North Blue 1st Branch.
The Governor's Office.
"Ochoku?"
"Tell me about it."
What have you found out?
Rosen sat in his executive chair, his eyes, as deep as the North Blue outside the window, staring intently at Stussy standing in front of him.
He wants the truth, not to be used as a pawn.
"First, there is a place in Mary Geoise called the Historical Corridor, which records the world history of the past 800 years since the establishment of the World Government. Many important figures have their lives recorded in detail in the form of biographies, including every officer of the Rocks Pirates."
"Secondly, through consulting the historical archives, I learned that Buckingham, who played an unknown role in the incident of Zephyr's family being murdered, became the first Rocks Pirates executive to leave the God Valley incident because of Zephyr, and was also the first person to miss out on the Devil Fruit in God Valley."
"Third, I checked the historical archives to see who Buckingham had contact with in the years leading up to the murder of the Zephyr family, and compared that with the intelligence from CP and the Marine Headquarters Criminal Investigation Bureau. There was one name that didn't match up, and that was Ochoku."
"Fourth, Ochoku and Buckingham have something in common: during the God Valley incident, he also missed out on the Tremor-Tremor Fruit because of Zephyr's obstruction. In other words, both of them had a deep-seated hatred for Zephyr."
"Fifth, after Buckingham and Whitebeard fell out, CP conducted an in-depth investigation into the matter. The reason was that Buckingham had touched on Whitebeard's taboo by participating in a case involving the murder of a child. However, the investigation was stopped because it was stopped by the Five Elders."
"Sixth, in the four months before and after the murder of the Zephyr family, Whitebeard, Ganzui, John, and Gloriosa, who had contact with Buckingham, could not have committed the murder during this period, because they were all left in the New World for various reasons. Ochoku was the only exception."
"Seventh, and final, according to the records in the Historical Corridor, as well as intelligence from CP and the Headquarters Criminal Investigation Bureau, Ochoku was entrenched on Beehive Island at the time and never went out. However, he possessed the Warp-Warp Fruit."
"It would take at least four months to travel between the New World and the Zephyr family's residence. With such a long route, only the Warp-Warp Fruit could make it possible to arrive at the Zephyr family's island without leaving a trace, while simultaneously evading the surveillance of CP and the Crime Investigation Bureau."
Stussy knew very well that Rosen possessed top-tier Observation Haki, so she promptly and accurately reported what she had learned from her investigation over the past few days.
Rosen remained silent throughout, listening quietly to Stussy's story until the other had finished recounting everything. Then, a chilling red light appeared in Rosen's eyes, and he began to read Stussy's memories.
He carefully reviewed everything that had happened to Stussy after the other party left the North Blue and returned to Mary Geoise.
The historical corridor of Mary Geoise.
A world history written by the Celestial Dragons.
Biographies of the strongest individuals who stand at the pinnacle.
This included Stussy spending a month carefully scanning six years of world history, and then collaborating with Vegapunk to use computer scanning to filter through each case, finally focusing on Ochoku.
"These are all your wild guesses; there is no concrete evidence."
After reviewing Stussy's memories, Rosen finally spoke.
"The Marine Criminal Investigative Service does need evidence when investigating cases, but do you need it?"
"You possess the highest level of Observation Haki that you were born with. As long as you meet Ochoku or Buckingham, everything will be resolved."
"If you later discover that the truth is not as I have said today, then... I will do whatever I want with you."
After Stussy finished speaking, he stretched out his hands, as if to say, "Do whatever you want with me."
"Five Elders, why do you want to erase the fact that Buckingham contacted Ochoku?"
Rosen gave Stussy a deep look.
"There's no need to investigate this; I can give you the answer right now."
"Zephyr, does he deserve to know the truth?"
"In the eyes of the Five Elders, the right course of action for an admiral with asthma is to retire and remain at the Marine Academy as the chief instructor, continuing to contribute to the Marine and the World Government by training combat power, rather than causing the World Government and the Marine Headquarters to fight against Whitebeard and Ochoku for his sake."
"Also, you are a Marine of this era. Don't project the Marine Headquarters of this era onto the Marine Headquarters of 20 years ago. Back then, the Marine Headquarters's highest combat strength was only Garp, Sengoku, Zephyr, and Kong. They were simply powerless to deal with the era after the Rocks Pirates disbanded."
"Just the task of defeating the Roger Pirates, who knew the location of the Ancient Weapons and were searching for Laugh Tale, as well as the Flying Pirates, who were trying to conquer the world in imitation of Rocks, was enough to mobilize the Marine Headquarters and CP. Even the then Fleet Admiral, Steel Bone, had to personally lead the campaign to defeat Patrick Redfield."
Stussy met Rosen's gaze, a gaze that seemed to see through people's hearts and memories:
"Should we send Zephyr, who knows everything, to kill Whitebeard's lover, Buckingham?"
"Given his physical condition at the time, he could have done it, but that would have meant that the Marine Headquarters would have to fight on three fronts at the same time, simultaneously besieging the three legendary pirates."
"Let Zephyr, who knows everything, go to fight Ochoku with the wounds he will never heal from the God Valley incident, and leave the Marine Headquarters with the shameful record of an active admiral dying on Beehive Island?"
"Zephyr is dead. The Five Elders are not saddened by his death, but there is something you may not know. In order to demonstrate the deterrent power of the headquarters' highest combat force, the Five Elders will absolutely not allow any active Fleet Admiral or general to be defeated. Therefore, they will not let Zephyr die, and they will not let Zephyr leave them with a mess after his death."
"The simplest way to handle this is to cover up the truth. Just erase the fact that Buckingham had contacted Ochoku, and the situation will not collapse. Instead, it will develop in the direction most favorable to the World Government."
"These are the Five Elders."
"God's arrogance."
Facing Rosen's gaze, Stussy remained calm and spoke slowly and deliberately.
No one understands the Five Elders better than her, who is the strongest shield of the Celestial Dragons.
Ordinary Celestial Dragons are already arrogant to the extreme.
The Five Elders, who stand at the pinnacle of all Celestial Dragons, are utterly irrational in their arrogance towards the myriad races of the sea and countless living beings.
This incomprehensible behavior, which can only be described as divine arrogance, has penetrated deep into the very marrow of the Five Elders.
"An asthma expert?"
"yes!"
"A retired admiral who suffered injuries that would never heal in order to protect God Valley is indeed not worthy of knowing the truth."
Rosen murmured to himself, his eyes slowly closing.
When people leave, the tea gets cold, and the world is fickle.
It's very suitable for this cruel pirate world.
Especially for the Five Elders, who regard the Marine Headquarters as the face of the World Government, an Asthma Admiral and a Peak Admiral are two completely different things.
Otherwise, Sengoku wouldn't have repeatedly emphasized that he would do everything he could to protect Rosen while his peak period was still going strong.
The Great Buddha at its Peak.
A hero at his peak.
A strong fist gives you the authority to speak.
Not at its peak.
No matter if you are a general or a king, your later years will still be miserable.
Among the generals, Zephyr and Garp are examples of this.
Among the Four Emperors, Whitebeard, Ochoku, and Big Mom are also examples.
"Then, am I worthy?"