The atmosphere grew even heavier.
Everyone stared fixedly at Lucas.
They all knew that if he couldn’t give Whitebeard a satisfactory explanation...
There was no way he’d be leaving this ship alive.
Yet no matter how hard they thought, they couldn’t come up with any reason that could possibly convince Whitebeard.
Lucas stopped walking and casually took another swig of strong liquor.
"Honestly, I didn’t want to get involved in this mess."
"But old man Garp did me a favor."
"I don’t particularly enjoy being anyone’s grandson..."
"But to repay that little bit of kindness, I figured I’d make the trip."
"After all..."
"Ace once called that stubborn old man ’Grandpa.’"
"I don’t want Old Man Garp to be forced to choose between justice and his family."
"Garp?"
"Grandpa?"
Shanks, Whitebeard, and everyone else immediately changed expressions.
Naturally, they all knew this secret.
But none of them had expected Lucas to reveal it so bluntly.
If that truly was the reason he had come...
Then all of his reckless actions suddenly made perfect sense.
Watching the reactions around him, Lucas wasn’t surprised in the slightest.
Without this trump card, he would’ve never been confident enough to leave before quitting time.
As for claiming ties with Garp...
Never mind whether he actually wanted to be Garp’s grandson.
If Garp called him right now and offered him a 100-million-Berry Performance Bonus...
Forget being a grandson once.
He’d happily do it ten times.
Money talked in every world.
Who didn’t like money?
More importantly...
Once he got this ten-million-Berry reward, he was confident he could raise his strength another level.
That would make the title of Marine Admiral carry a little more weight.
And afterward...
He could slack off even more openly.
At the very least...
He couldn’t fall too far behind Kizaru.
"Pops..."
Diamond Jozu couldn’t help speaking.
By then, Whitebeard’s Conqueror’s Haki had completely subsided.
Looking at Lucas’s departing back, he snorted coldly.
"Hmph."
"For Ace’s sake..."
"I’ll let this arrogant brat leave."
"But kid..."
"The next time we meet, don’t blame me if I stop holding back."
"Those flashy tricks of yours may work against ordinary opponents..."
"But against someone truly powerful..."
"They’re still far from enough."
"Haki..."
"Is the true king."
Lucas laughed without even turning around, waving casually over his shoulder.
"Heh... Whitebeard."
"It’s fine for you to say that here."
"But if outsiders overheard us..."
"They might think the Whitebeard Pirates and I have some secret relationship."
With that, he leaped onto the small boat Atmos had prepared for him.
The exchange had seemed incredibly complicated.
But through it, Lucas had also gained a deeper understanding of just how important Haki truly was.
In the original story, during the Summit War, Akainu’s overall strength had already been close to that of a Yonko.
An average Yonko Commander would have a hard time fighting him evenly.
Of course...
That was considering only Devil Fruit mastery.
Once all three forms of Haki entered the equation...
Akainu’s greatest weakness—his lack of Conqueror’s Haki—became impossible to ignore.
Especially Conqueror’s Haki Infusion.
That was a hurdle few could overcome.
Just look at Luffy defeating Kaido.
Besides awakening the Nika Fruit, he had only been able to win because Kaido himself had effectively taught him how to use Conqueror’s Haki Infusion through battle.
Only then could Luffy land a truly decisive blow.
Otherwise...
With Kaido’s monstrous vitality...
No matter how many miraculous comebacks Luffy pulled off, bringing him down would’ve been nearly impossible.
That wasn’t to say Akainu was weak.
If he pushed his Devil Fruit abilities to their absolute limit...
To the point where they compensated for his lack of Conqueror’s Haki Infusion...
Then even against opponents with awakened Devil Fruits and mastery of all three forms of Haki...
He might still be able to fight on equal footing.
Of course...
If Akainu one day suddenly revealed that he also possessed the incredibly rare Conqueror’s Haki...
Lucas wouldn’t find that surprising either.
"Oh, right."
Lucas suddenly stopped and turned around.
"I just remembered something."
"If one day..."
"You and Garp happen to meet..."
"What would he call you?"
Marco and the others blinked in confusion.
None of them could figure out where this strange question was leading.
In truth, Garp and Whitebeard’s relationship wasn’t particularly hostile.
Sometimes they even found themselves respecting the Marine who had chased Gol D. Roger all across the seas.
But they still stood on opposite sides.
One was the Hero of the Marines.
The other was the strongest of the Four Emperors.
The fact they could meet without immediately fighting was remarkable enough.
As for forms of address...
No one had ever considered it.
"M-Marco..."
Diamond Jozu stammered.
"I... I think I’ve just realized something incredible..."
His diamond head seemed to have produced the most absurd thought imaginable.
"When... when Pops meets Garp..."
"Wouldn’t Garp call him..."
"’Son’?"
"Doesn’t that mean Pops got taken advantage of?"
"..."
The entire ship fell silent.
Even Whitebeard himself froze.
But after Jozu pointed it out...
Everyone instantly understood.
Ace called Garp "Grandpa."
Whitebeard was Ace’s "old man."
So when the father met the grandfather...
Wouldn’t that make the father...
The son?
For a long moment...
Everyone on deck simply stared at one another.
No one had expected this crazy Marine Admiral...
To expose such an outrageous "secret" at the very end.
Whitebeard spent his entire life adopting sons...
Only to end up becoming someone’s son himself.
"You damn brat!"
"Get back here!"
"I swear I won’t kill you with just one swing!"
Whitebeard roared furiously as he gripped his naginata.
His Conqueror’s Haki erupted skyward once more, shaking heaven and earth.
Everyone shivered.
Even Marco could only smile bitterly.
Someone who had just escaped death...
Only to immediately provoke Whitebeard again...
There was probably no one else in the world besides Lucas capable of that.
He really knew exactly which sore spot to poke.
Wasn’t this basically making Whitebeard trip over his lifelong hobby of adopting sons?
But by the time everyone looked back toward the sea...
Lucas was already gone.
Using Geppo and Soru, two techniques of the Six Powers, he sprinted through the air toward the Marine warship over a nautical mile away.
In only a few dozen seconds...
He had already landed safely aboard the ship.
Watching his unbelievable speed...
Everyone exchanged speechless looks.
So this was what it meant to—
Talk the biggest game...
Then run away the fastest.
Still...
With Whitebeard having unwillingly become someone’s "son"...
Nobody dared say another word.
"M-Marco..."
Diamond Jozu spoke up again.
"I... I just thought of something else."
Everyone’s hearts skipped a beat.
A horrifying realization began surfacing in their minds.
"Jozu..."
Marco said with a twitching smile.
"Your diamond head usually isn’t this quick."
"So... maybe don’t say it."
"N-No..."
"I’ve always been smart."
"And I just realized something important."
"We all call Pops ’Pops’..."
"So if we run into Garp..."
"Wouldn’t that make..."
"All of us..."
"A bunch of grandsons?"
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