"Doesn't that make us all grandkids?"
Jozu's innocent, wide-eyed question dropped like a bomb.
The deck fell into dead silence.
Back on the Marine warship, Luoyu—who had just landed and was about to step onto the deck—stumbled, nearly falling flat on his face.
He'd been using Observation Haki the whole time, keeping tabs on whether Whitebeard might suddenly go berserk and chase him down.
He hadn't expected to pick up… that.
He'd already pushed it by making Whitebeard a "dad."
Now someone had turned the entire crew into grandkids.
Whitebeard looked out at the deck full of sons he'd spent a lifetime gathering, only to realize they'd all just been demoted to grandsons.
His whole life… wasted.
"Brat! Get back here! I swear I won't kill you with one strike!"
Whitebeard's roar echoed across the sea like thunder.
Luoyu burst out laughing, quickly taking a swig of his earthen brew to suppress it.
He prided himself on being able to hold in a laugh.
But this? This was pushing it.
Back on the Moby Dick, Shanks and his crew were dying inside.
"Captain… can we go now? I'm about to choke on this meat," Lucky Roux whispered, tears in his eyes, nose running.
If not for the very real threat of Whitebeard's naginata, he would've burst out laughing.
Even Beckman's face twitched.
Shanks's cheek muscles spasmed as he struggled to keep a straight face under Whitebeard's murderous glare.
"Pops… should we go after him?" Marco asked, trying to change the subject.
He still hadn't recovered from being branded a "grandson."
Everyone tensed.
Sure, Luoyu had said some outrageous things.
But they were… kind of true.
Would chasing him down really be worth it?
"Gurararara! Relax, Marco. I said I'd let him go, and I meant it," Whitebeard laughed, finally releasing his naginata and slumping into his chair.
"Besides, anyone willing to come all this way for Ace… I won't make things harder for him."
"Now then—Atmos, why are you standing there fidgeting? Spit it out. I'll let it slide that you brought him here without asking."
Atmos's face froze. He looked down at the intel file in his hand, his expression bitter.
"Pops… can I not say it?"
"Not say it?" Whitebeard raised an eyebrow. "What could possibly be that bad?"
"Come on. Even if the sky falls, I'll hold it up. Who knew the Navy still had sentimental brats like that? Sengoku really lucked out."
His booming laughter echoed across the deck.
Atmos hesitated.
Jozu, curious, snatched the file from his hands.
Marco's nerves spiked. He lunged in and intercepted it.
"You diamond-headed oaf. I don't trust you with this. Let me read it before you cause another disaster."
He flipped it open.
And froze.
"Marco? What is it?" Jozu peeked over his shoulder—and froze too.
Everyone turned to look.
Even Whitebeard.
And when they saw what was written—
"YOU LITTLE BRAT!" Whitebeard's voice cracked like a thunderclap. "You did all this for a ten-million-Berry bonus? You kidnapped one of Kaido's mutts to extort him, then came here to cozy up to me?"
"Your so-called loyalty is worth ten million? Next time I see you, I'm cutting you in half!"
Far away, the Marine warship was already sailing at full throttle.
The crew could still hear Whitebeard's furious roars and feel the waves of Conqueror's Haki crashing behind them.
Everyone was drenched in cold sweat.
Watching Luoyu return in one piece—completely unharmed—felt like waking from a dream.
"What?" Luoyu said, taking a swig. "I know I'm good-looking, but staring like that is a bit much, don't you think?"
He finally let his Observation Haki fade, now certain Whitebeard wasn't chasing him.
After all this, Luoyu figured he could say Whitebeard and Shanks were in cahoots and people would believe him.
All that was left was to call Sengoku and file his report.
Once that bonus hit the system, his silver ten-pull wouldn't be a dream anymore.
"Admiral Luoyu… only you would still be cracking jokes at a time like this," Gion said with a weary smile.
"When Fleet Admiral Sengoku found out you went to meet two Emperors for a ten-million bonus, the entire HQ went into an uproar."
"He even offered to double your bonus if you turned back immediately. But… it was too late."
"Twenty million?" Luoyu nearly choked on his drink.
He felt like he'd just brushed past a hundred-million-Berry jackpot.
If he'd known, he wouldn't have had to play the grandson card at all.
But then… a bold idea crossed his mind.
"Brat, I know what you're thinking!" Sengoku's voice exploded from the Den Den Mushi in Gion's hand. "You made it back alive, so don't even think about extorting me for more bonus!"
"Performance pay can't exceed twice your base salary. That's a hard rule. Even I can't change it!"
Everything that had just happened—Sengoku wasn't the only one listening.
The entire Marine HQ had been following the live commentary.
No one knew exactly what had gone down on that ship.
But the fact that Luoyu had returned alive—and unscathed—was beyond belief.
"Ahem… Fleet Admiral Sengoku, you're overthinking it," Luoyu said, taking the Den Den Mushi. "I'd never dream of visiting all the Emperors one by one. You're making me sound like a lunatic."
"That said, I did just defuse a major panic over the Yonko summit. I think it's only fair we revisit the Admiral base salary, don't you?"