Starting as a pirate, he rose to become the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society.

Chapter 178 Sengoku: Don't let my appearance fool you, I was once the father of a Celestial Dragon!

Marineford, Naval Headquarters.

The ceremony for the resignation of Fleet Admiral Sengoku was very low-key, with only a portion of the naval officers currently at headquarters participating. To the outside world, the news was simply published in the newspapers, and the navy did not make any further comment on the matter.

The World News also seemed to have received some instructions, and handled this event, which should have caused a huge sensation at sea, in a low-key manner, with almost no description or speculation.

Even so, the passing of this legendary naval figure still stirred up quite a few waves on the high seas.

The garden behind the Great Hall at the border of the residential and military areas of Marineford.

Bene, with a nearly burnt-out cigarette butt between his teeth, squatted on the grass, looking at a small wildflower growing towards the sun.

"Knowing full well that I would be sworn in as Grand Inspector after stepping down, you sneaked out before even watching the ceremony? How disrespectful!" The Warring States Marshal—no, the Grand Inspector—walked up behind Bane and said with a smile.

"Haha, if you ask me, the auditorium should be bigger. It's too stuffy here, and I can hardly breathe. I came out to get some fresh air," Bane laughed and stood up.

After a slight pause, he congratulated you, "Congratulations, Chief Inspector. Now you can finally relax."

It's clear that Sengoku is much more relaxed now; his whole demeanor is different, especially his hair. Last time at the meeting, he had a full head of thick black hair, but this time, the roots are already turning white, yet he doesn't seem to be trying to dye it. It's obvious that he's letting his white hair grow freely.

Gone was the serious air about him; Sengoku smiled and waved his hand, then looked at the small wildflower growing towards the sun and asked, "So, what brings you here specifically to discuss this meeting? If you want to talk about the new marshal, then don't bring it up. I've decided to no longer concern myself with such matters."

"Of course not. I can't be bothered with anything like 'Marshal.' Anyway, the results will be out soon." Bane shook his head, then looked at Sengoku and said, "I wanted to tell you that I'm preparing to go to Dressrosa to take down Donquixote Doflamingo."

Upon hearing this, Sengoku's previously relaxed expression stiffened instantly, and a look of surprise appeared in his eyes.

After a brief silence, Sengoku's expression darkened, and he said, "Do you know what you're saying?"

"Doesn't the Marshal want to see him die?" Bane said softly.

"If you must address me by my title, call me Grand Inspector. I am no longer a marshal," Sengoku corrected.

"Ah, sorry, Inspector General." Bane smiled slightly awkwardly and said, "I just got used to calling you that."

Sengoku didn't dwell on the issue of titles. He took a deep breath, walked to a bench, and sat down.

Before he could even speak, Bane casually tossed a bag of senbei into Sengoku's arms, saying, "I stole it from Mr. Garp."

Sengoku glanced at Bane with a wry smile, then tore open the packaging, took a bite, and said with a smug look, "You know what, even though it's all the same stuff, it tastes better when you steal it from Garp."

"Hahahaha." Bane laughed when he heard this, but didn't say anything more.

He stood to one side, biting the nearly burnt-out cigarette butt in his mouth, seemingly waiting for something.

A moment later, Sengoku swallowed the senbei in his mouth, then his expression darkened, becoming somewhat gloomy, and his tone became much more sinister as he said, "Of course, I dream of seeing Doflamingo die."

Despite the fact that Sengoku didn't show much emotion when facing Doflamingo during the meeting of the Seven Warlords of the Sea at Marineford on the eve of the Marineford War, this incident may have been a mishap.

But in reality, Sengoku deeply hated Doflamingo.

The reason is simple: Doflamingo killed his adopted son, causing him, an old man, to bury his young son. This is an irreconcilable enmity.

After the Minion Island incident, then-Admiral Sengoku had repeatedly tried to personally kill Doflamingo. However, Doflamingo was too cunning, and as the only Admiral at the time, Sengoku had many other commitments. Not long after, Doflamingo successfully rose to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, making it impossible for Sengoku to openly attack him anymore.

This hatred has continued to this day.

"It seems that Zephyr also mentioned some things from back then. I have a deep grudge against Doflamingo, but he is now one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Even I can't do anything about it," Sengoku said with a hint of helplessness.

As a naval officer, even a naval admiral, Sengoku was still unable to do many things as a "lackey" of the world's ruling government.

Before Bane could speak, Sengoku continued, "And it's not just for that reason. Doflamingo's identity is very special. I don't know if you're aware, but he was originally a Celestial Dragon living on Mary Geoise, and he has deep ties with the Donquixote Family, one of the twenty royal families. He also seems to possess some secrets from that place, so the World Government takes good care of him. Trying to take action against him would involve too many complications."

Are you still concerned about Doflamingo's original status as a Celestial Dragon?

Bane didn't believe this.

If you're so worried about that, why did you adopt Rosinante in the first place? Doflamingo is a Celestial Dragon, but he isn't?

As the most famous adoptive father on the high seas, Whitebeard only played house with some pirates. But you, you went and became the father of a Celestial Dragon. It's hard to imagine your state of mind at the time, Fleet Admiral Sengoku... no, Grand Inspector!

When Rosinandi called you "Dad," you were all smiles, weren't you?

I'm a meek and subservient nobody in Mary Geoise, but I'm treated like a father figure by the Celestial Dragons at Marine Headquarters, right?!

Even Bane suspected that every time Sengoku was mistreated in Mary Geoise, he would come back and find an excuse to pull out the Seven Wolves Belt from Rosinante.

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

Of course, Bane couldn't say these things to Sengoku's face. He rubbed his nose, threw his cigarette butt in the trash can, and then sat down next to Sengoku, saying, "Because that report had to be submitted to Mary Geoise, I didn't mention an important piece of information in it."

"What important news?" Sengoku asked Bann, somewhat puzzled.

Furthermore, you're no longer hiding your true intentions from me regarding Mary Geoise's double-dealing?

Has our relationship reached this point?

"Trafalgar Law, one of the so-called supernovas last year, secretly defected to our navy on Sabaody Archipelago and provided me with a lot of intelligence about Shiki. It was by using him as bait that I was able to locate Shiki and seize the opportunity to kill him," Bane said softly.

Upon hearing this name, Sengoku's expression became complicated.

After a long silence, he spoke again, saying, "I haven't seen that child."

His eyes seemed to hold a look of reminiscence, and his expression softened considerably. Bane didn't disturb him, listening quietly to Sengoku's story.

"However, I've heard this child's name from Rosinante more than once. At first, he said that the child looked a lot like Doflamingo when he was young. There was no life in his eyes, and his whole body was filled with a kind of ferocity that wanted to drag the whole world into the abyss." Sengoku told these stories in a low voice.

"I told him that even our navy couldn't cure platinum lead disease; it's incurable. He didn't believe me. He insisted on taking the child to visit famous doctors all over the world, even neglecting his original mission of infiltrating the Don Quixote family. At first, I was angry at his behavior, but later I felt gratified by his innocent kindness. Perhaps in the eyes of many of us, his behavior seems so foolish, but as a father, seeing my child's kindness and stubbornness, I am actually quite happy." Sengoku said this with a smile on his lips.

"After the Minion Island incident, I was in so much pain that I couldn't get out of it. In the end, I couldn't find that child. When I heard that name again, he had already raised the pirate flag in the North Blue. At that time, I was very disappointed. I felt that the child that Rosinante risked his life to save had ultimately failed to become the person he hoped to see. He became a pirate." Sengoku's expression calmed down again.

"So, I've been paying close attention to that kid's information, and I've even considered getting rid of him several times. But then I discovered that he wasn't like those vicious pirates, running rampant on the seas. Despite flying the pirate flag, he's repeatedly conducted free clinics on impoverished islands, spending time and energy treating ordinary people suffering from serious illnesses. It was from then on that I understood that Rosinante's sacrifice wasn't in vain. He succeeded; he pulled a child who should have fallen into the abyss back from the darkness. I believe in Rosinante, so since then, I haven't paid any more attention to that kid. I never expected to hear about him from you today," Sengoku said with a touch of emotion.

(End of this chapter)