After leaving the Germa fleet by about ten nautical miles, the warship did not return at full speed but instead quietly sailed into a reef area shrouded in thick fog and dropped anchor.
Inside the Captain's room, the curtains were drawn tight, letting in only a few stray beams of dim light.
The originally spacious room now felt incredibly cramped. Not because of too many people, but because of too much money.
Clatter!
Tatsuki threw open the last chest, and a dazzling golden light instantly illuminated the faces of the four men.
Over a dozen chests were stacked into a small mountain, with golden Berries, fist-sized rubies, and several heavy gold bars giving off an intoxicating scent.
"One hundred million, two hundred million... five hundred million... hehehe..."
Tatsuki squatted beside the pile of money, his hands counting as frantically as a bill counter, the righteous aura of a Marine long gone from his face.
Borsalino tossed a gold bar in his hand, his eyes behind his sunglasses crinkling into slits, his sleazy aura on full display. "Yee. Tatsuki is quite capable. With so much money, after we hand it over upon our return, the bonus should be quite substantial."
"Bonus? Borsalino, you're thinking too small."
Tatsuki stuffed bundles of cash into his system space (on the surface, he was putting them into burlap sacks).
"These were all extorted from the hands of civilians by Germa, they are illicit funds. We need to keep them safe and slowly search for their rightful owners. Before we find them, we will, of course, manage them on their behalf to enhance our strength and better combat evil."
Kuzan, slumped on the sofa, rolled his eyes and pulled his sleep mask down over his eyes. "Ah... moving money is so tiring. I feel like there's no difference between us and pirates. Tatsuki, if Zephyr-sensei knew we were doing this, would he break our legs?"
"Shh! Kuzan, watch your phrasing."
Tatsuki immediately corrected him sternly, "Pirates steal money for squandering and personal greed. We 'confiscate' funds for world peace. Can those two be the same?"
Sakazuki sat alone in the shadows, pulling the brim of his cap low, his brow furrowed deeply.
Although he approved of 'Absolute Justice,' this blatant extortion still made him feel somewhat unsettled.
"Tatsuki."
Sakazuki spoke in a low, somewhat raspy voice, "The mission was only to resolve the Germa unrest. Taking money and letting them go is a violation of military discipline. Since that guy is a menace, why not just kill him? Holding this money makes me feel... disgusted."
The room instantly fell silent.
Borsalino whistled while looking at the ceiling, and Kuzan pulled back his eye mask slightly to secretly observe the situation.
Hearing this, Tatsuki stopped his money-packing and slowly turned around, the greed on his face vanishing instantly.
"Sakazuki, do you think I want this money?"
Tatsuki pointed indifferently at the treasure on the floor as if it were a pile of trash.
"Killing one Judge is easy, but what about after he's dead? Germa's technology remains, and the Vinsmoke family remains. As long as they have this massive amount of capital, new ambitious individuals will soon use this money to create even more killing machines."
"Germa's foundation has never been a single person, but this wealth that could rival a nation. It's the funding chain that supports their war machine."
Tatsuki walked up to Sakazuki and placed his hands on his shoulders.
"War is a money-burning machine. Without money, Germa can't create clones, they can't repair their battleships, and they can't afford shells. They'll be forced to stay home and farm like honest people."
"By taking their money, we are actually saving those civilians who are about to die under Germa's artillery fire."
Sakazuki was stunned.
He looked into Tatsuki's 'clear' eyes, his brain working rapidly.
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.
This logic... was actually infuriatingly sound.
The gloom in Sakazuki's eyes gradually dissipated, replaced by an epiphany of admiration and even a hint of shame. He had actually misunderstood Tatsuki's painstaking efforts.
"I see..." Sakazuki took a deep breath, his eyes under the brim of his cap flashing with a determined light.
"Tatsuki, you see further than I do. I was being shallow."
Tatsuki nodded with satisfaction. "It's good that you understand."
[Ding! Detected a major shift in the sense of justice of the important character Sakazuki!]
[High subversion level, Violation Points +5000!]
"But..."
Tatsuki's tone shifted, his expression becoming serious again, even carrying a hint of murderous intent. "This is still far from enough."
He stood up straight, walked back to the table, and casually slapped the "Structural Map of Germa Palace" he had swiped from Judge onto the table.
"Do you think our mission this time ends with just extorting a bit of money?"
The three of them were taken aback.
"Isn't it?" Kuzan scratched his head. "Didn't the report say to just make Germa behave?"
Tatsuki said with a look of distress, "That was the surface mission. You still haven't seen through to the essence of the matter."
He pointed out the window in the direction the Germa fleet had retreated, his voice impassioned. "I know people like Vinsmoke Judge all too well. He may have backed down just now, but right now he's definitely at home cursing us, even swearing to take revenge. He will never let this matter drop."
"Besides, with Germa's three hundred years of heritage, how could they only have a mere one billion in cash?"
"As soon as we leave the North Blue, they will use their remaining vast wealth to quickly flare up again, and even redouble their exploitation of the North Blue people to make up for their losses."
"So, to solve the problem at its root, we must..." Tatsuki paused, a glint flashing in his eyes.
"Completely cut off their source of war funding. Make it so they don't even have the money to buy a single screw."
Hearing this, Sakazuki stood up, his body steaming with heat. "Only by completely destroying their foundation can we prevent evil from breeding again."
"That sounds like it makes a lot of sense." Borsalino adjusted his sunglasses.
As long as there were benefits, he didn't care.
Only Kuzan looked at Tatsuki with suspicion. "Cut off the funding source? How do you plan to do that? We can't stay in the North Blue forever, it's too much trouble."
"Of course we don't have to."
Tatsuki waved his hand sharply and said righteously, "I propose. Tonight, we launch a surprise counterattack. We'll strike directly at their heart, infiltrate the Germa stronghold, and confiscate all of their remaining war funds."
"The stronghold?" Kuzan poked his head out from the money pile. "Are you serious? That's the palace of a Member Nation. If we get caught..."
"What palace? That is a den of evil."
Tatsuki spoke with righteous conviction, "We are going there to purify evil. Besides, if I don't take it, this money will become bullets fired at civilians. Kuzan, do you want to see innocent children die tragically?"
Kuzan shrank his neck. "Of course I don't."
"Exactly."
Tatsuki snapped his fingers, pulled a red pen from his coat, and drew a large X over the 'Vault' location on the map.
"Listen up, the code name for tonight's operation is: 'Zero-Berries Left'."
"We're going to let Germa know that justice not only arrives late, it also swipes your wallet on the way out."