"What has he done?"
Sengoku asked in confusion. He had picked up the file and looked it over while Brannew showed the photograph, but there was nothing particularly noteworthy in it.
Besides the report Smoker had submitted, Brannew had another one. He read from it:
"According to Captain Smoker's report, he was once ambushed by the man with Seastone bullets."
"That's it?" Sengoku looked puzzled. He wasn't asking about the Seastone bullets, but wondering how the report could be just one sentence long.
"N-no, that's not all." Brannew hurriedly explained, "You know Captain Smoker's reports are always vague.
"But I took the trouble to check the archives and found that he shot and killed Captain Morgan at Branch 153...
"...also in an ambush."
"He killed a captain? Why haven't I seen this report?" Sengoku asked offhandedly.
Brannew explained, "...Someone covered it up."
It wasn't unusual for a branch captain to die in the line of duty, but even so, Headquarters would still look over the report.
The report submitted by the branch had been extremely vague about the incident, while pages and pages were devoted to Morgan's brutal rule and exploitation.
That made it clear how despised Morgan had been by the people there.
As the report passed through the chain of command, someone responsible for East Blue affairs intercepted it before it reached Sengoku.
To avoid being held responsible, they had sealed it away in the archives.
Brannew had only discovered it when he checked the archives while preparing materials for this meeting, after reading Smoker's report.
"Hmm, I see." After hearing Brannew's explanation, Sengoku had a general idea why Smoker had made a point of mentioning it.
Being able to get Seastone bullets in East Blue meant the man had some means at his disposal. And given his