Chapter 89: Pirate King? I Look Down on You!

In the Real World

Crocodile lay battered, bruised, and humiliated after Lucas's Emission Haki assault. But even in his weakened state, he had no intention of surrendering.

Through bloodied lips, Crocodile sneered. "You think you can recruit me? Whitebeard tried to recruit me once—and I didn't agree to that, either."

Lucas laughed, his voice dripping with condescension. "Yeah, but I'm not Whitebeard. I don't need to be called 'Dad.'"

Crocodile's face darkened. 'That's not what I meant, you bastard…'

But Lucas wasn't done. He stared at Crocodile, his eyes calm and piercing, as if he were looking right through him.

"You're getting old, Crocodile. Isn't it time you faced the truth? You've got limited potential. You don't even have the talent to be among the world's top fighters—and you still think you can be Pirate King? Don't make me laugh."

Crocodile's anger flared. "Talent doesn't determine everything! Don't you even understand that?"

Lucas shrugged, unfazed. "Of course I understand. Talent doesn't determine everything. But if you don't have talent, you can always cheat. And guess what? I'm a cheater. But you? You're just… pathetic."

Nearby, Daz Bonez—Agent No. 1—glared at Lucas, his voice rising with anger. "That's enough! Do you even realize what you're saying? You're humiliating a hero of the sea!"

Lucas kicked Crocodile's limp form again, smirking. "You're right! This guy was a hero back in the day. He even had the guts to rush up and cover Whitebeard in sand."

Daz's face turned dark, while Crocodile's cheeks flushed with a mixture of rage and embarrassment.

In the Chat Group

Golden Lion Shiki burst into uncontrollable laughter.

Golden Lion Shiki: "Whitebeard, is that true? This punk rushed up to you, threw sand in your face, and then you wanted to adopt him as your son?"

Whitebeard roared, his fury echoing through the chat.

Whitebeard: "Shut up, you nasty, stupid lion!"

Pirate King Roger chimed in, grinning.

Pirate King Roger: "Whitebeard, I'm not one to criticize, but your habit of adopting every kid you meet needs to stop. Not everyone wants to be your son."

Fire Fist Ace: "I do!"

Pirate King Roger: "…"

Sword God Ryuma: "I agree with what Lucas said earlier. He's a cheater—no amount of talent can compete with that."

Gold Thief Woonan: "Exactly! We spent our whole lives honing our skills, and this guy becomes the strongest just by receiving red envelopes in the group."

Lucas: "I don't approve of your jealousy, but I firmly defend your right to be jealous of me."

Golden Lion Shiki: "Since you put it that way… what else can I say?"

Pirate King Roger: "Nothing to say!"

Back in the Real World

Crocodile's expression flickered between rage and contemplation. After a long, tense silence, he finally spoke.

"What's your ambition, Lucas?" he asked, his voice quieter but no less intense.

Lucas pondered for a moment before replying, his tone calm and unwavering. "To change the world."

Crocodile arched an eyebrow. "You don't want to be Pirate King?"

Lucas scoffed, his disdain evident. "I don't give a damn about being Pirate King."

Crocodile stared at Lucas for a moment before a grin slowly spread across his bruised face. "You're such an arrogant bastard… but I like it."

Lucas raised an eyebrow, sensing the shift in Crocodile's demeanor. He chuckled. "You've made a very wise decision."

If Crocodile had refused, Lucas wouldn't have hesitated to kick him and Daz into the sea to become fish food. But with Crocodile agreeing to serve under him, Lucas had secured yet another powerful ally.

In the Chat Group

Golden Lion Shiki sighed dramatically.

Golden Lion Shiki: "What a pity! Another ambitious young pirate gives up his dreams to work under someone else."

Lucas: "That's not how I'd put it. Let's just say he took a detour on his road to chasing his dreams. If he hadn't messed with me, he could've continued playing the dreamer."

Pirate King Roger seized the opportunity to stir the pot.

Pirate King Roger: "You know, I've noticed something—ambitious people rarely have happy endings. Just look at Shiki. Or Shiki. Or… well, Shiki again. Oh, and now Crocodile."

Golden Lion Shiki: "Oh, shut up! And by the way, Mr. Pirate King, you planned to overthrow the World Government. Aren't you an ambitious guy?"

Pirate King Roger: "Uh… well, when you put it like that, I guess I was. But still, I didn't have a happy ending either!"

Lucas: "Honestly, for you guys, that was a happy ending. Maybe it's not legendary, but it's at least Ten Thousand Years status."

Pirate King Roger: "…"

Golden Lion Shiki: "'Ten Thousand Years'—well said!"

Gold Thief Woonan piped up, curiosity in his voice. "Wait, is there anyone who actually accomplished their grand ambitions? Unlike Shiki or Crocodile?"

Lucas: "Oh, there is."

Gold Thief Woonan: "Who?"

Golden Lion Shiki: "I want to know too!"

Pirate King Roger: "You mean someone actually succeeded?"

Lucas: "Of course. But they only existed in the past. Now, they're no longer around."

Whitebeard: "I've got a bad feeling… You're not talking about Blackbeard Teach, are you?"

Lucas: "That's right. It's him."

Golden Lion Shiki immediately objected.

Golden Lion Shiki: "Blackbeard doesn't count! He's not ambitious—he's just a gambler! He lurked on Whitebeard's ship for decades, but what grand plans did he make during that time? Nothing!"

Golden Lion Shiki scoffed, his voice thick with disdain.

Golden Lion Shiki: "Look, the reason Crocodile and I were lurking was to carry out our plans. We had long-term goals, strategies that took years to unfold. But Blackbeard? That bastard wasn't planning anything. He was just sitting around, waiting for a Devil Fruit to pop up!"

Shiki continued, his frustration growing.

Golden Lion Shiki: "Crocodile and I had everything under control. The timing, the execution—it was all predictable. But Blackbeard? He didn't even know when his wait would end. It was all just dumb luck!"

Lucas nodded thoughtfully.

Lucas: "True, even after Blackbeard got the Dark-Dark Fruit, his plans were all short-term. Calculating the World Government and the Whitebeard Pirates wasn't some grand, twenty-year strategy like yours or Crocodile's."

After hearing this, Senju Tobirama chimed in.

Senju Tobirama: "Let's not comment on Blackbeard's character for now. But as a careerist, he was still relatively successful. If he hadn't met the group leader, he'd definitely have carved out a place for himself in the sea."

Golden Lion Shiki sighed dramatically.

Golden Lion Shiki: "What a pity! Such an excellent careerist… and now he's gone. By the way, weren't all of Blackbeard Teach's men supposed to have scattered after his death?"

Lucas: "Yep! They barely escaped with their lives back then, but guess what? They've come crawling back now."

Whitebeard: "They were involved in today's chaos?"

Lucas: "That's right. My Shadow Clone ran into them just now and sent me the update."

Whitebeard: "Gurarararara! They can be considered your enemies now. Insulting them after injury isn't surprising at all."

Lucas: "Whitebeard, you're taking this well. But if I recall correctly, weren't these the same bastards who helped kill you in the end?"

Back in the Real World

Lucas placed one hand on Crocodile's shoulder and turned to Daz Bonez. "I'm leaving this to you. Clean up this mess and report back when it's done."

The members of Crocodile's crew were still unconscious, laid out on the deck from the earlier burst of Conqueror's Haki. Daz would stay behind to handle things while Lucas dealt with more pressing matters.

Without another word, Lucas activated the Flying Thunder God Technique. In an instant, he and Crocodile vanished from the ship and reappeared on an island under the Whitebeard Pirates' control.

On the Island

The island was in chaos.

Fighting Champion Burgess, Poison Doctor Q, Devil Sheriff Lafitte, Sniper Van Augur, and other original members of the Blackbeard Pirates were wreaking havoc—burning and looting everything in sight.

These weren't the criminals Blackbeard had broken out of Impel Down. No, these were the men Blackbeard had personally recruited. They were his true confidants, fundamentally different from opportunists like Shiryu of the Rain.

For example:

Fighting Champion Burgess wasn't as powerful as Shiryu, but he was the No. 1 Captain of the Blackbeard Pirates, outranking Shiryu himself.

Burgess laughed maniacally, raising his fists high before smashing them into a nearby building, reducing it to rubble.

"Uiihahaha! Captain Teach, today we're gonna avenge you!"

Meanwhile, Poison Doctor Q was sprawled lazily on his emaciated horse, a bottle of liquor dangling from his fingers. His voice was slurred but filled with bitterness.

"Ah, how things have changed. Back when Teach was alive, we were the top dogs of the Four Emperors. Now, we're nothing but stray dogs… and it's all thanks to that bastard, Lucas."

A soft, mocking voice interrupted their lamentations.

"My fault."

The words drifted through the air like a chilling breeze. Lucas appeared in front of the Blackbeard Pirates, Crocodile standing beside him.

Burgess froze mid-laugh, his fists dropping to his sides. The rest of the crew went stiff, their eyes widening in shock and terror.

"Lucas?!"

"C-Crocodile?!"

The bitterness and bravado that had filled the air moments before evaporated. The Blackbeard Pirates looked like deflated balloons, their confidence shattered like glass.

"No way… how are you here?!"

"Did that bastard Joker lie to us?!"

Panic spread like wildfire among the crew. Their eyes darted around, desperate for an escape route.

They hated Lucas, sure—but fight him? That was suicide.

They had witnessed Lucas's power firsthand when Blackbeard was killed. They knew that standing against him now would be like walking into their own graves.

"Captain Teach! It's not that we won't avenge you… it's just that he's too strong!"

Lucas rolled his eyes. "So noisy."

With a slight tilt of his head, an invisible pressure erupted from his body. The wave of Conqueror's Haki swept through the area like a tidal wave.

The weaker pirates brought along by Burgess and the others collapsed instantly, their bodies hitting the ground with heavy thuds.

Lucas turned his cold gaze to the remaining Blackbeard captains.

"Alright… now it's your turn."

He smirked, stepping aside to reveal Crocodile.

"You could've handled this yourself, Lucas. Why'd you bring me along?" Crocodile muttered, eyeing the Blackbeard Pirates with mild irritation.

Lucas chuckled. "Of course I brought you here to handle them! Why else would I drag you along?"

Burgess stiffened, his face contorting in disbelief. "Crocodile… you've decided to be someone else's dog now?"

Crocodile's eyes narrowed, and a sneer curled across his lips.

"You? You don't even have the qualifications to be a dog. You're just here to die."

He moved his body, wincing slightly as the pain from Lucas's earlier Haki-infused attacks flared up. His muscles ached, his breathing was labored, and his fighting ability was far from its peak.

Glancing sideways at Lucas, Crocodile muttered, "Your Armament Haki really did a number on me. My combat ability's seriously affected."

But even in his weakened state, Crocodile's pride burned brightly. He knew exactly why Lucas had brought him here—to remind him of the price of failure… and to give him a chance to reclaim his dignity.

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