"Not yet."
Tsuru took a sip from her teacup and said, "I'm responsible for this matter. Over the past few months, I've pressed the higher-ups about it once a week on average, but their answer has never changed. Nothing but evasive excuses like 'insufficient funds' and 'still being raised.' This time was no different."
War was cruel in the end. Needless to say, the Pirate Alliance had been utterly wiped out in the Summit War, but the Marines had paid no small price as well.
Thirteen thousand had died, while more than thirty thousand had been seriously wounded. Such staggering numbers naturally required an enormous amount in compensation.
Yet in preparation for this war, Marine Headquarters had nearly exhausted all of the Marines' savings. Coupled with the various postwar cleanup efforts, their coffers were truly empty. They simply could not afford the payments and could only request special funding from the higher-ups.
This should have been perfectly justified, and to the World Government, the sum was nothing at all.
Yet nearly four months had passed, and the funds still had not been released. Just as Tsuru had said, every request from Marine Headquarters had been delayed by the World Government under one excuse or another.
It was truly unacceptable.
"There's no need to press them anymore. I reckon the funds will be released soon enough," Sengoku suddenly said.
"What?" Everyone around him looked at him in surprise.
"Didn't I mention before that the higher-ups had been rather vague about the resignation I submitted?"
Sengoku said calmly, "But they can't remain vague forever. They should give a definite response this month. Most likely, the World Government will send one of its confidants to take over as Fleet Admiral. When that happens, the compensation funds will naturally be released."
"You mean..." Momonga