PIRATES: I WORK IN NAVY FROM NINE TO FIVE

hapter Title: "A Bonus Worth Betraying Sentiment" (Continued)

The entire conference hall fell into dead silence.

All the admiration that had flickered in the officers' eyes as they looked toward Luo Yu—vanished without a trace.

What remained was the bitter smile of men defeated not by violence, but by sheer audacity.

Of course... how could they have forgotten?Trying to talk about sentiment with this young man… was the quickest way to hurt your wallet.

They had all felt moved just moments ago, even these hardened veterans of the sea.

But then he dropped it—

"My bond with Zephyr is worth more... so pay up."

The emotional whiplash was absurd. So cheap. So shameless.

And yet… thinking back to Luo Yu's recent track record—This man had captured a Warlord's top officer and three fake CP0 agents just for the performance bonus.

If he hadn't asked for money this time, it would've been out of character.

Even Tsuru could only smile bitterly now.

Looking at Luo Yu's calm, matter-of-fact expression, she finally accepted—

"This man cannot be judged by any normal logic."

"You brat!" Sengoku snapped, slamming the table."You're a Marine Admiral! Can't you drop that stink of money from you?!"

But seeing Luo Yu still calmly sipping his cheap liquor…

Sengoku let out a long sigh.

He knew—most people say talking about money hurts relationships.

But with Luo Yu, it was the absence of money that hurt relationships.

"Forget it," he sighed at last, waving his hand."Since you're actually willing to take on this pain-in-the-ass mission, it's yours."

"As for your bonus—ten million Berries. That's the maximum."

"Ten million?" Luo Yu pushed up his glasses, a faint smile curling on his lips."Fleet Admiral Sengoku… are you underestimating my relationship with Zephyr-sensei?"

"If he finds out you only offered me ten million for this, he'd be heartbroken."

Heartbroken?

Sengoku's eyelids twitched violently.

If this weren't a delicate mission that absolutely needed someone to take it, he'd have slapped Luo Yu across the back of the head already.

And if Zephyr ever found out that Luo Yu had monetized their bond...

He might just abandon the Navy altogether.

"Five more million!" Sengoku growled."Fifteen million total! That's triple your regular payout. Any more than that and others will start complaining."

But none of the admirals in the room said a word. In fact, they all started shaking their heads like rattles.

No one dared to raise a fuss.

Because Luo Yu had earned every coin he demanded.

Luo Yu, for his part, knew when to stop.

Fifteen million wasn't much, especially for the trouble ahead—but with this month's base salary, it was enough for two golden chests.

And this mission… wasn't just about treasure.

He had other things in mind too.

"Thank you, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, for your generosity." Luo Yu stood, brushing off his robes."Since the mission's confirmed, I'll set off right away."

"And don't forget to settle the bonus for the CP9 job soon."

"By the way—CP9 said they want to join Marine HQ. That's gotta count for extra credit, right? Don't short me on that!"

His voice faded down the hallway, echoing with casual, greedy confidence.

Sengoku rubbed his temples with a groan, sinking back into his chair.

"Everyone… do you think assigning Luo Yu to this will ruin how Zephyr sees him? Will it damage their bond?"

"If Zephyr finds out the Five Elders really intend to make Edward Weevil a Warlord… is there still a way to turn this around?"

Silence again.

Even among battle-hardened Marines, Weevil's atrocities were hard to stomach.

But for Zephyr—who had watched his own recruits slaughtered—it was the kind of nightmare that became a curse.

That helpless rage... was something no one wanted to see resurface.

"No," Tsuru suddenly said."Actually, I think if anyone can pull this off—it's Luo Yu."

"Don't ask me why. It's just a… gut feeling."

A gut feeling?

Sengoku and the others looked stunned.

But strangely enough, no one objected.

Because if this task fell to anyone else, the outcome would be simple:

A new Warlord gets appointed. End of story.

But if it was Luo Yu?

Did anything ever go simply with him?

Half a day later, a massive warship sailed out from Marineford, slicing across the sea.

On the deck, Smoker stood firm, cigar between his lips, blocking Luo Yu's path.

"Admiral Luo Yu—why did you accept this mission?""You know what this will do to Zephyr-sensei. It'll hurt him."

Behind him stood Tashigi, who had rushed over upon hearing the news.

Both were newly minted Rear Admirals, without the rank to attend the earlier strategy meeting.

But the moment they heard what the mission entailed—they came running.

"Ain, as one of Zephyr's disciples… you should've stopped him."Smoker turned toward the blue-haired woman behind Luo Yu.

He had always believed Ain, who Zephyr had once risked his life to protect, would feel the same as their teacher.

Tashigi remained silent, her gaze fixed firmly on Ain.

Under the weight of their stares, Ain finally spoke, biting her lip.

"Rear Admiral Smoker, Rear Admiral Tashigi… I know you're both thinking of Zephyr-sensei."

"But… if someone else were to carry out this mission, they'd simply bring back the new Warlord."

"If Admiral Luo Yu does it…"

"I believe he'll bring him back too—but not in the same way."

That left both Smoker and Tashigi stunned.

Wasn't that the same thing?

But behind Luo Yu, Koby and Helmeppo exchanged glances—and suddenly understood what Ain meant.

"Bring him back"...

That could mean diplomatic recruitment… or dragging him in chains.

Ding!

"Congratulations, Host! You have received 10 million performance points. Your current balance is 10 million. Would you like to redeem a treasure chest now?"

The system's cold, robotic voice rang out in Luo Yu's mind.

He raised an eyebrow, glancing back toward the receding silhouette of Marineford—and smiled faintly.

"So it wasn't CP9 that was worth so much…"

"It was Sengoku finally being generous for once."

He had even invoked his "deep bond" with Zephyr—just to get fifteen million.

Originally, Luo Yu had planned on getting maybe seven million—one million per CP9 agent.

But this sudden ten-million bonus…

"Guess I better make this next job worth the money."