Pirate: I'm an admiral now, what's wrong with taking a little extra money?

"It was you who did this!" Judge realized instantly.

"How can you blame me for the bad signal?" Kane spread his hands. "It's probably just that the Den Den Mushi caught a cold because of the cold weather."

Judge's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

He looked at the three monsters outside, then at the fleet that was completely frozen and whose weapon systems were destroyed, and a sense of powerlessness welled up in his heart.

Technology?

Faced with these unreasonable Logia-type ability users, his proud technological army was as fragile as paper.

"What exactly do you want?" Judge asked in a hoarse voice, suppressing his anger.

“Look,” Kane said, pointing to the ravaged battlefield and then to Sakazuki’s still-smoking arm.

"My colleague had to use his ultimate move to stop you, which took a lot of energy. Mr. Borsalino's flash is bad for your eyes, and Mr. Kuzan's freezing of the sea makes you susceptible to colds..."

Kane leaned closer to Judge, his smile as radiant as a devil's:

"In addition to compensation for emotional distress, lost wages, depreciation of the warship, and medical expenses for the psychological trauma caused by your threats against me..."

He stretched out one hand, spread his five fingers, and then flipped it over.

"The current price is one billion Berries. Of course, I accept payment in gold."

"A billion?!" Judge's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "Why don't you just rob someone?!"

"Isn't that what I'm doing right now?!"

Kane answered confidently, then sighed, his tone becoming compassionate.

"Look, I could have killed everyone here and then dismantled all your junk ships and sold them for scrap metal. But I didn't. Why? Because I'm a peace-loving navy man."

"I gave you a chance to atone for your sins with money; you should be thanking me. Think about it: one billion Berries for the peace of your entire Germa Kingdom—what a steal!"

Judge's chest heaved violently; he had never suffered such humiliation in his life.

This is a fucking steal! And I should thank you guys?!

He, the mighty King of Germa and the overlord of the North Sea, was actually extorted at the door by a mere brat?

This is absolutely outrageous!!!

"What if... I disagree?" Judge gritted his teeth and squeezed out a few words.

"boom--!!!"

Before the words were even finished, a wave of heat instantly engulfed the entire command center.

Sakazuki, who had been relatively "calm" before, now had half of his body transformed into rolling, dark red magma.

"Kane, I told you there was no need to waste words on such evil."

Sakassky's voice was deep and hoarse.

He raised his massive lava hand, powerful enough to melt everything, and the terrifying heat caused ripples to spread through the surrounding space.

"Since he doesn't appreciate it, let's wipe this place out completely. A family that wreaks havoc on the sea has no reason to exist! Meteor Volcano—"

As he moved, the dark clouds in the sky that had not yet dissipated were instantly dyed blood red, and countless huge lava meteorites appeared and disappeared in the clouds.

The scene was like the end of the world.

"Yay~ Sakazuki's really angry~" Borsalino said, sounding horrible, but a blinding golden light flashed from his fingertips. "If you don't decide quickly, I won't be able to control this laser beam anymore~ After all, slipping up happens all the time~"

Judge looked at the apocalyptic scene above him, then at Sakazuki's eyes, which were devoid of any emotion and filled only with pure killing intent.

At this moment, the psychological defenses of this overlord of the North Sea completely collapsed.

He realized that these people really dared to kill him!

To that magma madman, a billion Berries is nothing! Only that guy named Kane is the only one who can save Germa's lives!

“If you disagree,” Kane’s voice rang out again, with a hint of amusement, “I will have to watch with tears in my eyes as my companions wipe you sinful beings from this world.”

"At that time, you won't be able to take even a single Berry to hell, let alone a billion."

Judge looked at the devastating shadow overhead, feeling a chill run through his body.

He had no doubt that if he said "no," the entire Germa Kingdom would be engulfed in flames the next second.

a long time.

"...I'll give it to you."

Judge seemed to have all his strength drained away in an instant, and slumped down on the throne in despair.

These two words almost consumed all the pride he had ever had.

“That’s more like it.” Kane patted Judge’s golden shoulder armor with a smile. “If we had cooperated earlier, we would still be good friends. It’s too much of a hassle to force me to take action.”

After half an hour.

Dozens of large crates filled with Baileys were carried out of the flagship's treasury by clone soldiers and carefully placed on the ice.

Kane stepped forward, opened one of the boxes, grabbed a handful of golden pelies, and examined them in the sunlight.

"Hmm, not bad quality." He nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Judge. "Pleasure doing business with you, King Vinsmoke. I hope I won't see your fleet in places where it shouldn't be again."

After saying that, Kane waved his hand behind him and said, "Fall in! Go home and have dinner!"

Sakazuki snorted and withdrew the magma. Kuzan yawned and broke free from his icy state. Borsalino transformed into a golden light and returned to the warship.

Watching the naval warship slowly depart, Judge gritted his teeth in frustration.

"Damn the Navy... damn Logia-type..."

"Just you wait! One day, I will tear you to pieces!"

Judge stared intently at the distant horizon, his eyes burning with a frenzied flame of revenge.

“Commander-in-Chief, we…” A commander stepped forward, at a loss for what to do.

"Pass on my order!" Judge stood up abruptly, his eyes flashing with a crazed light. "Invest all resources into the final modification plan for the 'bloodline factor'!"

"I not only want my children to have superhuman physiques, but also... the power of demons!"

"I, Vinsmoke Judge, will repay today's humiliation a hundredfold!!"

Chapter 25 Code Name "Zero Yuan Purchase": Just raids need no reason!

About ten nautical miles after leaving the Germa fleet, the warship did not return at full speed, but quietly sailed into a reef area shrouded in thick fog and anchored.

Inside the captain's cabin, the curtains were drawn tightly shut, letting in only a few dim rays of light.

The once spacious room now felt incredibly crowded. Not because there were many people, but because there was so much money.

"Crack-!"

Kane opened the last box, and a blinding golden light instantly illuminated the faces of the four men.

A dozen or so boxes were stacked into a small mountain, filled with glittering peggs, fist-sized rubies, and several heavy gold bars, exuding an intoxicating aroma.

"One hundred million, two hundred million... five hundred million... hehehe..."

Kane squatted beside the pile of money, frantically counting it like a money counting machine, his dignified naval demeanor completely gone.

Borsalino tossed a gold brick in his hand, his eyes behind his sunglasses narrowing into slits with a grin, his sleazy demeanor on full display.

"Wow, Kane is so capable! So much money, he'll get a pretty good bonus after we hand it in!"

"Bonus? Borsalino, your vision is too narrow."

Kane stuffed bundles of banknotes into the system space (ostensibly by putting them into sacks).

"This is all money that Germa looted from Heiming; it's stolen money! We need to keep it safe and slowly find the rightful owner. Until we find the owner, it will naturally be under our control to enhance our strength and better combat evil!"

Kuzan, sprawled on the sofa, rolled his eyes and pulled down his eye mask. "Ugh...moving money is so tiring. It feels no different from being a pirate. Kane, if Professor Zeff knew we were doing this, would he break our legs?"

"Shh! Kuzan, watch your words."

Kane immediately corrected him seriously: "Pirates steal money to squander it, for their own selfish desires. We 'confiscate' funds for world peace. How can these be the same?"

Only Sakazuki sat alone in a shadowy corner, his hat brim pulled low, his brows furrowed into a deep frown.

Although he acknowledged "absolute justice," this blatant extortion still made him somewhat uncomfortable.

"Kane."

Sakazuki spoke in a deep, somewhat hoarse voice:

"The mission was merely to quell the unrest in Germa. Taking money to release him violates military discipline. Since that guy was a menace, why not just kill him? Taking this money makes me feel... disgusted."

The room fell silent instantly.

Borsalino whistled and looked up at the ceiling, while Kuzan pulled his blindfold back slightly to secretly observe the situation.

Upon hearing this, Kane stopped putting the money away, slowly turned around, and the greed on his face vanished instantly.

"Sakazuki, do you think I want this money?"

Kane pointed indifferently at the treasure on the ground, as if it were a pile of garbage.

"Killing Judge is easy, but what happens after he dies? Germa's technology remains, and the Vinsmoke family still exists. With this enormous sum of money, new ambitious individuals will soon be able to use it to create even more killing weapons!"

"The foundation of Germa has never been any one person, but rather its immense wealth, the financial chain that sustains their war machine!"

Kane walked up to Sakazuki and placed his hands on his shoulders.

"War is a money-burning machine. Without money, Germa can't create clones, repair warships, or buy shells. They can only stay at home and farm."

"By taking their money, we are actually saving civilians who are about to die under the Germa gunfire!"

"This is called—cutting off the fuel supply from under the cauldron!"

Sakazuki was stunned.

He looked into Kane's "clear" eyes, his mind racing.

No money = no weapons = no war = peace.

I take the money = the enemy becomes weaker = justice is served.

Therefore, the more money I take, the more thoroughly justice is served.

This logic... is damnably coherent!