A week later, Cross returned to Marineford, escorting Captain Deltar Kuhl of Branch 139. He was accompanied by Lieutenant Hina, the Special Inspector.
That's right, Hina had just been transferred back to Marine Headquarters this year to work in the inspection department under Vice Admiral Tsuru. She was chosen as the Special Inspector to go to Branch 139 for the investigation.
It's important to note that when a Special Inspector is sent on a mission to another branch, they are usually given the highest inspection authority by Marine Headquarters. Their power, in some respects, is even higher than that of a branch commander of a G-numbered base—it's like being an Imperial Commissioner in ancient times.
Of course, the Vice Admiral-level commanders of G-numbered branches are like powerful regional governors. If they respect and give face to the official sent by Marine Headquarters, then you are a Special Inspector sent by Marine Headquarters. But if they don't give you face, you'll be stuck no matter what authority you have.
However, for a normal branch Captain, a Special Inspector sent by Marine Headquarters is quite a deterrent. After just two days of investigation, Captain Deltar Kuhl's crimes were all uncovered. There were dozens of charges, both big and small, including human trafficking, arms smuggling, colluding with pirates, corruption, and abuse of power.
In fact, after his crimes were exposed, Captain Deltar Kuhl wanted to turn on them, kill Hina, and defect from the Marines. But with Cross by Hina's side as an overwhelming force to suppress any disobedience, no one in the entire Branch 139 dared to resist. Even Captain Deltar Kuhl couldn't run away and was forced to be captured obediently.
"Is that so? Thank you both for your hard work!"
In the Admiral's office, Sengoku looked at Cross and Hina with a gentle tone. "Sit down and have some tea. And try some of the senbei Garp brought over." As he spoke, he moved a plate of rice crackers on his desk forward, gesturing for them to try some.
"Hahahaha, Sengoku, you eat yours. I have plenty over here. You two, come on over, I'll give you some!" Garp sat in a sofa chair, generously sharing a large bag of rice crackers with Cross and Hina, laughing heartily. "These are excellent senbei I brought from the East Blue. Have some!"
"Thank you, Vice Admiral Garp," Hina said, a little nervously.
"Thanks, Vice Admiral Garp," Cross didn't hesitate, grabbing a rice cracker and eating it without a second thought.
Pere pere pere... Pere pere pere...
Suddenly, a Den Den Mushi started ringing. Sengoku frowned slightly but still reached into his desk drawer and pulled out the ringing Den Den Mushi. He placed it on the desk and picked up the receiver.
"Okaki!"
"Arare!"
A voice came from the Den Den Mushi receiver, causing Sengoku's expression to change slightly as he said what seemed to be a code.
Okaki? Arare? Cross looked at the rice cracker in his hand, which was now one-third gone, and felt a sense of familiarity, but he couldn't remember what it was from.
"It's me, Rosinante!"
The next second, the person on the other end of the Den Den Mushi said his name. Cross's eyes widened, and he forced himself to maintain a calm expression, suppressing the shock roiling within him.
Holy crap! It's Rosinante! The person on the phone with Sengoku is Donquixote Doflamingo's younger brother, Donquixote Rosinante! The second Corazon of the Donquixote family, also known as Corazon, a Marine undercover agent in the Donquixote family!
"It's been a while since I've heard from you. I was worried!" Just then, Sengoku looked at the three people in the room and said in a deep voice, "Hey, Garp, take Cross and Hina outside for a bit!"
"Why are you yelling? I just gave you a senbei. The least you can do is offer us some tea!" Garp glared at Sengoku, sounding very dissatisfied.
"Admiral Sengoku, should I call you back later?" Rosinante asked from the other end of the Den Den Mushi.
"Get out, you idiot! I'm working! Get out!" Sengoku shouted at Garp, fuming with rage. He said, " Cross, Hina, can you please get Garp out of here for me? You can come back later!"
Cross and Hina exchanged a helpless look and stood up. They didn't actually pull Garp but simply said, "Vice Admiral Garp, Admiral Sengoku really has something important to do. Let's leave for now!"
Garp had a dissatisfied expression as he walked out, grumbling, "He thinks I'm in the way, that damn Sengoku!"
"Oh, Kuzan, come and have some senbei with us!" However, as soon as he opened the sliding door to the office, he saw Kuzan walking past.
"Hmm? Vice Admiral Garp, Cross, and Hina are here too!" Kuzan scratched his head, looking surprised to see the three of them.
Hina closed the sliding door behind her and said with a smile, "Admiral Sengoku has some business to attend to, so we came out to eat."
"They're top-quality senbei from the East Blue that I brought. They're very tasty!" Garp said to Kuzan, showing off his large bag of rice crackers.
"Perfect. Let's go to my office to eat. I have some excellent tea that is just as good as the Summit Black Tea Cross gave me. Let's try it together!" Kuzan smiled and cheerfully invited them.
"Hahahaha, let's go, let's go!" Garp seemed to know nothing about being polite and immediately pulled Kuzan towards his office.
So the three of them went to Kuzan's office with him. However, on the way, Cross walked at the very back, silent. His eyes were flickering as he replayed the scene in his mind.
If his guess was correct, the Paramecia-type Ope Ope no Mi, which could perform the 'Immortality Operation,' had appeared!
He vaguely remembered that in the original story, Rosinante's call was to report to Sengoku that Doflamingo had found out about the top-secret Ope Ope no Mi transaction the Marines were about to make and was planning to steal it. From Sengoku, he also learned the date and location of the Ope Ope no Mi transaction.
After that, Rosinante moved between the Marines, Diez Barrels, and the Donquixote Family, and at the cost of his life, he managed to steal the Ope Ope no Mi. He was the one who created the future captain of the Heart Pirates, one of the Worst Generation, the user of the Ope Ope no Mi, and the one known as the Surgeon of Death, Trafalgar D. Water Law!
Thinking of this, Cross thought of another person: the former Corazon of the Donquixote Pirates, the first Corazon—"Demon Bamboo" Vergo!
And at this time, Vergo should have already been an undercover agent in the Marines and was personally received by Sengoku due to his active and excellent performance, who approved his transfer from Marine Headquarters to Branch G-5.
The most important thing was that if Rosinante hadn't run into Vergo on Minion Island, he might have survived.
So, should he get involved? Or should he find a way to expose Vergo's identity?
However, the Ope Ope no Mi transaction was a top-secret Marine matter. Even among the top brass of Marine Headquarters, probably only a handful of people like Sengoku and Tsuru knew about it.
Even if he wanted to get involved, he could only passively wait to be assigned, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to explain how he knew about the Ope Ope no Mi.
The same went for Vergo's identity as a spy. He had no evidence, so no one would believe him. And he couldn't just attack Vergo because Vergo was extremely loyal to Doflamingo and would never betray him. If Vergo denied being a spy, then Cross would be the one in trouble.
Therefore, he absolutely couldn't be rash about this matter. He had to find a way to deal with it!
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