"Admiral Lucas, we’ve tried every method we could think of, but there’s still no sign of CP9. Do you think they’ve really escaped?"
Isuka couldn’t help asking again.
Lucas took a sip of his liquor.
"If the conventional methods don’t work, then it’s time to use unconventional ones."
"Unconventional methods?"
Isuka blinked in confusion.
Only Ain’s expression changed.
"Admiral Lucas... you’re not planning to get information from pirates again, are you? Last time, you even extorted one of the Four Emperors—Kaido."
"If you ask pirates about CP9 this time, there’s no guarantee you’ll get any useful information. And if you end up offending someone again, Fleet Admiral Sengoku is definitely going to blame you."
Extort one of the Four Emperors... just to gather intelligence?
Isuka was completely dumbfounded as she looked at the Admiral who was practically her peer in age.
Was that really an "unconventional method"... or just asking to die?
"Ain, I heard about what happened in Water Seven. Is it true that Admiral Lucas fought the Flying Six of the Beasts Pirates?"
Unable to hold back her curiosity, Isuka asked first.
Ain smiled bitterly and nodded.
"You heard correctly. They’re still tied up on the warship. You can go take a look if you don’t believe me."
Isuka stood frozen.
She had assumed those stories were nothing more than rumors.
In her eyes, the Four Emperors were untouchable figures whom no one dared provoke.
She never imagined that her own perspective had simply been too limited.
Apparently...
People like this really did exist.
More than anything, she wanted to know what Lucas planned to do next to locate CP9.
"Relax. This time I’m only asking two retired old folks for a little information."
Lucas rubbed the bridge of his nose before looking toward the forest ahead.
"Mr. Rayleigh, Miss Shakky... since you’re already here, why not come out?"
Someone was there?
Both Isuka and Ain tensed as they looked toward the woods.
The first person to emerge from the shadows was Shakky, calmly smoking a cigarette.
"Admiral Lucas... didn’t you say there were two people?"
Isuka looked around in confusion.
Beside her, Ain instinctively became even more vigilant.
As Zephyr’s prized student, she had spent most of her time at the Marine Academy and knew far more than an ordinary Marine from the branches.
The woman before her looked strangely familiar.
She felt certain she had seen that face somewhere before.
She just couldn’t remember where.
"The second one’s here."
Lucas took another sip of his strong liquor.
Both women immediately stiffened.
An overwhelming sense of danger washed over them.
The next moment, a disheveled silver-haired man burst from the forest like a bolt of lightning.
He was unbelievably fast.
The hundred-meter distance vanished in the blink of an eye.
The instant Isuka caught the cold gleam of the blade in his hand, she drew her own sword and rushed forward without hesitation.
"How dare you attack an Admiral!"
"You’ll have to get through me first!"
Soru!
With a burst of speed from the Six Powers technique, Isuka disappeared from her original position and reappeared several meters ahead, bringing her katana down in a swift slash.
"Heh."
"Not bad, little girl."
"For someone who’s also a rookie like Admiral Lucas, you’ve certainly got courage."
"But courage alone isn’t enough to stop me."
Rayleigh chuckled and casually raised his left hand.
He simply pressed his palm forward.
Isuka’s expression instantly froze.
A crushing pressure, like a ferocious beast descending upon her, slammed into her head-on.
Before she could react—
She was blasted away.
Her body shot past Lucas before crashing toward a massive tree dozens of meters away.
Ain flashed forward and caught her just in time.
The two of them slid backward another seven or eight meters before finally stopping.
Even then, Isuka could hardly believe what had just happened.
She had been blown away by nothing more than a casual wave of an old man’s hand.
"H-He... he’s Rayleigh?"
"Admiral Lucas... the retired old man you mentioned... is he the Dark King Rayleigh, the right-hand man of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger?"
Ain suddenly cried out in shock.
Isuka’s face instantly turned pale.
She had never met the Dark King in person.
But she had certainly heard the name Silvers Rayleigh.
He was one of the greatest pirates of the previous era.
The realization that she had just attacked him made a chill run down her spine.
These two "retired old folks"...
Were absolutely terrifying.
Before the thought had fully formed—
A terrifying sword slash burst forth.
"Hahaha!"
"Brat!"
"I’ve heard plenty about you."
"Today, let’s see whether your reputation is deserved!"
Rayleigh laughed heartily.
From over a dozen meters away, he swung his famous blade.
A massive flying slash, stretching dozens of meters, tore across the ground with unstoppable force, splitting the earth apart as it raced toward Lucas.
The distance between them disappeared in an instant.
Seeing Lucas standing completely motionless, Isuka panicked.
"Don’t worry."
Ain grabbed her arm.
"Admiral Lucas can handle this."
"We need to get back!"
She immediately pulled Isuka away.
Although Isuka wanted to protest, the violent wind generated by the incoming slash had already lifted Lucas’s bangs.
He still didn’t move.
Then—
Isuka’s pupils suddenly contracted.
Just before the slash reached him—
It stopped.
An overwhelming aura erupted from Lucas.
Boom!!
The enormous flying slash exploded into countless fragments.
It was as though an invisible force had shattered it from within.
At the same time, the Conqueror’s Haki sleeping within Lucas burst forth like a raging hurricane.
A violent shockwave erupted outward with him at its center.
Everything in its path—trees, rocks, even the surrounding cliffs—was obliterated in an instant.
Rayleigh’s eyes lit up.
His blade let out a sharp ringing cry.
Jet-black Armament Haki coated the sword as he swung it directly into the oncoming torrent of Conqueror’s Haki.
BOOM!!
The two overwhelming forces collided like twin tornadoes crashing into one another.
Neither yielded an inch.
The resulting explosion blasted everything within several hundred meters off the ground.
Standing outside the storm, Isuka barely managed to steady herself.
Her face had gone deathly pale.
Had Ain not pulled her away beforehand, the shockwave from that clash alone would have seriously injured her.
But what truly stunned her wasn’t the destructive force.
It was the fact that Silvers Rayleigh, the legendary Dark King who had effortlessly sent her flying with a mere gesture...
Had been stopped by Lucas—
Without Lucas taking a single step.
Just one look.
Just one burst of Haki.
...Was Fire Fist Ace really only "a tiny bit" stronger than him?
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