Chapter 60 Self-Exposure

"Most of the day? So added up, that's about four days? A time dilation of roughly two to one, which isn't bad at all. If I take a day off, I can go play there for two days..."

Borsalino suddenly realized another function of the chat group. Different worlds having different rates of time flow meant he could use this to multiply his limited slack-off time severalfold.

Major Lorraine, who had no idea what Borsalino was muttering about, didn't dare to ask. Although there was only a two-rank difference between him and Borsalino, a mere branch major truly couldn't hold his head up in front of a headquarters admiral.

"Major Lorraine, the buyer recommended by the Donquixote Family..."

Just as Borsalino was preparing to leave, his adjutant excitedly pushed open the office door, the smile on his face instantly freezing.

"..." X3

The office fell into an abrupt and heavy silence.

The adjutant glanced at the panicked Major Lorraine, then looked at the speechless Admiral Kizaru, suddenly realizing a crucial issue.

Why would Admiral Kizaru suddenly appear here? Could the news that the Sabaody Navy Branch had embezzled pirate bounties leaked, or had the trafficking of secondhand ordnance been exposed?

Just as the adjutant was feeling anxious and unsettled, he suddenly caught a fierce, murderous glare from Major Lorraine, looking as though he wanted to devour him alive!

Recalling the fate of the several adjutants before him who had been used as scapegoats by Major Lorraine, the adjutant—who happened to be Major Lorraine's brother-in-law—decided to serve righteousness above family.

Major Lorraine, who had been on the verge of successfully sending off Admiral Kizaru, was plunged into despair. His brother-in-law had to show up neither early nor late, arriving precisely when this God of Plague was visiting. If he didn't have a tigress of a wife at home, he would have long since kicked this idiot straight to a branch in the East Blue.

Terrified that his brother-in-law might blurt out something he shouldn't, Major Lorraine decisively shot him a severe warning look.

He wanted to prevent this fool from acting just like he did when Vice Admiral Garp visited last time—assuming Admiral Kizaru was in on their schemes and spilling everything indiscriminately.

The awkward silence lasted for less than half a minute. After pondering for a moment, Borsalino decided to ignore this mess.

The World Government was established eight hundred years ago, which meant the Marines had also existed for eight centuries.

The passage of a long time accumulated not only the heritage of the Marines, but also all kinds of corruption and darkness. Expecting every Marine to strictly uphold justice was wishful thinking to some extent.

Even Marshal Sengoku couldn't change all of this. After all, part of the reason for the corruption within the Marines stemmed from the World Government and the Celestial Dragons; one could hardly expect the Marines to overthrow the World Government themselves.

"Admiral Kizaru! I wish to report Major Lorraine for trafficking ordnance, embezzling bounties, and organizing the slave trade!"

Just as Borsalino was about to take his leave, Major Lorraine's adjutant and brother-in-law suddenly stepped forward, righteous and stern, shouting loudly.

Major Lorraine, who had already begun to quietly breathe a sigh of relief, was dumbfounded. The corners of Borsalino's mouth, who had been planning to flash away, twitched as well. For a moment, the office plunged once more into a brief silence.

"Hey, you there, are you certain you want to report Major Lorraine?"

Borsalino asked with a somewhat troubled expression; he genuinely wanted nothing to do with these messy complications.

Heaven knows which active or retired high-ranking Marine official stood behind Major Lorraine.

It wasn't even out of the question that high-ranking World Government officials or Celestial Dragons were involved.

It wasn't that Borsalino couldn't afford to provoke these people, but dealing with them was, to a greater or lesser degree, a bother.

What made it trickier was that Borsalino had almost never meddled in such sordid affairs in the past. If it were Sakazuki or Kuzan handling Marine scum, it would be entirely normal, but Borsalino's actions would likely be interpreted as the will of Marshal Sengoku.

After all, only Marshal Sengoku had the clout to push Admiral Kizaru into doing actual work—an established fact among the Marine high command.

"Yes! Major Lorraine, despite being the branch commander, has colluded with pirates to traffic ordnance! I've wanted to report him for a long time!"

The adjutant spoke without hesitation; rather than being made a scapegoat, he preferred to strike first and gain the upper hand.

"What a headache..."

Borsalino couldn't help but want to cover his face. He truly didn't want to get involved in this mess, but now that someone had filed a report right to his face, if he ignored it, the whistleblower would undoubtedly be dead meat.

Though in Borsalino's eyes, this adjutant didn't look like much of a good guy either, as someone who professed to carry the name of justice, he couldn't very well judge a book by its cover.

"Admiral Kizaru, I am innocent!"

Major Lorraine's mind went completely blank. He admitted that back then, in order to marry the tigress in his family, he had indeed resorted to some methods he shouldn't have used.

Still, that was no reason for his brother-in-law to stab him in the back—especially since it was this very idiot who had introduced him to that tigress in the first place!

Thinking back now, he regretted it deeply. Why had he allowed himself to be blinded by beauty and failed to recognize the true nature of that tigress!

Major Lorraine tried to save himself. After all, his brother-in-law had only become his adjutant recently and didn't have much solid evidence on hand.

As long as he could get past Admiral Kizaru right now, he could naturally rely on his backers behind the scenes to weather this storm later.

"I'm innocent too... Oh well. As a Headquarters Admiral, I announce that Major Lorraine is suspended pending investigation, and the affairs of the Sabaody Archipelago Marine Branch will be temporarily handled by his second-in-command... Say, who is your deputy again?"

Borsalino scratched his head, speaking with distinct impatience.

"It's Colonel Brian..."

Major Lorraine replied with a heart as dead as ash.

He had gone through so much trouble to squeeze that obnoxious old man Brian out of the branch, and now it was all completely ruined.

Colonel Brian had been stationed in the Sabaody Archipelago for so many years; in terms of seniority, he was even deeper-rooted than Admiral Kizaru. Everything happening in the branch could not possibly have escaped his eyes.

In the past, Major Lorraine could use his rank to suppress him, but now, with Admiral Kizaru backing the investigation, they'd probably be able to dig up the color of Major Lorraine's underwear.

"Then summon Colonel Brian here, and remember not to try any funny business."

Borsalino sat down in Major Lorraine's chair, speaking with a displeased tone.

Even if he had never eaten pork, he had seen pigs run. Although Borsalino rarely took the initiative to deal with Marine scum himself, he was crystal clear on the corresponding procedures.

While waiting for Colonel Brian to arrive, Borsalino, thoroughly bored, simply shifted his attention back to the chat group.

Come to think of it, Tony's much-boasted pool party wasn't just empty talk. With a pool party lasting seven consecutive days, Borsalino hadn't even opened the chat group once.

[Passerby who wants to hug Luo Feng's thighs: Wuwuwu, I failed the advanced warrior assessment. It hurts so much.]

[Kobayashi: Don't be sad, Passerby-san. Head pat.jpg]

[Haibara Ai: What happened? Didn't you eat some kind of fruit earlier and become really strong after turning into a gorilla? Was there something wrong with that Gorilla-Gorilla Fruit?]