Kizaru scratched his head, reluctantly picking up the Den Den Mushi from the desk.
With half-lidded eyes, he glanced toward the office doorway, where Sengoku had retreated outside, peeking in with only half his head showing.
"Less nonsense! Contact Magellan immediately and find out what's going on at Impel Down!"
Standing outside, Sengoku wanted to leave.
But at the same time, he was afraid something major had actually happened.
The importance of Impel Down—in his eyes—far outweighed even the entire Rosward family.
—
"Purururu… Purururu…"
The Den Den Mushi rang a few times before connecting.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, this is Magellan."
Magellan's voice came through, and the Den Den Mushi's features shifted to resemble his fearsome face.
"Moshi moshi, this is Kizaru."
Kizaru pursed his lips and casually plopped into Sengoku's Fleet Admiral chair.
"Admiral Kizaru? Did Fleet Admiral Sengoku leave?"
Magellan sounded surprised.
He hadn't expected the call recipient to change in just a few seconds.
"Ah… yes, he had something urgent to attend to. But you can tell me. I'll pass the message to him later. Oh, by the way… is that kid Rorschach with you?"
"Yes, he's here in my office right now."
Then, Kizaru heard Rorschach's voice coming from the Den Den Mushi.
"Uncle Borsalino, it's me—Rorschach."
"Oh, it's you, kid. As long as you're fine, that's good. Fleet Admiral Sengoku was really worried about you."
"Worried?! Who the hell is worried about that troublemaking brat?! Just get to the point already!"
Sengoku's furious roar came from outside.
A moment later, there was a faint clanging sound from the balcony.
Then, a new voice chimed in.
"Sengoku, what are you doing sneaking around on the balcony? What, do you have some secret lover hidden in your office?"
"Secret lover, my ass! What, am I hiding Borsalino in here?! Stop spreading nonsense!"
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't go inside just yet—I need to talk to you first…"
—
Back inside the office, Kizaru listened to Magellan's report, his shock growing with every word.
"Unbelievable, Rorschach… Master Zephyr just assigned the graduation assessment, and you've already made such a huge achievement."
"You even defeated Shiryu? Your strength is improving really fast, huh? Old man like me is starting to get a little scared of you."
"Wait… what? Rorschach defeated Shiryu? He also discovered a hidden underground chamber inside Impel Down? And he captured hundreds of Revolutionary Army members hiding there, including Emporio Ivankov, a high-ranking officer who had been missing for years?!"
Sengoku's eyes widened like he'd just seen a ghost.
He burst into the room.
"Shiryu?! Isn't he the Chief Warden of Impel Down? Why would Rorschach fight him?!"
Zephyr followed behind, also confused.
"Indeed… This is hard to believe. You should ask Magellan for the details."
Kizaru stood up, vacating the Fleet Admiral's seat for Sengoku and returning to the sofa.
That chair was too stiff. The sofa was much more comfortable.
—
Taking the Den Den Mushi, Sengoku listened as Magellan recounted the entire incident.
Standing beside him, Zephyr's face gradually softened into a look of pride.
"Not bad, that kid. He's only just left Marineford, and he's already accomplished something this big."
"So the strange 'Devil's Maw Incident' at Impel Down… That was the real cause. A hidden space, right under our noses."
He let out a deep sigh.
"Sengoku, if it weren't for Rorschach uncovering this secret underground area, this could've become an uncontrollable disaster in the future."
"Yeah, even I'm starting to feel a little scared. This kid Rorschach… he really did a brilliant job this time!"
A relieved smile finally appeared on Sengoku's face.
"This solves a massive hidden threat for the Navy, preventing Impel Down from being infiltrated from within in the future. Tsk, as expected of my prized disciple. Hahaha! We weren't wrong about him!"
Zephyr tilted his head back and laughed.
"When Magellan first mentioned this kid's name just now, I nearly had a heart attack."
Sengoku picked up his glass of milk again.
It had gone cold, but it was still sweet.
"Who would've thought? Not only did he avoid causing trouble this time, but he also made a huge achievement. We should reward him… maybe promote his rank?"
Sengoku looked toward Zephyr.
Zephyr shook his head.
"His rank has been rising too fast. How long has it been? He's already a Colonel. If we promote him again, he'll be a Rear Admiral."
"But with such a significant accomplishment, not promoting him would be unreasonable. Based on merit, he should be at least a Vice Admiral by now."
Sengoku continued speaking while issuing instructions to Magellan through the Den Den Mushi.
Zephyr pondered for a moment before shaking his head again.
"He's only fourteen. If his rank gets too high too quickly, it might make him arrogant. More importantly, it will make him stand out too much, attracting unwanted attention from certain individuals. That wouldn't be good for his growth."
"Don't forget—what happened in the North Blue already made Doflamingo despise him."
"Now that Rorschach is out at sea, I guarantee that Doflamingo will try to target him."
Sengoku's face darkened immediately. He slammed the table and snapped angrily.
"He wouldn't dare! If that bastard Doflamingo so much as lays a finger on Rorschach, I'll make sure the higher-ups revoke his Warlord title! Then I'll send Sakazuki to Dressrosa to finish him off!"
Zephyr let out a dry cough and walked toward the door.
"Don't be childish. Even if he loses his Warlord status, he still has the background of a former Celestial Dragon. He's not someone we can just eliminate so easily."
"Whatever, do as you like. If you want to promote Rorschach to Rear Admiral, go ahead. Even I didn't expect him to be strong enough to defeat Shiryu already. Looks like even if he does run into Doflamingo on the seas, we don't have to worry about him."
After finishing his call with Magellan, Sengoku fell into deep thought.
Zephyr had a point.
"The tallest tree in the forest is the first to fall."
If Rorschach became too prominent, it would invite retaliation.
And the Navy's enemies weren't just pirates… there was also the Revolutionary Army.
Sengoku wasn't actually too worried about Doflamingo going after Rorschach.
Like Zephyr said, Doflamingo might be stronger than Shiryu, but not by much.
What made him dangerous wasn't just his strength—it was the network he had built over the years.
And behind him stood Kaido.
That monster was the world's most obsessed collector of Zoan-type Devil Fruit users.
Not to mention… Rorschach possessed a Mythical Zoan ability.
From the investigation into the North Blue incident, it was clear that Rorschach's Devil Fruit had originally been meant as a tribute to Kaido.
There was no way Kaido wasn't aware of Rorschach by now.
The only reason Rorschach had remained safe was that he had been protected within Marineford.
Now that he was out at sea, all those lurking in the shadows would start making their moves.
"Regardless, we must keep the Impel Down incident a secret. The destruction of Ivankov's group cannot be allowed to reach the outside world."
"If Kaido has his eyes on Rorschach, that's one thing. With the current state of the New World, there's no way he'd personally come to the Grand Line to capture him."
"But Dragon… that's another story. If he learns that Rorschach destroyed the Revolutionary Army's secret base in Impel Down, the Revolutionary Army's influence across the Four Seas will turn Rorschach into a real target."
"As for his rank, we should hold back for now—just promote him to Rear Admiral. With the speed at which his strength is improving, in another two years, he'll undoubtedly become the Navy's third Admiral candidate. And when that happens…"
(End of Chapter)
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