Check out advanced chapters on P@treon: [email protected]/CosmicKaminari
----------
"You've gone too far on this matter. Ikki is a strong man, and he also has pride. If you go directly to him and ask his partner to take off her mask, it's normal for him to disagree."
"Especially, it's even worse for Vergo to take action on this matter first. Forget it, you guys come back first - I will find an opportunity to talk to Ikki about this matter later."
Sengoku sighed and spoke to Onigumo and Vergo on the other side of the Den Den Mushi.
"But... he injured the Vice Admiral of Marine Headquarters after all. If this matter doesn't go to trial, where will Marine's reputation go? Wouldn't Ikki be even more arrogant in the future?"
"And the two women next to Ikki are indeed too mysterious. The sword that can turn into cherry blossom blades can break Vergo's Armament Haki defense. The ability of the woman with the dual swords is even more peculiar - at that time, Vergo was clearly wearing haki for defense."
"But her sword pierced Vergo's defense like tofu. If they're really criminals like pirates, if they're allowed to develop, they'll definitely pose a major threat to our Marines."
Onigumo wasn't ready to give up yet, and spread the threat theory of Robin and Kalifa as much as possible.
"Let's not worry about the identities of those two people for now. No matter what, Ikki's current presence is also beneficial to us Marines. At least, Gion's current strength has been greatly enhanced, hasn't it?"
At this time, Tsuru sitting aside spoke.
Onigumo on the other side of the Den Den Mushi fell silent, muttering in his heart.
'Your sister Gion has indeed become stronger, but she's also fascinated by that man Ikki.'
Of course, even a hawkish Marine like Onigumo wouldn't dare to say this to Tsuru.
"The identities of the two mysterious women can be investigated later. We can even find some excuses in the future and arrange for some people with strong investigative skills to come to Ikki to investigate in the name of learning."
"Also, the Marines are preparing for a war with the Whitebeard Pirates."
"Even if something is discovered at this time, it will only give us more difficult opponents. You can think about it, Onigumo - if Ikki gets angry and goes to the Whitebeard Pirates to help them train people, it will be a big loss to us Marines."
Aokiji crossed his arms and said calmly.
Having said that, he, who worked with Ikki to cover up Robin's location and identity, didn't want Robin's identity to be exposed.
As for the other woman wearing a mask, Aokiji actually had some answers in his heart.
It was also because of this answer that he didn't want to interfere with Ikki's affairs.
As for letting people investigate, it was just talk.
He understood that with Ikki's ability, even on a ship, he also had a way to prevent the people who came to investigate from knowing the identity of Robin and the other person.
"This..."
Onigumo twitched the corner of his mouth, not knowing what to say for a moment.
He didn't expect that there would be two dovish Marines gathered in Sengoku's office at this time.
One was the Marine Chief of Staff, and the other was a Marine Admiral.
This made him, a hawkish Marine, unable to argue with two people who held higher positions than himself.
"Okay, what Kuzan and Tsuru said about this matter makes sense. Let's leave it alone for now. As for the issue of Marine's face... as long as we don't publicize Ikki's involvement, there will be no problem."
"Ikki hurting Vergo is also a warning to you. Don't do things like this that can easily cause misunderstandings in the future - I don't want to see Ikki unwilling to train swordsmen for the Marines in the future."
In the end, Sengoku concluded the matter.
"I understand, Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
Onigumo sighed inwardly and prepared to hang up the Den Den Mushi.
"Don't hang up yet, Onigumo. Can you elaborate more on the abilities of the woman you say stabbed Vergo?"
Sengoku asked curiously.
He already knew Robin's Senbonzakura's abilities.
However, the Marines hadn't received any relevant information about the abilities of Kalifa's Katen Kyōkotsu.
Although he regarded Ikki as a good partner, Sengoku still wanted to know clearly about his and his partners' abilities.
"Actually, I'm not very clear about this. I only remember that the two katana in the woman's hands turned into one long and one short black sword. Then she said something like 'Takaoni, black', and easily penetrated the defense of Vergo's Armament Haki."
Onigumo frowned and carefully considered what he had seen before.
However, no matter how much he thought, he couldn't figure out how Kalifa's seemingly ordinary blow seriously injured Vergo.
"Black?" Tsuru frowned. "If we want to talk about black, after Vergo uses his Armament Haki, the surface of his body will turn black. Is this related to this?"
"No, it's impossible to just say black and easily break through Armament Haki defense." Sengoku shook his head and said.
"I'm just raising a possibility." Tsuru rubbed her chin. "Now we don't have enough information at hand to analyze the specific situation. However, the swords made by Ikki are like things with Devil Fruit abilities."
"Some Devil Fruits have extraordinary and unreasonable powers. Perhaps Ikki's swords can also have such power."
Hearing this, Sengoku couldn't help but nod.
"That makes sense. By the way, Tsuru, can you ask Gion to ask Ikki about the situation? Isn't she very close to Ikki?"
Tsuru rolled her eyes at Sengoku: "I can ask Gion to inquire, but do you think Ikki will reveal the matter?"
Based on Tsuru's knowledge of Gion, she knew that as long as she asked, Gion would still be willing to ask Ikki.
But whether Gion was willing or not was one thing, and whether Ikki was willing or not was another matter entirely.
"Sister Tsuru, are you talking about me?"
At this time, a familiar voice came from the door.
Sengoku and others looked back and saw who it was if it wasn't Gion.
"You're back from Impel Down, Gion. Just right, here are some questions I want to ask you. The masked woman next to Ikki is the one using the dual swords."
"Do you know what her powers are?"
Seeing Gion walking in, Sengoku didn't want to trouble Tsuru and asked directly.
"Her?" Kalifa's figure flashed in Gion's mind. "I didn't see her using the ability of the dual swords. What happened?"
"Let me tell you, the truth is this..." At this time, Aokiji, who had been silent all along, spoke up.
Soon, he told the relevant things that he had compiled.
Gion's expression, which was originally filled with satisfaction for celebrating Ikki's birthday, gradually became serious, and even her tone of voice became a little cold.
"I don't know much about that woman's situation. But I know something about the sword in her hand. When I went to Impel Down before, I also asked Ikki how he took Rayleigh's sword."
"He said that he used the two swords in the woman's hands and his own sword to defeat Rayleigh. As for the specific abilities, I didn't ask, and Ikki didn't say anything."
As soon as Gion finished speaking, Onigumo's voice immediately echoed through the conference room through the Den Den Mushi.
"Vice Admiral Gion, why don't you explore the identities of the two women around Ikki? With your ability, since you were there, you must be able to find out the identities of the two of them."
The top brass at Marine Headquarters knew that Gion was not only powerful, but also unmatched in her ability to seduce pirates and detect pirate intelligence.
Although Ikki wasn't a pirate, Onigumo felt that if Gion wanted to, she would be able to get more information from Ikki.
"Vice Admiral, you have to understand that when I am with Ikki, I am healing and learning. I didn't have that many opportunities to interact with those two people."
"In addition, if too much exploration will cause Ikki's dissatisfaction, and that isn't what I want to see. You should understand his power and importance."
"But you, and Vice Admiral Vergo, deliberately annoyed Ikki at this time. Is this kind of behavior really beneficial to the Marines? If Ikki no longer agrees to train swordsmen for the Marines, will you be responsible for such losses?"
Gion snorted coldly and said to Onigumo in a strong tone.
Gion was already unhappy enough after hearing what Onigumo and Vergo had done.
Now that Onigumo was still criticizing Ikki, Gion finally couldn't bear it anymore.
After Gion finished speaking, there was another silence on the other side of the Den Den Mushi.
With the current results, Onigumo understood that he had indeed done something detrimental to the Marines.
Therefore, in the face of Gion's accusation, Onigumo didn't dare to refute.
"Ahem, okay everyone. That's it for now. Gion, please stop saying a few words. Onigumo, you should continue to complete your mission."
"Remember to take Vergo to heal afterward."
Sengoku knocked on the table, wanting to stop this topic that might cause dissatisfaction between the two parties.
"Wait, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I have one more thing to report." Onigumo's voice continued to sound.
"About the princess of Alabasta, I doubt her ice abilities are even comparable to Admiral Aokiji's Devil Fruit..."
Marine Headquarters, on the corridor leading to the square.
Aokiji, Tsuru and Gion walked side by side, and the surrounding Marines looked at them with admiration when they saw the three of them.
The three of them didn't speak until they reached a deserted place.
"In addition to Nico Robin, the other woman wearing a mask next to Ikki should be Kalifa, the former agent of CP9."
Tsuru suddenly spoke.
"As expected of Staff Officer Tsuru, have you thought of it too?"
Aokiji stopped and looked at Tsuru with a serious expression.
"That woman should have boarded Ikki's ship in the waters of Water 7. The woman who needs to wear the mask, coupled with some information obtained previously, I can't think of anyone else besides that woman."
"I think you should have done some research on this aspect."
After Tsuru finished speaking, she raised her head and glanced at Aokiji.
"I can't hide it from you, Vice Admiral Tsuru. After all, Robin is by Ikki's side, so I naturally need to pay attention to Ikki. But we all know it, and you probably know it too, Gion."
"Just now, you didn't say it in the conference room on purpose."
Aokiji scratched the back of his head and looked at Gion with a smile.
"Anyway, Ikki didn't do anything too outrageous, right? He was simply attracted to women."
Having said this, Gion couldn't help but pat her forehead helplessly.
Although she got Ikki with her own charm, Gion still sometimes doubted her own appeal when she saw Ikki being charmed by other people.
"This information should be buried in the hearts of the three of us. The existence of those two women isn't a big deal. I just hope that guy doesn't cause more trouble because of women."
"We can find out these things, and there will always be someone in the Marines who can find out relevant things. I just hope that guy Ikki can handle these things properly."
Tsuru shook her head and continued to walk forward.
Aokiji and Gion naturally followed closely.
At the same time, on the other side.
"I understand, you should take good care of yourself. You have a special status - if you have nothing else to do, just hang up."
"Well! Don't worry, I will make Ikki pay for what he did to me and you."
On the deck of a warship, Doflamingo, one of the Warlords, hung up the Den Den Mushi in his hand.
His mood, which had already become extremely bad because of this Warlord meeting, became angry again because of the information sent back by Vergo.
"Ikki!"
"I won't let you go!"
After being silent for a long time while holding the Den Den Mushi, Doflamingo suddenly opened his eyes and spoke fiercely to the sea in the distance.