At this moment, inside the Fleet Admiral's office at Marine Headquarters...
Fleet Admiral Sengoku set down the Den Den Mushi, crossing his hands under his chin as he frowned in deep thought.
After a moment, as if recalling something, he leaned forward, pulled open a large drawer beneath his desk, and began rifling through a stack of bounty posters. His fingers skimmed through the pile before stopping at one in particular. He pulled it out and examined it carefully.
[Name: Mock, Captain of Mock Pirates]
[Bounty: 30,000,000 Berries]
This was the bounty of Mock, the captain of the Mock Pirates-the very same pirate that had been giving the Marines' 16th Branch an endless headache.
Ordinarily, someone of Sengoku's rank wouldn't pay much attention to small-time pirates like this. Even though a 30-million-Berry bounty was high for the East Blue-the weakest of all seas-Mock was still just another pirate confined to those waters.
As long as he didn't step into the Grand Line or stir up any significant trouble, Marine Headquarters had no reason to concern itself.
That said, the 16th Branch had been frequently applying for military funds. The auditors had confirmed that their requests were legitimate, if a bit excessive in frequency. That had raised some eyebrows.
However...
Now it seemed...
Sengoku stared at the poster, a grimace forming on his face. "It seems we've misjudged the 16th Branch. They are just honest marines who are overwhelmed by stronger enemy."
Escaping from Garp? Earning Garp's recognition? And for Garp himself to suggest raising Mock's bounty to 50 million Berries?
This wasn't something an ordinary Marine branch could handle on its own.
A pirate like this was, indeed, a problem-even in the relatively peaceful East Blue.
That the 16th Branch had managed to hold out against him for so long was, in hindsight, almost unbelievable and commendable.
But then, why had such a strong pirate remained in East Blue for so long?
Was he lacking ambition? If so, why was he constantly clashing with the 16th Branch? What grudge did he have against them?
Sengoku's mind drifted to Dante Ashford, the base commander of the 16th Branch. He had some recollection of the man-once a prodigious Marine Commodore, before getting demoted to Captain and his career had seemingly gone into decline. Did bashing into Vice Admiral and getting demoted affect him that much? But He's out in East Blue, he shouldn't be facing any issues from above.
For years, Dante had been stationed in the East Blue, without any noteworthy accomplishments to his name. At one point, Sengoku had even suspected him of exaggerating the Mock Pirates threat to embezzle military funds.
But now...
If even Garp was vouching for the situation, perhaps their assumptions had been wrong.
Garp was many things-careless, troublesome, constantly sneaking into Sengoku's office to steal his snacks-but one thing he wasn't was a liar.
Especially not about pirates. After all, Garp hated pirates.
As a Marine hero, Garp would never collude with a pirate. What would he have to gain from it?
Sengoku let out a sigh, shaking his head before returning his gaze to the bounty poster. His lips curled into a wry smile. "Looks like another big-name pirate is about to emerge from the East Blue."
First, Portgas D. Ace had caused chaos in the Grand Line and the New World. Now, another major pirate force was rising in the so-called weakest sea.
'Is something big brewing?'
The only silver lining was that, for now, the Mock Pirates remained in East Blue.
Sengoku thought for a moment, then picked up a pen and, without hesitation, crossed out the "3" on the bounty poster, replacing it with a "5."
Then, raising his head, he addressed the Marine officer standing at attention before him.
"Notify the financial approval department: the 16th Branch's military fund requests are legitimate. Approve their allocation and increase it by an additional 10%." His expression hardened. "And relay this message to Base Commander Ashford-under no circumstances are the Mock Pirates to be allowed to enter the Grand Line."
---
Meanwhile, at the 16th Branch...
"No problem," Dante said, rubbing his temples as he looked at the fiery young woman in front of him. "I already had Nota apply for more military funds. We should be able to hold out for a little longer."
Nami, arms crossed, glared at him with puffed-up cheeks.
"Military funds? Who knows how long it'll take for Marine Headquarters to actually send them? And even if they do, how much will it be? We can barely afford training and equipment as it is-never mind everything else that needs funding!"
Dante sighed as Nami continued her tirade. "I thought I could use Marine Headquarters to my advantage, but instead, I'm the one stuck bailing them out? This is a total loss!"
She fixed Dante with an unhappy look.
"You tricked me! You said I'd be managing the money, that I'd be the finance minister of the 16th Branch, and that I'd get to see lots of cash."
Dante coughed awkwardly. "Well... technically, you did see a lot of money, didn't you?"
"Oh, I saw plenty." Nami scoffed, slamming a hand down on the table. "But before I could even enjoy it, it was all gone! You're a terrible liar, you know that? I'm telling you right now-I quit! Do you have any idea how painful it is to watch so much money slip through my fingers?" She gritted her teeth. "And the 50 million Berries I had? Spent. All thanks to you!"
Dante let out a strained chuckle, scratching the back of his head.
Nami wasn't just a Marine Petty Officer-she was also the acting finance minister of both the 16th Branch and the Conomi Archipelago.
And if there was one thing Nami took seriously, it was money.
She kept an incredibly detailed record of every Berry spent, down to the last coin. In that sense, Dante was actually quite pleased with her work.
As for the so-called "50 million Berries"...
That was the money Nami had painstakingly saved over the years as a thief.
Of course, Dante knew she wasn't truly upset about the 50,000,000 Berries-she was just venting.
Right now, Cocoyashi Town's main source of income came from canned tangerines and tangerine jam. Thanks to his help, along with the unique recipe left behind by Bellemere, sales were decent. But even so, funding both the town's development and the Marine branch was a real struggle.
Still...
"Training soldiers and purchasing equipment is expensive," Dante admitted with a sigh as he stood and walked over to Nami. "But there's no way around it. If we don't have the strength to protect ourselves, everything we're building here will be meaningless."
Strength is everything.
He looked at Nami with a rare moment of sincerity, his voice carrying both reassurance and gratitude. "You've worked hard these past few years. I'll find a way to fix this as soon as possible."
For a brief moment, something in Dante's voice cut through her frustration, leaving her silent. She averted her gaze, as if unwilling to let him see her hesitation.
"I-I know! I was just complaining," she muttered, her voice losing some of its edge.
Then, with a sigh, she crossed her arms. "But knowing we don't have enough funds, why are you pushing so many projects at once? Cutting trees, fixing roads-those things can wait! What's the rush?"
Grumbling under her breath, she turned toward the door. "I'll talk to Nojiko and the others and see if we can ramp up production at the tangerine factory," she said as she walked away. "Seriously... at this rate, even if we sold canned tangerines across the Grand Line, it probably still wouldn't be enough to cover your spending."
Only when her footsteps faded into the distance did Dante let out a long breath, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
From her seat, Robin gave him an unimpressed look and sighed. "Boss, you really are heartless. Exploiting a young girl like that?"
Dante raised an eyebrow. "Exploiting? What do you mean, exploiting?" He took a slow sip of the tea Robin had poured for him. "I'm nurturing her potential. That's called good leadership! Look at how well she manages everything."
Robin rolled her eyes. "Right. And you expect me to believe that?"
"You're my most trusted secretary," he said smoothly.
"Yeah, well, I don't believe it." She sighed and leaned back. "That being said, Nami has a point. Maybe we should put some projects on hold. We really don't have the funds to sustain everything right now."
Dante waved a hand dismissively. "Money's just a minor issue." He took another sip of tea, unbothered. "It'll be tough for a little while, but I'll have Mock round up some pirates to fill the gap. If that doesn't work..."
His eyes flickered, as if struck by a sudden idea, a glint of gold seeming to spark within them. "I know where Shandora-the City of Gold-is." A slow, knowing smile spread across his face. "It's overflowing with treasure. If money gets tight, we'll just take a little gold."
Robin's teacup paused midair. 'Shandora? The legendary City of Gold? If that place really exists, then maybe... there's a record of the Void Century there.'
Her expression flickered, but then she quickly masked her interest, taking another sip of tea.
"City of Gold, huh?" she said casually. "If you're so sure about it, why not tell Nami?"
Dante hesitated. "I-"
Before he could finish, another voice cut in from the doorway.
"Oh? That's an excellent question. Why didn't you tell me?"
The tone was sweet, but the underlying threat was unmistakable.
Dante's teacup trembled slightly as he turned his head-only to see Nami standing in the doorway, arms crossed, a sly smirk playing on her lips.
"City of Gold?" she repeated, her voice practically dripping with amusement. "Gold everywhere?"
Dante forced a chuckle, slapping on his best sheepish smile. "Oh, that? I was just about to tell you! Hahaha, what a coincidence." He cleared his throat and quickly changed the subject. "By the way, why did you come back? Something on your mind?"
"I was going to ask you about the Swordsmanship Instructor."
"Oh, that?" Dante latched onto the distraction, nodding quickly. "I've already arranged everything. Judging by the time, they should be-"
He didn't get to finish.
"Forget about that." Nami cracked her knuckles ominously. "Let's talk about this whole 'nurturing my potential' thing."
Dante stiffened.
She clenched her fists tighter, her knuckles popping. Then, as if flipping a switch, her eyes glistened with unshed tears, and she wailed dramatically, "Do you have any idea how much stress I've been under?! The marine inspectorate is coming, we're out of money, and here you are sitting on a gold mine?!"
"I-I'm sorry."
"What's the use of apologizing?! I'm furious!"
"I-I'm really sorry!"
"Where. Is. The. City. Of. Gold!?"
"In... Sky Island."
"Sky Island? So it's really full of gold?"
"More or less," Dante admitted. "There's a city built entirely of gold, but... most of it was already looted by some idiot."
"I don't care who got to it first, whatever gold is still there belongs to me!"
Something about the way she was looking at him set off alarm bells in Dante's head.
'Wait a second... was she acting stressed?'
-------------------
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