"The Fleet Admiral and I will remain at headquarters. Tsuru and Garp will lead the operation. You'll accompany them to the East Blue—to Loguetown, for Roger's execution." Admiral Sengoku's tone carried a rare lightness.
And he had every reason to be pleased. Not only was the Pirate King Roger about to be publicly executed by the Navy, but Shiki had also been captured. From the Marines' perspective, things couldn't be better. If stocks existed in this era, the market would have been soaring.
"I see. Understood." Ortoren nodded, then asked, "When do we depart?"
The Chief Staff Officer, seated on the sofa, lifted her teacup and took a sip before answering. "At noon. Everything's already arranged. Just bring your luggage and board the ship."
"No problem." Ortoren agreed at once.
Seeing there was nothing else for him to do here, and with Sengoku and Tsuru sitting together drinking tea—nurturing their relationship, perhaps—he figured he didn't need to play the third wheel. What if they suddenly decided to get affectionate?
"So, if there's nothing else, I'll just—"
Before he could finish, a knock came at the door. Sengoku responded, and a figure stepped inside. The man was ridiculously tall, even taller than Ortoren by a good margin, standing well over four meters.
That height alone told Ortoren who it was: the tallest of all the normal humans in the Marines, Sengoku's adopted son, the Celestial Dragon of Mary Geoise's Yellow Banner—Donquixote Rosinante.
Ortoren had seen Rosinante a few times before. The first time had shocked him completely. He had always pictured Rosinante as somewhat frail and had never paid much attention to his height, assuming he was about the same as Doflamingo—just over three meters, the standard height for an admiral.
But when he actually saw him in person, Ortoren nearly jumped out of his skin. That height was in a league of its own, even among Marines. Later he learned that Rosinante claimed to be 4.35 meters tall—outrageous! Doflamingo should be his little brother instead!
Yet despite that height, Rosinante's frame was slim, almost lanky, like a tall stalk of bamboo. His gentle and kind personality only added to his softer, weaker impression.
When he entered and saw Ortoren, Rosinante gave a shy smile. It was clear he was introverted, the socially anxious type.
"Good morning, Vice Admiral Benn," Rosinante greeted.
"I told you, no need to be so formal. Just call me Ortoren, Rosinante," Ortoren replied with a smile.
Ortoren often thought that Sengoku and Rosinante were both a little too rigid in their sense of integrity. Rosinante, for instance—being Sengoku's adopted son gave him considerable status in the Marines.
He had even joined the Navy about a year earlier than Ortoren. And yet, up to now, Rosinante was only a Lieutenant Commander at Marine Headquarters. Even by the time he died on Minion Island, he had only reached the rank of Commander.
That rank was common enough in Marineford—you could find officers like that stationed right at the gates of the Fortress of Justice, where the guards wore Captain's epaulettes.
It showed clearly that Rosinante had never relied on Sengoku's name, but advanced solely by his own efforts.
In fact, very few within the Navy even knew of his true identity. Only those close to Sengoku were aware he was the Admiral's adopted son. In daily life, whether out of caution or simply because of his reserved nature, Rosinante kept his distance from those circles.
Hearing Ortoren's words, Rosinante hesitated, a touch of embarrassment on his face, before softly saying, "Ortoren..."
That was as good as agreeing—not calling him Vice Admiral Benn anymore.
Meanwhile, Sengoku brightened at the sight of Rosinante and waved him over. "You're here! Zephyr-sensei mentioned you've graduated from his program? You're set to be commissioned as a Commodore, right? That's no small feat..."
Normally, graduates of Zephyr-sensei's program were promoted straight to Commodore, while those who entered as Commodores graduated as Rear Admirals, like Momonga.
Rosinante quickly shook his head. "No, no. I did graduate, but only by completing the academic credits. My combat training was a complete failure. So I declined the promotion to Commodore. I'm fine as I am now."
"What?" Sengoku froze for a moment, taken aback. But seeing the guilty look on Rosinante's face, he opened his mouth, then thought better of it. In the end, he only shook his head with a helpless smile. "You take things too seriously. Even finishing the academic coursework is an achievement. Not all our officers are fighters. Intelligence, Criminal Investigation, the Science Division, Logistics, Public Affairs—plenty of departments have non-frontline commanders."
Still, Rosinante shook his head. "I'm far behind them."
Listening from the side, Ortoren couldn't help but feel conflicted. He wasn't sure whether to call Rosinante stubborn or admirably straightforward.
In truth, such behavior was a liability in the workplace. But with his strong background and introverted, socially awkward personality, Rosinante seemed blissfully unaware.
After all, the promotion system had always been there. Graduating from Zephyr-sensei meant advancement, no matter what kind of credits you had—as long as you completed the requirements, you rose in rank. But Rosinante, deciding that only his academic work counted, refused the promotion. How would that make future graduates who also only completed their academic coursework feel when it came time for them to accept a higher rank?
Wouldn't that just earn resentment?
Still, Ortoren didn't bother explaining these workplace subtleties to Rosinante. There was no need. Even Admiral Sengoku hadn't pressed the matter. As a seasoned veteran, how could Sengoku not understand such things?
If the man's own father figure didn't mind, why should Ortoren?
Thinking about it, it made sense. If his own father were an admiral, he wouldn't care either.
Rosinante didn't dwell on the subject. Instead, he turned toward Chief Staff Officer Tsuru and asked, "Chief Staff Officer, I'd like to transfer to the Intelligence Division. Would that be possible?"
Tsuru didn't answer immediately. She first glanced at Sengoku.
Sengoku gave a small nod, showing no intention of interfering in Rosinante's choice.
Seeing this, Tsuru finally replied, "Of course. Once you return, submit your application. I'll see that it's approved."
Rosinante's face brightened with joy. "Then I'll be counting on you, Chief Staff Officer."
"But let me ask you this—why the Intelligence Division? Did you find the Public Relations Division too dull?" Tsuru asked with curiosity.
Indeed, Rosinante had been working in the Marines' Public Relations Division, just an ordinary staff officer with little presence.
In truth, the Public Relations Division didn't wield much real power. When it came to major propaganda or information control, Mary Geoise handled it directly. The Marines' role was mostly limited to maintaining their image and publicizing the deeds of heroes or commanders.
"It's not that. The atmosphere in Public Relations is actually quite nice," Rosinante said, shaking his head. His expression grew heavier. "I've just noticed that over the past two years, the Donquixote family has been growing stronger and stronger. It worries me, so I want to move into Intelligence to keep a closer watch on them."
"Doflamingo, huh?" Tsuru raised a hand to her temple, rubbing lightly. "That one certainly causes trouble, but because of his status, as long as he doesn't go too far, we can't touch him..."
Mary Geoise itself had already given instructions regarding Donquixote Doflamingo, and Tsuru had been the one primarily responsible for dealing with him. She had crossed paths with him many times.
In the original tale, back on Minion Island, Doflamingo had practically groaned just hearing Tsuru's name—a sign that she'd left him with quite the psychological scar.
Ortoren figured Tsuru must have used all sorts of cunning methods to rein him in, to force him to behave. But clearly, the results weren't great.
Listening for a bit, Ortoren could tell they intended to keep talking. Since he had little interest in the matter, he excused himself and quickly left Admiral Sengoku's office.