章節 41: 41. You Say It's Not Worth Trillions? Sakazuki, Give Them A Little Shock!
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The Golden City was so dazzling that everyone had to squint their eyes.
This spectacle snapped everyone out of their shock.
"Hiss..."
The sound of people sucking in their breath filled the air.
The next moment, the port buzzed with noise like a crowded marketplace.
"My God, that's the Golden City, an actual noble city made of gold."
"The newspaper, the newspaper didn't lie! The Marines really have a mountain of gold."
"How many berries is this worth? It couldn't be spent even in hundreds of years, right?"
"You're thinking too small. Be bold! It can't be squandered in even tens of thousands of years."
"Seeing it in person is completely different from what I saw in the newspapers and on screens. I almost suffocated just now."
"I want it, I really want it! Brothers, I want that Golden City."
"Hee hee hee hee~~~ The Marines are a bit too confident, showing up like this without even an Admiral for an escort."
"Who said pirates don't have money to pay wages? With this much gold, how can they be short of cash?"
"I wonder if the One Piece Roger left behind has this much gold?"
"To see such a sight in this life, I could die happy."
It wasn't just those witnessing it in person who were shocked.
All over the world, people watching the live broadcast were stunned by this scene.
Greed, shock, obsession…
And so on, all these emotions could be found in the eyes of everyone who saw the Golden City.
But among the Marines, there was more joy and relief in the faces of the officers and soldiers.
With the end of the month approaching, not only were the officers worried that the Marines wouldn't have berries, but the lower-ranking soldiers were even more concerned.
After all, this was directly related to their pay.
In the current Marines, it was almost a given that there were as many soldiers as there were unpaid salaries.
The most recent recruits were the least owed, but those who had been battling at sea had been waiting for over three months, nearly four months, for their pay.
Those at the bottom had no source of information and knew little about the money-making activities of the higher-ups.
Naturally, they were most worried about whether Akira could pay their salaries in full at the end of the month.
Although Akira stayed in the office all day, he knew what the soldiers were thinking.
So, when the news of the Golden City was broadcast live worldwide, the soldiers couldn't be ignored.
Many Marine bases also gathered their soldiers to watch this grand event under Akira's orders.
"It turns out our Marines are rich. The Fleet Admiral didn't lie to us."
"So much gold, it's definitely enough to pay our salaries."
"I can finally feel relieved. I'll tell my wife tonight so she can relax too."
Soldiers everywhere muttered to themselves.
"Whew!"
Borsalino raised his hand to shield his eyes from the light as he looked at the port: "There are so many people."
"Not surprising. The headquarters has been doing a lot of publicity these days."
Kuzan, with his hands in his pockets, exhaled a breath of cold air: "Those who don't care about money distributed a large number of newspapers for free, and even we received dozens of copies."
It's okay not to mention this, but Borsalino's wrinkled face suddenly drooped as he brought it up.
"I don't know which idiot wrote that headline. When did I ever say I'd buy the whole world?"
"And this gold isn't even mine personally, okay?"
Kuzan opened his mouth slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he just sighed and remained silent.
In fact, it wasn't just Borsalino. Both he and Sakazuki had been mentioned frequently in recent times.
Like these headlines:
[Vice Admiral Kuzan arrogantly declared that without him, the headquarters would fall apart! Even the Fleet Admiral nodded in agreement!?]
[Shocking! What's going on here? Fire and ice working together—who could have made this happen?]
[…]
The absurdity of the news headlines was paired with content too mundane to fail.
Take the first headline, for example. The article roughly claimed that without Kuzan freezing the sea to support the Golden City's transport, it would have sunk into the deep ocean, making it impossible to move.
At that point, if such a massive amount of wealth was lost, there would be big problems for Marine headquarters.
While the content wasn't entirely incorrect, when did he ever arrogantly shout anything to the headquarters, hey?
The second headline was about him and Sakazuki, who has magma powers, working together to transport the Golden City.
More importantly, the article focused on introducing readers to just how tall and massive the Golden City was, requiring the combined efforts of an Admiral and two Admiral candidates to protect it.
It wasn't wrong to say that fire and ice worked together because of the Golden City.
But that title….
Kuzan, being one of the people involved, felt embarrassed and couldn't accept it.
But after seeing so much of it, he understood the effect of this strange news.
—It was to let more people see and know: the Marines really have a big Golden City.
Such intense bombardment of free information, paired with various catchy headlines written by unknown people, meant that anyone in the world who received newspapers was aware of it.
This was evident from the crowds gathered at the Alabasta port ahead.
Suddenly, enormous waves exploded in front of the warship.
"Marines, your Golden City has been accepted."
"Hahahaha, brothers, charge! Kill the Marines and seize the Golden City!"
"Hey! Charge, charge."
Several pirate ships rushed forward, firing from a distance.
The pirates on board brandished their swords, their faces flushed with greed as they aimed for the Golden City.
Kuzan frowned slightly, just as he was about to make a move.
"Meteor Volcano."
Sakazuki unleashed a barrage of massive magma fists into the air, raining down on the pirates.
Boom boom boom.
The sea erupted with massive explosions, and the sound of steam hissing could be heard endlessly.
When the smoke from the high temperature evaporating the seawater cleared, the front suddenly became clear.
The pirates who had been blocking their way had vanished without a trace.
Except for a few floating corpses, it was as if they had never been there.
"With such little strength, they dare to rob the Golden City. They don't know when to quit." Sakazuki retracted his ability and snorted coldly.
"I think it's better not to get complacent."
Borsalino pinched his chin, and his usually lazy eyes sharpened: "Did you feel that? There was a strong presence just now. It seems some terrifying monsters have arrived."
Kuzan and Sakazuki didn't respond, but their muscles tensed up.
With such blatant promotion of the Golden City, it's impossible to think no one would try to seize it.
During the time the three of them had been at sea, they had faced countless attacks.
Some were from pirates, some from the Mafia, some from the kingdom's nobles, and even commoners.
After all, not everyone has the willpower to curb the desire for greed.
"Borsalino, what should we do next?" Kuzan asked.
"Let's stop for now and wait for someone to come over!" Borsalino replied, waving his hand and gesturing to the rear.
The ice surface, which had been advancing rapidly, suddenly halted and stayed in place.
Seeing this, the Marine reporter at the port quickly explained to everyone:
"Everyone, to reassure the world that this ice is filled with genuine gold, the Marines have invited a hundred of the most renowned gold appraisers to carry out the appraisal and valuation in front of everyone."
"Please, everyone, remain calm and wait patiently."
He directed this not only to the Den Den Mushi broadcasting the event but also to the crowd gathered at the port.
The crowd, which had been growing restless, immediately quieted down.
Some people exchanged glances with their companions, sheathing their swords, realizing that the value of the Golden City had piqued the curiosity of many with ulterior motives.
The next moment, under the watchful eyes of the entire world, a hundred appraisers, mostly between the ages of fifty and eighty, appeared, escorted by soldiers.
Protected by a Vice Admiral, they boarded the warship and headed towards the Golden City.
"I've spent my whole life appraising gold, but I've never seen this much before."
"It's so magnificent, I'd be willing to pay 10 million berries just to sleep in this Golden City."
"Thanks to the Marines, my career has never been more colorful."
Without any hindrance, the appraisers approached the Golden City, trembling with excitement.
After a brief moment of awe, they finally remembered their job thanks to Borsalino's reminder.
They spread out, took out their professional instruments, and began tapping and identifying the gold.
The port of Alabasta fell into a hushed silence.
People watching the live broadcast worldwide were glued to their screens, waiting for the results.
Though everyone knew the gold belonged to the Marines, it didn't stop people from being intensely curious—how much was such a massive Golden City worth?
Time ticked by, and as the sun began to slide westward, the appraisers finally concluded their work, gathering together to compile data, exchange information, and discuss the value.
After nearly two hours of deliberation, an eighty-year-old appraiser, highly renowned in his field, stepped forward to address the world on behalf of everyone.
"Everyone, on the reputation of myself and the ninety-nine other appraisers here, I assure you!"
"The gold on the ice is all..."
The eighty-year-old appraiser took a deep breath, and under the gaze of everyone, announced loudly:
"Real!!!"
The port remained silent for a moment.
Then, an overwhelming commotion erupted.
After the crowd calmed down, the appraiser continued:
"As for the valuation of the Golden City, we all agree..."
"Please wait!" Sakazuki suddenly interrupted, stepping forward.
He looked at the appraisers and, in a voice only those nearby could hear, said, "The Fleet Admiral wishes to speak with you. Please follow me."
Without waiting for a response, he ordered the soldiers to escort the hundred appraisers to the Golden City.
This move didn't provoke much reaction; everyone was too caught up in the shocking revelation that the Golden City was indeed made of real gold.
"Akira's approach is very thorough," Kuzan remarked, looking at the crowd.
With his keen observation, he noticed that some who had previously doubted the authenticity of the Golden City were now displaying greedy eyes, eager to take everything inside.
It made sense—although most people didn't think for themselves, they weren't simply going to believe whatever the Marines said. A vast amount of gold like this would be hard to trust without a reputable organization or individuals confirming its authenticity.
And with a hundred appraisers invited by the Marines, some of whom were nearly at the end of their lives, even if the Golden City were fake, their unanimous agreement would make it seem real. But this gold was undeniably genuine.
"I'm even more curious about what they plan to do after all this appraisal if they don't intend to sell it," Borsalino mused, raising an eyebrow and glancing at the Golden City out of the corner of his eye.
The curiosity was killing him!
But Borsalino couldn't leave. If someone suddenly got violent and rushed over to snatch the gold, things could escalate quickly.
Inside the Golden City, the hundred appraisers stood together, staring at the Den Den Mushi held in Sakazuki's hand.
"Hello, appraisers. I'm Akira, acting Fleet Admiral," Akira's steady voice echoed through the room.
"I asked you to come here mainly to know your estimate for this Golden City."
The appraisers exchanged uncertain glances until the oldest among them finally spoke up, "Acting Fleet Admiral, it's truly difficult to estimate the value of this Golden City."
"Therefore, we can only make judgments based on our experience, but rest assured, we are all professionals," he added. "Even if there is an error in the valuation, it won't be significant."
Akira narrowed his eyes and laughed lightly, "So, you can't give a specific value and can only judge based on experience?"
"Yes, that's correct," the appraiser confirmed.
"Well then, do you think it's worth a quadrillion berries?"
Akira's words made the air go still.
Even Sakazuki, who was always serious, couldn't help but glance at the Den Den Mushi, wondering if he had heard it wrong.
A quadrillion berries? Did he add an extra zero?
Even though Sakazuki wasn't an expert on gold, he knew that was impossible. During the transport of the Golden City, he had discussed with Borsalino and Kuzan, and the three agreed that solving the current 1 trillion berry shortfall in the Marines would already be a huge win.
But Akira's appetite was far larger than expected.
"Impossible!" the old appraiser responded without hesitation.
Speaking with the confidence of someone who had spent his entire life in the field, he stepped forward and declared:
"Unless you gather all the gold in the world, it would be impossible to reach a value of quadrillion. And even then, it's only a possibility, but this Golden City is far from reaching that scale."
"And, acting Fleet Admiral, you should understand the laws of the market. No matter how rare an item is, once it floods the market, its value is halved or even rendered worthless."
"Assuming this Golden City is worth as you expect, once it's all put on the market, you'd be lucky to get tens of trillions in the end."
After finishing, the old appraiser raised his head slightly, leaning on his heavy cane, "We are the only professionals in gold valuation."
The ninety-nine other appraisers behind him nodded in agreement.
"It is precisely because I trust your expertise and authority that the Marines specifically invited you," Akira said, his tone serious. Then, he got straight to the point, "If the Marines want you to announce to the world that this Golden City is worth tens of trillions of berries, would you cooperate?"
"Of course, we won't let you work for free. Each of you will receive a million berries for your trouble."
The appraisers were momentarily stunned.
But the old appraiser, the most experienced among them, reacted first. His expression hardened, and with an upright stance, he pointed his cane at the Den Den Mushi, his voice filled with anger:
"Do you want us to tarnish the precious reputation we've worked so hard to build, to help the Marines make false claims and deceive the world?"
"Do you think we're your obedient subordinates? I'm telling you, it's impossible!"
"Even if I have to die, I will never agree."
The other appraisers, inspired by his resolve, stepped forward to stand behind him, showing their support through action.
"Heh..." Akira suddenly chuckled.
He lit a cigarette with a snap, exhaling the smoke calmly, but his voice had turned cold and ruthless.
"Did you think I was asking?"
"Sakazuki, give them a little shock to remind them of their place."
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