Pirate: I was just slacking off, do you really think I'm bad?

Raleigh looked very interested.

"good."

After receiving Raleigh's affirmative answer, the man's expression became smug.

"This is a sum of money that our great King has specially taken from his treasury to give to our naval brothers as a token of gratitude for Lord Raleigh's arrival."

"Of course, this isn't a bribe for Lord Raleigh, but rather special military funds for the Navy commanders, so that they can have an easier time suppressing the commoners."

"This...this..."

Gion and Cleveland stared in disbelief at the valuables scattered all over the ground.

They also noticed the dozen or so boxes behind them.

This is such an enormous fortune that they simply cannot fathom it.

Although neither of them ever had to worry about money, it didn't mean they were very rich.

In particular, no one could remain calm when faced with a box in front of them that might represent the wealth of their entire naval career.

Raleigh smiled with satisfaction, then looked at his two good-for-nothing companions and coughed.

"Well then, on behalf of the naval soldiers, I thank His Majesty the King for his generosity, and I am also very grateful for the hospitality of all the nobles."

Will protect this kingdom,

"Protecting His Majesty the King's safety has always been the duty and obligation of our North Sea Navy."

The middle-aged man smiled smugly and said:

"That's how it should be. Navy soldiers risked their lives against the rebellious commoners for our safety."

This would move anyone who sees it. We know how tough it is for naval soldiers, so we're voluntarily donating to them.

"We've had this plan for a while, but we just haven't had the chance. Lord Raleigh's arrival is perfect for him to bring these things to the naval soldiers on our behalf."

Although he had no idea who Raleigh was before Raleigh arrived.

However, his professional ethics as the finance minister of the host country still led him to praise Raleigh to the skies.

"If that's the case, then it's quite a coincidence. I'd be happy to do such a favor. Please be sure to tell His Majesty the King that our navy is very satisfied with the gift and is willing to pay any price to protect the stability of the Kingdom of Eryokobu."

The Treasurer smiled with satisfaction and bowed slightly to Raleigh.

"Actually, this is what the naval officers should do. We are very grateful for the contributions of the North Sea Navy."

His Majesty has other matters to attend to, so please rest for a while. We have prepared a special banquet for you all this evening, and we cordially invite all naval officers to attend.

After the Treasurer left, Cleveland immediately ran over and carefully picked up the treasure from the ground and put it into the box.

Gion looked at Raleigh with a cold expression and asked:

Raleigh, why do you seem to handle these things so easily?

"Haha."

Raleigh scratched his head, trying to muddy the waters and get away with it.

If you don't explain things clearly to me, I will definitely report to the Navy Headquarters. Don't forget my position is still a patrol officer for the four seas.

Gion said angrily.

However, she also knew her limits and wouldn't speak up against Rowley when outsiders were around.

This is much better than it was at the beginning.

Raleigh pointed to the treasure on the ground and said:

"Didn't you hear that too? It's just special funding for the navy."

Gion immediately retorted;

Do you take me for a three-year-old? How many peggaries will these treasures ultimately end up in the hands of the naval soldiers? And how many people in the navy are secretly accepting bribes from member states like they are doing today?

If you don't give me a reason today, I'm definitely going to tell Sister Tsuru. Before I came, Sister Tsuru had said that the navy of the Four Seas Branch was different from the navy of the Grand Line. I see.

Admittedly, there are naval commanders across the world who accept bribes.

But are there no navies on the Grand Line?

Raleigh certainly didn't believe it; no organization, after eight hundred years of development, could remain as pure as it was at the beginning.

Colluding with pirates, and being in cahoots with the nobles and kings of allied nations—these are all things that have happened.

However, the issue should be viewed dialectically.

I know that in your eyes this might be evidence that the King of Eryokobu bribed me, but so what?

"You're an adult now, you should know that things like Baileys have no inherent good or evil. In the hands of a king, they're just used to buy expensive jewelry or delicacies. But in my hands, I can pay the soldiers under my rule well and equip them with the latest cannons and swords."

Raleigh didn't bother to explain whether these things were evidence of bribery from the Kingdom of Eryogobu, because such explanations were meaningless.

As a naval commander, being able to ensure that your soldiers receive sufficient wages every month and are equipped with the latest weapons and equipment to fight pirates is a skill in itself.

"Besides, you might think I'm pressuring them to donate money, but actually, it's the opposite."

I dare say that 80 percent of this money comes from the people within their kingdom. Their money is confiscated by the king to use as a means of pleasing me. Even if I didn't confiscate it, this money would ultimately not return to the people.

"No, no, no, it's the same all over the world. If the branch's naval commander doesn't accept the money, the locals won't feel at ease. Only if they accept the money will they feel comfortable entrusting everything to you."

It sounds ridiculous, but sometimes if you don't accept money, you'll be ostracized.

Once you've accepted this money, regardless of whether you plan to cheat or swindle him later, at least during the period you've received the money, he will completely trust you.

Human nature is that complex.

Cleveland wasn't as dramatic as Gion. He was born and raised in the North Sea, and had heard a lot about such things even if he hadn't experienced them himself.

Sakazuki never did this when he was in power, so Cleveland never saw Raleigh come to this world. He's not here to be a pushover. If we have to define Raleigh by his faction, he should be Chaotic Neutral.

He didn't care about the means; all he pursued was true justice.

He ordered the soldiers outside to transport the wealth onto the warships, leaving two chests on the small boats, and having the rest transported to the naval base.

In this world, there are indeed some people in the Navy who would never cooperate with the Mafia like Raleigh.

They collaborated with pirates and accepted bribes from the king.

Raleigh respected these people, but he would never be like them.

Their personal charisma is indeed great; both Zephyr and Sakazuki are respectable individuals.

Even Gion, who is somewhat silly by his side, is such an idealist.

But Raleigh never tried to change their minds, because true freedom lies in having one's own dreams.

It is precisely because of these seemingly "foolish" people that people believe the world will become a better place.

That actually includes Luffy as well.

Sometimes Luffy acts without considering the consequences, doing silly things that no one else would do, but that's precisely what makes him so admirable to his crew.

Honestly, Raleigh couldn't do what Luffy did—attack Enies Lobby without considering the consequences, or fight the Celestial Dragons like Luffy did.

Without Luffy's destiny and without a deep and frightening background, trying to do what Luffy did would only lead to disappearing from the world.

On the warship at night, most of the naval soldiers were already resting.

The cabin bobbed on the water's surface with the waves, and the candlelight on board began to flicker.

The room was somewhat dark.

A gust of wind blew by, and it seemed as if there was another person in the corner of the room.

"Rayle, I just looked for you yesterday. What brings you here today?"

Dragon took off his hood and asked Raleigh curiously.

As always, Raleigh brewed two cups of black tea and waited quietly with a book in his hand.

"You might not believe it, senior. Today I arrived in the Kingdom of Eryokobu, and their king bribed me, giving me several large chests of treasure."

"So you accepted it?"

Long raised an eyebrow; he couldn't quite understand his junior.

He had encountered this situation before; many people, upon learning that Garp was his father, would indirectly send him gifts.

It annoyed him so much that he eventually had his adjutant deal with it.

"Why not accept it?"

Raleigh looked at the dragon with a smile, then pointed to the two large boxes behind the door.

That's why I contacted you, senior. The treasure sent by the King of Eryokobu was given to me to buy weapons for the rebel army that was resisting them. Isn't that interesting?

"Knowing that the rebels don't have much money, I've prepared this for you in advance."

Long was taken aback, never expecting that Raleigh would have this idea.

The king of the Kingdom of Eryoko probably never dreamed that the bullet that hit him was actually bought with his own money. "What are you trying to do?"

Dragon was a bit dumbfounded. Although he and Raleigh were already quite familiar with each other, there was no reason for him to ask Raleigh to give away so much treasure.

Raleigh handed over a piece of paper and then said;

"Today I visited the royal palace of the Kingdom of Eryokobu, and to be honest, it's incredibly luxurious. My men also found out the location of their treasury."

"I have no doubt that the rebels can defeat the King's Guard, so I am investing in you. The price is that after we take the palace, I will have to share 60% of the treasure inside."

The dragon said, both angry and amused;

"The Kingdom of Eryoko is a well-known wealthy country in the North Sea. Moreover, it is a kingdom with a long history and has never changed its royal family. Their treasures must be an astronomical figure."

Is it possible that we'll need such a large sum of money to bolster our forces during our retreat?

Raleigh waved his hand, pushed the steaming cup of black tea over, and said:

"Senior, one shouldn't be too greedy."

Upon hearing this, the dragon nearly choked on his hot tea.

Law spoke earnestly, "You're just starting out, and having such a huge fortune is very dangerous. Not only will the World Government be watching you, but pirates will too. So for your safety, we definitely need to help you store it."

Dragon felt incredibly frustrated, but also suspected that Raleigh was setting him up, so he tentatively asked:

"Wouldn't it be a bit unfair if we split it 40/60, since you'd be putting the blame on me?"

Upon hearing this, Raleigh said guiltily:

How could that be, senior? I swear in Borsalino's name, if I were to pin this on you, I'd work overtime until midnight every day.

Borsalino, far away at the North Sea base, suddenly sneezed in bed, sensing that someone was plotting against him from behind.

"Alright, 40% is enough."

Long currently lacks experience in building a powerful organization, and people with connections like him have rarely experienced financial hardship.

I felt that 40% of Pele's wealth would be enough for him to develop for a while, so I didn't discuss this issue much.

Of course, this incident also became a classic case for Dragon Education Sabo many years later.

That means if you feel that Raleigh is trying to scam you, you must resolutely refuse.

Because Raleigh is definitely going to rip you off!

"When did your uprising begin?"

"Rayle asked."

Long thought for a moment, then gave an uncertain answer: "It will probably take about half a month. After we went back yesterday, we listened to your opinion. We need to prepare a lot of things, whether it's contacting weapons channels or changing the minds of those miners, it will take time."

Most importantly, no target has yet been found to attract world governments.

Raleigh did the math in his head, and the current situation was pretty clear.

The longer the Dragon's Self-Defense Forces linger in the Kingdom of Eryoko, the stronger they will become.

Although the World Government's intelligence personnel are being deployed here, given Dragon's intelligence, Raleigh doesn't believe it will pose any serious threat.

After all, Dragon is the world's most vicious criminal, and he has roamed this sea for many years without being discovered by the World Government. You can imagine how powerful Dragon is.

"Thank you, Raleigh. Let's work together sometime. I'll take the blame for the Kingdom of Eryorobu for you."

Without any hesitation, Long picked up the two large boxes placed at the door, slung them over his shoulder, and turned to look at Raleigh with a troubled expression.

"What's wrong, senior?"

Dragon said embarrassedly, "Um—Rayle—could you open the door for me? I don't have any hands."

Raleigh's mouth dropped open in surprise; he never imagined that a dragon could be so goofy.

"Young Master, Admiral Raleigh's men have contacted us, offering us a cooperation opportunity."

"An organization in the Kingdom of Eryokobu needs a large quantity of weapons and equipment. The price they are offering is not high compared to the market price. Should we do this business?"

Torrebol looked at the raven in front of him who claimed to have been introduced by Raleigh, and decided to make a phone call to his young master.

"Xiaoxiao, the final location of the mission that guy gave me is also in the Kingdom of Eryuegebu. It seems that guy is going to stir up some earth-shattering events in the Kingdom of Eryuegebu."

As for selling weapons, why wouldn't we? We'll sell to anyone who pays, regardless of what they want to do with them, even if they just want to use them as firewood.

After being taught a lesson by Raleigh, Doflamingo made a painful decision to study Raleigh.

After studying it for a long time, he came to a conclusion: this guy has absolutely no shame.

In order to gain benefits, they will use any means necessary.

Raleigh, what kind of person are you? This is getting more and more interesting, Piggy!

In the pitch-black sea, all was silent except for Doflamingo's eerie smile drifting across the water.

Inside the cabin, Bellemere and a group of naval soldiers were resting.

Awakened by Doflamingo's laughter, they began to whisper among themselves:

"Is that kid outside mentally challenged?"

"Shh, keep your voice down. At least they saved our lives."

I don't care what he's doing. He didn't come here voluntarily. This was arranged by Lord Raleigh. If I'm going to thank someone, I'll thank Lord Raleigh.

"Lord Raleigh is planning something in that Kingdom of Kabu, and Colonel Rat knew but wouldn't tell me. It's infuriating! I'm a veteran who served Lord Raleigh for a long time!"

The two people whispering to each other were Hans and Beckeroli, who probably never imagined that the two geeky sailors who had been secretly cursing them behind their backs had actually infiltrated Bellemere's group.

But to be honest, serving as a Marine under Lord Raleigh is truly awesome.

Since Raleigh left, the entire naval branch of Branch 133 has been like a ship without its backbone.

Although Raleigh always kept them under the control of the rats while he was around, they simply liked Raleigh more.

Before Raleigh revealed his strength, people liked to talk about him; after Raleigh revealed his strength, people admired him.

In short, as long as Raleigh is in Branch 133, everyone can find what they're supposed to do.

Although the mouse tried very hard to learn Raleigh's management system, there was still a gap between the mouse's level and Raleigh's.

And what's worth criticizing is that this rat isn't very good at making money.

The reason why the soldiers of Branch 133 were better equipped than those of other branches was because of the favors that Rowley had done for them.

"I miss Commander Raleigh. When Commander Raleigh was around, I had to put meat in my steamed buns."

After leaving Branch 133, they faced numerous obstacles, and their living conditions were naturally much worse than before. They could no longer afford the same food as when Luo Li was there.

"Hans, do you think we should just stay in the North Sea? Anyway, Commander Raleigh is our old superior; we can just tell Colonel Rat."

"Ahem, actually, that's what I think too."

"And me—"

Upon hearing that Hans and Beck were discussing staying under Raleigh's command, the navy personnel, who had been resting with their eyes half-closed, became more alert than ever.

They had also benefited from Raleigh's work, so naturally they wanted to stay with their old boss.

Moreover, they also knew that their former boss had a bright future ahead of him.

The position of Admiral of the North Sea is just a stepping stone; it's not impossible for him to eventually reach the rank of General.