"Hey, Lawrence, are you really joining us?"
Molly stared at the man before her, still somewhat bewildered. She never expected that a dignified Marine Vice Admiral would join her pirate crew.
As for Zoro and the others, although they did not reject Lawrence, they were still wary of his joining them.
"Heh, what can I do if I don't join you? Having lost the Heavenly Tribute, if I go back to Marine Headquarters, the lightest punishment is spending the rest of my life in Impel Down."
Lawrence explained his situation to the group, especially how he had just won the position of Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral through the Navy's massive recruitment drive, only to be forced to join a pirate crew because of their robbery of the Heavenly Tribute.
Upon hearing this, Straw Hat Pirates members except Luffy showed a strange expression, especially Molly, who looked guilty.
Lawrence, however, didn't seem to care too much and instead comforted Molly.
"You don't need to feel guilty. I've seen through this world long ago. It's essentially a dog-eat-dog world with no rules whatsoever. It's normal that I lost to you."
Hearing Lawrence say this, the Straw Hat Pirates treated him much better, and even began to feel a sense of acceptance towards him.
Lawrence was able to infiltrate the Navy as an undercover agent, and he was very good at understanding people's hearts. In just half a day, he became friends with the Straw Hat Pirates.
" Lawrence, I'd like to know how you trained for that fighting style, which even managed to Luffy a minor setback."
Higgins looked at Lawrence, finding him particularly pleasing to the eye, and asked the question everyone wanted to know.
Although he was suppressed in his fight with Luffy, it's important to remember that Luffy is Admiral- level fighter whom Garp trained with death.
However, Lawrence's strength prevented him from defeating him in the short term, and he even launched a counterattack.
Lawrence paused for a moment, then lifted his shirt, revealing a body covered in scars, some of which were clearly fatal wounds; it was a miracle he had survived.
"Actually, I joined the Navy to find an opportunity to go to Mary Geoise for revenge. My homeland was destroyed by those scumbags, and I almost died. I only survived by sheer luck."
Lawrence's words were true. Most of the people Lin Yuan saved had similar experiences to his, and his fatal wound was inflicted at that time.
As for the other injuries, they were inflicted during training at the secret base. Not only him, but almost everyone had some kind of injury.
Hearing Lawrence's words, Molly felt her eyes well up with tears, and the others were also deeply moved.
Compared to Lawrence's plight, the Straw Hat Pirates were living a much better life.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, we ruined your plans."
Molly knew that Lawrence's plan was almost certainly doomed, but she still apologized to him.
"Haha, it's alright, there will be other opportunities in the future. We can find a way to get revenge then. But I wonder if you're still willing to keep my promise to Straw Hat Kid."
Upon hearing this, Zoro and the others turned their gazes to Luffy to the side; this matter still needed to be decided by him.
Luffy frowned slightly, sensing that something was off about Lawrence, but he also felt that what the other man had said just now was entirely true.
"Haha, of course! From now on, you'll be one of my crew members."
Everyone laughed when they heard Luffy finally make the decision.
"Oh, then welcome to the new member! Let's have a feast! Sanji, hurry up and make some delicious food."
"Yes, Miss Molly!"
Molly spoke up, Sanji eagerly ran off to show off his skills.
Lawrence looked at everyone, his brow furrowed, and then made a suggestion.
"Everyone, although we've obtained the Heavenly Tribute, I think the most important thing now is to leave this area as soon as possible. We also need to find another pirate ship, otherwise we'll attract even more marines."
As a pirate, Luffy would never use a warship as his pirate ship, and although the merchant ship he has just stolen is large, it is not the best choice as a pirate ship.
Therefore, they secretly agreed with Lawrence's proposal.
What are your suggestions?
Zoro asked, as the vice-captain of the pirate crew, he also wanted a better ship, and Lawrence, as a former Marine Vice Admiral, naturally had more information than them.
As for Luffy, the others didn't ask for his opinion; ultimately, it was best if he made the decision.
Lawrence paused for a moment, then spoke.
I have three suggestions, I don't know if they're acceptable.
Upon hearing that Lawrence actually had a solution, everyone became interested and hurriedly asked about it.
"Ahem, the first destination is Water 7. Although it's the territory of the Abyss Chamber of Commerce, they're just a merchant guild, so they won't refuse to help build ships."
"What about the others?"
It was Luffy who spoke; upon hearing the name " Abyss " Merchant Guild, he felt an instinctive resistance.
"The second point is a bit bold. You have to understand that over the years, the various naval branches and territories like Enies Lobby have captured a large number of pirate ships every year."
"They've already snapped up many of the high-quality ones, and they're not very strong. If we take down just one of them, we can get the ships we want."
"As for the third point, it's about heading to the New World. The pirates there are all great pirates now. Any pirate ship that can venture into the New World is bound to be of high quality. We can steal it and then modify it to suit our needs."
"This will save us a lot of time. After all, building a new ship requires not only a lot of Beli, but also the availability of high-quality materials."
Lawrence explained everything in great detail, even analyzing all the major pirates from the Grand Line to the New World, especially their power and influence, Lawrence knew almost everything about.
Zoro, Molly, Fisher, and Higgins exchanged glances, their faces filled with excitement; it seemed they had found a treasure.
Previously, they acted solely on Luffy's decisions, with almost no clear purpose, going wherever their thoughts led them, without understanding much about the maritime forces; they just stubbornly went for it.
Now, with Lawrence's analysis, they can avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble. Coupled with the improvement in everyone's strength, they are definitely capable of achieving great things.
With that in mind, Molly couldn't wait to tell Lawrence about their plan and see what he thought.
When Lawrence heard that Luffy and his crew wanted to challenge one of the Five Emperors first, then claim the title of Emperor before attacking Lin Yuan, he almost couldn't help but laugh.
"Ahem, if Luffy and Zoro really break through their limits, then challenging Kaido won't be a problem, and even becoming an Emperor Pirates crew won't be difficult."
"However, I estimate that your attempt to challenge Lin Yuan is simply impossible."
"Why? Is his strength really that terrifying?"
Upon hearing their questions, Lawrence felt disdain. With the Straw Hat Pirates ' strength, any commander leading a small team could easily wipe them out.
Even if they have two Admiral with great strength, so what? You have to know that one of their squads has more than a hundred people. They can wear one down by sheer force.
"Yes, it's even more terrifying than you imagine. The Navy has issued an order: never provoke Lin Yuan, or you will be kicked out of the Navy."
At this point, Lawrence hesitated for a moment, then looked at Luffy and slowly said.
"I also have another piece of news related to Luffy: some people are speculating that Vice Admiral Garp might still be alive."
"What did you say!!!"