When Taro returned to his room, George was already waiting at the door.
"Have you been waiting long?"
George gave a salute, "I just arrived not long ago!"
As he spoke, he handed over a stack of documents, "Vice Admiral, here is the information on Wapol that you requested!"
Taro took them and flipped through a few pages before opening the door.
"Come in and talk!"
After entering, Taro sat directly at the desk.
"Get yourself something to drink, sit for a while, I have some things to instruct you on later!"
George saluted again, fetched two cups of drinks, and placed one by Taro's hand.
Taro's throat had been a bit dry earlier, so he picked it up and took a sip, looking a bit surprised.
"Apple juice?"
George's face had a rare look of flattery.
"It is indeed apple juice, Vice Admiral! It's squeezed from the famous Krupp Apples of the East Blue!"
Taro looked at George's sycophantic expression, feeling quite unaccustomed to it.
Crap, what's with my subordinates all acting like bootlickers?
He frowned.
"George, I still think your previous meticulous manner was more likable!"
"Go back to how you were!"
Hearing this, George immediately stood up from his seat, gave a military salute, and said solemnly, "As you command, Vice Admiral!"
Taro rubbed his brow with a slight headache; that didn't seem very likable either!
He gestured for him to sit down.
"Forget it, do as you please! Sit!"
George sat back down and let out a sigh of relief.
Previously, Taro's wine cabinet only had sherry wine, but the Materials Taro left for George last time had the scent of apple juice on them.
That's why George took the initiative to stock some apple juice in Taro's wine cabinet.
Now it seemed that Vice Admiral Taro really did like it!
Taro had no idea what George was thinking; he lowered his head to look through the documents.
Most of the information on Wapol was about his chaotic and reckless behavior during his time as king, with very little useful information.
After being defeated by Luffy, Wapol was once so destitute that he lived by eating trash.
It wasn't until the toys made with "Wapolmetal" became very popular that his situation began to improve.
Later, Taro mentioned Wapol to Vegapunk, and the World Government subsequently sought him out for cooperation, which could be considered a complete turnaround.
The latest news was that Wapol recently married the Miss Universe, Kinderella.
Taro also knew that before long, this guy would establish the Black Drum Kingdom, become its king, and join the World Government.
Reaching the Peak of his life once again!
But, what connection could there be between Wapol and Blackbeard?
Taro looked through it several times but had no clue.
When he looked up again, he noticed George's gaze lingering on a few photos he had just set aside.
"George, is there something wrong with these photos?"
Taro couldn't help but feel curious.
Although his subordinates loved to backstab him, they always seemed to display extraordinary abilities in non-Marine fields.
"Um... Vice Admiral, don't you think the metal dog in the third photo looks a bit like the stray dog in the first two photos?"
George hesitated before speaking.
Taro was stunned for a moment, then picked up the photos to compare them carefully.
In the first two photos, when Wapol was eating trash, there was a white stray dog beside him, even urinating on him.
The third one was a photo of Wapol and Kinderella's wedding, which featured a metal toy dog.
Taro pondered for a moment, "You mean they are the same dog?"
George thought about it and nodded, "Although it seems impossible, that is indeed what I think!"
No, it is possible!
If the dog in the photos is the same one, then assuming boldly, while Wapol was eating other trash, he also ate that stray dog.
Then, through the Nuke Nuke no Mi ability, he created the metal dog in the third photo.
The hint Vegapunk gave him about Blackbeard was also Wapolmetal!
Was this implying that Blackbeard's physical abnormality was caused by the "Nuke Nuke no Mi" ability?
Taro remembered in the original plot, before Luffy defeated Wapol, Wapol had indeed eaten two subordinates to create a crude "double" body.
"Who was the previous user of the Nuke Nuke no Mi?" After a long time, Taro suddenly asked.
George was startled and stood up abruptly.
"Sit down and talk!" Taro waved his hand.
"Vice Admiral, there is no record of that! I'm sorry, I don't know!" George replied.
Taro hadn't expected much anyway and nodded, "It's nothing, no need to apologize!"
"Has anything happened recently? On the island, in the world—any information you think is valuable!"
George thought for a bit longer this time, "Everything on the island is normal, except for Vice Admiral Sentomaru..."
"I know about Sentomaru!" Taro waved his hand, "What else?"
"Marineford is asking about the handover of Spandam..."
"Just a small fry. Send someone to take him to Impel Down and hand him over to Warden Mag... oh, the current Warden is Hannybal, right? Hand him over to Hannybal and tell him to 'entertain' Spandam well for me!"
Taro's pronunciation of the word "entertain" was very strange, and George naturally understood.
"I understand!"
"Good, as long as you understand!" Taro smiled, "Continue."
"Also, the'Supernova' Eustass Kid is said to have had a conflict with the Red Hair Pirates!"
"Oh? When did this happen?"
"The news came in today. The exact time it happened is uncertain; the Marine intelligence ships lost track of them!"
Taro frowned at the news. This conflict must be the event where Kid's arm was cut off!
But where did the Red Hair Pirates go after suddenly disappearing?
Taro pondered for a long time, then gathered the documents on the table.
"George, I'm returning to the East Blue immediately. You and Mike handle the island's affairs yourselves!"
"Yes!" George responded, "Vice Admiral, what about Fish-Man Island..."
Taro raised an eyebrow, "Fish-Man Island is managed by the Ryugu Royal Family. Unless necessary, the Marines should not station troops there. Just maintain contact!"
He thought for a moment and added,
"I understand your concerns. It's alright!"
"In ordinary situations, Fish-Man Island can handle things itself. If they can't, sending troops won't help anyway. Let's leave it at that!"
"Let's not talk about that. How is the island's resident ID card application work going..."
Just as Taro was about to ask about the resident registration, he suddenly noticed a Negative Hollow peeking through the wall and immediately stopped talking.
"George, let's stop here for today. Go and attend to your business!"
George didn't expect Taro to dismiss him so abruptly and was stunned for a moment.
"Vice Admiral..."
Taro waved his hand, "Go on!"
"Yes!" George complied and left, full of confusion.
After George left, Taro opened the balcony's sliding door.
With a crisp "clack,"
Hawkeye Mihawk landed on the balcony. Beside him, Ghost Princess Perona held a small umbrella, her expression somewhat anxious.
"Come in first, let's sit and talk!"
Taro called out, went to the wine cabinet to get some wine and juice, and poured them drinks.
"Taro, where is Lord Moria now?"
Perona floated in front of Taro and asked urgently.
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