"Can you give me one of your subordinates—a mere rear admiral—for the Hunter Guild?
Don't worry, your Uncle Jonathan won't take him for free.
If you agree, I'm willing to sponsor the Marine Headquarters with a military fund of ten billion Beli. What do you say?"
Inside the office, hearing the voice from the Den Den Mushi, a giant question mark slowly appeared above Sengoku's head.
He finally understood.
So Jonathan, that old fox, had been chatting with him all this time—
Reminiscing about their glorious past,
Tugging at emotional strings...
And in the end, it turns out he just wanted someone from his personnel roster.
This old bastard—he's sly as a snake. Even someone like the wise and courageous "Buddha" Sengoku almost got played.
Wait a second...
Sengoku frowned.
A mere rear admiral?
What kind of rear admiral is worth Jonathan offering a dowry—no, a military fund—of 10 billion Beli?
Apparently not hearing a response, Jonathan spoke again from the other end of the Den Den Mushi.
"What? You think ten billion Beli isn't enough?
Fine! How about twenty billion?
You'd be getting a guaranteed profit here. It's just a little rear admiral! With twenty billion Beli, you could arm an elite force of ten thousand men!
Say something! Where are you?
Fifty billion! How about fifty billion? I'll pay fifty billion Beli! That's ten times what Whitebeard's bounty was!"
Sengoku pinched the bridge of his nose, the suspicion in his eyes growing thicker.
He smacked his lips, let out a dry laugh, and asked cautiously, "Heh heh… Rear Admiral Jonathan, may I ask, which lucky guy in our Marine Headquarters has caught your eye so much that you're willing to pay such a steep price?"
Jonathan was silent for a few seconds. Then he coughed and said, "Just a regular rear admiral, really. Nothing special. Just… handsome, that's all. You're getting a great deal—fifty billion..."
"The rear admiral you're talking about..." Sengoku gritted his teeth, his voice squeezing out between them. "Is it Rorschach?"
"...Yes."
"NO WAY!"
Sengoku rejected him without hesitation.
"You damn afro-headed brat! Don't be so shameless! I'm giving you a lot of face here—just asking for a measly rear admiral! Not even one of your admirals! Fifty billion Beli—I'd be able to crush a whole pile of rear admirals with that!"
Jonathan's voice flared up in fury on the other end of the line.
But before his angry voice even finished, Sengoku's even more furious roar—spitting everywhere—blasted from the Den Den Mushi, covering Jonathan's face.
"Are you kidding me?! You think fifty billion Beli is a lot?
You old bastard, do you know how much I've spent from the logistics department just to train that little punk Rorschach?
Do you have any idea what it means for one person to eat over a hundred Sea Kings a year?
Do you know how much it costs to repair Marineford Plaza daily, year-round?
Do you understand how extravagant it is to have a vice admiral or admiral spar with him every day?
Do you know how hard it is for an old man like me to go fishing for Sea Kings just to feed him?
Do you know that in just one year, I've developed neurasthenia and chronic insomnia, and I've aged several years? This is the toll it's taken on the cause of justice!
No—you don't know!
Want to take Rorschach away? Keep dreaming!
Not even for five hundred billion, let alone fifty!"
"Don't be so stingy, you brat Sengoku! Fine, I'll raise it again—one trillion Beli! How about that? One trillion! That's a massive amount! Think it over carefully."
"Think my ass!" Sengoku snapped, rejecting him without hesitation. "Why don't you pick another rear admiral? I can ask around and see who might be willing to marry into your family..."
"No! I want that kid, and only that kid!" Jonathan insisted stubbornly.
"That kid is a walking disaster! I don't even know what you see in him! Just tell me—I'll make him change whatever it is!"
Sengoku tried earnestly to persuade Jonathan:"If it really won't work, how about me instead? With an inheritance of several hundred billion Beli on the line, I'm seriously thinking about quitting this backbreaking job as Fleet Admiral and becoming your grandson-in-law."
"You wish! My granddaughter is young and beautiful—why would she marry an old geezer who's almost as ancient as I am?" Jonathan replied with a look of utter disdain.
"Well, then I really can't agree to it. Marriage is a serious matter, and I can't make that decision for someone else. You'll have to ask the boy himself," Sengoku said, raising both hands as if to say he was powerless.
"I looked into it—he's got no family left. As the head of the Marines, doesn't that make you his guardian or something? If you say the word, what can that brat—who's barely grown a single hair—possibly say against it?"
At those words, Sengoku chuckled darkly."Heh heh heh… Then you're very much mistaken. I'm not his guardian. You'll have to talk to Sakazuki."
"If he doesn't agree, fine! I'll just kidnap the kid and leave him in Queen Spring City as the next Guildmaster of the Bounty Hunter Guild!"
"You dare?! Jonathan! You old bastard! I'm warning you—don't you dare pull anything! Or I swear, I won't let this go!"
Realizing he wouldn't get through to Sengoku, Jonathan hung up the Den Den Mushi without hesitation.
Inside the office, Sengoku's face twitched uncontrollably, like he was having a seizure.
He had considered that Rorschach might face retaliation from Doflamingo after leaving Marineford.
He'd considered all kinds of dangers and challenges.
He'd even considered that Kaido might take an interest and send people after him.
But Sengoku had never—not even in his wildest dreams—imagined someone would call his Fleet Admiral office just to arrange a marriage for Rorschach!
And offering terrifyingly generous terms, no less—dowries in the hundreds of billions, even over a trillion Beli!
To be fair, Jonathan's attempt at poaching Rorschach had served as a real wake-up call.
That damned kid Rorschach was shockingly popular out there on the high seas!
"I finally find a promising talent, and you want to steal him away as your live-in grandson-in-law? You've got to be kidding me!"
Sengoku shot a vicious glare at the innocent-looking Den Den Mushi, now long since hung up, and began pondering how to bring this up to Rorschach.
That kid was full of youthful arrogance—hot-blooded and impulsive.
If he couldn't resist and got seduced by Jonathan's granddaughter into becoming some worthless Hunter Guildmaster... he'd lose both the man and the mission.
Suddenly, Sengoku's eyes lit up behind his round glasses.
"Wait! That brat's only fourteen! He's not even an adult yet. How can something like marriage and children be decided so early? No way. I've got to sit him down and talk this through. He's young—he needs to focus on his career. He must not fall for beauty too soon."
As he muttered to himself, Sengoku looked up at the wall ahead—and a vein bulged on his forehead.
With a dark expression, he quietly approached the door… and yanked it open in one swift motion.
In the corridor outside, Borsalino (Kizaru) and Kuzan (Aokiji) were eavesdropping, ears pressed against the wall.
"Clack."
As the door flew open, Kuzan vanished in a flash, reacting instantly.
That left Borsalino—too absorbed in Sengoku and Jonathan's dramatic conversation to notice anything—pouting like a sleazy old man, the back of his head facing Sengoku's now pitch-black face.
"Borsalino! What do you think you're doing?!"
Sengoku's roar nearly scared Borsalino out of his skin.
"You almost gave me a heart attack, Mr. Sengoku," Borsalino said, patting his chest in fake relief.
Sengoku glared at him and said testily:
"What? Were you tempted by what you heard? Inheriting several hundred billion Beli, plus a dowry worth more than a trillion? Borsalino, how about I introduce you instead? Just go marry into their family. You're always clipping your nails wherever you are—might as well earn some military funding while you're at it!"
(End of Chapter)
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