"That's more like it."
Tatsuki flicked the ash from his cigar, pulled out an unremarkable black medallion from his robe, and casually tossed it onto the table.
Clatter.
The light sound caused Stussy's pupils to contract sharply.
She stared fixedly at the medallion, the coldness on her face instantly replaced by an expression mixed with shock and solemnity.
CP0?!
"You..."
Stussy stared at the medallion, then looked up at the seemingly roguish Marine before her, her mind in a state of chaos.
"You are one of the Gorosei's men?!"
She had calculated everything but never expected this Marine Rear Admiral, who promoted justice in the newspapers every day but actually acted erratically, to be a "Special Envoy" sent by her boss's boss.
"Let's get reacquainted: G-5 Base Commander, Tatsuki."
Tatsuki's smile remained, but it now held a sense of condescension.
"Of course, in this room, you can consider me... your direct superior."
Stussy took a deep breath, the dramatic rise and fall of her chest betraying her inner turmoil.
Her years of training as an agent forced her to calm down.
She sat back down, this time with less of a queen's arrogance and more of a subordinate's caution.
"This subordinate was impolite." Stussy said in a low voice, no longer containing any trace of flirtatiousness.
"I wonder what intelligence the Special Envoy requires this time? Whether it's Roger's movements or the whereabouts of other great pirates, as long as it's news circulating in the Underworld, Pleasure District can give you an answer within three days."
"Intelligence?"
Tatsuki shook his head and wagged a finger in front of him.
"No, we'll talk about those things later."
He leaned forward slightly, his dark eyes staring intently at Stussy like he was looking at a choice piece of prey.
"I only care about one question this time."
His voice was very soft, yet it carried an indisputable tone of command. "Exactly how many Berries does Pleasure District earn in a year?"
"Hmm?"
Stussy's movements froze.
She clearly hadn't expected this "Marine Hero," who held the highest secret order and had spent so much time setting the stage, to be concerned about financial reports in the end.
After a brief moment of bewilderment, she covered her lips and chuckled. With a flicker in her eyes, she regained her composure as the Queen of Pleasure District, a woman skilled in social maneuvering and playing men like fiddles.
"Rear Admiral Tatsuki is quite the joker. Such trade secrets..."
"I don't want to hear nonsense." Tatsuki's eyes were calm.
"The specific numbers."
The smile on Stussy's face faded slightly.
Out of the instinct of a top CP0 agent, she assessed the difference in combat power and status between the two sides in that instant, ultimately choosing a middle-ground solution—telling the truth.
After all, the man in front of her held the Gorosei's Token.
"Profits fluctuate greatly depending on the channel."
Stussy walked to the wine cabinet, seemingly casually tidying the bottles, but in reality, every muscle was tensed, ready to deal with the worst-case scenario at any moment.
"Besides the overt entertainment industry, there are also arms brokerage, intelligence peddling, and the circulation of certain special materials..."
She paused and stated a figure, "Altogether, the annual net turnover is roughly around 350 billion Berries."
350 billion!
Even though Tatsuki was prepared, his hand holding the cigar still paused slightly when he heard this number.
He had worked so hard to swindle Fleet Admiral Kong, and even with Redfield "soliciting donations" day and night, their combined total didn't equal her annual turnover.
Doing adult... no, the entertainment industry is the meta answer.
Tatsuki forced down the urge to smirk, maintaining an enigmatic indifference as he lightly flicked the ash.
"How is this money divided?"
Stussy's movement of pouring wine stopped for half a second. She turned around, leaning against the wine cabinet, and looked at Tatsuki with searching eyes.
"This is a top-secret of the World Government but since you hold the Mobilization Order, there's no harm in telling you."
She held up six fingers. "Sixty percent is handed over to the Holy Land Mary Geoise."
"The remaining forty percent is used to maintain the operations of the Pleasure District branch, bribe various officials and pirates, and maintain the massive intelligence network."
"Sixty percent, huh..."
Tatsuki rubbed his chin, nodding thoughtfully, and then quickly calculated in his head.
Sixty percent is 210 billion.
Those Celestial Dragons living atop the Red Line like pigs really have quite the appetite.
Tatsuki looked up, and a smile that made Stussy's heart skip a beat for some reason appeared on his face.
"If... I'm saying if."
"Starting today, what if we hand over twenty percent less of that sixty percent?"
"For example, if this money encountered a 'shipwreck' during transport, or disappeared as 'unavoidable operational loss.'"
"Do you think those old guys up there would notice?"
Stussy was stunned.
Her hand holding the wine glass froze in mid-air, looking at Tatsuki in disbelief as if looking at a madman.
"Tatsuki."
Her voice suddenly dropped to freezing point. The charm of a courtesan vanished, replaced by the characteristic coldness and killing intent of an agent.
"What exactly do you mean? Are you instigating me to embezzle the World Government's funds? Do you know that's a capital offense?"
Facing Stussy's almost murderous gaze, Tatsuki had a shocked expression of "how could you slander someone's innocence out of thin air."
"What do you mean by embezzlement?" Tatsuki slapped the table with righteous indignation, looking pained.
"This is called rational redistribution of resources. My G-5 Branch is also an important institution of the World Government. Spending money on building a fortress is to better suppress pirates and maintain the justice of the sea. How can this be called embezzlement? This is called strategic interception."
Stussy: "..."
She had seen shameless people, but never one so righteously shameless.
"I'm afraid I cannot comply." Stussy refused coldly, slamming the wine glass onto the table.
"Every account in Pleasure District is strictly audited by CP0 Financial Officers. Twenty percent less? That's 70 billion Berries. No one can balance the books for a deficit of that scale. Unless you want me dead."
"Audit? That's too simple." Tatsuki shrugged indifferently.
"Just keep two sets of books, right? If that doesn't work, what's the name of that Financial Officer in charge of auditing? I can have him die in the line of duty and replace him with someone more sensible."