"Unbelievable. Completely deranged."
Rakuya cursed under his breath. He was out of words for Tsunade.
In a single day the girl had vacuumed up nearly a hundred million. Making the bed fifty times, folding the quilt fifty times, five hundred thousand each time, that alone was fifty million. And that did not include all the money she squeezed out of washing his clothes.
Terrifying. At this rate it would not even take a full day to break a hundred million. In a month that would be three billion.
Robbing Marine Headquarters might be less profitable.
Who else but Rakuya could even afford this pace.
His head throbbed. Even his lucrative beat-the-Celestial-Dragons side business could not keep up with Tsunade working solo.
"Up. This princess needs to fold the quilt." Tsunade strode to the bedside, ignored his bare torso, and whisked the quilt away, leaving Rakuya in a pair of shamelessly flashy briefs.
"Hey, propriety between men and women. Pervert." Rakuya rolled his eyes.
"Tch. Who wants to look at you. I am busy making money. Up, up."
"Up with what clothes?" Rakuya said bitterly. Was he supposed to tour Fish-Man Island in only his underwear and become the island joke?
"You men are so troublesome. You should learn a thing or two from Jiraiya's thick skin. Fine, I will fetch you something."
Grumbling, she brought in the clothes she had just washed. "Here, put these on. This princess has a quilt to fold."
Rakuya accepted them and his face darkened. The shirt was still dripping.
Freshly washed, not even close to dry, and she was handing it to him to wear.
"Are you kidding me. Wet. Wear what, exactly."
"Hang it for a minute and it will dry. What is the big deal." Tsunade turned her head away, voice lacking conviction.
"All right. Since you are so diligent, your master will set three rules."
"First. Bed making and quilt folding, combined, may not exceed ten times per day. Second. Laundry only counts after it is fully dry. Third. Any garment washed to rags incurs a penalty of twenty million."
Rakuya sat on the edge of the bed and laid it out.
"Tsunade, from yesterday to today you have shredded, by my count, three pairs of underwear and one shirt. I am an honest man, so we go by the rule. Penalty eighty million."
"Why?" Tsunade's cheeks flushed, eyes blazing as if she could kill him with a glare.
"Because you worked like a madwoman and left me no choice. If you want to make money, make it properly. These crooked tricks are no good." Rakuya lifted his chin in airy righteousness. The money was with him anyway. Whether she saw a single coin was up to one sentence from him.
She wanted to play hardball. He had his own ways to tame a bandit.
"To hell with it. I quit." Tsunade flung up her hands and sat with arms crossed.
"Quit if you want. Your wages go with it. And let me remind you, in this world you cannot gamble without money."
He dropped the line and left her to stew.
No wonder the First Hokage had nearly been fussed to death by her. This was not fussing someone to death, it was making life worse than death.
Thinking over his tragic day, Rakuya almost wanted to cry.
"Liuyun, where is Big Sister?"
Stepping out, he ran into Momousagi.
Cut off from Marine Headquarters, she had been low-spirited. The last two days she often sought Tsunade out to pour out her heart and listen in turn.
"In my room, probably. Her temper is sour today, so do not poke the bear."
"She is upset?" Momousagi lifted her lashes, then narrowed her eyes at Rakuya, fierceness flashing. "Did you bully her again?"
"Lady, how would I dare." Rakuya pulled a face.
"Hmph. Just you wait."
She tossed the warning over her shoulder and hurried toward his quarters.
Watching her go, Rakuya felt very wronged. Betrayed this fast?
"Repulsion. Divine Aegis."
He raised both hands. An invisible force pulsed out, and the moisture in his clothing puffed away. In a blink he was crisp and dry.
"Dry clothes are still the best."
Muttering, he headed out to make his rounds on Fish-Man Island.
At the same time.
World Government.
Fleet Admiral Kong, Sengoku, Zephyr and Garp stood inside the administrative complex in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise.
Four of the Five Elders sat at the table. The Marines remained standing.
"Useless. You cannot even catch one pirate. If word spreads, where will the World Government's face go?" The sword-bearing elder snarled. His expression was a thunderhead. He slashed his blade through the air. The cut pierced glass and the distant building outside collapsed with a roar.
"Hey, mind your temper." The square-faced elder frowned at him. "Even the bald one is missing. This is not simple. Do not forget, he had a space user at his side. The Deadwarden's wooden effigy has shattered, which means he is dead. If those two working in tandem still failed to prevail and were killed, we are not dealing with anything ordinary."
The elder with the two long whiskers nodded. "Agreed. This is far from simple. That man likely has a secret lineage backing him. Otherwise how could a single person resist Marine Headquarters, kill the Deadwarden, and make the bald elder vanish. No ordinary force could manage this."
"Deadwarden? Space user?" Kong frowned. He felt lost, and could not help asking.
"Do not ask what you should not ask."
All four Elders spoke at once, coldly.
Kong lowered his head with an awkward grunt.
Garp could not hold his tongue. "The Marines serve the Government, serve you. You mean we do not deserve to know even the minimum? What do you take the Marines for?"
"What is that tone?" The sword-bearing elder's face went even darker.
"What tone? I bled to raise my men. For your mission they died and were maimed. You will not even brief me on the basics. What are we to you?" Garp's jaw was locked and his face was iron. He might serve the Government, but that did not mean he swallowed everything the Elders did without complaint.
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