn’t easy."
"Tsuru had to do quite a bit of persuading."
"In the end..."
"He agreed."
"But only after saying..."
"If he can discover why Whitebeard and Red-Haired Shanks are meeting..."
"He wants a 10-million-Berry performance bonus."
"Tsuru already approved it for you."
"A... 10-million-Berry performance bonus?"
Sengoku collapsed back into his chair.
If anyone else had requested ten million Berries...
He wouldn’t have cared.
But the moment those words became associated with Lucas...
His heart seized.
"Garp..."
"Have you all lost your minds?!"
"That kid is the type who’d blast apart Headquarters just for overtime pay and a performance bonus!"
"And you actually promised him ten million Berries?!"
"Aren’t you worried..."
"That for the sake of that bonus..."
"He’ll blow the sky apart?"
Bang!
The office doors flew open.
Everyone looked toward the entrance.
Standing there...
Was Zephyr.
He had rushed in so hastily that even his expression looked unnatural.
Seeing that look...
Everyone present felt a terrible premonition.
Sengoku repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fists before finally forcing himself to calm down.
Through gritted teeth, he asked,
"Zephyr..."
"You came here in such a hurry..."
"Don’t tell me..."
"This has something to do with that brat again."
"Don’t worry."
"I’ve already prepared myself."
"No matter what happened..."
"I’ll stay calm."
"Go ahead."
"Really?"
Zephyr’s stiff expression relaxed considerably.
Scratching his head awkwardly, he placed a Den Den Mushi fax report onto Sengoku’s desk.
"A little while ago..."
"Ain contacted me."
"That kid..."
"While searching for Whitebeard..."
"Just happened to run into Kaido’s men."
"And then..."
"Kaido just happened to call."
"So..."
"He just happened to extort Kaido..."
"And then..."
"It just so happened that..."
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