Rhett finally set out on the journey home. Truth be told, he was feeling a bit uneasy. He really had been away playing for quite a while.
In a way, Rhett's Observation Haki had indeed improved. An improvement in intuition is still an improvement, right?
Because back at the Blood Dawn Pirates headquarters, the atmosphere in the meeting room was so thick you could wring water out of it.
Tesoro propped his chin on one hand, his fingertips rhythmically tapping the table.
Stella stood behind him, her smile gentle but tinged with a dark aura: "If the Captain doesn't come back soon, these documents might just 'accidentally' get eaten by a Sea King."
It took a lot to push the gentle Stella to this point. But indeed, the Blood Dawn Pirates had taken over two large-scale underground organizations.
Even though Tesoro had been processing things there for a month, there were still mountains of documents and personnel arrangements to be made. Suppressing uprisings — this was probably the busiest period.
Tesoro really did want Rhett to rest outside for a while, because most of these deployments had been planned by Rhett. The crew wanted the captain to take a few days off.
But they had underestimated their captain's shamelessness. Ever since the last Den Den Mushi call, giving him a vacation meant he would really take a long, long break.
Rhett: "This is my trust in all of you. The company won't treat you unfairly in the future. You are the founding members. Each of you is my wing."
Enel sprawled on the sofa, sparks flying from his head: "This God has run to thirty-seven outposts! Thirty-seven! And that guy is over on Amazon Lily playing with kids?!"
Lena, holding a stack of ledgers taller than herself, said quietly: "The Captain said, 'The more capable, the more you have to do'..."
"'"The more capable, the more you have to do"?'" Tesoro scoffed, then suddenly slammed the table and stood up. "Then he should come back and 'do'! Last week's trade agreements, the construction of the new East Blue base, the 'friendly exchanges' with the Navy — it's all piled on my head!"
It wasn't that Tesoro was angry about Rhett not working; he was afraid that the captain didn't know his own organization's structure, which would affect future planning.
If Rhett were there, he would have put his arm around Tesoro's shoulder.
Our dear Mother Tesoro really underestimated his own abilities.
If Rhett just came back, with Tesoro's and Rhett's combined abilities, they could get everything sorted out in a day.
Maybe this is: Mother Tesoro always thinks you haven't eaten enough.
The door was suddenly pushed open. Rhett poked half his head in, beaming: "Hey, everyone's here? The weather's rea—"
"Shut the door! Release Enel!" Tesoro commanded.
"200,000,000 Volt Resentment Discharge!"
"Wait! I brought souvenirs — Ow!!!"
Ten minutes later, Rhett, his hair frizzed out from the shock, was forcibly seated in a chair.
Tesoro slammed a stack of documents down in front of him with a "thud": "Sign."
Rhett tried to struggle: "Actually, we could divide the labor and cooperate..."
Tesoro ignored Rhett and just smiled: "Sign!"
Stella smiled sweetly as she handed him coffee: "Divide the labor? While you were away, Mr. Tesoro only slept three hours a day."
But the one with the most resentment was probably Enel. Enel loomed over him darkly: "Do you know, This God—"
Why no mention of Moria? He was still in his workshop making zombies and hadn't come out yet.
Rhett: "..."
Late at night, Rhett sneaked toward the harbor, when a golden light suddenly lit up behind him.
Tesoro's voice came from the shadows: "You wouldn't be thinking of 'having something come up,' would you?"
Rhett froze, looking at the dozens of golden guns forming behind Tesoro.
Tesoro smiled at Rhett: "Dare to say you're running away, and I'll stab you to death."
What choice did Rhett have? He forced a dry laugh: "Haha, of course not... I was just going for a walk..."
"A walk?" Enel poked his head out from the clouds. "Need This God to 'escort' you?"
Stella gently delivered the final blow: "Captain, there's a bed in the file room. You can sleep there from now on."
Rhett looked at everyone: "...None of you left, did you? Ahahahahahahaha. I'm a little touched."
And so Rhett experienced a few months of joyful living.
After finishing all the paperwork, Rhett felt his resentment could pierce the heavens.
He could eat ten Celestial Dragons in one meal right now.
Tesoro walked up to Rhett and handed him a document.
Rhett immediately started rolling on the floor: "Ah, I can't take it anymore, I can't take it anymore! My hand is about to fall off! If I sign one more thing, I'll die!"
Tesoro looked at his captain rolling on the floor: "But this is information about a possible location of Morgans. Our intelligence agents haven't found his main base. Maybe we should set sail. I think we should check it out."
Rhett jumped to his feet: "Good! Good! Good! You damn bird! I've finally got you."
Back when he was swimming through the sea of paperwork, Rhett had had the thought: "Let's go chat with Morgans." He'd finished all the approvals, but just couldn't find Morgans' base.
Rhett had now redirected all his doubled resentment toward Morgans. It might hurt a little if Rhett caught him.
The Bruma Jackson once again sailed across the sea. All the ship's engines were running at full power. You could tell the captain was carrying a lot of resentment.
As the Bruma Jackson approached News Bird Island, Rhett stood at the bow. The blood mist surged around him. His sharp eyes scanned this seemingly ordinary little island.
"Intelligence says Morgans has a secret base here," Tesoro said, flipping through a document, "but the exact location is unknown."
Enel yawned: "Why not just sweep it with 'Mantra'?"
Rhett shook his head: "That old bird is cunning. He definitely has a way to block Observation Haki."
He grinned. "So — we'll pay him a 'visit' in person. If I don't get some exercise today, my whole body will ache."
Rhett kicked open an old, rickety wooden door that bore a sign reading "World's Fastest News." Dust rained down.
"Anybody home?" he asked cheerfully.
This didn't look like the kind of place befitting the world's top newspaper. But you never know — you gotta take a swing at every tree.
The empty office was filled only with a few frightened news coos fluttering their wings. In the corner, a small, bespectacled man was frantically trying to hide something in a pile of documents.
Rhett's blood mist lashed out and lifted the man into the air: "Yo, busy are we?"
"M-m-mercy, big shot!" the man stammered. "I just sell newspapers!"
Tesoro picked up the document he was hiding and raised an eyebrow: "'Breaking! Admiral Aokiji was ??? during his nap?'... This is your 'news'?"
The man gave an awkward laugh: "A man's gotta make a living, a man's gotta make a living..."
Rhett narrowed his eyes: "You're not Morgans."
"Of course not, sir! But you can call me the Grand Historian of Spicy News." The man seemed proud of his expertise. "Ptooey! I'm not even worthy of shining our chief editor's shoes!"
Enel interjected: "Then why did you hang a sign saying 'World's Fastest News'?"
The man shrunk his neck: "The chief editor said it looks more professional..."