PIRATES: I WORK IN NAVY FROM NINE TO FIVE

The deck instantly erupted into chaos.

The pirates present were all grinning from ear to ear.

This was the Navy's newly appointed admiral.

Just recently, the Marine Headquarters had made a huge deal of his promotion.

If he had truly fallen at the hands of Atmos, not even Ace would need to act.

Capturing a Navy admiral would be enough to bring massive prestige to the Whitebeard Pirates.

For a moment, the applause and cheers directed at Atmos were thunderous and nonstop.

Following closely behind Luo Yu, Atmos's facial muscles were already twitching uncontrollably. The words at the tip of his tongue just wouldn't come out.

Listening to the tidal wave of praise from all directions, Atmos regretted it so much he could've chewed through his own intestines. Why hadn't he kept a better eye on Luo Yu? Now the guy had gone and stood right in front of Whitebeard.

He didn't even get a chance to explain.

Meanwhile, aboard the Marine warship anchored a mile away, Gion and the others standing on deck wore bitter expressions.

They'd heard of the legends surrounding the Four Emperors countless times.

But to be this close—face-to-face with not one but two Yonko?

Even from a mile out, everyone's nerves were stretched taut to the breaking point.

This was the peak of power on the seas.

Anyone with a brain would have backed off ages ago.

Only a lunatic like Luo Yu, obsessed with performance bonuses, would be crazy enough to board a Yonko's ship alone.

They were there to verify the reason for the meeting between Red-Haired Shanks and Whitebeard.

But how the hell were they supposed to ask?

"Hey, you two, what's this meeting about? Mind giving the Navy a statement?"

If they actually said something like that, it wouldn't be long before a new pirate flag—stitched from human skin—was flying across the sea.

Brrzzzt.

"I'm Tsuru. Gion, report immediately!"

The sharp, crackling voice of the Den Den Mushi broke the dead silence on deck.

Everyone who had been staring fixated at the colossal Moby Dick snapped out of their trance.

All along, they'd been agonizing over how to report this situation to Fleet Admiral Sengoku.

But just thinking about Luo Yu's madness made even Gion and Tokikake hesitate to report anything.

They'd hoped to wrap things up and deliver the bad news all at once.

No one expected that the Den Den Mushi from headquarters would come ringing right now.

All eyes turned to Gion.

Her expression froze. Staring at the vibrating Den Den Mushi, she didn't want to answer, but gritted her teeth and picked it up.

"Vice Admiral Tsuru, this is Gion. Admiral Luo Yu, he…"

"He what?!"

"Gion, you and Tokikake swore to keep an eye on him!"

"This lunatic extorted Kaido before—now keep him from wrecking this operation! For the love of god, don't let him blow up the world over a measly ten million bounty bonus!"

Sengoku snatched the receiver and roared hysterically.

Inside the conference hall of Marine Headquarters, countless high-ranking officers instinctively shrank back, trying not to draw attention and become the next target of Sengoku's wrath.

Only Garp laughed heartily and said, "Sengoku, you promised me, even if that kid bails on the mission, you'll still pay him the 10 million bonus. Otherwise, I'll never be able to get him to listen again."

"Garp, shut up! If you think it's so easy, then sit in this damn chair yourself!" Sengoku snarled, shooting a glare like daggers as he gripped the Den Den Mushi again.

"Gion! Put that brat on the line right now! It's past 3 p.m.—tea time is over, but it's not 5 p.m. yet, so he's still on the clock! That's an order!"

Sengoku's furious voice exploded from the receiver.

Gion suddenly felt that even Den Den Mushi could burn your hands.

She glanced at Tokikake, who had already retreated a good few meters away, and forced herself to speak bitterly.

"Fleet Admiral Sengoku… your call came a bit late. We couldn't stop Admiral Luo Yu. Just a short while ago, he defeated the 13th Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Atmos, and boarded the Moby Dick alongside him."

"We're only a mile away from the meeting between Whitebeard and Red-Haired Shanks. There's no stopping him now."

Clang!

The Den Den Mushi slipped from Sengoku's hand and clattered onto the table. His chest tightened in agony.

The massive strategy hall fell into a pin-drop silence. Everyone's faces looked like they'd seen a ghost.

Just a moment ago, they had wondered how far Luo Yu would go for 10 million in performance bonus.

But no one—no one—imagined he would be insane enough to go straight to Whitebeard himself.

All for a performance bonus?!

Garp looked dumbfounded, then noticed Sengoku's murderous stare. He cleared his throat and mumbled, "Ahem… Sengoku, the kid's guts are pretty admirable. Facing down two Yonko like that—he really has what it takes to be an admiral."

"Ah! I just remembered—I left a pot of soup boiling in the dorm… Gotta run!"

He spun on his heel and bolted.

Sengoku's furious roar and the shockwave that followed exploded behind him:

"GARP, YOU CALL THAT AN ADMIRAL?!!"

Back on the other end of the line, Gion and Tokikake were frozen stiff.

They looked at each other and finally realized that just tagging along with Luo Yu… had already trained their nerves to steel.

"Vice Admiral Gion! Movement aboard the Moby Dick—Whitebeard is on the move!"

From the lookout perch, Ain shouted down while peering through her binoculars, her gaze locked on the distant flagship.

The pirates aboard had finally reacted to the lone Marine now standing on their deck.

Sitting tall in his chair, IV lines running down his arms, Whitebeard turned his gaze toward Luo Yu and laughed thunderously:

"Gurarara! Not long ago, I saw you as a stepping stone for Ace to rise as a true force on the sea."

"Didn't expect you to be so pathetic—captured by Atmos, of all people."

"Seems Sengoku's brain really is getting old."

"You even dared to run your mouth about Ace just now—where's your sense of being a prisoner?"

His deep, rumbling laughter echoed across the deck.

For the Four Emperors, capturing a Marine admiral was the perfect prize in the middle of a high-stakes meeting.

"Oi, Commander Atmos—your old man keeps calling me a prisoner. He talking about you?"

Luo Yu took a long swig of cheap liquor, turning to glance playfully at a very nervous Atmos standing behind him.

Whitebeard's beaming smile suddenly froze mid-laugh—like someone struck with sudden constipation.