Little Money Grubber

"Watch out!"

Deuce hurriedly caught the swaying Ace, who was vomiting blood without stop.

Bartolomeo and his lackeys kept applauding and cheering from behind. "Senior Noki, that was शानदार!"

"I fought that brat for so long and couldn't hurt him at all, yet Senior Noki seriously injured him in just two moves. As expected of my idol!" Bartolomeo's face was full of worship.

Noki's gaze rested on Ace for a moment before he raised his voice slightly to explain, "He's a Logia user. Ordinary attacks are useless against him. Only Haki, seawater, or Seastone can hurt people like him."

Bartolomeo knew a little about seawater and Seastone, but he had never even heard of Haki.

"Senior Noki, what's Haki?"

"It's a power hidden within the human body. What I used just now was one type of Haki, called Armament Haki. Like this."

Noki kicked off the ground rapidly and flashed in front of Ace. A glossy black aura covered his fist before he threw a punch into Ace's abdomen.

The immense force even injured Deuce from a distance, sending both of them crashing down.

"Amazing!"

The admiration in Bartolomeo and the others' eyes grew even stronger.

"D-Damn it!"

Seeing his companion hurt, Ace gritted his teeth through the agony coursing through his body and forced himself upright. "Deuce, run! I'll cover your retreat. I can't keep dragging you down!"

"Flame Net!"

The flames within Ace erupted. Layer upon layer of blazing fire formed a towering wall, completely surrounding Noki, Bartolomeo, and the others.

Deuce understood Ace's intentions. If he did not leave now, both of them would probably die here, and Ace's sacrifice would be wasted. He quickly scrambled to his feet and ran desperately into the distance.

Noki's eyes, cold as a winter night, glinted with icy light. An invisible killing intent burst forth, crushing Ace until he could barely breathe. "I gave you a chance to leave. Since you failed to cherish it, don't blame me now!"

Then Noki moved. As though ignoring the searing flames entirely, he walked straight through them and blocked Deuce's path.

"Ah..." Deuce's pupils contracted, and he could not hide the fear in his eyes.

"Finger Pistol!"

Noki jabbed with his right index finger, piercing Deuce's chest. Blood dripped from his skin onto the ground.

"Stop right there!"

Ace was enraged. Blazing flames erupted like a volcano, as scorching as the overwhelming fury in his heart. What he could not tolerate most was anyone hurting his companions!

Before meeting Ace, Deuce had merely been an ordinary writer. He only felt a deafening buzz explode in his head, and everything in his mind went blank. His knees hit the ground, and he passed out.

"Flame Fist!"

Ace's eyes were bloodshot and his face twisted viciously as he charged at Noki with his fist swinging.

Noki sneered. Facing Ace's furious but utterly unstructured attack, he first used Dark Water to neutralize it, then raised his fist and smashed it hard into Ace's head.

"Heh, you're too weak. So weak that you can't even protect your own companion."

Ace's vision gradually blurred, but he still struggled to get back up.

Even Bartolomeo could not help praising his astonishing perseverance.

"It's time to end this."

Noki lifted his long leg, aimed at Ace's waist, and brought it down sharply.

"Tempest Kick!"

"Pfft!"

I lost completely again...

That was Ace's final thought before losing consciousness.

Ace lay facedown on the ground, blood from his wounds staining the dirt red.

After confirming that Ace had completely lost consciousness, Noki brushed the dust from his clothes. Ignoring the two men barely clinging to life on the ground and the Marines around Bartolomeo, he headed straight toward the town.

"Senior Noki, wait for us." Bartolomeo led his lackeys after him at a brisk pace.

Who knew how much time passed.

A middle-aged man in a brown robe, his face covered in stubble, found the two young men.

"That Noki kid really went too far. If he didn't want them dead, he could've held back a little. Injuries this serious will cost quite a bit in medical bills and nutrition expenses. What a waste..."

Loguetown Marine Base.

When Dezaya heard that her childhood sweetheart and "good friend," Bartolomeo, had caused a major disaster, she laughed so hard she could not close her mouth. She could not resist running to Noki's office to gloat.

"Hahaha, so you have a day like this too!"

Under normal circumstances, Bartolomeo would never have tolerated Dezaya being so arrogant in front of him, but now he could only endure it!

Who told him he was guilty now?

Bartolomeo and several of his lackeys knelt on the floor, not daring to raise their heads and meet Noki or Ain's eyes.

On the way back to the base, Noki had not said a single word to them, leaving them deeply unsettled.

Noki had begun paying attention to the fact that Bartolomeo and the others could not shake off their bandit nature long ago.

At first, Noki had Sergeant Carter give them professional training and education, instilling in them the noble ideals of the Marines. Unfortunately, the results had been minimal.

From then on, Noki understood that if he wanted Bartolomeo and the others to truly transform into Marines, ordinary gradual influence would not be enough. They would probably need some event to provoke them.

Clearly, today was an excellent opportunity.

It was time to make them deeply understand the severity of breaking the rules.

Noki looked at them. His imposing presence made the atmosphere in the room oppressively heavy, and even Dezaya, who was usually so carefree, did not dare to fool around in front of him now.

"Bartolomeo, you know there are clear Marine regulations forbidding Marines from fighting whenever they please, correct?"

"Senior, I know, but that brat insulted you before, so I couldn't hold myself back and hit him.

And didn't you act later too? Doesn't that mean what I did wasn't entirely wrong?"

"What do you think the purpose of the Marines is?" Noki suddenly asked.

"Of course it's maintaining social stability and cracking down on criminal forces!" Bartolomeo answered decisively. He still understood that much basic knowledge.

"Your actions today may have cracked down on criminal forces, but what do you think you protected?"

"This..." Bartolomeo was left speechless.

Noki sneered. "I'm afraid you not only failed to protect anything, but instead destroyed the town's peace, didn't you?

A thriving restaurant that was operating normally was completely ruined because of your impulsive actions. Do you know what that means for an ordinary family? It means losing their livelihood. It means that family might suffer from cold and hunger because of it!"

Bartolomeo hurriedly said, "Don't worry, I'll compensate them."

"Do you think this is such a simple matter that compensation can settle it? If every Marine acted like you and attacked without considering the consequences, then sooner or later, a tragedy would occur where Marines sacrificed an entire town just to eliminate a few pirates. At that point, what difference would there be between Marines and pirates? Marines might even become more terrifying and feared than pirates!"

Bartolomeo fell silent.

Noki continued, "I don't care why you joined the Marines. Since you've become Marines, you must uphold its responsibilities and fulfill its duties. If you can't do that, then there's no point in being Marines at all. I permit you to leave."

"Senior Noki, we can meet the Marines' standards. Please don't drive us away!" Bartolomeo panicked upon hearing that.

"That's right, Senior. Give us another chance."

"There definitely won't be a next time!"

The lackeys all hurriedly echoed him.

Ain and Noki understood each other without needing words. Seeing that the situation was about right, she spoke up to persuade him. "Noki, they only joined the Marines recently. Everything takes time to adapt to, and mistakes are inevitable. Forgive them this once and let them make up for it in the future."

"Senior Ain is right. We'll definitely make up for our mistakes." Bartolomeo pounded his chest in assurance. "A true man never takes back his word."

Noki pondered for a moment before saying, "Even so, punishment is still necessary. Bartolomeo, I remember you once said that you could handle any physical training Dezaya could endure, right?"

"Of course!"

"Then, in addition to compensating the restaurant for all its losses, you'll undergo two extra weeks of training at twice the intensity Dezaya endured back then. Dezaya will supervise it. During that time, if you refuse any reasonable arrangement from Dezaya, it will be treated as a violation of military discipline."

Bartolomeo glared at the smug Dezaya beside him. "You mean she's going to train me?"

"Your temperament is too overbearing. Dezaya was like you at first, but she has improved greatly recently. It would be perfect for her to share some experience with you. Is there a problem?"

"No!"

Bartolomeo gritted his teeth and accepted it.

"As for the rest of you, your daily training will be doubled for two weeks. I'll have Sergeant Tashigi supervise you."

"Understood, Senior!"

The lackeys answered in unison.

"Then that's settled. All training begins tomorrow. You may return and rest."

Dezaya slapped Bartolomeo hard on the back and snickered. "Let's go, little apprentice. Be good and listen to your coach for the next two weeks."

"You're only supervising me. Who the hell are you to teach me?!"

"Hm? You dare talk so big? Double your training again tomorrow."

"You!!"

"Master gave me this authority. Do you have an issue with Master's decision?"

"No! Just you wait!"

"Double it again."

"Hey, are you trying to train me to death?!"

For some time afterward.

Noki's bandit reformation plan progressed exceptionally smoothly.

Bartolomeo in particular, under Dezaya's "discipline," was so exhausted every day that he could not utter a single unnecessary word. His temper gradually wore down considerably.

During this time, Noki also met Nami for the first time.

There were not many women in the Marine base.

A girl with orange hair was even more unique, so although Noki had never met her in person, he recognized her at a glance.

When Nami first met this famous Marine rear admiral, she finally understood why her sister had fallen for him. Such a stunningly beautiful man could not possibly have a second equal anywhere in the world.

Even she, a little beauty herself, found him breathtaking.

"Hello, Rear Admiral."

Nami gave him a fairly standard military salute.

In Noki's eyes, even that salute looked quite cute. Perhaps it was because Nami was young and still looked childish. She was probably only fourteen or fifteen now.

"Hello."

Noki glanced at the books she held in her arms and asked, "Have you learned anything recently?"

"Mm, I've been reading books about the Grand Line. They've broadened my horizons a lot. I really want to go to the Grand Line and experience it for myself soon." As she spoke, anticipation filled her bright, watery eyes.

"You'll have the chance. I heard you know quite a lot, and you're not just a navigator?"

"Rear Admiral, do you mean my profession as a pirate thief?" Nami blinked, suddenly feeling a little nervous inside.

Noki shook his head. "I spoke with your sister about you a little. From what she told me, I know your abilities aren't limited to those two things."

"What else did my sister tell you?"

Nami thought it over carefully. It seemed she did not have any other skills worth showing off.

"She said you're a versatile talent. Besides navigation and thievery, you know a little about other things too, including financial management and personnel deployment."

Nojiko had obviously never told him that much. Since Nami would not go back specifically to verify a single statement, Noki simply said what he wanted to convey.

Nami smiled and scratched the back of her head, looking rather embarrassed. "My sister praises me too highly. I've just had more life experience than most people. I'm not that amazing."

Noki looked at her pretty face and said, "She also said you're a little money grubber. As long as the money is right, it seems you can do anything."

"I really am a money grubber, but..."

Before Nami could finish, Noki casually pulled a thick stack of Beli notes from the pocket of his Marine coat. With a single glance, she estimated there was roughly a million in it!

"Rear Admiral, what would you like me to do?" Nami immediately changed her tone, her expression becoming exceedingly attentive.

Noki put the money away again. He had not prepared it specifically for Nami; it just happened to be in his pocket. "Nothing. I was just conducting an experiment. Go back to what you were doing."

"Ah, Rear Admiral, the price is negotiable. I really do know a few... things in other fields."

Seeing Noki about to leave, Nami hurriedly called after him.

This was a rare opportunity to make money!

As a professional money grubber, she absolutely could not let any chance to earn money slip away!

Noki stopped and thought for a moment. "My future ship will lack someone capable of managing personnel, finances, resources, and other such matters. If you can handle that job while doing your work as a navigator, I wouldn't mind giving you additional rewards on top of your regular Marine salary. As for now, there truly isn't anywhere I can make use of you."

"How much is 'additional'?" Nami asked cautiously.

"It'll definitely be more than your salary. If you do well, I can even ensure you get promoted. The higher your rank, the more your pay will increase accordingly.

Also, if you learn some combat skills while completing those first two jobs, your rewards will double."

In Noki's eyes, Nami possessed talent beyond what ordinary people could hope to match. If properly nurtured, she would surely become one of his greatest aides in the future. Compared to that, money was particularly insignificant.