"Eh? How did you get out? Where's the Chief?"
Outside the stone hut, Sabo looked in surprise at Rorschach, who stepped out from the cracked wall.
"He's inside, reflecting on life."
Rorschach casually replied as he looked up and realized that at some point, the moon in the sky had already disappeared.
On the distant horizon, faint morning light had begun to appear.
Unknowingly, his meeting with Dragon had lasted the entire night.
Rorschach shook his head, lifted the wine flask in his hand, and took two gulps before shoving the remaining half into Sabo's arms. He patted his shoulder and said,
"Remember, keep this a secret. My life and career are now in your hands."
"Huh?"
Sabo froze for a moment before realizing what Rorschach meant — that a high-ranking Navy officer secretly meeting the leader of the Revolutionary Army was no small matter.
Indeed, if word of this meeting ever reached the World Government, Rorschach's future would be completely destroyed.
Thinking this, Sabo's expression turned serious. He straightened up and said solemnly,"You have my word. Nothing that happened here will ever be leaked. I swear on the name of the Revolutionary Army!"
At that moment, Betty walked over, holding Rorschach's jacket in her hands.
"Thanks."
Rorschach reached out to take the coat and cape, but Betty dodged him.
He was momentarily stunned.
Then, Betty stepped closer and unfolded his uniform.
"Think of this as my apology for our earlier… impolite behavior."
"That was nothing, really. Don't worry about it." Rorschach said as he tried to take the jacket again, but Betty dodged once more.
Seeing her stubbornness, he could only stand still and let her personally dress him.
Since he was much taller than Betty, he had to stoop down slightly.
The next moment, his eyes were filled with an impressive view of… generous curves.
With a cigarette dangling from her lips, Betty grasped the uniform and, standing right before him, swung it open and draped it over his back before tugging it into place.
Her motion caused Rorschach, who had been leaning forward, to lose balance — and he suddenly fell straight into Betty's open embrace.
Sabo, standing nearby with the wine flask still in his hands, froze with his mouth agape.
"Ugh…"
Completely caught off guard, Rorschach felt his face sink into an endless softness and fragrance. Heat rushed to his head, his mind went blank for a moment.
When he came back to his senses, he hurriedly tried to pull away — only for Betty to tighten her arms and trap his head firmly against her.
"Hey! Betty! What are you doing?!"
Rorschach's face turned scarlet.
Betty finally released him, letting him stumble back in confusion and embarrassment.
Seeing his crimson, flustered face, Betty held her cigarette delicately between pale fingers, blew a small puff of smoke toward him, and smiled playfully.
"Don't get the wrong idea — that was part of my apology. Looks like the world-famous Blue Qilin Vice Admiral is still an innocent boy. Mmm, you're pretty cute when you blush. It's making me want to keep you. How about it? Want to join us? There are plenty of perks~."
"No thanks! Goodbye!"
Rorschach covered his nose, the wind surging around him as he hastily shot into the sky.
A flash of lightning, and he vanished at incredible speed into the distant horizon.
Watching him flee in such panic, Betty's mood suddenly brightened.
She turned to glance at Sabo, who was still frozen in place, and teasingly lifted her jacket to reveal a scandalous amount of pale skin.
"Sabo, want to experience my warm embrace too?"
"Pffft—!" Sabo clutched his bleeding nose and bolted away, disappearing down the path in an instant.
"Are all the cute boys this shy? That Vice Admiral Rorschach just ran away like that? What a pity. I was hoping to get his Den Den Mushi number."
At that moment, the twelve-meter-tall giantess Morley walked over, her massive legs shaking the ground.
Betty glanced at her, put her cigarette back between her lips, and looked toward Dragon, who had just emerged from the stone hut.
"Morley, I don't think you're really his type," she said with a teasing grin.
Dragon's face was complicated, his mind filled with chaotic thoughts that needed time to sort through.
"Chief…" Betty began, wanting to ask what he and Rorschach had discussed.
But Dragon spoke first, his tone low and firm.
"Betty, you and Crow take a team to Reverse Mountain. Go to the 'Ant Nest' and retrieve the Berries hidden there."
Betty and Morley were both stunned. They looked at Dragon in confusion.
"Who left the Berries there? Was it Ahiru?"
"No, it was Rorschach." Dragon sighed, pulling his hood back over his face, shadowing his expression as he turned to leave.
"What? Rorschach? How could he possibly know about the Ant Nest?"
Both Morley and Betty were shocked, disbelief flashing in their eyes.
The so-called "Ant Nest" was a massive labyrinth-like network Morley had secretly carved into the interior of the Red Line using her Push-Push Fruit ability over decades.
Hidden deep within the Red Line, it connected to the major seas of the world.
The Revolutionary Army's ability to appear and disappear mysteriously across the globe often relied on these secret passages.
And the Ant Nest's existence was the organization's highest-level secret — known only to a few senior commanders.
Now, somehow, this information was in the hands of a Navy man.
If the World Government ever discovered it, their years of planning and preparation to overthrow its rule would be completely ruined.
The Ant Nest even connected to the underground of the Holy Land, Mariejois!
"Well, now he's got leverage on us too," Betty sighed helplessly. "That Vice Admiral Rorschach is one tricky man."
A few days later, at the Marine Branch on Qianyan Island.
Rorschach walked out of the infirmary with Hibari, stepping onto the balcony outside.
Colonel Jennifer was standing there quietly, watching the busy figures below.
Rorschach followed her gaze.
Countless men and women, young and old, were sweating as they worked.
They were island residents who had voluntarily come to help rebuild the damaged Marine base.
Among them were also people rescued from the royal capital.
Farther away, dozens of massive snail-shaped ships loaded with weapons floated on the sea.
They were Germa's mobile war docks.
"Colonel Jennifer, I've already spoken to Fleet Admiral Sengoku. These war docks will remain here as part of Branch 177's naval fleet. The weapons will stay too — they're advanced tech and will help restore your combat strength quickly."
Jennifer turned around, guilt and exhaustion written all over her beautiful face.
In a weary voice, she said,"I'm sorry. This was my failure. Because of me, the branch suffered heavy losses — 186 brave soldiers dead. Bill and others were gravely injured, some even crippled. It's my incompetence that ended their naval careers…"
"Aunt Jennifer!" Hibari quickly ran up, hugging her arm with teary eyes. "It's not your fault! It was the cruelty of the Germa Kingdom and Judge's mercilessness that caused all this!"
Jennifer sighed and looked toward the infirmary behind Rorschach, her gaze darkening.
"No, this is my failure. As the commanding officer of Branch 177, I failed to protect my soldiers or fulfill my duty to safeguard this sea."
She reached out to gently stroke Hibari's hair, speaking softly,"I'll submit my resignation to Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Branch 177 needs a stronger, more capable leader."
"Aunt Jennifer…" Hibari's lips trembled, eyes glistening.
Rorschach sighed inwardly.
He knew Jennifer had been through too much in too short a time — she was completely drained.
Maybe stepping down from her position would finally let this poor woman rest.
He didn't try to talk her out of it.
The North Blue was far more dangerous than the East Blue.
In the East Blue, Smoker's base at Loguetown was enough to suppress most pirate threats and kingdom unrest.
But in the North Blue, even elite branches like 177 struggled just to maintain order in a handful of small nations.
Further out, they had no reach at all.
With countless powerful kingdoms and pirate groups lurking about, the North Blue was a web of chaos.
When Adira had been alive, she could still keep the peace.
But now that she was gone, maintaining stability here with only 177's limited strength was nearly impossible.
The North Blue needed a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral to truly hold it down.
In the days that followed, Rorschach stayed on Qianyan Island to clean up the mess left after Germa's downfall.
Only after ensuring everything was settled did he bid farewell to Branch 177 and depart with Hibari, heading back to Marine Headquarters.
The World Conference was about to begin, and he would also be escorting Cobra to Mariejois.
As expected, Sengoku smoothed over the Germa incident perfectly, and Rorschach received no blame from the World Government.
"Rorschach, aren't you going to take a look below?"
High above Red Leaf Island, hundreds of meters in the air, Rorschach stood on the prow of the flying warship, gazing down at the familiar island below. His eyes softened with longing and remembrance.
Beside him, Hibari took his hand gently and asked softly.
Rorschach looked deeply at the lush, overgrown island below and shook his head lightly.
"No, not this time. Next time I come back, I'll build a wooden cabin here and stay for a while."
"Then when that time comes, I want to come too. Can I, Rorschach?"
"Of course."
End of Chapter)
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