Crash!
The teacup in Sengoku's hand shattered on the spot.
Faced with Luo Yu's all-too-familiar "bonus request," Sengoku's cheek muscles twitched uncontrollably.
Sure enough, placing their hopes on the Glutton Admiral was clearly a miscalculation.
"You brat! Can't you at least pretend to be a pillar of justice for a little longer before asking for more money?"
Sengoku glared at Luo Yu, beard bristling.
"Still, this concerns the safety of Marine Headquarters and our odds in a war against two Emperors."
"If you hadn't asked for more money, I might've worried you weren't taking this seriously. Now that you have—I'm oddly reassured."
"But you should know our situation. With war looming against two Emperors, our finances are tight. I can only offer 20 million Berries per special combatant. That's the absolute limit."
"I hope you understand."
Twenty million per person?
Luo Yu raised an eyebrow, then chuckled and lifted his gourd.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I thought you'd only offer ten million per head. Starting at twenty? That's some rare generosity."
"Anyway, it's getting late. I'll leave this boring meeting to you all. I'm off to find people."
With that, Luo Yu turned and left without another word.
His carefree swagger left the room momentarily stunned.
The gathered Marine officers exchanged glances—but none of them looked worried.
Luo Yu had never once said who he planned to recruit.
But as Sengoku had said: if the Glutton Admiral was asking for more money, the job was as good as done.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku… can he really find eight or nine special combatants?"
Vice Admiral Doll sat frozen in her seat, unable to hide her disbelief.
Meanwhile, as Marine HQ convened its highest-level war council—
Spies embedded by the Four Emperors sprang into action, risking everything to transmit the explosive intel they had just gathered.
They had been planted in Marineford for this very moment.
New World — Hachinosu (Pirate Island).
The stronghold of the Whitebeard Pirates, long considered a forbidden zone in the New World.
At the dock, the massive Moby Dick floated silently.
Whitebeard stood at the railing, reading the intelligence report in his hand. His expression was thunderous.
"Pops, is it true? The report says Ace lost to Teach?"
Diamond Jozu couldn't hold back. Everyone's faces were tense with urgency.
Crash!
Whitebeard crushed the ship's railing with one hand. His white hair whipped in the wind as he roared:
"That bastard Teach! Not only did he betray my trust and kill a crewmate—he's handed Ace over to the World Government in exchange for a Warlord seat!"
"He's crossed the line. I'll kill him myself!"
BOOM!
As he spoke, Whitebeard's Conqueror's Haki exploded like a tidal wave, surging into the sky.
Everyone on deck turned pale, unable to speak.
They had braced for bad news after Luo Yu's departure.
But this… this was worse than they'd imagined.
If Ace had simply fallen into Blackbeard's hands, they could've launched a rescue.
But now, Teach had handed Ace to the World Government.
Rescuing him would mean declaring war on Marine HQ.
And that would require the Whitebeard Pirates to stake everything.
Marine HQ had stood toe-to-toe with the Four Emperors for years. Their strength wasn't something to be challenged lightly.
"Pops… what do we do now?"
Izo broke the silence.
Jozu quickly followed:
"Just say the word, and we'll risk our lives. We'll declare war on Marine HQ without hesitation."
Everyone nodded in solemn agreement.
But Whitebeard's face remained grim. He hesitated.
As a father, Ace's life mattered—but so did the lives of every crewmate standing before him.
They all said they had no regrets.
But Whitebeard couldn't bring himself to make the call.
"Pops, we can fight Marine HQ."
Marco, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.
"Do you remember the last time that new admiral, Luo Yu, boarded our ship?"
"This time, he not only negotiated with Teach—he also defeated Jack the Drought of the Beasts Pirates and escorted both Ace and Jack to Impel Down."
"Knowing Kaido, he won't let this go. If we declare war on Marine HQ, Kaido will definitely seize the opportunity to strike too."
"At that point, Marine HQ will be under pressure from two Emperors. For us, that might actually be an advantage."
"But according to the intel, Fleet Admiral Sengoku has already decided to split the battlefield and fight both Emperors at once. He's invoking the Warlord Summoning Order…"
"And he's also sending Admiral Luo Yu to recruit special combatants from across the seas to bolster their forces."
"The report didn't specify who these special forces are—but if we knew, maybe we could do the same."
Marco's words echoed across the deck.
Everyone was stunned.
They had already thought Marine HQ was insane for challenging the Whitebeard Pirates.
Now they were planning to open two fronts and declare war on two Emperors?
It sounded suicidal.
Had they not heard it themselves, they wouldn't have believed it.
"Declaring war on two Emperors at once?"
Whitebeard's eyes gleamed. Then he burst into booming laughter.
"Gurararara! That's Sengoku for you—still as crazy as ever!"
"But he should be grateful that Marine HQ has that arrogant brat on their side. Without him, they wouldn't have the guts to pull this off."
"If Sengoku's going to be that bold—then we, the Whitebeard Pirates, won't be left behind."
"Let's tear the heavens apart with this war!"
"Send the word—The Whitebeard Pirates declare war on Marine HQ. Let's see if Kaido dares to follow our lead!"