Early the next morning.
Every Marine who'd gone drinking last night was now paying the price—weighted runs around the training field, lungs burning, curses swallowed.
"Damned brats…"
On the second floor, from the base office, the commander's roar echoed across the courtyard.
The nearby clerks and errand boys scattered like spooked cats.
"You idiots! This is what you did yesterday?!"
"What's wrong, Colonel Mao? Why're you yelling this early?"Jin yawned, shuffled into the room, and flopped lazily onto the sofa, digging at his ear.
"What's wrong? You still have the face to ask me what's wrong?! A whole group of Marines got drunk and went and smashed up someone's business!"
The colonel jabbed a finger at him, face reddening.
"They—you—"
He choked on his own anger before he could string a proper sentence together.
"Oh, that? That was just us doing a bit of public service." Jin shrugged. "Cleaning up the streets."
The colonel's face flushed even darker.
"Public service? Cleaning up the streets? Then why didn't you arrest them? Why are they still operating?!"
Jin sighed, took a drag on his cigarette, and set his boots on the table.
"Colonel, you know as well as I do there's no erasing this kind of filth. You wipe out the Bartolo Family today… tomorrow you get the Killer Bangs Clan, the Emo Coffin Society, the Whatever-Edgy-Name Family."
He flicked ash into the tray.
"Better to leave behind one group that listens. Set some rules. That way at least there's less disgusting crap going on."
The colonel's expression eased… barely.
"Even if I grudgingly admit that makes sense… why are you taking bribes from them?"
"That's hazard pay," Jin said without shame. "Don't mix up the terminology, Colonel."
The colonel's slightly improved complexion went straight back to crimson.
"That's not hazard pay, that's a bribe, damn it! You're a Marine officer, where is your sense of justice?!"
Jin just looked at him. Calm. Almost bored.
And kept looking.
"…"
Colonel Mao's voice died in his throat.
Right. This guy's favorite line: "I'm a Marine with no sense of justice, so don't try to tie me up with morality."
He'd read that in the reports himself.
"I know," the colonel finally muttered. "I know this kind of filth can't really be stomped out. What you did… works, in its own twisted way. But still… justice…"
His words trailed off.
He was getting old. He'd seen too much. Justice was no longer as clear and dazzling as it had been in his youth.
Jin poured him a cup of tea and slid it across.
"Relax, Colonel. It's a small mess. No need to start your day with a stroke."
The colonel stared into the cup.
"Hah… Headquarters already knows."
"Mm?" Jin blinked. "Headquarters?"
He nodded.
"Someone saw what happened last night and filed a report."
Jin's gaze sharpened.
"Who?"
"Kanira…"
"Ah. Him."
Jin's lip curled.
"Trying to oust me and take your seat, huh? Boring."
For Kanira, it was "justice must not be besmirched." For everyone else, it was just careerist backstabbing. Common enough in the Marines.
The colonel looked tired.
"Headquarters will likely send an investigator. If they do… what will you do?"
Jin stared at the ceiling, looking like his soul was leaving his body.
"What can I do?"
"Report to HQ, I guess. They've already been nagging me for over a year. If I drag it out any longer, Sengoku's going to explode."
The colonel's face darkened.
"So you do know…"
Jin stood and stretched lazily.
"I'm going, I'm going."
"Don't worry so much, Colonel. The sky's not falling."
"You…"
The colonel started to scold him again, then just sighed and waved him off.
"Forget it. It's not the end of the world. For people with strength… the rules have more… room to bend."
Outside, in the training field, Jin was just stepping down the stairs when a skinny, sharp-faced officer sidled up to him.
"Lieutenant Commander Jin. A word?"
Jin glanced sideways at him.
"Talk."
The man smiled obsequiously.
"Heheh, as expected of White Ghost, straight to the point. It's nothing big, just…"
"If you've got gas, fart it out already, Kanira," Jin said flatly. "Don't drag it out."
Kanira dropped the polite act.
"Then I'll be blunt."
"So long as you hand over what you got yesterday… I'll withdraw my complaint."
He'd already done his homework.
A Devil Fruit. A valuable one. He didn't know which fruit, but any fruit would be enough to rocket him upward.
With that, plus his uncle's backing, who needed this little backwater colonelcy? He could aim much higher.
Jin looked at him with pure contempt.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I thought you were going to open your lion's mouth."
"That's it, Kanira? That's your big move?"
Kanira didn't mind the mockery.
"Heh. Lieutenant Commander Jin, what do you say?"
"You give me the fruit, and I'll stop competing with you for the colonel's chair."
Jin's tone turned icy.
"Kanira."
"You're mistaken about a few things."
"Eh?"
Jin reached out and placed his hand on the back of Kanira's head.
The little man barely topped a meter and a half; the gesture was almost casual.
"First."
"I don't give a damn about this base commander position."
"It's not that you 'beat me' for it."
"It's that I couldn't be bothered to try."
"That 'candidate' marking on the report? That was HQ's idea, not mine."
His palm suddenly pressed down.
Kanira felt his body lock up as an immense force pinned him in place.
"W-what are you doing, Lieutenant Commander Jin?! Calm down!"
Kanira started to panic.
"You can't touch me! I have connections at HQ! Think this through—"
"Oh?"
Jin's lips curled.
"That so?"
He gave a light stomp.
Thud.
Kanira's face smashed into the dirt.
"AAAAH!"
Screams erupted instantly.
Face scraped bloody, he still managed to spit curses.
"Damn you, White Ghost! You're finished, you hear me?! When my uncle hears about this you're done for!"
"Kanira."
Jin pressed down just a little harder.
The surrounding area fell quiet.
"Second."
"You think the reason I never touched you before was because I was… 'afraid' of the man behind you?"
"You're wrong."
"I wasn't afraid."
"I was lazy."
"Lazy about wasting effort on you."
He leaned down, murmuring in his ear.
"A mere old Vice Admiral at HQ, and you think that makes me nervous?"
Feeling the killing intent rolling off him, Kanira's entire body began to shake. Cold sweat poured down his back.
He's serious. This lunatic will really kill me…
A crowd had gathered around them.
No one stepped in to help.
Everyone knew what Kanira was like—abusing his minor power, bullying whoever he could, throwing his "connections" around.
His two personal goons weren't helping either; Kuro had an arm around each of their shoulders, ten cat-claw blades resting lightly against their necks.
"Don't move," Kuro said mildly.
"Or it'll get messy."
"Sorry, sir," one of the goons whimpered. "We'd love to run and get help, but, uh… circumstances…"
Up on the second floor, Colonel Mao watched through the window.
He didn't intervene.
He knew Jin wouldn't go so far as to kill a fellow officer.
A beating would probably do Kanira some good.
Jin's voice was soft and mocking.
"Look at you. Pitiful."
"Not one person is stepping up for you."
"I was wrong, White Ghost, I was wrong!" Kanira babbled. "I won't send any more reports! I won't! Please, let me go!"
Jin looked down at him with obvious disappointment.
"How dull."
"I wasn't finished."
"I—I'm listening! I'm listening!" Kanira trembled, desperate.
Jin straightened, but didn't lift his foot.
Kanira still had his face ground into the dirt.
His only support was the boot pressing on his skull.
"Third."
"Do you know why I've let you jump around in front of me all this time?"
"Because a clown is still entertaining, as long as he's content to play the fool."
"Why would I interrupt free entertainment?"
"But now?"
"The clown wants to sit center stage and make other people dance for him."
"That can't be allowed."
Kanira went rigid.
The boot on his head hadn't moved at all.
"Y-yes, yes, Lieutenant Commander Jin, you're right. I was wrong. I'll never oppose you again, I swear. I'll do whatever you say, just… don't kill me…"
Jin shook his head.
"Tch."
"Relax."
"I like you best when you're humiliating yourself."
"Just go back to jumping around and making me laugh."
Around them, the watching Marines burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, about time someone stepped on that guy…"
"White Boss is the best…"
Listening to their laughter, Kanira wished his head could burrow even deeper into the dirt.
Laugh. Go ahead and laugh, you idiots.
Once I'm out of this, I'll make every one of you pay me back double. No—tenfold. A hundredfold.
Jin sucked on his cigarette.
"Kanira."
"Remember this."
"Power is lovely."
"But power without strength…"
He ground his boot down.
"…looks ridiculous."
"In this world, strength is what decides everything."
"Is that clear?"
"It's clear, it's clear! I understand, Lieutenant Commander Jin!"
"Please, just let me up!" Tears were streaming down Kanira's cheeks.
Jin looked at him in disgust.
"Tch."
"Crying, as a grown man?"
"So embarrassing."
He began to lift his foot.
Kanira's relief flared instantly.
"Yes, yes, I'm embarrassing, I'll remember—"
Jin's brow furrowed slightly.
Then he slammed his heel down again.
THUD.
Kanira's head sank fully into the packed earth.
"…"
There was a beat of stunned silence.
The surrounding Marines stared, mouths open.
Only Jin's regulars wore expressions that said yep, checks out.
"Heheh…"
"Once your foot's already on someone's head, not stomping would feel wrong, don't you think?"
He blew out a smoke ring and gazed down at the unconscious officer.
Kanira's eyes had rolled back; he twitched faintly, limbs spasming.
Jin looked up at the two goons.
"Well?"
"Get your boss to the infirmary."
"Any later and there won't be anything left to treat."
"Y-yes, sir!"
Kuro finally let them go.
They rushed forward, scooping up the limp Kanira and sprinting toward the hospital wing without daring to look back.
"OOOOOH YEAH!"
"White Boss is invincible—!"
Jin's men started cheering and whooping, delighted.
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