Moriah's mouth twitched. Rhett's bottom line was flexible, he knew that. But this? Bullying kids, then flipping the table when their parents showed up?
Moriah had lost count of how many times he'd looked down on his own captain.
Tesoro pondered for a moment, then revealed a mysterious smile: "How about... trying the 'Golden Colosseum'?"
In the center of the massive circular arena, Rhett carried a large blade, his face alight: "What are the rules?"
Tesoro stood on the high platform and shouted: "Simple — defeat all enemies! But there's a small 'restriction'..."
He snapped his fingers, and countless golden cages suddenly rose from the ground, containing—
Naval Vice Admiral-level humanoid golden puppets!
Rhett's eyes lit up: "Oh? Made using your ability?"
Tesoro nodded: "The combat data of these puppets comes from the Naval Headquarters' officers... of course, their strength is only 70% of the originals."
Rhett grinned ferociously: "That's enough!"
Tesoro stopped Rhett: "Captain, you only need to allow Vice Admiral-level strength. These things are expensive."
"Got it, got it."
The battle erupted instantly!
The golden puppets attacked simultaneously, using Rokushiki and swordsmanship.
Rhett laughed loudly: "Mist God Style: Silence!"
Crimson blade light swept through the arena like a storm, and the golden puppets exploded one after another, turning into golden dust!
On the viewing platform, everyone was stunned.
Enel scoffed: "Tch, just showing off..."
Moriah munched on popcorn: "That destructive power is really impressive, very much our captain's style."
Perona covered her eyes: "Sugei! Rhett-sama!"
Stella, however, smiled as she watched the battlefield, a faint green light glowing in her palm: "Rhett-sama's emotions... are very smooth."
The next day, Tesoro and Stella also boarded Rhett's ship.
Rhett poked Tesoro playfully: "Hey hey hey, you're on the ship now. What about your business?"
Tesoro shook his head: "Captain, correction: it's your business. If your reputation can't keep these people in line, there's nothing I can do. Anyway, I'm on the ship now."
Rhett looked at Tesoro: "Buddy, can you change back? Can you give me the Tesoro from last night?"
Tesoro shook his head, no longer teasing his captain: "My trusted subordinates all have gold dust inside them. Their lives are in my hands. As for worrying about others causing trouble, I have Den Den Mushi. I believe if they cause trouble at night, we can be at their doorstep by tomorrow. Right, 3.5 billion Rhett-sama?"
Rhett laughed heartily: "Exactly, exactly. Well said!"
Tesoro continued: "Moreover, Captain, not only have I bribed some World Government officials, but we're also in the New World, where the World Government can't reach. I've already spread the word that this is your business. Do you know how many pirates want to use the heads of troublemaking pirates as their ticket to fame? The Pirate King's crewmate, the madman who killed Celestial Dragons — who would dare try to make a name for themselves by stepping on you?"
Tesoro waited for Rhett's praise, but after a while, there was no response.
Tesoro turned around to see Rhett looking at him with teary eyes.
Tesoro was tightly hugged by Rhett, who smeared snot and tears all over him, leaving Tesoro's face completely black.
"Cap-Captain... please let go..." Tesoro tried to push Rhett away, but the latter clung to him like an octopus, refusing to let go.
"Tesoro!!! You understand me so well!!!" Rhett wailed heart-wrenchingly, "I finally have a reliable crewmate!!!"
Tesoro's face darkened as he pushed Rhett's face away, but Rhett still wouldn't let go.
Stella chuckled softly, a faint green light glowing in her palm as she gently pressed it against Rhett's back: "Calm down, Rhett-sama."
"Whoosh—"
Rhett didn't resist. His emotions instantly calmed, and he stopped crying. He let go of Tesoro and wiped his face: "Ahem, alright, let's talk business."
Everyone: "..."
Rhett sat cross-legged on the ground, facing a mountain of Berries. He held a 10,000-Berry note and was playing "paper airplane flying contest" with Perona.
"Watch this! Crimson Bomber—!" Rhett threw the paper airplane, and it accurately landed on Laboon's small top hat, where he was eating fish jerky.
"Achoo!" Laboon sneezed, and the gust of air shattered Enel's freshly built "Raijin Gundam" model.
Enel was furious: "You idiots!!"
Tesoro's temple twitched: "...Do you know how many warships this money could buy?"
Rhett turned around with a bright smile: "Morning, Tesoro! We can get as much money as we want! If it's not enough, we'll just rob some more."
Perona held up three paper airplanes of different denominations: "The 1,000-Berry note is good for diving, the 10,000-Berry note is good for gliding."
Tesoro took a deep breath and suddenly pulled out a golden abacus from his suit pocket.
Snap!
The crisp sound of the abacus beads colliding instantly silenced the entire ship.
"Auditing begins now."
—Three hours later—
"Captain spent 40 million Berries on Skypiea's specialty 'Octopus Hot Air Balloon,' actual market price 3 million."
"Perona claimed 10 million Berries for 'Ghost Training,' but it was actually used to buy 300 limited-edition Gothic dresses."
"Enel claimed 60 million Berries in gold for 'developing new techniques,' but he has a life-sized figurine in his room..."
Only Laboon's expenditure of 1,000 Berries on a room full of fish jerky was acceptable.
Laboon adjusted his small top hat and puffed out his chest.
Rhett tried to defend himself: "But it's really ridiculously ugly!"
Everyone listened and tried to sneak away.
"Everyone, stay where you are!" Tesoro's golden ring suddenly glowed, and the entire gold storage room was instantly coated with a golden film, even the doorknob was covered in gold. "From today onward, I will manage Crimson Dawn's finances!"
"Now, I will announce a few laws for our ship. I hope everyone, including the captain, will abide by them."
"Article One: All expenditures must be approved by both Tesoro and Stella."
"Article Two: Anyone who misuses public funds will be punished by scrubbing the deck until the next island." (Enel protested: "How can a god—" Tesoro: "Violators will have all their life-sized figurines confiscated." Enel: "I'll scrub!")
"Special Clause: Each crew member has a weekly snack budget of 100,000 Berries. Excess spending must be offset by combat performance. The specific amount will be determined by me."
That night, Tesoro was recording Crimson Dawn Pirates' financial details in the ledger. Stella handed him a cup of hot cocoa with a smile: "You're actually enjoying this, aren't you? It's like taking care of a group of problem children."
Tesoro looked at the monitor screen — this was Tesoro's development of the Gold-Gold Fruit, the boss surveillance mode, which involved installing cameras.
Rhett was sneaking around, trying to use his ability to vaporize the golden door lock;
Moriah and Perona were teaching Negative Hollows to forge signatures;
Only Laboon was contentedly munching on his fish jerky;
Enel was grumbling as he used Raiton to repair the golden furniture he had smashed...
"..." Tesoro rubbed his forehead and finished the cocoa. "Tomorrow, I'll add another rule: Damage to public property must be compensated at full price."