Chapter 174: The Transformation of the Warring States Period
Chapter 174: The Transformation of the Warring States Period
Especially when the Five Elders know what Borsalino has done, it would be good enough if they don't fight him to death. If they want to reconcile, they will probably have to let Garp give each of them a physical amnesia punch.
"...Lieutenant Colonel Nami, Major Reiju, please step out for a moment."
Sengoku's eyelids twitched slightly, and he suddenly had a bad premonition, so he turned around and spoke to Nami and Reiju.
Nami and Reiju looked at Borsalino, and after receiving a signal from his eyes, they obediently walked out of the office.
As the office door closed, Zhan Guo's attention returned to Borsalino.
"Tell me, what did you do?"
Zhan Guo spoke in a very heavy voice, saying that from the moment Borsalino became the admiral of the navy, it was destined that everything he did would be closely related to the navy.
Whatever Borsalino did would be regarded by the Five Elders as the Navy's intention.
"Well, I didn't do much..."
Looking at the sad expression of Sengoku, Borsalino felt a little embarrassed now.
When he took over the position of naval marshal from Sengoku, he received Sengoku's full support.
Otherwise, even if Borsalino's position was impeccable, it would not be easy for him to completely take over the power of the navy.
You have to know that after Sengoku became the Navy Admiral, it took him several years to gradually conquer or replace the subordinates left by Cyborg Sora and even the earlier Admiral with his own people.
As a result, less than a few months after Borsalino came to power, he gave the Warring States a huge "surprise".
If there is a pill of regret in this world, the person who would want it the most, besides the Five Elders, would be the current Grand Inspector of the Warring States Period.
With this apologetic attitude, Borsalino told about the things he had done, picking out some of the less excessive ones.
For example, deliberately preventing the transmission of information related to the Cosmic Dark Matter Pirates, suppressing the abnormal pirate movements reported by various naval branches in the New World, etc.
As for the fact that he condoned Morgans' use of the Newsbird to promote the Universe Dark Matter Pirates, sold a lot of obsolete arms and weapons to pirates through underground channels, and transferred Sakaski who was supposed to go to the New World, there was no need to explain it too clearly.
Although Borsalino had repeatedly underestimated the psychological endurance of the Warring States Inspector, he did not even reveal the most crucial or terrifying truth that Boros was actually one of his own.
However, these shocking inside stories still made the aging Zhan Guo feel a little depressed.
Originally, Sengoku thought that Borsalino was just taking advantage of the situation to trick the World Government, but now it seems that the depth of his involvement far exceeds his imagination. In a sense, it is not an exaggeration to say that Borsalino intends to overthrow the World Government!
"What about the CP organization? Why didn't any of the CP agents report the news?!"
Zhan Guo rubbed his forehead, feeling that his nerves, which had been relaxed since he stepped down as Admiral of the Navy, were now tense again.
Even on the eve of planning the Battle of Marineford, he had never felt such a headache.
Originally, Sengoku was very confident that he could keep Borsalino. After all, the navy is irreplaceable to the World Government, and the importance of Borsalino, the navy marshal, to the navy is self-evident.
But now Zhan Guo is not so sure anymore. He can only say that when it comes to courting death, Borsalino’s talent is maxed out.
In comparison, Garp, who had often contradicted the Five Elders, has become a good boy. After all, Garp did not collude with Dragon to overthrow the World Government.
"On the CP side, Stussy helped a little..."
Borsalino smiled awkwardly. He had just promised Zhan Guo not long ago that he would gradually draw a line between himself and Stussi.
As a result, Stusi is now willing to stand on Borsalino's side on such an important matter. Anyone who is not a fool can see that their relationship is definitely closer than anyone imagined.
"That woman has the ability to control all CP agents in the New World?"
Zhan Guo was somewhat skeptical. From CP1 to CP9, the CP organization had at least several thousand agents in the New World, forming an extremely large intelligence network.
Even if Stussy is CP0, there is no reason for him to control such a huge intelligence network, not to mention deceiving the eyes and ears of the Five Elders.
If all this was true, then Zhan Guo had to admit that he had underestimated Stussy's ability.
"Well, only Stussy is still a little bit behind, but Marshal Kong helped a little..."
Realizing that he would not be able to conceal the truth if Zhan Guo continued to question him, Borsalino simply gave up and revealed another accomplice.
Strictly speaking, Marshal Kong was not actually an accomplice. After all, he didn't know at the beginning that Borsalino would make such a big deal out of it. He was only dragged into this by Borsalino for the sake of pure gold.
By the time Marshal Kong realized that something was wrong based on his years of experience, it was already too late to reverse the situation.
So he had no choice but to stick to one path and hope that the big bomb planted by Borsalino would not explode too early.
"Wait! Who are you talking about?!"
The stunned Zhan Guo asked in disbelief. For a moment he even doubted whether he was dreaming, and it was a terrible nightmare!
It is undeniable that when Sengoku was promoted to the rank of Admiral of the Navy, in a sense he did so by stepping on Admiral Sora who abdicated in an ignominious manner.
But this does not mean that Sengoku has no respect for Marshal Kong. After becoming the Navy Marshal, Steel Bone Kong, who came from a top army family, did not suppress the Navy's local faction just because of his army background.
Including Borsalino, most of the current senior naval officers rose to prominence while serving as Air Marshal.
If it weren't for the shameful act of being the first defeated naval marshal, with Marshal Kong's prestige at the time, he would have been fully qualified to continue serving as the naval marshal for another ten or twenty years.
That is why, after hearing that even Marshal Kong was involved, Zhan Guo was completely numb.
Cyborg Sora, the most trusted member of the Five Elders, unexpectedly chooses to join Borsalino in the action of overthrowing the World Government.
This was beyond description, and Zhan Guo felt that his three views had been severely challenged.
"Marshal Kong, the commander-in-chief of the three armies, Steel Bone Kong! That's right, he is involved too!"
Borsalino apologized to old man Kong insincerely in his heart. It was too difficult to convince Grand Inspector Sengoku in a normal way. Borsalino had no choice but to borrow the name of Cyborg Kong.
Anyway, what Borsalino said was not a lie. If Marshal Kong hadn't helped to cover it up, even if Borsalino and Stussi joined forces, they would not have been able to conceal the information until now.
"...I can understand why you and Stussy do this, but why does Sora...Cyborg Sora do this? He is the most loyal to the Five Elders!"
Sengoku still found it hard to accept the reality, even though his mind kept telling him that what Borsalino said was most likely true. Without the assistance of Cyborg Sora, it would be impossible for Borsalino and Stussy to achieve this.
But over the years, the loyalty that Cyborg Sora has shown to the Five Elders cannot be fake!
"Maybe it's old man Kong... Ahem! Marshal Kong is also dissatisfied with what the World Government and the Celestial Dragons are doing, right?"
Borsalino also relaxed at this time. Zhan Guo had not lost his temper until now. Not to mention that he had chosen to stand on his side, but at least his attitude had softened.
At least Borsalino doesn't have to worry about Sengoku swearing allegiance to the Five Elders and the World Government. Even Sengoku, who has always been "considering the overall situation", has this attitude. The difficulty of persuading the top naval officers in the future will be much simpler than Borsalino imagined.
However, realizing this, Borsalino suddenly had a bold idea.
Perhaps he could pull Zhan Guo into his camp in advance without waiting for the war to break out.
"...Besides Marshal Kong, don't tell me you have other accomplices..."
Zhan Guo spoke with a numb expression. Even with his rich experience accumulated over the years, he didn't know what to do at this moment.
Borsalino had made such a big fuss quietly, and it was obvious that he would not easily change his mind just because of a few words from him.
What's more, Borsalino has taken things to this point. Even if the navy is forcibly bound to Borsalino, Sengoku is not sure whether the Five Elders are willing to give up.
After all, judging from the strength on paper, Borsalino's collusion with Marshal Sora, coupled with the strength of the Cosmic Dark Matter Pirates, makes it entirely possible to overthrow the World Government.
If it weren't for the terrifying figure behind the Five Elders and the Celestial Dragons, the World Government's strength, as far as Sengoku knew, might not have survived this major crisis.
"there is none left!"
Borsalino answered very consciously. In fact, he had thought about getting more high-ranking naval officers to join in advance, but that would lead to the possibility of the news leaking out.
Although Borsalino didn't need to worry about being caught off guard thanks to his ability to sense malicious intent, it would be a shame if the plan he had worked so hard to lay out failed for such a reason.
"Are you sure? Where's Garp? Kuzan isn't your man? And Ahe won't..."
Sengoku was still a little worried. No wonder he started to become suspicious. Even Marshal Sora, who was supposed to be loyal to the Five Elders and the World Government, could be won over by Borsalino. Who else in Marinford could be fully trusted?
"It's really gone. If they were on the same side as me, there would be no need for me to send them on vacation, right?"
Borsalino showed an innocent expression. In fact, it was hard for others to say, but if they knew the truth, Cap would most likely choose to stand on his side.
But if Garp knew it, it meant that everyone in Marinford knew it. Apart from keeping Ace's background a secret, don't expect Garp to be reliable on anything else.
"Is this so..."
Zhan Guo was still a little skeptical, but the former admiral, who was known as a 'wise general', was thinking very fast, trying to find a way to solve the problem.
But no matter how hard Zhan Guo thought, he couldn't find any possibility of breaking the deadlock.
One has to admit that Borsalino's actions were truly extraordinary. If one were to judge from his previous actions, he might have been able to convince the Five Elders by relying on the face of the Sengoku and the Navy, as well as Borsalino's own strength and importance.
Then colluding with Cyborg Sora is definitely walking in the Five Elders' minefield. Once everything is exposed, if nothing unexpected happens, the Five Elders will definitely eliminate Borsalino even if they have to send out the Knights of God. "I wouldn't mind having too many helpers, would I?"
Borsalino, who felt that he was about to lose Sengoku's "trust", replied a little aggrievedly, "I just told a few white lies, but Sengoku actually cared about it so much, it was really too much."
"In that case... Sakaski is yours?"
Zhan Guo suddenly remembered something and a look of horror appeared on his face.
Since those high-ranking naval officers who were sent on vacation were not Borsalino's accomplices, in other words, Sakaski, who did not go on vacation like him, had actually been secretly colluding with Borsalino for a long time?
With a preset position, in the eyes of Zhan Guo, Sakaski's every move was immediately full of suspicion.
He voluntarily gave up the opportunity to take a vacation. He must be waiting for the chance to overthrow the World Government with Borsalino!
He volunteered to fight pirates several times. Maybe he was conspiring with the contact of the Cosmic Dark Matter Pirates, or he was helping those pirates to remove obstacles!
He was just sent out on a business trip by Borsalino a few days ago. This is now irrefutable evidence. If we calculate the time, when Sakaski went out, the Cosmic Dark Matter Pirates started to act!
Feeling the slight malice coming from Sengoku beside him from time to time, although the intensity of the malice was quite low, because the distance was close enough, Borsalino could still sense it clearly.
It is precisely for this reason that Borsalino was able to clearly sense Zhan Guo's suspicion of his neighbor stealing his axe.
"Stop! I never said Sakaski was my man. He's just a workaholic. He wouldn't even accept my leave."
In desperation, Borsalino quickly opened his mouth to defend himself. According to Sengoku's incredible way of thinking, even the Five Elders would be considered as his accomplices.
"If you had the chance to start over again... couldn't you have chosen some better... collaborators?"
In an instant, Sengoku seemed to have aged several years. Not only was the successor he chose a scumbag like Borsalino, but the defection of Cyborg Kong also made Sengoku feel that the world suddenly became a little strange.
He originally wanted to say that he regretted letting Borsalino be the admiral of the navy, but when he thought of this, he couldn't say it.
Having both climbed up from the bottom of the navy step by step, and having both pursued his own ideals for justice, how could Sengoku not understand the choice made by Borsalino.
However, the fact that Borsalino chose to cooperate with pirates was still a little beyond what Sengoku could accept.
Although Sengoku has not reached the point of being as "hateful of evil" as Sakaski, for an old sailor like him, cooperating with pirates still seems too unorthodox.
"Huh? How do you know I have other collaborators?"
Borsalino spoke in surprise. He thought about it carefully and realized that the connection between him and Dorag was entirely based on the tacit understanding they had developed many years ago.
Even if Garp came, he might not be able to notice it, so how could Sengoku possibly discover it!
Or did Zhan Guo actually not know and was just saying it casually?
Realizing this possibility, Borsalino's mouth twitched. It turned out that he had dug his own grave.
"Who else?"
Zhan Guo only felt that during these ten minutes, his emotions were up and down like the bubble roller coaster in the Sabaody Archipelago. It turned out that retiring early was the right decision.
If he was still the admiral of the navy and was suddenly attacked by Borsalino, he would probably have a heart attack on the spot.
"What do you think of Dragon's Revolutionary Army? At least it's stronger than the pirates, right?"
Borsalino had no intention of hiding it any further. Now that things had come to this, even if Zhan Guo had not expressed his position yet, he would undoubtedly choose to stand on his side.
With the support of Sengoku, Borsalino no longer has to worry about any problems, at least in terms of the navy's top brass.
If there is a need later, all the senior naval officers who are on vacation can be summoned back.
With the prestige of the former Admiral Sengoku and the current Admiral Borsalino, they can at least control more than 90% of the Navy's strength.
"What about the pirates?"
The expression on Sengoku's face was not too surprised. Back when Dragon was still a member of the navy, he had often hung out with Borsalino.
Later, Drago chose to rebel against the navy, and Borsalino was placed under surveillance for a period of time.
Of course, when thirteen CP agents responsible for monitoring him died in succession, including two CP0s, and Borsalino still showed no signs of defection, the Five Elders' defense against him came to an end.
The relationship between Borsalino and the Five Elders was so bad, and the conflict during that period was in a sense the fuse.
Now that Borsalino admitted that he had been in contact with Dragon, it was completely reasonable in the eyes of Zhan Guo, who had been shocked many times.
"Boros is my man, but Kaido and Big Mom are not."
Borsalino answered honestly that if he wanted to bring Zhan Guo into his camp, he must at least have enough sincerity.
Therefore, apart from issues related to the dimensional chat group, Borsalino does not intend to hide anything from Sengoku in the short term.
"Who is that guy?"
Even though Sengoku had already overestimated Borsalino, he was still shocked by Borsalino's answer.
You should know that Boros defeated a pirate emperor as soon as he debuted and subdued him to become his subordinate.
Afterwards, he even forced another pirate emperor to surrender to him and brought the two major pirate emperor groups under his command.
Such an existence was naturally spotted by the Navy's intelligence personnel at the first moment, and the intelligence content related to Boros had already filled up the office of the Intelligence Department.
If he had not already retired from the position of Admiral of the Navy and Borsalino had once demonstrated strength that surpassed that of the Pirate Emperor, Sengoku would probably still be worried about how to deal with this ridiculously strong guy.
As a result, Borsalino now claims that Boros is one of his own. This makes Zhan Guo feel incredible and at the same time he develops a strong curiosity about Boros.
"Just think of him as a space pirate from outer space. I had a hard time convincing him to help me. If the navy finds Boros, remember not to fight him..."
Borsalino specifically reminded him that if he didn't explain it to Sengoku in advance, given his ethics as a navy, he might really risk his life when he met Boros.
"Are you sure he's reliable? If he's not reliable enough, Garp and I can help you later..."
Zhan Guo frowned slightly. In his eyes, anyone who had anything to do with the word "pirate" was not a good person.
Especially since Boros showed ridiculous strength, if something went wrong, it would be extremely difficult to take him down.
It would be better for them to strike first, with Borsalino's strength, plus his and Garp's support, and if necessary, they can bring in Sakaski and Kuzan.
Of course, this has to wait until Boros overthrows the World Government, otherwise he would be helping the Five Elders to take the blame.
I don't know when it started, but Sengoku began to consider things from Borsalino's perspective.
"Ah, this... really not necessary. If necessary, I am confident that I can defeat Boros. He is no match for me."
The corners of Borsalino's mouth twitched, and he silently criticized Zhan Guo in his heart. He could only say that he was indeed a wise general who had even made plans for things like crossing a river and destroying the bridge.
"Are you sure?"
Sengoku was a little surprised. Although his understanding of the Cosmic Dark Matter Pirates was limited, the fact that they could suppress Kaido and Charlotte Linlin at the same time was enough to prove how terrifying Boros's strength was.
Even when he was planning to ambush Boros at the beginning, Sengoku was thinking of bringing Garp and Borsalino along, as the three of them would have a good chance of winning if they joined forces.
But now Borsalino actually felt that he could defeat Boros on his own. Such strength was far beyond Sengoku's estimation.
"It's not like I haven't fought before. I won!"
Borsalino spoke very calmly. Even if Boros became stronger after learning the three-color domineering, given the gap in strength between the two, there was no possibility for Boros to counterattack.
You have to know that while Boros is improving himself, Borsalino, after his stand awakens, will become stronger even faster than him.
The current Borsalino is at least 30% stronger than the "version" that Boros knew at the beginning.
On the other hand, for Boros who has learned the three colors of domineering, a 1% improvement would be considered good if it weren't for his almost exaggerated aptitude in domineering domineering.
After all, for a truly strong person, no matter how novel the power system is, it is just another way of using energy.
For Boros, who is born with the ability to control energy, the power he learned in another world is not necessarily better than his original power.
"…How strong are you now?"
A hesitant expression appeared on Zhan Guo's face. After hesitating for a while, he finally couldn't help but ask.
When he said this, he felt a little complicated, as if the front wave was beaten to death on the beach by the back wave.
Although Zhan Guo realized a long time ago that Borsalino's strength had surpassed his, at that time he and Borsalino were at the same level.
(End of this chapter)