Meanwhile, in the sea a hundred miles away from Germa.
"Achoo!"
Tatsuki stood in the middle of a mountain of treasure and sneezed, then rubbed his nose with a moved expression.
"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 Marines were currently in three completely different states.
Kuzan was lying on a 'bed' made of gold coins, sleeping soundly, with saliva dripping from the corner of his lips already wetting a gold brick.
Borsalino held a pigeon-egg-sized diamond, holding it up to the sunlight, and kept making exclamations like "So scary. So blinding."
Only Sakazuki remained.
He sat alone in the shadows, his hat brim pulled very low, tightly clutching the ledger recording the amounts, his entire body emitting an unsettling low pressure.
"Is the count finished?" Sakazuki's voice was raspy. "These... sinful funds."
"Finished."
Tatsuki closed the duplicate ledger in his hand, put away his playful smile, and his expression became serious and solemn.
"Gold converted to Berries is about forty-two billion, cash is eighteen billion, various jewelry and antiques... Total, around sixty-five billion Berries."
The air 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 fist. "How much blood did Germa suck? This must be reported to Headquarters immediately."
He stood up to grab the den den mushi.
"Wait!"
Tatsuki stepped out, blocking Sakazuki, 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 Tatsuki. "What are you doing? Tatsuki, if you dare to betray justice and embezzle this money, I will never forgive you."
"Foolish!"
Tatsuki suddenly roared, the expression on his face even angrier than Sakazuki's.
"These are ill-gotten gains! Although I, Tatsuki, am usually carefree, I am also a Marine! How could I possibly take it for myself?!"
This roar left Sakazuki stunned.
"Then why did you..."
"Use your brain and think!" Tatsuki took a deep breath, his tone becoming mournful and heavy.
"If we report these sixty-five billion truthfully now, where will this money eventually flow?"
Sakazuki froze. "Of course, it will be the Marine military budget."
"Naive! Too naive!" Tatsuki shook his head.
"With such a huge sum of money, once it's on the books, will the officials of the World Government not see it? Will the Celestial Dragons not see it?"
As soon as those words came out, the expressions of the three people present all changed.
Tatsuki struck while the iron was hot, "According to the amendment to the World Government Affiliation Act, at least 80% of such 'unexpected gains' must be turned over to Holy Land Mary Geoise as a supplement to the 'Heavenly Tribute'."
"In other words, out of these sixty-five billion, over fifty billion will become funds for the Celestial Dragons to buy 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!"
Tatsuki's hands tightly gripped Sakazuki's shoulders as he roared with emotion, "The Marines is currently short on military funds. Many brothers in remote branches can't even afford to eat meat."
"This money should be used where it is 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 on the forehead.
He froze.
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 Marines 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 confusion.
Beside him, Borsalino adjusted his sunglasses and stopped playing with the diamond.
Kuzan also put away his lazy expression and looked at Tatsuki thoughtfully.
The corner of Tatsuki's lips curled up almost imperceptibly, but it vanished in an instant, replaced by an expression of righteous indignation.
"It's simple."
Tatsuki held up one finger.
"We report to Headquarters, saying we seized... fifteen billion Berries."
"One-sixth?" Borsalino adjusted his sunglasses. "isn't that a bit too ruthless?"
Tatsuki 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..."
Tatsuki took a deep breath and said solemnly, "We hide it and establish a 'Justice Reserve Fund.'"
"Supervised by the four of us together, any use of even a single cent requires a unanimous vote from all four."
Tatsuki looked around at the three of them, his eyes burning. "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." Tatsuki heavily patted the box full of cash. "We are keeping this fire of the future safe for the Marines, for justice."
"If one day, the World Government investigates..."
Tatsuki took a deep breath and straightened his back.
"Just say I, Tatsuki, did it alone. That I coerced you. That I was blinded by greed. I will take all the blame alone."