One Piece: Blue Scale Admiral

Drake also looked puzzled.

He had no objection to Smoker and himself being promoted to lieutenant general, but he doubted that Palmer and Bepo would become lieutenant general so quickly.

His ability to think this way doesn't mean he looks down on Pamel and Bepo's abilities.

In reality, his current strength might not even be a match for Bepo, let alone for Pamel, who possesses the Power-Power Fruit.

His Ancient Zoan ability is to enhance his own power, but it seems somewhat inadequate against the even more terrifying power amplification abilities of Pamel and Bepo.

Palmer and Bepo were originally colonels in the headquarters, but because of the previous attack by Marco and others that resulted in the destruction of their warship and their capture, their ranks were demoted by several levels. They were only recently promoted back to lieutenant colonel for meritorious service, which is four major ranks away from lieutenant general.

Seeing the various expressions on their faces, Smoker raised his hand and pointed at Yamato, who was carrying a big stick.

"Didn't you hear what she just said? This recruitment is an exceptional selection. With your abilities, becoming a lieutenant general in headquarters wouldn't be a problem?"

“But that’s for conscription! We’re not new recruits.” Bepo scratched his head.

"You think we veterans who have made great contributions don't have the same benefits as new recruits? Hmph, if you really don't, why don't you leave the Navy first and then re-enlist?"

Smoker's words stunned Bepo and Palmer.

Should I exit and then rejoin?

Can you do this?

"Alright, stop leading bad people astray, Smoker. All you do is stare at those ranks all day long. You're not even as promising as a recruit. Privates are already aiming to become generals, and you're still hoping to become lieutenant generals."

Luo Xia stretched, straightened up, and looked at the nearby G1 Plaza.

"I'm sorry, I'm so useless." Bepo's head drooped.

"You're too easily discouraged, aren't you?" Xia Qi and Pei Jin, who hadn't spoken up for a long time, complained.

"Pamel, drop anchor and enter port," Luo shouted.

"Yes."

Palmer tucked the Murakumo-giri into his waistband and stood up from the deck.

His imposing twelve-meter-tall body was piled with muscles like hills and ravines. With a single grab of his large hand, he easily lifted the tens of tons of anchor from the Kirin and threw it into the inner bay, splashing up towering waves and attracting the attention of countless marines gathered in the square.

"It's the Titan God Palmer of G5! Look, that's the strongest branch in the Navy, the G5 branch!"

"Is that the Blue Scale Vice Admiral who killed Golden Lion and Whitebeard? That must be Thor Enel, right? That's awesome! I joined the Navy specifically to join G5. If I could join Vice Admiral Blue Scale's command, I'd be willing to die for it."

Amidst the clamor and anticipation of the crowd, the G5 group disembarked from the Kirin.

The group was already used to the countless gazes from the surrounding marines and recruits.

Anyway, wherever Luo Xia and I went, we always experienced similar scenes.

Nevertheless, Drake, Bepo, and the others were still delighted by the admiring and awe-inspiring gazes they received, their smiles almost impossible to suppress.

As soon as Luo Xia landed, he saw the huge crowd in G1 Plaza parting to both sides.

Then, Enel, Hibari, and the others following behind him saw Sengoku, Garp, Granny Tsuru, Kakei, and the others stride over, their faces beaming with smiles as bright as chrysanthemums.

Sengoku spread his arms wide from afar and laughed heartily, "Oh my, look who's here! Our navy's great hero, Vice Admiral Rorschach, no, I mean Admiral Rorschach. Come, come, come with us to the Marshal's office. We've prepared the world's finest tea especially for you."

Drake and the others gaped, while the surrounding recruits were utterly astonished.

Chapter 717 Military Funds Have Never Been This Abundant

Inside Akainu's office.

Smoker, Drake, and the others looked at Rorschach, who was surrounded by Sengoku, Garp, and the others, with strange expressions. They couldn't understand why Rorschach had suddenly become so popular.

The smiles on Sengoku's and Garp's faces even carried a hint of flattery.

This is absolutely incredible.

Tashigi looked at Hibari curiously and asked in a low voice, "Hibari, do you know what happened?"

Upon hearing this, the people around all looked at Yun Que.

Hibari blushed slightly and whispered, "I can't explain it clearly in a short time, but I think the reason they are so enthusiastic about Brother Luo Xia is because Brother Luo Xia has made a lot of money for the Marine Headquarters."

"You made a lot of money? How much?" Drake asked in surprise.

He couldn't understand how much money could make the retired Sengoku, Garp, and Granny Tsuru so happy.

Look at the smiles on their faces, they're as bright as blooming chrysanthemums.

Hibari shook his head: "I don't know the exact number, but it should be at least... 500 billion Berries..."

"How much? Five...five hundred billion Berries??" Drake's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

Overwhelmed with shock, his voice became distorted, and he couldn't help but scream out in the marshal's office, startling the Warring States group who were chatting happily.

"Drake! What are you yelling about here? If you have nothing better to do, get your ass down and go and deal with those new recruits!"

Sengoku poked his head out and roared at them, scaring Drake so much that he shrank back and ran away with Smoker, Bepo, and the others.

After shouting, Zhan Guo smiled and looked at Luo Xia, extending his large hand to pat Luo Xia's shoulder affectionately.

"Luo Xia, I never expected you to be so capable. In less than a month, you not only completely solved our recruitment problem, but also increased the headquarters' military budget by so much. How can we thank you enough? Tell me, how did you do it?"

"Yeah, yeah, 500 billion Berries! My god, that's a lot of money! A hundred Kaidos wouldn't be worth that much. Rorschach, you'd better teach me how to make money. I'm short on cash lately, I don't even have money to eat at the red-light district... cough cough, I mean, I don't even have money to eat."

Jiaji shamelessly flattered Luo Xia while racking his brains to frantically praise him, all the while trying to get some money-making tips from Luo Xia.

Rorschach twisted his shoulders, which were being held down by several large hands, and, unable to bear their entanglement any longer, pointed at Morgans, who was sitting with his legs crossed, being served very comfortably by Brannew.

"Why are you all surrounding me like this? The money was sponsored by Morgans, and he was the one who made the connections. Bailey even had to rely on his newspaper to get here. You should be thanking him instead."

Morgans chuckled, picked up the tea that Brannew handed him, and took a sip. "Lieutenant General Rorschach, what are you saying? Without your guidance, how could I earn hundreds of billions of Berries a day? Although I contributed 500 billion Berries, compared to the profits that our cooperation will generate in the future, this contribution is negligible."

"Very...insignificant."

Jiaji swallowed hard, looking at Morgans as if he were looking at a god of wealth.

Five hundred billion peles is insignificant.

Listen to this, is this even human language?

Ever since Morgans arrived at G1 yesterday ahead of Rorschach and gave Akainu the 500 billion Berry sponsorship he promised, Sengoku and the others present went crazy and almost started dancing on the spot.

I was so excited I almost went crazy with joy.

The navy's budget has always been rationed, with funding being distributed at a snail's pace by higher authorities.

Aside from the time the Roswald family died, the Five Elders have never been generous with military funding.

It can be said that the Navy Headquarters' military budget is always stretched thin, with income failing to cover expenditures.

It was already difficult enough to squeeze out more benefits for the lower-ranking soldiers and maintain the daily operation of the branches in various places.

In the event of a major war like the G1 naval battle, the Battle of Totto Land, or the Battle of Marineford, the massive consumption of ammunition and the compensation for the casualties among the marines would cause Fleet Admiral Sengoku sleepless nights with headaches.

Sengoku thought that after Akainu came to power, he would have to worry about the navy's military expenses.

But who would have thought that as soon as Akainu came to power, before the allocated military funds had even been used, someone would offer him 500 billion yen in military funding.

Moreover, not only that, but every time those Den Den Mushi (snail phone) on the coffee table in front of them rang, their military budget would increase by hundreds of millions, or even billions.

Even Sengoku and Garp couldn't understand why the broadcasting rights that Rorschach and Morgans were talking about were so valuable.

From yesterday until now, the broadcasting rights for this naval recruitment program have been sold for over a hundred times. Even if the revenue is split 50/50 with Morgans, the navy has already earned over 30 billion peggs.

This is hardly business.

This is clearly robbery.

Even the Mary Geoise Bailey Printing Factory, built by the World Government in the heart of the Holy Land, couldn't print that many Baileys in a single day.

This terrifying method of accumulating wealth led the Warring States period to believe he had gone mad.

As they were talking, he saw Brannew quickly answer another ringing Den Den Mushi.

"This is the Kingdom of Saint Poplar. I am Poplar Morgans. I want to purchase the broadcasting rights for the Navy recruitment tournament. Do you want to collect the two billion Berries yourself, or have Chairman Zoro help you take it to the New World for the Navy?"

"Two billion?" Zhan Guo wiped away non-existent drool from the corner of his mouth, held his breath, and dared not breathe too loudly, for fear that the military funds that were about to be received would disappear because of his interference.

Brannew didn't dare to interrupt, so he picked up the Den Den Mushi from the table, intending to hand it to Morgans, but then he saw Rorschach wave his hand, "Give it to me."

"Oh, okay." Brannew quickly and respectfully handed the Den Den Mushi to Rorschach.

Perhaps recognizing Rorschach's voice, Poplar on the other end of the Den Den Mushi exclaimed in surprise, "Is that Rorschach?"

"Hehe, it's me, Your Majesty Bobra. How have you been? How are you feeling?" Rorschach greeted him with a smile.

“What could possibly happen to me? My kingdom has a naval base and a bounty hunter guild stationed here. Even criminals wouldn’t dare come near a troublesome pirate. Every day, I just eat, drink, and have fun. I’ve gained even more weight.”

Poplar remained as approachable as ever, showing none of the airs of a king from a constituent republic.

Rorschach chatted with him for a few minutes, then asked curiously, "You just said that Zoro is coming to the New World?"

"Yeah, didn't he tell you?"

Poplar sighed:

"After Jonathan left, Sauron inherited his Bounty Hunter Guild and became its guild master."

He plans to move the headquarters of the Bounty Hunters Guild to the New World.

Rorschach, if possible, we might need to trouble your navy to help him gain a foothold in the New World.

Although his guild was considered powerful in Paradise, it was still too dangerous for them to go to a place like the New World.

Rorschach nodded: "No problem. I'll have him come to the waters under my G5 protection to set up the Bounty Hunter Guild headquarters. We can look out for each other, and it's not impossible for us to even form an alliance."

“Oh? That’s great. You also have a stake in the broadcasting rights Morgans mentioned, right?” Bobra exclaimed with delight, then asked.

"Yes, it was a small experiment between Morgans and me."

Poplar paused for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Can I join your collaborative project?"

“Oh? You mean… a live broadcast project, or…” Luo Xia raised an eyebrow.

"I want to participate in all your future projects," Poplar said directly, without beating around the bush.

"This novel way of making money is something I've never seen before. It must have been your idea, right? It's really ingenious and surprising. I consider myself a businessman who likes to study how to make money, but I never thought of making money by selling tickets through live streaming of Video Den Den Mushi. Your method has broadened my horizons, and I think you must have even more ways to make money."

Morgans was displeased. He grumbled, "Pobra, what do you mean by that? Are you looking down on me? What makes you so sure that idea wasn't mine?"

Bobra scoffed, "You? If you had that kind of brain, would you be selling newspapers for decades? You'd be making money off your outdated news by now."