Reaping What He Sowed

The conference room fell into a brief silence. After a while, several senior officers entered and reported to Kong.

Kong nodded and motioned for them to leave.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Kong slowly spoke:

"Just now, I ordered a search of both your residences."

He paused, observing Jon and Vitus's reactions. Surprisingly, neither of them showed much emotion beyond initial mild surprise. Their expressions remained calm, as if they had nothing to hide.

"Bring the items in."

At his command, several officers placed objects on the conference table.

The assembled officers leaned in curiously, while one of the senior officers reported, "Fleet Admiral, these were the most suspicious items we found."

On the table sat a box and a Den Den Mushi.

"This box was found in Rear Admiral Jon's quarters. The Den Den Mushi was discovered in Captain Vitus's room."

Jon looked at the box but remained silent. Vitus, however, immediately let out a panicked cry upon seeing the Den Den Mushi.

"This Den Den Mushi isn't mine! It was really found in my quarters?"

The senior officer's expression darkened as he responded sternly, "A full search team conducted the operation together. If you doubt it, you can ask the others."

Vitus opened his mouth but found himself unable to argue. Something felt terribly wrong, but he couldn't put it into words.

Kong cleared his throat and first turned to Jon. "Rear Admiral Jon, what's inside this box?"

"Seeds. Plant seeds," Jon answered without hesitation.

Kong ordered it opened, revealing a large number of seeds. He examined them carefully but found nothing suspicious.

He then turned to Vitus. "Captain Vitus, what is the meaning of this Den Den Mushi?"

Vitus frantically responded, "Fleet Admiral, I swear I don't know anything about this! I've never seen it before! I have no idea how it ended up in my room! Someone must be trying to frame me!"

As he spoke, his eyes darted toward Jon, his meaning unmistakable.

But Kong frowned and said, "The decision to search your quarters was made on the spot, with no prior notice. If you're claiming someone framed you, are you accusing me, or are you accusing Rear Admiral Jon?"

"I—I didn't mean it that way! I just—"

Vitus was completely flustered now. He had no idea how the Den Den Mushi had gotten there, but he had an ominous feeling that if he were found guilty of possessing it, he would be finished.

At that moment, Vice Admiral Tsuru suddenly spoke:

"Captain Vitus, you claim you have nothing to do with this Den Den Mushi, but if you really don't know what it is, why did you panic the moment you saw it? If you had never seen it before, why would it scare you?"

Everyone's eyes locked onto Vitus, filled with suspicion.

He was panicking, but he hadn't lost his mind. He quickly argued, "A strange object appearing in my quarters out of nowhere is obviously a cause for concern! Especially when I'm being accused—I had every reason to be alarmed!"

Kong nodded, signaling for an expert to inspect the Den Den Mushi.

It was a standard-looking Den Den Mushi with ten buttons for dialing. From its appearance alone, it seemed unremarkable.

The officer handling the examination was clearly skilled. His fingers moved deftly over the device as he conducted a series of tests.

A few minutes later, he reported: "Fleet Admiral, based on my analysis, a few of these buttons have been used frequently. However, to determine the exact numbers, I will need to test them one by one."

"No rush. Do it now, and take your time," Kong ordered.

"Understood."

The officer began dialing the stored numbers. The first call was an invalid number. Then another. And another. Only one of the calls actually connected, but the person on the other end was a random civilian, quickly ruled out as unrelated.

Over thirty minutes passed, and the officer had made over a hundred test calls. Just as the others were starting to grow impatient, the Den Den Mushi connected to another call—and this time, someone picked up.

The room, which had been filled with idle murmuring, instantly went silent.

Kong, who had been leaning back, suddenly sat upright. He motioned for the officer to stay quiet, and everyone else focused on the Den Den Mushi as if realizing something important was about to happen.

Perhaps sensing the silence on the other end, the person on the line finally spoke.

"Who is this?"

Kong gestured for the officer to hand him the receiver. Taking it, he calmly asked:

"Dragon?"

A sharp click.

The call was immediately cut off.

The entire room froze.

Everyone's expressions changed, their faces ranging from shock to grim realization.

Most notably, Vitus's face turned ashen, as if all the blood had drained from it.

"Call again," Kong ordered.

The officer tried, but the line was now permanently disconnected.

Kong's face darkened as he turned to Vitus and demanded, "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Vitus stumbled backward, his legs going weak.

"It wasn't me! I swear, I had nothing to do with this! That Den Den Mushi isn't mine! I didn't know it was there, I didn't know who was on the other end—I swear this has nothing to do with me!"

Desperation took over. Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, Vitus screamed, pointing at Jon.

"It was him! He set me up! Fleet Admiral, this is all his doing! I'm innocent!"

Jon remained silent, his expression unchanged, offering neither a rebuttal nor an explanation.

Seeing Jon's calm demeanor, Tsuru stepped in:

"No one here ever said the person on the other end was Dragon. So how did you know?"

Vitus froze, horror dawning in his eyes as he realized his mistake.

He had just dug his own grave.

Kong shook his head and issued his final order:

"Take him away. Interrogate him thoroughly."

"Fleet Admiral, I'm innocent! That Den Den Mushi isn't mine! Jon framed me! Please, you have to believe me!"

Vitus's pleas turned into desperate screams as he was dragged away.

Once he was gone, Kong addressed the rest of the group:

"This matter is settled. Dismissed."

As Fleet Admiral, Kong had spent decades leading the Marines. He knew full well there was more to this situation than what had been presented.

But sometimes, it didn't matter.

All the evidence pointed to Vitus.

Whether or not he was truly guilty—he had to be.

Jon and the others left the conference room.

Sakazuki and the rest were still processing what had just happened.

"What the hell just happened?" Sakazuki asked, his usual confidence momentarily shaken.

Jon simply shrugged. "It's pretty clear, isn't it? Vitus accused me of working with Dragon, but in the end, he was the one actually connected to him. I'd bet he was the one who leaked my location to Dragon last time."

"This whole thing is just... unbelievable," Doberman muttered.

"Nothing should surprise you anymore," Borsalino said lazily, waving a hand dismissively. "The Fleet Admiral already made his decision. No need to overthink it. Let's just move on."

Sakazuki glanced at Jon.

Something still felt off about all of this.

Had Jon played a part in framing Vitus?

It was possible.

But it was also possible that Vitus really had been guilty.

Ultimately, it didn't matter.

The decision had already been made.

Doberman left, still confused.

That left Jon, Peberton, and Borsalino standing together.

Jon smiled slightly, watching as Vitus's fate was sealed.

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