Led by the secretary, Raleigh and his companions arrived at the Vice Admiral's office.
The office was luxuriously decorated, with a hand-embroidered wool carpet laid over the pristine marble floor.
A massive banner hung on the wall—"Absolute Justice."
However, what surprised Raleigh was seeing his older brother Borsalino leisurely drinking tea on the sofa.
Sitting in the main seat was a soldier with stern features and an aloof expression.
Even those unaware of his identity could sense his iron-willed style from his demeanor.
Seeing his younger brother, Borsalino greeted him warmly.
"Yo! Little brother, you finally made it. If you'd been half a day later, Sakazuki would have returned to headquarters for his debriefing."
So the person in the main seat was the future "Akainu" Sakazuki, one of the future three great admirals, just like his brother Borsalino.
In truth, Raleigh had only seen Sakazuki once during his time at Marine Headquarters, mainly because he was solely focused on figuring out how to gain more slacking points back then.
He never attended any class reunions or his brother's gatherings, which meant he didn't know many people at headquarters apart from his closer classmates.
He only knew those from his own year—by the way, the top student in Raleigh's year was Kuzan.
Yes, that very same Kuzan who would later become the Marine Admiral "Aokiji."
"Hello, Sakazuki-senpai. I only saw you once at the academy back then and never had the chance to speak with you." Raleigh naturally pulled out a box of premium cigars from his pocket and offered one to Sakazuki.
"I only remember the instructors always saying that you and my brother were both rare monsters."
Sakazuki's deep voice resonated around the room.
"I've heard quite a bit about your reputation at headquarters, too. Among the military academy trainees, they call you 'The Unawakened Raleigh.' Sleeping through every class, with skills just slightly below Kuzan, who was called the Rookie King."
Raleigh chuckled awkwardly.
"Just empty titles, all of that just empty titles."
Sakazuki lit the cigar, took a deep drag, and blew out a perfect smoke ring.
"Partagas—the finest cigars from the East Blue. You and Borsalino are quite alike in knowing how to enjoy life."
Borsalino glanced over and teased, "Don't drag me into every topic. I don't smoke cigars—I'm perfectly content with just drinking tea."
Gion had already taken a seat on the sofa, sipping the same floral tea as Borsalino.
Tokikake was staring eagerly at Raleigh, clearly wanting to try such a high-end cigar too.
Naturally, Raleigh didn't play favorites and offered one to Tokikake as well, then placed the entire box in front of Sakazuki.
Sakazuki shook his head. "Raleigh, I appreciate the gesture, but it's easy to go from frugality to luxury and hard to return to simplicity. I joined the Marines not to enjoy life, but to eradicate pirates. Such things would corrode my spirit and hinder my unwavering focus. Please take them away."
Borsalino chimed in from the side, "Alright Raleigh, don't bother persuading him. That's just how he is. He doesn't care about food, clothing, or material comforts—his mind is completely occupied with eliminating pirates and improving his strength."
Sakazuki wasn't angry.
He had long known what kind of person Borsalino was and had developed an immunity to his words.
"The reason I wait for you here," Sakazuki said, "was to see for myself what kind of person the legendary Raleigh really is."
Raleigh scratched his head curiously.
'Why was Sakazuki specifically waiting for me? Isn't it said that he hates slackers among his subordinates? Could it be that he's taken a liking to my talent and wants me to be his adjutant? As expected, gold will always be gold. My talent shines as brilliantly as a luminous pearl in the dead of night.'
Before Raleigh could finish his thoughts, he was interrupted by Sakazuki's words.
"There's one thing I've never understood. How can someone as lazy as you manage to run the East Blue's 133rd Branch so well? I've read the Marine reports—though all the credit goes to Momonga—but I know Momonga. Although he is an excellent Marines, he couldn't have achieved this alone. So the issue must lie with you. Tell me, what's the secret to reducing your subordinates' casualty rates?"
Raleigh was inwardly shocked.
'So, my secret had already been noticed. Indeed, those who reach the world's top ranks are no fools. The higher-ups at headquarters had noticed me, and even Sakazuki, stationed far away in the North Blue, had taken notice.'
But since it had come to this, Raleigh certainly wouldn't let himself be shortchanged.
A negotiation, after all, requires both parties to agree.
He began making eye signals to Borsalino, hinting for his brother to help drive up the price.
Borsalino, however, pretended not to see and continued sipping his tea.
"Enough, Raleigh. No need to signal Borsalino. I've already spoken with him, and he's agreed," Sakazuki's deep voice sounded again.
Raleigh cursed his brother under his breath, then put on a smiling face.
"Actually, it's a set of tactics I discovered during an expedition—the most compatible with the current Marine combat style. Momonga and I conducted experiments. One hundred Marines using the new tactics versus one hundred using the old ones resulted in a casualty ratio of about 6:10."
Upon hearing this, a gleam flashed in Sakazuki's eyes.
As someone who frequently leads troops to exterminate pirates, he understood Marine combat capabilities.
He had also researched tactics before—the ones he developed could reduce casualties by ten percent, but it had cost him countless sleepless nights.
Now, an opportunity to reduce casualties by forty percent was right before him, and he wanted it badly.
"Name your terms, Raleigh. This set of tactics is very important to me. As long as they're not too unreasonable, I'll agree to them."
Borsalino also stepped in. "Raleigh, Sakazuki is a good friend of mine. Do what you think is right."
Raleigh thought for a moment, then said, "Sakazuki-senpai, these tactics were my private research. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't sell them to anyone. But since you and my brother are such good friends, here's what I'll do: I won't ask for money. Just consider it that you owe me a favor—come help me out when I need you in the future."
"Also," Raleigh added, "I have a disciple. He's very talented and nothing like me in temperament. I'm afraid my lazy nature might rub off on him. In a few years, when he graduates from the headquarters military academy, could he serve on your ship?"
"Miles, come over and let Sakazuki-senpai take a look at you."
Sakazuki pondered Raleigh's conditions and glanced at the young man called Miles, feeling quite satisfied with the arrangement.
In this transaction, he hadn't actually given up anything tangible—though he did owe a favor and had to help Raleigh train someone.