Seeing Spandine agree, Ortoren pointed at Rob Lucci, who was training in the distance, and said, "That little guy with the pigeon on his hat, right? No problem with him?"
Spandine gave Ortoren a surprised look before saying, "Rear Admiral Benn truly has a good eye. That kid is the most outstanding among our current batch of recruits. If it were anyone else, I'd be reluctant, but since it's you, Rear Admiral, then no problem!"
This group of newcomers had only just arrived not long ago. While Lucci's performance was indeed the best, he hadn't yet been called anything like "the strongest." His talent and potential hadn't been fully noticed by CP.
That was why Spandine agreed so quickly; otherwise, things might have gotten complicated.
After giving a few instructions to a subordinate, the man quickly left for the training grounds. Soon after, Lucci was brought over, looking bewildered.
"Rob Lucci." Spandine crouched down with a friendly look, patted Lucci on the shoulder, then pointed to Ortoren. "You're in luck today, kid. This big figure in the Marines, Rear Admiral Benn, has taken a liking to you. From today on, you'll follow him and work under his command."
"Huh?" Lucci was confused. Hadn't he been recruited to become an agent? How did he suddenly become a Marine?
He looked toward Ortoren, who smiled kindly and said, "I really like your pigeon, kid."
It was only then that Lucci seemed to come out of his confusion. He immediately answered, "Yes, sir!"
To the young Lucci, there wasn't much difference between CP and the Marines. He was just an adopted orphan, smart and mature for his age, and he understood he didn't get to decide his own path. Whether Marine or CP, he had no choice in the matter.
"Alright, we'll talk about the rest later. Go pack up your things and get ready. When we're about to leave, we'll call you," Ortoren said.
Once Lucci's situation was settled, Spandine continued leading Ortoren and the others to the CP-9 office building. There, both sides officially began discussing the scholar mission, exchanging intelligence and strategies.
"Since we have suspects, we've already conducted some infiltration work in Alabasta and Ohara. Progress in Alabasta has gone fairly well, but the scholar organization in Ohara is more troublesome. After all, joining them requires extensive knowledge and qualifications, which isn't something we can cultivate in the short term…" Spandine said helplessly as he sat in front of a pile of documents.
Ortoren flipped through the files and remarked thoughtfully, "And for something of this scale, surely only a select few whom Ohara's scholars fully trust would be allowed to participate."
"Exactly. Which is why making a breakthrough from either of these two targets in the short term is unlikely. In fact, there's even the chance they weren't responsible at all. That's why the best option is still to focus on those illegal scientific research fleets operating abroad. In this regard, CP doesn't have the manpower that the Marines do. Even when we gather intel, we often can't mobilize forces quickly enough to make arrests. That's ultimately why we decided to cooperate with you Marines." Spandine nodded as he spoke.
After a pause, he lowered his voice. "And according to our investigation, it's very possible that…"
Spandine hesitated, making Ortoren frown. "What is it?"
With some difficulty, Spandine said, "I don't mean to slander or stir anything up, but we've discovered it's very likely that the Freedom Fighters are also searching for this group of mysterious scholars… As you know, the Freedom Fighters are in a rather unique situation. Before, it wasn't much of an issue, but last year they attacked a member nation, and now they've been declared an illegal organization."
The leader of the Freedom Fighters was that man Dragon, and Ortoren was Garp's subordinate. No wonder Spandine had to put on a show before bringing it up.
Though Ortoren was somewhat surprised that Dragon wanted to get involved, it wasn't entirely unexpected.
He had left the Marines after seeing its darkness. Wanting to investigate an even deeper layer of hidden darkness was only natural.
"Where are the Freedom Fighters most active right now?" Ortoren asked.
"The South Blue. For now, our tracking of these scholars is also focused there, though we can't rule out that they're operating in other seas as well. After all, the Poneglyphs they're researching are scattered all across the world," Spandine replied immediately.
"The South Blue, huh?" Ortoren rubbed his chin, lost in thought.
The next two years in the South Blue would indeed be anything but peaceful, shaping the fate of many people.
For instance, Bartholomew Kuma should currently be in the Sorbet Kingdom, serving as a priest. A little over a year from now, Dragon and Ivankov would lead the Freedom Fighters in an assault on Sorbet.
Given the size of the Freedom Fighters, such an attack on a kingdom couldn't possibly be carried out on a whim. Preparations would have been underway long before, and a year or so sounded about right. No wonder they had been so active in the South Blue recently.
Around the same time—likely within the next month or two—Ortoren figured Roger would reach Laugh Tale and claim the title of Pirate King.
After disbanding his crew, Roger would head alone to Batraila Island in the South Blue, where he would marry Rouge and have a child.
Looking at it that way, the South Blue really was the best place to go.
There was a chance to encounter Dragon, Garp's rebellious son, and perhaps even uncover leads on Ohara's scholar group.
But for Ortoren, those were all secondary. The real prize was that drifting around the South Blue would give him a high chance of capturing Roger—an achievement that could serve as the perfect stepping stone for his next promotion.
As a Rear Admiral of Marine Headquarters, he had already stepped into the ranks of the generals. That meant his actions and movements couldn't be arbitrary. If he wanted to head for the South Blue, he would need a proper reason. Otherwise, if he suddenly appeared there and "just happened" to find Roger, it would look suspicious no matter how one looked at it.
And if it were simply strange, that would be one thing. But with Roger making his "One Piece" before his execution—kicking off the Great Pirate Era—any odd behavior linked to him could easily spark suspicion that Ortoren had colluded with Roger.
That was why using the scholar investigation as a pretext, with Spandine providing the justification for him to head to the South Blue, was the perfect cover. Then, if he "accidentally" stumbled upon Roger, no one could fault him.
The plan was airtight in both logic and detail.
Still, it was too early to move now. Ortoren said, "Judging from these reports, the South Blue is indeed worth close attention. Let's first follow up on the leads we already have and see if anything new turns up. If progress remains slow, I'll personally lead a team to the South Blue and see if we can make a breakthrough there."
"That works," Spandine said, seeing nothing unusual about the suggestion. He added, "The higher-ups also know this mission is especially complicated, so they haven't pressured us to deliver results within a set time frame. There's no need for you to rush."
"Understood," Ortoren replied. He then pulled out his Den Den Mushi. "Let's exchange contact information. That way, if something comes up, we can reach each other directly without going through unnecessary channels."
Spandine grinned. "Exactly what I was thinking. Here…"
...
For about a week, Ortoren and Gion stayed on Enies Lobby, working with Spandine to analyze and consolidate intelligence related to the mission.
By the year's end, Ortoren and Gion took Rob Lucci aboard a warship and returned to Marine Headquarters at Marineford to ring in the new year.
Even within the rigid and militant halls of Marine Headquarters, the atmosphere was filled with cheer. Everyone was eager to put the turbulent year of 1496 behind them and welcome 1497 with hope.
But Ortoren knew the new year would be far from peaceful. Roger's rise as Pirate King would mark the beginning of the Great Pirate Era, a stormy twenty-year age that was about to descend upon the world.
...
(50 Chapters Ahead)
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