The next morning.
The first ray of golden sunlight shone down upon the flagship castle of the Germa Kingdom. Vinsmoke Judge had not slept a wink all night, and his eyes were heavily bloodshot. He stood by the window, staring out at the snail warships undergoing emergency repairs on the surface of the sea, his face grim and tight with tension.
"Commander-in-Chief, breakfast is ready." Outside the door, the Clone Soldier's voice sounded with mechanical punctuality.
"I am not eating!" Judge waved his hand irritably, dismissing the thought.
His mind was currently overflowing with revenge plans, and he had no appetite for food at all.
"Right," he seemed to remember a crucial detail and ordered toward the door, "Go to the treasury immediately. Extract a batch of Memory Alloy and send it to the First Laboratory. The Transformation Plan must be accelerated right now!"
"Yes, Commander-in-Chief!" The Clone Soldier outside the door mechanically took the order and marched away.
Judge picked up a cup of hot coffee, a cold, predatory sneer appearing at the corner of his mouth: "Marine... Kane... just you wait. Once my perfect work is born, I will settle this account with you, and I will collect the interest."
However, he had not even had time to swallow that first mouthful of coffee.
"BANG—!!!"
The door to the bedchamber was crudely burst open by a great force. The one who entered was not a cold, reporting Clone Soldier, but the Steward responsible for guarding the underground treasury.
"Com... Commander-in-Chief! Something is wrong!!"
"What is the panic!" Judge's brow furrowed sharply, his hand shaking so much that the coffee cup spilled scalding liquid onto the back of his hand. "Is the sky falling down?"
"It is... it is worse than the sky falling!" The Steward's voice was trembling with pure terror. "The... the treasury... the treasury..."
"What happened to the treasury?" Judge's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous, sinking feeling welled up in his mind.
"The treasury... is empty!!!"
"What did you say?!"
Judge stood up abruptly, the coffee cup in his hand hitting the ground with a clatter and shattering into tiny pieces. He grabbed the Steward's collar, pulling him close, and roared with bloodshot eyes: "Say that again!!"
"Everything is gone! The gold, the Berries, the jewelry, the rare materials... even... even the gold bricks on the walls... they are all gone!!" The Steward wept and wailed in despair.
Boom!
Judge's mind buzzed, going completely blank for a moment. He stumbled out of the bedchamber, not even having time to put on his specialized raid suit, as he rushed toward the treasury like a madman.
When he ran breathlessly to the gate that had been cut open by lasers and saw the scene inside, he felt his breathing stop.
Empty! It was completely empty!
In the massive treasury, except for the mess scattered all over the floor and some light patches of ash, nothing was left. On the walls, the jagged holes left after the gold bricks were pried out seemed to be mocking him heartlessly. The entire treasury was as clean as if it had been ransacked by a localized tornado.
"My money... my gold..."
Judge's legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground, his hands trembling as he rummaged through the worthless wrapping paper left on the floor.
"My blueprints... my rare materials..."
He saw a line of words written in ashes in the center of the floor.
"Thanks to King Vinsmoke for the generous sponsorship of the Marine's cause of justice. — A passing Marine hero."
"Pfft—!!!"
When Judge saw this line of words, he felt a sudden sweetness in his throat, and a mouthful of old blood sprayed out, staining the ground in front of him a dark red.
"MARINES!!!"
He let out the most shrill and unwilling roar of his entire life. Immediately after, his vision went black, and he fell straight backward onto the cold floor.
"Commander-in-Chief!!"
"Quick! Call the Medic! The Commander-in-Chief has fainted from anger!!"
The entire Germa Kingdom instantly fell into a state of total chaos... Meanwhile, in the sea a hundred miles away from Germa.
"Achoo!"
Kane stood in the middle of a literal mountain of treasure and sneezed hard, then rubbed his nose with a moved expression.
"Mr. Judge must have woken up. Not only did he contribute so much justice funding, but he also thought of me in his busy schedule. What a good person."
On the deck behind him, the future Three Admirals of the Marine were currently in three completely different states of being.
Kuzan was lying unceremoniously on a bed made entirely of gold coins, sleeping soundly, with saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth and wetting a nearby gold brick. Borsalino held a pigeon-egg-sized diamond, holding it up to the sunlight while making exclamations like "So scary~ so blinding~"
Only Sakazuki remained focused. He sat alone in the shadows, his hat brim pulled very low, tightly clutching the ledger recording the amounts. His entire body was emitting an unsettling, low pressure.
"Is the count finished?" Sakazuki's voice was raspy and low. "These... sinful funds."
"Finished."
Kane closed the duplicate ledger in his hand, put away his playful smile, and allowed his expression to become serious and solemn.
"The gold converted to Berries is about forty-two billion, the cash is eighteen billion, and the various jewelry and antiques... Total, around sixty-five billion Berries."
The air on the deck instantly went silent.
Even the sleeping Kuzan snapped his eyes open and sat up: "How... how much?!"
Sixty-five billion!
"So much money..." Sakazuki took a deep breath, magma still dripping from his clenched fist. "How much blood did Germa suck from the world? This must be reported to Headquarters immediately!"
He stood up to grab the Den Den Mushi.
"Wait!"
Kane stepped out, blocking Sakazuki's path, and pressed his hand down on the Den Den Mushi he was about to pick up. Sakazuki's brow furrowed, and his eyes looked sharply at Kane: "What are you doing? Kane, if you dare to betray justice and embezzle this money, I will never forgive you!"
"Foolish!!"
Kane suddenly roared, the expression on his face appearing even angrier than Sakazuki's own.
"These are ill-gotten gains! Although I, Kane, am usually carefree, I am also a Marine! How could I possibly take it all for myself?!"
This sudden roar left Sakazuki stunned.
"Then why did you..."
"Use your brain and think!" Kane took a deep breath, his tone becoming mournful and heavy. "If we report these sixty-five billion Berries truthfully now, where will this money eventually flow?"
Sakazuki froze: "Of course, it will be the Marine military budget..."
"Naive! You are too naive!" Kane shook his head. "With such a huge sum of money, once it is on the official books, will the officials of the World Government not see it? Will the Celestial Dragons not see it?"
As soon as those three words came out, the expressions of the three people present all changed instantly. Kane struck while the iron was hot:
"According to the amendment to the World Government Affiliation Act, at least 80 percent of such unexpected gains must be turned over to Holy Land Mary Geoise as a supplement to the Heavenly Gold!"
"In other words! Out of these sixty-five billion, over fifty billion will become funds for the Celestial Dragons to buy new slaves! It will become new necklaces hanging around their necks! It will become the bricks and tiles for their luxurious palaces!"
"Sakazuki! Look into my eyes!"
Kane's hands tightly gripped Sakazuki's shoulders as he roared with emotion:
"The Marine is currently short on military funds. Many brothers in remote branches cannot even afford to eat meat. This money should be used where it is actually needed! To improve the meals of all Marines, to update the equipment of the warships, and to provide pensions for the families of fallen comrades!"
"If you make this call now, it is equivalent to personally handing over this wealth of justice to those Celestial Dragons to squander! Is this the absolute justice you want?!"
Boom!
These words were like a bolt from the blue, striking Sakazuki hard on the forehead. He froze completely. Born in the North Blue, his inner hatred for the Celestial Dragons was actually no less than his hatred for pirates. He believed in absolute justice, but in reality, the Marine often had to serve as bodyguards for the Celestial Dragons, which was the deepest thorn in his heart.
At the thought that this money would eventually become slave auction funds in the hands of the Celestial Dragons... Sakazuki felt worse than if he had swallowed a lump of filth.
"Then... then what do you say we do?" Sakazuki's voice became raspy and wavering, the fire of anger in his eyes turning into deep confusion.
Beside him, Borsalino adjusted his sunglasses and stopped playing with the diamond. Kuzan also put away his lazy expression and looked at Kane thoughtfully. The corner of Kane's mouth curled up almost imperceptibly, but it vanished in an instant, replaced by an expression of righteous indignation.
"It is simple." Kane held up one finger. "We report to Headquarters, saying we seized... fifteen billion Berries."
"One-sixth?" Borsalino adjusted his sunglasses. "Ye~ isn't that a bit too ruthless~"
Kane glared at him. "Fifteen billion is enough for Headquarters to give us a huge bonus and give Fleet Admiral Kong an explanation. The remaining fifty billion..." Kane took a deep breath and said solemnly: "We hide it and establish a Justice Reserve Fund."
"It will be supervised by the four of us together. Any use of even a single cent requires a unanimous vote from all four of us." Kane looked around at the three of them, his eyes burning with intensity:
"Think about it. When Fleet Admiral Kong cannot deploy troops due to insufficient military funds, we can provide them. When a comrade is discharged due to disability but cannot receive a pension, we can provide it. When we need to purchase powerful Devil Fruits to arm trustworthy seekers of justice, we can provide them!"
"We are not embezzling." Kane heavily patted the box full of cash. "We are keeping this fire of the future safe for the Marine, for the sake of justice!"
"If one day, the World Government investigates..." Kane took a deep breath and straightened his back. "Just say I, Kane, did it alone! Say that I coerced you! Say that I was blinded by greed! I will take all the blame alone!"
The sea breeze howled across the deck.
The area was dead silent. Kuzan looked at Kane's back, a flash of shock in his eyes under his sleep mask. Although his reason told him something was wrong, Kane's words indeed made his blood boil. Borsalino put away the lewd smile on his face and fell into a rare, serious silence.
As for Sakazuki... he raised his head, the confusion in his eyes dissipating, replaced by a new determination.
"Stop joking, Kane." Sakazuki stood up, walked to Kane's side, and placed his hot, large hand on Kane's shoulder. "Since it is the fire of justice, then it should be guarded by all of us together."
"I agree to withhold these fifty billion." Sakazuki's voice was powerful and resonant. "For justice, what does it matter even if we bear the blame!"
"If Headquarters investigates..." Sakazuki raised his head, a flash of ruthlessness in his eyes, "Just say I burned it!"
"Ara ara, since even Sakazuki has said so..." Kuzan lay back down in the pile of money, grabbed a handful of gold coins, and tossed them into the air. "Count me in. Anyway, I have been annoyed with those Celestial Dragons for a long time."
"Ye~ since everyone has no objection, then I won't be polite~ I have had my eye on that gold teacup for a long time~" Borsalino laughed like a three-hundred-pound child.
Looking at these three future highest combat powers of the Marine who had completely gotten their hands dirty, the corner of Kane's mouth curled up. They were hooked. As long as your hands are stained with this money, don't even think about leaving my thief's ship for the rest of your lives.
[Ding! Host has corrupted the future Three Admirals of the Marine and established an illegal slush fund!]
[Judgment: Deceiving superiors and subordinates, forming a clique for private gain; the nature is extremely bad!]
[Subversion level: Extremely high! Subversion level is off the charts!]
[Congratulations to the Host! Obtained a massive amount of Disciplinary Violation points: 10,000 points!]
Hearing the wonderful prompt tone in his mind, Kane smiled brilliantly.
"Comrades! For justice! Let's divide the loot... oh no, let's make a deposit!"
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