Lafitte's Sudden Arrival

"Who?!"

The guards instantly drew their guns, and the muzzles of more than a dozen flintlock pistols were all pointed at the uninvited guests on the ceiling.

Hawkeye's fingers were already on the hilt of the Black Blade, Kuma's hand holding the Bible paused slightly, and even Doflamingo raised an eyebrow, revealing an expression of surprise and pleasure.

"No, no, no, don't be nervous, gentlemen." The man chuckled softly, his figure gracefully twirling down from the chandelier like a light feather, landing steadily on the conference table.

His toes rested on the center of the polished tabletop, his cane lightly tapping the wood grain beneath his feet. He bowed slightly to the Five Elders at the far end of the long table, offering a standard and elegant bow.

"I am Lafitte, the navigator of the Blackbeard Pirates." He straightened up, a gentle yet dangerous smile playing on his lips. "I have come today on behalf of my captain, Marshall D. Teach, to recommend a candidate to the Five Elders."

The Five Elders ' gazes instantly sharpened.

Blackbeard's name has become increasingly well-known in the last two years.

From a defector from the Whitebeard Pirates to forming his own pirate crew, to becoming a user of the Dark-Dark Fruit, and then to escaping unscathed after a brief clash with the Uchiha Clan in the West Blue —this man's ambition and dangerousness have forced the World Government to place him on its list of top concerns.

And now, his men have actually dared to infiltrate Mary Geoise and stand in front of the Five Elders spouting nonsense.

"Insolence!" The Five Elders, their hands already on the hilts of their swords, said, "How dare you, a mere pirate, trespass on the Holy Land?"

"Hey, don't say that," Doflamingo suddenly spoke up, his tone full of inflammatory amusement. "To be able to slip through Mary Geoise's layers of defenses undetected, this navigator is quite skilled."

Since he's here to recommend candidates, why not listen to what he has to say? We're already struggling to find candidates, so having more options isn't a bad thing."

The Five Elders were silent for a moment. The long-bearded Five Elders slowly raised his hand, signaling the guards to step back. He looked at the polite, uninvited guest on the table, his eyes as cold as ice. "Speak."

Lafitte's smile deepened. He tucked his cane under his arm, spread his hands, and spoke the answer he had already prepared in the most sincere tone:

"My captain, Marshall D. Teach, is willing to take up the position of Shichibukai."

The council chamber was silent for a few seconds. Then, Doflamingo burst out laughing first. The laughter wasn't loud, but it was full of mockery and schadenfreude.

"Interesting, very interesting." He took off his sunglasses and wiped his eyes, unable to suppress his smile. "Today's meeting, first I heard you all discussing that Uchiha Natsu, and then some small fry from the Whitebeard gang Mary Geoise and offered himself up. Hey, hey, hey, are there more and more lunatics in this world?"

Hawkeye didn't speak, but his fingers never left the hilt of the Black Blade.

Kuma finally turned his gaze from the window to Lafitte, and a fleeting, elusive light flashed in those perpetually calm eyes.

The Five Elders exchanged glances, but none of them spoke immediately.

The meeting has only just begun.

Lafitte's words echoed several times in the empty council chamber before finally fading into the cold silence of the Five Elders.

He remained standing in the center of the conference table, his cane tucked under his arm, his hands outstretched, a polite yet unsettling smile playing on his lips, as if he were not standing at the table of the world's highest power center, but attending an ordinary afternoon tea party.

"Shichibukai?"

The Five Elders with their knives broke the silence first. Their voices were hoarse and low, like a blade scraping against a whetstone, each word carrying undisguised contempt and impatience.

His hand gripping the knife never loosened its grip on the hilt; his knuckles turned slightly white from the force, clearly indicating that he had reached his limit of patience with the pirate who dared to trespass on Holy Land.

"Blackbeard —if I remember correctly, a few months ago in the West Blue, he and his entire pirate crew couldn't even take down a single Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates."

The Five Elders, wielding their knives, stared at Lafitte with eyes like two cold, sharp awls.

"Ace is strong, but he's only the Second Division Commander. Marco, Jozu, Vista —those real monsters haven't even made their move yet."

"Your captain couldn't even handle Ace, and he was forced to flee in a sorry state from Uchiha Natsu, only surviving thanks to his men risking their lives to cover his retreat."

He paused, his voice growing increasingly somber. "This kind of trash dares to recommend himself in Mary Geoise?"

Lafitte's smile remained unchanged.

He even tilted his head slightly, adopting a posture of attentive listening, as if the Five Elders with the knife had not just insulted his captain, but were telling an amusing anecdote completely unrelated to them.

Only those who know him well can catch a fleeting glint of cold light in his slightly narrowed eyes.

"What you say is true, sir. I completely agree." Lafitte pulled his cane from under his arm and tapped it lightly on the table at his feet, his tone as gentle as if he were discussing the weather.

"In the battle in the West Blue, my captain did not manage to defeat Fire Fist Ace. But that was because Uchiha Natsu present at the time."

His gaze slowly swept over the five elders at the end of the long table, a subtle meaning appearing in his smile, "Gentlemen, you might consider this—on this vast ocean, how many people can escape unscathed right under the nose of the Void Demon Tamer Subduer?"

The Navy's 4,000 elite troops couldn't do it, the entire CP0 crew couldn't do it, Admiral Kizaru couldn't do it, even that esteemed Saint Charlos..."

He didn't finish speaking.

The temperature in the council chamber dropped several degrees. The faces of the Five Elders darkened almost simultaneously.

Doflamingo's smile grew even brighter. He leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and enjoyed the show. His pink feather coat gleamed eerily in the dim light.

Hawkeye remained expressionless, but his gaze had shifted from the window to Lafitte. Kuma, holding the Bible, remained silent as ever.

"Enough." The long-bearded Five Elders spoke coldly, his voice not loud, but successfully cutting off Lafitte's words. "The Five Elders are well aware of Blackbeard's behavior in the West Blue. If you're here today just to exonerate your captain, then you can get out."

"Quite the opposite, Your Excellency," Lafitte curtsied gracefully, "I am here not to explain the past, but to promise the future."

He straightened up, held his cane across his chest, and the smile on his lips finally underwent a subtle change—no longer the polite mask of before, but a deeper, more calculating and ambitious curve.

A glint of light flashed in those eyes in the dim light, like a snake that had finally caught the scent of its prey.