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Chapter 42: Consensus
Bhatia Island. City Hall, Conference Room.
The rest of the people had already left the conference room, leaving only Darren, Flying Squirrel, Gion, Sengoku, and Borsolino seated.
This was an internal meeting of the North Blue Marine.
Darren lit a cigar, glanced at Borsolino with his toad sunglasses, turned to Sengoku, and smiled, "How is 2's crusade against Byrnndi Valdo going?"
Seeing the marine admiral with a grievous look, Darren felt a bit amused.
With two of the three Naval Headquarters admirals suspended, Zephyr dedicated to teaching, and Garp refusing promotion, almost all the minutiae and troubles fell solely on Sengoku.
Sengoku shook his head and replied, "Our mission was interrupted by an incident along the way."
He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and gazed seriously at everyone present. "I came here because of this incident," he declared, highlighting the gravity of the situation.
As they sensed the earnestness in Sengoku's tone, Gion and the others sat straighter, their expressions solemn.
After a brief pause, Sengoku explained, "One day ago, an event in North Blue stunned the World Government. The Celestial Dragon, Saint Celestial, was attacked en route back to the holy land of Mariejois from Bhatia Island... and was killed on the spot."
At these words, Darren's expression shifted dramatically, and he stood up abruptly. "What? How is this possible!?" he exclaimed.
Flying Squirrel wore a look of disbelief, equally shocked.
Gion and Kake were also taken aback. They glanced at Darren, and seeing his 'astonished' appearance, they were puzzled.
Sengoku, burdened by the incident, didn't notice the fleeting looks exchanged by the two but massaged his temples, troubled by a headache.
Only Borsolino appeared to catch onto something, the smile on his lips now carrying a hint of deeper implication.
"The attack on the Celestial Dragon has been kept secret, but I've received orders from the government to conduct a thorough investigation," Sengoku sighed. "Despite reviewing the surveillance from the official ship's den-den mushi video, no leads have been found."
"And yet, it can be inferred that the attackers were incredibly powerful... The World Government's guards couldn't even react before the official ship was sunk."
With that, Sengoku handed a document to Darren.
Darren perused it quickly and murmured, "To destroy the official ship instantly... Few in the Grand Line could achieve this, much less in a small place like North Blue."
He passed the documents to Flying Squirrel and the others, who read them with evident concern.
Flying Squirrel, having anticipated this, was nonetheless astounded. The intelligence details in the document and Sengoku's investigation closely matched Darren's analysis.
"Admiral Sengoku, have any suspects been identified?" asked Darren seriously. "Since this occurred in North Blue, I must accept some responsibility... I, along with the North Blue Marine, will cooperate with you unconditionally."
Pleased with Darren's proactive stance, Sengoku nodded and remarked, "Indeed, entrusting North Blue Marine to you was a wise decision."
"Still, even after investigating capable suspects, we've come up empty," Sengoku admitted. "My visit to Bhatia Island is part of a deeper investigation. After all, considering the sequence of events, Saint Shields set off from here to return to Mariejois."
"I see," Darren suddenly realized and nodded in agreement.
"You are in charge of guarding Shields Saint himself on Bhatia Island."
Sengoku tapped his fingers lightly on the conference table.
"Before Shields Saint sailed, did you notice any strange people or things he encountered on the island?"
As Sengoku finished speaking, he noticed that the expressions of Gion and Kake changed, seemingly hesitant to talk.
"To be honest, Sengoku," Darren spoke slowly, his expression complex, "Before Lord Shields Saint set sail, something indeed happened."
"Oh?" Sengoku raised his eyebrows. "What happened?"
Gion and Kake turned their heads and looked at Darren in astonishment.
The Rear Admiral Marine sighed.
"It was an unfortunate incident," he said, carefully explaining the situation with the father and daughter who sold flowers on Bhatia Island.
Boom!
The huge fist came down, and the conference table in front of Sengoku shattered.
"Damn it!"
He stood up abruptly, his fists clenched and trembling.
It was unclear who he was cursing with that word, "Damn it."
The image of a thin little girl being roughly dragged into a cabin, shivering and curled up in a dark corner, flashed through his mind.
Gion and the others looked at Sengoku's angry expression and didn't dare to speak.
After a while, Sengoku managed to calm his anger.
"This meeting is over; the old man is a bit tired," he said in a hoarse voice and turned to leave without another word.
Gion and the others quickly followed.
In the large conference room, only Darren and Borsolino remained.
They both wore a smirk.
"Borsolino," Darren said, breaking the silence with a laugh as he took out a gilt cigar and tossed it to Borsolino.
Borsolino caught it, smelled it, and smiled.
"Having not seen each other for a few years, you still know how to enjoy life, Darren."
Darren lit his cigar and shrugged.
"Being a Marine is hard enough; there's no need to be too hard on oneself, right?"
Borsolino looked at him intently and then grinned.
"You seem to be doing well in North Blue," he said, his tone implying more.
"Darren, this is just the beginning, isn't it?"
Darren replied with a calm smile, "Who knows? I don't like complications...well, that's a lesson I learned from you."
Borsolino scratched his head, looking troubled.
"Indeed, complications are always undesirable."
"But they always seem to find us," Darren added.
"Just leave me out of it," Borsolino stretched, stood up from his seat, and walked toward the door.
"Thanks for the cigar."
He waved to Darren without turning around.
Just as he was about to step outside, Borsolino paused, turned his head, and smiled at Darren.
"By the way, I always feel that the truth behind the Celestial Dragons attack isn't that complex."
"Oh? What's your opinion, Rear Admiral Borsolino?" Darren flicked his cigarette ash.
Borsolino's sunglasses reflected a peculiar glint.
"I think it's very likely that it was just an attack by Sea King creatures. After all, such a huge ship is quite conspicuous... It might have been an accident, don't you agree, Darren?"
Silence fell.
A deathly silence.
Borsolino stared at the Rear Admiral Darren, who was sitting there smoking, as if trying to read his face.
However, Darren simply replied lightly,
"I think so too, Rear Admiral Borsolino."
They looked at each other for a moment and then laughed simultaneously, like two cunning foxes.