After a brief silence, Sengoku said in a deep voice, "Perhaps he really does have some issues... damn it. But he's a good boy, I know it."

  "Now is not the time to get emotional, you idiot!" Tsuru scolded the wavering Sengoku before abruptly hanging up the Den Den Mushi.

  She didn't want to listen to Sengoku's excuses or his pleas on behalf of Rosi would just be more pointless justifications. If Sengoku were to act recklessly, it might implicate him even further. Without another word, she hung up, leaving Sengoku speechless oher end.

  After cutting off the e,Tsuru returo the deck.

  As she watched the fmes engulf Minion Isnd, her mind raced with thoughts. While Dofmingo seemed unharmed, there was defirouble brewing on their side.

  If the operation to secure the Ope-Ope Fruit went without any issues, then fine.

  If not, things could spiral out of trol.

  Supp Sengoku's deight have been her instinct, but here? On this matter? As long as the Wover received the Ope-Ope Fruit, they likely wouldn't dig deeper into the details. But if there roblem? This time, it wouldn't just be Marine fag sequences, it could bring disaster on all of them.

  While Tsuru mulled over these thoughts, Cudius's ship, Prometheus, slowly docked in the port. Seeing this, Tsuru promptly disembarked from the warship to board the Prometheus.

  Unlike Dofmingo, who she could treat with a colder attitude, Cudius was a Celestial Dragon of high standing, far above her rank. She couldn't afford to put up any pretense or airs. There was no way she could let Cudius e aboard the warship to meet her instead, it would be unthinkable.

  As the fmes from Minion Isnd reflected in Cudius's eyes, he seemed to have a vague idea of the situation but chose to feign fusion. When Tsuru approached, he turo her with a questioning expression.

  "Sister Tsuru, what's going on? The operation only just started, didn't it? Did you ge the pn already? Are you res to force? Isn't that a bit reckless? If I recall correctly, Marine approved five billion Berries for this mission. Was there really a o take such a big risk?" Cudius asked, pretending to be puzzled.

  Tsuru's expression stiffened slightly. After a brief pause, she said, "Yhness, some unforeseen circumstances have occurred on the isnd. Someoed before us, and we had to adjust our pns accly."

  Cudius's expression froze for a moment before darkening. "Was it Doffy? I warned him repeatedly not to act. Don't tell me he still ignored my orders?"

  "No, no, Yhness, there's o get upset. I don't think this has anything to do with Dofmingo," Tsuru quickly expined. "We haven't figured everything out yet, but we've already started intervening. I'm fident we'll get answers soon."

  Of course, Tsuru didn't dare to expihing to Cudius, especially not about Rosinante being Marine's undercent.

  In Tsuru's mind, Dofmingo and Cudius didn't know anything about Rosirue identity. If Cudius were to find out, it could bee an incredibly awkward situation—and, potentially, a dangerous one. After all, Cudius had been nothing but cooperative with Marine, even aiding them in several ventures. If he were to learn that Marine had pced an undercent within Dofmingo's ranks, it would uandably provoke his anger.

  Even if the Five Elders had saned Marine's as, it wouldn't help. The risk was too high. Cudius losing faith in Marine would jeopardize all the lucrative dealings they'd had with him, it would truly be a catastrophic move.

  Cudius nodded, feigning uanding. His tone softened as he said, "Good. If Doffy isn't the one causing trouble, I still face him without issue."

  "Yes, Yhness rest easy, but for us Marines? We won't have any excuses if things go south. A total loss," Tsuru thought grimly.

  Cudius hesitated for a moment before adding, "Although I was seo observe, if the situation requires it, I assist on the isnd."

  Hearing this, Tsuru quickly waved her hand in dismissal. "There's o trouble you, Yhness. Let us ha."

  She was determio keep Cudius off the isnd. If Cudius were to go and somehoture Rosi could spell disaster for Marine if Rosirue identity was exposed during interrogation.

  The best-case sario now was fion to capture Rosinante discreetly and ehe safety of the Ope-Ope Fruit. From there, they could downpy the i as much as possible.

  Cudius, seeing Tsuru's insistenodded after a moment of feigned hesitation. "Very well. I'll defer to you, Sister Tsuru."

  In truth, Cudius had no desire to step onto the isnd at all. This whole affair was a mess, and he had no iion of getting caught up in it. If it weren't for the Five Elders his presence here, he wouldn't have bothered ing to Minion Isnd in the first pce. The pce was full of trouble.

  And so, Tsuru and Cudius both stood aboard the ship, quietly watg the events unfold on Minion Isnd. her of them inteo wade into the chaos below.

  Meanwhile, on the isnd, Rosinante was frantically leading Law away. In his hands, he held the heart-shaped Devil Fruit—the Ope-Ope Fruit.

  "With this, your illness will be cured for sure, Law!" Rosinante excimed with excitement.

  "Corazon, your injuries…" Law said worriedly, more ed about Rosinante's dition.

  Though Rosinante had mao avoid being caught in the earlier explosion, he had still sustained signifit injuries, including two gunshot wounds. Blood was seeping through his clothes.

  "It's nothing. This isn't the time to worry about me. Hurry up ahis. We o leave Minion Isnd as soon as possible!" Rosinante said as he grabbed Law. Without waiting for the boy's sent, he forced the Ope-Ope Fruit into his mouth, making him swallow it.

  Dragging the retg Law along, Rosinante pressed onward until exhaustion finally overcame him.

  "Mr. Corazon, where are we going now?" Law asked, his voice tinged with .

  "To find my brother," Rosinante said suddenly, a flicted expression crossing his face.

  Uhe inal timeline, where Dofmingo's as were purely evil, this version of Dofmingo wore the guise of a CP-X agent. In theory, Rosinante and Dofmingo were teically on the same side, even if they beloo different fas.

  Yes, Dofmingo was still as ruthless as ever, but he hadn't yet done anything so heinous that Rosinante couldn't bear it. Most importantly, Dofmingo hadn't killed their father in this version of events. As a result, Rosiill harbored some remnants of brotherly affe for him.

  Even though he was an underce by Marine, Rosinante had never leaked any information about Dofmingo. There was nothing to leak, really. Dofmingo's as, brutal as they were, aligned with the Wover's is.

  Only this time, Rosinante had "betrayed" Dofmingo by secretly handing the Ope-Ope Fruit to Law. But in Rosinante's mind, his brother was still the best option for ensuring Law's survival. If Law ended up in the hands of the Wover, it would be a death sentence.

  Of course, if there had been a third option—somewhere to take Law to live out his days in obscurity—that would have been ideal. But given the circumstahere was no choice.

  Rosinante believed that, through their remaining brotherly bond, he might be able to reason with Dofmingo. As for the Wover? He knew he had no leverage there. Not even his godfather, Sengoku, could defy their authority. Being a Celestial Dragon himself, Rosinante uood all too well the limits of Marine's painst the will of the Wover.

  "Your brother?" Law asked, fused. "Didn't you say we o stay away from him? Why are we going to him now?"

  Before Rosinante could expin, a sharp ssh suddenly struck the ground in front of them, blog their path. Moments ter, the figure of Gion emerged from the shadows, her bde glinting in the dim light.

  "So it really was you, Rosinante," Gion said coldly, her voice ced with anger. "Hand over the Ope-Ope Fruit. Maybe, for Dofmingo's sake, I'll let you go."

  "Momousagi…," Rosinante murmured, his expression darkening as he stared at her.

  This was bad. Only a select few knew of his status as a Marine undercent, and Gion wasn't one of them. This made things far more plicated.