[Kujo Jotaro: …You can just call me JOJO. @Borsalino, when the time comes, can you help me? I can offer any reward you want.]
Given Jotaro's personality, under normal circumstances—even when facing a foe as terrifying as Dio Brando—he would never casually ask a stranger for help.
But this battle concerned his mother's life.
To completely sever the curse at its source, Dio Brando had to be eliminated.
True, in the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 3 that had been uploaded to the group, Jotaro ultimately defeated Dio—but if there was a safer, more reliable option, why refuse it?
[Borsalino: Ah, of course. After all, I am a Marine who bears the name of justice. As for the reward—just let me keep the spoils.]
[Kujo Jotaro: Deal. When will you come over?]
[Borsalino: Once you reach Egypt, post the mission in the group. I'll head over then.]
—
Back in the pirate world, Borsalino—who had been slacking off throughout the entire meeting—let out a yawn.
Glancing slightly behind him at Nami, who was scribbling furiously in her notebook, a hint of anticipation crept onto his face.
Being able to travel to the JoJo world and casually beat Dio senselessly sounded far more entertaining than hunting down yet another batch of oddly named pirates.
More importantly, suppressing pirates at best earned him a bit of bonus pay—hardly enough to motivate him.
[Orochimaru: @Borsalino Heh. Admiral Kizaru, once you capture Dio Brando, could you leave behind some of his blood and bodily tissue before completely destroying him? In exchange, I'll offer appropriate compensation.]
[Borsalino: That's fine. Just make sure the payment is ready.]
Borsalino wasn't worried in the slightest that Orochimaru wouldn't be able to deliver something worthwhile.
He didn't yet know which stage this version of Orochimaru was at, but as long as it wasn't some child version, the man's stash of valuable things would never be lacking.
At worst, he could always wait until Orochimaru acquired something interesting—and then collect.
[Random Guy Who Wants to Hug Luo Feng's Thigh: This is perfect. With Admiral Kizaru as backup, no matter how cunning Dio is, there's no way he escapes.]
[Haibara Ai: You're that confident?]
[Random Guy Who Wants to Hug Luo Feng's Thigh: Let me put it this way—if Admiral Kizaru went to your world and actually felt like it, by the time you finished afternoon tea, Tokyo would already be reduced to rubble.]
[Haibara Ai: You make him sound like one of those alien monsters from a Kamen Rider show…]
[Random Guy Who Wants to Hug Luo Feng's Thigh: In a sense, even monsters don't compare to Admiral Kizaru.]
What followed was an uninterrupted stream of praise directed at "Admiral Kizaru."
Borsalino himself hadn't said much at all, yet in the eyes of the group members, his status kept rising higher and higher.
In truth, Random Guy's flattery wasn't purely blind worship. From his perspective, building Kizaru up now meant that if he ever ran into danger later, the Admiral would have a harder time standing by and doing nothing.
Even in a world like Swallowed Star, where power levels exploded in the mid-to-late stages, Admiral Kizaru could still dominate the early phases with ease. If he could latch onto a thigh like that early on, his personal safety would be practically guaranteed.
Unfortunately for him, this Borsalino was not the same as the "original" Kizaru.
If it were a genuine article, he might really step in out of sheer awkwardness—but this Borsalino was far less easily swayed.
—
While Borsalino was multitasking his slacking, the Marine Headquarters meeting finally reached its core topic.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, risking an all-out war with the Whitebeard Pirates over Fire Fist Ace alone—doesn't that decision warrant further consideration?"
A Headquarters Vice Admiral seated not far from Admiral Aokiji spoke up.
Not all Marines shared Admiral Akainu's extreme stance of eradicating all pirates at any cost.
Even within the Marines—who upheld justice as their banner—differences in attitude toward pirates created clear internal divisions.
The Hawk faction held an aggressive position, believing pirates to be irredeemable and insisting that the Marines must annihilate them with the strongest measures possible—even if civilians were caught in the crossfire.
The Dove faction, by contrast, was more conservative. In their view, the Marines' true duty was to protect civilians and uphold order; endangering the public in the name of eliminating pirates was irresponsible.
The standard-bearers of these two factions were Admiral Akainu and Admiral Aokiji, respectively.
As for the neutral camp—those who neither supported nor opposed either extreme—they had elected Admiral Kizaru as their representative.
Privately—at least when speaking to Nami—Borsalino referred to his own faction as the "Slacker Faction."
The Vice Admiral now belonged to the Dove faction. They weren't opposed to fighting pirates—but provoking a full-scale conflict with the Whitebeard Pirates over Fire Fist Ace alone did not strike them as rational.
Given the Whitebeard Pirates' strength, what if they launched a campaign of retaliation throughout the New World?
Even if the Marines' New World branches could withstand them, what made anyone think other pirate crews wouldn't seize the opportunity to pile on and stir up chaos?
"This is precisely what we're about to address…"
Fleet Admiral Sengoku took a deep breath. Though more than ten years had passed, the moment he spoke that man's name, his tone instinctively grew grave.
"The true name of Fire Fist Ace, commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division, is Gol D. Ace. He is the bloodline of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. The blood of sin flows through his veins."
The instant Sengoku finished speaking, the once-quiet conference room exploded into uproar.
Even Akainu and Kuzan couldn't hide the shock on their faces.
The Pirate King—Gol D. Roger.
Though more than a decade had passed, the man who personally ignited the Great Age of Pirates remained a taboo presence in the hearts of many Marines.
And now Sengoku was saying that Fire Fist Ace was that man's son.
When combined with the fact that Whitebeard—Roger's longtime rival and occasional ally—had taken Ace in, and that Ace now served as the Second Division Commander…
It was impossible not to let one's imagination run wild.
"The Pirate King, huh…"
Even Borsalino felt a twinge of emotion. So the truth Garp had hidden for all those years had finally come to light.
"Um… Mr. Borsalino…"
Taking advantage of the chaos as officers murmured among themselves, Nami cautiously leaned closer to him. At some point, her bright eyes had already turned into the shape of treasure.
"Do you think Fire Fist Ace… knows where the Pirate King's treasure is hidden?"
"…I don't think he does."
Borsalino's mouth twitched.
It seemed he really needed to keep a closer eye on this greedy little thief-cat.
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