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

Chapter 179 Vergo: I didn't have a choice before, but now I want to be a good person!

After finishing his recollection of Rosinante, Sengoku took another bite of senbei to compose himself before asking, "So, if I'm not mistaken, that kid used Shiki as leverage to make a deal with you?"

Sengoku understood that Trafalgar Law's hatred for Doflamingo might be even deeper than his own, so he immediately thought of this.

"It wasn't just Shiki; to be precise, he used everything he had as a bargaining chip, and in return, I had to avenge him by killing Doflamingo." After a slight pause, Bane said with a somewhat complicated look in his eyes, "In the first half of his life, his family was destroyed, and he lived in hatred for the world. In the second half of his life, his only salvation died because of him, so he lived in hatred for someone else. He was so young, but he was truly heartbreaking."

Upon hearing this, Sengoku, who had originally wanted to say something, suddenly didn't know how to start the conversation.

After a moment, a resolute glint seemed to flash in his eyes, and he said, "If you hadn't brought this up, I might have continued to bury my head in the sand like an ostrich, avoiding facing these issues. But since you've brought it up, how can I sit idly by? Go ahead and do what you're told about Doflamingo. Even if it causes trouble, I'll take full responsibility. Just say I secretly ordered you to do it!"

"Ah," Bane seemed somewhat surprised that Sengoku would say that, looking at Sengoku with a surprised expression, but quickly came to his senses and said, "No need for that. In fact, I already have a suitable reason to take action. If there is any concern, it is only that I am slightly concerned about his former Celestial Dragon status."

"Huh?" Sengoku was also taken aback, and asked in surprise, "What leverage do you have over Doflamingo?"

"More than just a handle! This is an outrageous crime!" Bane's expression turned serious. "What follows involves an extremely serious scandal within our navy. If it leaks out, it could severely damage our navy's image and cause a devastating blow to our reputation!"

"It's that serious!?" Sengoku's expression grew even more shocked, and he crushed the senbei in his hand. He asked in a deep voice, "What happened? What exactly happened?"

"Long before the Minnion Island incident, the Donquixote Family had already sent an undercover agent to infiltrate our navy. So many years have passed, and that person has risen to the top ranks of our navy, becoming one of the elite vice admirals and serving as the base commander of a certain base! Isn't this serious enough?" Bane looked at Sengoku with a serious expression.

Sengoku's first reaction was disbelief. He instinctively retorted, "Impossible. Perhaps there are such people among the lower ranks, but for any naval officer who can be granted the rank of Rear Admiral, we conduct a thorough investigation. For example, our naval intelligence department investigated you for a long time before finally confirming that you are harmless."

"No, how far have you investigated me?" Bane asked, very curious.

He was completely undetected in this world for the first twenty years of his life, how could anyone possibly investigate him?

"You were born in the Kingdom of Cecilia in the East Blue. Your family had been fishermen for generations. A shipwreck caused by a rainstorm meant that your parents never returned. You then spent more than ten years living on the streets. Later, by chance, you became a disciple of the Isshin Dojo in Shimotsuki Village in the East Blue. You studied there for many years before going to sea and becoming a not-so-great pirate hunter, until the Sachi incident happened." Sengoku recounted in detail.

Bane?

What is that?

How come I didn't know about these things?

Just as he was about to say something, Bane suddenly remembered that when he set off, his master Koushirou had said that everything had been arranged for him.

At the time, he thought it was a merchant ship or something that he would take when going out to sea. Now that he thinks about it, he's afraid that what his master said was not so simple.

Thinking again about the ambiguous relationship between Koushirou's master and the Revolutionary Army, and how he seemed to have real power, able to raise a massive amount of supplies and logistics in the East Blue to support Dragon's cause, Bane felt that he had guessed the truth.

"How about it? Aren't you shocked? You didn't expect us to investigate so thoroughly, right?" Sengoku asked with a smile, looking at the surprised Bane.

After regaining his senses, Bane nodded seriously and said, "Impressive, I didn't expect you to have investigated all of this so thoroughly."

"Not just you, but also Yixiao and the others, we've investigated them all and know them very well," Sengoku said with a hint of pride.

Then, he patted Bane on the shoulder and said, "You don't need to be surprised by this. You're one of us now, holding a high position in our navy. You can use this intelligence capability as well."

I'm afraid I'll get ripped off if I use it.

Did I not expect the Navy's background check to be so weak? It shouldn't be like this. It's supposed to be a top power on the high seas. No wonder Doflamingo was able to push Vergo to such a high position.

Fortunately, Bane really didn't have any real connection with the Revolutionary Army, otherwise he would have become the biggest spy within the Navy by now!

After scratching his head, Bane stopped dwelling on the matter, and Sengoku spoke up at the opportune moment: "So, I have serious doubts about what you're saying. A pirate who spent at least twenty years infiltrating our Navy, rising to the rank of Vice Admiral through his own efforts and merits, even being appointed as the base commander, and potentially rising to an even higher position—you're saying this person is an infiltrator from the Donquixote Family? I ask you, what's his motive? Is it the Donquixote Family's high salary? Or that Doflamingo is more powerful than our Marine Headquarters?"

"I find it hard to understand what you're saying," Bane said with a slightly embarrassed smile.

If he were Vergo, having already reached this position, his next thought wouldn't be about providing intelligence to the Donquixote Family. He'd be preoccupied with plotting how to kill Doflamingo, completely destroy the Donquixote Family, cover up his dark past, and become a respectable and righteous Vice Admiral!

What was that saying again?

I didn't have a choice before, but now I want to be a good person!

But there's nothing that can be done; the reality is that Vergo is utterly loyal to Doflamingo and would give his life for him at any time.

How do you explain this?

All I can say is that Doflamingo's domineering aura back then was so powerful that he completely subdued Vergo, both physically and mentally.

They would literally bow down in worship!

"So, who is this person you're talking about?" Sengoku asked, though he didn't quite believe it.

"Commander of G-5 Naval Base, Vice Admiral Vergo." Bane didn't keep anyone in suspense and gave the answer directly.

Upon hearing the name, Sengoku immediately said, "If you want to target Doflamingo, then target Doflamingo. Don't take your personal grudge here. All you did was have a small conflict with him at the meeting back then. Why are you slandering him like this? You're so petty! How can you accomplish great things or become a general like this?"

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

"Grand Inspector, how can you slander someone out of thin air? Haven't you considered that it's because I learned this information from Trafalgar Law in the Sabaody Archipelago that I harbored some hostility towards Lieutenant General Vergo, and that's why I behaved that way at that meeting?" Bane rolled his eyes at Sengoku and retorted.

"Huh? Now that you mention it, there's actually a point to it," Zhan Guo said, stroking his braided beard and pondering for a moment.

The Bane he remembered wasn't the kind of guy who would turn on someone over a small matter. Among all the vice admirals in the Navy Headquarters, he had never seen Bane cause such a scene with anyone. Why was he so out of control with Vergo, whom he had never met before?

"Did Trafalgar Law tell you this information?" Sengoku quickly grasped another key point and confirmed it again.

"That's right. Back when Rosinante infiltrated the Don Quixote family, Trafalgar Law also lived in the Don Quixote family for a period of time. You know that better than I do, don't you? It was then that he met Vergo. According to him, Vergo was the first high-ranking officer of the Don Quixote family's Red Heart Army. Not long after Trafalgar Law joined the Don Quixote family, Vergo mysteriously disappeared. Until the Minnion Island incident, Trafalgar Law sought help from the navy on the island and ended up finding Vergo, which ultimately led to that tragedy," Bane explained softly.

Sengoku's face grew increasingly grim as he listened to these words. After a long silence, he said in a deep voice, "You mean, Rosinante could have been rescued, but because of Vergo, he couldn't contact our Navy, which led to his identity being exposed and him being killed by Doflamingo!?"

"Yes," Bane nodded.

He could clearly feel that the aura of the Warring States beside him was extremely unstable, like a volcano that could erupt at any moment. Even the bench he was sitting on was trembling, and cracks were spreading from the wood.

"Why didn't you say so sooner?" Zhan Guoqiang suppressed his emotions and couldn't help but ask.

"Because it was inconvenient for you to do these things when you were a marshal, but now that you are the Grand Inspector, are you satisfied with this intelligence as a gift for your inauguration?" Bane said with a smile.

"Tomorrow, I will arrange the process. As the Grand Inspector, I will inspect the naval bases throughout the New World. We will go to G-5 together. If the situation is true, I will personally kill Vergo!" Sengoku said through gritted teeth.

He always thought that Rosinante's death was because of Doflamingo, but he never realized that there was an accomplice who played a key role in the matter. This person actually treated him like a fool and fooled him under his nose for twenty years. He was even personally promoted by him step by step to the position of vice admiral and then base commander!

One can only imagine how terrifying the anger and hatred in Sengoku's heart were at this moment!

(End of this chapter)