One Piece: Mandala Swordsman

Chapter 172 What goes around comes around; no one escapes the wrath of Heaven.

"In the New World, a fierce conflict has broken out between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Beasts Pirates. Does this have anything to do with you?"

“Although our relationship isn’t very harmonious, you can’t just put all the blame on me. Even if you want to hold me accountable, you should have a better reason! Besides, isn’t conflict between pirates a good thing? Their internal strife is an opportunity for us, the Navy.” Roman looked at Borsalino with an “innocent” expression.

This sparkly thing seems to fit in anywhere, even in an ordinary dessert shop.

To avoid Borsalino saying anything more offensive, Roman quickly finished off the sweets in his hand.

"Well, I guess I'm overthinking it." Borsalino could only purse his lips after hearing Roman's words.

No wonder he thought so much. Before the Whitebeard Pirates and the Beasts Pirates clashed, Roman had already gone to the New World, and the timing was very close. Almost as soon as Roman left, Whitebeard and Kaido started fighting.

But it could also be a genuine coincidence.

He's already very busy with training his subordinates, sparring with Mihawk, persuading him to become a Shichibukai, rescuing the mermaids, and heading to Fish-Man Island. He probably doesn't have time to cause any more trouble.

"Dog-eat-dog" behavior is common among pirates, but it is indeed rare for two emperors of the sea to clash. However, for the Navy, it is not bad news at all. The fiercer the fight, the more the Navy is happy to see it.

If a navy were to actually provoke conflict between the emperors of the sea, that would be a great achievement.

However, she probably really didn't have time to finish it.

In Borusalino's eyes, Roman was practically a walking "merit magnet," able to achieve great things wherever he went.

Moreover, these are all major achievements. It's not hard to guess that, with Kuzan's support, Roman will definitely have a place in the future naval power structure. No, perhaps Kuzan's help is no longer important; it's just a matter of whether the road ahead will be smoother.

Although it's not obvious yet, Roman's status is steadily increasing. Now, Borsalino can't say anything to Roman casually anymore, after all, things are different now.

She is no longer the ordinary student she once was. In Marineford, she has already established herself firmly, and when the time is right, she can soar to great heights.

In the Navy, rank and status are not absolute. For example, Vice Admiral Garp is so highly decorated that no one would dare to claim that Admiral Sengoku's status is higher than his. Special cases require specific analysis.

Meanwhile, Roman was internally complaining: You guessed pretty accurately, kid! You old fox, you don't care about your work, you just single me out.

Borsalino, to be honest, is the most cunning of the three admirals. He sees things clearly, but he doesn't interfere too much.

Although time was a bit tight, he probably never imagined that I was doing everything together.

But if you still have time to think about this, you must be too idle.

Don't worry, I'll arrange it for you right away.

"If I remember correctly, it's still working hours now. This is my special day off, granted by the Warring States General. How come you have time to go shopping? Oh, by the way, speaking of which, I was thinking of having the Warring States General assign you some tasks. What do you think..."

After Roman stopped serving as Sakazuki's adjutant, Sakazuki changed adjutants at an increasingly rapid pace. Perhaps he finally couldn't stand it anymore, so Sakazuki simply took matters into his own hands, which made his burden even heavier.

As for Kuzan, his adjutant was exhausted, but Kuzan could still sleep soundly.

Both of them are the type who can't easily have their workload increased. If one gets any more, he probably really won't be able to handle it; as for the other, no matter how much more he gets, it won't make a difference, since it's the adjutant who will die from overwork anyway.

Only Borsalino can be used for sharpening knives.

"Hey, hey, have mercy on me, Colonel Roman. The recent military affairs alone are enough to drive me crazy." Borsalino raised his hands in surrender.

Since Sakazuki was reminded by Roman that he had been piling military affairs on him, he has been wary of him like a thief. Borsalino has no chance to "swap" him anymore, and unlike Kuzan, he can't tolerate Sengoku's incessant nagging every day.

"How can you say that? The Warring States General is willing to train you well. Isn't that an honor?" Roman covered her mouth and laughed.

It was almost a consensus in Marineford that the three men would become generals after serving as marshals during the Sengoku period; it was simply a matter of time.

In fact, the Warring States period was also "carefully nurturing" the three.

Therefore, many of Sengoku's less important affairs were handled by the other three, because he also had to spend time dealing with military affairs for Garp. It was truly a touching friendship.

Of course, this "well-intentioned" and "good-natured" approach doesn't necessarily mean that the person involved can accept it.

"Speaking of which, Colonel Roman, what is your background?" Seeing that the topic was about to veer in his own way, Borsalino simply changed the subject, which was something he had always wanted to know.

"You're still very interested?" Roman smiled slightly.

"Just out of curiosity," Borsalino admitted tactfully.

"Then I'll tell you!"

"So you really don't say it easily? I mean... what?" Roman's answer almost made his sunglasses fall off.

"Tell me, don't you want to hear it?"

"Of course I want to know." Borsalino was genuinely curious.

"A country with a history of five thousand years, located in the southwest corner of the Eastern Lion, a land through which long rivers flow, with rugged mountain roads, and a rich tapestry of ethnic cultures, situated at a major transportation hub in China..."

"Huh?" Although Borsalino could understand each word individually, he found that he couldn't understand them when they were put together. It felt like Roman had said everything, yet he hadn't said anything at all.

He wanted to ask something more, but Roman gave him a knowing look and then left, leaving Borsalino with only a dashing silhouette.

Borsalino scratched his head and thought for a long time before suddenly coming to a conclusion: had he been tricked again?

……

Does this count as playing a trick on Borsalino?

Roman felt it didn't quite count.

He simply wanted to find out about Roman's background and understand why he was considered special.

but……

I have more than one background. Let me tell you one, and you don't know it? That's your problem, not mine.

Roman, who had just teased Borsalino, had no idea that he was about to be teased by Sengoku.

The saying "every link has its own reward" probably refers to this principle.