"Someone that important wouldn't show up here unless something serious was going on."
"And no one can ever tell what that guy is thinking."
"There's no predicting what he'll do this time."
"That's what worries me most."
Ben Beckman was known as the pirate with the highest IQ in the world. Everyone considered him a formidable opponent.
To the Marine commanders, Beckman was every bit as troublesome as an Emperor of the Sea.
So when Vice Admiral Stainless saw Beckman, concern rose in him.
Especially after the look Beckman had given them before leaving.
It was hard not to wonder what he had in mind.
Vice Admiral Ronse, a cigarette between his lips, said gravely, "Ben Beckman really is trouble."
"He's harder to deal with than Katakuri, Jack the Drought, and Marco put together."
"If he's planning something, we may never see it coming."
"We'd better be careful around him."
That was the measure of Beckman's reputation among the Marine commanders.
Vice Admiral John Giant raised his booming voice. "Maybe those newspaper reports weren't baseless after all."
"Perhaps Beckman came here to help the Chris Pirates."
"That would make him a likely enemy."
"And taking him on won't be easy!"
John Giant's booming voice caught everyone around him off guard.
Vice Admiral Momonga stroked his thin mustache and said evenly, "If that's true, we do have a problem."
"Beckman alone isn't the main concern."
"It's the entire Red Hair Pirates behind him."
"Taking him on would mean a complete break with them."
"And there's no telling what would happen after that."
For years, clashes between the Marines and the Four Emperors Pirates had remained minor.
Neither side had dared make a major move.
Neither was prepared to throw everything into a fight to the death.
They both had too much