Headquarters Appointment

After learning of Victor's background, Major General Hagen took the initiative to apologize. Along with his gift, he also voluntarily withdrew the accusation.

Marquis Charlie and the other nobles and merchants also came bearing gifts, seeking to strengthen their relationship with Victor.

None of them wanted to provoke Victor anymore. They were all afraid of his retaliation.

With no one willing to testify, there was no way to prove that Victor had committed extortion or blackmail.

As for violating military orders, missing the opportunity to engage, and causing Branch 189's destruction—

Branch 191 gave a unified account, all claiming that a storm had prevented them from reaching William Port in time to provide reinforcements.

And arms trafficking was even more baseless.

The investigation team inspected the warehouses and found a large quantity of weapons. They could now conclude that Victor was innocent.

Wood and Victor strolled along the beach.

Under the lingering rays of the setting sun, the ground was awash in golden light.

"Time passes so quickly. Ten years have gone by in the blink of an eye," Wood said wistfully.

"Mm." Victor responded softly.

"Ten years ago, your parents and I defended God Valley together. Although we ultimately held God Valley, they sacrificed their lives."

Wood brought up the events of ten years ago once more.

Yet Victor did not feel the slightest bit sad.

As a transmigrator with the soul of an adult, he did not have much attachment to his parents in this life.

Wood raised a hand and patted Victor on the shoulder. "Come back to Headquarters soon. Become a Marine even more outstanding than your parents, and uphold your justice."

"Mm, I will." Victor put on an appropriately attentive expression.

Wood smiled in satisfaction. He believed Victor would become an outstanding soldier.

After all, Victor's parents had sacrificed themselves to uphold justice.

Justice would be passed down!

Wood firmly believed that.

Just then, a colonel ran over.

The colonel was Wood's adjutant.

The colonel handed a fax to Wood. "Vice Admiral Wood, a fax from Headquarters."

After reading the fax, Wood said to Victor, "Headquarters wants me to return immediately."

"Uncle Wood, I've prepared some South Blue specialties. Please bring them back for the uncles and aunts at Headquarters."

Hearing this, Wood said gratifiedly, "They'll definitely like them."

In Wood's eyes, Victor was a sensible child.

Missing the opportunity to engage? Extortion and blackmail? Illegally selling arms?

How could Victor possibly do such things!

It was pure slander!

Still, Victor truly was not very sociable and tended to clash with young officers.

How to arrange Victor was something they, as his elders, needed to consider.

After seeing Vice Admiral Wood off at the harbor, Victor said to Lieutenant Colonel Mata, "Contact the arms dealers and have them haul away the weapons in the warehouse."

Victor had long known there would be an investigation.

Therefore, he had not sold the weapons, instead keeping them there to "prove his innocence."

Now that the investigation team had left, there was no need to keep those weapons any longer.

Selling them all for cash was the right decision.

Victor was not sure how long he could remain in the South Blue.

If he were suddenly transferred away, he could take all the money with him.

Wood personally delivered his investigation report to Sengoku.

The report was two hundred pages long.

The subjects of the investigation were one hundred Marines from Branch 191, fifteen nobles from the Talos Kingdom, and forty merchants.

After reading the report, Sengoku did not doubt its authenticity.

He believed Wood had conducted the investigation very seriously.

However, Victor had possessed maturity and shrewdness far beyond his peers ever since childhood.

If Victor wanted to deceive Wood, it would be very easy.

Therefore, Sengoku did not believe the investigation report could prove everything.

Of course, Sengoku could not be bothered to investigate the matter any further.

Although Branch 189 lost 3,000 Marine Soldiers, Victor had also wiped out the Heide Pirates, removing a malignant tumor from the South Blue.

Recent newspapers had all been praising the greatness of the Marines.

Justice had been upheld, and the wicked had been punished.

The outcome was good.

Sengoku was not only a master tactician, but also well versed in strategy.

In his view, even if Victor had some selfish motives, it was no great matter.

At that moment, Tsuru entered Sengoku's office.

Sengoku took out Victor's file, placed it on the desk, and said, "Ten years ago, after the God Valley Incident, we lost many elite forces, which caused us to lose control of the New World. However, Zephyr brought us hope."

Tsuru looked at Victor's file. "You want to send Victor to the New World."

Sengoku grunted and did not deny it. "Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Victor—their strength has all been acknowledged by Zephyr. Sakazuki and Borsalino are now active in the New World, constantly accumulating experience. They will be the future of the Marines. I hope Victor will be as well, and Victor needs more experience."

In Sengoku's eyes, Victor was an important fighting force for the future of the Marines!

He had already decided to groom Victor as an Admiral candidate!

Tsuru asked worriedly, "Do you think Victor will follow the arrangement?"

"I will guide him." Sengoku was full of confidence.

Although he was in Marineford, he had obtained more information, allowing him to gain a deeper understanding of Victor.

Tsuru murmured, "If he truly can follow the arrangement, then that would naturally be a good thing."

Branch 191, Victor's office.

"Gold will always shine. I was hoping to squeeze a few more years of money out of the South Blue."

Victor muttered to himself.

Just moments ago, Victor had received a fax from Marine Headquarters.

Headquarters was transferring Victor back to Marineford.

However, over the past year, he had made quite a haul, so his trip had not been in vain.

Of course, Victor could not abandon the foundation he had built in the South Blue. In his eyes, the South Blue was a cash machine.

Victor decided to recommend Lieutenant Colonel Mata as his successor, allowing Branch 191 to continue making money in the Talos Kingdom while he sought profits from behind the scenes.