Everyone held their breath, their nerves stretched to the limit as they instinctively turned toward Lucas.
They were desperate to see how he would deal with Spandam’s shameless threat.
Unfortunately for them...
They had overthought it.
Lucas remained standing where he was.
The overwhelming wave of Conqueror’s Haki continued surging forward without slowing in the slightest, crashing directly into Spandam.
BOOM!!
The warship’s railing exploded apart.
It was as though Spandam had been struck head-on by a Sea King.
His eyes rolled back, foam poured from his mouth, and he was sent hurtling through the air before crashing onto the neighboring warship flying the flag of Enies Lobby.
BANG!
The tremendous impact shattered the deck.
The four CP9 members tore straight through the ship with unstoppable force before becoming embedded in its hull.
Each of them had already lost consciousness, their eyes rolled back and foam dripping from their mouths.
As seawater rained back down from the sky...
The stunned crowd finally regained their senses.
Everyone stared at the Enies Lobby warship, now more than half destroyed.
Was...
That really Conqueror’s Haki?
Even Crocodile was dumbfounded.
He was an infamous pirate who had sailed the seas for years.
When he was younger and far more arrogant, he had even challenged Whitebeard himself.
He knew exactly what Conqueror’s Haki felt like.
But compared to what Lucas had just unleashed...
The overwhelming pressure Whitebeard once exerted almost seemed gentle by comparison.
Crocodile had been confident he could defeat Jabra and the other three CP9 agents.
But to suppress all of them with nothing more than a single glare...
That effortless display was simply unbelievable.
Just what kind of monster...
...was the Marines’ Fourth Admiral?
"I’m sorry about that."
Lucas dispersed his Haki and casually took another drink of strong liquor.
"You all heard it."
"That chief insisted those three had ’Lucci’s potential’ and wanted me to test them."
"I didn’t expect them to be so weak."
"I accidentally used a little too much force."
"I hope they aren’t going to deduct my 500,000-Berry performance bonus over something this trivial."
The corner of Ain’s mouth twitched.
It was exactly as she had expected.
Nothing mattered more than his performance bonus.
And yet...
Recalling how Lucas had effortlessly crushed the CP9 agents who had dared interfere with a Marine Headquarters mission...
It felt unbelievably satisfying.
"Admiral Lucas."
Ain came to attention and saluted crisply.
"The escort of former Seven Warlords of the Sea Crocodile is classified as a top-secret mission of Marine Headquarters."
"Without direct orders from Fleet Admiral Sengoku, no one is authorized to approach the escort vessel."
"Anyone attempting to interfere may be treated as an enemy."
"The escort commander is fully authorized to use force."
"Your 500,000-Berry performance bonus will not be deducted."
Her tone was calm and resolute.
Koby and Helmeppo stood frozen.
For days, Ain had seemed completely incompatible with Lucas’s way of doing things.
After seeing him send CP9 flying without a second thought...
They had expected her to lose her temper.
Instead...
She sounded genuinely convinced.
Then again...
Remembering Spandam’s arrogant attitude only moments ago—
And seeing the four CP9 agents embedded in the wrecked warship—
It really did feel incredibly satisfying.
"Is..."
"Is that really the strength of the new Admiral?"
Tina stared in disbelief.
"I... I’m not seeing things, am I?"
Beside her, Smoker had already bitten both of his cigars clean in half.
Until moments ago...
He still harbored some dissatisfaction over Lucas’s unprecedented promotion to Admiral.
Now...
Every trace of that resentment had disappeared.
Smoker had always believed that possessing a rare Logia Devil Fruit made him one of the Marines most likely to become an Admiral.
But after witnessing Lucas wipe out CP9 through sheer Haki alone...
He knew his own Devil Fruit powers couldn’t compare.
Most importantly...
Was that really Conqueror’s Haki?
Everything he knew suggested that Conqueror’s Haki could do little more than overwhelm weaker opponents mentally.
So why...
Had Lucas’s become something entirely different?
"E-Excuse me..."
Nero—the only conscious CP9 member left standing—had gone completely pale.
The moment Lucas looked at him, his legs shook so violently they nearly gave out.
"What?"
Lucas took another sip of liquor.
"Did I forget that you’re part of CP9 too?"
"Do you also have ’Lucci’s potential’?"
With a loud thud, Nero collapsed onto the deck.
"N-No!"
"I don’t have Lucci’s potential!"
Frantically waving both hands, he hurriedly explained,
"I only wanted to ask Admiral Lucas to save them!"
"Our ship is about to sink!"
"Enies Lobby and Marine Headquarters both serve under the World Government."
"Please..."
"I hope you’ll show us some mercy."
Back in CP9, Nero had always been proud whenever people compared him to Rob Lucci.
Now...
Those words had become a nightmare.
"Save them?"
Lucas adjusted his glasses and glanced at the rapidly flooding warship.
"You make a fair point."
"Enies Lobby and Marine Headquarters are on the same side."
"Of course we should save them."
Nero’s eyes immediately lit up.
Then Lucas continued,
"But..."
"3:30 is afternoon tea."
"9:30 is morning tea."
"We’ll discuss rescuing them after I’ve finished my morning tea."
With those words, Lucas turned around and calmly walked back toward his own warship.
Everyone stood there speechless.
The contrast between saying he would rescue them...
...and then casually postponing it for morning tea...
...was simply too absurd.
Especially after claiming they were "all on the same side."
Could morning tea really be more important than saving allies?
Tina and Smoker stood frozen.
They had heard rumors that Admiral Glutton Lucas was obsessively punctual.
But they had never imagined it extended this far.
Since when did Marines have a tradition of drinking morning tea at 9:30 and afternoon tea at 3:30?
More importantly...
What exactly was "morning tea"?
Still...
Lucas might be willing to leave them to their fate.
They couldn’t.
The two exchanged helpless glances before immediately ordering the Marines to begin rescue operations.
Meanwhile, inside the cabin, Crocodile cast one final wary glance toward Lucas before falling into uneasy silence.
Before witnessing Lucas’s true strength...
He hadn’t been particularly eager to escape.
Now...
The crushing sense of helplessness Lucas inspired only made him more desperate than ever to break free.
The irony wasn’t lost on him.
It was as though the more impossible something seemed...
The more desperately he wanted it.