"Wouldn’t that make all of us grandsons?"
Jozu’s utterly innocent expression plunged the entire deck into silence.
Just as Lucas was about to step onto the deck of the Marine warship after making his escape, he stumbled and nearly fell flat on his face.
Thanks to his Observation Haki, he had been keeping a close watch on Whitebeard the whole time, wary that the old pirate might suddenly decide to chase after him.
What he hadn’t expected...
Was to overhear that bombshell.
Making Whitebeard a "son" had already been hard enough for the old man to swallow.
Now Jozu had gone and made the entire crew into "grandsons."
Whitebeard had spent his entire life shamelessly adopting sons.
Now, in the blink of an eye, every one of them had become someone else’s grandsons.
It felt as though his life’s work had all been for nothing.
"Brat! Get back here!"
"I swear I won’t cut you down with just one slash!"
Whitebeard’s furious roar echoed across the sea like thunder.
Lucas quickly took another swig of strong liquor to suppress his laughter.
He prided himself on having excellent self-control when it came to jokes.
Unless they were truly hilarious.
Otherwise...
He would’ve ended up like Shanks and the others aboard the Moby Dick—
Laughing themselves to death while desperately trying not to.
"C-Captain..."
Lucky Roux muttered from behind Shanks.
"C-Can we leave now?"
"I’m about to choke trying to hold it in."
He didn’t even have the strength to bite into the roast meat in his hand anymore.
Snot had already started running from his nose.
If he weren’t worried about Whitebeard bringing that naginata down on his head...
He would’ve burst out laughing long ago.
At that moment, not only Benn Beckman and the others—
Even the muscles on Shanks’ face were twitching uncontrollably.
Only Whitebeard’s murderous glare kept everyone from laughing aloud.
"Pops..."
Marco asked helplessly.
"Are we going after him?"
Thinking about how they had all suddenly been branded as "grandsons," he felt utterly conflicted.
The only thing he could do now was change the subject as quickly as possible.
Everyone immediately tensed.
Everything that had happened moments ago was almost too embarrassing to think about.
Still...
Everything Lucas had said was technically true.
Chasing after him over that...
Would be difficult to justify.
"Gurararara!"
Whitebeard burst into hearty laughter as he released his grip on the naginata and sat back down in his chair.
"Don’t worry, Marco."
"I always keep my word."
"I said I’d let him leave alive."
"I’m not going to change my mind."
"Besides..."
"He personally came here because of Ace."
"That alone is enough for me to acknowledge his loyalty."
"I won’t make things difficult for him."
"Oh, right."
"Atmos."
"Why are you standing over there looking so awkward?"
"If you’ve got something to say, then say it."
"As for bringing that brat aboard without my permission..."
"I’ll let it slide this time."
Atmos’ expression instantly stiffened.
Looking at the intelligence report he had just received, he forced a bitter smile.
"Pops..."
"Do I... really have to say it?"
"Hm?"
Whitebeard raised an eyebrow.
"What is it that you can’t say?"
"Relax."
"Even if the sky falls, I’ll hold it up."
"I never expected the Marines to have a kid who values loyalty this much."
"Sengoku really found himself a treasure."
His booming laughter echoed across the deck.
Seeing Atmos hesitate, Diamond Jozu simply snatched the report from his hand.
Marco’s nerves instantly tightened.
"You blockhead."
"I don’t trust you with this."
"What if you say something outrageous again?"
He swiftly grabbed the report before Jozu could read it.
The moment Marco opened it...
His entire expression froze.
"Marco?"
Jozu leaned over.
"What did you—"
The instant he saw the contents...
He froze as well.
The bizarre reaction immediately attracted everyone’s attention.
Even Whitebeard looked over.
The moment they saw what was written...
Whitebeard’s furious roar exploded across the sea once more.
"You damn brat!"
"So you came here for a ten-million-Berry Performance Bonus?!"
"Not only did you kidnap one of the Beasts Pirates to extort Kaido..."
"You even came to my ship pretending to care about Ace!"
"So this so-called loyalty of yours is only worth ten million?!"
"The next time we meet..."
"I’m definitely cutting you down!"
Far away, the Marine warship had already accelerated to its maximum speed.
Hearing Whitebeard’s furious shouts and feeling wave after wave of Conqueror’s Haki erupt behind them...
Everyone’s legs nearly gave out.
Their clothes were soaked through with cold sweat.
Even now...
Watching Lucas return completely unharmed still felt like a dream.
"What’s wrong?"
Lucas smiled after confirming Whitebeard wasn’t chasing them.
"I know I’m handsome..."
"But staring at me like that feels a little inappropriate."
He took another sip of liquor before withdrawing his Observation Haki.
After today’s events...
Lucas was confident that even if he claimed Whitebeard and Red-Haired Shanks had secretly formed an alliance...
Everyone would believe him.
Now all he had to do was report everything to Sengoku.
Then the ten-million-Berry Performance Bonus would be credited to his system.
His long-awaited Silver Treasure Chest ten-pull would finally become reality.
"Admiral Lucas..."
Gion finally snapped out of her daze with a bitter smile.
"You’re probably the only person who can still joke around after something like this."
"When Fleet Admiral Sengoku found out you’d boarded the ships of two Four Emperors just for a ten-million-Berry Performance Bonus..."
"The entire Marine Headquarters was thrown into an uproar."
"He even offered to double your bonus and ordered you to abandon the mission and return immediately."
"But unfortunately..."
"It was already too late."
"Double?"
"Twenty million?"
Lucas nearly choked on his liquor.
For a brief moment...
He felt like he had narrowly missed out on a hundred million.
If he’d known this would’ve happened...
He wouldn’t have gone through all that trouble pretending to be Garp’s "grandson."
Then another bold idea suddenly surfaced in his mind.
"Brat!"
Sengoku’s nearly furious roar came through the Den Den Mushi in Gion’s hand.
"I know exactly what you’re thinking!"
"Since you made it back alive..."
"Don’t even think about blackmailing me into increasing your Performance Bonus!"
"The bonus can never exceed twice your salary!"
"That’s a hard rule!"
"Even I can’t change it!"
Everything that had happened had already spread throughout Marine Headquarters by word of mouth.
Although no one knew exactly what had taken place aboard Whitebeard’s ship...
The fact that Lucas had returned alive—
And completely unscathed—
Had exceeded everyone’s expectations.
"Ahem..."
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku..."
"I think you’ve misunderstood me."
Lucas laughed awkwardly as he took the Den Den Mushi.
"Why would I ever think about visiting each of the Four Emperors one by one?"
"You’re making me sound like a terrible person."
"But this time..."
"I helped Marine Headquarters eliminate the massive panic surrounding the meeting between two Four Emperors."
"So..."
"Don’t you think it’s finally time..."
"...to discuss raising an Admiral’s base salary?"
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