On the deck of the warship Dawn, Yoriichi Tsugikuni slowly lowered his telescope and smiled teasingly at Mihawk beside him.
It had been nearly a week since their warship entered the New World, and along the way, they had encountered quite a number of pirates.
Those unfortunate enough to run into them were now resting at the bottom of the sea. The 300 million Berries in startup capital from Headquarters had mostly been used to build the ship in Water 7, costing over 200 million, but they had already managed to amass nearly 200 million Berries again.
One had to admit, the pirates of the New World were really quite... generous.
Just when Yoriichi needed funds to establish a Marine branch, they kindly brought money right to his doorstep. And that was with plenty of wasted opportunities. Mihawk, for instance, didn't care at all about money or resources. Sometimes when they came across a pirate ship, before Yoriichi even gave the word, Mihawk had already swung a slash.
Weaker pirates stood no chance against Mihawk's attacks. Ship and crew alike would be swallowed by the sea, leaving them with no way to capture the pirates for merit or retrieve the "treasure" onboard.
"Take us closer. Recovery team, prepare to dive. Let's see what we can haul up this time."
Mihawk clearly had no intention of replying. He slung his sword back over his shoulder and silently watched the waters ahead.
Yoriichi made a hand gesture to Kyros and Koushirou behind him.
The pirate ship's sinking had stirred a vicious whirlpool, but Dawn didn't bother waiting for it to settle. Under Kyros and Koushirou's orders, the Marines sailed full speed ahead and cast out heavy nets over the sinking point.
Once the ship's descent had been slowed, Kyros quickly stripped off his shoes and top, slung his greatsword over his back, tied a tether to his waist, and dove straight into the sea to begin his search.
Koushirou stood on deck holding the tether, a stopwatch in his hand, keeping one eye on the ocean and the other on the timer.
Yoriichi, Fujitora, and the others turned their gaze to the water as they quietly waited for Kyros to return.
The unit under Yoriichi's command had become increasingly disciplined. Though Mihawk had joined as a "reformed convict," in practice he served as the ship's top combatant.
Fujitora mostly played the role of Yoriichi's personal guard, always close by unless a fight threatened Yoriichi directly. Even then, he usually only offered advice or stood aside as an observer during decisions.
Kyros and Koushirou, on the other hand, were constantly busy. Most of the ship's day-to-day operations were handled by those two. Yoriichi, as a Vice Admiral, was essentially a half-retired overseer.
But neither Kyros nor Koushirou minded the workload. Both were naturally steady individuals and had fully adopted the mindset of true Marines, carrying out their duties with precision.
Yoriichi had already decided: once the branch was established and stable, he would promote both Kyros and Koushirou to lead their own teams at sea.
Then he'd assign Mihawk and Fujitora to their respective ships. That way, he could spend his time improving himself while leaving all the grunt work to these "employees."
What was that phrase again? Ah, "If you don't know how to lead a team, you'll work yourself to death."
Yoriichi believed in that with all his heart.
"Thud!!"
A sharp splash broke his train of thought. Kyros burst from the water carrying two treasure chests, one large and one small, and landed cleanly on the deck.
Seeing Kyros return with two chests, a faint smile appeared on Yoriichi's face.
The world of pirates was brutal, but in some ways... surprisingly fairy-tale-like. These vicious criminals, for some reason, still liked storing valuables in classic "treasure chests." Thanks to that habit, Kyros could easily locate high-value targets while salvaging.
Sure enough, he had retrieved two more chests this time, quite a haul.
"Vice Admiral, I found two chests on board. There were also scattered gold items and jewels. I'll lead a team down shortly to recover those," Kyros reported with a grin, placing the chests on the deck.
Yoriichi operated on a self-sufficiency model. All spoils were split 80-20, eighty percent to the branch, and twenty percent divided among all the crew.
After so much time at sea, the Marines had become rather ambitious. Upon spotting a pirate ship, their first instinct wasn't to flee, it was to sink the ship and loot it.
On this sea, the line between Marine and outlaw wasn't always clear. The only difference was whether or not you followed rules.
"Ohh, here we go!"
"I call dibs! Let me open one!"
"100,000 Berries says the smaller chest has the better treasure!"
Before Kyros could even finish his sentence, Fujitora had already stepped around Yoriichi, shouting excitedly. Mihawk gave him a glance, he'd thought the man wouldn't care, but then turned and coolly placed a bet of his own:
"I bet the larger chest has the more valuable contents."
"The smaller one's probably just a Log Pose," Mihawk added blandly. "That's what most of the others had."
Yoriichi sighed, pinching his forehead as the Marines swarmed in with anticipation. "You two, that's enough."
"No gambling during missions."
He gave Kyros a slight nod. "Go on, open them."
He didn't particularly care what was inside. He turned away again, enjoying the sea breeze.
"Whoooaaa!"
"Jackpot!"
"Gold and jewels, these pirates had assets! This must be worth tens of millions!"
As Kyros opened the large chest, the Marines gasped, then erupted into cheers. Mihawk gave the pile of treasure a glance, a faint smile on his lips.
Kyros, experienced as he was, didn't react much to the wealth. Calmly, he reached for the smaller chest.
He had assumed it would just contain a Log Pose, as Mihawk had guessed. But the moment he opened it, his expression froze.
"Is that..."
"A Devil Fruit?!"
Even Kyros couldn't suppress his shock. The nearby Marines fell silent and turned to stare.
Mihawk's eyes widened in disbelief.
Even Yoriichi, usually indifferent to wealth, turned to look.
Under everyone's gaze, Kyros turned the chest toward them.
Inside sat an orange-red Devil Fruit, marked by flame-shaped swirls. From a distance, it looked like a small fire burning within the box.
"That's... the Logia-class Flame-Flame Fruit!"
Yoriichi recognized it instantly. Even he, usually calm and composed, subconsciously straightened his posture.
What kind of luck was this?
They had casually cleaned out a pirate crew in the New World and ended up recovering this from their ship.
No one had expected that.
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100 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter
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