Luo Yu stumbled, nearly falling flat on the ground.
Turning around, he stared at Hancock's flushed, glowing face.
"Is this... that legendary 'love-brain' syndrome?"
No matter what he said—once it passed through her ears, it magically transformed into a love confession?
"You all heard that, didn't you?"Hancock's voice floated over sweetly."He just called me Little Jingjing!"
Luo Yu felt helpless.
What the hell is going on?!
Suddenly, a classic line came to mind:
"Back when we watched the moon together, you called me Little Sweetie.Now that the new has replaced the old, I've become Madam Ox?"
And now what?
He had somehow picked up a "Little Jingjing"?
This was getting too ridiculous.
Everyone nearby had gone completely dumbstruck.
Smoker bit down hard on his cigar, rubbing his eyes."This has got to be fake… same as before. The Pirate Empress is definitely testing Admiral Luo Yu again."
The others nodded silently, almost with desperation.
After all, in their minds, Hancock was always the untouchable empress—The most beautiful woman in the world.
It was much easier to believe this was all some act…Than to accept that their goddess had truly fallen.
On the other side, Granny Nyon and the other Kuja warriors were also stunned.
Watching their once proud and aloof empress now acting like a shy neighborhood girl—
They rushed forward to escort Hancock away.
Test or not, it didn't matter anymore.
As long as this helped mend the tense relationship between the Kuja Pirates and Marine Headquarters—
That alone was more than enough.
"Oi, brat! Don't forget Sengoku gave you a new assignment!"Garp's voice called after Luo Yu as he turned to leave."I'll handle escorting the rest of the Shichibukai for now!"
This mission arrangement, truthfully, had been made to help Luo Yu avoid the spotlight.
Still, Garp sincerely hoped the kid would complete the task well—So no one could hold it against him later.
"Old man," Luo Yu smiled warmly, "it's been a while since you've gone on a mission. Making you clean up after me like this... I feel a little bad."
That smile, however, made both Garp and Tsuru's facial muscles twitch wildly.
Tsuru immediately snapped, "Luo Yu! Don't you dare bring up performance bonuses again! You already shattered the Gate of Justice earlier! If Sengoku hears about that, he'll drop dead from rage!"
"This is just a basic surveillance mission—just to make sure Whitebeard and Shanks don't clash."
"If you ask for bonuses again, it's going too far!"
After observing Luo Yu's personality for this long—
They'd long since learned:Behind that gentle smile... was always a greedy demand.
Now, with the plaza still in ruins—anyone else would be bracing for punishment.
But Luo Yu?
He'd shamelessly be negotiating a raise.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, now you're just killing my motivation," Luo Yu said, rolling his eyes.He took another swig of his dirt-grade liquor and added,"But… if I can figure out the real reason Shanks and Whitebeard are meeting—"
"That intel would be invaluable, right? Enough to request a nice little 10 million bonus, yes?"
Ten million bonus?!
Tsuru's expression froze.
"You mean you can actually figure out why the Yonko are meeting?"
For years, Marine Headquarters had done everything they could to track the Yonko.
But whether it was Vice Admirals, Admiral candidates like Momousagi or Tokikake—Even the three Admirals themselves—
They'd only been able to monitor from afar.
Getting actual inside info on a Yonko summit?
That was like asking a fish to fly.
Yet here was Luo Yu—talking like he could pull it off.
It made Tsuru's brain spiral into a wild, ridiculous thought:
If the bonus was big enough… would Luo Yu even dare take on the Yonko themselves?!
"Kid, this isn't the time to joke around!" Garp warned with a serious tone."Whitebeard alone is enough of a headache. Now you want to throw Red-Haired Shanks into the mix?"
"If something goes wrong, even I can't save you!"
Tsuru nodded."Admiral Luo Yu, Garp is right. As tempting as bonuses are—"
"We don't want to see you risk your life for them."
"You're still young, with a future full of potential. Don't throw it all away."
Even Smoker and the others fell silent.
Against the Yonko who ruled the New World—Even one of them required full military preparation.
Now two of them were meeting?
That was enough to make Marineford sweat bullets.
No wonder a top admiral had to go in person.
So when Luo Yu casually suggested he could snoop on them—
Everyone felt like he was dancing on the edge of a volcano.
But Luo Yu had no plans to back off.
Sensing all eyes on him, he calmly adjusted his glasses and said:
"Don't worry, Vice Admiral Tsuru. I'm not dumb enough to throw my life away."
"But—if I can safely uncover the purpose of their meeting, and report back to HQ—"
"That deserves at least ten million in bonuses, doesn't it?"
Ten million?!
Tsuru visibly winced.
She sighed, "Admiral Luo Yu, there are countless pirates in the New World with bounties. Why not just go hunt them instead of fixating on bonuses?"
"Is it really worth risking everything for ten million?"
Over the past few weeks, she'd come to understand one thing:
This seemingly money-grubbing boy—Was a complete contrarian.
The simplest, most profitable routes? He skipped them.
Instead, he obsessed over scraps—salaries and structured bonuses.
As the Navy's Chief Strategist, Tsuru was constantly getting headaches over this kid.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, pirate bounties are tempting, sure," Luo Yu said with a grin, draining the rest of his bottle.
"But this is a matter of principle."
"I'm a working man. If I don't value my own compensation—how can I claim to stand for justice?"
Deep inside, Luo Yu was already complaining.
Of course those multi-billion bounties were attractive.
But his system didn't recognize them!
Even if he wiped out the entire New World, it would be for nothing.
So rather than waste time chasing pirates for useless bounties—
He'd rather play it smart and slowly scheme his way to a paycheck.
That ten-million bonus?
He didn't pull that number from thin air.
After poring over Marine HQ's payroll policies, he knew:
Unless a task involved pirate capture or major military success—
Bonus rewards would not exceed double base pay.
The rest would be converted into military merit points instead.
This system was designed to keep the Navy's war chest fluid and sustainable—Rather than bleeding funds by cashing out every bounty.
So yes—Hunting pirates sounded great on paper.
But for Luo Yu, only one thing mattered:
What does the system count as legitimate performance?
If it's not bonus-worthy, it's not worth doing.