One Piece: Starting as a Marine Lieutenant, I Slack Off and Get Stronger

"Nonsense! The Holy Light Group sells Holy Light Shells and Holy Healing Shells. A single Holy Light Shell is worth 100 million Berries. I bet the Navy Hero is the richest person in the world!"

"Damn it, I've been looking for you for ages! What are you standing there for? Hurry up and go find the pirates to exchange for alcohol!"

"Yes, yes, boss, I'll go right away!"

A few days later, Naval Headquarters, New Marineford.

Kuzan looked at the mountain of withdrawal slips in front of him and couldn't help but smile.

"As expected of bounty hunters! They go crazy for money like mad dogs. If it weren't for your support, the Navy really wouldn't be able to pay so many bounties. I heard that nowadays, desperate civilians are practically green with envy when they see pirates."

Carl nodded in agreement. For people who are desperate, money is life, and life is money.

Since we're going to die anyway, why not try fighting pirates?

If successful, it would be worth at least several million Berries, which would be like a windfall for ordinary people.

"Well, it gives ordinary people another option! At least when they're desperate, they can still fight pirates instead of becoming pirates themselves."

Kuzan nodded in agreement and sighed, "Yeah! But if we want to keep this up long-term, Pele's energy expenditure will be astronomical. Can you really handle it?"

Karl waved his hand: "You don't understand, I'm trying to boost domestic demand, understand?"

Kuzan: "What the hell?"

"To put it simply, what do bounty hunters do after they collect their bounties on pirates?"

"Uh, spending."

"Okay, now that the bounty has gone up, do you think they'll set aside some money, besides indulging in extravagance, to upgrade their firepower?"

"Probably! If they want to continue hunting pirates."

Snapped!

Karl clapped his hands: "That settles it! Now that they have money, do you think they might buy Holy Light Shells to increase their success rate in killing pirates? Or maybe they'll buy Holy Healing Shells to save their lives?"

Kuzan gasped. He wasn't stupid; after Karl's prompting, he quickly understood everything.

"You mean the money you spend will eventually come back into your pocket, it's just a matter of time!"

"Bingo! So, don't worry about me running out of money. On the contrary, I might even have more and more money. After all, all the bounty hunters are equipped with Holy Light Shells. Pirates have to buy some, otherwise they'll suffer a huge loss, hahaha!"

Hearing Karl's smile, Kuzan unconsciously started to laugh along, a very cunning laugh.

"By the way, you should know about the Straw Hat Pirates, right?"

Carl nodded: "I know, what's wrong?"

Kuzan, chin in hand, asked with some confusion, "During the Marineford War, only Straw Hat Luffy came. Where were his crew? Weren't they with him?"

You mean Robin?

"Ah."

Karl waved his hand: "You don't need to worry about that. When they were on Sabaody Archipelago, the Straw Hat crew was sent away by Kuma. Now, they should be all over the world! I don't know exactly where, but they should all still be alive."

"That's good. By the way, I discussed the Heavenly Gold with the Five Elders yesterday, but we didn't reach an agreement. Could you give me your opinion?"

Chapter 292 Heavenly Gold Reform

"My demand is very simple: to collect the 'heavenly gold' proportionally."

A prosperous nation pays more taxes to the heavens, while a poor nation pays less.

It's essentially the same as collecting taxes, and then adjusting them according to the specific circumstances of each country. For example, if the king of a member state is wise and loves his people like his own children, then he can be taxed less. But for those tyrants who desperately exploit the common people just to seize profits, then the taxes will be collected to the extreme, until they can't stand it anymore and they are forced to leave the ranks of member states.

"What did the Five Elders say?"

Kuzan gave a wry smile: "They say all member states are equal, blah blah blah, they just don't agree."

Karl stroked his chin, and after figuring out the reasoning, he snorted coldly: "The reason they disagree is because this system would cause them to lose control over the member states, so they will never agree to it under any circumstances."

Kuzan took a deep breath: "I think so too. Considering that the Navy needs to detach itself from political attributes, I didn't argue too much."

"Kuzan, I have a suggestion, what do you think?"

Kuzan's eyes lit up: "Hmm, go ahead."

"Your idea is good, but it lacks some details. They just disagree with the Navy setting the standards. Why don't you do it this way: let the World Government conduct the evaluation directly, and our Navy will only be responsible for collecting the celestial gold..."

After listening to Carl's explanation, Kuzan nodded slightly: "That might work, but then, wouldn't the World Government still have the final say? What would be the point of reforming the Celestial Gold?"

Karl waved his hand: "It's just an excuse to redistribute the Heavenly Gold. Don't overthink it. Besides, no matter what, we're the ones who end up collecting the money, Kuzan."

"Oh, I see. But will they agree?"

Carl said confidently, "Trust me, they will agree. This request isn't unreasonable, is it?"

Just as Kuzan was about to say something, a piercing alarm sounded in his ear. Kuzan immediately stood up, his brow furrowed.

"Bang bang bang~"

"Come in!"

"Hoo, hoo~"

"Reporting to Marshal Kuzan, there's an enemy attack!"

"who is it?"

"Yes, it's Straw Hat Luffy who appeared during the Marineford War. He descended from the sky and headed straight for the plaza. But don't worry, we've already surrounded him. It won't be long..."

Kuzan frowned, as if he had thought of something, and quickly picked up the binoculars on his desk, looking towards the square.

Straw Hat Luffy stood in the center of the plaza, striking a strange pose that clearly had ulterior motives.

"This is outrageous! Send men to arrest him immediately and send him to Impel Down!"

"Yes, Marshal Kuzan."

Karl slowly walked to the window and snatched the binoculars from Kuzan's hand: "Tsk tsk tsk, they're passing a message!"

"Passing a message? You mean Straw Hat Luffy is passing a message to his crew?"

Carl nodded: "Hmm, look, he clearly has a new mark on his arm, 3D2Y, what do you think it means?"

"3D2Y? Hmm~ I'm not sure, is it some kind of code? Or is it the kind that only the Straw Hat Pirates can understand?"

Carl put down his binoculars and said with a smile, "It should be. I don't know what 3D means, but 2Y might mean two years."

"Two years..." Kuzan seemed to understand something, and a smile appeared on his lips.

The experience at Marineford must have been a huge blow to Straw Hat Luffy! Watching his brothers die right before his eyes, and being powerless to stop it, must have been a terrible feeling...

"Looks like we can ignore him. He's already started to run away. How about we pass on a message for him?"

Kuzan smiled and nodded: "Of course, this way Robin and the Straw Hat crew can have some peace and quiet for a while! After all, they are the last few Supernovas left from the Worst Generation!"

Carl and Kuzan exchanged a knowing glance, smiling without saying a word.

The following day, Kuzan went to Mary Geoise again, and news of the Straw Hat Pirates' rampage at Marine Headquarters the day before had spread all over the world.

The crew members who were photographed by the bear in various places naturally received messages from their captain.

3D, when they were in Chambord, they agreed to meet again in 3 days, now it has been changed to 2Y, which is two years.

Kraigana Island

Zoro looked at the newspaper in his hand, took a deep breath, and said, "Two years? That's fine. I'll use this time to become stronger!"

So Zoro trained even harder, and fought the baboons on the island to a standstill.

From the castle ruins, Mihawk took in all of this.

“Karl is right. This guy named Zoro is indeed a rare talent in swordsmanship. One day, he may also reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship. Unfortunately, the person he has to defeat now is not me, but Karl.”

"This is a road fraught with difficulties!"

Boeing Islands.

"Master Hercules, please teach me your skills! I want to become a warrior like you!"

The Kingdom of Dorino.

Chopper, tied to the barbecue grill: "What, what do you want to do? Don't eat me! I don't taste good!!!"

Visalia, a small sky island.

"Oh my goodness, please calm down! This is information that we old folks have worked so hard to compile. You, you should take it easy and flip through it!"

"Shut up! Don't bother me, or I'll pluck all your beard hairs!"

Seeing Nami's serious expression, the white-bearded old man had no choice but to shut his mouth and quietly leave the room, allowing Nami to study climate knowledge in peace.

Namakola Island, Brooke...

The Kingdom on the East Sea Bridge—Taiqila Urpu, Robin...

Mechanical Island - Balchimoa, Franky...

Peach Island.

"Don't come any closer!!!" Sanji sped away, even if they wouldn't reunite for two years, he had to escape this island now, otherwise, he would... he would... sigh!

Holy Land, Marie Gioia.