In the end, Charlotte Linlin still paid the of 10.8 billion Berries, carrying with her boundless humiliation and rage.
The process was painful, but the action was swift.
After all, when an invisible sword capable of making your arm disappear at any moment is hanging over your head, no one dares to stall for time.
The Big Mom Pirates' fleet didn't have enough liquid cash.
What they did have was treasure, plundered from all over the world.
And so, an absurdly surreal scene played out on the docks of G-5 Fortress.
Led by Perospero and Katakuri, a group of infamous New World pirates, names that once struck fear across the seas, were now drenched in cold sweat, acting as dock laborers.
One by one, they hauled down heavy chests packed with gold, silver, and jewels from their ships, stacking them neatly in the open grounds of G-5.
Each chest was crushingly heavy.
Every time one hit the ground, it let out a dull thud, as if pounding directly against the hearts of every Big Mom Pirate present.
Their expressions looked worse than if their own mothers had died.
And the ones responsible for receiving and auditing this massive compensation were Renzo's two aides.
Renzo was extremely satisfied with Monet's professionalism and promoted her to be his adjutant.
"Potts-san, this chest contains the Diamond of Love from the Kingdom of Dressrosa," Monet said, checklist in hand, her expression cool and precise. "Appraised at 300 million Berries. Please record it."
"Received," Potts replied, adjusting his monocle as the treasure's gleam reflected in the lens.
"Monet, the next chest contains the Tear of the King sapphire from the Kingdom of Prodence. Extremely high purity. Appraised at 250 million."
The two worked in perfect sync, calling and recording at astonishing speed.
Behind them, the G-5 Marines stood dumbstruck, jaws practically hitting the ground.
Treasures they had only ever heard about in legends were now being carried over chest by chest, like cabbages at a wet market.
Tieard was trembling with excitement.
He felt like he wasn't witnessing extortion, but the birth of a myth.
"Did you see that?!" he whispered fiercely to his subordinates, barely able to contain himself.
"This is the caliber of our Admiral! So what if they're a Yonko? Piss off our Admiral, and not only do they have to crawl away, they have to leave their underwear behind as compensation!"
He was secretly thrilled. Riding the coattails of a giant really did feel good.
Thank goodness he'd "knelt early."
Amid the chaos and clamor of the dock, the two main figures of the incident looked absurdly relaxed.
Renzo was reclining on a beach chair, a fresh cup of steaming tea already replaced on the small table beside him.
Across from him sat Kizaru, legs crossed, wearing that signature lewd, unreadable grin of his.
"Ahh~"
Kizaru took a sip of Sanji's special lemon black tea and spoke lazily.
"Renzo, you really did… help the World Government solve a huge problem this time. The Big Mom Pirates lost so much blood that they probably won't have the energy to cause trouble for quite a while."
His tone carried a hint of teasing, but deep in his eyes was a trace of awe, one he didn't even realize himself.
Forcing back a Yonko single-handedly, without spilling blood, and casually squeezing out an astronomical compensation on top of that.
This wasn't just something no one had done.
It was something no one had ever dared to imagine.
"Troublesome."
Renzo didn't even open his eyes, replying with just one flat word.
To him, everything that had just happened truly seemed like nothing more than an annoyance that had disturbed his nap.
He tilted his head slightly toward Kizaru.
"Still, this time I really do have to thank you, Borsalino."
"Hm?" Kizaru blinked in surprise.
"You came all the way from Marineford just to help me hold the line, firing lasers, using the Ama no Murakumo, putting in real work. Must've been tiring."
For once, Renzo's tone actually carried a hint of sincerity.
Kizaru's mouth twitched.
"So," Renzo continued, suddenly changing the subject and opening his eyes, looking straight at Kizaru, "to show my gratitude, how about taking a vacation here before you leave?"
"A vacation?"
"Yeah," Renzo nodded matter-of-factly. "You're already here anyway. Going back means writing reports, what a pain. Why not stay at G-5 for a while? We'll say Headquarters assigned you here to assist me. A paid vacation, all expenses covered."
What Renzo really wanted was for Kizaru to hang around and kill time with him for a few days.
After all… they had plenty of common topics.
And maybe, just maybe, he could pull this old fox onto "his ship."
Strong, fast, and perfect for cleaning up problems.
He pointed behind him at the bare, steel-and-smoke-filled G-5 base.
"The scenery isn't great, but it's quiet. And my chef's pretty good, I can have him make you a different dish every day. Good for your lower back at your age."
Kizaru: "..."
Staring at Renzo's utterly sincere face, he honestly couldn't tell whether the man was just being polite, or completely serious.
A paid vacation at this godforsaken G-5 branch?
No matter how he looked at it, this sounded less like a vacation and more like some kind of punishment game.
"Well, about that~" Kizaru dragged out his words, wearing a conflicted expression.
"I'd love to stay, but… if my report to Fleet Admiral Sengoku is late, he'll nag me to death~"
"No problem," Renzo waved it off. "I'll talk to him. I'll just say the waters around G-5 have been unstable lately and need an experienced Admiral to hold things down, so you've been temporarily seconded here."
He paused, then added a reason Kizaru absolutely couldn't refuse.
"Besides, I've already arranged for your travel expenses here to be reimbursed at double rate, taken straight from that compensation we just collected."
Kizaru's eyes lit up instantly.
'Double reimbursement?!'
Watching Kizaru's expression, clearly tempted yet instinctively uneasy, Sanji couldn't help covering his face.
He felt that his own lazy Admiral wasn't just absurd in strength anymore, his ability to screw people over had also reached transcendent levels.
This wasn't an invitation to vacation at all.
It was blatantly an attempt to turn Kizaru into free, high-end labor for G-5!
Meanwhile, as the two Admirals conducted their "friendly negotiations," the treasure count on the docks finally concluded.
Monet walked up to Renzo and reported respectfully,
"10.8 billion Berries. Not a single Berry missing."
"Mm." Renzo nodded, then casually waved at Perospero and the others, who looked like their souls had left their bodies.
"Alright. You can get lost now."
His tone was no different from shooing away a bunch of annoying flies.
The Big Mom Pirates felt as if they'd been granted amnesty. They didn't dare utter a single threat, scrambling back onto their ships and fleeing the area at top speed, desperate to escape this devil's sea where they had suffered unparalleled humiliation.
Watching the massive fleet retreat in panic, the G-5 Marine base erupted into thunderous cheers!
Amid the sea of celebration, Renzo let out a long yawn and stood up from his chair.
Stretching lazily, he said to Kizaru, who was still agonizing over the idea of a "paid vacation":
"Alright, Borsalino. Stop thinking about it."
"Dinner's almost ready. Let's eat first."
"Tonight, I had Sanji add a special dish just for you, "
"Golden Cheese Baked Lobster."