"So you’re the newly appointed Fourth Admiral... Admiral Glutton Lucas."
Spandam suddenly burst into laughter.
"You really do look like nothing more than some snot-nosed brat."
As the Chief of Enies Lobby, Spandam’s own strength was laughable.
But his authority gave him more than enough confidence.
Besides, the person standing before him was only a newly appointed Admiral.
That made him even bolder.
"Spandam, watch your mouth!"
Tina’s face darkened.
"I’m very angry."
She stepped forward immediately.
Before she could say anything else, Smoker reached out and stopped her.
"Tina."
"Now that the Admiral is here..."
"Let the Admiral handle this."
She hesitated.
She knew exactly what Smoker was thinking.
Like many others, Smoker had found it difficult to accept that someone so young had been promoted directly to Admiral.
As a Logia Devil Fruit user himself—and widely regarded as one of the strongest candidates for future Admiral nomination—he couldn’t help feeling a little unconvinced.
Still...
Neither of them possessed the authority to deal with the Chief of CP9.
"I’ll handle it."
Lucas landed lightly on the deck with Koby and the others.
After adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses, he smiled.
"Hello."
"I’m Admiral Lucas of the Marines."
"I’ve heard Fleet Admiral Sengoku hasn’t issued any orders authorizing this."
"So..."
"Are you planning to steal my very first mission?"
"Or are you trying to steal my 500,000-Berry performance bonus?"
Ain had originally looked forward to seeing how Lucas would handle the situation.
She never imagined his opening sentence would still revolve entirely around money.
A Marine Admiral...
Arguing over a 500,000-Berry bonus.
Was that really appropriate?
"Five hundred thousand?!"
The muscles on Crocodile’s face twitched violently before he erupted.
"You little Marine brat!"
"Are you deliberately insulting me?!"
"I am one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea!"
"Crocodile!"
"And you’re telling me I’m only worth a 500,000-Berry bonus?"
"You’re asking to die!"
"If I ever get free..."
"I’ll show you what true despair looks like!"
Lucas merely glanced at the furious Crocodile.
To him...
An 80 million-Berry bounty was certainly attractive.
Unfortunately, bounty money didn’t count as System Currency.
He had even considered threatening Marine Headquarters into raising his salary to several hundred million—or even billions—of Berries.
Sadly, according to the system’s rules...
Illegally obtained income wasn’t recognized.
In the end...
He had no choice but to accept the fate of remaining an ordinary salaryman.
With that thought, Lucas completely ignored Crocodile and looked back at Spandam.
"Hey."
"I asked you a question."
"Are you really trying to steal my 500,000-Berry performance bonus?"
Everyone from CP9 stared blankly.
None of them had expected the new Admiral to remain fixated on such a trivial amount of money.
With the power of an Admiral...
Whether in the Four Blues, Paradise, or even the New World...
Money practically came on its own.
Why obsess over half a million Berries?
"Admiral Lucas..."
Spandam finally recovered with an amused smile.
"Are you joking?"
"Or is this simply your excuse for refusing to let CP9 take over the escort mission?"
"Oh, right."
"Our intelligence network also tells me that Fleet Admiral Sengoku once claimed..."
"...that you’re equal to—or perhaps even stronger than—the strongest operative in CP9..."
"Rob Lucci."
"My men here..."
"...all possess the potential to become another Lucci."
"They’re quite curious."
"Just how different is an Admiral from Lucci?"
"And I’m sure Admiral Lucas won’t mind giving us a demonstration."
"At the same time..."
"...it’ll let us see whether you’re truly capable of escorting Crocodile safely to Impel Down."
"Jabra."
"You three can spar with the Admiral."
"Understood, Chief Spandam."
Jabra and the other two agents instantly sprang into action.
Meanwhile, Nero merely smiled.
As the newest member of CP9, he chose not to attack.
Instead, he flashed in front of Tina and Smoker, blocking their path.
"Spandam!"
"You’ve gone too far!"
Tina’s expression changed drastically.
"I’m reporting everything you’ve done to Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"
Even Smoker’s face darkened.
He hadn’t expected Spandam to push things this far.
Ain, Koby, and the others felt the same.
Only Crocodile, still sitting inside the cabin, wore a cold smile.
He was eager to see how this newly appointed Admiral would respond to CP9’s open provocation.
Whoosh!
Jabra and the other two vanished like ghosts.
Instead of attempting a sneak attack...
They charged directly at Lucas head-on.
Ain and the others immediately prepared to intervene.
But before anyone could move—
A terrifying pressure suddenly erupted from Lucas’s body.
BOOM!!
The heavens...
The sea...
Everything shook violently.
Even the ocean itself erupted into massive ripples.
A vast crimson wave burst from Lucas’s body like a gigantic shockwave.
Expanding outward in a great semicircle...
It crashed directly toward the charging CP9 agents.
"Conqueror’s Haki?!"
Crocodile’s eyes widened.
"I thought that only worked on weaklings—"
Before he could finish speaking...
His pupils contracted violently.
The crimson pressure had become almost tangible.
It collided head-on with Jabra and the others.
BOOM!!
The deafening impact echoed like heavenly war drums.
The three CP9 agents felt as though their attacks had slammed into an invisible steel wall.
Then—
An overwhelming force, like an entire mountain range crashing down upon them, exploded outward.
The three men were blasted away like cannonballs.
Wherever they flew...
The warship’s deck shattered inch by inch beneath the invisible force.
Standing more than twenty meters away, Spandam had intended to use CP9 to test the new Admiral’s strength while restoring a bit of his own pride.
Instead...
He stood there completely dumbfounded.
The three men whom he had proudly claimed possessed "Lucci’s potential..."
Couldn’t even withstand a single glare from Lucas.
Watching their bodies rapidly hurtle toward him—
Spandam instinctively tried to run.
But how could he possibly outrun a shockwave driven by invisible force?
"N-No!"
"Stop!"
"I’m the Chief of Enies Lobby!"
"The commander of CP9!"
"My authority is equal to your Fleet Admiral’s!"
"You can’t attack me!"
"That would be insubordination!"
"Stop!"
"You’re a Marine Admiral!"
Spandam screamed hysterically across the deck.
Everyone present instinctively tensed.
As shameless as Spandam was...
There was one thing he said that couldn’t easily be denied.