As the warship neared the port of the Sabaody Archipelago, Ortoren vanished from the deck in a flash of lightning.
By the time he landed again, he was already standing in front of Shakky's Rip-off Bar.
Even before stepping inside, Ortoren could sense the strange atmosphere within. Sure enough, when he pushed open the door, he found Dragon sitting rigidly on the sofa. Across from him, Rayleigh sat just as stiffly. The two were staring each other down, exchanging painfully awkward small talk. The air felt heavy with discomfort.
Hearing the noise at the entrance, Dragon turned his head and met Ortoren's gaze.
But before Dragon could greet him, Ortoren shot him a look full of disdain and followed it with an impatient "tch."
Dragon: ???
"If I remember correctly, you were the one who invited me. Why do you look like death the moment you see me?" Dragon frowned, clearly annoyed.
Ortoren casually accepted a drink from Madam Shakky behind the bar, took a sip, and replied irritably, "Because of you, my luck was terrible today. I didn't catch a single fish!"
Dragon froze, then slammed a hand on the table. "What the hell? You're blaming me for everything now?!"
Oddly enough, their pointless bickering quickly swept away the awkward tension hanging in the shop. Without noticing it himself, Rayleigh had started to smile in amusement.
Ortoren didn't bother arguing any further. He plopped down on the sofa with his drink in hand and asked, "You came alone?"
"With how little I trust you? Even if I brought a group, I wouldn't let you see them," Dragon said bluntly.
After a brief pause, he continued, "Enough nonsense. We can talk about your plan now, right?"
Ortoren nodded. "This man doesn't need an introduction, right? Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh."
Rayleigh didn't speak and simply smiled at Dragon, who returned the gesture with a polite nod before saying, "Marines, pirates, the Revolutionary Army—you really managed to gather an interesting lineup."
Ignoring Dragon's remark, Ortoren continued, "The first step of the plan is to invite Shiki to participate..."
Dragon blinked. The confusion on his face was immediate. "Who? Shiki?"
"Exactly. And can you not interrupt me every time I open my mouth? Let me finish first. Ask your questions afterwards!" Ortoren shot him a frustrated glare. This guy had zero manners—always cutting people off.
Dragon's expression twitched, but he forced himself to stay quiet.
"Phase One: Invite Shiki to join us, which means we'll have to break him out of Impel Down first. Phase Two: Launch an attack on Mary Geoise under Shiki's name and style. That will greatly reduce the backlash aimed your way afterward—good for the Revolutionary Army. After that, your Revolutionary Army will follow up. Officially, you can claim you cooperated with Shiki, that you even rescued him yourselves if you like. Just don't let my involvement slip—I'm Marines, after all, and that wouldn't be appropriate.
"Phase Three: Mary Geoise keeps countless slaves—people kidnapped from all over the world, from every background. Their suffering is a disgrace to the Marines as well. So aside from burning Mary Geoise, the other main objective is to liberate those slaves. That's the main reason I invited the Revolutionary Army to take part."
Ortoren paused, lifting his glass to wet his throat.
By now, Dragon's eyes had taken on a faint gleam of excitement and expectation. How many slaves were in Mary Geoise? He wasn't sure of the exact number—but thousands seemed likely. Tens of thousands wasn't impossible.
Dragon immediately understood Ortoren's reasoning. Those slaves despised the World Government. If even half of them chose to join the Revolutionary Army, that would mean gaining an enormous, unwavering force against the regime.
A force of true revolutionary warriors.
And beyond the strategic value, liberating people oppressed and enslaved by the World Government was fundamentally one of the Revolutionary Army's greatest ideals. Accomplishing this would be a tremendous boost to their cause and reputation.
As Dragon was mulling over the implications, Ortoren continued, "Phase Four: full evacuation. Your Revolutionary Army will need to prepare a large number of ships to receive the liberated slaves and get them out safely. That will be the final step of our cooperation. Once it's done, we disband. No matter what happens afterward, neither side drags the other down... No objections, right?"
"No objections. But I do have two questions." Dragon lifted his glass, took a sip, and looked straight at Ortoren.
"Go ahead. I'll explain," Ortoren replied without hesitation.
"First: you told me over the Den Den Mushi that you wanted to become an Admiral and needed my help. How is that connected to this whole Mary Geoise operation? Second: what's the situation with Shiki? Is he part of our cooperation? And how are we supposed to break him out of Impel Down?"
"For the first question—Mary Geoise is currently in a special period. Just like I told you before, the Commander-in-Chief is about to be moved. I already explained it clearly on the Den Den Mushi: I have no intention of waiting for him to retire quietly. By burning Mary Geoise, I'll force him to resign in disgrace. After that, I'll immediately 'capture' Shiki. That will calm Mary Geoise's rage while earning me an exceptional achievement. Combining those two points, Fleet Admiral Kong will have every reason to assume the position of Commander-in-Chief. Once the Fleet Admiral moves, every subsequent naval reshuffle will naturally follow, and I'll become the new Admiral. Does that answer your question?" Ortoren asked while staring at Dragon.
Dragon had already heard this plan over the Den Den Mushi, but he still wanted to confirm it face-to-face—to see Ortoren say it for himself.
And the truth was undeniable: this Ortoren guy... was absolutely ruthless.
"I mentioned you briefly to Rayleigh earlier," Dragon said. "He told me the World Government is fortunate to have someone like you. And honestly, he wasn't wrong."
Ortoren couldn't care less about the two of them whispering behind his back. He continued unfazed, "As for Shiki—yes, he's crucial to the operation, but he's not a real partner. You can consider him our 'fall guy.' We're breaking him out of Impel Down for two reasons: first, to use his name to attack Mary Geoise; second, to turn him into a stepping stone for the Marines. Beyond that, he's useless. We just need to create the fact that he escaped Impel Down. Once that's done, we can eliminate him and I'll make good use of that afterward. None of that involves you."
"Alright. Then back to my second question: Impel Down is said to be impenetrable. How exactly do we break Shiki out?" Dragon asked, rubbing his chin.
"Oh, that difficulty? I already solved it while you were on your way here..." As he spoke, Ortoren pulled out a set of documents—three identical copies—and handed them to Dragon, Rayleigh, and Shakky. "This is the escape guide and operational plan personally written by Magellan, the Chief Warden of Impel Down. As long as we follow it, Impel Down will fully cooperate with us during this period."
Dragon accepted the papers, but the more he heard, the more confused he became.
What the hell?
The Chief Warden of Impel Down, after hearing that you want to help a prisoner escape, personally writes you a detailed guide on how to successfully break out?
Is that even something a human being should be capable of doing?
Your connections, Ortoren—have they evolved into something beyond comprehension?
No, seriously—what is going on with the World Government right now? Has its internal structure become so chaotic that nothing makes sense anymore?
The Navy helping a pirate escape…
The prison warden cooperating…
Then the Revolutionary Army, pirates, and Navy working together to burn Mary Geoise...
Tch. For the first time, Dragon genuinely felt as if his entire worldview was struggling to keep up with this era.
Utterly surreal. Completely absurd. And absolutely unbelievable.