Kane had no idea what Nami was thinking—and couldn't be bothered to care.
At this moment, his gaze fell on Nezumi.
"Speak. How much have you pocketed over the years? You only get one chance."
Nezumi shuddered violently.
He already knew about Arlong's death.
That was someone he could never deal with.
"F–fifty million Beli…"
"What?! Only fifty million?!"
Kane instantly flew into a rage.
Nezumi was terrified and immediately dropped to his knees.
"Vice Admiral! That's really everything I took! Arlong only paid me one million Beli a month, and I still had to split it with others—there wasn't much left!"
"Trash. After all these years, you only took fifty million? Useless."
Nezumi froze.
What did that mean?
Was he being criticized… for taking too little?
"Vice Admiral Kane, Fleet Admiral Sengoku is calling!"
A Marine's voice rang out.
"…Does that old man ever stop?"
Kane's complaint made Nezumi tremble even more.
"Buru buru buru…"
Kane picked up the Den Den Mushi.
"Are you done yet? I just danced once with the Pirate Empress, is that really such a big deal? If anyone's unhappy, tell them to come find me! I've bled for the Marines, I've—"
"Kane!"
Sengoku's voice suddenly rose several octaves.
Kane pulled the Den Den Mushi slightly away from his ear in annoyance.
"I'm the Fleet Admiral—your superior! Show some respect! And who asked about your nonsense?!"
Kane blinked.
"…Then what do you want?"
"You're in the East Blue, right? I've received a report—Captain Morgan of the 153rd Branch abused his authority and oppressed civilians. He's already been subdued. You're in charge of handling it."
"And next time—call me Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"
Click!
The Den Den Mushi went silent.
Clearly—
Sengoku had been angered once again.
"Couldn't he just say that calmly? Why yell… 'Fleet Admiral Sengoku'…"
Kane grumbled.
Still—
Since Sengoku personally called, he had to go take a look.
Gotta give some face.
Besides—
It had already been a few days.
Morgan was probably already defeated by Monkey D. Luffy.
And more importantly—
Morgan might be worth some money.
Isn't this just ready-made profit?
Already harvested, even.
Originally, this was supposed to be handled by Monkey D. Garp—
Now it had fallen into his hands.
Kane immediately gave orders.
"Bogey."
"Vice Admiral, I'm here."
"You heard Sengoku, right?"
"Yes, Vice Admiral."
"You heard it, so go make the arrangements."
"Yes."
Bogey was about to leave—
"Wait."
"Vice Admiral, any further instructions?"
"Before we go, report this guy's case. Confiscate all his assets. Have Headquarters assign a new officer to the 16th Branch. As for those corrupt Marines—handle them the same way."
"Yes, Vice Admiral."
A Marine entered and took Nezumi away.
After another full day of handling matters—
Kane's warship set course for the 153rd Branch.
Inside the office—
Kane was doing calculations.
"Previously: 8.5 billion Beli… plus 1.1 billion from Cocoyasi Village… plus Nezumi's 50 million…"
"Ignoring the scraps from the other Marines… subtract 100 million distributed…"
"That leaves 9.545 billion Beli…"
"Still short of 10 billion by 455 million…"
Technically—
Kane didn't have to share money with his subordinates.
But he had already said it—
And besides—
Sharing profits was the best way.
"Now it depends on how much Morgan can contribute…"
"He's been stationed there for so long… a few hundred million should be easy. Unless it's already been turned over… but since I'm handling it, probably not yet."
After several more days—
Kane and his men arrived at the 153rd Branch.
As soon as the warship docked—
He led his Marines ashore.
Inside the base—
"Release me now! I am the great Morgan! How dare you imprison me?!"
"Morgan, your crimes have been reported. Headquarters has ordered Vice Admiral Kane to handle this."
Ripper said coldly.
"Damn you, Ripper! So impatient to betray me?!"
"Report! Vice Admiral Kane has arrived!"
Ripper's face lit up with relief.
Inside the office—
"Reporting to Vice Admiral Kane, Captain Ripper of the 153rd Branch."
"Come in."
"Yes, Vice Admiral."
"I already know the situation. What I want to know is—how much money has Morgan squeezed out?"
Ripper froze.
"…What?"
"What? Haven't you calculated it yet?"
"Vice Admiral, it's already been calculated—we just haven't submitted the report."
Kane paused.
"Not submitted yet?"
Ripper thought Kane was dissatisfied with the delay and quickly explained.
"Vice Admiral, due to the short time and complicated accounts, it took a bit longer—"
"I see. Just give me a number. As for the report, hand it to me later."
"Oh—and congratulations, Captain Ripper. Your promotion orders should arrive soon."
Kane smiled.
If it hadn't been reported yet—
That made things much easier.
Ripper felt delighted.
This Vice Admiral from Headquarters was surprisingly easy to talk to.
But he quickly composed himself.
"Vice Admiral, according to our investigation—Morgan collected protection fees and oppressed civilians. The total amount is 458 million Beli."
Kane's heart leapt with joy.
Just as Ripper was about to continue—
"Alright. I have other matters to attend to. Bring Morgan out—we're leaving."
"Yes, Vice Admiral."
After Ripper left—
A smile spread across Kane's face.
Not bad.
With this—
His total would exceed 10 billion Beli.
As for the report?
He couldn't care less.
Buy the Devil Fruit first—talk later.
Plus—
The remaining fish-men bounties would add even more.
There were over thirty of them—
Each worth several million.
Altogether, probably over 100 million Beli.
Even after distributing 10%—
He'd still have over 90 million left.
More than enough to sustain the system for a while after buying the fruit.
Just then—
A commotion broke out outside.
"I am the great Morgan! No one has the right to judge me! Prepare a ship immediately—or I'll kill this man!"
Kane frowned—
Then walked out.
In the square—
Dozens of Marines aimed their guns at Morgan—
But none dared fire.
Because—
Morgan was holding a Marine hostage.
His massive axe rested against the man's neck.
The situation was deadlocked.
"Vice Admiral Kane is here!"
Someone shouted.
All eyes turned toward Kane.
Morgan looked over as well—
Then sneered.
"Hah! Just an old man? Has Headquarters run out of people?"