Ten minutes later.
The G-5 thugs were obediently lined up in a square formation. Although the formation was still crooked, at least no one dared to make another sound.
Sakazuki stood behind Tatsuki and snorted coldly, clearly still unimpressed by the quality of this trash.
Tatsuki scanned the field and smiled. "I know you look down on people from Headquarters. You think we're here to boss you around, right?"
No one dared to answer, but the flickering gazes of many confirmed everything.
"I also know that you're risking your lives in this godforsaken place, earning that measly monthly salary that isn't even enough to find a decent girl in the Pleasure District, right?"
As soon as these words were spoken, many Marines snapped their heads up, a hint of resonance appearing in their eyes.
"Sometimes you even have to embezzle a bit of pirate loot, all while living in fear of being investigated by the higher-ups, right?"
The entire field was deathly silent.
This commander... how does he know everything?
What does he mean by this? Entrapment?
"Isn't it exhausting, brothers?"
Tatsuki stood up and spread his hands with a look of pained empathy.
"We're all putting our lives on the line for a living. Why should pirates get to live the high life while we're dirt poor?"
"Is that fair?"
"It's not fair one damn bit!"
"So!"
Tatsuki slapped his thigh, his voice suddenly rising.
"I'm here!"
"From today on, G-5 is under my command!"
"Forget all those bullshit old rules! I only have one new rule here!"
Tatsuki paused and grinned, revealing a row of white teeth. "I won't check your discipline, I won't look at your appearance. If you want to drink, drink. If you want to gamble, gamble. I won't care about any of it."
"I only want you to be able to fight!"
"In the future, when you seize pirate money or any ill-gotten gains, we split it seventy-twenty!"
"Seven for me, two for you!"
"The remaining ten percent goes into the base's public account for pensions and equipment upgrades."
The entire G-5 branch fell back into a deathly silence.
All the thugs were stunned.
They looked at each other, seeing a deep sense of... disbelief in each other's eyes?
No discipline checks?
And we can split the money openly?
Even though the commander takes the lion's share... before, we couldn't even get a single cent and had to be sneaky about it.
Where the hell did this god-sent commander come from?
"Com... Commander..." A brave troublemaker raised his hand tremulously, "What... what if we seize a civilian ship?"
"Idiot!"
Tatsuki went over and slapped him on the back of the head.
"We are Marines! How can Marines rob civilians?"
Disappointment immediately surfaced on everyone's faces.
Tatsuki's tone shifted. "However, we can set up checkpoints and have them 'voluntarily' pay a 'justice maintenance tax'. After all, protecting their safety costs us money too, right?"
Everyone's eyes lit up instantly.
Brilliant!
Absolutely brilliant!
The soldiers who still had some lingering dissatisfaction in their hearts felt their last shred of doubt vanish upon hearing this.
This new commander, though his methods were ruthless... he really seems to be looking out for the brothers.
This is the Marines?
This is damn well heaven!
"Long live the Commander!!!"
Someone shouted first.
The next second, a tsunami of cheers instantly drowned out the entire G-5 branch.
[Ding! Host has openly made corrupt remarks, leading the entire Marine branch's atmosphere completely into the abyss! ]
[Violation Points +8000! ]
Standing behind him, Gion's mouth was slightly agape, feeling her worldview shatter into pieces.
"Is... is this Tatsuki's way of leading troops? Although it sounds strange, it seems to be really effective?"
"This is simply nonsense."
Sakazuki watched this scene, and though he cursed under his breath, the black smoke on his fists slowly dissipated.
He might be stubborn, but Tatsuki had completely taken control of this most difficult unit in just over ten minutes.
Moreover, seeing that group of originally lifeless soldiers suddenly become bloodthirsty made it so he couldn't find fault with it.
As long as they could kill pirates and carry out justice, this kind of method wasn't unacceptable.
—
Early the next morning.
The entire sea area outside G-5 Branch underwent a sudden change in atmosphere.
Twelve warships patrolled the critical chokepoint like a pack of wolves and tigers.
On the massive sails of each warship, several arrogant characters were painted in eye-catching red paint, crookedly written—
"Marine G-5 Branch, Justice Maintenance Tax Collection Office!"
Below it was a line of smaller text: "Fair prices, no cheating. Those who refuse to pay will be physically transcended."
On the deck of the Storm.
Tatsuki had moved a comfortable beach chair and set up a huge sun umbrella. He was slumped lazily in the chair as if he were on a vacation beach.
Gion knelt beside him, her slender fingers picking up a purple grape, carefully peeling it before feeding it to Tatsuki.
She looked at the G-5 soldiers on the distant warships, who were howling with excitement and waving their blades and guns. Her brows furrowed slightly as she whispered, "Tatsuki, is it really okay for us to do this? If Admiral Sengoku finds out..."
Before she could finish, a drawn-out, wretched voice drifted over.
"Oh. If Admiral Sengoku finds out, he'll probably have a brain hemorrhage from anger."
Not far away, Borsalino was holding an account book just "collected" from a merchant ship. He was crossing items off the cargo list with a pen, complaining slowly.
"This is even more blatant than being a pirate."
"What's there to fear?"
Tatsuki chewed the grape Gion had fed him, juice splattering as he spoke indistinctly, "He can't reach us here. Besides..."
He tilted his chin lazily toward an underground merchant ship being ransacked by the G-5 veteran thugs, "We are weakening the forces of evil."
Tatsuki turned his gaze to the other side of the deck, toward that figure as cold and stern as a mountain.
"Sakazuki, you tell her."
"Of the ships passing through here, how many are clean?"
Sakazuki stood by the ship's railing and let out a cold snort upon hearing this. "Hmph! Aside from pirates who don't value their lives, they are either underground merchant ships transporting supplies to great pirates or filthy slave ships. Not a single one is innocent."
"Exactly."
Tatsuki slapped his thigh and sat up slightly.
"It's the same old saying. If they have no money, they can't buy guns and cannons, they can't recruit subordinates, and they can't do evil."
Sakazuki nodded in deep agreement. "Correct. Any act of subsidizing evil must pay a price."