Ortoren grabbed Caesar by the shoulder and said, "Come back to the Marines with me. You'll get full benefits—five kinds of insurance, a pension—and it's a government job. The job market at sea is terrible right now, so this is a great deal..."
Before he could finish, Charlotte Linlin swung the Emperor Sword in a fierce slash, roaring, "It's bad enough that you, my unfilial son, betrayed me—but now you want to snatch away the subordinates who have pledged themselves to me?"
Facing Charlotte Linlin, Ortoren didn't dare be careless. He instantly let go of Caesar, gripped his hammer with both hands, and swung up to meet her strike head-on.
The slash carried raging flames and smashed into Ortoren's battle hammer with a deafening bang. The force was so absurdly strong that Ortoren couldn't help wondering if his so-called innate divine strength had been incomplete all along.
Knocking him back in one blow, Charlotte Linlin shielded Caesar behind her. "That technology to make humans gigantic—you're the one who has it, right?"
"Yes, yes!" Caesar blurted. "But it's still not very stable—"
Charlotte Linlin had no patience for his babbling. Ortoren raised his hand and fired a blast of lightning. She countered with a flaming punch, shattering the electric attack, then brought her blade up high.
As expected, Ortoren's figure flashed above her, hammer swinging down in a crushing arc.
With a boom, the shockwave blasted Caesar right out from behind her.
In the same instant, Ortoren turned into lightning again, flashing behind Caesar with his hand outstretched to grab him. But Charlotte Linlin's reflexes were just as quick. She roared, "Soul Pocus!"
A strange, eerie green light burst from her body. The moment it washed over Ortoren, his mind stalled—as if his soul was about to tear free from its vessel and drift away.
Before he could shake it off, Charlotte Linlin's blade slammed into his back, ripping through flesh and hurling him hundreds of meters before he crashed hard into the ground.
"You're a million years too early to fight me!" she snarled with a vicious grin.
Caesar, meanwhile, had his jaw stretched wide open, his spectral green soul almost spilling from his mouth under the effects of the Soul Pocus.
Charlotte Linlin snatched his soul in one hand, shoved it back into him, and snapped, "Spineless trash!"
The Soul Pocus could indeed steal a soul, but it depended heavily on willpower. Against someone like Garp, it was useless, and even the still-green Ortoren had only frozen for a moment.
Caesar, on the other hand, had nearly lost his soul just from the lingering effects—an embarrassing display.
Still, it only highlighted how strange and terrifying Charlotte Linlin's ability was. For ordinary grunts, the slightest hint of fear in her presence meant certain death.
Ortoren pushed himself up, his back burning with pain, cursing inwardly at how his mother never held back.
But now was no time to linger. Lightning crackled in his eyes, thunder elements flaring from his body. He was clearly about to force himself into the Lightning Release Armor again for one last clash.
Then, from the direction of the distant harbor, a blood-red firework exploded in the sky.
It came from Kuzan's warship. The instant Ortoren saw it, his heart tightened—this was the highest-priority retreat signal, meaning something major had happened and the mission was to be abandoned immediately.
Garp, having just punched Kaidou flying and preparing to back Ortoren up, saw the firework too. His face hardened. "Ortoren, retreat!"
They hadn't managed to capture Caesar, but with Dr. Vegapunk already in custody, the Marines had secured their minimum objective. It wasn't a failure. And now, with an emergency at hand, even the usually carefree Garp knew when to get serious.
With the order given, Ortoren didn't hesitate. He gave Charlotte Linlin a meaningful look, then vanished in a flash of lightning, leaving the island.
Meanwhile, the warships still en route to the island had already turned around. Kuzan and Borsalino both looked tense—clearly, something big had happened.
Ortoren's speed was blinding. A streak of lightning struck down, and he landed on the deck. "What's going on?" he asked sharply.
"After inspecting G-1, the Fleet Admiral was heading back to Marineford as planned," Kuzan explained, "but halfway there, a massive tsunami forced him to stop at Feller Island. There, he ran into the Red Count, Patrick Redfield. Redfield attacked, and they're locked in a fierce battle. The Fleet Admiral has no elite guards with him. We have to get there fast—if something goes wrong, it'll be a huge blow to the entire Marines!"
Ortoren blinked.
It really has to be you, Old Red!
At that moment, Ortoren finally pieced it all together—why would Kong, the Fleet Admiral himself, be forced into a one-on-one with the Red Count, nearly lose, and end up relying on Garp's arrival to bring him down?
This was what Ortoren could never figure out before. A Fleet Admiral would naturally travel with top-class guards. How could the Red Count have succeeded in ambushing him?
Now it made sense—in the original course of events, either Garp had, like now, gone off midway for another mission, or a massive tsunami had separated him from Kong's fleet, forcing the Fleet Admiral into a solo fight against the Red Count.
As Ortoren was mulling this over, the ship's doctor was already on deck, quickly bandaging his wounds and checking his condition. Aside from superficial injuries and some internal shock damage, there was nothing serious. The doctor simply recommended rest.
But that suggestion was worthless. With the Fleet Admiral in danger, how could his escort just sit around and "rest"?
At that moment, Garp landed on deck with a Geppo, immediately asking what had happened.
After Kuzan finished explaining, Garp's expression darkened. "The Red Count might not have the same influence as Newgate, Roger, or Shiki, but his strength is absolutely not to be underestimated."
Borsalino hesitated. "But Fleet Admiral Kong is strong too, right? Back then, he—"
"The Fleet Admiral is indeed strong, but think about it—how long has it been since he last fought anyone?" Garp cut him off.
At that, Borsalino, Kuzan, Ortoren, and the others all fell silent.
Kong had been Fleet Admiral for many years. In that position, it was rare—almost unthinkable—for him to be on the front lines, much less to fight for his life.
Being shielded from such battles was inevitable. Even if he wanted to go to the front, the top brass of the Navy would never allow it.
So no matter how formidable he was in his prime, his strength must have declined by now.
By contrast, the Red Count roamed the seas alone and still built such a fearsome reputation—his strength was easy to imagine.
"In any case, we prepare for the worst. If we sail at full speed, day and night, how long to reach Feller Island?" Garp asked grimly.
"Ten days," Kuzan answered immediately. "That's the fastest, and only if the seas are calm with no extreme weather."
"Ten days... too long. Isn't Sakazuki in that area?" Garp asked, thinking quickly.
"He is," Kuzan said, "but he's right at the tsunami's center. In this situation, he can't set out to sea at all."
That was the New World's climate—once a massive natural disaster hit, forget sailing unless you had a death wish. Even Shiki, for all his arrogance, had capsized in a storm.
"Give me the Eternal Pose for Feller Island. I'll go," Ortoren suddenly said. "I'm fast, and I can stay airborne for a long time. I can get there in two days, tops."
Garp hesitated. "That's too dangerous. Even with the Goro Goro no Mi, you're still a Devil Fruit user..."
Kuzan frowned. "The doctor just said you need rest. What if you hit something unpredictable on the way and fall into the sea? You'd be finished—no way to even fish you out!"
Ortoren replied firmly, "Which is more important—my safety, or the Fleet Admiral's?"
In truth, this was a perfect chance to earn major credit protecting the Fleet Admiral—and with it, a fast track to promotion and wealth. Anyone who tried to stop him was just standing in the way of his future.
...
(50 Chapters Ahead)
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