The New World, G-5 Branch.
Unlike the solemnity and perfect order of Marineford, the G-5 Branch that appeared before them looked less like a military base and more like a den of lawless thieves.
Dilapidated warships were docked haphazardly at the pier, their hulls covered in jagged battle scars, rust, and years of accumulated grime.
The outer walls of the fortress were pitted with massive gaps left by old cannon fire, and a tattered, stained flag bearing the seagull emblem drooped lifelessly from a crooked mast.
The Storm slowly docked, its brand-new, polished paint job appearing completely out of place against the filthy, depressing backdrop of the harbor.
The pier was entirely empty.
Forget a welcoming guard of honor; there was not even a single low-level grunt present to help the crew with the mooring lines.
"Ara ara... it seems we aren't very welcome here at all," Kuzan said with a long yawn. The cold breath escaping his mouth caused the humid air to instantly frost over.
Borsalino's lips curled into a characteristically vulgar arc as he spoke slowly. "~This really is quite the intimidating welcome, isn't it?~"
Only Sakazuki remained silent.
In the deep shadow cast by his lowered cap, his eyes were glowing. It was not a glare of passion, but the sight of magma roiling faintly with suppressed fury.
A disgrace to the Marines!
In his view, every single person in this branch—from the base commander down to the lowly grease monkey in the kitchen—should be thoroughly purified and erased!
The smile on Kane's face, however, remained relaxed and easygoing.
He held a fresh cigar in his mouth, took a deep, satisfying drag, and exhaled the smoke with genuine enjoyment.
The more chaotic and lawless this place was... didn't that just mean the room for discipline violations here was beyond his wildest imagination?
"Gion, pass down the order: everyone is to assemble at the pier immediately," Kane instructed nonchalantly.
"Yes!"
Gion immediately reached for a Den Den Mushi and began to relay the new base commander's first official order.
The loudspeaker Mushi in the base's central plaza rasped and crackled for a long time.
Ten minutes passed.
On the pier, besides the dozen or so elites from Headquarters who had disembarked from the Storm, there still wasn't a single soul in sight.
Only waves of distant clamor, the greasy scent of roasted meat, and the sounds of coarse laughter and cursing drifted over from the nearby barracks area.
"This is outrageous!" Gion's pretty face flushed red with anger. "They are openly defying a direct order!"
"Hmph, a bunch of useless trash."
Wisps of black smoke had already begun to uncontrollably rise from Sakazuki's clenched fists.
Kane, however, let out a light laugh.
He stubbed out his cigar, tossed the butt casually onto the dirty ground, and ground it into the dust with the tip of his polished leather shoe.
"Let's go take a look."
With his hands stuffed into his pockets, Kane walked with leisurely, confident steps toward that foul-smelling barracks area.
The trio of Sakazuki, Borsalino, Kuzan, and Gion followed him immediately.
In the open space in front of the barracks, the scene was indeed unsightly.
Over a hundred thuggish Marines were lounging around shirtless, revealing various ferocious, non-regulation tattoos.
They were gathered around several large roasting racks, chugging from massive barrels of cheap booze. Tables were piled high with Berries and playing cards, showing that they were gambling in the open during duty hours.
A burly man with a face full of jagged scars sat on a central chair with his legs crossed, a heavy, spiked club tossed carelessly by his feet.
He was the former G-5 Branch Commander, a troublesome Brigadier General who had been exiled here years ago.
Seeing Kane's group walking over, these old veterans didn't restrain themselves; instead, they erupted into an even more piercing burst of mocking laughter.
They were all troublemakers and scum exiled from various other branches, and they never held military rules in any regard.
Did some so-called "Marine Hero" from Headquarters think he could just waltz in and control them? Dream on!
Kane scanned the group of disheveled, pirate-like subordinates, then strode directly toward the former base commander.
"Just as the rumors say, this is truly a lively and spirited unit."
Kane walked to the gambling table and looked down at the Berries and cards scattered across it. His tone betrayed no emotion at all.
[Ding! Detected that the host is in an environment 'seriously violating the Marine Appearance and Discipline Regulations'!]
[Continuously gaining discipline points: +1 point per minute!]
The former base commander narrowed his eyes, his hand quietly reaching for the flintlock pistol tucked into his waist, as he said sarcastically, "Oh, you're finally here? Sorry about that, Sir, the boys are in the middle of a rigorous training session and didn't hear any assembly call."
"Understandable, completely understandable," Kane replied, nodding with a pleasant smile.
He casually picked up a piece of charred meat from the table, sniffed it for a moment, and then—
BANG!!
He kicked out with terrifying, explosive force!
The still-sizzling barbecue rack was struck so hard it turned into a metal cannonball, slamming squarely into the faces of the soldiers who had been laughing the loudest!
"Agh—! My face!"
"Bastard! You dare to make a move on us?!"
The surrounding soldiers instantly exploded with rage, drawing jagged blades and raising their guns. Over a hundred black muzzles were instantly aimed at Kane's group.
"Ye~ how scary~"
Borsalino tilted his head, his eyes narrowing slightly behind his sunglasses as a piercing yellow light began to glow at his fingertip.
"To actually point such dangerous toys at a superior officer~"
Voom—!
Before the light could fire, a terrifying black-and-red shockwave erupted instantly with Kane as the center!
Conqueror's Haki!
The terrifying pressure of his spirit instantly enveloped the entire open space.
Those old veterans who were shouting just a second ago didn't even have time to blink. One by one, their eyes rolled back into their heads, they foamed at the mouth, and they fell over like wheat being harvested.
In just an instant, less than half of the men were still barely standing.
It wasn't that their willpower was particularly strong, but rather that Kane's Haki had deliberately bypassed them to keep them conscious.
But even so, those who were still standing were now weak in the knees and drenched in a cold, panicked sweat.
"Mon... Monster!"
"This pressure... this is Haoshoku?!"
The former base commander bore the brunt of the shock; his mind went completely blank, his legs gave way, and he almost knelt down in the dirt.
Before he could even recover his senses.
Swoosh!
A pitch-black flash of light flickered past his eyes.
The bone-chilling touch of cold metal was already pressed tightly against his carotid artery.
Kane tilted his head, still wearing that punchable, smug smile, as he lightly tapped the man's cheek with the flat blade of Zanpakuto.
"Playing cards without inviting me?"
"Tell me... do you know the rules here?"
[Ding! Detected that the host has openly assaulted a colleague and seriously undermined Marine internal unity!]
[Discipline points +2000!]
Hearing the system's prompt, the smile at the corner of Kane's mouth grew even wider and more sinister.
He withdrew Zanpakuto and then delivered a solid, heavy punch right into the Brigadier General's stomach.
"Pfft—!"
The Brigadier General's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. He doubled over like a cooked shrimp and vomited up the remains of his last meal on the floor.
"Splash some water on the ones who passed out and wake them up for me."
Kane pulled over a chair and sat down boldly, elegantly crossing his legs.
"I'll give you ten minutes to assemble a proper formation."
...Ten minutes later.
The G-5 thugs were obediently lined up in a square formation.
Although the formation was still crooked and sloppy, at least no one dared to make another sound.
Sakazuki stood behind Kane and snorted coldly, clearly still unimpressed by the low quality of this human trash.
Kane scanned the field of men and suddenly smiled as warmly as a spring breeze.
"I know you look down on people from Headquarters. You think we're just here to boss you around and act superior, right?"
No one dared to answer, but the flickering, resentful gazes of many soldiers confirmed everything.
"I also know that you're risking your lives in this godforsaken, dangerous place, earning that measly monthly salary that isn't even enough to find a decent girl in the Pleasure Town, right?"
As soon as these words were spoken, many Marine soldiers snapped their heads up, a hint of genuine resonance appearing in their eyes.
"Sometimes you even have to embezzle a bit of pirate loot just to survive, all while living in fear of being investigated by the higher-ups back at the capital, right?"
The entire field fell into a deathly silence.
This commander... how does he know everything about our lives?
What does he mean by this? Is this a trap?
"Isn't it exhausting, brothers?"
Kane stood up and spread his hands wide with a look of pained, exaggerated empathy.
"We're all putting our lives on the line for a living. Why should the pirates get to live the high life while we're stuck being dirt poor?"
"Is that fair?"
"It's not fair one damn bit!"
"So!"
Kane slapped his thigh hard, his voice suddenly rising eight octaves in volume.
"I'm here now!"
"From today on, G-5 is under my command!"
"Forget all those bullshit old rules from the manual."
"I only have one new rule here."
Kane paused and grinned, revealing a row of perfectly white teeth.
"I won't check your discipline, and 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 other ill-gotten gains during a raid..."
"We split it seventy-twenty!"
"Seven for me, two for you!"
"The remaining ten percent goes into the base's public account for your pensions and equipment upgrades!"
The entire G-5 branch fell back into a stunned, deathly silence.
All the thugs were completely paralyzed.
They looked at each other, seeing a deep sense of... total disbelief in each other's eyes.
No discipline checks?
And we can split the loot openly?
Even though the commander takes the lion's share... before this, we couldn't even keep a single cent without being 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!"
Kane went over and slapped him on the back of the head.
"We are Marines! How can Marines rob civilians? That's bad for business!"
Disappointment immediately surfaced on everyone's faces.
"However," Kane's tone shifted, becoming sly. "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 with greed!
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, unable to contain their excitement.
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!]
[Discipline points +8000!]
Standing behind him, Gion's small mouth was slightly agape. She felt her entire worldview shattering into tiny pieces.
"Is... is this Big Brother Kane'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 even he had to admit that Kane had completely taken control of this most difficult unit in just over ten minutes.
Moreover, seeing that group of originally lifeless, lazy soldiers suddenly become bloodthirsty and motivated 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 entirely unacceptable.
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