Sengoku pondered for a long time, his eyes flickering. He slowly stood up from the sofa, also preparing to make a quick getaway.
He had only taken two steps when Vice Admiral Tsuru shouted for him to stop, her voice filled with disdain.
"Stop right there, you old man! When you were fishing for that brat's thoughts earlier, you were shamelessly hanging around and refusing to leave. Now that things have reached this point, you want to slip away?"
"Three men, and not one of them has any sense of responsibility!"
Sengoku's cheek twitched. *I didn't expect that you, a great tactician, would actually start a conversation about a Junior's marriage like that!*
"Sigh, no wonder Garp hid in the East Blue after figuring out what you were thinking and hasn't come back yet!"
Sengoku sighed helplessly and muttered under his breath.
Vice Admiral Tsuru's brow arched. Thinking of Garp hiding in the East Blue, she snorted.
"Hmph, Taro being the way he is now is probably learned from that old man!"
"Lazy and undisciplined, running around everywhere, refusing promotion to Admiral—everything Garp has done, he's followed suit and learned it all!"
Sengoku was dumbfounded. He felt that Garp taking the blame even for this was simply a travesty of justice!
Women really are just as unreasonable no matter what age they reach!
His lips moved a couple of times, but in the end, his survival instinct made him lower his eyelids and choose to remain silent.
"Why aren't you speaking? I asked you here so you could use your brain to find a solution!"
Vice Admiral Tsuru glared at Sengoku resentfully. "Now you know how to play dumb?"
Sengoku shrank his neck, feeling extremely timid in the face of Vice Admiral Tsuru, who was acting like a lioness protecting her cub.
"Don't overthink it. Let the young people solve their own problems!"
"Look, your sudden interference this time even made Taro..."
Vice Admiral Tsuru's whole face darkened. She slammed the desk, leaned forward, and roared:
"I'm asking how to solve the problems Taro is facing in the Marine! Have you gone stupid from eating too much senbei, you old man? What nonsense are you talking about?"
Sengoku opened his mouth, looking at Vice Admiral Tsuru speechlessly.
The two had known each other for over 60 years, yet he had never seen this woman act like this!
He curled his lip, his brow twitching wildly.
"Grandma Tsuru, this is a classic case of concern leading to confusion. That kid is meticulous; his planning might even surpass yours and mine."
"I feel that what he wants to do requires no further words from us."
This answer clearly did not satisfy Vice Admiral Tsuru. She stared with wide eyes.
"In the end, you're also someone unwilling to take responsibility!"
Sengoku wanted to cry but had no tears. I only fished for some information; is it my turn to take responsibility?
After thinking for a while, he still felt somewhat amused.
"Grandma Tsuru, I think doing nothing is our greatest support for him!"
"You and Garp value him; who in the entire Marine doesn't know that?"
"Everyone is in the Marine together. Why are your subordinates rushing to align themselves with Taro?"
"Taro is a Junior, after all. With their seniority, they don't need to scramble to get close to him!"
Sengoku's words moved Vice Admiral Tsuru slightly.
His heart stirred, and he decided to change the subject.
"Compared to the World Government's vigilance towards Taro, I think we should think about how to respond to a piece of news I recently received!"
Vice Admiral Tsuru was stunned for a moment upon hearing this.
"What news?"
Sengoku pondered for a moment. "Blackbeard!"
"That bastard has recently gathered a bunch of pirate scum and seems to be planning something big!"
"Once Taro finds out about this news, given his hatred for Blackbeard, I'm afraid..."
Vice Admiral Tsuru's brow furrowed. She slowly sat back in her seat, rested her chin on her hand, and began to think calmly.
Sengoku leaned in next to Vice Admiral Tsuru, sitting in the spot where Taro had been earlier.
"This happened several days ago. According to the follow-up intelligence sent back over these few days, the Blackbeard Pirates seem to have set their sights on the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates!"
Vice Admiral Tsuru's brow tightened, and she said sternly:
"This news must never be known by Taro!"
"Right now, news of Ace being alive is spreading like wildfire in Marijoa, and the Celestial Dragons suspect that Taro didn't give his all back then!"
"If he gets involved in the conflict between Blackbeard and the Whitebeard remnants this time, regardless of his intentions, the Celestial Dragons will only believe that Taro is definitely connected to pirates!"
"This is absolutely unacceptable!"
Sengoku's lips twitched, his expression becoming strange. He thought to himself:
*Grandma Tsuru, have you forgotten?*
*Sakazuki and I are also suspects. You only mention Taro; isn't that too biased!*
Vice Admiral Tsuru noticed Sengoku's strange expression and arched an eyebrow.
"What? Did you think of something?"
Sengoku's mouth twitched, and he lowered his eyes.
"No, I just think your analysis is correct. I thought so too, which is why I haven't disclosed this news!"
Only then did Vice Admiral Tsuru nod in satisfaction, giving him an appreciative look.
"Finally, you've done something reliable!"
Enough already! You Old Lady!
Sengoku's chest rose and fell as he said in a deep voice:
"However, I feel that he'll find out about this sooner or later!"
Vice Admiral Tsuru regained her demeanor as a great tactician, her face calm.
"That's simple. Just have the bases in the New World stop sharing intelligence with Paradise!"
Sengoku thought about it and felt it wasn't very secure.
"I'm afraid that won't last long, will it? Taro isn't stupid. If the intelligence suddenly decreases, he'll definitely become suspicious!"
Vice Admiral Tsuru chuckled, not taking it to heart.
"We only need to delay it for a few days so he can't make it in time! With his personality, he might not even look at the intelligence once a month. It'll definitely be fine!"
Sengoku stole a glance at Vice Admiral Tsuru, still not feeling very optimistic.
*Grandma Tsuru, you don't know that he has a subordinate named Mike who, through Garp's connections, has acquaintances in every Marine branch.*
*Hiding it from Taro is easy, but hiding it from Mike is hard!*
He hesitated for a long time but ultimately did not speak!
"Creak~"
The sliding door of the office was pushed open!
Sengoku and Vice Admiral Tsuru looked up at the same time, their faces full of anger.
Can the vice chief of staff's office be barged into just like that?
They were about to scold the intruder when they saw Taro walk in with a smile so bright it was almost fawning.
"Ah, Grandma Tsuru, I've come to see you! Oh, Inspector General Sengoku, what a coincidence, you're here too!"
As if nothing had happened before, Taro walked straight in and held up the tea bags in his hand.
"Fish-Man Island specialty, Kelp Tea. You two should try some!"
Taro's actions left the two elders stunned.
Sengoku's cheek twitched as he stared at Taro for a moment, then he glanced at Vice Admiral Tsuru, barely suppressing a laugh.
Vice Admiral Tsuru was completely bewildered. She froze for a long time, her brow slightly furrowed.
"Taro, what are you doing?"
Taro placed the tea bags on the desk and smiled.
"Grandma Tsuru, I specifically came back to visit you!"
"By the way, I heard from Issho that you had something to discuss with me?"
How could Vice Admiral Tsuru not understand Taro's intentions by now? She lost her temper with this shameless brat.
Her eyes flickered a few times before she said softly,
"It's nothing, just haven't seen you for a while and missed you!"
Sengoku's shoulders shook a few times as he turned his face away!
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