Early the next morning, Ortoren paid another visit to Zephyr-sensei before heading to the military port to depart from Headquarters.
He had arrived on Doflamingo's Flamingo.
Although they were both returning to the New World, their routes didn't align. Doflamingo was heading back to Dressrosa, so the two parted ways at Headquarters. Ortoren boarded a Marine warship for his return.
Originally, he had wanted to meet Garp while he was there.
However, before Ortoren arrived, Momonga had already reported to Headquarters and, following Ortoren's instructions, delivered the sprouting straw hat to Garp.
No one knew what possessed him, but after spending a night staring at the hat and reminiscing, Garp immediately took leave and went off to the East Blue for fun.
As a result, Ortoren didn't run into Garp at all during this visit.
Before long, the warship reached the Red Line and was hauled upward along the mountain by massive traction chains.
Ortoren sat inside the cabin, holding a Den Den Mushi as he spoke with Tesoro.
"How's that proposal I asked you to prepare last time coming along?" Ortoren asked.
"It's all been arranged, Admiral," Tesoro reported promptly.
"Good. Send it to Mary Geoise in my name and let the Five Elders take a look. Start preparing the procedures right away. They shouldn't block this, so don't wait for formal approval. Begin construction directly. Oh, and notify Issho. Have him wait at my command center. I'll have a task for him once I'm back."
"Understood, Admiral," Tesoro replied.
With nothing else to add, Ortoren ended the call.
Just as he was about to rest, the Den Den Mushi he had just placed on the table started ringing again.
He glanced down, slightly surprised.
Borsalino?
Strictly speaking, as the Admiral governing the New World, Ortoren was supposed to oversee all Marine forces there. In reality, however, one special unit had always remained outside his direct authority.
That was the Marine Science Corps under Borsalino.
The unit was stationed in the New World, but it reported directly to the Fleet Admiral and also had ties to the highest authority in Mary Geoise. Because of that, it didn't fall under Ortoren's jurisdiction.
Normally, Borsalino had no need to report anything to him, so this sudden call was unexpected.
Still, Ortoren quickly picked up the Den Den Mushi and greeted him with a smile.
"Dr. Borsalino, what's the matter?"
"You bastard, I told you not to call me 'Doctor' anymore!" Borsalino snapped, sounding both annoyed and amused. "I even had good news to share, but now I regret calling you at all."
Ortoren knew he wasn't truly angry. Their relationship was solid, and this kind of banter was harmless.
"Alright, alright, my fault. I won't do it again," Ortoren said with a laugh. "So what's the good news?"
"I heard you went back to Headquarters. Are you done with your business?" Borsalino asked.
"Just finished. I'm crossing the Red Line now and heading back to the New World," Ortoren replied. "What's up?"
"Perfect timing. I'm at the New World port in Mary Geoise right now. Once you arrive, come with me to Punk Hazard."
"Hm?" Ortoren paused. "What's going on? Why are you being so vague?"
"Do you remember that long ago, you asked our Science Corps to help look into Sleeping Ancient Town and any Devil Fruits that might be hidden there?" Borsalino asked.
Only then did Ortoren react, a hint of excitement in his voice.
"You found a Devil Fruit?"
As for when exactly it had happened, Ortoren couldn't quite remember. It was around the time he had sent Momonga to inquire with the Drum Kingdom about the Baku Baku no Mi. While he was at it, he had asked Borsalino's side to have the scholars dig through historical records and investigate Sleeping Ancient Town.
If there were any leads, he wanted them to search the town for the rumored Zoan-type Bat Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Vampire Form Devil Fruit.
At the time, Ortoren had only mentioned it in passing. He hadn't paid much attention afterward, let alone followed up on it.
By the time he had nearly forgotten about the matter, Borsalino had already finished the job.
"Mm. Olvia personally led the team," Borsalino said with a cheerful smile. "They dug the Devil Fruit out of an ancient ruin. It matches the intel you gave us. A Zoan-type, Mythical Zoan. She returned to Punk Hazard this morning, so I figured I'd check in with you."
"That's great news," Ortoren replied with a smile, then asked curiously, "By the way, are the scholars allowed to leave Punk Hazard now?"
"Occasionally," Borsalino said. "Academic work can't be done entirely behind closed doors. They've performed quite well these past few years, so the higher-ups have gradually loosened some restrictions."
Not long after the warship crossed the Red Line and docked at the port, Ortoren spotted Borsalino, already prepared to set sail.
The two quickly met up, and under Borsalino's lead, they headed straight for Punk Hazard.
Inside the cabin, Borsalino poured Ortoren a cup of tea.
"A few days ago, I ran into Momonga," he said casually. "That guy went to Punk Hazard and carted off quite a bit of stuff from our Science Corps."
"What kind of stuff?" Ortoren said, shrinking back slightly as if on guard. "You're not planning to bill me for it, are you? I'm a famously tight-fisted iron rooster."
"Just some old experimental samples," Borsalino replied after taking a sip of tea. "They weren't doing much sitting with us anyway. Don't worry, I'm not asking you to reimburse anything."
After that, Borsalino explained Momonga's ingenious idea in detail. Ortoren was genuinely stunned. With that approach, the development and combat potential of the Baku Baku no Mi became something entirely unexpected. In theory, as long as Momonga carried enough of those strange Devil Fruit creations, he could deal with just about any bizarre situation.
There was no such thing as ability countering at all.
Once they finished discussing Momonga, Ortoren took the initiative to ask about the progress of the research on Punk Hazard.
Back when he was still the G-5 base commander, Borsalino hadn't been able to share much with him.
But now that Ortoren was an Admiral of the Marines, there was almost nothing within the Marine system he didn't have the authority to ask about.
Even the secretive Science Corps was no exception. He might not be able to directly interfere, but asking for updates was perfectly reasonable.
Naturally, Borsalino no longer avoided these topics with him.
"Earlier, Mary Geoise secretly delivered a batch of ancient documents," Borsalino said offhandedly. "A lot of the content was erased, leaving only certain sections open for reading. But both the scholars and Dr. Vegapunk believe these documents come from the Void Century. From what remains, they've pieced together a terrifying ancient technology. The task Mary Geoise has assigned us now is to revive it."
"How terrifying?" Ortoren raised an eyebrow. "An Ancient Weapon?"
"I can't say for sure whether it's an Ancient Weapon," Borsalino replied. "But based on the scholars' analysis and Dr. Vegapunk's estimates, if this technology is successfully recreated, it could rival Ancient Weapons in power. It would possess the ability to destroy everything."
He set his teacup down.
"For now, its codename is 'Mother Flame.'"
At the mention of that name, a subtle shift flickered across Ortoren's expression. Borsalino, busy refilling his cup, didn't notice.
Mother Flame.
Ortoren knew exactly what that was. In the original story, Imu had activated this weapon once, erasing the Kingdom of Lulusia in a single strike. It blasted a bottomless abyss into the sea and directly caused global sea levels to rise by one meter.
Calling it a power capable of "destroying everything" was no exaggeration.
After topping off his tea, Borsalino spoke with a hint of anticipation.
"Reviving this technology will take a very long time. At least ten years, maybe more. But one day, it might become our ultimate trump card on the seas."
The World Government was rotting. It was decaying from within. The Five Elders weren't blind to the monsters lurking aboard this massive ship. As the ruling class, they naturally wanted to prolong their rule.
Holy Mother's Flame was a colossal weapon meant to do exactly that. If the World Government truly managed to control it and use it continuously, suppressing the world for countless more years wouldn't be impossible.
First, they would inject new life into this sinking vessel through overwhelming violence. Then, with their hands freed, they could slowly clear away the dead weight and patch the holes.
That, perhaps, was Mary Geoise's current grand strategy.
...
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