East Tax Nine

"Put the cup down." Nami didn't yell; she slammed her Clima-Tact against the deck, leaving a white mark on it from the metal tip. "You didn't take the ledger."

East Tax Nine adjusted his round-framed glasses. A pile of ledgers from the old Loguetown warehouse lay on the table. He didn't look at Nami, but simply ran his fingertip along the rim of his glass. "Once the local discrepancies are recorded, the entire East Blue old tax system will be in chaos. Miss, you understand accounting; you should know that someone has to fill the gaps."

Nami sneered, "I know how to keep accounts, so I know you're cheating on me."

Akainu said, "Lock down on East Tax Nine. The Loguetown branch is not allowed to open fire without authorization."

Long continued, "Evacuate the civilians around the old warehouse. Don't let him blow up the ledgers and cause a public safety incident."

Robin looked at Lin Qi, "First ask if the discrepancy in accounting will cause a collapse of legitimate taxation, shutting down his excuses."

Lin Qi typed out the problem statement.

[Impact of Discrepancy Resettlement on Review Questions]

[Question: Will removing the Orange Tax Difference status from the bottom-tier target cause the legitimate taxation in the East Blue to become invalid and force civilians to bear the shortfall?]

[A. Yes, ordinary citizens must pay the outstanding amount.]

[B. Yes, the difference must not be removed from the accounts.]

[C. Can be recovered by local authorities]

[D. No, the spurious difference caused by population concealment should be separated separately and not passed on to ordinary citizens; the true tax situation should be verified separately.]

Makino spoke first, "Civilian Witness Seat, D."

Akainu said, "D."

Dragon Path: "D."

Lumi said, "D."

Buggy said, "D, don't use the poor's accounts to wipe the Throne table."

[Answer: D]

The words Orange Tax Difference Cocoyasi Tax Token were surrounded by Golden Light, but they didn't immediately fall off. The cup in East Tax Nine's hand made a soft sound, and the child at the bottom of the cabinet shrank his shoulders.

Vegapunk said, "The cup is the controller; it reverses the target's distress signals into a constraint."

Nami's face turned cold. "He tapped the cup for help, so you used the cup to tie him up?"

East Tax Nine smiled. "The SOS codes need to be managed, otherwise the kids will send out random SOS messages."

Naji, wrapped in a thermal blanket, was still teeth chattering, but he struggled to speak clearly, "No, you're not allowed to manage the cups."

Luo Ya, leaning against the doorframe, said, "They taught me to pat the cup; they're afraid we'll call my name."

The page Void Seven. "The second batch of Cup Voice training aims to replace spoken language and facilitate accounting."

Robin said, "Change the Cup Voice from the controller back to the speaker's own voice."

Lin Qi's fingers moved rapidly across the keyboard.

[The Right to Express Cup Voice]

[Question: Does East Tax Nine have the right to change the Cup Voice distress code at the bottom of the counter to a controller and ledger constraint?]

[A. Has the right, manages expression]

[B. With the right, the Cup Voice is returned to the ledger]

[C. Can be used as a temporary constraint]

[D. No right; the Cup Voice should belong to the individual's right to express themselves and seek help; the control system should be frozen and preserved as evidence of persecution.]

Five seats were unanimously voted D. The cup in East Tax Nine's hand was frozen by the Golden Light, the Black Line at the bottom of the cup broke in half, and the Tax Token around the child's neck at the bottom of the cabinet loosened a little.

The child didn't make a sound, but reached up to touch his throat and then gently patted the glass of warm water beside him.

Mia flipped through the code, "He said, 'It hurts.'"

The military doctor said, "The Tax Token on the side of your neck is injured. Don't remove it yet; wait until the Golden Light completely peels off."

The Revolutionary Army doctor said, "Give him a temporary protective name, don't use the Tax Token name."

Lumi looked at the child, "What name would you like to use first?"

The child looked at the warm water cup, then at the orange tree behind Nami in the Sky Screen, and tapped two beats on the cup with his fingers.

Mia whispered, "Orange, cup."

Buggy scratched his head. "Ju Bei? That name sounds too casual."

Nami looked at the child on the screen, her tone not softening to comfort, but more steady than before, "You can call him Ju Bei for now, and change it when you want. A name isn't an account book that you can change yourself."

Lumi said, "The Victim Seat requests confirmation of the temporary protective name, Ju Bei."

Lin Qi adds the supplementary questions.

[Temporarily Protected Name Ju Bei Confirmation Question]

[Question: If the target at the bottom of the cabinet is identified by the Cup Voice, representing Ju Bei, can it be registered as a temporary protected name?]

[A. Not possible; Tax Token name takes priority]

[B. No, requires approval from the East Tax Nine.]

[C. Not registering at this time]

[D. Yes, Ju Bei is my temporary protected name. I reserve the right to change it in the future. The name on the Tax Token may not refer to me anymore.]

[Answer: D]

The Tax Token on the neck of the Ju Bei cracked, and East Tax Nine's cup tipped over. Water flowed down the old warehouse table and into the seams of the ledgers. The ledgers didn't get wet; instead, a series of transit records surfaced.

Robin read aloud one of the lines, "The East Blue Cup Voices components are being transported to the old warehouse in Loguetown, awaiting handover at sea."

Long Dao: "The third point of drifting at sea is the receiving ship."

Akainu stared at the sea chart. "Naval vessels are not allowed to approach the drifting point recently. Seal off the outer perimeter first."

Buggy said, "If you don't come closer, who will save us? Let the sea vote?"

Vegapunk zoomed in on the drifting site, "There's no ship there, just a floating hull, and it's still moving. It might be carrying a second batch of remains or another living person."

East Tax Nine raised his hand, intending to press the seal under the table, but the Momonga outside the old warehouse in Loguetown said coldly, "Move again, and your hand is no longer yours to control."

East Tax Nine didn't stop; his hand touched the edge of the seal, and the seal lit up on its own.

[East Tax Nine Launches Local Liability Exemption]

[Note: All operations are automatically generated by the Throne Livelihood System; the Custodian bears no personal responsibility.]

Akainu scoffed, "Here we go again, shirking personal responsibility."

Long said, "He's more clear-headed than Void Seven. Don't let him use him as a tool."

Robin said, "Asking for exemption from liability is invalid, while simultaneously protecting the possibility of being reformed; the two cannot be confused."

Lin Qi sets the questions.

[East Tax Nine Exemption Review Questions]

[Question: Can East Tax Nine use the Throne Livelihood System to automatically generate names, exempting it from on-site review of population burial, Cup Voice control, and transfer records?]

[A. Yes, no personal responsibility]

[B. Yes, the system will generate this automatically]

[C. Hand over to the Throne for internal processing]

[D. No, their authority to destroy evidence should be restricted and their personal responsibility examined. It should also be verified whether they were also subject to the Throne takeover process.]

With five unanimous votes (D), a local government takeover seal emerged from East Tax Nine's chest. It wasn't the Void Seven, but rather layers of ledger pages wrapped around his heart.

Mia looked at the seal. "He was also someone embedded in the ledger, but retained the power to make judgments."

Nami said, "You're reserving your judgment and still putting the child in the account; this cannot be used to offset the debt."

East Tax Nine finally looked at Nami, "You hate debts?"

Nami replied, "I hate people who use debts as weapons."

Upon hearing this, the Ju Bei slowly pushed the cup away.

East Tax Nine's smile vanished. He took off his round-framed glasses, revealing a string of tiny numbers behind the lenses. "Then you should hate the person who wrote the first ledger."

The Void Seven. "East Tax Nine Source Files, from the second batch of numbers, unofficial Void King Attendant, Minsheng Takeover Experimental Subject."

Luo Ya looked at the Master Page, "Is there a branch in the second batch?"

The Throne Mark on the edge of the Master Page rotated, and the floating box at the drift point suddenly accelerated, beginning to drift towards the Calm Belt.

Vegapunk shouted, "The floating container has been remotely towed away!"

Akainu asked, "Who's dragging this?"

The Sky Screen expands onto the sea, and an invisible ledger line extends from the old warehouse in Loguetown. At the other end of the line, there is no ship, only a page of ledger paper floating on the sea, with a line of small writing on it.

[Handover failed, floating container decommissioned]

Lin Qi's question then popped up.

[Questions on the Review of Orders to Cancel Floating Bodies at Sea]

[Question: Does the East Tax Nine or the Throne Livelihood System have the right to invalidate the floating pontoons due to a failed handover?]

[A. Has the right to destroy if the transfer fails]

[B. Has the right; the floating box is an attachment to the ledger]

[C. Can be registered after sinking at sea]

[D. No right; the pontoon may contain living bodies or remains of victims. The order to freeze and void the pontoon should be immediately frozen, and a multi-party maritime rescue operation should be initiated.]

Nami held down the Clima-Tact, "D."

Five unanimous votes were cast, and the buoy's line was held back by Golden Light. But at the same time, black water seeped from the seams of the buoy's cover, and the sound of a child knocking came from the sea, more chaotic than the Cup Voice of Ju Bei.

Mia searched for a long time, her face growing paler. "He's not calling for help."

Lumi asked, "What is that?"

Mia flipped to the last page of the old codebook, her fingertip pausing on the edge of the paper. "He said, don't open the box."