A Cry for Help in a Cup

"Don't touch the brazier!" Nami's voice pierced the Sky Screen first. Her Clima-Tact was already unfolded, but Zoro blocked her at the deck edge. "If the ledgers are burned, people will be written back into the debt list."

Robin immediately said, "Nami's words can serve as local witnesses, but temporary authorization is required; otherwise, the Throne will say she is not the fifth seat."

Luffy pressed his Straw Hat down a bit. "Then Nami say she knows the place."

Akainu looked at the Navy Seat deputy screen, "Cocoyasi Village is under the jurisdiction of the East Blue region. The Navy can send the nearest branch to access it, but is not allowed to collect evidence independently."

Long Dao: "The Revolutionary Army's secret agents in the East Blue have infiltrated to protect the villagers and avoid contact with the original inhabitants."

Makino glanced down at Lin Qi, "Ask about the local witness qualifications, and don't let Nami rush into the fire."

Lin Qi typed the question, and the crack on the edge of the keyboard caught on his fingertip. He didn't pull his hand away, but simply finished the word.

[Cocoyasi Local Witness Qualification Questions]

[Question: When the account books near Cocoyasi Village are suspected of concealing the identities of the second batch of Void King Attendant, Nami, who is familiar with the local history of persecution, be authorized as a local witness?]

[A. No, it's invalid if there are fewer than five seats]

[B. No, it would taint my pirate identity]

[C. Observer Only]

[D. Yes, Nami can participate in the verification as corroborating evidence of local persecution history, but she must not handle the evidence alone and must be protected by multiple witnesses.]

Nami stared at option D, her lips moving slightly. "I choose D. I won't touch the evidence; I'll only admit to the crime."

Akainu said, "Navy Seat, D."

Longdao: "Revolutionary Army Seat, D."

Makino said, "The Civilian Witness Seat, D."

Lumi said, "Victim Seat, D."

Buggy said, "Pirate Joint Seat D, let the person who owes the debt take responsibility for this."

[Answer: D]

A golden corroborating seal appeared in front of Nami. The scene in the tax office was zoomed in. The ledgers in the brazier stopped burning. The edges of the pages were lifted by Golden Light. The man in the tattered uniform tried to press the ledgers into the fire, but his wrist was frozen in mid-air.

The man shouted in a trembling voice, "I'm just following the old rules. Arlong is gone, but the taxes are still due. The people at the Throne say the accounts can't be dropped."

Nami looked at the old tollbooth sign on the wall, her fingers tightening around the Clima-Tact, then slowly relaxing. "What's your name?"

The man dared not look at the Sky Screen. "Gente, the former tax collector."

Nami asked, "Gente, I'm asking you, is the person under the cabinet a tax, or a person?"

Gente opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything for a long time. The cup next to the brazier made another noise, and the little hand under the cabinet withdrew a little.

Lumi immediately said, "The child is listening; don't let the tax collector speak for him."

Robin said, "First, freeze the ledger holder's right to name the target at the bottom of the cabinet."

Lin Qi took over the question.

[Question about protecting the name of the target at the bottom of the cabinet]

[Question: Can former tax officer Gente continue to refer to the bottom of the counter as tax arrears or supplementary accounting entries?]

[A. Yes, ledger records take priority]

[B. Yes, old taxes have not been cleared.]

[C. Can be temporarily referred to as the project]

[D. No, the targets at the bottom of the cabinet should be tentatively defined as potential victims and witnesses, and should not be referred to as debts or goods.]

Five seats were unanimously voted D. The black ledger line at the bottom of the cabinet was cut open with Golden Light. The cabinet door was not forcibly pulled open, only revealing a pair of dusty feet inside.

Nami softened her voice, "Can you hear me? You don't need to come out, just tap the cup first."

The cup made three clinking sounds, paused for a moment, and then made two more.

Mia flipped through the old medical code, her brow furrowing deeper and deeper. "This isn't Medical Department code, it's a local ledger code. Quickly, is someone here?"

Naji, wrapped in a thermal blanket, struggled to lift his head. "He can't speak, he just pats the cup."

The Void Seven. "Second batch of East Blue targets, suspected to be training targets for Cup Voice, old name not shown, ledger name, Orange Tax Difference."

Nami crumpled the sea chart on the table. "Orange Tax Difference? They wrote the child as an orange tax?"

Gente hurriedly shook his head, "I didn't write it. It's an account left over from Arlong's time. When the World Government took over, they said all the discrepancies had to be made up, and this extra entry in the ledger can't be deleted."

Robin said, "The extra money isn't in taxes, it's in the form of children being stuffed into the accounts."

Akainu said, "Records taken over after Arlong's transfer."

Longdao said, "We also need to recruit replacements after the World Government takes over."

Lin Qi sped up the pace of setting the questions a little.

[Orange Tax Difference Rating Question]

[Question: Can the Orange Tax Difference in the ledger be used as a legitimate record of the target's identity?]

[A. Yes, ledger records serve as identification.]

[B. Yes, but the difference needs to be recovered.]

[C. To be confirmed by the tax officer for now]

[D. No, this record is suspected of being a form of population smuggling and debt-based persecution. The books should be frozen, and the person who added the record and the agency that took over should be investigated.]

[Answer: D]

Turning to the supplementary entry page of the ledger, below the rough handwriting from the Arlong era, there was a neat new line of World Government takeover stamps, with the Custodian's number written next to the stamp: East Tax Nine.

Vegapunk looked at the number, "The Custodian System and the Void Seven are from the same source, just a localized version."

Nami bit her lip, preventing herself from blurting out the curse, "Where is East Tax Nine now?"

Just as the Sky Screen was about to be positioned, a voice from inside the Black Gate interrupted.

"Local taxation falls under the Livelihood System; the question setter has no right to interfere."

Lin Qi didn't look up. "The more anxious you are, the more I'll ask."

[Local tax authorities' power to investigate population smuggling]

[Question: When local tax records are suspected of concealing the identities of the second batch of Void King Attendants, can the Throne use the name of the Livelihood System to prevent investigation?]

[A. Yes, but the Livelihood System must not be disturbed.]

[B. Yes, tax verification takes precedence over identity verification]

[C. Can be sealed and not inspected]

[D. No, the Livelihood System must not be used as a tool to conceal the population or shift blame; it should be subject to multi-faceted review and the protection of genuine taxpayers.]

After the five seats were unanimously voted D, the location of East Tax Nine was not directly disclosed, but only shown as the old warehouse area of Loguetown, which coincided with the second distress call.

Akainu glanced at the Navy's control panel. "Loguetown branch, stand by. No one may enter the Old Warehouse without Sky Screen's authorization."

Long Dao: "The Revolutionary Army's informant in Loguetown only blocks the streets, not breaks down doors."

Buggy frowned. "The two points are connected. Is the third point at sea also related to him?"

Robin glanced at the three beats. "It's possible the second batch wasn't scattered and hidden, but rather part of a transshipment chain."

Inside the tax office, Gente suddenly knelt down, raising his hand over the brazier. "I didn't know there was a living person in the cabinet. I only heard the cup rattling and thought it was Nezumi."

Nami stared coldly at him, "The people of Cocoyasi have been burdened by debts; you know debts can devour people."

Gente lowered his head. "I know."

Lumi said, "He is guilty, but let the child out first."

The military medical team connected remotely, stating, "The space at the bottom of the cabinet is narrow, and the target may be dehydrated for a long time. Do not pull it out forcefully."

The Revolutionary Army doctor said, "Personal consent and a safe passage are required."

Lin Qi immediately posed a question.

[Protective Rescue of a Target from Under the Cabinet]

[Question: How to rescue the suspected second batch of Void King Attendant, which are covered by account books and hidden at the bottom of the cabinet]

[A. Forcibly pulled out]

[B. Hand over to the old tax officer for processing]

[C. Wait for the local authorities of the Throne to take over]

[D. With remote medical guidance from multiple parties and witnessed by local villagers, the individual's wishes were first confirmed, a safe passage was maintained, and the account book was removed before protective rescue.]

Nami closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again. "D."

Five people followed suit and voted. The floor in front of the cabinet was paved with Golden Light, and a woman from Cocoyasi Village was authorized to enter. She knelt in front of the cabinet and placed a cup of warm water outside the gold thread.

The woman said softly, "Child, the cup is here; you don't need to pat the ledger."

After a moment of silence at the bottom of the cabinet, a small hand reached out, its fingertips not touching the water, and tapped the cup four times.

Mia flipped through the code. "He said, the name is gone."

Nami turned her face away, paused her shoulder movement for a moment, and then looked back at the screen. "It's okay if it doesn't have a name. Let's find the name together."

The child at the bottom of the cabinet had half his body out, his hair so messy it covered his face, and a Tax Token hanging around his neck with the words "Orange Tax Difference" engraved on it.

Just as Golden Light was about to touch the Tax Token, a black mark popped out from the back of the Tax Token.

[East Tax Nine Remotely Holds Sovereignty over the Books]

The scene in the old warehouse district of Loguetown lights up, showing a man wearing round-framed glasses sitting in the middle of a pile of ledgers, holding another cup in his hand, slowly turning the rim of the cup upside down onto the table.

"Who said," he chuckled across the Sky Screen, "That the difference can be automatically cleared from the books?"