The deck exploded with noise.
The pirates erupted with excitement.
This was the Navy's newly appointed Admiral—the one Marine HQ had been hyping up nonstop.
If he'd really been captured by Atmos, they wouldn't even need to play their Ace card.
Just parading a captured Admiral would skyrocket the Whitebeard Pirates' reputation.
Cheers and applause for Atmos echoed across the deck.
Trailing behind Luoyu, Atmos's face twitched uncontrollably. The words stuck in his throat.
As the waves of praise crashed over him, he wanted to crawl into the sea and disappear.
He should've kept a tighter leash on Luoyu. Now the guy had waltzed right up to Whitebeard without even giving him a chance to explain.
Meanwhile, on the Marine warship one nautical mile away, Gion and the others wore bitter expressions.
They'd heard the legends of the Four Emperors.
But to be this close—to two of them?
Even at this distance, their nerves were stretched to the breaking point.
These were the apex predators of the sea.
Most people would flee at the mere rumor of their presence.
Only someone like Luoyu—driven by a pathological obsession with performance bonuses—would dare board their ship alone.
And to think, he was doing all this just to confirm the reason for Whitebeard and Red-Haired's meeting.
What was he going to do—walk up and say, "Excuse me, could you two fill out a report for Marine HQ?"
If he actually said that, they were sure the next thing flying over the sea would be a human-skin pirate flag.
"Moshi moshi, this is Tsuru. Gion, respond immediately!"
The Den Den Mushi's call shattered the tense silence.
Everyone turned to Gion.
They'd been dreading how to report this to Sengoku.
They'd hoped to wait until it was all over—rip off the bandage in one go.
No one expected HQ to call now.
Gion froze, staring at the vibrating snail.
Reluctantly, she picked it up.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, this is Gion. Admiral Luoyu, he…"
"He what?"
"Gion, you and Chaton promised to keep him in check!"
"That lunatic extorted Kaido! Stop him before he crashes this mission! I swear, if he tears the sky open for ten million Berries…"
Sengoku snatched the receiver, roaring in fury.
The gathered Admirals shrank back, trying to become invisible.
Only Garp chuckled.
"Sengoku, you promised me—even if he quits the mission, he still gets the ten million. Otherwise, how am I supposed to keep him motivated?"
"Garp, shut up! You think you can do my job? Be my guest!" Sengoku snapped, glaring at him before turning back to the snail.
"Gion! Put that brat on the line! It's past 3:30—tea break's over, and it's not 5 PM yet. I'm still your Fleet Admiral, damn it!"
His voice thundered through the Den Den Mushi.
Gion now understood what it meant to hold a "hot potato."
She glanced at Chaton, who had wisely retreated several meters away.
With a bitter sigh, she replied:
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku… the call came too late. We couldn't stop Admiral Luoyu. He defeated Whitebeard's 13th Division Commander, Atmos, and boarded the Moby Dick."
"We're only one nautical mile from the meeting point. We can't stop him now."
BANG!
The Den Den Mushi slipped from Sengoku's hand and clattered onto the table.
His heart clenched.
The war room fell into stunned silence.
Everyone looked like they'd seen a ghost.
They'd imagined Luoyu might go far for his bonus.
But this?
He'd actually boarded the Moby Dick to confront Whitebeard.
Was this really about a bonus—or a death wish?
Even Garp was speechless.
Noticing Sengoku's murderous glare, he coughed awkwardly.
"Ahem… Sengoku, you've got to admit—facing two Emperors alone? That's real Admiral material."
"Oh, right—I left soup on the stove. Gotta go!"
He bolted.
Sengoku's furious roar followed him down the hall:
"GARP! Admiral, my ass!"
Back on the Marine ship, Gion and Chaton stood frozen.
They exchanged glances, realizing that sailing with Luoyu was the ultimate nerve endurance training.
"Vice Admiral Gion! Whitebeard's moving!"
From the crow's nest, Ain called out, telescope in hand.
On the Moby Dick, the pirates had finally snapped out of their daze.
Whitebeard, still hooked up to IVs, turned his gaze toward Luoyu and laughed thunderously.
"Gurarara! Not long ago, I thought you might be a stepping stone for Ace to become a true king of the sea. But to think you'd be captured by Atmos so easily…"
"Looks like that so-called strategist Sengoku really has gone senile."
"And you, brat—you dare speak on Ace's behalf, yet you don't even act like a proper prisoner!"
His booming laughter echoed across the deck.
What could be more satisfying than capturing a Marine Admiral during a Yonko summit?
"Hey, Captain Atmos," Luoyu said, taking a swig of his brew and glancing over his shoulder, "is your Pops calling me a prisoner?"
Whitebeard's grin froze.
His face twisted into something between confusion and constipation.