Tatsuki picked up a piece of senbei and took a crunching bite, his expression turning serious. "Borsalino, you have to understand that the salary the World Government pays us only buys our time, it doesn't buy our lives."
"Since it's a purchase of time, as long as we appear at our posts during working hours, we have fulfilled the contract. As for risking our lives?"
Tatsuki chuckled, flicked his cigar ash, and his gaze became deep and sharp. "That costs extra."
Boom!
A bolt of lightning seemed to strike within Borsalino's mind.
His sunglasses slid down slightly, revealing those signature deadpan eyes, which were now wide open as if a door to a new world had been flung wide.
"Extra... cost?"
"Exactly."
Striking while the iron was hot, Tatsuki continued to instill this idea.
"For a few hundred Berries a month, why are you playing with your life? That's something for the Admirals and the Fleet Admiral to worry about. We only need to provide the level of justice that matches our salary."
"With the salary in place, Roger is toast. With insufficient pay, health is wealth."
Borsalino was stunned.
The teacup stopped at his lips, the steam from the tea fogging up his sunglasses and blurring his vision.
Previously, when he slacked off, he would feel a hint of guilt, wondering if he was being too passive or if he was failing the word 'Justice' on his back.
But today...
Tatsuki's words, though they sounded rebellious, were, when he thought about it, the absolute truth.
"I see."
Borsalino nodded slowly, the curve of his lips gradually widening until it became an extremely lewd yet joy-filled smile. It was the smile of someone who had found their direction in life.
"Tatsuki, you really are a philosopher. I have attained enlightenment."
He raised his teacup and clinked it against Tatsuki's with a crisp sound.
[Ding! Deeply distorted a future Admiral's worldview, successfully implanted the 'Slacking' ideological core!]
[Judgment: Extremely subversive! This move will result in the future Marines losing a hot-blooded Admiral!]
[Violation Points +2000!]
Tatsuki looked at the numbers on the system panel, the corners of his lips curling up wildly.
This was a total steal.
The two smiled at each other, sharing a sense of being kindred spirits who had met too late, as they continued to enjoy their hard-won afternoon tea in the sea breeze.
Time passed minute by minute.
The sea breeze suddenly stopped, and the air became unusually sultry and oppressive, making it hard to breathe.
Under those two sun umbrellas, two figures were still chatting and laughing, with no intention of moving.
Until...
That familiar, oppressive sound of footsteps came from the shore.
Tap... Tap... Tap...
Zephyr, with a dark expression, wearing his coat of justice, stepped onto the gangway with heavy strides.
Having finished his official duties, he specifically came early to inspect. He thought he would see two students tired, sweating profusely while scrubbing the deck, or at least showing a bit of remorse.
But as soon as he stepped on the deck, the sight that met his eyes almost gave him a cerebral hemorrhage.
He saw those two eye-catching sun umbrellas.
He saw the wisps of blue smoke rising.
He even smelled that familiar cigar scent with its unique pine aroma in the air, along with the scent of expensive black tea.
That was his special supply of cigars!
That was the black tea he had cherished for half a year and couldn't bear to finish!
The veins on Zephyr's forehead bulged instantly.
"TATSUKI!!!"
"BORSALINO!!!"
The roar, infused with Haki, made the entire warship tremble slightly.
"Present!"
"Present!"
Two figures instantly launched from their lounge chairs and stood at attention, their movements perfectly synchronized.
Zephyr strode over, his gaze like a knife, scanning their uniforms which were so dry not a drop of sweat was on them, finally resting on the mop that hadn't even touched water.
"This is the result of your scrubbing all afternoon?"
Zephyr pointed at the deck full of dust and bird droppings, laughing out of sheer frustration.
"The clothes are dry, the mop is dry. And you're even drinking my tea and smoking my cigars. You've got guts."
Boom!
Zephyr's "Black Arm," famous across the seas, instantly hardened, and the surrounding air seemed to vibrate.
"Since you don't want to scrub, then don't. I'll throw you both into the sea right now to learn what diligence is from the Sea Kings."
Facing the enraged Admiral, Borsalino's eyes behind his sunglasses narrowed slightly, and his body instinctively tensed. He was about to say something like "How scary. Zephyr-sensei is really angry," but Tatsuki beside him beat him to it.
"Reporting, sensei!"
Tatsuki suddenly shouted loudly, without a trace of fear on his face, but rather with the confidence of someone in control of the situation.
"The deck cleaning work is ready, only the last step is missing. It's not that we are lazy, but that we are waiting for the right moment."
"The last step? The right moment?"
Zephyr sneered, the Haki on his fist becoming a bit heavier, clearly on the verge of exploding.
"Relying on your glib tongue to blow it clean?"
Tatsuki didn't speak. He just slowly raised his wrist and glanced at the time on his watch. That certain look made Zephyr pause for a moment, his punching motion stalling slightly.
Tatsuki watched the second hand tick.
His lips parted slightly as he began to count down.
"3."
"2."
"1."
As the last number fell, Tatsuki's finger flicked downward gently.
"Justice from Heaven!"
Boom!!!
The moment the words fell, a blinding bolt of lightning tore through the sky, instantly lighting up the port in a ghastly white.
Then, a delayed clap of thunder exploded, deafening.
Zephyr instinctively looked up at the sky. Before he could react, the rain clouds that had been brewing all afternoon finally collapsed.
Crash!
Raindrops as big as beans smashed down wildly like machine-gun fire.
At the moment the thunder sounded, the prepared Tatsuki and Borsalino stepped back in perfect synchronicity, precisely dodging under those two huge sun umbrellas.
Pitter-patter!
A torrential downpour and violent gales broke out.
The rainwater washed the deck like a high-pressure water gun, and along with the gale, it instantly swept through every corner of the warship.
The sea breeze howled, kicking up waves several meters high that slapped against the hull, merging with the rain from the sky to form a powerful natural torrent.
The dust, dirt, and bird droppings on the deck disintegrated instantly under the wash of this natural force, gathering into a turbid stream that rushed out through the drainage holes on both sides of the hull.
Only a dozen seconds passed and the originally dusty deck was now washed bright, even reflecting silhouettes. It was countless times cleaner than manual scrubbing.