Son and Disciple
The appearance of Rosinante did not change the course of the operation. The next morning, the warships began to sail at full speed toward Ovendo Island.
The term "full speed" means disregarding the inhabited islands along the way and launching a straight-line assault!
Fortunately, the climate in this sea area is quite stable, unlike the Grand Line, where you might suddenly be hit by a huge hailstorm or a massive waterspout.
Even so, this place is still one of the world's Four Blues, and its vastness and expanse make the spatial distance between points extremely long.
The best navigators on the warship calculated several times and concluded that even with favorable winds and currents, it would still take at least seventy-two hours.
However, the presence of a little guy on board gave the navy officers, who were facing battle, more or less something to talk about, which eased the tension somewhat.
At this moment, Rosinante was noticeably more lively than when he had been seen the previous night, and his appearance had become clean and neat, no longer looking like a little refugee.
However, Vidal found it strange that Sengoku would prepare a child's sailor uniform on a warship.
After asking around, I learned that the navy often finds one or two orphans who have suffered various hardships and misery outside.
Therefore, each of the warships at headquarters would prepare a dozen or so sailor suits of different sizes specifically for these orphans.
From this, Vidal sensed the unique sense of justice, or benevolence, that belonged only to the navy.
It is the core and essence of justice; any concept that lacks it can hardly be called just.
The reason why so many people question Sakazuki's "Absolute Justice" is because it contains and demonstrates too little compassion.
Of course, it could also be argued that there is basically none; he might simply hate pirates, or even hate anything that defies the law, the so-called 'not following the right path'.
Vidal and Sakazuki spent over a year together, even living together for a few months, and he occasionally discussed these matters with the latter.
In Sakazuki's view, pirates are nothing but lawless trash. Therefore, all beings who defy the law can be considered like pirates, trash who deserve to die.
At this moment, Vidal was sitting on his bed, carefully examining the orange-yellow Devil Fruit in his hand.
The large wooden box had been sitting quietly in the corner of the room, concealing all the luxury inside.
He always felt that even without considering the extraordinary abilities of Devil Fruits, it was interesting to simply study their shapes and patterns.
There must be some mysterious secrets involved, but unfortunately he doesn't have the energy to study it. However, he might be able to ask Vegapunk for advice sometime in the future.
If he could discover the key to this, and then master the Lineage Factor known as the Blueprint of Life, would it be possible for him to create an artificial Devil Fruit?
Even if it's limited to Zoan Devil Fruits, it seems like a pretty amazing thing.
The idea flashed through his mind like a bolt of lightning, causing him to fall into deep thought.
They even gradually forgot their original purpose and the ability to sense the Devil Fruit.
[Poluporu, Polluporu]
Just then, the Den Den Mushi on the small table rang, startling Vidal awake. He held the fruit in one hand and picked up the Den Den Mushi with the other.
"Hello?"
"Vidal, come to my office." The voice was instantly recognizable as Sengoku's.
"OK."
When your boss calls you over, you naturally have to go immediately. A short while later, Vidal knocked on the door and entered the room, which he knew better than his own.
As always, two mountains of documents were piled up on the table in front of Sengoku, and the little lamb wandered around casually, occasionally eating a document that was handed to it.
"Admiral." Vidal sat down in the chair with practiced ease.
"Yes, I wanted to talk to you about Rosinante."
Sengoku's tone was very serious at this moment, as if he had encountered a problem that even he, an Admiral, found difficult to handle.
Vidal remained expressionless, feigning confusion, and said, "You said..."
"That kid Rosinante just told me his last name Donquixote and that he used to live in Mary Geoise," Sengoku said, rubbing his temples with a headache.
"He! He's Celestial Dragons?!" Vidal gasped in shock upon hearing this, and he made the most appropriate reaction.
"That should be right. Rosinante said his brother is Doflamingo." Sengoku nodded.
"Not long ago, Doflamingo, who was only ten years old, did bring his father's head and beg to return, but he was expelled on the grounds that he was a 'traitor'."
"However, because this matter concerns the reputation of the Celestial Dragons, the World Government pressured the World Economy News Paper to prohibit them from reporting it."
Vidal knew all this, of course, but what surprised him at this moment was whether Rosinante was being too honest.
Logically speaking, most children in this world are very precocious, especially those with tragic experiences like his. Even if they don't become as extreme as Doflamingo, this is still too naive.
It turns out that what the future Sengoku told Luo—that Rosinante only lied to him once in his entire life—was true!
"But even if they were kicked out, he and Doflamingo are still Celestial Dragons, right? They just don't live in Mary Geoise, right?" Vidal asked.
"That's right."
This is why, even when Doflamingo in the future committed acts like robbing the "Heavenly Tribute" and demanding the "Shichibukai" qualification from the World Government, no Marine Admiral has yet come to deal with him.
The very identity of Celestial Dragons has a significant suppressive effect on the World Government and the Navy.
"Then why did you tell me about this?"
Vidal did not believe that the Sengoku would not understand the principle that the fewer people who know about such matters, the safer they are.
"I thought about it, and if I take this child with me, or even keep him by my side, it will definitely attract attention and investigation from all sides."
"I don't want his identity to be exposed."
Vidal nodded in understanding, but immediately pointed out the flaw in the argument.
"You don't have to take him with you. You can just put him in the Navy Elementary School when you get back to Marineford, right?"
As mentioned before, the navy adopts countless orphans every year, so what's so strange about Sengoku bringing back a child from the North Blue?
"He is, after all, Celestial Dragons. It's not appropriate for him to be left unattended. Besides, you know about this child's past. If he doesn't have a good environment, I'm worried that his psychology and personality will be affected."
In fact, if Vidal hadn't been there, he would have indeed casually handed Rosinante over to the Navy Elementary School.
And as it turned out, this method was very effective; for over a decade, no one discovered Rosinante's true identity.
But now Sengoku feels it would be more appropriate to hand it over to Vidal, or rather, the Forest family, not only because Vidal himself has adopted children.
Moreover, with healthy parents, a harmonious environment, and a child of similar age like Enel, Rosinante could become his companion.
Is there a better option?
"So you want me to adopt Rosinante as my son?" Vidal asked, scratching his head. He hadn't expected someone to send him a son.
"That's right."
"Also, I'd like to take you as my disciple. Would you be willing?"
A huge thank you to Big Face Cat Meow Meow for the 10,000 reward! You've given me another patron, and I'm incredibly grateful for your generosity and support! Thank you!
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Yes, the highest number of first-day subscriptions for this book so far is 209. Well, it's not quite what I expected, but it's good that some people have subscribed.
Actually, I was mentally prepared beforehand, since my collection is indeed quite small.
Although the book's initial subscriptions are unlikely to exceed 500, I will still persevere in writing and strive to maintain a stable update schedule.
I believe that just because there are few subscribers now doesn't mean there will be few in the future. As I write more, the number of subscribers will likely increase.