Chapter 77: New Year’s Grand Drama — Roger Crowned King!

Although the New Year had just passed two days ago, Marine Headquarters was still full of activity. For an institution built on discipline and force, granting all Marines a holiday was out of the question.

At that moment, Ortoren was sitting on the sofa in Admiral Sengoku’s office, chatting with him.

“So, based on the intelligence from CP, the next phase of this mission will center on the South Blue. I’m afraid I’ll need to head there and conduct an investigation,” Ortoren said.

But while he spoke, his eyes were fixed on the goat standing by Sengoku’s desk, noisily devouring stacks of documents.

“Is that so?” Sengoku had just finished a file and casually handed it to his goat, which calmly munched it down. “This should be your first time going that far from Headquarters on a mission. The South Blue isn’t as dangerous as the Grand Line, but you’ll still need to be cautious.”

“I understand,” Ortoren replied softly with a nod.

Sengoku glanced at him, frowning a little. “Why do you keep staring at my goat?”

“Ahem…” Ortoren cleared his throat awkwardly before saying, “I heard you’ve been raising it since you were a Vice Admiral?”

Sengoku’s expression softened with nostalgia. “Yes. Hard to believe how many years it’s been. It’s eaten more than its share of our classified reports, hahahaha.”

“Goats usually only live about twelve years, right? Isn’t it… almost at that age?” Ortoren asked hesitantly.

Sengoku: ???

“What are you implying, kid?” Sengoku asked, baffled.

“If it gets any older, the meat won’t be good anymore. Admiral, I know a special method of cooking goat meat—it’s called shabu-shabu…” Ortoren slapped his thigh and spoke with utter seriousness.

Sengoku froze, then his face darkened. “Strictly speaking, that goat is your senior in the Marines. And you want to eat it?”

“Don’t you want to know, Admiral? Meat raised on medicinal herbs and the finest Marine documents—who wouldn’t wonder what that tastes like? It might be one of the greatest delicacies in the world!” Ortoren said eagerly.

Sengoku, still annoyed, looked again at his little goat, then stroked his braided beard. “This… doesn’t seem right.”

“Everything should be put to its best use. As Marines, we must maintain our bodies to uphold justice. Food nourishes better than medicine, and only when we’re healthy can we truly carry out justice. As a senior member of the Marines, I believe when the time comes, it would willingly sacrifice itself for the cause of justice.” Ortoren spoke with righteous conviction.

Sengoku was silent for a moment, about to respond, when the office door burst open. Chief Staff Officer Tsuru entered with a grim expression.

That immediately cut off the absurd discussion of cooking the goat. Seeing Tsuru’s face, Sengoku’s brows furrowed. “What is it? Why so serious?”

“The Roger Pirates,” Tsuru said gravely. “They’ve found the legendary final island, Laugh Tale. Word of it has already begun to spread throughout the New World—apparently from Roger’s crew themselves. On top of that, we’ve tracked their movements. They seem to be heading to join up with the Whitebeard Pirates. At a time like this, with those two crews coming together, it’s unlikely things will remain peaceful.”

“What!?” Sengoku shot up from his chair in shock. “Laugh Tale?”

“What’s the situation with Laugh Tale exactly?” Ortoren asked quickly.

Sengoku fell silent for a moment, then said, “We don’t know. In fact, before Roger reached Water Seven a few years ago, we all thought that was the so-called ‘Final Island.’ But when his crew confirmed that another island, cloaked by a mysterious magnetic field, lay beyond, Mary Geoise immediately raised their threat level to the highest. That’s when we learned an island named Laugh Tale really existed.”

Tsuru added, “We don’t know much about Laugh Tale either. The information is sealed tightly at the highest levels of Mary Geoise. It may be connected to the war over eight hundred years ago. According to the upper echelons, if certain details about Laugh Tale were to spread, it would plunge the entire world into chaos. We can’t say for sure if that’s true, or what the actual truth is, but you understand—preserving the current order is far safer than testing the unknown.”

“So this means the Roger Pirates are playing with fire. If they reveal the location of Laugh Tale—or worse, the dangerous secrets hidden there—it could trigger chaos across the entire world?” Ortoren asked, his eyes narrowing with realization.

“That’s right.” Sengoku nodded gravely, then turned to Chief Staff Officer Tsuru. “Mary Geoise…”

Before Tsuru could respond, the Den Den Mushi on Sengoku’s desk began to ring.

Everyone’s gaze shifted over. Sure enough, it was a call from Mary Geoise.

Sengoku grimaced, baring his teeth, then picked up the receiver. “It’s me.”

“Sengoku?” Fleet Admiral Kong’s voice came through. “I’m in the Five Elders’ office right now. Have you received the information about Roger’s crew and the legendary Final Island?”

“Tsuru was just briefing me. I was about to reach out to you myself,” Sengoku replied at once.

“The Five Elders have several demands,” Kong said after a short pause. “First, the Roger Pirates must be eliminated as quickly as possible. Second, no information related to Laugh Tale can be allowed to spread across the seas. If anyone leaks something, no matter who they are, they are to be silenced. Third, given that the situation may spiral out of control, the Marines must begin war preparations immediately.”

As soon as Kong finished, a dignified, elderly-sounding voice cut in over the line. “Sengoku, the Marines are to issue new wanted posters. The bounties of all Roger Pirates will be raised, and Roger himself will be declared the ‘Pirate King.’ This will sever any chance of him forming alliances with other Great Pirates.”

Judging by the tone, it was one of the Five Elders, though even Ortoren couldn’t tell which one.

Sengoku didn’t press for details and quickly gave his agreement.

Ortoren, listening to this talk of “Pirate King,” turned the thought over in his mind before it clicked. Of course. Roger had struck at the World Government’s greatest vulnerability by finding Laugh Tale, and instead of downplaying it, they’d gone and crowned him with the title of Pirate King.

At first, Ortoren hadn’t understood the logic. Wouldn’t it make more sense to dilute the incident’s impact? Make Laugh Tale seem trivial, so the situation could be contained more easily. By crowning Roger, weren’t they admitting that Laugh Tale was of immense importance?

But now it was clear. The Five Elders weren’t ignorant—they were desperate. To prevent Roger from collaborating with other ambitious pirates, they had chosen to poison the well, even if it meant elevating him.

It was a kind of praise meant to kill. The top Great Pirates were all arrogant and prideful. For the World Government to suddenly bestow Roger with the title of Pirate King—how could the others possibly accept that?

Of course, this alone couldn’t completely prevent Roger from gaining allies. The Government would no doubt roll out more measures to cut off that possibility altogether.

What none of them foresaw was that, not long after meeting Whitebeard’s crew, Roger’s own pirates would disband. The World Government had overplayed its hand—handing Roger the crown, exposing the significance of Laugh Tale, only for Roger to bow out of the game entirely.

In the end, wasn’t that just giving everything away for nothing?

In a sense, Roger and his crew had once again made fools of the World Government.

Ortoren had already pieced all of this together, but he kept his thoughts to himself. Let them carry on with their schemes. The more they moved, the more chances he’d have to rise in rank and fortune.

When the call with Mary Geoise ended, Sengoku let out a weary sigh. “The year’s only just begun, and already we can’t catch a breath. This isn’t a good omen…”

“Isn’t that the truth,” Tsuru said, shaking her head with a helpless look.