Promoted, too?

At that, Borsalino raised both hands in surrender.

"How could that be? You're the man Sakazuki approves of, after all."

"Why does that sound so wrong..." Darren dusted his hands off.

Borsalino gave him a long look, then suddenly grinned.

"So the Government's starting to get suspicious?"

Sharp as a monkey, that guy. He'd already figured something out... The thought flashed through Darren's mind.

As a transmigrator, Darren knew some of the original story.

But Borsalino was still someone he couldn't see through.

Even when Borsalino had been stationed in the North Blue, Darren had worked under him for a while.

But he'd never been able to figure out where Borsalino stood.

"Murky justice"... could that even be called justice?

One thing was certain, though: the man was deeply guarded and would never get himself into trouble.

A thousand thoughts raced through Darren's mind, but he kept his usual smile.

"I'm just following orders."

Borsalino opened his mouth in exaggerated surprise and scratched his head.

"How strange..."

He gave Darren a meaningful look.

"But I suppose it's understandable. You're the least suspicious person here..."

What a bastard, enjoying the show and fanning the flames!

Darren's mouth twitched.

He was sure Borsalino had probably guessed something and was testing him further.

There was no denying it: Borsalino's smile was incredibly punchable.

"Of course."

Darren smiled faintly.

If you were going to test me, I wasn't about to make things easy for you.

"But after thinking it over, I remembered a few other things about the Celestial Dragon attack."

"Oh?"

Borsalino feigned surprise.

"What might those be?"

He looked at Darren with an openly teasing expression.

"I thought you agreed with me—that the Celestial Dragon was attacked by a Sea King?"

"Who knows? People can change their minds." Darren shrugged.

Borsalino tilted his head.

"So what do you think now?"

Darren smiled and raised one finger.

"First, whoever attacked the Celestial Dragon had immense destructive power. They could destroy an official ship in an instant."

Borsalino looked at Darren, nodded, and smiled.

"That's right..."

Darren ignored his loaded look and raised a second finger.

"Second, considering the timing, the attacker must have been in the North Blue when the incident happened."

Borsalino said nothing. He just kept watching Darren with that infuriating smile.

Darren raised a third finger.

"Third, I've had people check every registered warship and vessel in the North Blue. Nothing out of the ordinary turned up, so the attacker was probably capable of flying at high speed."

"Given all that, Rear Admiral Borsalino... I can think of one person who fits all three conditions."

"Oh? And who might that be?"

Borsalino asked with an unconcerned smile, only to find the Marine Captain staring straight at him.

"..."

His smile froze.

"Hahahaha, I'm just joking..." Darren suddenly burst out laughing.

For some reason, seeing that yellow-skinned monkey at a loss filled him with an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

"Of course I'm on your side, Rear Admiral Borsalino."

With that, Darren turned and headed into his private residence, casually waving over his shoulder.

"Get some rest, Rear Admiral Borsalino."

"You and Admiral Sengoku are setting sail again tomorrow. I'll come see you off."

In the setting sun,

Borsalino stood motionless.

His oversized sunglasses clearly reflected Darren's retreating figure, while the cooling breeze ruffled the folds of his broad cloak.

"You're getting more and more interesting, Darren..."

he murmured.

The corners of his mouth slowly curled up again, amused.

The next day.

Batia Island, harbor.

Darren and the North Blue Marines had sealed off the harbor and were holding a grand, lively send-off ceremony for the Marine Admiral departing for Marine Headquarters.

Flowers lined both sides of the streets. The Marines formed ranks, and the cannons boomed.

Salutes and fireworks soared into the sky, bursting into brilliant colors. The Marines aboard Sengoku's flagship watched with keen interest and pride.

"You rascal, always going to all this trouble for nothing."

Sengoku grumbled at Darren, but his old face was already beaming like a flower.

Darren bowed with elegant composure.

"This has nothing to do with me. The North Blue Marines organized it of their own accord to show their admiration for Admiral Sengoku."

"You rascal..." Sengoku waved a hand with a smile, finding Darren more and more to his liking.

He could get things done, worked hard, had a sincere attitude, took burdens off Sengoku's shoulders, and was clever and considerate. Best of all, he looked good—just seeing him was a pleasure.

And then there was his own adjutant.

His superior hadn't even boarded the ship, and the man was already lounging on a deck chair, sunbathing and drinking watermelon juice!

Which one of them was the Marine Admiral, anyway!?

Thinking about how he'd have to face Borsalino's lecherous mug every day after they set sail, Sengoku's mood suddenly soured. He sighed, looking troubled.

That man was always making snide remarks beside him, and whatever he saw, he had to say, "How scary..." Just looking at him was irritating!

He must have been blind to pick that man as his adjutant!

"Blu blu... blu blu..."

Just then, the Den Den Mushi in Sengoku's arms began to ring.

He froze for a moment, took it out, and answered.

"Sengoku..."

A hoarse voice came through.

At the sound, Sengoku's heart sank. He straightened up and said solemnly,

"Saint Damocles, regarding the Celestial Dragon attack..."

He assumed the Five Elders were calling to hurry the investigation along, and started to explain.

"No, that matter's been settled."

Saint Damocles sounded pleased, with a rare note of laughter in his voice.

"North Blue Admiral Darren has submitted his report. We are all satisfied with the results of his investigation."

"Sengoku, you did well. During the investigation, that boy Darren pointed out that without your guidance, he could never have uncovered the truth behind the incident."

Sengoku: ???

He listened in a daze, utterly confused.

The investigation was over...?

When?

How had it happened so quickly!?

It hadn't even been a day!

But Darren had been on Batia Island the whole time.

Sengoku couldn't help glancing over at Darren. The latter bowed slightly in a humble gesture, smiling without a word.

"Sengoku, are you listening?"

When Sengoku didn't respond, Saint Damocles spoke with displeasure.

"I-I heard you!"

Sengoku snapped back to his senses and answered.

"Good. The Government is very pleased with your performance this time."

Saint Damocles spoke with approval.

"You certainly live up to your name as the 'Tactician.'"

Sengoku was still confused, but he couldn't help smiling with some pride at the Five Elders' praise.

"You flatter me, sir."

"All right, that'll be all... Oh, and that boy Darren is quite impressive."

Saint Damocles paused, then added,

"With talent like his, the rank of Headquarters Captain is rather beneath him."

Sengoku understood what the Five Elders meant and immediately replied in a firm voice,

"Captain Darren has already passed the Officer Training Camp's review. Once he finishes his current assignment, he'll head to Marineford to train. The Marine high command has seen his outstanding performance all along. We certainly won't waste a promising talent!"

"Very good."

The call ended.

Sengoku stared blankly at the sleeping Military Den Den Mushi in his hand. A few seconds later, he finally came to his senses, turned to Darren, and gritted his teeth.

"You little brat, when did you uncover the truth!?"

Darren smiled.

"Yes, I have Admiral Sengoku to thank for his guidance."

Sengoku rolled his eyes at him.

He'd somehow ended up owing the brat a favor without even realizing it.

"Who was the culprit?"

Darren answered as if it were obvious,

"'World Destroyer' Byrnndi World."

Sengoku: ???

"What!?"

He stared in disbelief, so stunned he nearly bit his tongue.

"Byrnndi World... He didn't have time to commit the crime. At the time of the incident, he was caught up in my pursuit—"

Sengoku's voice cut off.

He seemed to realize something and stared blankly at Darren.

The latter calmly lit a cigarette and smiled knowingly.

"Who cares about the truth?"

The words exploded through Sengoku's mind like a thunderclap.

That's right. Who cared about the truth?

There had been no witnesses to the attack, and the Marines had kept the news under wraps.

In other words, apart from the high command and a handful of others, almost no one in the world even knew that a Celestial Dragon had died.

The Government had demanded a swift investigation because, to put it plainly, it needed a plausible "conclusion" to placate the Celestial Dragon family in Mary Geoise.

They didn't need the truth.

At least, not the absurd-sounding truth that the victim had been attacked by a Sea King.

Darren's "investigation results" had solved the problem perfectly.

Officially, Saint Childers had been killed by the great pirate "World Destroyer" Byrnndi World. That could deflect the pressure coming from the family of Saint Childers in the Holy Land.

For Saint Childers's family, being killed by a great pirate was easier to accept than being attacked out of nowhere by a Sea King.

In reality, the truth had also been uncovered: it was nothing more than an accident.

This result let everyone save face and get what they wanted.

The Marines could answer to the World Government, and the World Government could answer to the people in the Holy Land.

It was a solution that could satisfy everyone!

Well, everyone except Byrnndi World himself.

Wait! If that guy found out he'd "killed" a Celestial Dragon, he might be pretty pleased too.

It really was a conclusion that satisfied everyone.

And now, all Sengoku had to do was bring Byrnndi World, that criminal who didn't know his place and had dared to kill a Celestial Dragon, to justice!

This... was what he was supposed to do in the first place!

The more Sengoku thought it over, the brighter his eyes grew.

Darren was a real genius...

"Hahahahaha! You did great, kid!"

He suddenly burst into hearty laughter and patted Darren on the shoulder, his face full of approval.

"Putting you in charge of investigating this incident was the right call!"

Gion and Gion's partner looked on, exasperated.

Since when was that your call? Wasn't the investigation assigned to Darren by the World Government?

But they didn't dare say it aloud.

"Well, it seems a headquarters colonel really is being wasted in that position."

Sengoku looked Darren over and smiled with satisfaction.

"When I return to headquarters, I'll submit a request to Fleet Admiral Kong..."

He winked at Darren.

"Congratulations, Commodore Rogers Darren."

At those words, Gion and Gion's partner stared at him in disbelief, their minds buzzing.

Gion's partner, in particular, looked as if his eyeballs were about to pop right out of their sockets.

A-a headquarters commodore!?

That made him a flag officer!?

Darren... This guy had killed a Celestial Dragon, one of the World Government's nobles, and still ended up getting promoted!?