After spending two more days at Marine Headquarters, Ortoren finally received the final outcome of this mission.
Marine Headquarters Lieutenant Commander Donquixote Rosinante was stripped of his naval status and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Life imprisonment. The verdict sounded severe, but Mary Geoise designated the place of confinement as Impel Down, the massive prison under Marine jurisdiction. Anyone who understood the situation knew exactly what that meant.
Did the World Government really have no other prisons to hold criminals?
Was there no room left within the CP Organization?
Locking up the adopted son of the Fleet Admiral in a Marine-controlled prison like Impel Down was an unspoken understanding between the Five Elders and Sengoku.
They called it life imprisonment, but once the uproar died down in a couple of years, it would be easy to find some excuse to reduce Rosinante's sentence. Do that a few times, and he'd be free again.
You could even say that if Rosinante got bored in Impel Down, he could contact Ortoren. Ortoren could trade with pirate inmates and have him taken out directly, then arrange medical parole somewhere convenient. As long as Rosinante didn't run around causing trouble or embarrassing Ortoren, he could live as freely as he liked.
After that, he could even rejoin the Marines.
That was just how unfair the world was. There was nothing to be done about it. After all, Rosinante had a Fleet Admiral for a father.
It was even said that when he was in elementary school, an essay he wrote once won first prize.
As for Trafalgar Law, there was no news at all. No one knew whether Sengoku never reported the matter to the Five Elders in the first place, or if he had quietly protected that brat as well.
Naturally, Ortoren had no intention of asking about it. Doing so would only put Sengoku, the Fleet Admiral, in an awkward position.
Over the past two days, Ortoren had even maliciously dragged Doflamingo along, intending to pay a visit to Vice Admiral Sakazuki. But every time Sakazuki heard that Ortoren was coming, he either suddenly had urgent matters to deal with or some emergency that required his command. In short, he never met them.
Ortoren found this endlessly amusing. Teasing a hard-edged tough guy like that was always entertaining.
...
Inside Fleet Admiral Sengoku's office, Ortoren and Sengoku sat facing each other on opposite sofas, a tea table between them.
Ortoren lifted his teacup, took a sip, and said with a grin,
"Judging by your expression, it looks like you've just been thoroughly chewed out."
"Not 'looks like.' I was thoroughly chewed out," Sengoku replied, glaring at Ortoren.
"As your subordinate, it's only right that I help share your burdens. Endure it a little longer. In a few years, those five will be treating you with nothing but courtesy," Ortoren laughed.
"I'll be looking forward to that," Sengoku said. A faint smile finally appeared on his face.
After a few more casual remarks, Sengoku suddenly spoke again, his tone tinged with sadness.
"Rosinante should already be on the transport ship by now, shouldn't he?"
Ortoren glanced at the clock on the wall and nodded.
"Judging by the time, he's already departed. But you don't need to worry. I just spoke with Magellan earlier. He knows Rosinante's identity now and won't give him any trouble. Just think of it as him going on a vacation…"
Ortoren was always considerate in these matters. Magellan truly hadn't known Rosinante's identity before, and with Sengoku being both the Fleet Admiral and directly involved, it wouldn't have been appropriate for him to personally approach Magellan. That would have felt far too blunt.
That was why, when Rosinante was being escorted away, Sengoku had called Ortoren to his office for tea.
The meaning was already clear. Ortoren understood it before he even arrived. There was no need for Sengoku to say anything—before coming for tea, Ortoren had already made everything perfectly clear to Magellan.
He had no ties to Rosinante by blood or obligation, and his status was high enough. He was far more suitable than Sengoku to say such things.
Hearing this, Sengoku's expression visibly relaxed. He smiled at Ortoren.
"You always manage to understand my difficulties at moments like this."
"You've taken care of me for so long. When it's my turn to step up, of course I can't pretend not to see it," Ortoren said, waving his hand dismissively.
After that, neither of them spoke. They quietly drank their tea, as if savoring this rare moment of calm.
When Ortoren refilled his cup, Sengoku finally spoke again.
"Mary Geoise originally demanded that I hand over Trafalgar Law. I refused. To make that refusal sound more reasonable, I told them… he's my grandson."
"Congratulations," Ortoren said with a grin. "At least now you won't have to keep listening to Garp-san brag about his grandson in front of you."
Sengoku chuckled softly, then continued.
"Now I'm not quite sure how I should arrange things for that little fellow…"
Ortoren paused for a moment before asking,
"You're not thinking of sending him back to the Donquixote Family, are you?"
"He does have that inclination…" Sengoku said hesitantly. "Perhaps that child trusts Donquixote Doflamingo more than he trusts me."
"I don't support that idea, Fleet Admiral," Ortoren replied without hesitation. "People's hearts aren't something you should test."
Trafalgar Law was the user of the Ope Ope no Mi. Ortoren did trust Doflamingo, but that didn't mean he agreed with such a decision. Sending Trafalgar Law back to the Donquixote Family now would be no different from hanging a juicy piece of meat right in front of a ferocious beast, tempting it day after day.
Who does things like that?
If this went on long enough, even if Doflamingo didn't originally harbor such intentions, they might be cultivated sooner or later.
Sengoku froze when he heard this. After a brief pause, he seemed to grasp Ortoren's meaning and nodded.
"You're right. That was my oversight. I really hadn't considered it from that angle… In that case, he can't be allowed to return to the Donquixote Family."
"Then let that kid stay at Headquarters," Ortoren said with a smile. "If you don't have the time to look after him, send him to Zephyr-san. Lucci is about to leave Zephyr-san's side anyway. It'll be a perfect handover."
Sengoku nodded, smiling.
"That makes sense. With Zephyr's guidance, he should grow into the kind of outstanding Marine Rosinante hoped he would become…"
After settling Rosinante's matter, Sengoku brought up something else.
"Since becoming an Admiral, you've caused quite a stir. First that Marine Police force, then wiping out Hachinosu Island, even taking care of that Red-Haired man along with it… By the way, did you ever look into Red-Haired Shanks' background?"
"Look into what?" Ortoren asked, feigning ignorance. "Wasn't he just an apprentice on Roger's ship?"
"Not only that," Sengoku said quietly. "There's a good chance he was descended from Mary Geoise, just like Doflamingo and the others. Possibly from the Figarland family. But none of that matters anymore. A dead man is a dead man. As long as those people still have sense, they won't offend you over a corpse."
"That really is something," Ortoren said, rubbing his chin and laughing lightly. "Killing a Celestial Dragon without even realizing it."
He didn't dwell on the matter any further.
Sengoku didn't pursue it either, instead asking,
"So what are your plans in the New World next?"
"Since I'm the Admiral governing the New World, then I intend to live up to the word 'govern,'" Ortoren replied without hesitation. "My stance has always been clear. The Marines should take the lead, unify the New World, and build an integrated and peaceful environment that can serve as a solid backbone for Headquarters."
Before Sengoku could respond, Ortoren continued,
"Before I took up my post in the New World, the Five Elders told me they hoped I could facilitate cooperation, or even an alliance, between the Big Mom Pirates, Totto Land, and Mary Geoise. I've been considering how to push that forward. From a deeper perspective, it's actually far more beneficial for us. What do you think?"
"If you could dissolve the Big Mom Pirates and normalize Totto Land into an affiliated nation of the New World, that would indeed be an enormous achievement," Sengoku said, nodding. "It would dismantle a major pirate force while strengthening our own influence. Frankly speaking, if you can accomplish that, your goal of unifying the New World would be within easy reach."
"For now, it's just a concept," Ortoren said, clicking his tongue. "The New World still has Kaidou, Whitebeard, and plenty of other formidable players. Troubles aren't exactly in short supply. We'll handle things one step at a time. Once I'm back, it'll also be time to push forward the first cooperative project between Totto Land and Mary Geoise. The one I reported to you before, the plan called Golden City."
An Admiral and a Fleet Admiral talked at length like this. Their conversation sounded ordinary, yet decisions made in moments like these often had the power to shift the balance of the entire sea.
As evening fell, Ortoren finally took his leave. He planned to rest one more night at Headquarters before departing the next day.