PIRATES: I WORK IN NAVY FROM NINE TO FIVE

"You—say that again! Who's coming?!"

Saint Charlos screamed, his voice cracking with disbelief.

But in this moment, all his earlier arrogance had vanished without a trace.

The entire audience fell into stunned silence.

None of them had expected it—this god-like Celestial Dragon, who moments ago had been demanding heads and blood, now looked like a frightened child.

Even Rear Admiral Ryan was baffled.

From behind, Eustass Kid let out a cold, mocking laugh."Heh, so it's the new Admiral, huh? I heard he's pretty powerful for a rookie."

"But you know, we've got a whole crowd of Supernovas gathered here today… If he really dares to come alone, maybe we should team up and see just how strong this new Admiral really is."

"Come on—don't you want to find out the gap between us and an Admiral?"

"If we win, we might just become legends across the seas."

As the Supernova with the highest bounty, Kid had always been the most reckless of the eleven.He had challenged the Four Emperors more than once—he lost an arm to Shanks and got crushed by Kaido.

His arrogance was infamous.

Yet even the other Supernovas, who had been lurking nearby to watch the chaos unfold, were stunned by Kid's words.

But it didn't take them long to realize what he was trying to do—

He was dragging them down with him.

At that moment, Saint Charlos shouted again, this time with genuine desperation:

"You Marines! Answer me! Who's the Admiral coming here?! Tell me now!"

The tone was trembling, panicked—completely unlike the pompous snob from just minutes ago.

Rear Admiral Ryan blinked, then swallowed before hesitantly replying:

"I-it's the new Admiral, Taiote Luo Yu, sir…"

"But please don't worry—he's one of Marine Headquarters' top fighting forces now. Although Admiral Luo Yu is newly appointed, saving you from pirates should be no trouble at all."

"I beg you, please return to the auction hall for your safety!"

Saint Charlos froze, mucus trailing from his nose, which he didn't even bother to wipe.

A second later, right before everyone's eyes—

He turned and fled.

There was no hesitation. He scrambled, stumbled, and rolled down the steps, bolting away as fast as he could.

Yes. You saw it correctly.

The first to flee at the name of Admiral Luo Yu was not a pirate…Not a Marine…But a Celestial Dragon, a man supposedly protected by the Admirals themselves.

The very symbol of world authority.

And yet, here he was, running for his life.

Everyone watching was stunned.

Nobody—neither Marine nor pirate—could have imagined it:

An Admiral was coming… and the Celestial Dragon ran away first.

"Run! Bepo, get us out of here—NOW!"

Trafalgar Law's expression changed drastically.Gripping Kikoku, he activated the Ope Ope no Mi without hesitation to break through the blockade.

Meanwhile, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji—who had been moments away from fighting—froze at the sight of Charlos fleeing.

They exchanged a look.

Without another word, they grabbed Nami and the others and bolted.

All their desire to prove themselves, to compete with Kid, vanished in an instant.

If the one arriving were any other Admiral, they might have stood their ground.

But after what they had personally witnessed five days ago…

They knew what true terror looked like.

Especially Trafalgar Law.

He had been there—he'd seen Luo Yu crush Doflamingo in front of the Gorosei and walk away unharmed.

The kind of power Luo Yu wielded…

He didn't care who you were. Not Celestial Dragons. Not Warlords. Not even the Five Elders.

In front of him, all Supernovas were nothing but bugs.

And that wasn't even counting the terrifying forces under his command, gathered on his warship.

The entire scene froze.

Everyone was dumbstruck.

A Celestial Dragon fleeing was beyond anything they'd imagined.

And now, two of the three most infamous Supernova captains had fled as well.

All because of a name.

The fear and weight carried by that name, Taiote Luo Yu, shook the hearts of every soul on the island.

At the center of it all stood Eustass Kid, now feeling very… alone.

With all eyes on him, even Kid blinked in momentary confusion.

Then his face twisted into a wicked grin.

"Ha… HAHAHA! I thought you were all tough! And yet a single name sends you running?!"

"I guess I overestimated you."

"Fine then. Since you're all gone, the title of strongest Supernova now belongs to me—Captain Eustass Kid!"

"Is that so?"

A voice answered him—calm, quiet… and terrifyingly near.

Kid and the others turned sharply toward the sound.

From the sky, a shadow fell like a meteor, black as ink and impossibly fast.

BOOM!!

The impact rocked the island.

A deafening explosion tore through the ground, sending shockwaves like a hurricane in all directions.

The blast wave alone flung dozens of Marines straight into the air.

Even the nearby Supernovas were knocked back dozens of meters, forced to shield themselves from the sudden impact.

All eyes turned toward the center of the explosion.

A crater had formed—at least twenty meters wide, scorched and smoking.

Within the settling dust cloud, a figure slowly emerged, wine gourd in hand, stepping out like he had just arrived for afternoon tea.

Luo Yu.

His expression calm, his bearing unrushed.

He surveyed the field, then looked directly at Rear Admiral Ryan.

"You're Ryan, right?"

"Where did Saint Charlos go?"

Ryan had just regained his footing. Having an Admiral speak to him directly should've been an honor…But all he felt was cold sweat trickling down his neck.

He stammered, voice dry:

"Admiral Luo Yu… just moments ago, Saint Charlos, upon hearing you were coming… he—he panicked and ran. We tried to stop him, but we couldn't…"

"Ran?"

Luo Yu raised an eyebrow as he took a long sip from his gourd.

"…Wait. Don't tell me—he was the same guy I blasted last time?"

"Hah. Looks like the Celestial Dragons are revolving doors… but Charlos stays permanent."

"Well, it's probably for the best."

"If he stuck around, I might've accidentally smacked him again. That would've been hard to explain to Sengoku."

"Oh, right. You guys should've received your tactical orders by now."

"Once you've read it—move out quickly. I've got to clock out soon."

"…Tactical orders?"

Ryan froze.

He hurriedly glanced at the Den Den Mushi in his hand.

A tactical fax had just come in.

He opened it—

It contained one word:

"RETREAT."