Doflamingo's mind was in complete chaos right now. He had always considered himself someone who had seen it all. Since childhood, he had weathered countless schemes and conspiracies in the underworld. What kind of scene hadn't he encountered before?
But at this moment, he genuinely wanted to say it out loud.
This scene… I really haven't seen anything like this. What the hell is going on!?
He pressed a hand to his temple, feeling the pressure in his head spike, then raised his other hand.
"Wait. Hold on. Let me sort this out for a second…"
After speaking, Doflamingo first pointed at Ortoren.
"You're a Marine , right?"
Ortoren shot him an annoyed look and didn't bother answering. He was a Marine Admiral. Was there even room for doubt?
Doflamingo hadn't been expecting an answer anyway. He turned and pointed at Rosinante.
"And he's a Marine too…"
Rosinante snorted coldly and said nothing.
Finally, Doflamingo pointed at himself.
"But I'm a Marine as well! So what exactly is going on here?"
The moment he said this, Rosinante fired back in anger.
"What kind of Marine are you? You evil—"
"Shut up!" Doflamingo snapped, cutting him off without hesitation. "You're just a Commander. What right do you have to yap at me? I'm a Rear Admiral officially registered at Marine Headquarters! I'm also part of the intelligence division. I'm your superior!"
Rosinante was completely stunned by the outburst. For a moment, he could only stare at Doflamingo in a daze. Then he turned to look at Ortoren, as if hoping this legitimate Admiral would confirm whether any of this was real.
Faced with Rosinante's bewildered gaze, Ortoren scratched his head and let out a helpless sigh.
"Originally, with your rank, you weren't qualified to know about these classified matters. But now that things have reached this point, there's no way to keep it from you anymore. Commander Rosinante, your older brother, Donquixote Doflamingo, is indeed a member of the Navy. Back in the Year 1498 of the Sea Circle Calendar, in Loguetown, he voluntarily swore an oath and joined the Navy. At the time, he was granted the rank of Captain and assigned a long-term, top-secret undercover mission within the underworld and pirate factions. In the years 1500 and 1502, he rendered distinguished service twice and was promoted. At present, he is officially registered as a Rear Admiral in the Navy's intelligence division."
"Huh?"
Rosinante responded instinctively, but from the sound of it, he clearly still couldn't accept reality.
No, seriously. How did someone like Doflamingo, a man evil to the core, end up becoming Navy?
And his rank is that high!?
I've been in the Navy for all these years and only made it to Commander. He's already a Rear Admiral!?
At this point, Rosinante's mind was just as tangled as Doflamingo's. In a rush, he questioned again,
"Then something's not right. If he's Navy, why would the Fleet Admiral approve my going undercover in the Donquixote Family? And that mission came directly from the intelligence division!"
Doflamingo also turned to Ortoren.
"Yeah, Admiral. Why would you arrange for a Commander to go undercover next to a Rear Admiral like me?"
Ortoren looked both helpless and a little awkward as he explained,
"Well, back then… cough. You hadn't truly earned the Navy's trust yet, right? At the time, Admiral Sengoku believed you might have ulterior motives. So he decided to plant a nail at your side, to determine whether you were genuinely committed to joining the Navy's cause of justice."
Doflamingo slowly came back to his senses.
That explanation… did make sense.
After all, even though Ortoren had just told Rosinante that he joined the Navy in 1498, Doflamingo himself knew the truth perfectly well. Join the Navy, my ass. His Navy file had only been urgently put together after that "Admirals' tea meeting" he attended with Ortoren and the others.
Thinking back to when Rosinante returned to the family, the timing actually lined up. That was when he had only just begun working with Ortoren. The Navy distrusting him and planting someone nearby as an undercover agent seemed perfectly reasonable.
"But what about after that?" Doflamingo pressed. That was the part he couldn't understand.
He had rendered massive service to the Navy. Ortoren had even entrusted him with the task of forming the maritime police force. That level of trust was more than sufficient. Otherwise, it simply wouldn't make sense.
So why keep Rosinante undercover at his side?
Hearing Doflamingo's question, Ortoren hesitated. He glanced at Rosinante, then spoke somewhat sheepishly.
"Well… as for after that… I think Fleet Admiral Sengoku figured that keeping Rosinante undercover by your side would make it easier for him to rack up experience and merit. That way, when he returned to Headquarters in the future, he could rely on those achievements for promotion and advancement. At the same time, since you're one of our own, even if Rosinante accidentally exposed his identity, it wouldn't cause any real crisis. His safety would also be guaranteed. So in the end, Fleet Admiral Sengoku didn't disclose your situation and simply let Rosinante continue his undercover assignment."
To be honest, Ortoren had never actually discussed Rosinante's undercover role beside Doflamingo with Sengoku. He didn't truly know what Sengoku had been thinking.
This explanation was purely his own guess.
But based on his understanding of Sengoku, it was very likely the truth.
Doflamingo raked his fingers harshly through his hair. Listening to Ortoren's explanation, it sounded reasonable. On the surface, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with it.
Yet the more he thought about it, the more he felt that something didn't quite add up.
That sense of discord…
In an instant, Doflamingo finally realized what felt wrong.
Why would Sengoku, the Fleet Admiral of the Navy, go to such lengths for Rosinante, who was nothing more than a mere Commander?
Worrying about his safety while undercover, deliberately helping him accumulate credentials and achievements, painstakingly paving a clear path for promotion and advancement… did that make any sense at all?
Was it just because Rosinante was his brother?
That was impossible. If that were the reason, why wouldn't Sengoku have made similar arrangements for him, Doflamingo?
Then was it because of Rosinante's former Celestial Dragon status?
That didn't add up either. Mary Geoise didn't acknowledge such things anymore, and Sengoku didn't seem like the kind of Navy heavyweight who would grovel to Mary Geoise or curry favor in that way.
So what was left?
Could Sengoku possibly be Rosinante's father?
Why else would he treat Rosinante with such extreme favoritism?
Unable to hold it in any longer, Doflamingo voiced his doubts outright.
"This doesn't feel right. Why is Fleet Admiral Sengoku treating Rosinante so well? He's just a Commander. There are plenty of people like him in the Navy. The intelligence division has countless agents operating undercover in extremely dangerous places, and I've never seen the Navy go this far for any of them…"
After Doflamingo laid out his confusion, Ortoren glanced at Rosinante, then patted Doflamingo on the shoulder.
"Cough… back then, I hadn't joined the Navy yet, so I don't know all the details. But the truth is… Rosinante's private identity is that he's Fleet Admiral Sengoku's adopted son. And you know this as well. Fleet Admiral Sengoku devoted his entire life to the Navy and to justice. He never married, so he treated Rosinante as his own biological son. You understand now, right?"
That revelation hit Doflamingo like a bomb.
Donquixote Rosinante is Sengoku's son. I'm Rosinante's biological older brother. Then what does that make me to Fleet Admiral Sengoku!?
So without me knowing it… Sengoku somehow became my father!?
"He's my real brother, and he's also Fleet Admiral Sengoku's son. Then what am I!?"
Doflamingo stared at Ortoren, his expression on the verge of collapse.
"Doflamingo, you know how many people would kill for a backer like that and never get the chance?" Ortoren said, patting him on the shoulder and speaking earnestly. "You should be happy. When you return to headquarters in the future, if you're a little sweet with your words and call him 'Dad' as well, with your achievements and Rosinante's status, it's not impossible that he'd acknowledge you."
What kind of man fears having no father?
Seeing that Doflamingo clearly couldn't process this explosive truth right away, Ortoren quickly changed the subject, deciding it was best not to continue discussing who should recognize whose father. Let them take some time to digest it.
"Alright, alright. Now's not the time to talk about who's whose dad. Since the misunderstanding has been cleared up, we should discuss how to report this matter to Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
As he said that, Ortoren shot a glare at Rosinante.
"You've really put your old man through hell this time."
Ortoren couldn't help but think to himself.
After this whole incident, compared to someone as capable, reliable, and sharp as Doflamingo, if Sengoku truly had a choice, wouldn't he rather acknowledge Doflamingo as his son instead?
After all, Rosinante was just too good at screwing his father over.
Absolutely unfilial.
…Wait, no, that wasn't quite right either. Doflamingo had once twisted his own biological father's head off and used it like a ball.
Sengoku might not even dare to become his adoptive father.
Thinking about it that way, Ortoren suddenly felt that Rosinante and Doflamingo really were worthy of being biological brothers.
One killed his own father.
The other ruined his adoptive father.
Impressive. Truly impressive.
A perfectly matched pair of brothers. Put together, they were practically natural-born enemies of fathers.
...
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