One Piece: Adopting Akainu at the beginning, adopted son Barrett

Chapter 9: It’s not the gift that matters, it’s the thought that matters
Time flies, and a few days have passed in the blink of an eye.

These days, in addition to necessary training, Sakaski reads some books given to him by Ross.

For example, the two books "General Heraro" and "The Last Stop".

The first book describes a war between countries from a general's perspective, which takes place in the New World. The author is the commander of one of the sides.

The second book describes what happened on the land after the war from a soldier's perspective. The protagonist "Soldier 68" uses the island as a station and rushes all the way from the front line to his hometown.

The writing style of these two books is not very good, but the vivid story descriptions allow people to put themselves into the perspective of the protagonist.

Sakaski didn't understand why Ross asked him to read these two books, but he felt that the master would not speak without a purpose, just like the previous few times.

"Reading is a good thing, but you should go out for a walk occasionally. Seeing is believing. Go take a walk in the Champagne Fields by yourself today. I'll wait for you at the hotel."

The door was pushed open and Ross walked out. He seemed to speak very gently, like a kind teacher:

"This is 100,000 Baileys. It's not much, but it should be enough for you to have fun. By the way, please help me buy some gifts from the specialty area to treat little Mona."

Sakaski closed the book, placed it neatly on the bedside, and nodded in response:
"Well, it's good to go out for a walk, but I think it's better for you to buy the gift yourself. I don't know what little Mona would like..."

"Alas, you are wrong. You have to understand Sakaski. The gift is not the best, but the thought that matters. Do you know why Mona asked me to buy a gift after we left, and not you?

You know, every time Mokasi left, she would ask him to buy a gift for her, and before this, the first time Mokasi gave a gift to Mona was when I asked him to buy it. "

Ross spoke gently, took Sakaski's hand and placed a stack of banknotes in his palm, touched his head, and turned away.

Sakaski stood there in a daze, looking at the money in his hand, a total of one hundred [1000] bills.

"What matters is the thought?"

He murmured quietly, savoring the meaning.

Suddenly, he recalled a scene from "General Heraro":
[“Hey, guard, please help me get some Coke, and then notify the officers to distribute it to the soldiers.”

Heralo opened the tent and handed a bag of golden Baileys to his personal guards.

The guards were puzzled. The military funds for next month had not been allocated yet, and this month had already reached the most difficult days. Moreover, the emblem of the "Benson" family was printed on the purse, and everything was clear.

The guards were trained by the Benson family to protect Helalo. As a family guard, he had to ask:
"But General, this is your own money! We have tens of thousands of soldiers, and if each of them has a bottle of Coke..."

"guard!"

"Yes, General!"

The guard hadn't even finished his words when he was interrupted by the general's stern words and his body instinctively stood at attention.

But the general's expression was relaxed and expectant the next moment, and then he spoke silently:

"This battle has been going on for almost a month, and now is the most difficult day. The soldiers are panicking. Yesterday I even heard someone saying that we, the officers of noble birth, might run away and abandon them!"

"This……"

"It's not their fault, just like I won't be really angry because you question my decision. This money is indeed not a small amount for me, but it is not even enough for the officers to have a dinner. The nobles are not in any danger after the war, but the soldiers are different!"

Heralo looked at the garrison in the distance. Compared with the warm tents here, the soldiers could only live in simple sheds.

The battles between kingdoms were not between kingdoms and pirates, and the king and the nobles did not care whether the battle was won or not.

If you lose, you just have to tighten your belt for a few months, and then everything will be back to normal when the taxes come in.

If you win, you can earn a net profit of about half a year.

This is just a chess game based on "interest".

But as a general and a man defending his homeland, he cannot think like this. If everything is like this, what will happen when the pirates come?

Those guys who are selective about their prey won't listen to reason. They will rob everything they can!
By then, how could the army, which might no longer trust the kingdom, be unable to fight, or even flee in all directions at the very beginning, resist the invasion of pirates?
Taxes are collected from civilians. Once or twice is fine, but if it happens too often, the source of soldiers will be affected. By then, how many "dangerous soldiers" with broken families will be in the army?
The most important things are morale and belief. If we can’t even protect our homes, then what’s the point of this war?
He really couldn't influence the will of the kingdom and the nobles. The only thing he could do was to keep winning!
"I need to send a signal to let the soldiers know that I, the commander-in-chief Benson Helalo, still care about them and the victory of this battle!"

"How cheap is a bottle of Coke? But for the current battle, it will be more valuable than gold!"】

Sakaski found this plot difficult to understand at first.

But now he understood a little.

Although the last sentence was not quite appropriate, because he knew that "there will always be brave men when there is a big reward."

But in that situation, the only role of gold is to make the soldiers explode completely, and the target of their attack is not the enemy, but themselves!

After all, gold is limited, and its only use is for "generous rewards", but the premise of generous rewards does not include a battlefield where "fighting has lasted for a long time".

If the gold used for the "reward" is replaced with enough "Coke" for each person, it can be anything here, but it must be one portion for each person.

Only in this way can the soldiers see the premise of victory and the loyalty of their generals, and their desire to fight will not be extinguished.

“It’s not the gift that matters, it’s the thought that matters.”

Sakaski raised his head and stared blankly at the empty corridor. He whispered silently:
"No matter what the situation, the feelings are the most important part, whether it's the Navy or the family, only by revealing your feelings inadvertently can the relationship become closer."

After saying that, Sakaski picked up the two books he had put away, put the banknotes between the papers, stood up and walked in holding them.

"Thank you, Master Ross, for always teaching me these truths inadvertently. If it weren't for you, how long would it take me to understand the meaning of them? How many people would I have missed? How many things would I have missed?"

Thinking in his mind, Sakaski turned around, looked at the hotel gate, and then walked towards the [Amusement Park].

For children, you should be able to find some nice gifts there.

"and many more!"

After thinking for a while, Sakaski stopped and turned towards the [auction venue].

Mona is not a child, and there are many shops in that place, so she should be able to buy some bomb-related things.

(End of this chapter)