"That brat destroyed our rice bowl?"
"This is outrageous! He goes out to sea and immediately wrecks two warships? What, does he think my retirement fund is bottomless? Or maybe he thinks I've got 'corrupt tycoon' tattooed on my forehead, just waiting to foot the bill?!"
Sengoku roared in fury.
He had been ready to throw down in a real battle—only to find out the person who wrecked their resources was one of their own.This was like pulling down your pants just to be told you're holding a stick—utterly humiliating!
"Garp! Hurry up and check how those two ships were destroyed. Didn't that brat say 'do the job if the pay is good'? If he can't give me a decent explanation, I swear I'll dock his entire salary!"
Zephyr was also momentarily stunned. This result didn't make any sense.
He quickly leaned in to examine the fax Garp held.
"One was the Enies Lobby battleship. The other's a standard-issue Admiral-class ship," Garp said, flipping through the documents.
"Says here that Tashigi and Smoker encountered CP9 from Enies Lobby trying to intercept the prisoner transport. Luoyu arrived and sunk the ship in the process."
"As for the second one—it was sunk accidentally while he was helping Ain and the others awaken Haki."
"Hahaha! That brat, not bad! A real good seedling raised by yours truly—so caring for his comrades!"
"Caring?!" Sengoku snatched the fax out of Garp's hand, practically shaking with frustration."Ain trained under Zephyr for years, and not even he could guarantee she'd awaken Haki. And now you're telling me that brat destroyed a warship just to help her awaken it?!"
"That's not care—that's insanity!"
"Zephyr, you're the Chief Instructor of the Naval Academy. Did you never tell that brat that not everyone is a freak like him? Or does he think being a freak is contagious?"
"You tell him!"
Zephyr hadn't expected the warship incident to involve Ain.
But before he could respond, he caught sight of the back of the fax and his pupils suddenly shrank. He snatched the paper and exclaimed urgently:
"Sengoku, Garp—look at this! Look at what's written on the back!"
Sengoku had been fuming, but his words caught in his throat. His face froze like he'd seen a ghost.
"F-Five?!" he stammered. "It says Luoyu helped five people awaken Armament Haki in just two or three minutes—and the damage to the ship happened during that process?!"
"And the five of them are willing to have their salaries docked to cover the damage!"
Zephyr tightly gripped the paper and read the message aloud, his voice heavy.
As Chief Instructor, he knew all too well just how difficult it was to awaken Haki.
He had tried countless times to help Ain awaken hers, and every attempt had ended in disappointment.
Now he was being told that Luoyu awakened five people in just a few minutes?
If it weren't for how serious Ain was, Zephyr would've called it a bad joke.
Years of effort from him… outdone by just a few minutes from that brat.
The gap was… infuriating.
Most frustrating of all—Zephyr had no idea how Luoyu did it.
"Two or three minutes… five people awakened their Haki… and he accidentally shattered the ship?" Sengoku's face was stiff as stone. He snatched the fax back and marched off.
"Where are you going?!" Garp asked hurriedly. "Sure, he sank a ship, but if he really helped five people awaken Haki, that's a massive achievement!"
Zephyr nodded in agreement.
Warships were expensive, sure, but Haki awakening? That was on a whole other level!
"Where do you think I'm going?! That brat's a damn menace!" Sengoku shouted.
"He knows how to awaken Haki and didn't say anything earlier! I'm going to the dockyards to see how many spare ships we've got. If he can keep this up, I don't care if he breaks a hundred—I'll pay for every damn one!"
Garp and Zephyr were left stunned.
Just moments ago Sengoku was ready to punish Luoyu—now he was rushing to deliver more ships?
If anyone could change their tune in a heartbeat… it was leadership.
Before they could even process what was happening, another fax came through from the Den Den Mushi—and what it said made their jaws drop.
The message read:
[Both warships were destroyed solely by Admiral Luoyu's Conqueror's Haki.]
That single line etched itself into their minds like a branding iron.
The three men looked at each other, dumbfounded.
Sengoku, who had rushed off in a rage, turned around and snatched the new fax.
His eyes narrowed as he muttered, "So that brat was holding back when he showed off his Conqueror's Haki last time? Or… did it grow even stronger recently?"
"To destroy two warships just with Conqueror's Haki… if that's true, isn't he stronger than that Red-Haired punk?"
"No… the only one I can think of…"
"You mean Luoyu's Conqueror's Haki is on par with Rocks?" Zephyr couldn't hold back anymore.
Sengoku nodded heavily. "That's right. To wield Conqueror's Haki to this extent… across this entire ocean, only he ever managed it."
"Looks like the Navy really struck gold this time."
"No! I'm going to the docks. We need to get that brat a new ship immediately—no, better yet, give him more officers! Compared to awakening Haki, what's the big deal about a few ships getting wrecked?!"
"Zephyr, check where they are right now!"
Still in a daze, Zephyr flipped through the earlier fax.
"According to Ain's update, they're just about to arrive at the Gate of Justice on the Red Line. Once they pass through, the ocean current will speed them straight to Impel Down. As soon as the handover's done, the mission will be complete!"
"Red Line… Gate of Justice?" Sengoku's face fell.
His expression turned grim as he suddenly remembered something important.
"Damn it. I can't believe I forgot that! No wonder my eyelids have been twitching non-stop these past few days."
"With how unpredictable that brat is… let's just hope he doesn't run into those troublesome bastards."
"Otherwise… things could get real messy."