Marine Headquarters, Marineford, inside the Fleet Admiral's office.
At this moment, Sengoku, Garp, Chief Staff Officer Tsuru, and Admiral Zephyr were all present. Not only that, but the three Rear Admirals Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan were there as well.
Normally, Rear Admirals were not really in a position to attend meetings between Marine bigwigs, but the three of them were no ordinary Rear Admirals.
Moreover, each of them had certain ties to the Marine higher-ups. Kuzan, for example, was not Garp's adjutant, but he was practically Garp's little follower and half a disciple. He often accompanied Garp on missions and trained with him.
As for Borsalino, he was directly Sengoku's adjutant. Like the relationship between Bogard and Garp, they were naturally very close.
And Sakazuki—Sakazuki had certain connections with Fleet Admiral Kong. The Hawk Faction currently had no leader, while Sakazuki himself was a staunch core member of the Hawk Faction. As a former Marine bigwig of the Hawk Faction, Fleet Admiral Kong thought highly of Sakazuki.
"Take a look. There are many unbelievable details in the intelligence regarding the conflict between the Roger Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates." Chief Staff Officer Tsuru distributed the documents in her hands to everyone.
Garp had always been very interested in matters concerning Roger, so he quickly began reading.
"They fought on that deserted island for three days and three nights, and in the end, Roger's crew took away Whitebeard's Second Division Commander? How is that possible? Whitebeard isn't the kind of man who would let his companion be captured!" Garp was the first to finish reading, and he spoke in surprise.
"That is precisely the unbelievable part I mentioned. First, Roger took one of Newgate's crewmen from him. Second, to this day, the Whitebeard Pirates have made no statement regarding the matter. They have completely turned a blind eye to it. They must have reached some kind of agreement with Roger's crew, yet they also have not stripped the Second Division Commander of his position," Chief Staff Officer Tsuru said.
"This fellow named Kozuki Oden is the son of Wano Country's shogun, correct? Does that mean he has some connection to Kaido as well?" Admiral Zephyr asked.
"Wano Country is an intelligence vortex. It was already a closed nation, and now it is occupied by the Beasts Pirates. No one knows what has happened inside, or even whether their shogun is still alive. However, Kozuki Oden was indeed the shogun's son there before. We investigated the relevant information—the Kozuki family was also a family of stonemasons who forged the Poneglyphs!" Chief Staff Officer Tsuru said solemnly.
"Poneglyphs!?" Garp suddenly realized something and said, "Come to think of it, Ortolan once told me that Roger's crew broke into Cake Island in the first place to steal the Poneglyphs Charlotte Linlin possessed! And based on my tracking and investigation all this time, the Roger Pirates seem to have been collecting that sort of thing!"
"The ancient writing on the Poneglyphs is said to be impossible for anyone to decipher. But if Kozuki Oden is a descendant of that old stonemason family, then perhaps he has the ability to read those writings. In that case, Roger's crew wants to uncover the history of the Void Century?" Admiral Sengoku said, stroking his chin.
"I do not care about history." Fleet Admiral Kong shook his head, but then his gaze turned serious. "However, the rumors say the locations of the Ancient Weapons are recorded on the Poneglyphs. I am afraid they..."
"Fleet Admiral, although it may not be appropriate for me to say this, Roger and his crew are not the kind of people who would revive the Ancient Weapons!" Garp said without hesitation.
"Whether he would or whether he can are two entirely different matters, Garp!" Fleet Admiral Kong rapped the table, then said, "Now that I think about it, Shiki may know more than we do about what Roger was doing back then. The reason he intercepted Roger in the Ed War Sea may also have something to do with the Poneglyphs and the Ancient Weapons!"
Admiral Sengoku picked up the tea on the table and took a sip before saying, "No matter what, we need to raise the threat level of the Roger Pirates. At the same time, since this already involves the Poneglyphs and that stonemason family, we must report it to the higher-ups."
"After all, the higher-ups are quite wary of the Void Century and those so-called Poneglyphs," Admiral Zephyr nodded.
The Void Century sounded mysterious, but in truth, the many Marine higher-ups had little interest in it. On one hand, they served under the World Government, so their position was naturally fixed. It was inconvenient for them to investigate it, and over time, they lost interest.
On the other hand, history was ultimately just history. People still had to look forward. What they needed to grasp and focus on was the present and the future.
"Tsuru, keep a closer eye on this intelligence. Watch the Roger Pirates carefully," Fleet Admiral Kong instructed at last.
Chief Staff Officer Tsuru curled her lips. "That fellow Zephyr snatched away all my capable assistants and turned them into trainees. I cannot guarantee the efficiency of intelligence work anymore."
Everyone burst out laughing at that, while Zephyr said helplessly, "Once she finishes her training and returns, she will only be of greater help to you, Tsuru."
Just then, Sengoku asked curiously, "Come to think of it, while I was away, didn't Garp bring back a formidable kid? How is that kid doing?"
At the mention of this topic, Zephyr said with emotion, "How should I put it? Although he has only been studying and training for half a month, there is no doubt that the kid is a genius. I am not merely talking about his physical aptitude and potential for strength—even in academic classes, he is exceptional. He learns incredibly fast and is talented in both scholarship and combat!"
As he spoke, Zephyr glanced at Admiral Sengoku. After all, when it came to the most famous example of a Marine equally accomplished in brains and brawn, Sengoku, known as the 'Wise General,' was undoubtedly the classic representative.
As for fighting ability, as a Mythical Zoan and a Marine Admiral—one of the signature top combat powers of the Marines—Sengoku's strength was beyond question. At the same time, he had earned the title of 'Wise General.' He was simply the perfect Marine Admiral!
But now, Zephyr even felt that he could see Sengoku's shadow in Bane Ortolan. There was a very real chance that Ortolan would become the next Marine commander no less outstanding than Sengoku!
"He is good at academic classes too?" Garp asked in surprise. "I have been too busy lately, so I have not paid much attention to him..."
"Yes, and he is extremely proactive. Most other trainees are already considered outstanding if they can simply complete the assignments I give them. But that kid not only finishes them quickly, he also expands on them. He looks big and burly, yet he loves books and knowledge. He has already borrowed several textbooks from me. At first, I thought he was putting on an act, but later I found an opportunity to ask him about key points from those books. To my surprise, the kid answered fluently and could even draw inferences from one example to another!" Zephyr said approvingly.
After a pause, Zephyr said, "I originally thought Gion would be the first top student to graduate under me. But now it seems Ortolan may become the top student of this first class."
However, after saying that, Zephyr added in puzzlement, "But in the past few days, his mood seems a little off. Yesterday, Doberman was talking too loudly in the classroom and disturbed Ortolan's reading. It was such a small matter, yet Ortolan suddenly lost his temper and nearly beat Doberman up!"
Kuzan, who had been listening to the conversation, froze for a moment. He calculated the time, then said, "Come to think of it, there is only about a month left until this year's second full moon. Ortolan should have entered his manic period by now."
"Manic period?" Borsalino looked at Kuzan curiously, unable to understand.
"Yes. In his own words, he has intermittent mental illness. For around a month before each of the two full moons every year, his mind becomes more agitated and difficult to control. Teacher Zephyr, you had better keep a close eye on him, so there is no campus violence," Kuzan warned.
The moment Kuzan finished speaking, Gion shoved open the Fleet Admiral's office door and cried anxiously, "Teacher Zephyr, this is bad! Doberman joined forces with Onigumo and Dalmatian to cause trouble for Ortolan and get back at him for yesterday. They are fighting at the training grounds right now!!!"
"Huh?" Zephyr stood up in a daze and looked at Kuzan, thinking, Damn it, there really is campus violence!?
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