Both reputation and bonuses?
Koby and Helmeppo exchanged stiff looks.
By now, they were already used to Lucas’s habit of doing the unexpected.
Still, hearing him propose something so bizarre filled them with an inexplicable sense of unease.
Before either of them could react...
Lucas vanished from the deck like a ghost.
At Water 7, inside the abandoned Dock No. 7.
Laughter and cheerful chatter echoed from a tightly sealed room.
Standing at the entrance were Iceburg, his head still wrapped in bandages, and the elderly mermaid Kokoro, both smiling as they watched the lively crowd inside.
Looking at the Straw Hat Pirates—whose injuries had mostly healed—they couldn’t help exchanging emotional glances.
"Mr. Iceburg," Nami suddenly asked, her eyes transforming into Berry symbols, "are you sighing because you’re planning to give us a farewell gift?"
"Like valuable antiques... gold... or just cash?"
"I’m not greedy."
"Ten or twenty million Berries will do."
"We spent every last Berry building our new ship."
Thinking back to the 300 million Berries they had brought back from Skypiea...
Only to burn through it all in a single day...
Nami still felt like her heart was bleeding.
Since the president of the world’s greatest shipbuilding company was standing right in front of her...
There was no way she’d pass up the opportunity to fleece him.
"Ahem..."
Iceburg coughed awkwardly.
"Nami, I was just thinking..."
"I never imagined you’d actually storm Enies Lobby."
"And not only that—you escaped alive from a Buster Call commanded by an Admiral."
"The news has shaken the entire world."
"The newspapers these past few days have been reporting that Rob Lucci possessed strength surpassing that of a Marine Vice Admiral."
"They even called him the strongest weapon CP9 has produced in eight hundred years."
"That means his strength was probably approaching an Admiral’s."
"The fact that you defeated him..."
"...means that even against a Marine Admiral, you’d probably be able to put up a fight now."
"To achieve something like that at your age..."
"You’re truly remarkable."
"Hehe."
Kokoro took a sip of wine before laughing.
"Iceburg rarely praises anyone."
"His compliments are worth their weight in gold."
Nami rolled her eyes.
She’d much rather those "priceless compliments" be converted directly into cash.
However...
The mention of an Admiral reminded her of their encounter with Aokiji on that nameless island.
Her face immediately turned a little pale.
"Don’t worry, Nami."
Sanji gracefully walked over carrying a tray of food, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
"We’re not the same people we were back then."
"We rescued Robin from Enies Lobby."
"That alone proves how much we’ve grown."
"If we meet another Marine Admiral..."
"We won’t be as powerless as before."
He turned toward Zoro.
"Right, moss-head?"
Zoro set down the discarded ship’s wheel he had been using for training.
"You curly-browed idiot..."
"You don’t usually say anything worth listening to."
"But this time..."
"I agree."
"I’ve gotten stronger too."
Robin remained silent.
Yet a faint smile appeared deep within her eyes.
All her life, she had searched for the meaning of true companions.
To survive, she’d joined one organization after another.
She had betrayed others.
Others had betrayed her.
The cycle had never ended.
When she fell into CP9’s hands...
She had believed death was inevitable.
Yet somehow...
Her friends had actually rescued her from Enies Lobby.
"Hehe."
Seeing everyone’s confidence, Iceburg smiled.
"Then I suppose I don’t need to worry anymore."
"Especially with Luffy around."
"If all of you fight together..."
"I doubt even an Admiral could do much against you."
"It’s getting late."
"To avoid any unexpected problems..."
"I’ll have someone take you to where your new ship is being prepared and finish loading the supplies before you set sail."
With that, Iceburg turned to leave.
Bang!
The tightly shut door burst open.
A burly man rushed inside, startling everyone.
"Tilestone?"
Iceburg looked surprised.
"What happened that has you in such a panic?"
"If it’s another Marine search party, just use the usual route and take them sightseeing around the city."
"They’ll never find this place."
Ever since Enies Lobby had fallen...
Water 7, one of the islands connected by the Sea Train, had been searched repeatedly by the Marines.
Fortunately...
The city’s enormous size, combined with Iceburg’s experience and cover, had allowed Luffy and the others to avoid capture time and again.
"N-No..."
Tilestone was so flustered he didn’t even wipe the sweat from his face.
"This isn’t an ordinary Marine force."
"It’s the newly appointed Fourth Admiral..."
"Admiral Glutton Lucas!"
The Fourth Admiral...
Admiral Glutton Lucas?
Everyone in the room froze.
Just moments ago, they had been talking about Marine Admirals.
Now...
One had actually come knocking.
Did they just jinx themselves?
As rookie pirates with neither a vast intelligence network nor much interest in world affairs...
Luffy and the others were naturally unfamiliar with the Marines’ newest Admiral.
After all...
Lucas had only held the position for a little over half a month.
Without special information channels, relying solely on the News Coo for world news was painfully slow.
It was the same reason Bellamy had once believed Luffy still had a bounty of only 30 million Berries, even after it had already exceeded 100 million.
The information gap was simply enormous.
"You haven’t heard about the new Marine Admiral?"
Iceburg blinked in surprise before pulling a newspaper from his pocket.
"I was planning to tell you earlier."
"I’ve heard this new Admiral even beat up a World Noble."
"The front page is all about him."
"Take a good look."
"That way, if you run into him on the seas someday, at least you’ll recognize his face."
"But don’t worry."
"No matter how powerful an Admiral is..."
"He’ll never find this place."
As he spoke, Iceburg spread the newspaper across the table.
Everyone’s eyes immediately landed on the front-page photograph.
The youthful face beneath the title of Admiral stunned many of them.
In their minds...
The three Admirals had always been middle-aged veterans.
Their age itself seemed to symbolize their overwhelming strength.
Now...
A young man barely in his twenties was standing shoulder to shoulder with those legendary figures.
It completely exceeded their expectations.
But what truly made everyone’s nerves tighten...
Was the voice that suddenly came from behind them.
"U-Um..."
"Iceburg..."
"Are you sure the man in that newspaper is the Marine Admiral?"
"...Because I think he’s standing outside the door."
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