Rosinante: Admiral, Vice Admiral Bane Is Acting as the Donquixote Family's Protector!
Meanwhile, in the Fortress of Justice, in the office of the Admiral Sengoku.
Having just returned to headquarters from the World Conference in Mary Geoise, Sengoku was having tea with his Chief Staff Officer Tsuru. Sengoku was very pleased, feeling that kicking that bastard Garp out of headquarters was a very heroic thing to do. Because every day, during these rare moments of leisure, Garp would always be the one blindly interfering. Now that the bastard had been banished to the New World, Zephyr was quite sensible, these leisurely moments had become his private time with Chief Staff Officer Tsuru O-Tsuru, which felt wonderful.
"You seem a bit off lately," Chief Staff Officer Tsuru said while sipping his tea.
The Admiral Sengoku asked, somewhat puzzled, "What's wrong?"
"The disciplinary inspection team has repeatedly uncovered some unusual activities by G-5. That guy, Ortolan, is engaging in rampant corruption in the New World. He's even extorting money from the Shichibukai... He's also been illegally selling all sorts of contraband in the New World, including weapons and warships... But after these reports were submitted to you, we haven't heard from him at all," Chief Staff Officer Tsuru said, looking at Sengoku with a meaningful expression.
"Ahem..." Sengoku coughed awkwardly, then said, "Is that so? I've probably been dealing with too many things these days and haven't noticed. I'll look into it later. That guy Ortolan is really something, how could he do that? If it's true, I'll teach him a lesson!"
"Is it meaningful for you to say such things to me?" Chief Staff Officer Tsuru glared at Sengoku and said.
Just as Sengoku was feeling somewhat awkward, Chief Staff Officer Tsuru said, "You guys have been a bit too sloppy in your work. I've already cleaned up the mess you've made. From now on, the disciplinary forces won't be scrutinizing G-5 too much."
Sengoku then smiled again and said, "I'm counting on you, Tsuru..."
"See, you were indeed hiding something from me." Chief Staff Officer Tsuru shook his head and sighed, "I won't ask about anything unnecessary. You know what you're doing."
Sengoku hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not explain. Knowing many things would obviously not be good for Tsuru, lest she have to take responsibility if things were exposed. Sengoku could bear this responsibility alone.
However, Sengoku quickly asked again, "Won't the CP find out something?"
"Before I made my move, it might have been possible, but now, if the CP wanted to investigate our Marines, they would be far from succeeding. At most, they might find some corruption in Ortolan, such as extorting the Shichibukai, but these are not problems, but rather a form of cover," Chief Staff Officer Tsuru said confidently.
"With you here, I feel much more at ease." The Admiral Sengoku nodded with relief.
At the same time, he also felt a little resentful. That guy, Ortolan, was still not meticulous enough in his work, and Tsuru noticed it. But it was fortunate that it was Tsuru.
But then he thought about it again, and it didn't seem to be Ortolan's fault. There were many things about G-5 that, procedurally, couldn't be kept from headquarters. He was the one who should take the blame, since he had agreed with Ortolan that he would cover for him at headquarters.
Just as the two were talking about these things, Sengoku's Den Den Den Mushi suddenly rang. He frowned slightly, feeling a little annoyed. He had only rested for a short while, why was something else happening?
However, after taking out the Den Den Mushi, Sengoku's expression brightened with joy, because it was his adopted Den Den Mushi, Rosinante, calling him.
"It's Rosinante..." Sengoku first informed Chief Staff Officer Tsuru, then Den Den Mushi and whispered, "Little Mandarin?"
"Little Mandarin" is the code name for Rosinante's operation.
"It is I, Admiral," Rosinante replied quickly.
"How are things on your end? Is it safe?" the Admiral Sengoku asked with concern.
"Everything is going smoothly on my end. I wanted to report to you about Doflamingo's abduction of Celestial Gold. I've already investigated his motives; he wants to force the World Government to grant him the title of Shichibukai through this act. As for his whereabouts after the abduction, I haven't found out yet. I will try my best to gather relevant information..." Rosinante reported solemnly.
The Admiral Sengoku was somewhat bewildered upon hearing this.
No... I really don't need you to report or investigate this kind of information. I know perfectly well why Doflamingo would do such a thing. Not to mention his demands and purposes, I even know about the Celestial Gold. Ortolan just reported to me recently that Doflamingo hid the Celestial Gold in the North Calm Belt, and that Spandine of CP-9 has taken over the task of solving this problem. It's just that I don't want to investigate, otherwise the case would have been solved long ago!
"Ahem..." The Admiral Sengoku coughed slightly awkwardly before saying, "Well, you don't need to investigate the matter of the Celestial Gold anymore. We already know what we need to know. As for you, your safety should be the priority, understand?"
"Huh?" Rosinante was also a bit confused. Is the Marines this efficient? Does Doflamingo have someone on his side? Who is it?
Hearing Rosinante's surprised tone, even the Admiral Sengoku felt a pang of pity and wanted to persuade Rosinante, "Why don't you just come back? The Donquixote Family has almost been turned into our Marines's underground party by Commissar Ortolan. If your brother is willing to switch sides, I might even consider granting him the rank of Marines Rear Admiral. There's really no need to go through all this trouble."
However, considering Rosinante's pride and Sengoku's inability to fully trust Doflamingo, he felt it would be safer to have a spy planted by his side. Therefore, he swallowed these words back down.
After taking a deep breath on the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Rosinante said in an even more serious tone, "Admiral, there's another matter. Although it may evoke indignation, and even... I still have to say it, Ortolan... no, Vice Admiral Bane may have defected!"
"Huh?" The Admiral Sengoku was even more speechless upon hearing this.
"It's really hard to believe, but I have indeed investigated some relevant clues. Vice Admiral Bane has engaged in multiple illegal transactions with Doflamingo in the New World, selling off large amounts of G-5 Marines assets. At the same time, the two sides seem to be cooperating on some matters. According to my investigation, Doflamingo has bribed Vice Admiral Bane multiple times, with the amount involved reaching tens of billions of Beli. I suspect that Vice Admiral Bane is now acting as a protector for the Donquixote Family in the New World ..." Rosinante said with a very somber tone.
Sengoku thought to himself, "You don't need to doubt it, he is Doflamingo's protector. Not to mention him, I am now half a protector too!"
"Ahem... Rossi... Little Mi Kuan, we still need to believe in Ortolan's beliefs and justice. Perhaps the situation isn't as simple as it seems on the surface. To doubt a high-ranking Marines officer like this is a bit..." Admiral Sengoku carefully chose his words, trying to persuade Rosinante to stop investigating. "If you keep investigating, you'll find out about me!"
"Admiral! I also want to believe Vice Admiral Bane, but I have indeed found some substantial evidence..." Rosinante said indignantly.
Why doesn't my father trust me?
Ortolan really has a problem!
"There are some things I can't explain to you right now... In short, don't follow up on this matter any further, understand?" The Admiral Sengoku finally sighed and said in a firm tone.
Rosinante seemed to realize something at that moment. The old man's tone and words... Ah, could it be because of some mission? Or had I misunderstood?
After a moment's hesitation, Rosinante asked, "Is there more to this than meets the eye?"
"There's plenty of inside information. Alright, in short, there's no need to investigate anything related to Doflamingo or G-5 anymore, understand?" Admiral Sengoku instructed again.
Rosinante breathed a sigh of relief and said, "So Vice Admiral Ortolan was enduring humiliation. I'm relieved... I understand, Admiral."
The Admiral Sengoku thought to himself, "I, your father, have also been enduring humiliation and hardship."
The two then exchanged some trivial conversations, mostly about an old father's concern for his son, before hanging up the Den Den Mushi.
After putting away the Den Den Mushi, Admiral Sengoku looked at Chief Staff Officer Tsuru Sengoku, Chief Staff Officer Tsuru the look with amusement. Neither of them spoke, and they silently picked up their teacups and began to drink.