Mariejois. Inside the room of the highest authority of the World Government: the Gorosei.
Standing in the room, besides Fleet Admiral Sengoku, were Great Staff Officer Tsuru, as well as Kizaru and Aokiji, who had been summoned immediately upon their return to Headquarters.
"This failure... do you have nothing to explain for yourselves?" a burly Gorosei with a black suit, long white beard, and long white hair spoke coldly. Everyone knew he was referring to the issue concerning their authority.
"Mmmm~ the Immortal Pirates are just too scary, ne~"
Kizaru put on his typical "I'm so frightened" act. "This was a premeditated battle. We were blocked by Ivalis and Beckman; there was no way to arrive in time~"
"Shut up, Borsalino! Do you dare claim you fought with everything you had?" Seeing Kizaru's behavior, the bald Gorosei with the handlebar mustache seethed with rage. It was a well-known fact that Kizaru was a slacker who never gave his all on missions.
Finding the conversation dull, Kizaru didn't let it bother him. He turned his head away, pretending to admire the scenery of the room.
Sengoku organized his thoughts and replied, "Dr. Vegapunk's return route was compromised. This indicates a spy within either the Marines or the Government. As for the identity of this spy... the investigation is ongoing."
"You must find them!" the bald Gorosei hissed through gritted teeth.
Terms like 'traitor' and 'spy' were the most loathed concepts, whether among pirates, Marines, or the Government—more detestable than the enemies themselves.
"Is Vegapunk really that easy to capture?" Tsuru suddenly spoke up.
The Gorosei with the blonde hair and short beard narrowed his eyes. "What are you implying, Tsuru?"
Tsuru crossed her arms over her chest, analyzing the situation calmly. "With his intellect, would he never have considered how to protect himself in the event his route was discovered and his intel exposed?"
The Gorosei in the traditional kimono pushed up his glasses. "Speak plainly, Tsuru."
Since things had already reached this point, Tsuru didn't plan on saving face for the Gorosei. She said directly: "I suspect Vegapunk wanted to leave. It's even possible he found some way to sell his own return route to Alucard so that he would be rescued."
The expressions of the Gorosei flickered. The one wearing a black hat with curly hair could no longer sit still. "What kind of joke is this?! What reason would he have to do that?"
"I'm not a scientist; I can't speculate on his thought process," Tsuru replied, her face remaining impassive. "However, after learning about this, I reconnected the events between Vegapunk and Alucard. I found their relationship to be extremely suspicious. We originally thought their first meeting was at Enies Lobby, when Dragon was first captured and Alucard acted as a weapon broker..."
"Are you saying that Vegapunk and Alucard knew each other before he was recruited by the Government?" Before Tsuru could finish her analysis, the long-bearded Gorosei interrupted impatiently.
"I didn't say that. I'm merely reflecting on a possibility." Tsuru also turned her face away, no longer intending to involve herself further.
"Arara... we just received news that Caesar Clown was also kidnapped by a mysterious group. How should we handle that?" Kuzan asked.
"That man's threat level is nowhere near Vegapunk's, and he's already a criminal. Leave it to the Marines to determine his bounty and issue the Wanted poster."
The blonde Gorosei leaned back on the sofa with his legs crossed, dismissively ignoring Caesar. Their only concern now was Vegapunk.
"What must be done now is to retrieve Vegapunk. Leaving him with Alucard will lead to endless trouble," the bald Gorosei stated firmly.
"How? A frontal assault? That would break the balance of the seas."
Truth be told, Sengoku didn't want to get involved in this mess. Although Vegapunk was protected by the Government, he essentially worked for the Government's interests.
To date, Vegapunk had made two major contributions to the Marines: first, Seastone weaponry—though that was a contribution to the whole world, not just the Marines. Second, the Pacifista (ZF) series, human weapons modeled after Zephyr. But due to Zephyr's betrayal and subsequent death, that project had been cut short.
In other words, saving Vegapunk would mean sacrificing Marine military strength. Whether they succeeded or failed, the Marines would lose. If they failed, their strength would be depleted; if they succeeded, the benefits would go back to the Government.
Therefore, if given a choice, Sengoku's preference was to "let it go." Ideally, the Government should use its own forces to retrieve him. After all, Vegapunk was a "Wild Card," and Sengoku didn't want him in the hands of a dangerous man like Alucard either. But getting those skinflints in the Government to deploy their own forces was basically impossible.
The Gorosei with the curly hair said, "Kong will draft the battle plan. You Marines should also hold a meeting immediately to formulate a strategy."
The meeting regarding the kidnapping of Vegapunk and Caesar ended there. The Government wanted the Marines to save the man, while the Marines didn't want to waste their strength for the Government's gain, yet they also didn't want to sit by and watch Alucard's power grow.
The final result: everyone wanted Vegapunk back, but no one wanted to be the one to send the troops.
…
On the way back to Marineford, Sengoku glanced at Tsuru. "Tsuru, was your analysis back there true or false?"
"It's true if you believe it, and false if you don't," Tsuru replied ambiguously.
Sengoku gave a wry smile. "You're giving me the run-around too?"
Tsuru chuckled. "I can't be certain, but the connection between those two is far too suspicious."
"In that case, it really is possible that Vegapunk proactively sent his intel to Alucard somehow..." Aokiji scratched his head.
"Terrifying~ He already has Boa Hancock, Ivalis, Benn Beckman, and a bunch of powerful pirates. Now he adds Vegapunk... He's truly like a tiger that has grown wings."
Kizaru maintained his fearful act, while secretly thinking: If we can't win, I'll just run. If Sengoku knew his inner thoughts, he might have died of anger.
As for Tsuru's suspicion that Vegapunk sold himself out, Vegapunk could only say: You're all overthinking it. I really didn't plan on doing that.