Chapter 159: Improving the treatment of the navy! Merit system!

Chapter 159: Improving the treatment of the navy! Merit system!

Chapter 159: Improving the treatment of the navy! Merit system!
At the same time as the promotion ceremony of Admiral Marinford began, the Beasts Pirates in Wano Country began to assemble.

Although Kaido has been the most active of the Pirate Emperors in the past decade or so, there have been very few major moves by the Beasts Pirates.

It seems that after occupying Wano Country, this group of pirates has settled down here and become otakus.

In comparison, whether it is the Whitebeard Pirates who occupy the largest territory in the New World, the Big Mom Pirates who send out invitations to people for "tea parties" all day long, or even the Red Hair Pirates who are keen on adventure, they all have a stronger presence than the Beasts Pirates.

It is precisely for this reason that when the Beasts Pirates began to assemble, members of the CP organization lurking in Wano Country and even in the Beasts Pirates were unable to react in the first time.

By the time they boarded Boros's spaceship Overlord and prepared to set sail, it was too late to pass on the message.

"A machine that can block Den Den Mushi signals, this is really a great thing!"

Quinn, who can be considered half a scientist himself, ran around Boros's spaceship with great curiosity, asking questions from time to time to the alien crew members who looked strange but were quite in line with the style of the Beasts Pirates.

"Just find the corresponding electromagnetic waves to interfere with them. This is a very simple technique, Master Quinn."

Following Quinn is a space pirate with four arms. His combat power is low, but the race he belongs to is a group that is quite good at inventions, so he can stay on the spaceship of the Space Dark Matter Pirates.

Unfortunately, for Boros, the only criterion for judging the value of his subordinates is combat effectiveness, and weakness is the original sin.

So Boros can tolerate Kaido, a subordinate whose mind is full of betrayal, but he doesn't care about the life or death of a loyal technician.

Therefore, after discovering that the new senior fighter Quinn was interested in technology, this four-armed space pirate decisively clung to Quinn's big thick legs.

Even during the heyday of the Cosmic Dark Matter Pirates, there were no more than thirty senior fighters on the spaceship, and the senior fighters at that time would never look down on a weakling like it.

"That's amazing, you're worthy of being a space pirate! Bring out whatever good stuff you have!"

Quinn excitedly patted the shoulder of his new brother. Although this brother was a little weak, he was envious of the endless new technologies.

When he absorbs the technology from these universes and transforms himself, maybe he can give that annoying guy Jhin a good beating!
"Ah!"

King, who was guarding Kaido, suddenly sneezed. Jack, who was eating and drinking, looked over curiously, but was glared back by King.

Except for Quinn, who was interested in the technology of the Cosmic Dark Matter Pirates, all the cadres of the Beasts Pirates gathered in the huge temple.

Boros from the universe is not interested in the lively atmosphere, but he doesn't mind his subordinates' behavior of getting together to have a banquet.

"Hey! We've been out to sea for so long, why don't you tell me where you're going?"

After pouring a large jar of wine into his mouth, the already drunk Kaido suddenly shouted at Boros who was at the top in an unpleasant manner.

Kaido, who was once the captain of the Beasts Pirates, can only sit next to Boros' throne even during banquets.

Even though this is still a position that countless people dream of, it still makes this unruly pirate feel very unhappy.

The cadres who were enjoying the banquet a second ago stopped their actions at the same time, fearing that any noise they made accidentally would anger Boss Boros or Big Brother Kaido.

"Ahahaha, Brother Kaido was just joking..."

Jhin, who was usually quite aloof, didn't care about his image at this moment. He just laughed dryly a few times and then spoke to try to smooth things over.

The fight between these two big brothers is no joke. Onigashima, which was once the lair of the Beasts Pirates, has been "ravaged" by Boros and Kaido, and now only the bare island base is slightly above the sea level. At high tide, only a little bit of the tip can be seen.

If they were in Wano Country, the worst that could happen is that the others would run away first to make room for them.

But now we are on the spaceship, and once the fight starts, Jhin can fly by himself, so it won't be a problem.

The problem is that the leaders of the Beasts Pirates are almost all users of animal-type Devil Fruit abilities, and they are all landlubbers.

And when Boss Boros took action, he didn't seem to care about the people on this spaceship. Don't think that Brother Kaido is thick-skinned and tough and will be fine. The Beasts Pirates will be wiped out first.

"…Didn't I tell you?"

Boros on the throne slowly opened his huge single eye. Although he did not release the domineering aura, for some reason everyone present felt a heavy sense of oppression.

Even Kaido, who has the most bad temper, couldn't help but twitch his eyes, secretly wondering how come this one-eyed monster seemed to have become stronger again?
"No...probably not..."

The cadres looked at each other, and after confirming that no one had heard it, the brave ones spoke cautiously.

"Wait! You guys...are you going to go now?"

At this moment, Kaido suddenly remembered what the Cyclops had mentioned.

Obviously, having only one top fighter is not enough to satisfy Boros, and according to Borsalino's instructions, Boros also has to bring BIG MOM under his command.

The two Pirate Emperors joining forces, plus the mysterious man Boros who is even stronger than them, this configuration is enough to make the World Government and the Five Elders experience what a surprise is!

"You tell them if you know."

Boros just glanced at Kaido indifferently. He was quite satisfied with the top fighter recommended by Borsalino, and hoped that the other top fighter he had booked would not disappoint him.

Kaido gritted his teeth, turned around and glared fiercely at the curious cadres, scaring away everyone's curiosity.

However, Kaido had no intention of explaining. He just picked up the wine jar again and started drinking from it in big gulps.

He didn't believe that the one-eyed monster could really suppress him and Big Mom alone. As long as he could defeat him together with Lingling...

No, as long as they could tie, he would have a chance to get rid of this monster!

The cadres were full of curiosity but did not dare to ask any further questions. However, Jin guessed something and looked at Boros with respect and awe, then lowered his head to think about how to convince Brother Kaido.

Only Kaido himself still thinks there is a chance for a comeback. King and Jack have already accepted the reality.

As for Quinn, he simply enjoyed the alien technology. If Kaido knew what his Three Calamities were thinking, he would probably be so angry that he went crazy.

On the other side, the marshal promotion ceremony of Marinford was still going on. As a senior navy who had climbed up step by step from the lowest level of marines and finally ascended to the throne of marshal, Borsalino was not only a superior in the eyes of the marines, but also an object of their admiration.

In this situation, no matter what the content of Borsalino's speech was, it would be welcomed by the navy, not to mention that what he prepared was a plan to comprehensively improve the treatment of the navy.

"...I hope that all sailors can have a pension when they are old. I hope that the heroes who uphold justice will not shed blood and tears...From now on, the salaries of all sailors will increase by 20%, and the pensions will increase by 15%! Frontline sailors can receive corresponding subsidies when performing missions..."

Borsalino, standing on the podium, gave a rare serious speech, but what came out of his mouth made countless sailors look happy.

However, many senior naval officials disagree.

Especially Sakaski, who was standing not far from Borsalino, had a blank expression on his face from beginning to end.

In his view, the navy's mission is to uphold justice, and only the private armies of princes and nobles need to rely on improving treatment to maintain morale.

However, as a person who has experienced it, Borsalino knows that maintaining spiritual beliefs requires sufficient material foundation, in short, more money.

Of course, just giving money is not enough. An army without faith will sooner or later fall into depravity.

Naturally, most of the navy did not dare to speak out at this time. They could only silently calculate in their hearts how much extra berries they could get after the increase in treatment. However, some people did not need to worry so much.

"Well, if the salary increases by 20%, then I can get... Xiaohe, can you help me calculate how many berries I can get a month?"

Vice Admiral Garp, who was standing next to the podium, frowned and calculated for a long time. In the end, he had no choice but to give up this area that he was not good at and chose to ask for help from Vice Admiral Ahe beside him.

Logically speaking, the Vice Admirals of the headquarters, especially high-ranking naval officers like Garp, would not be short of money. Unfortunately, Garp has never been a moonlighter who has no idea what saving is. In addition, he is fined from time to time for violating the orders of the World Government, so Vice Admiral Garp is still a little short of money.

"Damn it, why didn't my pension increase as much as Mad Dog's? Is Borsalino targeting me? But raising it so much at once won't be a problem, right?"

Admiral Zefa crossed his arms across his chest and looked a little dissatisfied, but his old friends who were familiar with him could see that Zefa was in a good mood.

Even compared to Vice Admiral Garp, the "troublemaker" whose salary is often deducted, Admiral Zephyr is not much better off.

After all, he has been raising and supporting the orphans of the navy since before he became an admiral, and after retiring, he focused all his energy on training the new generation of the navy.

In the original world line, the reason why Admiral Zefa was able to pull out a team from the navy with his own appeal was also due to his decades of consistent teaching and support for naval cadets.

Now that he could get an extra pension out of nowhere, it meant that he could sponsor a few more naval cadets, which was a good thing in Zefa's eyes. The only thing that made him feel a little uneasy was whether such a huge expenditure could be recognized by the World Government and the Five Elders.

You should know that the proportion of navy salaries in the navy's military expenditure is not small in itself. Even if the salary of millions of navy personnel only increases by 20%, it is an extremely huge amount of money.

"Improving the pay of the navy? That's a good direction... This year's navy budget is three times that of last year. Borsalino asked for an additional 70% of the budget based on the results of our discussion."

Vice Admiral Ahe seemed to have guessed Zefa's concerns, and told Zefa what Borsalino had done with helplessness and a hint of laughter.

In previous years, the Navy would be repeatedly harassed by the World Government every time it submitted a budget, so when making the budget list, it would choose a conservative strategy as much as possible.

But this time, it was at the instigation of Borsalino, and on the premise that the navy had suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Marineford, that a bold budget list was prepared.

I had already prepared myself mentally for criticism and the cutting of several major items, but I did not expect that Borsalino would not only get the budget passed, but also force the Five Elders to give 70% more.

Afterwards, even the usually serious Marshal Sengoku made a rare joke. If he had known that Borsalino was so greedy for money, he, the naval marshal, should have abdicated long ago.

"Humph, that guy is just good at doing some crooked things!"

Zefa spoke with feigned disdain, but there was an unconcealable hint of pride in his tone.

Although he was not optimistic about Borsalino's future at first, today even Zefa has to admit that Borsalino's achievements have completely exceeded his expectations.

Seeing that the 'strongest man in the world' Whitebeard died at the hands of Borsalino, if the previous battle records were taken into account, the four pirate emperors were actually defeated by Borsalino.

Under the leadership of such a powerful admiral, there might really be a possibility of ending the Great Pirate Era.

When he thought of this, Admiral Zefa was so excited that he even had the idea of ​​coming out again.

But his old body, which was covered with countless old wounds and would ache slightly on rainy days, reminded him that 'Black Arm' Zefa no longer existed.

"You're actually starting with improving salaries... As expected of Mr. Borsalino. The last time salaries were increased on a large scale was decades ago, but it would be even better if you could approve more vacations..."

Kuzan, who was standing on the other side of the podium, nodded involuntarily. Compared to the unwilling Sakaski, Kuzan was actually happy to see Borsalino become the admiral of the navy.

Although he felt a little regretful that he failed to become a marshal, compared with Sakaski, he found Borsalino's ideas more acceptable to him.

Kuzan did not lower his voice deliberately, so Sakaski, who was not far away from him, could naturally hear it clearly.

"With tens of billions of berries in military spending, we could have built several main fleets, but we're wasting it on something like this..."

Sakaski, who is known for his tough stance, scoffed at Borsalino's approach. In his opinion, since it is for the sake of upholding justice, as long as the treatment is not so bad that it is unacceptable, the budget should not be wasted on unnecessary things.

Ignoring various invisible benefits, the lowest-level marines can receive a salary of about 250,000 berries per year. If generals, officers and lieutenants at all levels are also included, this wave of salary increases will cost the Navy nearly 20 billion berries.

In addition, there is a large group of retired navy personnel, and their pensions are not a small amount of money. If Borsalino had not promised them that next year's military budget would only be higher, Sakaski would definitely be the first to jump out and oppose this decision.

"Oh my, that's not right. Mr. Borsalino has not cut military spending on shipbuilding... Besides, the production capacity of new warships is still not up to par. Even if there is funding, it is impossible to launch them in large quantities in a short period of time..."

Kuzan spoke slowly. He was very satisfied with the current situation of the navy. If there was no need for a force that could check and balance the Hawkish Navy, he would even be ready to give up his position as the leader of the Hawkish Navy.

There's nothing wrong with being an ordinary admiral of the navy. If Mr. Borsalino can end the Great Pirate Era, he can also retire early like Mr. Zephyr.

However, Kuzan really does not have the patience to teach the new generation of the navy. By then, he will probably choose to travel around and see the world.

"Humph! If we don't take advantage of Whitebeard's death and seize the opportunity to advance into the New World, how long will it take to completely wipe out all the pirates?"

Sakaski was very dissatisfied. Although he admitted that this opportunity was created by Borsalino, it would be a pity to waste it.

Kuzan on the side scratched his head. It was a rare occasion that he did not oppose Sakaski's proposal, but it was rejected by Borsalino on the grounds that the navy also needed repairs.

This reason is not unreasonable, but for some reason, Kuzan always feels that Mr. Borsalino is hiding something from them.

Of course, Kuzan would definitely agree with Borsalino's idea of ​​giving the top naval officers a holiday.

Borsalino, who was giving a speech, could naturally hear the conversation between Kuzan and Sakaski, but he had no way to explain to them why they did not take the opportunity to pursue and invade the New World.

We can't say that in the near future, a hedgehog-headed one-eyed monster who claims to be the Pirate King will pop up in the New World.

If the navy marches into the New World at this time and directly confronts Boros, even if Borsalino has become the admiral of the navy, there is no guarantee that a head-on conflict between the navy and Boros can be avoided.

Instead of having a headache about how to prevent the two sides from colliding at that time, it is better to let the two sides avoid each other from the beginning.

"…In order to uphold justice and protect the peace of the sea, from now on, in addition to the original bounty, a new merit system will be implemented within the navy…"

Borsalino's speech continued. Compared to Marshal Sengoku's pure resignation speech, Borsalino's speech was more like a plan, letting all the navy know what he was going to do next.

The new merit system may seem a bit complicated, but it is essentially an alternative 'bounty' for the navy.

In other words, if you catch a pirate in the future, you will not only get the pirate's bounty, but also gain merit.

Depending on the strength and danger of the pirates, they will be given a "bounty" of first-class merit, second-class merit, and third-class merit respectively. Of course, for big pirates like the Pirate Emperor and the Seven Warlords of the Sea, it is normal to be given dozens or hundreds of first-class merits.

As long as you accumulate ten third-class merits, you can exchange them for one second-class merit. Similarly, ten second-class merits can be exchanged for one first-class merit.

A third-class merit can unconditionally promote one level of military rank to a higher rank for officers below the rank of lieutenant. Similarly, a second-class merit is required for promotion below the rank of colonel, and a first-class merit is required for promotion below the rank of general.

Such a system is intended not only to encourage the navy to eliminate pirates, but also to combat the seniority-based culture within the navy.

Borsalino on the podium had just announced the new merit system, and the sailors in the square could not help but exclaimed in surprise, and many of them showed joy on their faces.

Compared with the salary increase, the new merit system surprised the Marines more.

In the past, no matter how many contributions they made, they could not expect to be promoted unless they pleased their direct superiors.

This is also the main reason for the prevalence of factions within the navy. Although joining a faction will lead to being targeted by hostile factions, it is at least better than no one promoting you and you will stay at the bottom all your life.

But now with the new merit system, even if their superiors want to suppress them, there is no way to prevent them from being promoted directly by gaining merit.

Such a system is obviously beneficial to those strong naval elites. If nothing unexpected happens, the strength of the navy will be unprecedentedly enhanced in the next few years.

"It's really unexpected... No, it should be said that it's really amazing..."

Kuzan couldn't help but look at Borsalino. If improving the treatment of the navy was still within his understanding, then this merit system was simply a stroke of genius in Kuzan's view.

At first glance, it seems to have only opened up a new promotion channel for the middle and lower-level navy, but in fact it is a powerful measure to end the factional disputes within the navy.

As long as there is enough room for promotion, the battle between hawkish and dovish navies is purely a battle of ideas.

"…Finally, the news is not too bad…"

Sakaski frowned at first, then his brows gradually relaxed.

He did not care about the factional struggles in the navy, or in Sakaski's opinion, factions were a good thing, and only competition could ensure the vitality of the navy.

At this point, the new merit system can effectively motivate the middle and lower-level navy and encourage them to take the initiative to eliminate pirates.

A good system is one that can eliminate pirates!
Borsalino, who had just dropped a bombshell, was not in a hurry to go further. After all, the Navy was an ancient organization that had existed for eight hundred years, just like the World Government.

It is impossible to revitalize the navy in one step. Even if he has the ability to control the overall situation, he still needs to complete the reform step by step.

Improving salaries and opening up new promotion channels are just steps Borsalino uses to win over people's hearts.

As Borsalino's speech gradually entered its summary stage, the sailors in the square could no longer contain their excitement.

Although Borsalino's speech only mentioned improving naval treatment and a new merit system, it was enough to make people feel his enterprising spirit.

The chat group members who watched Borsalino's speech through the live broadcast room also truly saw what kind of demeanor Borsalino, who usually seemed a little frivolous in the chat group, had in real life.

(End of this chapter)