"Say that again—who's coming?!"
Saint Charlos shouted in disbelief.
But by now, all traces of his earlier arrogance had vanished.
Everyone present was stunned.
No one expected a Celestial Dragon—of all people—to show such a drastic change in demeanor.
Even Rear Admiral Lyon was caught off guard.
Kid sneered from the side.
"Heh… the new Marine Admiral, huh? I've heard he's pretty strong for a rookie."
"But we've got a whole bunch of Supernovas here. If it really is the new Admiral, maybe we should team up and test just how wide the gap is."
"What do you say? If we win, we might just shake the whole sea."
Among the eleven Supernovas, Kid had the highest bounty—and the biggest mouth.
He'd always been the boldest, challenging the Yonko head-on.
He lost an arm to Red-Haired Shanks.
Got crushed by Kaido.
If nothing else, his arrogance was legendary.
But even the other Supernovas watching from afar hadn't expected him to be this reckless.
Then again, they quickly realized what he was doing—trying to drag them down with him.
"Marines! I'm asking you—who's the Admiral coming this time? Tell me now!"
Charlos's voice cracked with panic.
The same man who'd been barking orders moments ago now looked desperate.
Rear Admiral Lyon hesitated, then stammered:
"I-It's the new Glutton Admiral… Admiral Luo Yu."
"But please rest assured, Lord Charlos. Admiral Luo Yu is considered the strongest force in Marine HQ. He may be new, but rescuing you from these pirates won't be a problem."
"Please, return to the auction house and ensure your safety."
"It's really him?"
Charlos froze, even forgetting to wipe the snot running down his face.
Then, in front of everyone, without a shred of hesitation—
He turned and bolted, scrambling away on all fours.
Yes.
Everyone saw it.
The first to flee at the mention of the new Admiral wasn't a pirate.
It wasn't a Supernova.
It was the Celestial Dragon himself—supposedly untouchable, protected by Admirals.
And yet, there he was, running for his life.
No one had ever seen a Celestial Dragon move that fast.
The entire crowd was stunned.
Pirates and Marines alike couldn't believe it.
An Admiral was coming—and the Celestial Dragon ran first.
"Run! Bepo, get us out of here!"
Law's face turned pale.
He gripped Kikoku tightly and activated his Ope Ope no Mi, slicing open a path to escape.
At the same time, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji—who had just been ready to fight—froze in shock.
They exchanged glances, then grabbed Nami and the others and bolted.
In that moment, both Law and Luffy had lost all interest in competing with Kid.
If it had been any other Admiral, they might've stood their ground.
But after what they'd seen five days ago…
They knew what true terror looked like.
Law remembered everything that happened in Dressrosa.
He was certain: in front of this new Admiral—the one who dared strike in front of the Five Elders—every so-called Supernova was just a joke.
And that wasn't even counting the "special combatants" on his ship.
The sudden chaos left everyone speechless.
A Celestial Dragon fleeing was already unthinkable.
Now, two of the three most notorious Supernova captains had fled too.
All because of a name.
The sheer intimidation was unreal.
Kid, left standing alone, suddenly felt like a crane among chickens.
He blinked, then let out a twisted laugh:
"Hah! I thought you all had guts."
"Turns out a single name is enough to scare you off. I gave you too much credit."
"But hey—since you all ran, I guess the title of strongest Supernova belongs to me now!"
"Is that so?"
A calm voice cut through the air.
Kid's face changed instantly. He looked up.
A shadow, black as ink, streaked across the sky like a falling star.
Before anyone could react—
BOOM!
It slammed into the plaza.
A shockwave exploded outward like a hurricane.
Marines were blown off their feet.
Even the Supernovas watching from afar were forced back dozens of meters.
A massive crater, tens of meters wide, had been blasted into the ground.
All eyes turned to the dust cloud, desperate to see if it was really him—the Admiral who had scared off a Celestial Dragon.
As the dust settled, Luo Yu stepped out, gourd in hand, taking a slow sip.
He glanced around and asked:
"You're Rear Admiral Lyon?"
"Where's Saint Charlos?"
Lyon had just regained his footing.
Being addressed directly by an Admiral was an honor—but recalling what had just happened, he could only smile bitterly:
"Admiral Luo Yu… Lord Charlos, upon hearing you were coming, seemed to go mad and fled. We tried to stop him, but… we couldn't."
"He ran?"
Luo Yu took another sip, pausing.
"Wait… was he the one I blasted last time?"
"Guess Celestial Dragons come and go, but Charlos is forever."
"Well, good. Saves me the trouble of explaining to Sengoku why I accidentally launched him again."
"Anyway, you've probably received your tactical orders by now. Get moving—I'm trying to clock out early."
Tactical orders?
Lyon blinked and looked down at his Den Den Mushi.
A fax had just come through.
At the top of the page, in bold letters—
One word:
"RETREAT."