The next day.
At the headquarters of the Royal Capital's Bounty Hunter Guild, in the first-floor hall.
White, scalding steam continuously emanated from the surface of Rorschach's body, transforming into dense mist that filled the entire hall.
It turned the place into a cloud-filled domain, as if everyone were standing atop a floating island 10,000 meters in the sky.
All around, bounty hunters stared in shock at Rorschach, who was eating.
As Rorschach devoured food like a ravenous storm, hundreds—if not thousands—of servings disappeared into his mouth and were instantly digested, transforming into surging energy to repair the damage from last night's fierce battle, and to replenish his depleted lightning power.
Rob Lucci sat not far away, his face completely numb.
Bandaged like a mummy giant, André's mouth was gaping wide like a hippo's as he dumbly stared at the silver-haired boy.
"Incredible vitality. I've traveled the seas for many years, and this is the first time I've met someone with life force as strong as this young man's," Fujitora said with admiration, seated across from Rorschach, his form obscured and flickering within the swirling mist.
Beside him, Jonathan—once again looking like a shriveled old man—stared at Rorschach across the table for a long, long time before finally pulling out a Den Den Mushi from his robe and walking out of the hall. With a few quick steps, he was already far away and then dialed a number.
"Purururu."
"Purururu."
The Den Den Mushi rang for a long time before it was finally answered.
"Who is it?" The suspicious old face of Sengoku was vividly mimicked by the Den Den Mushi.
Jonathan cradled the Den Den Mushi in his hand, his wrinkled old face breaking into a dazzling, chrysanthemum-like smile. "Sengoku, it's me—your Uncle Jonathan…"
Click.
Dooo… dooo…
The Den Den Mushi closed its eyes.
The call was cut.
Jonathan's smile froze.
After a good ten seconds, his mouth twisted into a grimace, and he nearly crushed the Den Den Mushi in his hand.
Taking a few deep breaths, he inhaled deeply to calm his almost-exploding emotions, then dialed the number again with trembling fingers.
The Den Den Mushi dutifully dialed, ringing for several minutes. Jonathan's aged eyes grew bloodshot, veins bulging on his forehead, before it was finally answered again.
"Who is it?"
As soon as Sengoku's voice came through, the Den Den Mushi—now resembling Jonathan's face—spit a mouthful of angry saliva.
"Sengoku! You bastard brat! How dare you hang up on me! Did you forget who taught you the Six Powers 52 years ago?
Did you forget 51 years and 8 months ago, when that pirate with a 38 million bounty almost took off your afro, who stood in front of you and kicked that pirate away?
Did you forget 50 years, 7 months, and 16 days ago, when you and Garp got caught writing love letters to Tsuru and were punished by Kong to run 100 laps around Marineford—who brought you two meals during that time? You ungrateful punk!"
Marine Headquarters, Marineford, Marshal's Office.
Kuzan, who was yawning, and Kizaru, who was trimming his nails, both looked dumbfounded at Sengoku, who had just been drenched in verbal abuse from the Den Den Mushi.
"Ara ara, sounds like I overheard something quite outrageous," Kuzan perked up his ears slightly."How scary… Who could possibly dare to speak to the Fleet Admiral like that? Oh right, Sengoku-san, is it true that you and Vice Admiral Garp once sent love letters to Vice Admiral Tsuru? Is that real?" Kizaru's eyes narrowed slightly, a glint of gold flashing across his sunglasses.
Sengoku's lips twitched for a moment, then he suddenly looked at the two men on the sofa and pointed at the office door.
Kuzan scratched his cheek. "But we just got here, didn't you say, Sengoku-san, we were going to discuss the clash between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Beasts Pirates in the New World…"
"We'll talk later! For now, out. Immediately!" Sengoku's roar thundered through the room like an explosion, making their eardrums buzz.
"But I still really want to know if the love letter story is true… I'm really curious…" Kizaru said reluctantly, standing up and following behind Kuzan.
Suddenly, a wave of icy chill rushed from behind, making Kizaru instinctively shrink his neck.
"Borsalino, if you dare blab about this, I'll forbid you from trimming your nails for a whole year!"
"What a harsh punishment, Sengoku-san. Don't worry, I won't say a word."
Bang.
As the door closed, Sengoku took a deep breath, removed his hand from the Den Den Mushi, and looked at the face of the old man it had mimicked.
On that weathered, chiseled face, there were still faint traces of the spirited youth he once was.
"Rear Admiral Jonathan, weren't you always the one who hated using Den Den Mushi? All these years, and you still remember my number."
"Hmph, spare me the nonsense. You've really made something of yourself now, huh? Hanging up on me like that. Back in the day…"
Inside the vast office, the voice coming from the Den Den Mushi gradually changed from high-pitched to low and then to a bittersweet murmur filled with nostalgia.
Two old men, both in their seventies or eighties, who had once lived through the darkest of times together, now reminisced over their shared hardships and memories through a tiny Den Den Mushi.
After a long while, Sengoku heard Jonathan's aged and slightly melancholic voice on the other end.
"Sigh… Time really is merciless. So many changes… In the blink of an eye, I'm already in my eighties. I don't even know how many more years I've got left. The royal capital's doctors told me I have heart disease, high blood pressure, rheumatism… My body just keeps getting worse every year."
Jonathan sighed and lamented endlessly, his voice full of sorrow, even bringing tears.
"And my disappointing son… I'd hoped he could inherit the guild I painstakingly built from scratch. But things didn't go as planned. He died while capturing pirates, and to this day, I still don't know who killed him and his poor wife."
From the Den Den Mushi came the sound of the old man choking back sobs, and Sengoku felt deeply unsettled.
He wanted to say something comforting, but when the words reached his mouth, he found he didn't know where to begin.
As Fleet Admiral of the Navy, he had seen far too many tragedies like this.
"…I've got one foot in the grave now. The only thing I can't let go of is my sweet and sensible granddaughter.
She's so beautiful, kind, obedient, and thoughtful.
My last wish before I die is to see her find a good husband and live a happy life.
I'd even be willing to let him inherit the guild I've worked so hard to build.
It's a massive fortune—decades of accumulation. Just in Beli, it's worth several hundred billion."
As Sengoku listened, his brows suddenly twitched. Something felt… off.
"Little Battle, here's the thing… I'd like to discuss something with you…"
(End of Chapter)
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