Marine Headquarters, third basement level, solitary confinement.
The heavy alloy door slammed shut, completely isolating them from the clamor of the outside world.
Although it was called solitary confinement, as a place for detaining high-ranking officers, the facilities were absurdly luxurious, aside from the lack of windows and freedom.
Private bathrooms, soft beds, and even a spacious common area.
"Ara ra... Finally, I can get some sleep." Kuzan pulled down his sleep mask, flopped onto the bed, and was out in a second.
Borsalino, on the other hand, leisurely walked over to a cabinet in the corner, skillfully found a tea set, and hummed to himself:
"Yeees~ A fifteen-day paid vacation. It would be even more perfect with a newspaper~ So scary, Fleet Admiral Kong, not even letting us read the news~"
Sakazuki took off his cap and sat on the sofa, his tense body finally relaxing.
He looked at his own hands, seemingly still savoring the feeling of having lied to the Fleet Admiral's face.
There was none of the guilt he had imagined.
Instead, there was a sense of... exhilaration after breaking free from his shackles?
"Don't just stand there in a daze, Sakazuki."
Kane sidled over with a grin, pulling out a brand-new deck of playing cards from his pocket and shuffling them with a crisp whirrr.
"Since the Fleet Admiral has given us a fifteen-day paid vacation, how can we not have some fun?"
"Come, come, come. I'll teach you a new game today called 'Fight the Landlord.' The loser has to treat everyone to... a 'grand spa treatment' at the Sabaody Archipelago when we get out!"
Sakazuki's brow furrowed, and he instinctively wanted to reprimand this decadent behavior. "Nonsense! This is solitary confinement..."
"Oh, don't be so serious." Kane shoved the cards directly into his hands. "Think about it. We may not have received any merits for this trip, but we certainly put in the hard work. What's wrong with relaxing a little?"
"Besides..." Kane suddenly leaned in close to his ear, his voice low and full of instigation, "Don't you want to win that guy Borsalino's money? I've found him annoying for a long time."
Sakazuki whipped his head around, just in time to see Borsalino holding a teacup, a sleazy, mocking smile visible through his sunglasses. "Yeees~ If Sakazuki is afraid of losing money, I can let you have a three-card handicap~"
Boom!
The veins on Sakazuki's forehead bulged instantly. He nearly lost control of his Magma Fruit powers and burned a hole through the sofa.
"Deal the cards!!!"
...
Ten minutes later.
Inhuman roars echoed from within the solitary confinement cell.
"I'll be the Landlord!!!"
Sakazuki's face was beet red, the veins on his neck popping as he slammed his right hand on the table.
"Super double!!" Kane grinned like a cat that had gotten the cream. "Sakazuki, all's fair in war. I've already seen through your hand this round!"
"Bullshit!" Sakazuki gritted out. "Three twos! With a pair of aces! I refuse to believe you can beat me in one move!"
"Pass~" Borsalino said calmly, taking a sip of tea.
"Joker bomb!" Kane threw two cards in Sakazuki's face with a flourish, his smile insufferably smug. "Regrettably, classmate Sakazuki, you've painted yourself into a corner! Pay up, pay up! This hand is quadrupled! No credit!"
Staring at the single, worthless three in Kane's hand, Sakazuki trembled with rage, black smoke even beginning to rise from the top of his head.
"Bastard! Kane! Were you peeking at my cards?!"
"Slander! That's slander! This was my precise grasp of the game's situation!"
[Ding! The host has led the three future Admirals in group gambling, severely corrupting the military's morale!]
[Violation Value acquired: 3000 points!]
[Special achievement triggered: Marine Mahjong God. Additional reward: Violation Value +500!]
Sweet! This was too sweet!
Not only was he winning the future Fleet Admiral's money, but he was also racking up points! Looking at the infuriated Akainu, Kane felt that this future iron-blooded Fleet Admiral had never been so adorable.
Outside the door, the two Marines on guard duty listened to the demonic howls coming from inside, looking at each other and trembling.
"Is... is this how the monster rookies of Headquarters train?"
"They must be conducting some kind of mental combat training... It's terrifying."
...
Time flowed by like sand through fingers.
The fifteen days of solitary confinement were forcibly turned into the "First Annual Marineford Mahjong God Tournament" by Kane.
From Fight the Landlord to Golden Flower, from Texas Hold'em to Mahjong.
The relationship between the four men became extremely subtle and ironclad at a visible rate.
It was a "revolutionary friendship" forged by splitting loot, serving time, writing IOUs, and cursing out superiors together.
Until the morning of the fifteenth day.
"A pair of threes." Sakazuki, his face covered in a dense layer of white paper strips, played two cards with a solemn and cautious expression.
He had lost the most over the past few days. The "foot massage debt" he had accumulated would probably cost him his next three years' salary.
"Don't want it." Borsalino pushed up his sunglasses. His face was completely clean, clearly marking him as the biggest winner.
"Pass." Kuzan yawned, clutching his last card, ready to strike.
"I'd like to see any of you dare to play!" Magma faintly bubbled on Sakazuki's body. His hand was full of bombs this round; victory was certain. This pair of threes was just a probe!
A wicked smile touched Kane's lips as he prepared to throw down four twos and end Sakazuki's fantasy.
Just then—
BOOM————!!!
A heaven-shaking, earth-shattering explosion erupted.
The half-meter-thick alloy door was blasted clean off its hinges from the outside by a pitch-black iron fist!
Clang!
The twisted, deformed door flew past Sakazuki's scalp and slammed violently into the wall, shaking the entire third basement level.
Sakazuki's hand trembled, and his once-in-a-lifetime hand scattered all over the floor.
"Who?!"
The four of them instantly entered a combat stance, the previously lazy atmosphere vanishing without a trace.
The dust settled.
A figure as burly as a bear stood in the doorway. He wore a greatcoat with only the characters for "Justice" on the back. His full head of black hair was streaked with a few silver strands, and his face was rugged, a wide, incredibly arrogant grin splitting his features.
The wild aura, like that of a primeval beast, made even the four Logia Type monsters present feel a sense of suffocation.
The Marine Hero, Monkey D. Garp!
"Bwahahahaha! You little brats are living quite the comfortable life, aren't you!"
Garp strode into the cell, his gaze sweeping over the playing cards on the floor and the paper-strip-covered face of Sakazuki. He laughed so hard that tears almost came out.
"That guy Sengoku was still worried you'd all get depressed. Looks like it was completely unnecessary! How did you even manage to turn Sakazuki into a mummy? Bwahahahaha!"
Sakazuki's face darkened as he ripped the paper strips off. Magma sizzled in his hands. This was too humiliating. What am I doing?
The other three also quickly stood at attention and saluted. Even the lazy Kuzan didn't dare to be presumptuous in front of Garp.
"Vice... Vice Admiral Garp?!"
"Alright, alright, cut the formalities."
Garp waved a large hand, bit into a piece of Rice Cracker with a crunch, and his gaze skipped over the others, landing squarely on Kane. He looked at him like he was a prime cut of braised pork.
That look sent a shiver down Kane's spine, and he subconsciously wanted to use his Elementalization.
"I've taken a liking to you!"
Garp's words were shocking, so much so that even Sakazuki beside him stumbled.
"That guy Sengoku complains every day that I don't train any rookies. This is the perfect chance." Garp chewed on his Rice Crackers, speaking indistinctly. "Borsalino will be trained by Zephyr. Sakazuki and Kuzan have their own arrangements. As for you, you cunning little brat..."
Garp grinned, revealing a set of stark white teeth that sent a chill down one's spine.
"Come with me to the New World!!"
"We're going to hunt down that bastard named Roger! What do you say? You dare to come?!"
As soon as he said this, the solitary confinement cell fell silent.
A trace of undisguised envy flashed in Sakazuki's eyes.
That was the "Marine Hero's" ship! It was the front line, facing legendary monsters like Roger, Whitebeard, and the Golden Lion! It was the stage every hot-blooded Marine dreamed of!
Borsalino, however, pushed up his sunglasses, mourning for Kane in his heart. Getting on Garp's ship was notoriously hell-level difficulty. It was a question whether the warship itself would survive, not to mention having to clean up Garp's messes every day.
Kane looked at the man before him, who laughed like a child but possessed the highest level of power on this sea.
His heart began to pound violently.
If he wanted stability, staying at Headquarters was of course the best option.
But... for the sake of [Violation Value], for the system rewards that could overturn the world, stability was a slow suicide!
Where else could he rack up more points than by following the most rule-breaking Vice Admiral to hunt down the freest Pirate King?
"What? Scared of dying?" Garp raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in his eyes. "If you're scared, just say so. I won't force you. You can go back to playing your card games at Headquarters."
"Scared?"
Kane smiled.
He leisurely straightened his slightly messy collar, his lips curling into that signature smile, his eyes glinting with the light of ambition.
"Vice Admiral Garp, I'm afraid there won't be enough pirates in the New World for me to catch."
"Also..." Kane pointed at the playing cards on the floor. "I'll go to the New World, but you'll have to learn how to play this game. Otherwise, the journey will be long, and I'll be very bored."
The air froze for a second.
"Bwahahahahahaha!"
Garp slammed a hand on Kane's shoulder, nearly making Kane spit out the breakfast he had just eaten.
"Good! Arrogant enough! I like it! This temper suits my taste!"
"I'll give you ten minutes to pack your things! I'll be waiting for you at the port! Don't keep me waiting, or I'll throw you into the sea to feed the fish!"
Kane rubbed his sore shoulder and turned to face his three "cellmates."
The atmosphere was tinged with the sadness of parting.
"Gentlemen, although I'm reluctant to leave, it seems our card game will have to be paused for a while."
Sakazuki stepped forward and gave Kane a deep look. A rare trace of warmth appeared on his stern face as he held out a fist.
"Don't die, Kane. That fifty billion is still there. If you die at Roger's hands, I'll take all that money for myself to use for the Marines' development."
Kane smiled and gently bumped his fist against Sakazuki's. "Don't worry. I don't have many virtues, but I'm hard to kill. You, on the other hand, don't work yourself to death."
Kuzan sighed and stuffed a new deck of cards into Kane's pocket. "Play by yourself when you're bored. When you get to the New World... say hello to those great pirates for me."
"Yeees~ If you find any good stuff, remember to mail some to us~" Borsalino still had his flippant demeanor, but in his eyes behind the sunglasses, there was
also a hint of reluctance to part.
Kane pocketed the cards, turned towards the door, and waved at the three men without looking back.
"I'm off!"
Sunlight streamed through the broken doorway, stretching Kane's shadow long and far.
On this day, the most lawless combination in the Marines temporarily went their separate ways.