After putting a distance of about ten nautical miles between themselves and the battered Germa fleet, the warship did not engage its engines for a full-speed return to Marineford. Instead, it moved with a quiet, predatory grace into a nearby reef area. Shrouded in a thick, clinging fog that swallowed the horizon, the vessel finally dropped anchor and fell silent.
Inside the Captain's quarters, the heavy curtains were drawn tight against the world, allowing only a few stray, dim beams of light to pierce the gloom. The room, which was originally quite spacious by naval standards, now felt incredibly cramped and cluttered. The cause wasn't the number of people inside, but rather the sheer volume of liquid assets.
Clatter—!
Kane threw open the heavy lid of the final chest, and a dazzling, golden light instantly flooded the room, illuminating the faces of the four men gathered around. Over a dozen reinforced chests were stacked into a small, shimmering mountain. Golden Berries, rubies the size of a man's fist, and several heavy gold bars gave off an intoxicating scent of pure, unadulterated wealth.
"One hundred million, two hundred million... five hundred million... hehehe..."
Kane was squatted down beside the pile of riches, his hands moving with the frantic, rhythmic speed of a mechanical bill counter. The dignified, righteous aura of a Marine officer had completely vanished from his face, replaced by a look of absolute, focused greed.
Borsalino casually tossed a heavy gold bar from hand to hand, his eyes behind his tinted sunglasses crinkling into narrow slits. His naturally sleazy aura was on full display as he admired the hoard. "Yee~ Brother Kane is really quite capable, isn't he~? With this much money, after we hand it all over upon our return to headquarters, the bonus for the four of us should be quite substantial~"
"Bonus? Borsalino, you're thinking far too small."
As he spoke, Kane began stuffing thick bundles of cash into his hidden system space, though to the others, it simply looked like he was shoving them into large, nondescript burlap sacks.
"These funds were all extorted from the hands of innocent civilians by the Germa Kingdom; they are technically illicit funds! As Marines, we need to keep them safe and eventually begin the long, arduous process of searching for their rightful owners. Before we can find them, we will, of course, manage these assets on their behalf to enhance our own strength and better combat the forces of evil!"
Kuzan, who was slumped lazily on the sofa, rolled his eyes and pulled his sleep mask back down over his forehead. "Ah... moving this much money is actually exhausting. I feel like there's no real difference between us and pirates at this point. Kane, if Teacher Zephyr actually knew what we were doing out here, do you think he would break our legs or just expel us?"
"Shh! Kuzan, you really need to watch your phrasing."
Kane immediately stopped his packing and corrected his friend with a stern, authoritative look. "Pirates steal money for the sake of squandering it on personal greed and hedonism. We 'confiscate' funds for the sake of maintaining world peace. Can those two things ever be the same? One is a crime; the other is a public service."
Only Sakazuki sat alone in the corner shadows, pulling the brim of his Marine cap low over his eyes. His brow was furrowed so deeply that the wrinkles formed the distinct shape of the character for 'river'. Although he approved of the concept of 'Absolute Justice,' this blatant act of extortion and theft still made his disciplined heart feel somewhat unsettled.
"Kane."
Sakazuki spoke in a low, raspy voice that cut through the clinking of gold. "The official mission was only to resolve the Germa unrest. Taking their money and letting them go is a clear violation of military discipline. Since that man is a known menace to the sea, why not just kill him? Holding onto this money makes me feel... disgusted."
The room instantly fell into a heavy silence. Borsalino began to whistle a tuneless melody while looking intently at the ceiling, and Kuzan pulled back his eye mask just a fraction to secretly observe the brewing confrontation.
Hearing the challenge, Kane stopped his packing entirely and slowly turned around. The look of greed on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a mask of cold, intellectual logic.
"Sakazuki, do you honestly think I want this money for myself?"
Kane pointed indifferently at the mountain of treasure on the floor as if it were a pile of worthless trash.
"Killing a man like Judge is easy, but what happens after he is dead? Germa's high-level technology remains, and the rest of the Vinsmoke family remains. As long as they have access to this massive amount of capital, new ambitious individuals will soon use this money to rebuild and create even more efficient killing machines!"
"Germa's foundation has never been a single person, Sakazuki. It is this wealth—wealth that could rival the budget of a nation. It is the funding chain that supports their entire war machine!"
Kane walked up to Sakazuki and placed his hands firmly on the older man's shoulders.
"War is a money-burning machine. Without capital, Germa cannot create new clones, they cannot repair their damaged battleships, and they cannot afford to manufacture more artillery shells. They'll be forced to stay home and farm like honest people because they'll be broke."
"By taking their money, we are actually saving the lives of thousands of civilians who are currently scheduled to die under Germa's artillery fire in the next war! This isn't theft, Sakazuki."
"This is called—cutting the ground from under them!"
Sakazuki was momentarily stunned. He looked deep into Kane's 'clear' and 'honest' eyes, his military brain working rapidly to process the information.
No money = No weapons = No war = Peace. I take the money = The enemy becomes weaker = Justice is served. Therefore, the more money I take = The more thoroughly justice is executed.
The logic was actually infuriatingly sound and logically consistent with his own worldview. The gloom in Sakazuki's eyes gradually dissipated, replaced by a sudden epiphany of admiration and even a lingering hint of shame. He realized he had actually misunderstood Kane's painstaking efforts to secure a peaceful future!
"I see..." Sakazuki took a deep, steadying breath, his eyes flashing with a new, determined light under the brim of his cap. "Kane, you truly see further than I do. I was being shallow and blinded by the letter of the law."
"It's good that you finally understand," Kane nodded with deep satisfaction.
[Ding! Detected a major shift in the sense of justice of the important character 'Sakazuki'!] [High subversion level reached, Disciplinary Points +5,000!]
"But..." Kane's tone shifted abruptly, his expression becoming serious again, even carrying a hint of cold murderous intent. "This is still far from enough to secure the peace."
He stood up straight, walked back to the center table, and casually slapped a document onto the wood—it was the "Structural Map of Germa Palace" he had surreptitiously swiped from Judge during the confrontation.
"Do you really think our mission this time ends with just extorting a bit of pocket change?"
The three of them were taken aback by the question.
"Isn't it?" Kuzan scratched his head, looking confused. "Didn't the report from the Fleet Admiral say to just make Germa behave themselves?"
"That was only the surface mission!" Kane said with a look of genuine distress. "You still haven't looked deep enough to see through to the essence of the matter!"
He pointed out the darkened window in the general direction where the Germa fleet had retreated. His voice became impassioned:
"I know men like Vinsmoke Judge all too well. He may have backed down just now, but right now he's definitely sitting in his castle cursing our names and swearing a blood oath to take revenge! He will never let this matter drop!"
"Besides, with Germa's three hundred years of royal heritage, how could they only have a mere one billion in cash? That was just their walking-around money!"
"As soon as we leave the North Blue, they will use their remaining vast wealth to quickly flare up again. They might even redouble their exploitation of the North Blue people to make up for the losses we caused them today! If that happens, their blood will be on our hands!"
"So, to solve the problem at its very root, we must..." Kane paused, a dangerous glint flashing in his eyes. "Completely cut off their source of war funding! We need to make it so they don't even have the money to buy a single replacement screw!"
Hearing this, Sakazuki suddenly stood up, his body beginning to steam with intense heat. "Only by completely destroying their financial foundation can we prevent evil from breeding again! We must be thorough!"
"Yee~ That sounds like it makes a lot of sense~" Borsalino adjusted his sunglasses; as long as there were clear benefits to be had, he didn't care about the details.
Only Kuzan looked at Kane with a bit of suspicion. "Cut off the entire funding source? How exactly do you plan to do that? We can't stay in the North Blue forever to watch them; it's way too much trouble."
"Of course we don't have to stay." Kane waved his hand sharply and spoke with righteous conviction. "I propose! Tonight, under the cover of the fog, we launch a surprise counterattack! We'll strike directly at their heart, infiltrate the Germa stronghold, and confiscate... every last Berry of their remaining war funds!"
"The stronghold?" Kuzan poked his head out from behind the money pile. "Hey, hey, are you actually serious? That is the royal palace of a World Government Member Nation. If we get caught in there..."
"What palace? That is nothing more than a den of concentrated evil!"
Kane spoke with absolute, righteous conviction. "We are going there to purify that evil at the source! Besides, if I don't take it, this money will eventually become bullets fired at innocent civilians! Kuzan, do you really want to see innocent children die tragically because you were too lazy to do a little night work?"
Kuzan shrank his neck back into his collar. "Of course I don't..."
"Exactly!"
Kane snapped his fingers, pulled a red pen from his coat, and drew a large, aggressive X over the 'Vault' location on the map.
"Listen up, the code name for tonight's operation is: 'Zero-Dollar Purchase'."
"We're going to let Germa know that justice not only arrives late, it also swipes your wallet and cleans out your safe on the way out."
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