One Piece: One Punch Man

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"Byakuya, I understand your point. But do you realize how much money it takes to sustain the Marines every day?" 

"Without the World Government's funding, the Marines would collapse in an instant," Sengoku explained.

His words carried an implicit warning: the massive organization of the Marines, comprising millions, relied entirely on the financial support of the World Government. 

Even though Sengoku harbored dissatisfaction, he had no choice but to tolerate the situation for the sake of keeping the Marines operational.

Byakuya, however, pressed on. "But Uncle Sengoku, have you ever considered—where does the World Government get that money?"

Sengoku, unsure of where this line of questioning was heading, still answered truthfully. "Of course, from the Heavenly Tribute that allied nations pay annually."

"And why do these nations pay the Heavenly Tribute every year?" Byakuya continued.

Sengoku instinctively replied, "To become allied nations and enjoy the protection of the Marines…"

Sengoku trailed off, his voice faltering. These thoughts had never crossed his mind before. 

From childhood, he had been taught to believe that the Marines were subordinate to the World Government and dependent on their funding for survival. 

The notion that the allied nations' tribute was tied to Marine protection had never been a focus of his education.

Byakuya's words planted a seed of doubt.

Chugging down a glass of soda, Byakuya continued, his tone now laced with righteous indignation. 

"Exactly! Those nations pay the Heavenly Tribute because the Marines protect them. How many Marine soldiers and officers have sacrificed their lives for that protection?"

"Yet, out of the trillions of berries collected as tribute each year, how much is actually used to support the Marines? And how much is wasted on those so-called 'Celestial Dragons'?"

Byakuya's voice rose as his frustration mounted. 

"The World Government earns a fortune off the Marines' hard work, tosses us a small fraction of that money to keep us running, and then treats us like lapdogs! We sacrifice, we bleed, and they use us while living in luxury."

The more Byakuya spoke, the angrier he became. "This is the very definition of exploitative capitalism!" 

"It doesn't matter which world you're in—greedy elites are always the same. 

"If the timing weren't wrong, I'd be convincing you to lead a rebellion against the World Government right now. But for now, I'll just let you chew on that."

On the other end of the line, Sengoku fell silent for a long time. Byakuya's words struck at the core of everything he had come to accept as normal. 

He wanted to argue back, but he couldn't find any flaws in Byakuya's reasoning.

The bitter truth was that the Marines were treated like tools by the World Government. 

Whenever they didn't toe the line, their budget was threatened, forcing them to compromise again and again. 

Sengoku had endured this humiliation for decades, growing numb to it over time. After a long pause, Sengoku sighed heavily. 

A bitter chuckle followed as he said, "Byakuya, I called to reprimand you, to tell you not to act so recklessly in the future." 

"But it seems this old man ended up getting schooled by his nephew instead."

Knowing when to stop, Byakuya decided not to push further. "I get it, Uncle Sengoku. By the way, I've identified the mole Doflamingo planted among my men." 

"I've also got someone in mind to replace them—someone who wants to join the Marines. What do you think?"

"Handle it however you see fit," Sengoku replied wearily.

"Got it! I'll take care of it." Without waiting for a response, Byakuya hung up.

Sengoku sat frozen for a moment, staring at the Den Den Mushi in disbelief. Then his gaze shifted to the large kanji for "Justice" hanging on his wall. 

His eyes carried a hint of hesitation and doubt as he muttered to himself, "You make valid points, Byakuya, but it's hard for me to break free from decades of ingrained beliefs and act on them." 

"Perhaps when you become Fleet Admiral, the Marines will finally stand tall. Until then, this old man will hold things together as best as I can."

Little did Sengoku know, Byakuya also breathed a sigh of relief after hanging up. He hadn't expected the conversation to delve so deeply into such topics. 

But judging from Sengoku's reaction, there wasn't as much resistance as he had anticipated. That was enough for now.

In Byakuya's eyes, as long as Sengoku wasn't actively opposing him, it was tacit approval to proceed as he saw fit. 

Confident in his approach, Byakuya turned his attention to other matters and made his way to the branch prison.

Unlike the damp, dark, and foul-smelling prisons often depicted in movies, the Marine branch prison was clean and well-maintained. 

The air was fresh, and the facilities were orderly—a stark contrast to what one might expect.

The Marine prison was surprisingly clean and orderly, with interrogation tools neatly arranged and sunlight streaming through the windows. 

Soldiers cleaned the area daily, maintaining an environment that was almost pleasant. As Byakuya stepped inside, he was taken aback.

"This place is so nice—it's like these prisoners are on vacation. This needs to be fixed," he muttered to himself.

Byakuya walked further in and asked, "How's the interrogation going?"

Ferguson, the officer in charge of questioning Vergo, approached with a guilty look.

"Base Commander Byakuya, Vergo stubbornly refuses to admit that he's Doflamingo's spy. He insists he's innocent."

To be honest, Fergus found it hard to reconcile the revelation with the image of Vergo he'd known—a friendly and approachable Marine vice admiral. 

If Byakuya hadn't personally confirmed it, Ferguson wouldn't have believed it even if his life depended on it.

"He won't admit it? Well, that's in line with his character," Byakuya said, unfazed. He made his way to the cell where Vergo was being held.

Vergo's body was covered in scars from the interrogation. Despite this, the interrogators had held back somewhat out of respect for his former rank. 

If it had been any other pirate in G-5's custody, they'd likely be barely clinging to life by now.

When Vergo saw Byakuya, he weakly called out, "Vice Admiral Byakuya... Base Commander Byakuya... I'm innocent. I have no connection to Doflamingo. Please, believe me!"

Byakuya chuckled softly. "Stop struggling, Vergo. Doflamingo already confessed. What's the point in resisting now? Isn't that right... Demon Bamboo?"

The mention of his codename from within the Donquixote Family sent a chill down Vergo's spine. 

Only Doflamingo had known that name, yet Byakuya spoke it aloud as if it were common knowledge. 

This could only mean one thing—Doflamingo had indeed betrayed him. With his last shred of hope shattered, Vergo steeled himself. 

If Doflamingo had abandoned him, then loyalty no longer mattered. "Base Commander Byakuya, this is all a setup! Doflamingo must have framed me!" 

"Back when I was stationed at G-5, I had conflicts with him. This is his way of getting revenge before his end."

Byakuya clapped his hands mockingly. "Bravo. A fine performance of dog-eat-dog. But whether you admit it or not doesn't matter. The fact is, I say you're a traitor, and so you are."

He stepped closer, his tone turning icy. "For a Marine traitor, the punishment must serve as a lasting reminder to everyone."

Fergus hesitated before asking tentatively, "Base Commander Byakuya, do you mean…?"

Byakuya's voice was cold and unyielding. "Break his limbs and hang him at the base gate. I want everyone to know that betraying the Marines leads to a fate worse than death."

This wasn't just about punishing Vergo. 

Byakuya's rage was fueled by the near-death of Ain and Tashigi during Doflamingo's schemes—an incident that would have cost him dearly had Zephyr not intervened to save them. 

Even executing Vergo a hundred times wouldn't fully vent Byakuya's fury.

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