Night had fallen.
The square at the G-5 Branch was brightly lit, more bustling than daytime.
The treasures, fine wines, and food plundered over the past few days were piled up like mountains. Under Kane's orders, glittering Berry were stacked into a shining hill.
All the soldiers sat around, devouring greasy roasted meat and gulping down strong liquor with large bowls. The atmosphere was at its peak.
"Men!"
Kane stood atop the Berry Mountain, raising his glass. The entire square instantly fell silent, everyone gazing at him with fervent eyes.
"Tell me, these past few days—have they been satisfying?!"
"Satisfying—!!!"
The roar of hundreds nearly shattered the night sky.
"Over these days, we've collected a total of 1.3 billion Berry in 'Justice Maintenance Tax'!"
"Whoa—!"
The soldiers erupted into even wilder cheers, many flushed with excitement.
1.3 billion!
This was a number they had never dared to imagine before!
"Before, people called you trash, called you scoundrels, made you guard this godforsaken place to die!"
Kane kicked a gold brick, sending it tumbling down with a dull thud.
"But I see every one of you as fucking talents!"
"According to our agreed rules!" Kane waved his hand grandly, "I take seventy percent, you take twenty, and the public account gets ten!"
"Your share of twenty percent—that's 260 million Berry! It will be distributed right here, right now!"
"Oooohhhhhh!"
The cheers nearly blew the roof off the entire base.
Soon, every soldier received over 700,000 Berry each. They clutched the thick stacks of bills, hands trembling, some even crying tears of joy.
"Sir... sob sob..."
"Long live Base Commander Kane!"
A scar-faced veteran, swaying with a bowl of liquor, stumbled up to Kane and knelt with a thud.
"Boss Kane! I've served under three base commanders before! They only ever called us trash, treated us like livestock! Only you! Only you treat us as people! As brothers!"
"From today onward, this worthless life of mine is yours! Even if you ordered me to bite Whitebeard's balls, I wouldn't even blink!"
"That's right! We all follow the boss!"
"Anyone who disrespects the boss, I'll be the first to twist their head off!"
"We would die for Rear Admiral Kane!!"
The soldiers' emotions were completely ignited, each one fired up, their eyes filled with unwavering loyalty as they looked at Kane.
On a nearby high platform.
Borsalino watched the chaotic, celebratory scene below, a sly grin spreading across his face: "My, my... This G-5 has become quite the remarkable place, hasn't it~"
"More importantly..." Kuzan looked at the hefty check he'd just received, unusually energized, "How should I spend this money...? Should I add a solid gold bell to my 'Polar Walker'? Maybe a top-tier sound system too?"
Only Sakazuki.
The future Fleet Admiral stared intently at the staggering amount on the check in his hand, his brow deeply furrowed.
"What, is it not enough?"
Kane had approached unnoticed, reeking of alcohol as he placed a hand on Sakazuki's rigid shoulder.
Sakazuki gritted his teeth, his voice low. "We're the Navy, not pirates."
"So what?" Kane chuckled in response.
"Should we risk our lives fighting against those billion-berry pirates who kill without hesitation, all while earning meager salaries? Let our fallen comrades go without even a decent tombstone?"
Kane's tone suddenly turned sharp.
"Sakazuki, don't be naive."
"True Justice requires money to maintain. Stronger warships, better weapons, and more generous benefits - only these can allow soldiers to carry out 'Justice' without any reservations."
"If you can't even feed your own people, how can you talk about purifying the world? As long as our hearts remain red, what does it matter if the money in our hands is black?"
These final words struck Sakazuki's heart like a hammer.
His pupils contracted violently.
Kane forcibly stuffed the check into Sakazuki's suit pocket.
"Take it. Don't make an enemy of money."
Sakazuki's body remained stiff, but ultimately, his clenched fist slowly relaxed, and he didn't take the check back out.
[Ding! Detected that the host has thoroughly corrupted all officers and soldiers of G-5 Branch through monetary ties, turning them into profit-driven private forces!]
[Ding! Detected that the host has successfully corrupted the "Absolute Justice" values of future Fleet Admiral Sakazuki, making him accept the fallen ideology of "using black money to fund white justice"!]
[Violation Value +50,000!]
[Current Violation Value balance: 431,300!]
"Awesome!"
Kane roared inwardly.
He turned around, raised his glass again, and shouted to all the enthusiastic soldiers below: "To our Justice!""
"To Justice!" everyone roared in response, as if they were truly engaged in the most glorious undertaking in the world.
...
After the carnival, Kane returned to his office.
Looking at the long string of numbers on the system panel, the curve of his lips lifted even higher.
These past few days of crazy violations had pushed his total Violation Value past the 400,000 mark!
"System, raise my [Physique] to 90!"
Previously his physique was at 85 points, comparable to Kaido in his youth. But 90 points was the true "monster" territory.
[Ding! Host's current physique is 85 points. Raising to 90 points requires consuming 80,000 Violation Value points.]
[Confirm?]
"Confirm!"
Boom——!
Even though Kane was prepared, this enhancement still made him grunt as he directly dropped to his knees.
He could clearly feel every one of his bones becoming more dense, every muscle fiber being infused with explosive energy. Even each beat of his heart became as heavy and powerful as a war drum.
Life was undergoing a higher-level leap!
Ten minutes later.
"Huff... Ha..."
Kane gasped for breath, his entire body soaked in sweat.
But he could feel that his body had undergone earth-shaking changes.
His muscle lines became more streamlined, and beneath his skin flowed an indestructible quality.
He could clearly perceive the vast ocean of physical energy and vitality within his body.
"90 points of physique..."
Kane grinned widely.
He now felt an absolute confidence that even if he stood still and took a direct hit from Kaido's "Thunder Bagua," at most he would spit out a mouthful of blood. He could definitely stand up on the spot and retort, "Is that all? Did you not eat?"
The remaining three hundred thousand or so Violation Value, he planned to save.
Once he accumulated six hundred thousand, he would immediately exchange for that long-coveted [Advanced Conqueror's Haki]!
Just as Kane was savoring the thrill of his soaring power—
"Report, boss!"
An urgent communication from the lookout post came through the Den Den Mushi.
"An unidentified ship has been spotted ahead in the sea, heading straight for our checkpoint!"
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