Just as Tatsuki was immersed in the ecstasy of obtaining divine power—
Purururu...
The den den mushi on the table suddenly let out a series of urgent and piercing rings, breaking the silence.
This was an encrypted private line directly to Marineford.
Tatsuki calmed his emotions, a pure and innocent smile curling at the corners of his lips, and answered the call.
"Hello? This is the Marine North Blue Special Operations Team, Commander Tatsuki speaking. The signal might not be very good right now, there's a storm at sea..."
"Tatsuki!!!"
"You bastards! What on earth did you do in the North Blue?!"
The den den mushi mimicked the expression of the person on the other end. The originally lazy eyes instantly bulged, the facial muscles contorted, and the den den mushi even simulated a pair of black-rimmed glasses and an afro on its head.
"Do you know where that fellow Judge took his complaint?! The Gorosei just personally called and scolded Fleet Admiral Kong for half an hour!"
"Wasn't it supposed to be a suppression? Why did you even pry up the floor tiles of their vault?! Huh?! Are you guys that desperate for money?!"
Facing Sengoku's stormy outburst, Tatsuki remained unhurried, moved the receiver a bit further away, and picked his ear with an innocent look.
"Admiral Sengoku, this is slander. Judge was moved by the brilliance of our Marine justice and voluntarily donated those supplies. That was his repentance for his past crimes. As righteous Marines, how could we possibly do such a thing?"
"Bullshit!!!" Sengoku roared until his throat was hoarse.
"Judge sent photos! The entire vault is cleaner than if a dog had licked it! What's with the hole in the wall? He also said you extorted one billion berries from him!"
"One billion?"
Tatsuki's voice instantly jumped an octave, filled with unbelievable indignation.
"He's lying! It was clearly fifteen billion... Ah, no, I mean, there's no such thing at all."
There was a brief, dead silence on the other end of the line.
Then came the sound of sharp intakes of breath, followed by Garp's trademark "Kyahahahaha" laughter.
"Fifteen billion?" Sengoku's tone suddenly became a bit airy, "Is there really... that much?"
Fifteen billion Berries!
You should know that the current total annual military budget of Marineford was only about that much.
This kid went out once and earned back the headquarters' annual military budget?
"Reporting to Admiral Sengoku!"
Tatsuki immediately stood at attention, his tone serious. "Although the process was a bit convoluted, we did indeed recover fifteen billion Berries in illicit funds from the evil Germa."
"It is currently being transported back to headquarters at full speed. To protect this massive sum, Borsalino has worked himself thin. Sakazuki is even more reluctant to smoke his favorite cigars, guarding it day and night."
"We haven't touched a single cent of this money, we plan to hand it all over to headquarters to build a stronger Marine force."
There was another silence on the other end for about ten seconds.
Then, Sengoku's roar rang out again, but this time, there was noticeably less anger and more of a "it just had to be you" helplessness.
"Fine. Stop acting pathetic. Immediately get your asses back to headquarters."
"And if Judge dares to make a scene again, tell him that if he keeps it up, I'll send Garp to the North Blue for a 'vacation'."
"Immediately, bring the money... bring justice back to Marineford for me."
"Yes! Mission guaranteed to be accomplished!"
Click.
The call disconnected.
Tatsuki hung up the phone and looked at the vast sea outside the window, the smile in his eyes deepening.
Go back to get scolded?
Doesn't matter.
In this trip to the North Blue, he earned money, split the loot, won over the future Three Admirals, and even snagged a god-tier devil fruit.
Inside the Captain's cabin, Tatsuki casually tossed the receiver back onto its base, the submissiveness on his face vanishing instantly.
"Admiral Sengoku is as vigorous as ever."
Pushing open the heavy oak door, the damp, cold air unique to the North Blue rushed toward him.
Salty, cold, and... the scent of freedom.
"Since Headquarters is in such a hurry, let's speed things up a bit."
Tatsuki walked to the railing and gave a crisp snap of his fingers.
"Wind, rise."
Boom!
The calm sea surface suddenly exploded. A violent current of air formed at the stern, acting like an invisible giant hand giving the warship a fierce shove.
The massive inertia made the entire steel giant groan with a tooth-aching metal sound.
Inside the cabin.
Kuzan, who was catching up on sleep, flew straight out of his hammock. His head hit the solid wood wall panel, smashing a large hole in it.
"Ow..."
Kuzan clambered out of the pile of wood chips, clutching his messy curly hair. His eye mask had slipped down to his chin, and his face was full of morning grumpiness.
"Did we hit an extra-large Sea King? Or has Germa caught up?"
Yawning, he pushed open the door, just in time to see a Marine Soldier running past stumbling, his face pale and cheeks bulging, clearly trying to suppress the urge to vomit from seasickness.
"Warrant Officer Kuzan! Help!" the Marine Soldier shouted unclearly. "The... the ship is about to fly!"
"Fly?"
Kuzan frowned.
Before he could ask for details, he tilted again and had to brace himself against the wall to stay upright.
This abnormal acceleration...
Dragging his lazy steps onto the deck, he happened to run into Borsalino, who was adjusting his sunglasses with a solemn expression.
"Oh. How unbelievable."
Borsalino stared at the sails overhead, which were already blown tight like drum skins. His tone had less of his usual sleaziness and more inquiry.
"This wind direction and force completely defy common meteorological knowledge."
In a shadowy corner, a spark of fire went out.
Sakazuki strode out, his dark red shirt fluttering loudly in the gale. He didn't speak but his eyes, as sharp as knives, were locked onto the figure at the bow.
Tatsuki stood atop the dragon head at the very front of the warship. The gale avoided him, yet formed two wing-like white cyclones behind him.
The three of them exchanged glances and walked over in tacit agreement.