The words were spoken quietly, yet in that instant, they echoed across the battlefield like thunder.
The onlookers, who had been happily watching the spectacle unfold, instantly tensed. Their nerves were stretched to the breaking point.
An absurd thought surfaced in every mind.
Had this Admiral gone completely off the rails?
"W-What did you just say?!" Spandine’s expression changed dramatically.
"What did I say?" Lucas glanced at him indifferently.
"There’s nothing more to discuss."
"Ain, when we get back, ask old man Sengoku how much of a bounty fake CP0 agents who attempt to seize prisoners from a Marine Admiral are worth."
"Since they can’t prove their identities, take them into custody first."
He had gone mad.
That was the only explanation anyone could think of.
No—not only had Lucas gone mad, they felt like they were losing their minds just watching him.
Was he seriously planning to arrest CP0 as well?
This was far beyond reckless.
"Admiral Lucas, have you lost your mind?! We’re CP0, directly under the Five Elders! How dare you question our identities? Ask anyone here if you don’t believe us!"
Spandine shouted in protest.
The moment the words left his mouth, he wished he could slap himself.
Not a single bystander stepped forward to verify his identity.
Instead, under everyone’s gaze, they all turned and fled without hesitation.
The members of CP9 reacted just as quickly, retreating at top speed.
After witnessing Lucas’s thunderous strike moments ago, none of them dared linger any longer.
"Run! I told you already! This guy never follows common sense! You can’t reason with someone this unreasonable!"
Yehe roared as he spun around and fled.
Iga and Spandine stared blankly at his retreating figure.
They were CP0—the World Government’s most feared intelligence agency.
Since when had they ever been driven into such a miserable state?
Seeing Lucas standing only a few steps away, Spandine tightened his grip on the iron box in his hand. With a flick of his sleeve, a specially made Seastone pistol slid into his palm and he aimed it directly at Lucas.
"You insolent bastard! Since you dare trample on CP0’s authority, I’ll let you experience what it’s feels like to have your strength stripped away by Seastone!"
Bang!
The gunshot rang out.
At such close range, the Seastone bullet reached Lucas almost instantly.
In Spandine’s eyes, Lucas’s Conqueror’s Haki was monstrously powerful.
But that gigantic Guanyin protecting him...
Surely it had to be some kind of Devil Fruit ability.
"A Seastone bullet?"
Lucas casually reached out and caught it between his fingers.
He wasn’t surprised that the World Government possessed such technology.
Even in the original story, Black Arm Zephyr wielded a Seastone mechanical arm, and its weaponry could fire Seastone rounds like a machine gun.
Originally, Lucas had been wondering how to justify making his move.
Now, Spandine had handed him the perfect excuse.
"Spandine, don’t!"
Yehe turned back and shouted in panic.
But it was already too late.
Watching Lucas effortlessly catch the Seastone bullet, Yehe’s heart sank.
Did that look like someone whose Devil Fruit powers had been suppressed?
Even Spandine’s face stiffened.
This wasn’t how the script was supposed to go!
"So you really are fake CP0."
"Then let’s end this."
Lucas casually flicked away the Seastone bullet.
The instant he raised his head, the Conqueror’s Haki he had only just begun to recover erupted once more.
An overwhelming pressure burst forth like a raging tsunami, engulfing everything around him.
Everyone caught within its range felt as though they were suffocating.
Before anyone could react—
The towering Conqueror’s Haki condensed once again into a blood-red qilin.
Before countless stunned eyes, the crimson beast let out a deafening roar and plunged toward the ground.
Seeing the enormous qilin rapidly filling his vision, Yehe—who had barely managed to escape a hundred meters away—let out a hysterical scream.
"No! I told you already!"
"Never try to reason with someone who doesn’t play fair!"
BOOM!!
Crimson lightning exploded across the battlefield with overwhelming force.
The resulting shockwave surged outward like a monstrous tidal wave.
Having witnessed the first explosion, the spectators should have known better than to remain so close.
Unfortunately...
They had mistakenly believed Lucas was the sort of man who could be reasoned with.
Before they even realized what was happening—
The hurricane-like shockwave had already sent them flying.
Everything within a kilometer that had already been flattened was torn apart once again, as if the earth itself had been excavated another layer deeper.
Only after the swirling dust finally settled did silence return.
The spectators, now covered head to toe in dirt and looking utterly miserable amidst the newly formed wasteland, no longer cared about appearances.
Scrambling to their feet, they fled for their lives.
They had already brushed shoulders with death twice today.
None of them believed fortune would save them a third time.
If Lucas’s attack happened to miss even slightly...
They would all be dead.
Pfft!
Several hundred meters away from the center of the devastation, three tattered figures suddenly appeared.
Their faces were deathly pale.
Each coughed up a mouthful of blood as their bodies swayed unsteadily.
Where they had originally stood, three charred corpses now lay instead.
At the very last moment, just like three days earlier, Yehe had activated his Paramecia Substitute Fruit, instantly swapping himself and his companions with nearby pirates.
What none of them had expected, however, was that even after escaping the center of the attack...
The terrifying aftermath alone was enough to leave them gravely wounded.
Yehe looked toward Lucas.
Meeting those calm, emotionless eyes, he immediately tried to activate his Devil Fruit ability again and escape.
But his condition was too poor.
Glancing around, he realized everyone within a kilometer had already fled.
There was no one left close enough for him to exchange places with.
His Devil Fruit ability was useless.
"I didn’t expect you fake CP0 agents to be Devil Fruit users as well."
Lucas glanced at the three scorched corpses before speaking calmly.
"But until your true identities are confirmed..."
"You’ll be coming back with me."
Boom!
His Conqueror’s Haki erupted yet again.
This time, it did not manifest into a beast.
Instead, it surged forward like an invisible tidal wave, rushing straight toward Spandine and the other two.
In the blink of an eye, it crossed several hundred meters and arrived before them.
Watching the attack rapidly close in, the three tried to flee.
But the previous strike had left their blood surging uncontrollably and their internal organs wracked with pain.
There was no possibility of escaping in time.
The only thing they could do was let out one final roar of unwillingness.
"You damned Marine Admiral!"
"We’ll lodge a formal protest with Marine Headquarters!"
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus Chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus Chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70+ Chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789