"Vice Admiral? Who?"

Lucas, who had taken the time to come back from the New World, was invited to drink tea in the office of his direct boss. When he heard the news delivered to him by Qing Pheasant, he was stunned for a moment and did not react.

Qing Zhi lay lazily on the sofa, wearing an eye mask and crossing his legs.

He repeated again, "You heard me right, the superiors have decided to promote you to Vice Admiral. It will be a matter of time anyway. Congratulations, Lucas, the youngest Vice Admiral in history."

Lucas was not dazzled by this sudden joy. He was a little confused, "...Have I done something? Is the promotion system of vice admiral such a child's play?"

Has he done anything notable recently?

It seems not. Even though he was stationed in the Hali Kingdom in the name of guarding against the conspiracy of the Big Mom Pirates, he did not conflict with the other party. After the red hair and white beard appeared in the Hali Kingdom one after another, the Big Mom Pirates

The person who was placed there left silently.

...Will the superiors reward him for such a thing?

"Before I explain it to you, you have to answer me a question first."

Aokiji took off his blindfold, sat up straight, and looked at Lucas seriously, "When you were in the Hahali Kingdom, what did you do when you went to Whitebeard's ship alone?"

Lucas didn't mean that the other party would ask this question, so he just said what he had already prepared.

"At that time, when the white-bearded and red-haired emperors met, if there was any friction, it would be a large-scale war with unpredictable losses. So I simply went to explore the enemy's situation first so that I could make preparations. Fortunately,

They just had a party and left."

"How brave you are to dare to go deep into the tiger's den alone."

Qingzhi knew that the other party was not telling the truth, but he continued what he said, "It is precisely because of your courage to face the two Yonko that the upper management was deeply moved. They thought that you should not be allowed to hold the position of Major General again."

It’s really too humiliating to continue doing this, so I’m going to make an exception and lift you up.”

Aokiji's serious attitude made Lucas laugh, "This is not your style of speaking, Mr. Aokiji."

"So why did Warring States ask me to tell you this?"

The political affairs of Qingzhi's officialdom were extremely troublesome. Since the other party's ideas were not inconsistent with his, Qingzhi simply told the truth——

"No matter what the purpose was for you to go to Whitebeard's ship, the fact that you came back safely without any harm still made them panic."

"Why?"

"Is the lion's territory so easy to trample on? Whitebeard's strength lies not only in his own strength, but also in his leadership charisma that we have to admire even as enemies. Many people who once wanted to take his head ended up

They were all impressed by his style and became a member of the Whitebeard Pirates. Do you understand what I mean?"

Qing Zhi felt that what he had expressed was very clear.

"So... you are afraid that I will follow Whitebeard, so you want to use a larger official position to stabilize me."

Lucas never expected such an outrageous reason. He couldn't help laughing and said, "I have to thank Whitebeard for allowing me to get such a big deal?"

"If you are not strong enough, the position of Vice Admiral will not be yours."

Aokiji told him not to think too much. He stood up and patted Lucas on the shoulder, encouraging him -

"Although it may be a little too early, you deserve it, Lucas. I look forward to your future. Your words will definitely make greater changes in the world."

"You praise me too much, Mr. Qingji."

Lucas laughed and said, "I'm just trying to do my job well."

"...If you feel stressed, just think that what I just said is fart."

Aoki changed to a more intimate gesture and touched the other person's head like an elder. He asked tentatively, "Does it make you uncomfortable to be treated like this? Lucas."

"Not really, actually I don't pay much attention to this kind of formal thing, I just-"

A trace of loneliness flashed in Lucas's eyes, "I didn't expect this day to come so soon."

Only Lucas knew what it would mean on the day he became Vice Admiral.

——

Now that Rai has recovered her memory, she can just let her decide whether to stay or go. She got the same answer from Rai's mouth again and again. She even used the cheating move of rolling around, but Shanks couldn't succeed.

Pry Ley onto his ship.

"Do you know that if you are so cruel and ruthless, you may lose me forever?"

Facing a red-haired man who looked like a widowed old man with tears in his eyes, Rai calmly made a "walk slowly without seeing him off" gesture.

"Say hello to everyone for me, Mr. Shanks."

"...Why are you suddenly calling me such an unfamiliar name? Do you dislike me?"

"Okay, boss, don't embarrass yourself anymore."

Beckman pulled Shanks behind him. He raised the corners of his mouth and patted Rai's head lovingly, "I never got the chance to say thank you for many things that happened before. Thank you, Rai."

Rai, who knew what Beckman wanted to express, also rubbed Beckman's palm affectionately, "You're welcome. I'm very happy to be able to travel with you before."

"Let me go, Beckman. I still have something to tell Ley. It's something very important."

Shanks and Beckman changed their positions. He put his hands on Rai's shoulders and looked directly into each other's eyes with a serious face. He wanted to explain something very important, but he didn't make a sound, he just moved.

Moved his lips.

‘…’

——

The red-haired pirate group's ship left the waters of the Hahari Kingdom and headed towards the next island.

A bunch of people on the ship were in a state of drunkenness in the tavern, and the pirates who had missed meeting Rai hugged each other and cried in regret.

Beckman stepped over his comrade who was crying into a corpse, walked to the bow, stood next to Shanks and lit a cigarette. He looked up at the sky and blew smoke rings.

"Knowing the danger hidden in the Whitebeard Pirates, why didn't you tell her the real culprit who hurt your eye?"

"...the timing is wrong. Saying it at this time makes me look like a bad person."

Shanks smiled helplessly and said, "I don't want to create conflicts in other people's families."

"So you're not worried?"

"...Actually, I trust Rai very much. I think she should be able to detect it. I originally planned not to say anything, but in the end I couldn't help but reveal a little to her. The rest... I'll leave it to her

Let her."

"What a pity..."

Shanks touched his left arm. Until now, he still had no real feeling for what he had lost and found. His red hair was ruffled by the sea breeze, and the curve of the corners of his mouth seemed to be smoothed out by the wind.

"I don't know when we will meet next time."

——

Watch out for Tikki.

Rai kept Shanks' words in her mind before she left. She looked at Marco who was obviously asking her a question, "You've been staying with me all morning, as if you were in custody for fear that the prisoner would escape."

Just like my navy."

"Everyone is worried that you will follow the red hair and run away."

Marco smiled and rubbed her head, "That's why you asked me to check on you."

"Although it happened when I lost my memory, I like everyone in the Whitebeard Pirates very much. I will not leave without saying anything."

Ley grabbed Marco's hand and muttered, "Stop rubbing it. What if I don't grow taller in the future?"

"That's not good."

Marco picked up Rai with one hand and put her on his shoulder, "Why don't you take advantage of the fact that I can still carry you and feel the scenery from higher places."

"Hate!"

Ley's angry face pressed on Marco's head.

——

"What? You still want to leave?"

Yi Zang pinched Lai's chubby cheeks and said, "You little heartless child, why are you so immature?"

Rai, who let Izo move his hands up and down, said softly, "I'm sorry, but I guess I won't be here for long."

"Did something happen?"

After Rai explained that he was leaving, Whitebeard, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke up, "If you encounter any problems, you might as well speak up and let us solve them together."

The excuse that Rai prepared at the beginning was to use her to find her "lost" partner to leave. Therefore, she also wronged Enichi Jiguo and Tong Mo to continue to maintain the ghost body, but when she touched Whitebeard's pair of

With loving and tolerant eyes, she suddenly couldn't tell such a lie.

"Dad, what is your dream?"

Rai lay on Whitebeard's lap and asked him.

"My dream has come true - to have a family of my own."

Whitebeard smiled and said, "Child, where is your dream?"
To be continued...