Over the next few days, Ortoren spent most of his time hanging around with Spandine. The guy didn't even bother hiding his work from him, which let Ortoren get a decent look at how the CP organization operated.
Not that any of it was particularly important.
Once he figured the timing was about right—Dragon should be arriving soon—Ortoren finally wrapped up this friendly, gossip-heavy but ultimately pointless stretch with Spandine. He boarded a warship, left Enies Lobby, and headed toward the Sabaody Archipelago.
On the deck, Ortoren sat on a small folding stool with a fishing rod in hand, out for a casual round of sea fishing.
But it was obvious his "luck" was as terrible as ever. All he reeled in was seaweed and assorted useless junk—nothing worth keeping.
Just as Ortoren was thinking he might need to switch to some new-energy fishing method, the Den Den Mushi in his arms suddenly rang.
He pulled it out. It was his buddy Doflamingo. Without hesitation, Ortoren answered.
"Doflamingo? What made you call out of nowhere? Need me to step in and fix something?" Ortoren asked with a laugh.
Meanwhile, Doflamingo was still in the North Blue, lounging on the deck of his Flamingo, basking in the sun, sipping red wine—not fishing like Ortoren.
"Fufufufufufu, it's just been a while. Thought I'd check in and keep the bond warm..." Doflamingo said cheerfully.
Then he immediately shifted topics. "By the way, that matter you had me look into—the three sisters. Did everything go smoothly afterward?"
"Oh, that's almost wrapped up. You'll probably see it in the papers soon," Ortoren replied casually.
Doflamingo blinked in confusion. That kind of thing could make the news?
"The papers?" he asked.
"Yeah. Should be something that'll put you in a good mood. I'm planning to burn Mary Geoise to the ground..." Ortoren said with complete confidence.
Doflamingo: ???
He still didn't understand what the connection was, but he was absolutely shaken.
Seeing Ortoren clearly had no intention of explaining further, Doflamingo—knowing when not to pry—didn't ask more. Instead, he even encouraged him a bit, telling him to dump a couple extra barrels of fuel when the time came.
After a few more lines of small talk, Doflamingo finally got to the point.
"I heard Dr. Vegapunk is in Marine custody. Do you have any contact with him?"
"Vegapunk?" Ortoren sounded puzzled. "I do have some connection, but why are you asking? You're not planning to target him, are you? If so, let me give you some advice. Burning Mary Geoise is nothing—as long as the aftermath is handled properly. But if you lay a finger on Dr. Vegapunk, that's truly touching the World Government's reverse scale..."
"I'm not trying to harm him. Why would I?" Doflamingo quickly clarified, then continued, "It's like this. I was in Flevance recently handling matters related to the Amber Lead situation. I met an interesting kid there. I really like him, but he also suffers from Amber Lead Syndrome. I was wondering if there's any way to help him..."
"I see..." Ortoren's eyes brightened with curiosity. "What kind of kid can get you this invested?"
"His name is Trafalgar Law. I'll introduce him next time we meet. Special? Not really. I just find him pleasing to the eye... That kid reminds me a bit of myself when I was young," Doflamingo said with a faint, nostalgic tone.
"So you're asking if Dr. Vegapunk might have a way to treat Amber Lead Syndrome, right?" Ortoren chuckled.
"Yes. That's what I'm hoping for," Doflamingo replied softly.
"When the opportunity comes, I'll ask around for you." Ortoren paused for a moment before continuing. "But even though Dr. Vegapunk has indeed achieved a lot in biological science, you shouldn't place too much hope on curing Amber Lead Syndrome... I think those strange abilities granted by Devil Fruits might be more useful. You're better than me in that field—starting from that angle is more realistic."
"Understood. I've thought about that as well," Doflamingo replied.
As if something had suddenly come to mind, Ortoren asked, "Right, speaking of rare diseases—have you ever heard of Sapphire Scales?"
"Sapphire Scales!?" Doflamingo's voice tightened with surprise. "Where did you hear about that?"
"I was chatting casually with a friend from the CP organization the other day, and it came up. What's wrong?" Ortoren was caught off guard by how strongly Doflamingo reacted.
Hearing that Ortoren had only heard it from someone else, Doflamingo finally calmed down a little. His tone lowered.
"That illness... how should I put it... it's a hereditary bloodline disorder, but there's also a very small chance of transmission. It appears mostly in Mary Geoise—within the Celestial Dragons' own lineage."
"Celestial Dragons..." Ortoren muttered. So that really was the case.
"Yeah. I don't know exactly how the disease originated, but I'd guess it has something to do with the Celestial Dragons' messy 'collection habits.' Some of them like to mate with nearly extinct races just because they find them novel or amusing. It happens more often than you'd think. Sapphire Scales first appeared in Mary Geoise at least two hundred years ago. There's no hard evidence, but it's very likely that some Celestial Dragon, acting on a whim, mated with someone from outside who had the disease. That's probably how it entered Mary Geoise's bloodlines. Later on, it seems the Celestial Dragons wiped out all races and individuals connected to that disease outside their world, so now it can only appear in Mary Geoise..." Doflamingo explained.
After understanding these hidden details, Ortoren asked, "So is it completely incurable?"
"Not completely. In the last two centuries, there have been Celestial Dragons who developed symptoms, and the ones who could be cured were cured. But from what I've heard, treating this disease burns through an enormous amount of resources—it's extremely expensive. Even the Celestial Dragons feel the strain. So they only activate the treatment protocols if the disease appears in a direct bloodline member. If it's not a direct descendant—say an illegitimate child—then once they're discovered, they're basically abandoned," Doflamingo elaborated.
"I see..." Ortoren raised an eyebrow, finally understanding.
It was obvious now—Ginny had never been worth the resources required to treat her. So they simply discarded her.
But based on Doflamingo's explanation, the Celestial Dragons normally would eliminate such patients. So how did Ginny manage to leave Mary Geoise alive?
It wasn't like the Celestial Dragons suddenly grew a conscience and decided to let her go out of pity.
As Ortoren pondered it, he suddenly made the connection. According to the original timeline, Ginny escaped Holy Land around Sea Circle Calendar 1506.
And in 1506, a major incident was supposed to happen... Fisher Tiger's burning of Mary Geoise.
Put together, everything finally made sense.
Most likely, Ginny managed to escape only because Fisher Tiger's raid created the perfect opportunity.
After they discussed the matter for a while, Doflamingo added, "Right, there's another piece of news I wanted to tell you..."
"What is it?" Ortoren asked, a bit curious.
"The Paramecia-type Goru Goru no Mi—we've got a lead. Rumor has it that someone spotted the fruit on Shangfengkela Island in the first half of the Grand Line. We still don't know if anyone has eaten it yet. I've already sent people to track it down. We should have results soon..." Doflamingo said.
"Fantastic!" Ortoren burst out excitedly. "Once it's found, I want both the ability user and the Devil Fruit!"
"Understood," Doflamingo replied with a grin.
After chatting about a few more miscellaneous topics, and seeing there was nothing else important to discuss, the two ended the call without delay.
At the same time, Ortoren reeled in his fishing rod. Another empty-handed day.
He looked toward the distant Sabaody Archipelago, now visible on the horizon, and couldn't help thinking that it must be because he was on his way to meet Dragon—that's why his luck was so rotten. Not a single catch!