章 48: 48. Everyone In The Staff Department Is Talented, And They Speak Nicely. I Really Like It!
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I am having my exams till 20 so the update timings will be random
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Money is a good thing.
While it can symbolize evil greed, it also represents happiness.
With the full amount of berries released, the once restless soldiers calmed down.
The Marine, the "giant" that had been momentarily shaken by the rise of the Great Pirate Era, finally regained its strength and courage, ready to face the devastated seas with renewed determination.
After handling the distribution of the berries, Akira could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
He was now reviewing documents in his office.
"Alabasta Battle Report"
This was the report from Vice Admiral Garp, Vice Admiral Kizaru, and others on their fight against pirates to protect the Golden City.
Akira carefully read every word.
When the battle began, the live broadcast was cut off.
So, apart from those involved, no one knows the specific details.
All that is known is that the Marines won, successfully defended the Golden City, and brought it back to Marineford.
Soon after, Akira finished reading all the documents and had a clear understanding of the situation at that time.
Although Garp was there, the battle was still quite fierce.
Due to Akira's extensive promotion, the reputation of the Golden City had spread to the second half of the Grand Line.
So at that time, not only were there newcomers from the first half, but also powerful veteran pirates from the second half.
It's important to note that the great pirates of this era weren't limited to Whitebeard, Kaido, and Big Mom.
There were many more.
It's just that most either didn't survive until the beginning of the original story or were defeated by the future Four Emperors in the decades-long struggle for supremacy, leaving their fame overshadowed.
But to be contenders against the Four Emperors, they were anything but weak.
Their absence from later tales doesn't mean they didn't exist.
Garp was held up by several of these powerful pirates, while others rushed toward the Golden City.
Fortunately, the replica of Shiki had been stationed in the Golden City, using his Float-Float Fruit to lift it into the sky.
The three Marine Vice Admirals also used the Transformation Leaf that Akira had given them.
Sakazuki copied Burnt Norton, whom he bombarded, along with some other great pirates.
Borsalino and Kuzan also replicated the most formidable opponents they had faced in their Marine careers.
This battle drastically altered the climate in many parts of Alabasta.
"I almost forgot, the Flame-Flame Fruit hasn't been retrieved yet!"
Akira slapped his forehead and muttered to himself.
There had been so many things going on lately that he just forgot about it.
Burnt Norton died, and it's said his death was particularly gruesome.
It's unclear whether Sakazuki was too powerful to restrain himself or if he did it on purpose.
But it didn't matter to Akira; even if Norton were captured alive, he would have died many times over.
Though Akira couldn't consume a second Devil Fruit, using this Logia to cultivate loyal followers and strengthen his power would be beneficial.
Boom.
He took out a Transformation Leaf from his pocket and copied Kuma.
"Go to the uninhabited island in East Blue and search for it. The Flame-Flame Fruit should be there."
"If you find it, bring it back to me personally."
Akira ordered.
Kuma nodded, used his Paw-Paw Fruit to slap himself, and instantly vanished.
Akira then looked at the end of the document, where the staff department had highlighted specific information:
(Although many big pirates was successfully killed in this battle, Fleet Admiral Akira's Devil Fruit ability has become known worldwide.)
"My Dog-Dog Fruit Model: Monster Racoon ability has been discovered?"
Akira adjusted his glasses, unfazed.
He never intended to keep it hidden, and even if everyone knows, so what?
The so-called attribute restraint in the world of One Piece holds very little significance.
Haki is the power that surpasses everything.
Moreover, as the Marine Fleet Admiral, it's impossible for him to personally go out and fight pirates at a lower level.
If there's a task at hand, he can just assign an Admiral to handle it. Isn't that more efficient?
After finishing the first document, Akira opened the second one.
"Action Report on Major Mafias and Underground Worlds Across the Globe—From Chief of Staff, Tsuru."
Akira's expression became more serious.
This report, written personally by Tsuru, was very detailed.
It stated that she was invited by Zephyr through a Den Den Mushi call and joined halfway to assist in completing Akira's task.
Without alerting anyone, they quietly arrived at the North Blue branch base alone and took control of the person in charge.
First, they spent a considerable amount of time and manpower secretly identifying all the assets of every mafia and criminal organization worldwide.
Then, leveraging the "reliable" reputation of the corrupt North Blue branch in the underground world, they invited all the targets to an island.
Once everyone arrived, Zephyr took action, with the soldiers coordinating to capture everyone on the spot.
Tsuru remained at the base, remotely directing soldiers to confiscate their assets.
Of course, before the Marine Bank existed, the banks run by the underground world had better reputations and had many business dealings with kings and nobles, so they also held their deposits.
When these nobles learned that the bank had been taken over, they became anxious.
In the end, Tsuru stepped in to communicate with them, asking them to present their deposit certificates, which were then certified and saved in the Marine Bank.
In this operation, they seized a total of 170 billion berries and valuable fixed assets.
Among them, the largest contributor was the "Donquixote Family," which had been operating in North Blue for decades.
At the end of the report, aside from the fixed assets list, Zephyr's opinions on supplementary tasks and Tsuru's request for instructions were also attached.
Zephyr: "During the arrests, most of the Donquixote Family's top members escaped. Although I was caught off guard, it's undeniable that their family is stronger than other mafias in the sea."
Zephyr: "Not only do most of the members possess Haki, but the young man named Doflamingo is particularly formidable."
Zephyr: "In addition to Observation Haki and Armament Haki, he also has Conqueror's Haki, so be extra cautious!"
Doflamingo?
Akira narrowed his eyes.
Even without Zephyr's warning, he knew better than to underestimate that guy.
"170 billion berries—the mafia in this world really rakes it in."
Akira couldn't help but be amazed.
But this is also expected.
First of all, these guys are involved in the most despicable activities—prostitution, drug trafficking, gambling, robbery, kidnapping of various species, illegal auctions, slave trade, arms dealing, monopolizing specialties, controlling trade routes, and more...
Basically, if it's profitable, whether good or bad, they're involved.
With this bottomless approach to business, it's not just difficult to lose money—it's hard not to make money.
When conscience is discarded, profits soar!
The folks in the fraud department would likely understand this well.
Secondly, these berries represent decades of accumulation by mafias worldwide, so it wasn't a wasted effort to specifically target them with this number.
Akira continued reading.
Tsuru: "All the soldiers in the North Blue branch have been imprisoned. How should we handle them? From the situation at the North Blue branch, it's clear that there are many similar 'moths' within the Marine ranks, and these 'moths' cause more harm. To prevent tarnishing the reputation of justice, we need directives on how to address this situation."
Akira nodded in agreement.
These pirates masquerading as Marines do indeed damage the overall image of the Marine.
A single rotten apple spoils the whole barrel, as they say.
In desperate times, people might overlook flaws and accept what's available, even if it's less than perfect—after all, something is better than nothing.
But in this era of the Great Pirate Era, instead of contributing anything positive, these rotten apples only make things worse.
So, should we let them off the hook?
If they possessed the strength of a top-level Shichibukai or an Admiral and are willing to follow the orders of Marine Headquarters, certain levels of corruption, law manipulation, and oppression of the people might be overlooked.
After all, it's preferable to have an evil Vice Admiral or Admiral rather than an evil Emperor of the Sea.
But if he is weak and still dare to tarnish the Marine's image, he must have a death wish.
Akira picked up his pen and directly wrote: "Send them all to a military court."
Given their actions, there's only one outcome in a military court.
Immediate execution.
This is exactly what Akira wanted.
They blame Doflamingo for the greater good, not to excuse trash.
He also knew that the military court would hand down the death penalty; otherwise, Akira wouldn't mind letting that branch be obliterated by one of Doflamingo's "replicas."
"In order to prevent these disgraceful incidents from recurring, precautions must be taken in advance."
Akira pinched his chin, deep in thought.
After some time, he had an idea.
He picked up his pen, wrote "Read" on the document, and then continued writing.
"I intend to establish a new department called the 'Marine Crime Investigation Bureau!'"
"This bureau will monitor soldiers as well as generals at all levels."
"Officers who unjustly dock soldiers' pay, abuse their power, or exploit their subordinates will face severe punishment."
"The specific terms of reference should be drafted by the staff department and then submitted for approval."
After finishing, he looked at the next document:
"Maintenance of business lines, taxation of merchants, and profits from special product deliveries" — 80 billion berries.
"Getting 80 billion in half a month? That's not bad!"
Next file:
"Additional report on property handed over by Vice Admiral Chaton stationed on Fish-Man Island" — 9.8 billion berries.
"Not bad, better than nothing!"
"It seems that most pirates around the world like to stash all their stolen treasures in one place and record them on treasure maps."
Akira mused.
Pirates have this peculiar custom, so it's no surprise that the haul from Fish-Man Island didn't break 10 billion.
But there's no need to recall him.
The potential of Fish-Man Island hasn't been fully tapped.
As long as pirates want to enter the New World, they must pass through there.
The loot offered freely, the heads ripe for the taking—if you don't seize the opportunity, you're letting it slip away for nothing.
As for the G-3 base, just assign another Vice Admiral to garrison there.
Another document:
"CP Agencies Collaborate to Dig for Treasures" — total haul: 30 billion berries, with Marine receiving 15 billion.
"Ohara Scholar Publishes Treasure Ruins, Recovered from Pirates" — 11 billion berries.
"Kaido of the Beasts and Big Mom, combined contribution" — 160 billion berries (100 billion from Kaido, 50 billion from Big Mom).
"Truly worthy of future Emperors of the Sea, they can easily produce over 100 billion berries." Akira shook his head.
No wonder Doflamingo moved from North Blue to the Grand Line.
The speed at which they accumulate wealth is unmatched.
The Donquixote Family worked hard for decades and saved less than 100 billion berries.
Yet Kaido of the Beasts can pull out 100 billion berries just like that.
And that's without needing to manage their influence, living a life of indulgence.
The difference is staggering.
The Big Mom Pirates contributed 50 billion berries.
As a pirate of equal reputation to Kaido, her amount should be similar.
But her precious second son, Katakuri, was swindled out of a lot of money by that "Roger Makes Money!" scheme, so despite all efforts, he could only gather 50 billion.
Vice Admiral Gion, knowing that they would be hollowed out by Marine eventually, didn't push for full payment and let them go after receiving the final payment.
"It's a pity I only know the preferences of these two; otherwise, I could've squeezed even more out of them."
Akira said with some regret.
Kaido likes Zoan fruits—no problem!
He could consult the staff department for the Devil Fruit encyclopedia, jot down the shapes of each Zoan, and use the Transformation Leaf to replicate them.
Big Mom likes finding husbands from different races to bear children—not a problem!
The world is filled with countless races; as long as the price is right, Akira can provide whatever she desires.
Whitebeard, on the other hand, loves having sons.
But even in this bizarre world, you don't pay to have sons.
And he's also poor, so Akira didn't bother betting on him.
"These two must have realized by now who swindled them; I wonder if they dare come to Marineford to confront me."
Akira narrowed his eyes slightly, pondering.
During the battle of Alabasta, the Transformation Leaf, a symbol of Akira's devil fruit ability, must have been exposed.
In this case, when pirates and underground dealers realize that the Devil Fruits and treasures they purchased at a high price turned into withered leaves, they should easily figure it out.
But Akira soon shook his head and smiled.
Bringing their grievances to Marineford, the Marine Headquarters, looking for trouble?
How many lives do they think they have?
It's not like Akira cheated them out of something essential—it was just a few berries. It's certainly not worth risking their entire group to go up against the Marines.
As long as they have any sense, they'll be furious but ultimately accept their loss.
Akira then turned to the next document:
"Total Amount of Fraud by the Fraud Department"
Seeing this report, Akira immediately perked up.
He had been eager to know just how effective the deceptive tactics, inspired by the notorious schemes from Blue Star, could be in this pirate world, where many have a low level of intelligence.
One, ten, one hundred, one thousand, ten thousand… Ten million, one hundred million, one billion…
"Ten billion, huh?!"
Akira counted the numbers one by one with his index finger, and when he saw the figure reach a hundred billion, his pupils involuntarily widened.
"Two… twenty-five hundred and seventy thousand berries?!"
"How could there be so much?"
Akira quickly picked up the file and scrutinized it carefully.
After reading it back and forth at least ten times, he finally set it down.
"Good grief, it turns out the staff department is far more ruthless than I imagined."
Akira let out a long breath.
Now he understood why the fraud department had surpassed its goals by such a wide margin.
The staff had gone above and beyond!
The level of deception they inflicted on pirates and mafia members was targeted at exactly the right kind of people.
Their tactics were utterly ruthless!
The kind of schemes where they wouldn't stop until they'd pawned even the underwear off their victims.
Moreover, the civil servants had no moral qualms about deceiving these criminals. Their enthusiasm and initiative in this deception were far greater than when dealing with ordinary civilians.
At the stage where Akira didn't even have to ask, they had developed complex, serial scams.
For instance:
The person who just called you? He was here to rescue Roger, right? Great, give me his number. Waiting for the captain to pick you up must be boring and lonely, brother. Want to buy some tea?
Or:
Did you apply for a massive loan to request a son out of money? No problem, send him to me. I know a way for him to borrow money from the king of loan sharks, "God of Fortune" Lu Feld. Of course, if I vouch for him, I'll definitely get a 100-million-point referral fee.
In situations like this, except for the duped fools, Lu Feld ended up being the most harmed.
There were countless examples of these serial deceptions.
After all, the staff were all scholars—smooth talkers with sharp minds, which made them well-liked.
Akira liked those guys too.
But…
Looking at the massive sum of 250 billion berries, he couldn't help but lick his lips.
Goodness, what a sight!
He never intended to deceive this much from the start.
He was counting on Marine Bank to make up for the trillion-berry shortfall.
"Currently swindled…"
Akira mentally calculated and came up with a jaw-dropping figure: "695.8 billion berries!"
Hiss…
Even he couldn't help but take a deep breath at that staggering number.
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