Taro stood there in shock, his expression shifting several times.
That shrewd Old Lady—what did she mean by suddenly bringing up the old matter of playing matchmaker between him and Hina?
Combined with what Garp had said about Vice Admiral Tsuru looking for him...
He finally realized that this pair of old-timers must have planned this long ago!
So, why ask Fujitora to deliver the message?
Taro pondered for a while before raising his head again with a serious expression.
"Issho, did Vice Admiral Tsuru say anything else?"
Taro's reaction caused the smile on Issho's face to fade slightly, and he shook his head.
"No more!"
"However, Taro, this is a great thing. You don't seem happy?"
The blind man's tone held a hint of something inexplicable, making Taro frown as suspicion grew in his heart.
It was too strange!
Even if Fujitora was an Admiral, he was still a newcomer after all. It was very wrong for Vice Admiral Tsuru to choose him to deliver the message!
The Old Lady clearly wanted to pull Fujitora, an "outsider," into this scheme... There was definitely a problem!
Taro didn't believe for a second that the Old Lady's unconventional move was without deeper meaning.
At the same time, he wasn't sure how much Fujitora actually knew!
His face stiffened for a moment before he squeezed out a smile.
"No, I was just too surprised just now!"
Then, he asked seemingly casually.
"Issho, you seem to have a good relationship with Vice Admiral Tsuru? She seems to trust you a lot!"
Fujitora nodded candidly. "Vice Admiral Tsuru is very approachable. She naturally treats a newcomer like me well!"
"Besides, she has always liked to mentor newcomers. You should have experienced that yourself by now!"
Dammit! Old fox!
Taro could easily tell Fujitora was being perfunctory. He curled his lip.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru is at Marineford, right? I haven't seen her for a while; I'm thinking of heading back to visit her in a bit!"
Fujitora seemed to have anticipated Taro's reaction, the corners of his mouth turning up.
"Of course, she is also waiting for you!"
Taro's heart skipped a beat. As expected, this was the Old Lady's design; she had predicted his possible reactions perfectly!
None of these old fellows are easy to deal with!
Fujitora tilted his head, a beaming smile on his face, his eyes crinkling.
"Taro, are you criticizing Vice Admiral Tsuru in your heart?"
Taro glared at him in annoyance before putting on a smiling face.
"No, I'm just criticizing you, Issho!"
Fujitora was taken aback for a moment before laughing loudly.
"Taro, you really are a very interesting young man!"
Taro's mouth twitched, and he waved his hand speechlessly.
"Is there anything else? If not, I'll be going now!"
Fujitora nodded slightly. "Suit yourself, don't mind me!"
Taro was stunned. "You're not going back to Marineford?"
Fujitora lifted his cane sword with one hand and fished out a Dice from his robe with the other, rubbing it a few times.
"It's been a while since I've been to Sabaody Archipelago. I'm going to meet an 'old friend'!"
Crap! Sooner or later, I'll shut down all those casinos in the Lawless Zone!
"Then take your time. Goodbye!"
Taro rubbed his face and turned into an alleyway.
A moment later, a figure leaped out, soaring straight into the high sky and quickly turning into a small black dot.
Fujitora looked up at the sky, sensing the emotions of the civilians around him, and smiled with relief!
After Taro broke through the clouds, he turned east toward Marineford.
It should be fine to sift through the trash left under Enies Lobby later; it was better to solve the urgent matter first!
After all, the 'Sea King\'s' dream seemed about to be terminated!
...Holy Land Mary Geoise, Marine Garrison Base.
In a spacious and bright meeting room, several Marine heavyweights sat around a massive conference table.
Fleet Admiral Akainu had a cigar in his mouth, his head tilted back as he stared blankly at the high circular dome of the meeting room.
"Tokikake" Kake sat slightly hunched, his arms propped on the edge of the table, lost in thought.
A few seats away, a chair had been replaced with a lounge chair.
A handsome middle-aged man with very distinctive, spiky hair leaned back on the lounge chair, his mouth slightly open, revealing a row of white teeth.
His stature was enormous, nearly twice as tall as Akainu!
"Momousagi" Gion did not take a seat; she stood on the other side of the conference table.
Her gaze scanned the three men opposite her for a long time before finally landing on Akainu.
"Sakazuki, what are your thoughts right now?"
She asked very broadly, without much context.
Kake thought for a moment, propped himself up, and straightened his body.
"Yeah, Boss Sakazuki, what Gion asked is also what I want to know. The relationship between the Marine and the higher-ups is so strained right now; isn't that a bit bad?"
Akainu retracted his gaze, first glancing at the two Admiral Candidates, then at the handsome man beside him, and snorted.
"So what if it's strained? Aren't they still begging me to send an Admiral to clean up their mess?"
"Rahahaha, Mr. Sakazuki, are you really going to send me?"
The handsome man reclining on the chair looked up and let out a hearty laugh.
"Precisely because I'm afraid of trouble, I haven't even bothered to eat for the past year! You've really arranged a 'great' job for me! Rahahaha!"
Akainu looked at the newly appointed Marine Admiral Aramaki, his expression remaining serious.
"If you don't do something, those guys won't be satisfied if you just keep idling in Marijoa!"
Aramaki looked like a paraplegic; only his mouth was moving.
He laughed loudly again.
"Rahahaha, I'm quite reluctant to leave this 'wonderful' place with so many beautiful Young Misses!"
"Since that's the case, I'll go then!"
"If I had known joining the Marine was this much trouble, I would have rather..."
Akainu let out a nasal snort.
"I heard that you've 'eaten' that kind of energy before and remember its taste. This time, I don't care if you capture the Wanluos Group, and I won't demand any specific results!"
He paused, his tone becoming more solemn.
"However, I want to know if the energy of that group is the same as the one you 'ate'!"
"That is your only goal for this trip!"
Akainu's words stunned the three people present. Aramaki was the first to react.
"Of course, I am also quite curious about that energy that didn't taste very good! Rahahaha!"
Upon hearing this, Gion's eyes flickered imperceptibly between Akainu and Aramaki before she quickly lowered her gaze to hide the shock and suspicion in her heart.
Her movement was very subtle, but it was still noticed by Kake opposite her.
This fellow's heart was entirely set on Gion, having failed his confessions 89 times so far.
Recently, he had started taking lessons from Aramaki, who had a "profound understanding" of young ladies, and had benefited greatly!
The first step was to "pay attention" to every move of the girl he liked, looking for opportunities to forward, comment, and like!
"Ah, Gion, your expression just now must mean you have a more unique understanding of Boss Sakazuki's decision!"
Gion's heart tightened, and a flash of annoyance crossed her eyes.
"No, I don't! I'm just surprised by some people's stupidity!"
Gion said through gritted teeth.
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