"He... he’s standing outside?"
Everyone in the room tensed up and instinctively turned toward the doorway.
The figure that came into view made their pupils contract violently.
Standing outside was a young man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, a harmless smile on his face, and a long sword strapped across his back.
Everyone’s hearts skipped a beat.
Just moments ago, they had been discussing how unbelievably young the newly appointed Marine Admiral was.
Now that they were seeing him in person...
They couldn’t deny it anymore.
Judging by appearances alone, he was roughly the same age as Luffy and the others.
Yet someone this young had already become an Admiral.
His strength could hardly be ordinary.
"Having doubts?"
Lucas smiled as he took a sip of strong liquor.
"I can responsibly confirm that the man in the newspaper is indeed me."
Clang!
The clear ring of steel echoed through the room.
Zoro’s Wado Ichimonji and Sandai Kitetsu were drawn in an instant.
His third sword, Yubashiri, had been destroyed during their escape from Enies Lobby.
Unable to use his Three Sword Style for now...
Drawing his remaining two blades was the only thing that gave him even a little confidence against the uninvited guest before him.
After all...
Not one of them had noticed when Lucas had appeared outside.
"So you’re using Two Sword Style for now?"
Lucas casually scanned the room while drinking.
"You’re Roronoa Zoro."
"But your specialty is Three Sword Style, isn’t it?"
He smiled.
"I don’t have much time."
"So..."
"I’m curious."
"How exactly are you planning to deal with me?"
The atmosphere instantly became heavy.
Even the air itself seemed to freeze.
Faced with the smiling young Admiral...
No one knew what to say.
"Curly-brow."
Zoro tightened his grip on his swords.
"Did you already forget what we were talking about earlier?"
"We stormed Enies Lobby."
"We rescued Robin."
"That proves we’ve become stronger."
"We may not have stood a chance last time..."
"But that doesn’t mean it’ll be the same now."
"Nami. Chopper."
"Get Robin onto the ship."
"The captain, Sanji, and I will hold him off."
The captain...
Lucas smiled as he looked toward Luffy, who had been dozing off in the corner until someone shook him awake.
Among the Straw Hat crew...
Only Zoro consistently treated Luffy with the authority of a captain.
The moment he addressed him that way...
Lucas knew Zoro was completely serious.
But...
Would that really be enough?
"The sword on your back isn’t ordinary."
Zoro’s eyes locked onto Monohoshizao.
"That means you’re a swordsman too."
"I believe a Marine Admiral wouldn’t ignore us just to attack defenseless women."
For a swordsman...
Nothing ignited Zoro’s fighting spirit more than another swordsman.
"Zoro! Luffy!"
"Don’t do it!"
"You can’t beat Admiral Lucas!"
Koby and Helmeppo rushed over and stopped outside the room.
However...
The moment they noticed the unusually long sword on Lucas’s back, they stared blankly.
From everything they knew...
Lucas’s fighting style revolved around doing as little as possible.
Half the time he couldn’t even be bothered to fight.
So where had this ridiculously long sword come from?
Was it just for decoration?
"You know me?"
Luffy looked completely confused.
Zoro also frowned, unable to figure it out.
"I’m Koby."
"And this is Helmeppo."
"We joined the Marines under Vice Admiral Garp."
Koby hurriedly explained.
Helmeppo nodded in agreement.
"Helmeppo... Koby..."
Luffy blinked before suddenly remembering.
"Oh!"
"It’s you guys!"
"Wait..."
"You joined the Marines with my grandpa?"
"Seriously?"
Meanwhile...
Nami and the others were stunned.
Unlike Luffy...
Their attention was fixed on a completely different part of that sentence.
"L-Luffy..."
Nami stared at him.
"The Vice Admiral Garp he mentioned..."
"You mean the Hero of the Marines?"
"That’s your grandfather?"
"If the Hero of the Marines is your grandpa..."
"Then we don’t have to run anymore, right?"
Everyone present was equally shocked.
This revelation was even more unbelievable than the destruction of Enies Lobby.
The name Garp the Hero had long echoed throughout the seas.
Most people assumed that the descendants of such a legendary Marine would naturally follow in his footsteps.
No one had imagined...
That the grandfather would be the Hero of the Marines...
While the grandson became a pirate.
The contrast was simply absurd.
"Old man Garp is indeed his grandfather."
Lucas casually took another drink.
"And I’m one of the Marines he personally trained."
He smiled.
"But..."
"Can connections really compete with a bonus?"
"I’m a Marine."
"You’re pirates."
"Our reunion ends here."
"I’d like to collect my bonus before I clock out."
He looked around the room.
"So?"
"Are you coming one at a time..."
"Or all together?"
Koby and Helmeppo’s faces instantly turned pale.
Sure enough...
When salary and performance bonuses were involved...
Admiral Lucas was absolutely impartial.
Even Nami and the others were dumbfounded.
The joy that had just appeared on their faces vanished instantly.
Moments earlier, they’d been secretly hoping Garp’s relationship with Luffy might spare them from an Admiral.
Now...
It was obvious they had been overthinking things.
Still...
Starting a fight just for a bonus?
What kind of logic was that?
"Heh."
Zoro tied his black bandana around his head.
"As expected of the Marines."
"I was worried you wouldn’t give us a chance to fight."
He raised both swords.
"Now..."
"I want to see just how strong an Admiral’s swordsmanship really is."
"Nami-san."
"Robin-chan."
Sanji flicked the toe of his polished shoe before stepping up beside Zoro, a cigarette hanging from his lips.
"That moss-head isn’t exactly reliable..."
"But with me here..."
"We’ll hold him off."
"So go ahead and escape."
He glanced toward Luffy.
"Luffy."
"It’s our turn."
"The sooner we finish this..."
"The sooner we can leave."
With the three of them standing together...
The atmosphere inside the room reached its breaking point.
Lucas calmly took another sip of liquor.
"It seems newcomers really can’t escape being underestimated."
"Being an Admiral like this..."
"...is a little embarrassing."
"As for me being a swordsman..."
He shrugged.
"I’m not."
"This sword?"
"It’s basically just decoration."
"I carry it to make myself look a little more like an Admiral."
"Hopefully it’ll scare people into surrendering without me having to fight."
"You’re... not a swordsman?"
Zoro blinked before laughing.
"No wonder your sword looks so strange."
"I once fought another man who wielded an unusually long blade."
"His swordsmanship was incredible."
"I barely lasted ten moves against him."
"I was originally planning to use you to measure how much stronger I’ve become."
"But now..."
"I’ll just treat you as a warm-up."
"I only hope you don’t disappoint me."
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