Marine Headquarters · Marineford.
Inside Admiral Sakazuki's office, Sakazuki was handling a stack of documents.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door. After he answered, Onigumo stepped inside.
"What is it?" Sakazuki asked without lifting his head.
"Admiral Benn sent a report to Headquarters. I thought you'd be interested," Onigumo said with a smile, holding out a file.
Only then did Sakazuki look up, a hint of curiosity on his face.
"Ortoren? What did he do?"
As he spoke, Sakazuki took the file from Onigumo and skimmed through it. After a few lines, his expression shifted in surprise.
"That was fast. He actually took out Ochoku and Silver Axe?"
After the brief surprise, a smile spread across Sakazuki's face.
"I knew it. He's far more capable than that Kuzan fellow. Sengoku-san made the right call sending him to the New World…"
"Besides that, he's also launched a large-scale manhunt against the Red-Haired Pirates in the New World," Onigumo added, giving Sakazuki a brief rundown of the situation.
Sakazuki nodded immediately.
"Have our people cooperate as well. We're all comrades, and those damned pirates deserve to be hunted down by anyone and everyone."
"Understood," Onigumo replied with a nod.
...
Meanwhile, in Fleet Admiral Sengoku's office, Sengoku was issuing orders of his own.
"Public Relations, follow this outline when releasing the announcement. Also coordinate with Morgans," Sengoku said as he handed the documents to an officer from the department.
After the officer left, Sengoku didn't dwell on the matter and quickly returned to his work.
Not long after, the Den Den Mushi on his desk suddenly rang.
Sengoku glanced at it, a hint of delight flashing across his face, and picked it up.
"Rosinante?"
"Fleet Admiral, it's me," Rosinante's voice came through the Den Den Mushi. Before Sengoku could say anything, Rosinante continued urgently, "There's big trouble, Fleet Admiral…"
Hearing that, Sengoku's face twitched.
Not again!?
Still, he kept his composure and asked calmly,
"What is it?"
"After returning to Dressrosa, Doflamingo invited the royal families of several neighboring countries to a private meeting. He claims he wants to establish some kind of Marine Police force. In reality, they're trying to build a deeper, more independent armed organization. Not only that, I've uncovered major intelligence. Admiral Ortoren dispatched one of his subordinates, Rear Admiral Vergo, to help Doflamingo set up this Marine Police force."
Rosinante's tone grew heavy.
"My investigation shows that this Rear Admiral Vergo is actually a criminal member of the Donquixote Family, and not just anyone. He holds a very high position, one of the top officers of the Corazon unit. I suspect Admiral Ortoren was misled by him, which is why he places so much trust in Doflamingo…"
Sengoku listened in silence, momentarily unsure how to respond.
After a pause, he finally spoke.
"Ortoren already reported the Marine Police force to me, and it has received support from Mary Geoise. As for Vergo, we are well aware of his identity… but the details aren't something I can explain to you."
"What?" Rosinante sounded stunned, almost disbelieving.
After a brief silence, as if he had realized something far more frightening, Rosinante's voice sank.
"Fleet Admiral… then the situation may be far more serious than we thought."
Sengoku fell silent.
More serious?
"How so?"
"Do you remember," Rosinante asked, "that I once reported to you that Ortoren might be corrupted?"
Sengoku thought for a moment.
"Yes… there was such a report."
"At the time, you dismissed my concerns," Rosinante said grimly. "But based on the intelligence I've gathered recently, I'm afraid Ortoren really does have a serious problem."
Before Sengoku could respond, Rosinante continued rapidly.
"My investigation shows that under the name of the G-5 base, Ortoren has established reserve Marine recruit training camps across many kingdoms in the New World. At first, I didn't notice anything wrong. But not long ago, due to certain circumstances, I went to one of those kingdoms looking for a doctor. That's when I discovered the truth."
Rosinante took a breath.
"They weren't recruit training camps at all. Inside one of them were four thousand elite Marines, along with four standard-issue Headquarters warships. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Afterward, I investigated two more camps, and they were exactly the same."
"Roughly speaking, these so-called training camps together contain around fifty thousand elite Marines and at least fifty Headquarters warships. None of them appear on Headquarters' official rosters. They're a private army secretly built by Ortoren!"
At that moment, Sengoku felt a deep sense of helplessness.
For a while, he didn't know how to explain any of this at all.
Why did that Rosinante fellow always manage to dig up information he had no business knowing?
As Sengoku remained silent, Rosinante continued anxiously,
"Now, combined with what Doflamingo has been doing, that so-called Marine Police force is definitely not as simple as it looks. I suspect Ortoren's ambitions are enormous. He might be trying to amass his own armed forces in the New World, or even plotting to split the Navy itself, Fleet Admiral!"
"I strongly recommend recalling Ortoren to Headquarters immediately, placing him under house arrest, and thoroughly investigating all of this!" Rosinante said urgently.
"Ahem…" Fleet Admiral Sengoku cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Corazon, your intelligence-gathering abilities are something we fully acknowledge. You've done very well. But I've already emphasized this to you before. You are not to continue investigating Ortoren. More importantly, he is now an Admiral of the Navy. Your actions not only violate regulations, but what you just said also borders on slandering a superior officer. Do you understand?"
"But Fleet Admiral…" Rosinante sounded genuinely confused. He couldn't understand why his godfather wasn't taking his side. From both a personal standpoint and from the perspective of a Fleet Admiral, Ortoren's situation was clearly outrageous.
There was no justification for this at all.
"As for what you mentioned earlier," Sengoku continued, his tone steady but complicated, "I've known about it for a long time. That was a high-level strategic plan devised by Navy leadership for the New World, meant to mislead the major pirates there. As I said before, your clearance level isn't high enough for me to explain the details."
"In short, we are fully aware of these matters. You don't need to question Ortoren's loyalty or position, and you are absolutely not to investigate this any further. This is an order. Do you understand?"
On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Rosinante was completely stunned, unable to say a word.
Sengoku then continued,
"You've been out on field assignments for quite some time now, and your investigation into the Donquixote Family has been handled well. I think it's about time you return to Headquarters. This mission should come to an end…"
"No!" Rosinante refused immediately. "The Donquixote Family's criminal organization hasn't been wiped out yet. How can I quit halfway? Fleet Admiral, you don't need to worry about my safety. I'm not in any danger right now. And… and I still need to use the Donquixote Family's channels for some matters…"
Sengoku couldn't help but think to himself: Wipe out the criminal family? Give me a break. From what he'd heard, Ortoren had already created a secret Navy dossier for Doflamingo. Who knew when Doflamingo might turn around and become a legitimate member of the Navy, maybe even outranking Rosinante. What exactly was there left to investigate?
In Sengoku's view, before the year 1498, the Donquixote Family could indeed be called a "criminal family." But after 1498, although they appeared on the surface to have become pirates, in reality they had been moving closer and closer to the Navy at a frantic pace.
Especially after Doflamingo became one of the Shichibukai. Not only did he establish a deep cooperative relationship with Ortoren and help G-5 countless times, he had also worked with Marine Headquarters in many other areas, particularly intelligence exchanges.
What was that, if not one of their own?
Because of this background, when Sengoku learned that Ortoren had set up a secret Navy file on Doflamingo, he didn't stop it. Instead, he tacitly allowed it.
Seeing how determined Rosinante was to stay where he was, Sengoku thought for a moment and decided not to press the issue further. The reason was simple. Rosinante's sense of justice was far too strong. Even if he were recalled, he would immediately take on another investigation. And from that angle, any undercover assignment would be dangerous.
Keeping him by Doflamingo's side, on the other hand, was surprisingly safe.
Since that was the case, he might as well let Rosinante remain with Doflamingo for the time being.
In the future, once Doflamingo straightened himself out and joined the Navy family, Sengoku, as Fleet Admiral, could always polish the narrative and add some merit to Rosinante's record.
For example… secretly assisting Ortoren in persuading and recruiting Doflamingo.