After spending several days on Terian Island, Ortoren and Gion set out on their journey once more. However, by the time they departed, their relationship had undergone a profound transformation.
Before, they were merely close comrades-in-arms. Now... well, they were still close comrades-in-arms.
Seems like nothing changed?
After leaving Terian Island, they didn't return to G-5 for rest and recuperation. Instead, they headed straight for Mary Geoise. On the way, Ortoren and Gion made a brief stop at G-1, where they shared a casual meal with Sakazuki to maintain ties. The next day, they arrived at Mary Geoise and proceeded directly to the Marine Headquarters—Marineford.
Since he was already there, as the Base Commander of G-5, Ortoren needed to personally report to Admiral Sengoku, whether it was officially a vacation or not.
Inside Admiral Sengoku's office, Ortoren sat on the sofa, chatting quietly with Garp. Gion wasn't present—she'd only stopped by to greet Sengoku before going to find her elder sister, Tsuru-neesan.
"You and Gion seem off this time around!" Garp leaned toward Ortoren and whispered suspiciously.
"What's wrong!?" Ortoren feigned confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"Hey, you think you can fool this old man? Come on, tell me—did you two make things official? When I picked you up at the port, Gion was holding your arm! The look on her face, I tell you, she looked like she could float to the heavens!" Garp said confidently.
"Oh, you mean that..." Ortoren finally put on an expression of realization, acting casual. "Sometimes being too charming can be a curse. Take me, for example—no matter how low-key I try to be, to others I'm like a firefly in the night, impossible to ignore. What can you do..."
Garp: ???
Was I even talking about your so-called charm?
Do you have no shame at all?
Before Garp could speak again, Ortoren suddenly shifted the topic.
"Hey, speaking of which, how's your grandson doing? Did you get him settled in the East Blue? Haven't heard you mention it since."
At the mention of his grandson, Garp's face instantly brightened with pride. "He's doing great, doing great! Ah, you should've come with me to the East Blue back then. That little grandson of mine—he's just unbelievably adorable..."
Then came Garp's endless boasting about his grandson, with Ortoren occasionally throwing in a few questions here and there.
The situation was mostly as Ortoren remembered, except that Ace wasn't part of it this time. Garp had already entrusted Luffy to his good friend—the mountain bandit Dadan, who lived in the hills behind Foosha Village.
Listening to this, Ortoren grew increasingly uneasy. Wait... as a Marine, just look at the kind of friends you keep!
You handed your grandson to bandits to raise, and still expect him to become a Marine someday? That's quite the logic, old man.
Still, Ortoren wasn't about to meddle in the Monkey family's affairs. After all, Ace was on Whole Cake Island right now, spending time with pirates. Big brother mocking second brother didn't make much sense—they were basically the same. So, he stayed silent.
"What about Dragon? His wife? You never met them?" Ortoren asked.
At that, Garp fell silent. After a brief pause, he glanced toward Admiral Sengoku, who was still focused on paperwork at his desk, before leaning closer to Ortoren and lowering his voice.
"I secretly met that bastard Dragon in private once. But we didn't talk about anything serious. I tried to bring it up, but he just brushed it off and laughed. As for Luffy's mother... sigh."
A trace of sorrow flickered in Garp's eyes. He shook his head slowly before continuing, "Dragon told me she died during childbirth... passed away tragically."
Ortoren froze for a moment, then sighed softly. He placed a hand on Garp's shoulder and said nothing more.
But soon, Garp recovered and said, "But who knows if that bastard was deliberately lying to me? If he doesn't want to talk about it, what can I do?"
"You've got a point. Maybe it was just a smokescreen?" Ortoren replied, trying to comfort him.
After chatting with Garp for a bit longer, the old man suddenly received a call through his Den Den Mushi. He exchanged farewells with both Ortoren and Admiral Sengoku before preparing to leave.
As he was heading out, Garp turned back and said, "I heard from Kuzan that you guys have a gathering tonight, right?"
"Yeah, it's been a long time since we've all sat down for a drink," Ortoren answered casually.
"Old man Zephyr and I will probably join too. You don't mind, do you?" Garp asked after thinking for a moment.
"It's not my treat, so why would I mind?" Ortoren laughed teasingly.
Garp chuckled, waved his hand, and walked out of the office.
Once he was gone, only Ortoren and Admiral Sengoku remained. Seeing that Sengoku was still busy with paperwork, Ortoren didn't make a sound and simply sat quietly on the sofa, sipping his tea.
After about five or six minutes, Admiral Sengoku suddenly spoke.
"How's the Beast Pirates looking?"
Ortoren thought for a moment before replying, "They're probably stronger than our intelligence or projections suggest—especially Kaidou himself. His growth over the past two years has been remarkably fast..."
"Even after clashing with Whitebeard, you still think that?" Sengoku asked without lifting his head.
"Yeah, I still do. Not just Kaidou, but even my mother—seeing her again gave me quite a fierce impression. Honestly, if those two were to actually fight Whitebeard, I think the outcome would be uncertain," Ortoren said after considering it carefully.
Whitebeard was indeed the strongest man in the world.
He couldn't help but wonder how reliable Charlotte Linlin's power really was at this stage in the original story. After all, when Ortoren met her this time, she was just turning fifty.
Even though they hadn't fought or tested each other, the instinct of a strong fighter told him everything he needed to know—Charlotte Linlin was still terrifyingly powerful.
That kind of strength, compared to what he felt from Whitebeard, was almost indistinguishable.
What on earth had his mother been taking these past ten years? She'd given birth to so many younger siblings for him and still managed to maintain such monstrous power. It was absurd.
As for Kaidou, he was only nine years younger than Charlotte Linlin—just over forty now. When Ortoren saw him this time, he could tell the man was on the verge of reaching his peak.
Once Kaidou took that final step, he might truly become what the original story described—the "strongest in one-on-one combat."
"Is that so?" Sengoku murmured, then fell silent again.
Several minutes later, he finally seemed to finish handling his paperwork. When he looked up, he found Ortoren holding a teacup and eyeing his little goat with the kind of look one gives when sizing up meat.
Startled, Sengoku immediately barked, "You bastard, don't you dare set your sights on him!"
"I can't even look?" Ortoren shot him a sideways glance.
"Hmph!" Sengoku snorted, then asked, "How's G-5 been lately?"
"External debts total around two hundred and fifty to six hundred billion berries," Ortoren said casually.
Originally, they were already over two hundred billion in debt. Later, he borrowed another two hundred billion from Lu Feld to fill the gap. But that didn't reduce the debt—it just shifted it. Adding the new and old debts owed to Doflamingo, the total came to roughly that amount.
Sengoku's face froze.
Seeing the shock written all over his superior's expression, Ortoren quickly added, "But that was earlier in the year. Now it's almost year's end—1504 is just around the corner. According to our latest financial forecast, we should at least break even this year. If the market holds, we might even turn a big profit. Next year, G-5 could see net earnings of at least two hundred billion berries. Once our model stabilizes, profits will only grow. Five years from now, when you head to Mary Geoise again, Admiral, you'll be able to speak with real authority!"
That finally put Sengoku's mind at ease. He didn't bother asking where G-5's funding came from. Instead, he said meaningfully, "Not long ago, the Fleet Admiral attended a meeting at Mary Geoise. The Five Elders sent out a bit of a signal..."
"What kind of signal?" Ortoren asked, eyes lighting up with interest.
"The position of Commander-in-Chief might see some movement. Of course, it's just a signal for now—any actual change would still take years. But the fact that such a signal appeared already says a lot. I wanted to remind you—if the Fleet Admiral's position shifts, your dream of becoming an Admiral might follow. So perform well from here on. As long as you don't mess things up, I'll make sure to recommend you."
Hearing that, Ortoren thumped his chest confidently.
"Don't worry! My head's full of justice and loyalty. There won't be any problems!"
...
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