When Ortoren followed Gion into the Fleet Admiral's office, he found Garp, Zephyr, Sengoku, and Chief Staff Officer Tsuru already inside.
Seeing the lineup, Ortoren thought to himself that things must be quiet lately if all of them had ti to gather like this.
"You're here? Co in, sit down, no need to be so formal," Fleet Admiral Kong said with a hearty smile before Ortoren could even greet him.
"In that case, I won't stand on ceremony," Ortoren replied with a grin as he walked in and sat down between Zephyr-sensei and Garp.
No one ntioned Ortoren right away. The senior officers continued their discussion from earlier.
"We've received the latest reports—Roger's crew, who had left the New World before, has now returned. Let's hope they don't stir up any trouble," Tsuru said softly, a teacup in her hand.
"Where were they sighted? Do I still have ti to go?" Garp asked.
"Too late. The sighting report ca in just as you returned," Tsuru replied with a shake of her head.
Listening from the side, Ortoren quietly worked through the tiline.
It was the end of 1496 now. In just over a month, 1497 would arrive—the year Roger's crew would find the legendary Laugh Tale and Roger would be acknowledged by the world as the "Pirate King."
Looking further ahead, Roger would be executed in 1498, setting off the Great Pirate Era. Considering he still had to return to the South Blue, fall in love with Rouge, marry her, and have a child, the timing lined up. If things moved quickly, Roger could make the Laugh Tale discovery public as early as the beginning of next year—just weeks away.
The conversation about Roger didn't last long. After a bit of discussion, the topic shifted.
Next ca the Marine Science Division, a project initiated by the Fleet Admiral himself. The official approval had already been granted, and Dr. Vegapunk was now secured.
As a newly established departnt, the early phase would be all about groundwork. It didn't require a top officer to oversee it, so Sengoku directly recomnded Borsalino as its commander.
No one objected. Borsalino was dependable, and once he built the Science Division up, it would likely be ti for him to advance to Vice Admiral. He could then continue leading the division seamlessly, saving everyone the trouble of finding soone new later.
"The year's end is here, so we should start thinking about next year. According to the military budget, we still have a considerable surplus. I propose we establish two escort-type branch bases in the gateway waters of the New World, forming a pincer position with G-1," Sengoku suggested.
"It's not impossible," Fleet Admiral Kong said, "but once we start building, the expenses will be ongoing. We can't take such a big step just because we happened to have a surplus this year."
If you build bases when funds are flush, you'll need more manpower to staff them. You'll need resources to maintain them. Supporting infrastructure has to be developed.
All of that adds up. If military spending can't be stabilized in the years to co, those new bases could end up becoming a burden.
That's why Marine bases aren't about sheer numbers. As long as key waters are secured and safe passage is ensured, that's enough.
Clearly, this wasn't a matter that could be settled in a single discussion. Sengoku was only raising it to get everyone thinking. When the ti ca to move forward, he would naturally submit a proper plan.
"There's one more matter—a task from above." Fleet Admiral Kong suddenly rembered, pulled a file from his desk drawer, and handed it to Sengoku. "I think this suits you best. The rest of you, provide support where you can."
"What is it?" Sengoku asked as he opened the folder with a frown. After reading for a while, he passed it to Zephyr, then said, "No clues at all? What's the CP doing—just eating for a living?"
"These scholars are extrely cautious. Although CP managed to track them a few tis, they showed surprising resolve—choosing suicide rather than capture. Their research vessels carried nothing that could be traced back to their origins. Clearly, they've been well-prepared from the start," Kong said with a shake of his head.
The file hadn't reached Ortoren yet, but just from the words "scholars" and "research vessel," he already had an idea.
The Poneglyphs. The Void Century. The scholars of Ohara.
"They're not necessarily studying the Ancient Weapons, are they?" Zephyr asked casually after reading the file, handing it along to Ortoren.
Ortoren skimd through it quickly, then passed it to Garp. As he expected, it was about a mysterious group of scholars investigating Poneglyphs across the world.
"Their purpose remains unclear, but their actions already violate the law. The World Governnt explicitly forbids any research on Poneglyphs. Whatever their intentions, Poneglyphs are like a Pandora's box. If their findings were to fall into the wrong hands, the consequences could be catastrophic. Surely no one here can deny that?" Kong said in a low, stern voice.
Zephyr nodded slightly. This world was already filled with too many mysterious and dangerous powers. Not long ago, they had captured the Red Count, Patrick Redfield—a man with the ability to hear people's hearts.
If the scholars really uncovered progress on Ancient Weapons and that knowledge fell to soone like him, even if they refused to speak, Redfield could pry it out of them with little effort. That could lead to the revival of Ancient Weapons, threatening the entire world.
And that was only Redfield—one man, acting alone. What if the knowledge reached soone with far greater ambition? Shiki. Charlotte Linlin. Kaidou.
They might not be able to hear hearts, but there were countless other ways to extract information—hypnosis, Devil Fruit abilities, even special racial talents. With the power those figures commanded, acquiring such thods would hardly be difficult.
"That's why we cannot allow these scholars to continue their dangerous research. For various reasons, the higher-ups have ordered the Marines to fully cooperate with the CP organization and eliminate them before disaster strikes," Kong said coldly.
The fact that he used the word "eliminate" when speaking of scholars showed just how far this was ant to go.
"I'll do my best," Sengoku said with a shrug.
He wasn't eager to get involved. No matter how it ended, once you tangled with people in the academic world, your reputation was bound to suffer.
Ignore them, and maybe one day things would spiral out of control—just as the Fleet Admiral warned—until so ambitious pirate got hold of them, revived Ancient Weapons, and countless lives were lost.
But take action, and it ant using force against scholars. However you spun it, that looked like bullying the weak. And with Kong himself using the word "eliminate," it was clear this would an total eradication. Even if Kong hadn't said it outright, Sengoku knew well enough—if they acted, they would have to see it through completely. Anything less would be no different than doing nothing at all.
At that point, Sengoku knew his reputation would inevitably take a hit. Striking at unard scholars would brand him with titles like "executioner" or "butcher"—there was no escaping it.
But he also understood that since this order had co directly from above, it was tied to the political elite of Mary Geoise. The fact that the Fleet Admiral had passed the task to him likely wasn't a coincidence—it was a political test.
As a Marine Admiral and the only real "Fleet Admiral candidate" at the mont, whether the higher-ups would ultimately approve him for the position depended on whether he could make political compromises at such critical junctures.
Put simply: if he refused to obey orders, refused to shoulder bla, and put his own reputation above the governnt's needs, then how could they possibly trust him to be their loyal Fleet Admiral?
Even though Ortoren was only a soon-to-be Rear Admiral, he could see through it as well. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly. If Sengoku chose this path, he might indeed beco Fleet Admiral soday—but he would also wear a leash tied firmly to Mary Geoise.
As for him—Benn Ortoren—he had no intention of fastening such a leash around his own neck. That ant he was destined not to walk the sa road of promotion as Sengoku.
His eyes drifted unconsciously toward Zephyr-sensei, and a thought flickered in his mind... Zephyr-sensei, if sothing really happens in the future, your vision of the "Neo Marines" might not be without rit.
Breaking away and building sothing new wasn't impossible, but it demanded overwhelming prestige. Ortoren didn't have it—even if he reached the rank of Admiral soday, it still wouldn't be enough. But Zephyr, the man who had trained generations of Marines, had exactly that kind of authority.
What was also needed was a way to shake the foundations of faith within the Marines. Otherwise, even with prestige, why would anyone have a reason to follow? That part, however, would be easy enough. Once the governnt's cover-ups ca to light, the Marines would inevitably be thrown into upheaval. There would certainly be die-hard loyalists clinging to the World Governnt's stance, but there would also be plenty of n and won eager to follow true justice.
The real key would be resources. Without money, no matter how just the cause, it would be hard to get people to risk their lives.
Of course, that wasn't sothing for him to worry about now. He was just a Rear Admiral. Why waste energy thinking about such things? Better to focus on climbing to Vice Admiral first—then, maybe, he could start considering matters like this.
...
(50 Chapters Ahead)
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