"Hey, brat! Don’t forget you promised to cover all my rice crackers. Sengoku hasn’t lent me any money lately..."
Those were the last words that came through the Den Den Mushi before the call ended.
Standing nearby, Koby wore a bitter smile.
He really had gotten caught in the crossfire.
"Admiral Lucas, why am I the one paying for something you promised Vice Admiral Garp...?"
"Why?" Lucas replied calmly, taking a sip of his strong liquor before biting into a steamed bun.
"Because I don’t have any money."
"You don’t have any money?" Koby forced another smile.
"Admiral Lucas, your bonuses are dozens of times larger than my salary. And... you still haven’t repaid the money you borrowed on Vice Admiral Garp’s ship before..."
"Repay it?" Lucas adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and looked toward the abandoned harbor that was drawing closer.
"Don’t worry. People who borrow and repay on time are decent people. People who borrow and repay late are exceptional people. I’ll pay it back eventually."
"Oh, right. Didn’t you earn some rewards in Water Seven? I almost forgot."
Koby immediately straightened up.
"Ah! Admiral Lucas, Fleet Admiral Sengoku taught us to value military achievements over money and to embrace selfless dedication. I still have a little of last month’s salary left. I’ll buy Vice Admiral Garp his rice crackers later."
Looking at the Flying Six members tied up behind him like bundles of dumplings, Koby genuinely feared that Lucas might decide to "borrow" from him again without warning.
"Admiral Lucas," Helmeppo reported as he hurried over, "the warship has successfully anchored. Shall we disembark immediately?"
"Also... why have we come to this abandoned Area 13 island?"
The Sabaody Archipelago served as the gateway between Paradise and the New World, consisting of seventy-nine numbered groves.
Some were lawless zones, others housed Marine bases, while still others—like the one before them—had long since been abandoned.
Since pirates couldn’t cross the Red Line to reach the second half of the Grand Line directly, they gathered at Sabaody, coated their ships with the resin from the giant mangrove trees, and traveled beneath the sea through Fish-Man Island to enter the New World.
That unique circumstance had turned Sabaody into one of the busiest and most unusual places in the world.
Every kind of society exists for a reason, Lucas thought.
Taking another swig of his strong liquor, he leaped ashore.
Ain, who had been waiting there, quickly stepped forward.
"Admiral Lucas, Vice Admirals Momousagi and Chaton entered the Sabaody Archipelago three days ago to search for CP9, but they still haven’t found any trace of them."
"Momousagi and Chaton are both here?"
Lucas was a little surprised.
Then again, CP9 was the World Government’s strongest intelligence agency. Within Enies Lobby, they possessed immense authority.
Their combat ability rivaled that of Marine generals, and Rob Lucci himself had already surpassed the level of an ordinary Vice Admiral.
Capturing CP9 with nothing more than a standard Vice Admiral-led force would have been extremely difficult.
More importantly, CP9 knew far too many of the World Government’s darkest secrets.
If those secrets were ever exposed, the World Government’s carefully maintained image would suffer a devastating blow.
That was precisely why, after the Enies Lobby incident, once Spandam branded them traitors, the World Government immediately moved to erase them.
"So that’s the newly appointed Admiral who’s been making headlines across the seas lately? He doesn’t seem all that special."
Standing beside Ain was a young woman with short orange hair, wearing a Marine Captain’s coat. She couldn’t help muttering under her breath.
Ain immediately shot her a warning glance.
"Admiral Lucas, Isuka didn’t mean any offense. She was only recently transferred back to Marine Headquarters from Paradise, so she’s been very curious about you."
Realizing she’d spoken out of turn, Isuka hurriedly apologized, her cheeks turning red.
"Admiral Lucas, I truly meant no disrespect."
"I know."
Lucas took another sip of liquor before suddenly recalling who she was.
"You’re the rookie Marine who chased Fire Fist Ace all over Paradise, aren’t you?"
"We’re both rookies, so there’s no need to be so nervous."
At first, Isuka’s face lit up with delight.
Receiving recognition from a world-famous Admiral was an incredible honor for a newcomer like her.
But the moment she heard the second half of his sentence, her smile froze.
She gave a helpless laugh.
"Admiral Lucas... isn’t that a dimensionality reduction attack?"
"You’re an Admiral, and I’m only a Captain."
"I feel like you’ve lowered the standard for what counts as a rookie... I’m dragging down the rookie average."
"Still, Admiral Lucas, Ain said you boarded Whitebeard’s Moby Dick not long ago and returned safely."
"You’ve met Fire Fist Ace, right?"
"He turned down the position of one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and became the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates."
"Right now, many people across the seas compare you with Fire Fist Ace."
"If the two of you fought, who do you think is stronger?"
Seeing Isuka suddenly become so talkative, Lucas found it rather amusing.
He remembered that in the original story, Isuka had once tried to persuade Ace to accept the position of a Warlord.
After taking another sip of liquor, he answered casually,
"He’s probably a little stronger."
"Ace... is stronger?"
Isuka blinked in disbelief.
She had never expected Lucas to admit that someone else was stronger than himself.
After all, every famous newcomer on the seas had at least a little pride.
Who would willingly admit they were inferior?
Lucas’s answer completely caught her off guard.
"Isuka, Admiral Lucas is obviously joking."
Ain quickly interrupted.
"Admiral Lucas returned safely after boarding the Moby Dick."
"I’m sure everyone across the seas will eventually realize that Admiral Lucas is stronger than Fire Fist Ace."
"At the very least... just a tiny bit stronger."
"Isn’t that right, Admiral Lucas?"
Looking at the two girls arguing so seriously, Lucas rolled his eyes.
"Hard to say."
"I’ve never actually fought him."
"Maybe I really am only a tiny bit stronger."
"But that’s not what we’re here for."
"Don’t forget—we’re searching for CP9."
"Have you found any leads?"
The two women immediately regained their composure.
Although they were still conflicted over the earlier discussion, they were Marines first and understood that the mission came before everything else.
Isuka promptly stepped forward to report.
"Admiral Lucas, three days ago I led my squad alongside Vice Admiral Momousagi in searching the Sabaody Archipelago."
"However, after the initial report of CP9 being sighted, they completely disappeared."
"We haven’t found a single trace of them anywhere on Sabaody."
"Vice Admiral Chaton now suspects they’ve already left the archipelago."
"They’ve left Sabaody?"
Lucas frowned.
His Treasure Chest rewards had only just upgraded to Gold Treasure Chests, and he had been planning to earn a few more bonuses so he could try a flashy ten-pull.
If CP9 had really slipped away and left him empty-handed, that would be a serious disappointment.
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