One Piece: I am the Fleet Admiral?

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Pere~Pere~Pere~Pere~

The Den Den Mushi rang in the Fleet Admiral's office.

Akira raised his hand, answered, and said, "Moshi moshi, this is Akira. What's the situation?"

"Fleet Admiral-sama, Lu Fels has left Enies Lobby," came the soldier's voice on the other end.

"Oh? How did he react when he left?"

"He seemed very excited after reading the document you gave him. He paced around for a long time, deep in thought, and then made a call to someone, though I'm not sure who."

The soldier continued to report in detail, "They talked for a long time through the Den Den Mushi, but I couldn't hear what they discussed. His vigilance was high, and when I pretended to pass by, he immediately stopped talking. I apologize, Fleet Admiral-sama."

The soldier sounded ashamed, clearly disappointed that he couldn't fully complete the task assigned by Fleet Admiral Akira.

"It's fine, you did well on this mission," Akira replied, unconcerned. All he cared about was whether Lu Feld could see the potential.

From the soldier's description, it was clear that Lu Feld was intrigued by the broad prospects of the plan.

And they were bringing in strong workers for free.

Knowing this was enough!

Akira hung up and went back to his work.

Meanwhile, in the Holy Land.

CP0 office.

"Captain, this is the latest intel from our Marine contacts."

"It includes recent actions by several officers and a series of 17 policies from Fleet Admiral Akira."

A team member entered, holding a thick stack of documents.

At the mention of Akira, Graeme, who had been bored, suddenly perked up.

"Hand it over!" He straightened up and demanded urgently.

The team member quickly stepped forward and placed the file in front of Captain Graeme.

[Fleet Admiral Akira Introduces New and Unfamiliar Welfare System!]

[At the end of each year, Marine Bank will distribute the profits earned throughout the year in the form of dividends, based on rank.]

[The specific details of this benefit are...]

Graeme frowned slightly.

He didn't understand why the Marines, who were already in debt, would hand out money now instead of saving it.

And from the report, not only high-ranking officers, but even the lowest-ranked soldiers would receive these dividends.

It didn't make sense.

It wasn't as if the officers and soldiers weren't already paid, so why waste berries like this?

Graeme kept reading.

[The day after the announcement, Fleet Admiral Akira explained the purpose: to motivate officers to take initiative, work harder, and earn more berries, thus alleviating the Marine's current financial strain.]

"I see!"

Reading this, Graeme finally understood.

He, who also manages a large team of subordinates, could easily understand and agree with Akira's reasoning.

It's well known that when the World Government runs out of funds, it's not just the Marines that suffer, but the CP departments as well.

In any organization, aside from those who have been brainwashed into mindless loyalty, subordinates will always be motivated by personal gain.

They won't empathize with the struggles of management, especially when all they care about is their paycheck.

Back then, he often wished his subordinates could be more self-sufficient and bring in money on their own, without him having to worry about it.

So when he saw Akira's strategy, his first reaction was that Akira was on the same wavelength as him.

The only difference was that Akira had the drive to make it happen.

"If Akira can pull this off, there's no reason why I shouldn't do the same."

"The World Government Bank won't be able to function properly until the end of the era of great pirates, so if the coffers are empty, they're empty. Why not..."

Graeme tilted his head slightly, a glint of wisdom shining in his eyes behind the mask.

The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. He grabbed a blank piece of paper from his drawer and copied the contents of the document, planning to study and replicate it later.

Once done, he moved on to the next report.

[Marine Headquarters Officers Restart the Trade Lines and Continue Making Money at Sea.]

"Come on, I doubt taking over a Marine bank loaded with debt is going to be worth it."

"But how much can they really make this way? It's just a drop in the ocean!" Graeme muttered to himself.

But then he realized this wasn't his problem to solve. With a flick of his finger, he turned the page.

Next!

[Sengoku and Zephyr Confirm Retirement as Admirals.]

[After retiring, Sengoku will become the head of the Marine Criminal Investigation Bureau!]

"Akira's making some big moves," Graeme commented.

[Vice Admirals Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan have accepted the tasks assigned by Fleet Admiral Akira.]

[Fleet Admiral Akira has promised that upon completion, the three will be nominated as the new Marine Admirals.]

[The Marine News Department has begun campaigning and publicizing the three candidates.]

"Are the three of them going to replace Sengoku?"

Graeme's expression grew serious as he recalled his impressions of the three, nodding in approval as he thought:

"Indeed, their strength is sufficient."

After confirming the strength of Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan, he stopped dwelling on it and moved on to the next document.

These were internal Marine matters, and there was no point in him worrying too much.

But as his eyes landed on this part of the report, Graeme's pupils suddenly constricted.

[Hero Garp, Chief of Staff Tsuru, and Vice Admiral Gion led their ships to the New World and proactively intervened in the internal affairs of the Bertomy Passion Kingdom.]

[They swiftly crushed all rebel forces and installed two women who support Fleet Admiral Akira as the new rulers.]

[It is reported that the Bertomy Passion Kingdom is now completely under Marine control.]

Boom.

Graeme slammed the table and stood up involuntarily.

His face was filled with disbelief. After reading the words in the document countless times, he was certain he hadn't misunderstood.

"What is Marine doing? This is highly forbidden."

"No, I must inform the Five Elders immediately."

Graeme grabbed the documents and rushed out, panic setting in.

Just as the CP should never get involved with pirates, the Marines should never interfere with the affairs of sovereign nations like Bertomy Passion Kingdom.

But now, the Marines had unilaterally broken this cardinal rule.

This sudden turn of events made his heart pound with anxiety.

---

At that moment, the atmosphere in the room was unnervingly tense.

Graeme stood still, not daring to move.

The Five Elders passed the documents among themselves, their expressions blank.

Eventually, all of their focus converged on the intelligence about the Marines suppressing the rebellion in the Bertomy Passion Kingdom.

'Compared to this, everything else seems so insignificant,' Graeme thought, even the matter of Akira distributing dividends to all Marines.

"Akira has been with the Marines for a long time. He should know that he can't do something like this."

The Warrior God of Environment stroked his long beard, narrowed his eyes, and spoke softly.

"It must be to secure funds."

"But why resort to manipulating a non-affiliated country to get money? I don't understand."

"Why not summon Akira for questioning?" one of the other Warrior Gods suggested, with the others nodding in agreement, their tones remarkably calm.

Graeme was taken aback.

He had expected the Five Elders to be furious, perhaps to pound the table in anger.

But instead, they were only mildly surprised by the Marines' actions, nothing more.

"Don't overreact. It's just a non-affiliated country. Even if it is truly under Marine control, we can erase it from existence at any time," the Warrior God of Science and Defense explained lightly, sensing Graeme's confusion.

Though Graeme still didn't fully grasp how the Five Elders could make a kingdom vanish, he wisely kept silent after realizing that the Warrior God of Science and Defense had no further intention to elaborate.

The other Warrior Gods didn't argue with the Warrior God of Science and Defense's assessment; they all nodded in agreement.

In truth, the most important factor was that they had recently reached a very satisfactory solution to the problematic Marine Bank situation after a meeting.

Akira had promised to resolve the Marine Bank's berries debt, but then took actions that could be considered highly questionable.

Clearly, it was all about…

Making money.

Considering previous examples where Akira gave soldiers wives, deceived the world, and allowed pirates into factories, it seemed almost expected that he would now support his own women to become queens.

And the situation had changed from before.

In the past, if the Marines dared to do something like this, the Five Elders would have immediately summoned the Fleet Admiral for a stern reprimand, ordering an end to such reckless behavior.

But now, in the era of great pirates…

As long as it restores some semblance of the world they once knew and keeps the Marines from falling into a debt crisis, no matter how outrageous or difficult to understand, as long as it doesn't threaten their rule, it's tolerable.

"Is there no intel on why the Marines did this?" asked the Warrior God of Finance, putting down the documents with a frown.

Graeme swallowed nervously and quickly responded, "My lord, there's no detailed information about this plan yet. It's said to be only circulated among a small group of high-level officials."

The Warrior God of Finance, though displeased, didn't press further. Even with CP's formidable intelligence network, it's nearly impossible to extract information from individuals like Garp or Tsuru if they choose to keep it secret, especially when it's not widely spread.

"I don't think we need to ask directly. Let him proceed, and the purpose will become clear soon enough," the Warrior God of Finance said, holding his supreme-grade sword calmly.

The other Five Elders had no objections and nodded in agreement.

"I concur. Confronting him directly could cause unnecessary tension. And in a situation like this, it's evident he's after money."

"Agreed, just keep monitoring the situation."

"But that said, where did he find two princesses from non-member countries to make them his women?" the Warrior God of Environment asked, raising a curious brow.

At this, Graeme suddenly recalled something.

It seemed…

He and his team members had picked them up from Sabaody Archipelago that night…