One Piece: Blue Scale Admiral

The call was disconnected.

Jonathan's smile froze.

After a good ten seconds, he smirked, revealing a ferocious expression, and nearly crushed the Den Den Mushi in his hand.

He took a few deep breaths to calm his impending outburst, and with trembling fingers, dialed the number again.

The Den Den Mushi faithfully dialed, ringing for several minutes until Jonathan's presbyopia was bloodshot and his forehead was covered in veins, before it was finally answered again.

"Who?"

As soon as Sengoku's voice rang out, he was sprayed in the face with spittle by a Den Den Mushi that had transformed into Jonathan's face.

"Warring States! You little bastard! How dare you hang up on me!"

Have you forgotten who taught you the Six Styles fifty-two years ago?

Have you forgotten who stood in front of you and kicked the pirate away when you were almost chopped off with your afro by that pirate with a bounty of 38 million Berries 51 years and 8 months ago?

"Have you forgotten who brought you food when you and Garp were punished by Sora to run a hundred laps around Marineford for writing love letters to Tsuru, fifty years, seven months, and sixteen days ago?! You heartless bastard!"

Marineford, Naval Headquarters, Admiral's office.

Aokiji, who was yawning, and Kizaru, who was trimming his nails, stared in astonishment at Sengoku, who was being sprayed with blood by Den Den Mushi.

"Oh my, I've heard something incredible." Aokiji's ears perked up quietly.

"That's terrifying. Who on earth dares to speak to the Fleet Admiral like that? By the way, Mr. Sengoku, did you and Vice Admiral Garp really send love letters to Vice Admiral Tsuru? Really?" Kizaru's eyes narrowed slightly, and a glint of gold flashed behind his sunglasses.

Sengoku's lips trembled a few times, then he suddenly looked at the two people sitting on the sofa and pointed to the office door.

Aokiji scratched his cheek. "We just arrived. Didn't Sengoku-san say he wanted to discuss the conflict between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Beasts Pirates in the New World...?"

"We'll talk later! Now, get out of here!" Sengoku's roar was like a thunderclap, making their eardrums buzz.

"But I still want to know if the love letter story is true. I'm really curious..."

Kizaru reluctantly got up and followed Aokiji.

Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine, causing Kizaru to instinctively shrink back.

"Borsalino, if you dare to go around spreading rumors, you'll be banned from cutting your nails for a year!"

"That's quite a severe punishment, Mr. Sengoku. Don't worry, I won't speak carelessly."

"Boom."

As the door closed, Sengoku took a deep breath, released his large hand from the Den Den Mushi, and looked at the old man simulated by the Den Den Mushi.

From that weathered old face, one can still vaguely see the spirited and vigorous appearance of the person in their youth.

"Major General Jonathan, didn't you dislike using Den Den Mushi? So many years have passed, I didn't expect you to still remember my Den Den Mushi number."

"Hmph, enough nonsense. You've really made something of yourself these days. You even dare to hang up on me like that. Back in the day..."

In the vast office, the voice coming from the Den Den Mushi gradually changed from high-pitched to low, and then to a sigh of deep emotion.

Two elderly people in their seventies and eighties, who had experienced the darkest era together, reminisced about those bittersweet years through a small Den Den Mushi (snail phone).

After a long while, Sengoku heard Jonathan's aged voice, tinged with a sense of desolation, coming from the other end of the Den Den Mushi.

"Alas, time is truly merciless, and the world changes in the blink of an eye. I'm already over eighty years old, and I don't know how many more years I have left. The doctor in Wangdu told me that I have heart disease, high blood pressure, and rheumatism. My health is getting worse year by year."

Jonathan sighed deeply, his voice choked with tears, his expression utterly desolate.

"My good-for-nothing son is the same. I originally thought he would inherit the guild that I worked so hard to build. But things didn't go as planned. He died while capturing pirates, and to this day I still don't know who killed him and his poor wife."

On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, the old man's choked voice came through, making Sengoku feel very uneasy.

He wanted to say something comforting, but when the words came to his lips, he didn't know how to begin.

As a naval admiral, he had seen far too many things like this.

"...Now I'm halfway into the coffin, and the only thing I can't let go of is my well-behaved and sensible granddaughter."

She was so beautiful, kind, well-behaved, and sensible.

My only wish before I die is to see her find a good husband and live a good life.

For this reason, I am even willing to let him inherit the guild that I have worked so hard to build.

That's a huge fortune, something I've accumulated over decades of hard work. Just the Pele alone is worth hundreds of billions.

As Zhan Guo listened, he suddenly raised an eyebrow, sensing that something was amiss.

"Xiao Zhan, it's like this, I want to discuss something with you..."

Chapter 257 Borsalino, why don't you just marry him?

"Could you please give your lowly brigadier general under your command to my Hunter's Guild?"

Don't worry, your Uncle Jonathan won't take your people for nothing.

"So, I'm willing to sponsor the Navy Headquarters with a budget of 10 billion Berries. What do you think?"

Inside the office, listening to the voice coming from the Den Den Mushi, a big question mark slowly appeared above Sengoku's head.

He figured it out.

So Jonathan had been chatting with me for ages.

It's time to reminisce about those glorious years.

They're playing the emotional card again.

So, in the end, they wanted to ask me for the person back.

That old guy is really cunning. Even I, the wise and brave Buddha Sengoku, almost got tricked by him.

Ok?

and many more……

Zhan Guo frowned.

A mere brigadier general?

What kind of brigadier general deserves a dowry of 10 billion pesos from Jonathan—no, military spending?

Seemingly not having heard Sengoku's reply, Jonathan on the other end of the Den Den Mushi spoke again.

"What? You think 10 billion Berry in military spending isn't enough?"

Okay! How about 20 billion?

You're guaranteed to make a profit; he's just a mere brigadier general. Two hundred billion Berries could arm an elite force of ten thousand.

Say something! Where are you?

"Five hundred billion! How about five hundred billion? I'll offer five hundred billion Berries! That's ten Whitebeard's worth of money!"

Zhan Guo pinched the bridge of his nose, his suspicion growing stronger.

He clicked his tongue, chuckled dryly, and tentatively asked, "Heh, Rear Admiral Jonathan, may I ask you something? Which lucky fellow in our Navy Headquarters has caught your eye, and is he worth such a high price?"

Jonathan was silent for a few seconds, then coughed and said, "He's just an ordinary brigadier general, nothing special. He's just a little handsome. You're guaranteed to make a profit, 50 billion..."

"The brigadier general you mentioned..." Sengoku gritted his teeth, forcing the voice out, "Is it Rorschach?"

"……Yes."

"No way!"

The Warring States period rejected it decisively.

"You frizzy-haired brat! Don't push your luck! I've already given you a lot of face; I only need a mere brigadier general like you. It's not like I need an admiral from your headquarters. I could throw 50 billion Berries at you and kill a whole bunch of brigadiers with it!"

Jonathan on the other end of the Den Den Mushi immediately became anxious.

Before his furious voice could even finish, Sengoku's even more furious voice, accompanied by spittle flying from his mouth, was transmitted via Den Den Mushi and sprayed all over Jonathan's head and face.

"Are you kidding me! Do you think 50 billion Berry is a lot?"

Do you know how much military funding I spent on logistics to train that brat Luo Xia?

Do you know what it means for someone to eat hundreds of sea monsters in a year?

Do you know how much it costs to repair Marine Fendoux every day, which adds up to a yearly expense?

Do you know how extravagant it is to have a lieutenant general or general as a sparring partner every day?

Do you know how hard it is for me, at my advanced age, to go out to sea to fish and catch sea monsters?

Do you know how much I've aged in just one year, suffering from neurasthenia and insomnia, and how much I've aged? What a heavy blow this is to the cause of justice.

No, you don't know.

Want to take Rorschach away? Dream on!

"Don't even mention 50 billion, not even 500 billion!"

"Don't push your luck, Sengoku kid! Here's what I'll do: I'll add a little more, 100 billion Berries, how about that? 100 billion, that's a lot of money, think it over carefully."

"What the hell am I going to think about it!" Sengoku refused without hesitation, holding the Den Den Mushi. "How about you get a different admiral? I can ask around and see if anyone's willing to be your live-in granddaughter's husband..."

"No way! I want that kid!" Jonathan insisted.

"That kid is a troublemaker. I don't know what you value in him. Just tell me, and I'll make him change, okay?"

Sengoku earnestly persuaded Jonathan: "If all else fails, what do you think of me? With inheritances of hundreds of billions, I'm even considering quitting this exhausting job as a naval admiral to become your grandson-in-law."

"You wish! My granddaughter is so young and beautiful, why would she marry an old man like you who's almost as old as me?" Jonathan said with a look of disgust.

"Then I can't agree to it either. How can I, an outsider, make decisions about such a major event as marriage? You have to ask that kid for his own opinion." Zhan Guo spread his hands, indicating his helplessness.

"I've investigated thoroughly. That kid has no family. As the naval commander, aren't you essentially his responsible parent, his guardian? Say something, and what can a mere kid like him say?"

Upon hearing this, Sengoku chuckled: "Hehehe, you're really mistaken. I'm not his parent. You'll have to go find Sakazuki."

"If you disagree, fine! I'll just tie him up and leave him in Spring Queen City to serve as the next head of the Bounty Hunters Guild."

"You dare! Jonathan! You old bastard, I'm warning you, don't mess around, or I'll never forgive you!"

Seeing that he couldn't persuade Sengoku no matter what, Jonathan simply hung up the Den Den Mushi.

In the office, Zhan Guo's lips twitched violently, as if he were having an epileptic seizure.