After finishing off the solitary red figure, Kane looked around at his surroundings. As far as his eyes could see, there was nothing left but total devastation. The G-5 Branch, which had originally served as the grand gateway to the New World, was now reduced to a pathetic pile of fragmented construction debris and the wreckage of twelve brand-new warships. Half of the ruins sank silently into the pitch-black seabed, while the other half remained frozen stiff atop the vast ice field created by Kuzan.
"Ara ara... this is going to be a real problem." Kuzan scratched at his fluffy, curly hair while looking at the massive ice field he had personally created. His face was full of genuine distress as he realized the scale of the paperwork ahead.
"Yee~ now we do not even have a place to sit and drink tea. Our salaries will probably be docked until the next century, right?" Borsalino pushed up his yellow sunglasses and sighed in his uniquely lewd, slow tone. He seemed more concerned about his paycheck than the loss of the military fortress.
Only Sakazuki had a face as black as the bottom of a burnt pot. The base was gone, and the proud warships were gone. How was he supposed to carry out his mission of Absolute Justice on this sea of sin without any tools?
The G-5 soldiers stood there like a group of abandoned orphans. They stood blankly on the endless ice, looking at each other in total bewilderment. Their home was gone. But what was even more important than their home being gone was the fact that the toll booth was gone. That booth allowed them to get paid and live like human beings in the harsh New World. Now, their source of income was buried under the ice.
"Bastard!!!" An earth-shattering roar made the entire ice field tremble violently. Kane's eyes were bloodshot, and his whole body emitted a terrifying, tyrannical aura that shook the air.
It was not battle intent. It was not killing intent. It was pure heartache coming from the deepest part of his soul! That was the New World's Number One Toll Booth he had worked so hard to establish. It was his personal maritime money-printing machine. It was his future private vault. And just like that, it was gone? What was the difference between this and someone burning piles of cash right in front of his face?
"Kane, calm down, it is just a base..." Kuzan tried to step forward to offer a few words of comfort and advice.
"Shut up! This isn't just a base! This is money! It's my money! It's all of our money!" Kane pointed his finger at the ruins, roaring in grief and indignation.
"Do you even know how much justice maintenance tax we missed out on during this day and night of fighting?! Was it one hundred million?! Or maybe one billion?!"
Sakazuki said nothing. Kuzan remained silent. Borsalino just stared. Looking at the frenzied Kane, the three of them wisely chose to keep their mouths shut.
After venting his frustration for a while, Kane's breathing gradually calmed down. However, the fierce light in his eyes only grew more intense. "It seems it is time for us to find a new home."
Kane ordered someone to bring a huge sea chart of the New World and spread it directly on the cold ice.
"Where to?" Sakazuki walked over with a grim face. "The territory in the New World has long been carved up by those great pirates. Stepping foot anywhere new will only trigger an all-out war."
"War?" Kane let out a cold, cynical laugh. His long fingers slowly traced across the surface of the sea chart. "Sakazuki, you need to understand one thing. We are the war."
His finger finally stopped at a specific point on the map. It was a deserted island that did not even have a name on the official chart. It was located about a hundred nautical miles further into the New World from the original site of the G-5 Branch.
"Right here." Kane's fingertip pressed down firmly on the paper.
The three future Admirals leaned in to see. "Punk Hazard?" Kuzan raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Isn't that just a deserted island with no magnetic field? There is nothing there but a bunch of primitive jungles and empty space."
"It does not have anything now, but that does not mean it won't have everything later." In Kane's eyes, a light called ambition flickered brightly. Only he knew how important a strategic heart this godforsaken island would be in the future. It guarded several key routes at the entrance of the New World. It would eventually be the World Government's future research base. Most importantly, it had no magnetic field, which made it naturally hidden. It was far enough from the Holy Land Mary Geoise and far enough from Marineford to operate without constant oversight.
"Build a base here?" Borsalino rubbed his chin, his eyes narrowing slightly behind his tinted lenses. "That sounds like it would cost a lot of money~"
At the mention of money, the heroic atmosphere from a moment ago instantly collapsed. The expression on Kane's face froze solid. He remembered the fifty billion Berries he had taken from the Germa treasury. Originally, he intended to use this money as secret funds to purchase rare Devil Fruits on the black market to arm his direct troops.
But if he were to build from the ground up on a godforsaken place like Punk Hazard, he would need much more. He wanted to build it into a war fortress so strong it would break two of Roger's teeth if the Pirate King ever tried to attack. Fifty billion? That was just a drop in the bucket!
The maintenance fee for Marineford alone was millions of Berries a year. Building a super fortress from scratch that could house tens of thousands of elites would be astronomically expensive. He also had to buy advanced equipment, conduct secret research, poach Vegapunk later on, and raise his own private soldiers.
Money. Money! It was still goddamn money! Kane stared at the sea chart, the mental abacus in his head spinning so fast it was about to start smoking. Since he was going to do it, he would do it to the extreme. What he wanted to build was not just a branch. He wanted a Second Marineford that belonged only to him. He wanted an independent kingdom outside the World Government system!
"50 billion isn't enough." Kane looked up, his eyes as fierce as a thug who had just been released from the sixth level of Impel Down. "This little bit of money isn't even enough to build a single toilet for this project!"
He grabbed the sea chart, stuffed it roughly into his coat, and turned to face the vast and wealthy sea. The corners of his mouth split into a smile that would make any merchant ship or pirate ship tremble with fear.
"Where are we? This is the New World! What is the New World least lacking in? It's those filthy rich great pirates and those allied nation nobles who only know how to suck the marrow from the bones of the poor!"
His gaze fell precisely on Redfield, who was resting his wounds with his eyes closed nearby. "Old Red, stop playing dead." Kane kicked him lightly.
Redfield snapped his eyes open. A flash of killing intent appeared in his crimson pupils for a split second before he forcibly suppressed it. His voice was cold as ice. "What can I do for you, Base Commander?"
"As your entry exam, go and provide a token of loyalty." Kane pointed toward the open sea, his tone leaving no room for argument. "In these nearby waters, who is the richest? Whose vault is the fullest? I don't care if it's a great pirate, an underworld emperor, or the greedy king of some country. List all of their names for me!"
"I want the entire New World to know that from today on, the G-5 Demolition Squad is officially open for business! If you don't want your home demolished, then hand over your money, every single cent!"
Redfield's mouth twitched violently. He had seen many arrogant people in his long life, but never anyone quite this arrogant. This kid had just finished a life-and-death battle, and with his injuries not even healed, he was already thinking about robbing the whole world?
"I will give you the list." The Red Count closed his eyes again and snorted coldly. "As long as you... do not choke yourself to death with your own greed."
"You don't need to worry about that. My appetite has always been very good." Kane grinned, then suddenly turned around.
His expression switched within a tenth of a second. One second, he was a peerless villain ready to rob the world blind. The next second, that handsome face was instantly filled with grief, grievance, helplessness, and total despair. His eyes turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye, and his lips trembled slightly, as if he could burst into tears at any moment. This face-changing speed left Gion, who was standing nearby, completely dumbfounded.
"Gion!" Kane's voice carried a perfectly timed sob. It was hoarse and tragic, enough to make anyone who heard it feel a deep sense of sadness.
"Here! Here! Big Brother Kane!" Gion shuddered and subconsciously stood at attention to salute him.
"Immediately! Right now! At the fastest possible speed! Get Fleet Admiral Kong on the den den mushi!"
"Yes!" Although she didn't understand what Kane wanted to do at all, Gion still tremblingly took out the golden den den mushi representing the highest communication authority. She dialed the Marineford private line at the fastest speed her fingers allowed.
Buru buru buru... Buru buru buru... Kacha.
The den den mushi's expression instantly became serious, mimicking the majestic and stern face of Fleet Admiral Kong. A majestic voice came from the device. "This is Marineford. I am Kong."
Kane took a deep breath to prepare himself. When he spoke again, he was already sobbing uncontrollably like a broken man.
"Fleet Admiral... Waaaaah——!!!!"
An earth-shattering wail resounded through the Fleet Admiral's office at Marineford via the den den mushi.
"G-5... the G-5 Branch... It... it's gone——!!!"
[Ding! Host successfully deceived high-ranking Marine officials. Scumbag points +500!]
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