After hearing Finn's words, Spandine was stunned for a moment, then smiled. "I'm good at plotting and scheming, but when it comes to personal combat strength, I'm not particularly gifted. So I need capable subordinates."
After a brief pause, Spandine turned to the CP-9 agent beside him. "Why don't you thank the Admiral?"
The agent reacted quickly. He immediately looked at Finn. "Thank you for your praise, Admiral."
"Hehe, what's your name?" Finn asked with a smile.
Spandine interjected happily, "That's right, Admiral. He's the strongest fighter under my command. He's carried out numerous missions and has never failed once."
"Who's-Who?" Finn murmured. His gaze as he studied the man became more meaningful.
If he remembered correctly, this guy should be one of Kaido's future officers. The Flying Six, or something like that. He'd seemed quite powerful in the original story.
An Ancient Zoan user. The Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: Saber-Toothed Tiger.
This was also why Finn had felt he looked familiar at first glance.
It seemed that without Lucci as CP-9's top expert, Who's-Who had replaced him. Had he
Finn had known that the Rubber-Rubber Fruit that originally fell into Luffy's hands was actually supposed to be delivered to Mary Geoise. Who's-Who had been the one escorting it. However, he'd encountered the Red Hair Pirates and been robbed by Shanks. As a result, the Rubber-Rubber Fruit had fallen into the Red Hair Pirates' possession and eventually reached Luffy.
And that failure had been Who's-Who's only failure as a CP-9 member.
However, it was obvious that due to either the Rubber-Rubber Fruit's special properties or because CP-9 didn't tolerate losers, after that failure became a certainty, Who's-Who had been stripped of his identity and sent to Impel Down. In the original story, he'd even met Jinbe there. Later, when Teach caused chaos in Impel Down, Who's-Who had escaped and joined Kaido's crew, becoming one of the top officers.
Of course, these were all events from the original timeline.
Now, before Shanks could cause any trouble, he'd been dealt with by Finn. It was Shanks, not Who's-Who, who was imprisoned in Impel Down. A reversal of fates.
Without Shanks interfering, Who's-Who naturally hadn't experienced any failures. Furthermore, without Lucci's competition, he was now highly valued within CP-9 and was Spandine's most promising subordinate.
His future looked bright.
And now luck is on Finn, now he could simply check Mary Geoise's Devil Fruit storage records and perhaps find the Rubber-Rubber Fruit he'd thought was impossible to locate.
Finn smiled. "Excellent people like you deserve more attention and better treatment. Do your best. Spandine is a good leader. As he said, his personal combat abilities aren't exceptional, so he values you highly. You have a bright future ahead. If this guy ever treats you unfairly, just come to me. I'll handle it. I might even transfer you to the Marines, hahahaha."
Although Who's-Who was somewhat puzzled why the Admiral showed such inexplicable goodwill toward him, he wasn't ungrateful. He immediately responded, "Yes, thank you for your consideration, Admiral. Lord Spandine has been very kind to me."
Spandine had no idea what was happening, but since the Admiral had taken a liking to Who's-Who, it was beneficial for him. So he immediately thought more highly of Who's-Who and said without hesitation, "Even without your advice, I was planning to train this guy as my right-hand man. Maybe he'll be needed to take over my position in the future, hahahaha."
Yes, he was planning to send his incompetent son to the Marines anyway. Since the Admiral favored Who's-Who, of course he had to increase his investment. If Who's-Who proved capable enough, it wouldn't be impossible to groom him as the future CP-9 commander.
After all, Who's-Who was just a minor character to Finn, yet a single word from him could dramatically affect the man's fate.
Without further delay, after a few more words of encouragement, Finn and Spandine entered the cabin. The ship, anchored at Mary Geoise's port, quickly departed and headed toward Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
In a small office at Crescent Harbor, Vergo sat reading a newspaper.
Many people already knew about Vergo's situation. It was said he'd offended Admiral Finn somewhere, so he'd been marginalized. Now he was just a dispatcher at Crescent Harbor. He had some Marine soldiers under his command who were responsible for recording ships and warships entering and leaving for Mary Geoise.
As soon as Vergo had lost power, his former friends had quickly distanced themselves. Most people in Finn's faction knew his true identity, so on normal days, few people visited him.
Vergo seemed content with his leisure. Ever since his identity had been exposed, he no longer held high expectations for advancement. Living quietly like this wasn't bad. No one bothered him. He just clocked in daily, drank tea, and read newspapers. Being a transparent Rear Admiral was fine, wasn't it?
Just as Vergo was drinking tea, reading the newspaper, and preparing to spend another leisurely day, his Den Den Mushi suddenly rang.
Vergo turned to look with a slightly surprised expression. His young master?
That's right. Since his identity had been completely exposed, Vergo no longer needed any elaborate disguises. After all, the job assigned to him by Admiral Finn was to serve as Doflamingo's contact line.
So he could contact Doflamingo openly.
Closing the newspaper and placing it on the table, Vergo picked up the Den Den Mushi. "Young Master?"
"Fufufufu, how have you been lately, Vergo?" Doflamingo's voice carried a soft laugh.
Vergo smiled helplessly. "There's nothing particularly good or bad about it. I'm just being a transparent person."
"That's pretty good. After all, I'm already one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea now. You can come back anytime." Doflamingo said.
In contrast to Finn's abundance of subordinates, Doflamingo only had a few people under his command, with no particularly outstanding officers. Vergo was an exceptional talent with comprehensive abilities, so Doflamingo still valued him highly.
Vergo smiled, then said, "Even if I wanted to, the Admiral wouldn't let me go back, would he? Do I dare run away secretly?"
"Fufufufu, I'm helpless too. That guy Finn..." Doflamingo also laughed helplessly.
After the two chatted and caught up for a while, Doflamingo asked, "Has Finn returned to Marineford?"
"Not yet, but it should be within the next two days. Kuzan and Gion have already returned. They escorted Dark King Silvers Rayleigh to Impel Down. I heard the Admiral went to Mary Geoise to report on his work." Vergo said calmly.
As a dispatcher at the port terminal, he was well-informed about movements in various locations. The only things he couldn't access were missions requiring confidentiality.
"Really?" Doflamingo murmured, though he didn't seem particularly concerned. Instead, he said, "When Finn returns, go see him and tell him..."
Finn had Doflamingo's Den Den Mushi, so he could contact Doflamingo anytime and arrange tasks for him.
Doflamingo naturally also had Finn's Den Den Mushi, but he didn't dare contact Finn so casually. After all, their positions weren't equal. Therefore, he preferred having Vergo serve as intermediary. After all, Vergo had some relationship with Finn and was the "liaison" Finn himself had recognized.
After a long moment, Vergo's expression showed surprise, but he quickly responded, "I understand, Young Master. I'll convey these words to the Admiral."
As he finished speaking, he spotted a CP-9 ship docking in the harbor in the distance. Finn's tall figure was descending the gangplank.
Seeing this, Vergo quickly said, "Young Master, the Admiral has arrived at Marineford."
"Really?" Doflamingo was surprised for a moment, then said, "Then go handle your business, Vergo."
"Yes." Vergo responded and hung up the Den Den Mushi.
Then he stood and walked toward Finn.
"When you get back, send your son here immediately. What department do you want him assigned to?" Finn asked Spandine.
Spandine smiled and said directly, "It's entirely up to you, Admiral. I don't know anything about the Marines."
Finn nodded without mentioning the matter again. He waved his hand. "Alright, go back and take care of your business. I need to report to the Fleet Admiral."
"Yes, Admiral." Spandine responded, then left without delay.
Then Finn turned and looked at Vergo, who was standing not far away and seemed to be waiting for him. His eyes showed complex emotions, and finally he said, "Go to my office and wait for me."
Vergo's eyes lit up. He quickly responded, "Yes, Admiral!"