Garp rolled his shoulders and said in a deep voice, "Why would I need to be polite to pirates like you?"
At the same time, Ortoren pushed himself up from the ground. His ribs felt cracked in several places, and his internal organs were slightly injured, but it wasn't anything serious. The blood at the corner of his mouth only made him look a bit battered.
"You alright?" Garp asked.
Ortoren shook his head. "Just a scratch."
Garp thought to himself, first this kid fought Kaidou in such an intense battle, then took a full-force punch from Charlotte Linlin, and now he still had the nerve to call it a scratch. Truly a monster.
On the other side, Kaidou's mind was in a jumble. He stared at the three across from him with disbelief. Garp, the Marine hero—no problem there. That Benn Ortoren guy being his subordinate—also fine.
But… why was Linlin claiming to be the mother of that Benn Ortoren?
"That guy… he's your son, Linlin?" Kaidou finally couldn't hold back his question.
I almost swore brotherhood with him, and you're telling me he's your son?
Charlotte Linlin's lips curled into a grin. "That's right. My son's impressive, isn't he? And you, Garp, your Marines sure are bold. Didn't he tell you about his background? Don't you Marines investigate? You even let a child of my bloodline into your ranks? Aren't you afraid of the disaster that could cause in the future? Mamamama!"
Ortoren let out a cold snort. "Is that all? If you want, as a Commodore of Marine Headquarters, I can even arrange for you to live in the residential district of Marineford. If that's not enough, I'll scrape together some money and open you a cake shop—as a little show of filial piety."
"Bwahahahaha!" Garp burst out laughing. "He's right. If you want, you can come back to Marine Headquarters with me too!"
Garp had long known about Ortoren's background, so Charlotte Linlin's words meant little to him. In fact, the more she tried to stir things up, the more it made him trust Ortoren.
Of course, he was aware there could be some acting involved here, but in his eyes, as long as Ortoren didn't do anything harmful to the Marines, he was worth trusting. He wasn't about to doubt the kid over a few words—especially now, when Ortoren was proving more and more of his strength and potential.
It had barely been over a year since he started training at Marineford, and he was already able to go toe-to-toe with Kaidou. How could a talent like that not be worth pulling closer?
Once Kaidou confirmed Ortoren really was Charlotte Linlin's blood, he couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Linlin, you really are impossible to figure out. How could you let a talent like this slip away to the Marines? I don't even know what to say about you! Wororororo!"
Kaidou's remark also made Garp pause in thought. It was true—if Charlotte Linlin really wanted to plant a spy in the Marines, she wouldn't send a prodigy like Ortoren. She'd send someone far more ordinary. If he were in her shoes, he'd keep Ortoren by his side to conquer the seas.
"Idiot, do you think the grudges between us can be explained in a few words?" Charlotte Linlin shot Kaidou a glare. "We'll settle our dispute later. For now, let's deal with these Marines!"
If Garp hadn't shown up, Kaidou would never have teamed up with her for this. But now that the Marines were here, it only made sense for pirates to join forces against them.
Kaidou took a deep breath. "Then let's get along… for now."
...
Suddenly, a violent explosion rocked the distant research base. From the flames, Borsalino emerged carrying a man who looked like Einstein.
Ortoren recognized him instantly—the one and only Dr. Vegapunk. Garp, having reviewed the mission file beforehand, also knew at once that this was their target.
Almost at the same time Borsalino burst out of the explosion, three more figures came chasing after him.
One was Queen, already transformed into his brachiosaurus hybrid form, looking badly injured and covered in charred marks—most likely Borsalino's handiwork. Another was Vinsmoke Judge of Germa, and the third was M. Caesar Clown, a Logia user who looked ragged but was otherwise unharmed.
Judge reacted the fastest. The moment he saw Garp, Charlotte Linlin, and Kaidou, he froze for a split second, then spun on his heel and bolted without a word.
As the king of Germa—at least on paper—he was still part of a World Government–affiliated royal family. Under normal circumstances, the Marines wouldn't trouble him. But right now, he had no idea where the Government stood on this matter. At this point in time, Judge had no intention of relying on pirates for strength. His goal was still to return to the North Blue, continue his research, and strengthen Germa. Naturally, he wouldn't consider throwing in with Kaidou or Charlotte Linlin to become their pawn.
The moment Judge ran, Queen quickly followed suit. Without hesitation, he charged toward Kaidou, shouting, "Kaidou-sama! It's Queen! You said you'd take me out for a meal!"
With Judge and Queen making their moves, Caesar found himself frozen. Wait… I haven't even picked a side yet! How am I supposed to choose now?
He immediately crossed the Marines off his list—not out of fear, but because he had no desire to keep working alongside Vegapunk, that insufferable jerk. The man had too many rules, forbidding this and forbidding that, and constantly scolding him for conducting "inhumane" research. Disgusting.
In Caesar's mind, a true scientist couldn't be shackled by petty moral codes. To be a "top scientist," one needed a heart free of all taboos—only then could you achieve results beyond anyone's imagination.
With that bastard Queen already siding with Kaidou and Vegapunk now in Marine hands, Caesar decided to secure his own future. He immediately set his sights on Charlotte Linlin, flying toward her and shouting, "Big Mom! Save me! I'll join the Big Mom Pirates!"
As Caesar made his move, Garp's voice rang out, deep and commanding. "Dr. Vegapunk was the primary target, and that's done. That guy, Caesar—he's dangerous. Our intel says he's been developing weapons of mass destruction. He's the second target. Take him down!"
"Understood!" Ortoren answered at once.
In the original tale, Ortoren didn't know exactly how this scene had played out, but he remembered the end result—both Caesar and Dr. Vegapunk were taken by the Marines.
They were likely recruited into the Marine Science Unit later, but Caesar eventually conducted forbidden experiments on Punk Hazard, causing a massive leak that destroyed the entire island. For that, he was sentenced to prison.
Honestly, the forbidden research itself wasn't the problem. From the World Government and Marine perspective, if he actually created a powerful weapon of mass destruction, it could even be considered an asset.
The real issue was his failure—obliterating Punk Hazard in the process. Punk Hazard wasn't just any place; it was a research base, and barring any accidents, it should have been the most advanced scientific facility in the world. You didn't need much imagination to know how much money the Marines and the Government had poured into it, or how much cutting-edge equipment it held.
And Caesar wiped it all out. How could the Government and Marines not explode in fury?
Even so, they didn't execute him outright. Instead, they imprisoned him—a surprisingly lenient outcome. Under normal circumstances, he might have served a token sentence of a year or two before returning to work. But then Donquixote Doflamingo interfered, hijacking the prison ship bound for Impel Down and taking Caesar under his wing, which set off a whole chain of chaos.
The instant the order came, lightning flashed across Ortoren's body, and he vanished. In the blink of an eye, he was right behind Caesar.
Seeing him move, Charlotte Linlin's eyes narrowed, and she darted forward at incredible speed.
Without a word, Garp wrapped himself in Haki, stomped hard enough to shatter the ground, and blasted off like a cannonball to intercept her.
At that point, Kaidou could have withdrawn entirely. He'd only come to retrieve Queen, and with the place in chaos and Queen already secured, leaving now was the smart choice.
But as he watched Charlotte Linlin's figure, a flicker of reluctance crossed his eyes. Finally, he gritted his teeth. "With Linlin's temper, if she goes back empty-handed, she'll probably take it out on me. I'd better give her a hand."
Finding himself a half-baked excuse, Kaidou opened his jaws and unleashed a blast of Bolo Breath toward Garp, then charged forward with his Hassaikai, blocking the Marine hero's path.
He knew full well he couldn't beat Garp in his current state, but just as Ortoren had managed to keep him busy earlier, Kaidou had no problem causing Garp a little trouble now.