The banquet lasted for seven days, from noon until night. Navy personnel kept arriving. Kuro didn't have to return the gifts to each one, but he still had to meet them.
That was exactly what Kuro was thinking: to quickly get the old man to show up at the highest point of the castle tower, say a few words of blessing, and that would be the end of it.
It had nothing to do with him to begin with. Perhaps his general would be appointed in seven days, or perhaps he would be appointed in the meantime. So he should try not to show his face and minimize the impact of the matter.
But he began to realize that something was wrong because, in addition to the gift for the old man, he had suddenly received a gift himself.
At that moment, in the tallest and largest restaurant, Kuro sat at the head of the table, with Kro, Sazir, Fanny, and a yawning Moore in front of him. Lida sat next to him, fiddling with the numerous gold ornaments on the table.
"Hey, Kuro, this looks really good."
Lida, holding a golden scepter, stood on a chair, waved it, and laughed loudly, "I am the queen!"
"Stop joking! You think you're the queen of the navy? What's the difference between that and being the emperor in the republic? Get down here!"
Kuro snatched the golden scepter, casually touched it, and clicked his tongue: "This is actually pretty good quality. Who gave it to you?"
“It’s Major Parriville, from the East Sea,” Kro answered honestly.
"A major from the East China Sea? A branch?"
"Headquarters."
Besides bases, there are also those that travel from the Grand Line to station at key points or patrol, such as Finpodi and Smoker.
"Even headquarters is no good. A major with such a huge golden scepter, look at the gems on it, they're of very high quality. Go and find out what this guy did."
Kuro tossed the scepter onto the table, puffing on his cigar, and said, "And where did all these gifts come from? Why are they being given to me? Let me tell you, don't use these to test your officers. In this world, within the Navy, no officer can withstand such a test!"
There's no such thing as giving gifts being illegal in this world. Even if you're colluding with pirates, as long as it's not excessive, you can just punish yourself with three cups of wine and that's it.
Kuro has been here for over twenty years and has long since followed the crowd. Of course, he himself is corrupt and degenerate, not a good person, and never considers himself a good person.
He wasn't puzzled by the gift itself, but rather by why it was being given at this particular juncture.
"Who exposed me?" Kuro narrowed his eyes, staring at the people standing in front of him. "Didn't I tell you to keep a low profile? Didn't I say that this matter wasn't decided yet, and not to reveal it beforehand? To handle it discreetly, even after becoming a general, to handle it discreetly? What's going on here?"
Kuro pursed his lips and said, "Mr. Kuro, you know me. If I did it, no one would know."
You're really something!
Kuro smirked and glared at Kro.
"Kuro, you know me. I'm super lazy and don't do this kind of thing. I'd rather spend that time sneaking out to bring warmth to people."
As he spoke, Moore yawned, as if he hadn't slept well.
You went out again tonight, didn't you?!
“Vice Admiral Kuro, you know me. I’ve been busy making naval pills. If Vice Admiral Kuro hadn’t dragged me to watch the gate, I would have gone back to the lab long ago.” Fanny stretched and said, “Standing for the past two days has been tiring.”
Kuro's eyes lingered on Fanny's stunning figure as she stretched, before settling on the gold amidst Lida's glare.
This girl's figure has become increasingly alluring lately, perhaps due to absorbing too much of the plague. Now, wherever she is, there's guaranteed that there won't be a single flu virus around.
Kuro even thought about giving her some advice someday, suggesting a different direction for development. After all, humans naturally carry bacteria and viruses in their bodies, maintaining a balance with the body's immune system. Only with this balance can the body function properly, but if this balance is disrupted, things could get very bad.
But it's not the right time yet. Fanny's development level is not high at the moment. We'll see if there's an opportunity later.
Lida's eyes darted around, "Kuro..."
"I know, you just want to eat." Kuro rolled his eyes. "You're the one I trust the most."
"Hmph!" Lida pouted, feeling somewhat unhappy despite being told that.
Finally, he turned his attention to Sazir.
Sazir opened his mouth as if to say something, but then held back. In the end, he said, "Lieutenant General Kuro, you know me. I am a very honest person. It's just that when people ask me what gift I'm giving, I just blurt it out."
You're the one!
"You were plotting to kill the captain and take his place back then, what the hell are you being honest about!"
Kuro grumbled, "What's wrong? You think you're all that after whitewashing? You've lost your mind coming to the Navy, and the thing is, we Navy aren't exactly the good guys!"
In the eyes of pirates, they are not really righteous. Pirates are idealists, and they believe that their actions are righteous. The marines who block them are the big villains.
"Huh? The Navy isn't the good guys?" Lida tilted her head. "What do you mean?"
Among those present, quite a few had been pirates or fake pirates. Lida wasn't wanted, so she was considered a fake pirate. Kuro was the captain, and Sazel was an apprentice pirate. They all believed that the Navy was the righteous one.
"What righteous? Let me tell you what righteousness is! Take that idiot Straw Hat Boy, for example. Besides having a clear goal, his purpose in life is to stop other people's dreams. He only acts when something happens, always acting like a victim, and he's only one of the few who takes action. He's always angry everywhere. What is that? That's the standard righteousness!"
"Compared to our navy, we have lofty ideals or ambitions, and we also have people who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals, like Sakazuki. We train hard every day, preparing for a certain objective without giving up, and we don't get discouraged by failure. We have organized operations, and we also have people who are always smiling, like the old man. Yes, we are the villains!"
"What are you talking about, Kuro?"
Lida looked at Kuro strangely, "Have you been drinking too much lately, Fanny...?"
"Huh? Is your brain broken?"
Fanny thought for a moment, then took out her diary and said very seriously to Kuro, "Vice Admiral Kuro, please tell me the specific symptoms. I will go back and study them. Before that, you can try the 'Naval Pills' series of sobering pills that I recently developed. It can keep people excited and clear-headed, and it also has pain relief and can make people's thinking quick. The only side effect is that it is addictive and can damage the nerves, but that's okay. I will slowly study how to remove the side effects and then promote it."
"Stop right there!"
Kuro hurriedly said, "If this gets out, the Navy will be finished!"
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