Uncle Magellan, I want to ask… what will happen to Ivankov and the others?"
After some thought, Rorschach decided to ask directly.
Magellan, sitting behind his desk, pulled out a Den Den Mushi from his drawer. As he dialed, he glanced at Rorschach.
"Are you worried that I'll have them executed?"
His brows furrowed slightly as he studied the boy.
"Rorschach, they are criminals. Not only that, but they openly defied the laws of Impel Down and attempted to escape during their sentence."
Rorschach remained silent.
He pressed his lips together before finally speaking.
"I know that, Uncle Magellan… it's just that… most of them didn't seem like truly bad people. Even though Ivankov is a high-ranking officer in the Revolutionary Army, he is also known as a 'miracle worker' who saved an entire nation. He may be guilty, but perhaps not to the extent of deserving death..."
Magellan listened, then gave a slight nod, signaling Rorschach to take a seat.
"The final decision regarding Ivankov and the others isn't up to me. I have to contact Fleet Admiral Sengoku and wait for his orders."
"But even if they aren't sentenced to death, they won't escape punishment."
"Mass prison break, aiding and abetting other escapees, stealing a large amount of Impel Down's resources—including food, clothing, firearms, and weapons—along with the theft of classified information and the erasure of surveillance footage..."
"With all these charges combined…"
"The ringleader, Ivankov, will most likely be imprisoned in Eternal Hell (Level 6)."
"Revolutionary Army member Inazuma will be sent to Freezing Hell (Level 5)."
"As for the others, their sentences will be increased based on their original crimes."
Rorschach sighed. He understood and said nothing more, sitting quietly to the side.
—
"Purururu… Purururu…"
The Den Den Mushi rang a few times before it was answered.
"Moshi moshi, this is Sengoku. Magellan, is that you? What's the matter?"
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, this is Magellan."
Magellan picked up the receiver.
"Something happened in Impel Down today, and I need to report the situation to you. It involves Colonel Rorschach."
"Wait a second—!"
Sengoku's voice suddenly shot up eight octaves.
Magellan could even hear a slight tremor in his tone.
"Magellan… y-you said this involves who?"
"Rorschach—"
Click.
"Beep… beep… beep… beep…"
Sengoku hung up.
Magellan froze.
"Huh? Why did Fleet Admiral Sengoku hang up? Did something urgent happen at Marine Headquarters?"
"Cough… maybe."
Rorschach, sitting on the couch, forced a dry laugh.
"Uncle Magellan, just wait a bit. Maybe the old man will call back soon."
—
Marine Headquarters—Marineford
At the peak of the Justice Fortress, inside the Fleet Admiral's Office.
Sengoku sat back in his chair, a relaxed expression on his face.
With a warm smile, he held a steaming cup of milk in his right hand, sipping it in satisfaction.
"You seem to be in a much better mood lately, Fleet Admiral Sengoku. You even look younger."
On the nearby sofa, Admiral Kizaru lounged with one leg crossed over the other, slowly trimming his nails.
Hearing Kizaru's comment, Sengoku smirked.
"Hahahaha, really?"
He placed the milk down, pulled open a drawer, took out a jar of sugar cubes, and dropped two into his cup. Then, he blew on it gently before taking another sip.
Kizaru wasn't wrong. Sengoku had been in a great mood lately.
Ever since Saint Rosward and his entire family of Celestial Dragons died six months ago in the Sabaody Archipelago…
The Marines' daily life had suddenly become way more comfortable than it had been for the past ten years.
Even Sengoku and the other high-ranking officers hadn't expected this miraculous turn of events.
They had initially thought that the Five Elders would hold them responsible for the deaths of three Celestial Dragons.
But instead—not only were they not blamed, but the Marines were granted more authority than ever before.
The most obvious change?
This year's military budget was increased by 30%.
That was no small amount.
For years, the Marine budget had been one of the biggest headaches for high-ranking officers like Sengoku.
With naval bases across the world, the Four Seas, the Grand Line, and countless branch offices, the Marines had over a million soldiers to pay.
Just the basic salaries alone amounted to an astronomical sum of hundreds of billions of Berries every year.
And that wasn't even counting the bounty payments for capturing pirates, maintenance costs for bases and warships, research funding, pensions for fallen soldiers, medical expenses, and more.
In Recent Years, Sengoku Lived on a Tight Budget For years, Sengoku had been tightening his belt just to keep things running.
Even the salaries of the three Admirals had been delayed for half a year due to insufficient military funds.
And keep in mind—the pay for high-ranking officers like them wasn't cheap.
Just their base salary alone—a single Admiral earned over 100 million Berries per month.
That might sound like a lot, but considering the sheer combat power an Admiral possessed, 100 million Berries a month was practically spare change.
As Marines standing at the pinnacle of the sea, they could easily defeat a few major pirates and achieve financial freedom overnight.
Or, they could simply offer protection to a World Government member nation and be worshipped like gods without lifting a finger.
And when it came to the wealthiest Marine officer, that title undoubtedly belonged to Akainu.
A few days ago, Sengoku had the military affairs department compile some statistics.
In just one year, Akainu had eliminated enough pirates to claim over 50 billion Berries in bounty rewards.
According to Marine regulations, 30% of that amount went directly to him.
That meant Akainu personally earned 15 billion Berries.
And that didn't even include the pirates he had incinerated beyond recognition with his magma, whose bounties couldn't even be claimed.
Of the remaining 35 billion Berries, over 10 billion had to be distributed among the Marines who fought alongside him.
This bounty system created by the World Government had turned Akainu and his hawk faction into one of the richest divisions in the entire Marine force—just by hunting pirates.
This was also one of the key reasons why Akainu had such immense influence within the ranks.
And then, everything changed.
After the Celestial Dragons' deaths, the Five Elders ordered the Marines to reinforce their control over the seas to prevent such incidents from happening again.
As a result, they increased the Marine budget, making Sengoku grin from ear to ear.
"We truly owe our thanks to Saint Rosward's family…"
Their deaths had brought more justice and peace to the world.
They had died well.
Now that the salaries were flowing again, even Sengoku's milk tasted sweeter.
He dropped two extra sugar cubes into his cup.
"So sweet~."
He took a satisfied sip.
—
"Purururu… Purururu…"
The Den Den Mushi on the desk suddenly rang.
Sengoku glanced at the number—it was from Impel Down.
Smiling, he picked it up.
"Moshi moshi, Magellan? What's the matter?"
A deep, familiar voice came through the receiver.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, something happened at Impel Down today. I need to report it to you… it involves Colonel Rorschach."
Sengoku froze.
"Wait… who did you say this involves?"
"Colonel Rorschach—"
Click.
Sengoku hung up instantly.
He sat bolt upright, reaching for his cup of hot milk—
But his hand was shaking.
The muscles on his face twitched.
On the couch, Kizaru, still trimming his nails, lazily scratched his cheek and looked up.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, did I just hear the name 'Rorschach'?"
"No. You misheard. It was a hallucination. The Den Den Mushi never rang."
Sengoku took a sip of his milk, trying to convince himself.
"Really? But I'm pretty sure I heard Magellan's voice…"
Kizaru pouted.
Bang!
Sengoku slammed his milk down on the desk and leaped up, moving like a cat whose tail had just been stepped on.
"I said it was a hallucination!"
He practically spit saliva at Kizaru as he yelled, his expression falling apart.
Sengoku clutched his head and took a step away from the Den Den Mushi.
"Rorschach again!"
"That damn brat again!"
"Why does trouble follow him everywhere?!"
"He went to Sabaody—three Celestial Dragons died."
"Six months of peace, and now this?!"
"Who the hell sent him to Impel Down?!"
Kizaru, his ears ringing from Sengoku's roar, casually dug his finger into his ear and blinked.
"Hmm… I think you sent him there, Fleet Admiral. You said you wanted him to retrieve that giant prisoner to strengthen ties with Elbaf in the future…"
"That damn brat! What kind of trouble did he cause this time?!"
Sengoku pretended not to hear Kizaru and stared at the Den Den Mushi.
His hand hovered over it, hesitating.
He realized something.
He was developing "Rorschach PTSD Syndrome."
At any mention of Rorschach's name, his first thought was:
"Damn it. That kid caused trouble again."
Would this involve Celestial Dragons again?!
…No.
There were no Celestial Dragons in Impel Down.
…Then could it be—
Had Rorschach accidentally released every prisoner in Eternal Hell?!
Had Bullet, Redfield, and Wald all escaped?!
The thought alone made his milk taste bitter.
Sengoku glanced at Kizaru—who was still trimming his nails like nothing was wrong—before gritting his teeth and pointing at the Den Den Mushi.
"Borsalino! You take the call! Find out what that little bastard Rorschach did this time!"
—
(Author's Note: 140,000 words updated in 12 days! I'm exhausted! Please subscribe!)
(End of Chapter)
────────────────────────────────────
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Naruto: Starting with Tsunade-san]."
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Battle Through the Heavens: Heavenly comprehension]."
"If you want an early access join my patreon:- patreon.com/BaDwYGaMeR"