Lucas had no idea what was going on at the port.
And frankly, he didn't care.
Right now, the only thing on his mind was catching more wanted criminals more than Rayleigh.
Since he'd agreed to a competition with Rayleigh, he never intended to lose.
But just as he was closing in on his sixth target, the explosion at the port caused a flood of onlookers to swarm the streets, and the target slipped into the crowd.
Without hesitation, Lucas followed.
Blending in with the crowd, he steadily drew closer to his mark, ready to strike.
But out of nowhere, Rayleigh suddenly appeared, and right in front of him, knocked out the man he was about to capture.
Then, with startling speed, Rayleigh slung the unconscious target over his shoulder and disappeared into the crowd like lightning.
Before vanishing, he even turned and shot Lucas a smug grin.
Lucas: "..."
He did that on purpose.
That bastard Rayleigh definitely did it on purpose.
Lucas sighed in silence. Now, he had no choice but to find a new target.
Just as he was turning to head back, his eyes caught movement at the mouth of a nearby alleyway.
Standing there, looking around suspiciously, was a man with a spiky rooster haircut Bartolomeo clutching a sword.
Lucas's gaze dropped to the blade.
Was that the Sandai Kitetsu? What the hell was that cursed blade doing in his hands?
Before Lucas could dwell on it further, Bartolomeo spotted him.
Their eyes met.
A visible excitement lit up Bartolomeo's face.
Lucas: "..."
Yep. He was looking for me.
As Bartolomeo came barreling toward him, Lucas didn't hesitate.
He bolted out of the crowd and ran.
The last thing he needed was to get entangled with that lunatic.
But even with his speed, Lucas was unfamiliar with the winding streets of Loguetown.
In a narrow alley, he found himself suddenly blocked off by a local.
Bartolomeo, grinning and still clutching the Sandai Kitetsu, stood in front of him, thrilled.
"I finally found you, the guy who caught a bullet with his bare hands!" he beamed.
Lucas: "..."
Bartolomeo, with great fanfare, held out the Sandai Kitetsu. "I saw how obsessed you were with this blade at the weapons shop this morning you must really like it. Here, take it! It's yours!"
Lucas glanced at the sword and sighed internally.
When had he ever looked "obsessed" with that cursed thing?
Bartolomeo, undeterred by Lucas's silence, kept going. "Haha! I get it. You're probably feeling shy about taking such a gift for free, right? No worries! This is just a token of friendship! I, Bartolomeo, hereby invite you to become my insanely powerful right-hand man!"
Lucas didn't even pause. "I refuse."
Expression blank, he walked past Bartolomeo without another word.
"Huh?" Bartolomeo blinked, then quickly doubled back to block him again, pleading seriously, "I'm the boss of three whole streets now! If you join me, I promise you'll live the good life feasts every day, and no one would dare mess with you!"
Lucas didn't respond, brushing past him again.
Devastated, Bartolomeo whipped out the sword from its sheath and pointed it at Lucas. "Hey! I'm being serious here! How can you just reject me like that?!"
But the moment the blade left its sheath, a shiver ran through Bartolomeo.
He hadn't meant to actually attack, but his body moved on its own, lunging forward with the sword raised high.
"W-Wait what's going on?! My body's moving by itself... Hey! Look out!" he shouted in panic.
Lucas sidestepped.
The slash missed completely.
When Bartolomeo raised the sword again, Lucas struck. A sharp chop landed squarely on his wrist, knocking the blade from his grip.
Bartolomeo recoiled in pain and the cursed sword clattered to the ground.
His body returned to normal.
Staring at his hands, then at the weapon on the ground, Bartolomeo shivered. "What the hell kind of cursed blade is that? It made me attack someone!"
Lucas replied coolly, "Only the weak-willed get controlled by their weapons."
And with that, he walked away.
Bartolomeo watched his retreating figure in stunned silence.
Scratching his head, his mind drifted back to earlier that morning, when Lucas had wielded that very sword like it was nothing.
The more he thought about it, the more intense his admiration became.
"As expected of someone I've chosen!" Bartolomeo clenched his fist in excitement. "Incredible! Only a man like that is worthy of becoming my partner!"
By the time Lucas stepped back onto the main street, a familiar chime echoed in his head.
Ding ding! Gained Bartolomeo's admiration. Sign-in progress +10%. Current total: 30%. New skill unlocked: Fairy Sphere.
Information about the new ability flooded his mind.
Fairy Sphere a legendary magic from Fairy Tail, known for generating an immense protective dome that not only defends against all harm but can also suspend time within its bounds.
A powerful defensive skill, no doubt.
Lucas hadn't expected to receive something this useful from Bartolomeo.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
That lunatic turned out to be useful after all.
Feeling pleased, Lucas prepared to resume his hunt.
Just as he was scanning through bounty posters, a man rolled past him on a bicycle tall, wearing a green sleep mask over his forehead, a white vest over a dark blue shirt, and with thick, curly hair.
An eerie chill lingered in the air as he passed.
Lucas looked up instinctively.
The man was already some distance away.
But just from that distinctive hairstyle and outfit, Lucas immediately recognized him.
Admiral Aokiji.
Rayleigh showing up in Loguetown made sense he'd come to pay his respects to Roger.
But Aokiji? What was a Navy admiral doing here of all places?
Could he be here for Smoker?
Lucas vaguely remembered that the two of them had a good relationship...
He was still piecing things together when the roar of a motorcycle engine caught his attention.
Smoker had arrived, riding his signature steam-powered amphibious trike.
He and Aokiji met without issue, stopping in the middle of the road to exchange a few words.
Lucas didn't care what they were talking about. He was just about to leave when
Smoker's gaze caught him.
Without hesitation, Smoker revved his engine and charged over, skidding to a dramatic halt right in front of him.
Lucas stared at him, expressionless.
Biting his cigar, Smoker said seriously, "Hey, kid where do you think you're going?!"
Aokiji rolled up beside them on his bike, looking Lucas up and down before turning to Smoker. "Smoker, what's with the rush? This kid... did he do something?"