Our Navy Has Good Benefits

At Marine Headquarters, Fleet Admiral Steel Bone Kong spoke into a Den Den Mushi: "Our Marine Headquarters has received orders from the Five Elders. All of our elite forces are currently in the New World, guarding against the Whitebeard Pirates and other pirate crews. Garp is in the New World hunting down Roger. We simply cannot spare any top-tier experts to deal with these Flame Dragon Pirates."

Jimiel spoke up: "I am indeed no match for that guy. Unless you dispatch an Admiral, it will be very difficult to capture this Flame Dragon Julian." Fleet Admiral Kong replied: "Don't worry about him for now. The Five Elders already have other arrangements for Flame Dragon Julian." Fleet Admiral Kong hung up the Den Den Mushi and fell into deep thought.

Fleet Admiral Steel Bone Kong thought to himself: I would like to dispatch an Admiral, but Sengoku must remain at Headquarters to stand by and protect the Celestial Dragons. Zephyr has moved to the second line to focus entirely on training Marine elites, and he refuses to take orders or serve the Celestial Dragons. Garp is even more direct; he openly shouts in public, 'Who would be willing to protect that trash?' and has repeatedly refused promotion to Admiral.

A Marine Admiral earns five million Berries a month, a Vice Admiral four million, and a Rear Admiral three million. The salary is indeed high, but the price of being an Admiral is being constantly on standby at Marineford. If there are no major incidents on the sea, they must stay obediently at Marine Headquarters to protect the Celestial Dragons. Every Celestial Dragon has the authority to command an Admiral.

Even when Akainu became Fleet Admiral, he was looked down upon by the Celestial Dragons at the Holy Land Mary Geoise, receiving treatment even worse than that of elite CP0 members. During the incident where Kuma went berserk at the Holy Land Mary Geoise, Akainu went to protect the Celestial Dragons, only to have a Celestial Dragon point at his head and curse: "Akainu, you brat, didn't you eat? You're a useless bucket of slop." Admiral Ryokugyu was scolded even more directly by the Celestial Dragons: "Ryokugyu, you useless thing! If any of us get hurt, it'll be your execution!"

Fleet Admiral Kong fell into deep thought again, thinking: If our Navy could have one more Logia Devil Fruit user, we would at least have the combat power of another Vice Admiral. If we had one more top-tier Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit user, we would at least have the combat power of an Admiral. If two such Devil Fruits were combined, it would be truly terrifying.

Fleet Admiral Kong thought to himself: This Flame Dragon Julian still needs to be dealt with. As for the South Blue... Fleet Admiral Kong thought for a moment and decided to let Vice Admiral Kizaru from Headquarters make the trip. This would be the Headquarters providing high-level combat support to the South Blue, and he could also see if he could help Gion go undercover within the Flame Dragon Pirates.

Fleet Admiral Kong took out a Den Den Mushi and began calling Kizaru's. A sleazy-looking man who was literally counting money picked up the Den Den Mushi. "Moshi moshi?" Kizaru pursed his lips and said, "Marshal, what are your instructions?" Fleet Admiral Kong said: "The Flame Dragon Pirates are in the South Blue and have repeatedly attacked World Government member nations. Go over there and provide support."

"If you can capture them, wipe them all out. The captain of the Flame Dragon Pirates, Julian, is a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit user—a dual-ability user with the Fire Dragon Form and the Earth-Earth Fruit. You must be careful." The pursed-lipped Kizaru pursed his lips again and replied: "How scary~ A Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit... and a dual-ability user at that."

Fleet Admiral Steel Bone Kong continued: "By the way, find Commander Gion and help her go undercover in the Flame Dragon Pirates. She isn't carrying any communication equipment, and we have lost contact with her." Kizaru indicated he understood, hung up the phone, and then took out the key to his safe to put all his Berries inside.

The pursed-lipped Kizaru possessed the Logia Glint-Glint Fruit and had the ability to fly. As he prepared to use his Devil Fruit ability to take off, Kizaru thought to himself: What was the bounty on this Flame Dragon Pirates crew again? Five hundred million? Kizaru thought about his savings—he already had five hundred million Berries. He had to work harder; he was almost forty, and this amount of Berries didn't seem enough for his retirement. Plus, he had to raise Sentomaru; that little guy could really eat. Kizaru thought to himself: I have to work even harder, and began fantasizing about ways to make money.

Meanwhile, Julian had already begun counting his supplies. This haul was massive—treasures from over a dozen castles. Julian used earth to wrap and store them on his person. Because he was carrying so much, Julian's body became heavy.

Julian had also obtained a Fine Grade Sword and thought he would give it to Allison; the sword he was using was definitely not of Fine Grade quality. As for Herbert, he already had the Great Grade Sword Phantom and the Great Grade Sword Wind-Cutter. Julian had also obtained 1.7 billion Berries and a quantity of gold and silver coins. Julian gave each of the eight Division Captains 100 million, and gave Herbert 200 million.

Julian let the Division Captains distribute the Berries to the brothers under their command. As for the First Mate, he could give them to whoever he wanted. What made Julian happy was that Herbert's Armament Haki had just awakened. Although the color was very faint, Herbert was preparing to walk the path of the Black Blade. Julian had given Herbert that introductory Armament Haki Training Manual, and Herbert had been practicing for a long time; this operation had finally borne fruit.

Julian had a hundred copies of that introductory Armament Haki manual made, and every Division Captain and Squadron Captain had a copy. The Squad Leaders were not yet at the level to practice Haki. Julian himself had not yet awakened Armament Haki, but he had awakened Conqueror's Haki. Julian spent his daily life focusing on training his Conqueror's Haki.

Julian looked at the slaves, maids, and house servants before him. These were all people rescued from the nobles' castles and dungeons—about two thousand slaves in total who had been locked away.

These slaves had been tortured until they were barely human. Julian selected some of the young people to join the ship, and for the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled slaves, he gave each of them 10,000 Berries and told them to leave quickly. The elderly people were extremely grateful to Julian, and most of the slaves bowed to him. Julian waved his hand and said: "Everyone, leave here quickly! Find a remote village and live a good life!"

The elderly, weak, sick, and disabled slaves teamed up with their Berries and left. Julian had his logistics staff move all the books from the castles onto the ship. Julian was prepared to let his Division Captains and officers slowly get in touch with culture.

Several thousand books were transported onto the ship by Julian. Looking at the empty castles, with only the structures remaining, Julian and all his crew returned to the ship. All the crew members had gained a great deal from this operation. Julian prepared to continue toward the Grand Line.

Along the way, everyone was full of spoils, and many were singing loudly. Julian was also very happy; there was nothing more satisfying than a successful haul. They even had two more treasure maps.

Julian already had over two billion Berries, and his gold was worth at least a billion. With the additional billion-plus, he now had over three billion. Julian thought to himself: How many Devil Fruits could I buy with this? Julian was not very interested in Berries anymore. If it were Devil Fruits, his home would be very comfortable. Julian returned to the Flame Dragon and put all the treasure into the treasure room. Julian thought to himself: These Berries are too heavy.

When all the crew members were on board, Julian ordered the navigator: "Set sail!" Julian returned to his room, where three women were waiting for his return. Seeing Julian, the three women walked to his side, full of smiles. Alice asked, "Did the operation go smoothly? How many Berries did you get?" Julian led the three of them to the treasure room. When the three women saw it, they were truly shocked—over three billion Berries, gold worth over a billion, and various other jewels. It would be impossible for them not to be shocked.

Alice said: "Is all of this yours? Did you distribute the Berries to the other Division Captains?" Julian said: "I already distributed them. 100 million for each Division Captain. You didn't think I was the only one getting rich, did you?" Alice asked again: "What about Mr. Herbert?" Julian said: "I gave him 200 million. He's worried about money now too; he doesn't know how to spend it. Old Sen is probably going to a weapon shop to buy a Famous Sword, but Famous Swords are quite hard to come by."

Julian looked at the three women before him and said: "Aren't you going to rest yet? Are you planning to experience the scent of gold here?" Beatrice shook her head quickly and said: "I'm going back to sleep." Alice said: "Rich people talk differently now." Julian said: "If you like it, I'll give it to you." Alice smiled at Julian and said: "You're really generous! You don't even look at that much money!" Julian said: "Money is just paper. If you can't spend it, it's useless."

Commander Gion had already arrived at Philojina Island with an innocent look on her face. Gion said: "I'm here to go undercover in the Flame Dragon Pirates, and they didn't even give me a budget? They dropped me off and the navigator just left! The person driving that ship is really outrageous."

Gion had arrived at Philojina Island in the South Blue aboard a Navy Ship. The warship dropped her off at the pier and immediately turned back toward the Red Line. The navigator said with a look of disgust, "This trip was a total waste of time; it's basically unpaid overtime. She even tried to lure me in and ask for a loan. Pfft, I only make ten thousand Berries a month. The last guy who asked me for a loan ended up as ashes. I'm never lending money in this lifetime. These days, nine out of ten undercover agents end up as dust, and she still wants to ask me for money? In her dreams."

Gion had just arrived on the island and didn't have a single Berry on her. She hadn't expected that Navy undercover agents had to pay out of their own pockets, with no hope of reimbursement upon returning. Gion didn't know what to do. Should I go rob some pirates? she wondered, then reached for the sword at her waist. "I didn't even bring my sword," she muttered. "I'm a master of swordsmanship, but I'm not very good at Body Techniques."

Gion pondered, "I wonder when the Flame Dragon Pirates will arrive. If I go to be a slave too early and end up getting sold, wouldn't my undercover mission fail?" After thinking it over, she decided it would be best to head to the kingdom's Navy base.

Once she finished speaking, Gion began asking for directions on the street. After learning the location of the Navy base, she headed toward it, observing the shops and vendors along the way. "Looking at all this is making me hungry," Gion said. "The main problem is that I didn't bring any money."

Upon reaching the Navy base, Gion thought, I am an elite Commander from Marineford Headquarters; surely they will give me some face. Encouraging herself, she walked up to the base entrance. Two Marine Soldiers were standing guard. Gion walked straight up to them and said, "Listen closely, I am Commander Gion from Marineford Headquarters. I have business with your base commander."

The lead Marine Soldier replied, "You, a Commander from Headquarters? Look at you, just a regular young girl, and you dare to impersonate a Commander? Where is your Commander's uniform? Don't tell me you're planning to go undercover in a big pirate crew and then ask us for a loan. To be honest, we see at least five people like you every day. There was even one even more ridiculous—a guy in his twenties who told me he was the Marine Hero, Garp the Fist, and that if I gave him one hundred thousand Berries, he'd teach me his Iron Fist. I ended up punching him until he cried. Get lost! If you don't leave now, I'll punch you until you cry, too."

Gion was stunned. "One hundred thousand Berries to teach the Iron Fist? How dare these people impersonate Vice Admiral Garp? Vice Admiral Garp is one of the people I respect most."

The second guard chimed in, "The day before yesterday, someone told me his uncle was Fleet Admiral Steel Bone Kong and that if I gave him fifty thousand Berries, he'd get me a position as an Admiral at Marine Headquarters. He even said that since I'm a bit chubby, he'd call me Admiral Fat Dragon. I gave him two slaps to wake him up. If you don't leave, I'll give you two slaps to wake you up, too."

Gion shook her head and muttered, "The people on this island are certainly fierce."