—he swung Frost Demon at a super weird angle, slashing right at Pearl.
The speed was fast!
But, plot twist!
Pearl was actually kind of fast, he got his shield up just in time to block it.
...And then a ton of flaming bullets shot out from under the shield.
Lucky for Lancelot, he had his new Observation Haki allowing him to predict the attacks.
Under Pearl utterly shocked expression, every single bullet was effortlessly dodged.
"How is that possible?"
"Ice Tiger!" Lancelot yelled.
This time, he wasn't messing around.
A giant, frosty tiger made of pure sword energy just appeared around him, with Lancelot standing right in the middle.
The next second, he shot forward like a cannonball and slammed Frost Demon right into Pearl's chest shield.
BOOM!
It didn't break the shield, but the force sent Pearl flying backward like a tin can.
CRACK...
A layer of frost spread all over the shield.
Lancelot frowned.
'Man, if I could cut iron, this fight would be over. Note to self: get that Flame Dragon sword ASAP.'
"Dragon Fang!"
This was his big one.
Another blast of sword energy, this time making a giant dragon head.
Lancelot was, like, right in the dragon's mouth, aiming his sword like a giant tooth.
CLANG!
He caught up to Pearl mid-air and stabbed him right in the shield.
This hit was way harder.
Pearl went flying even faster, smashing right into a stone building on the side of the street.
The wall just caved in, and Pearl... got stuck there.
KO'd.
WHOOSH...
Just then, Smoker zipped past Lancelot as a cloud of smoke, still chasing Krieg.
They made eye contact for a split second.
Smoker looked at the Pearl-shaped hole in the wall and his jaw just dropped.
This wasn't some random pirate.
This was Pearl, a 5-million-Beri guy and Krieg's #3.
Normal people don't just... do that to him.
But Smoker didn't stop.
He had a Krieg to catch.
"Got it..."
Lancelot, who was about to run, just stopped.
After all, with no more hostages, Smoker (a guy made of smoke) vs. Krieg (a guy in heavy armor)? Yeah, this was gonna be easy.
Lancelot decided to let him have this one.
So, dragging the unconscious "Iron Wall" Pearl by the leg, Lancelot headed back to the ship.
...
When he got back to the ship with Pearl, the thirty marines under his command all snapped to attention.
"Lieutenant!"
They all saluted him with real respect.
The original Lancelot never got that!
Lancelot let a little smile slip. "Lock this guy in the brig, too."
"Yes, Lieutenant!"
Two officers ran over, grabbed Pearl, and hauled him off to the ship's jail.
Half an hour later, Smoker (dragging an unconscious Krieg) and Tashigi came back.
The way they looked at Lancelot was... totally different.
It was like they were seeing him for the first time.
After a second, Tashigi actually stepped forward and bowed.
"Thankyouforsavingmeearlier!"
Lancelot just waved it off. "Eh, it's fine. We're all comarades. Gotta watch each other's backs, right?"
"Comrades..." Smoker repeated the word, like he was tasting a weird new food.
The hate he had for Lancelot was... fading.
And turning into... respect? Ugh.
"Your... performance... was pretty good," he grumbled. "I'll write it up. You'll probably get promoted. But don't expect to be a Captain overnight."
Tashigi looked jealous. "Captain! He single-handedly caught Gin and Pearl. He should at least promoted to Lieutenant Commander!"
Smoker nodded.
For the East Blue, this was a huge deal.
But then, Smoker got a smug look, like he'd figured something out.
"Oh, by the way... those townspeople you 'killed'? I checked. You missed all their vital organs. It looked horrible, but they'll all be fine in a month. You... you planned that whole psycho act, didn't you?"
Lancelot just shook his head. "Nope. Wrong. They're super dead. Every last one."
He looked Smoker right in the eye. "Captain, I want you to tell everyone I killed them. Make sure every pirate in the East Blue hears about it."
"Huh?!" Tashigi looked totally lost. "But... but that will ruin your reputation! Everyone will think you're a monster!"
Smoker was confused for a second... then his eyes went wide.
He finally got it.
There was even a hint of... respect... in his gaze.
Smoker stared at him. "You... you're doing this on purpose, aren't you? You're sacrificing your own reputation... so that every pirate in the East Blue hears that Lieutenant Lancelot is a psycho who will kill the hostage."
He took a breath. "You're making hostages... useless."
Tashigi froze, finally catching on.
"You're... letting everyone think you're a monster... just to stop pirates from ever taking hostages again?"
She knew this would make it way harder for him to get promoted.
The way Tashigi looked at Lancelot now... it was pure respect.
And maybe... just a little bit of a crush.