Although Rosinante's mind was in complete turmoil and he felt as if everyone had been deceiving him, to be honest, there was still a faint sense of relief in his heart.
Because of this sudden turn of events, he no longer had to worry about being killed on the spot by a humiliated and enraged Doflamingo.
Just as Rosinante was thinking this, Doflamingo stepped toward him and Law.
Instinctively, Rosinante pulled Trafalgar Law behind him, clearly unwilling to let Doflamingo get anywhere near the boy.
Doflamingo let out a cold snort and glared at Rosinante.
"What are you doing? In terms of personal relations, I'm your older brother. In terms of public standing, I'm your captain and the head of the family. And in terms of the Navy, I'm a Rear Admiral while you're a Commander. What right do you have to stop me from doing anything?"
His words were sharp, clear, and completely justified, leaving Rosinante with no way to argue back.
But perhaps out of sheer habit built up over all these years, even though Rosinante now knew that Doflamingo might not be as irredeemably evil as he had believed, and that he was in fact a Navy-recognized Rear Admiral, he still couldn't adjust his mindset right away.
Even after being scolded so righteously, Rosinante didn't move aside. At most, he hesitated.
The next moment, Doflamingo lost his patience and shoved Rosinante aside by the shoulder. Reacting instantly, Rosinante tried to block him again, preventing him from talking to Law. The two brothers immediately fell into a heated argument, voices rising as they struggled with each other.
Not far away, Ortoren couldn't be bothered to care about the conflict between these two so-called "father-slaying brothers."
He plopped down on a rock in the small grove to rest, then took out a Den Den Mushi from his coat, preparing to have a chat and report in to Sengoku, the poor old father who had just been thoroughly dragged into this mess.
He lit a cigarette, and the Den Den Mushi in his hand was soon connected.
"Hello? Is that Ortoren?" Fleet Admiral Sengoku asked calmly.
Judging by his voice, his mood actually sounded pretty good.
"Congratulations, Fleet Admiral," Ortoren said with a laugh as he exhaled a cloud of smoke. "I've found you a long-lost adopted son."
Fleet Admiral Sengoku was momentarily stunned, frowning slightly.
"What are you talking about? What kind of nonsense is that?"
"Cough… Rosinante's identity has been exposed to Doflamingo," Ortoren replied succinctly.
There was an instant of silence on the other end of the line, as if Sengoku didn't know what to say for a moment.
After a short pause, Sengoku's voice came through, carrying clear concern.
"Is Rosinante alright? And what about Doflamingo? How serious is the situation?"
Ortoren chuckled lightly.
"Don't worry, sir. Nothing too serious. Doflamingo and Rosinante have already talked things out. From what I can see, they're both pretty emotionally stable…"
As he spoke, Ortoren turned his head to glance back at the two brothers.
At that point, Doflamingo and Rosinante were already rolling around on the ground in a full-on brawl. Doflamingo's flamingo-feather coat was splattered with mud, leaving him looking utterly disheveled. Trafalgar Law and his sister Lami were trying to intervene from the side, but it clearly wasn't doing much good.
In just that short span of time, Ortoren saw Doflamingo flip over and straddle Rosinante, hammering his fist into Rosinante's head several times in a row. Blood streamed from Rosinante's nose as he struggled desperately, trying to kick Doflamingo off of him.
Even so, Ortoren was still perfectly willing to describe this scene as "emotionally stable."
The reason was simple. If Doflamingo truly lost control, would Rosinante have the ability to trade blows with him? To wrestle on the ground like this? Doflamingo would have twisted his head off long ago.
The fact that things had devolved only to this level proved that both of them were still holding back.
Ortoren had no intention of stepping in to stop them. After all, when you really thought about it, this whole situation was complicated enough to be downright maddening. Letting the brothers vent their emotions like this might actually be a good thing.
"Not only stable," Ortoren added with a teasing tone, "I even said that when Doflamingo gets the chance to report back at headquarters in the future, he could meet you, his godfather."
Fleet Admiral Sengoku gave a slightly awkward cough before replying,
"Don't talk nonsense. They may be brothers, but Rosinante is Rosinante, and Doflamingo is Doflamingo. They're independent individuals. How can you lump them together like that?"
"You're not scared Doflamingo might twist your head off too, are you?" Ortoren laughed.
Sengoku laughed as well and scolded Ortoren a few times in return. It was clear his mood was still fairly good. Although Rosinante's identity had been exposed, nothing disastrous had happened, and that was what mattered most.
Besides, Sengoku had long wanted to bring Rosinante back. He hadn't seen his good son in many years and genuinely missed him.
So even with the exposure, Sengoku's mood wasn't affected much. He chuckled and asked,
"By the way, how did Rosinante suddenly get exposed? Weren't you and Doflamingo heading to Minion Island to trade for the Ope Ope no Mi?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he seemed to realize something and immediately added,
"Right, Rosinante asked me about this before as well. You didn't run into each other on Minion Island, did you?"
"Hahahaha, your guess is spot on," Ortoren laughed. "Fleet Admiral, how's your health been lately?"
The sudden question caught Sengoku off guard. He replied instinctively,
"Pretty good. I had a checkup a few days ago. No issues."
"That's great to hear," Ortoren said, sounding as though he'd just let out a breath he'd been holding. "I was honestly worried you might not be able to handle what comes next."
Sengoku froze for a moment. A sense of foreboding crept into his mind, though he didn't want to believe it.
Then, through the Den Den Mushi, Ortoren's tone shifted. The casual ease from earlier vanished.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I will now report to you in my capacity as an Admiral of Marine Headquarters regarding the political mission involving the Ope Ope no Mi transaction. First, the result I must report is that this mission has completely failed. The reason is that before we arrived at Minion Island, due to an intelligence leak, someone seized the Ope Ope no Mi ahead of us and privately fed it to a patient suffering from Amber Lead Syndrome named Trafalgar Law."
Ortoren's voice was grave.
On the other end, Sengoku listened in silence, his expression heavy as his earlier good mood disappeared entirely.
"And that person," Ortoren continued, "is none other than Commander Donquixote Rosinante of our Navy Intelligence Division. He took advantage of your trust to obtain mission intelligence and carried out this act. I currently have him under control. How should we proceed from here?"
Although Ortoren asked the question, there was no immediate response from the Den Den Mushi, as if no one were there.
Only the sound of heavy breathing let Ortoren know that Fleet Admiral Sengoku hadn't been angered to the point of collapse.
As for Rosinante's fate, Ortoren wasn't particularly worried. There were only two possible outcomes.
The first was that Sengoku would bend the rules for personal reasons. Ortoren wouldn't insist on being ironclad either. He could simply pretend not to know who was responsible, release Rosinante, and make him disappear from public view forever. As for the aftermath, that wouldn't be Ortoren's problem. It would be up to Sengoku to handle.
The second option was to formally detain Rosinante and escort him back to Marine Headquarters. Sengoku would truthfully report the failure of the mission to Mary Geoise, and once official matters were settled, he would inevitably plead on Rosinante's behalf.
Considering Sengoku's position as Fleet Admiral, coupled with the fact that Rosinante still carried Celestial Dragon blood, the Five Elders would likely show some leniency. They wouldn't go so far as to execute him. After all, the Fleet Admiral only had this one son. If they killed him, who would still dare to trust the Fleet Admiral afterward?
At this point, wouldn't it be better to do Sengoku a favor instead?
In Ortoren's view, no matter which option was chosen, Rosinante wouldn't die. At worst, he'd be locked up in Impel Down for a few years to reflect, and once the heat died down, that would be the end of it.
That was how the world worked for people with connections. It wasn't fair, but that was reality. If today's incident had involved some nobody without backing, would Ortoren, a Marine Admiral, even need to discuss it with the Fleet Admiral?
He could have executed the culprit on the spot.
While Ortoren was thinking this, Sengoku's voice finally came through, hoarse and strained.
"This matter must be kept strictly confidential. You will personally escort Rosinante back to headquarters. And bring the one who ate the Ope Ope no Mi with you as well."
Ortoren raised no objections and simply asked,
"What about Doflamingo?"
Sengoku fell silent for a moment. In the past, he had never wanted to see Doflamingo. But now, Doflamingo was also someone who knew the truth. After some hesitation, Sengoku said,
"Have him come too."
"Understood," Ortoren replied, then hung up the Den Den Mushi.