Quietly, Doflamingo arrived.
Heavily laden with Ortoren's expectations and two hundred billion Belly in cash, he left G-5 with flair.
Afterward, Ortoren's life settled into a steady rhythm. He spent his days buried in paperwork and administration at G-5, while the entire unit continued running smoothly.
Gion and Isshō each led their own forces, constantly sweeping through G-5's jurisdiction, cutting down pirates that seemed endless—like weeds that never stopped growing.
Originally, these captured pirates were meant to be sent to Impel Down. Now that step was skipped entirely. Instead, they were shipped directly to Shipyard Island as laborers, leaving Master Tom grinning so wide his mouth could barely close.
Momonga personally led a mission to Impel Down. Over nearly two months, using borrowed prison ships, he managed to bring back fifty thousand pirate prisoners.
Normally, Impel Down's prison ships are never loaned out. But since this lightened their burden, the prison agreed readily. On behalf of G-5, Momonga even signed an "Import Agreement" with Magellan at Impel Down. Every month, Impel Down would deliver five thousand pirate prisoners on their own. And if their pressure increased, G-5's intake had no upper limit.
In other words, five thousand per month was guaranteed. But if Impel Down wanted to send fifty thousand, G-5 would still take them!
This made Magellan ecstatic. Even though he had never met Ortoren in person, he praised him to the heavens, calling Vice Admiral Benn a true brother of Impel Down. He declared that if Ortoren ever needed anything, one word was enough—if it was within his power, Magellan would never refuse.
Beyond shipbuilding, Ortoren also allocated funds to support Master Tom's Sea Train research project.
The technology promised immense potential. Once perfected and spread across G-5's territories, linking islands and kingdoms, G-5's control over these seas would rise to terrifying levels.
Where warships once took ten days or more to reach a destination, a train full of Marines could now arrive in just two. Think of the speed, the impact!
And that was only the military side. The economic benefits would be even greater.
What's more, Sea Train technology was especially suited for the Calm Belt. Tesoro had already begun preparing his Calm Belt development project, and if the Sea Train could be integrated, the gains would be enormous.
With the pirate slave and shipbuilding matters settled, Tokikake finally transferred over from Garp.
Like Gion, though they would be permanently stationed at G-5, they weren't officially part of its roster. Gion served under the Intelligence Division, while Tokikake retained his position as a Rear Admiral directly under Garp, assigned to G-5 for long-term cooperation.
The tasks Ortoren gave Tokikake were identical to those of Gion and Isshō: training troops and forging elites.
Over this period, G-5's forces had grown considerably. The base now held over forty thousand Marines. More than twenty thousand, trained through Isshō's practical drills, already had solid combat ability. The remaining twenty thousand were mostly fresh recruits with little fighting power. But with Gion and Tokikake leading them, it wouldn't be long before they became a true regular army.
Recruitment still hadn't slowed. Ortoren planned to build G-5 into a force of fifty thousand elites. To achieve that, he calculated they would need to recruit around 120,000 to 130,000 soldiers in total. Only through this harsh process of elimination could they truly forge fifty thousand battle-ready elites capable of surviving in the New World.
This process was expected to last until Sea Circle Calendar 1503 or 1504 before reaching completion.
Beyond its headquarters, G-5 had already stationed troops across seven nations and islands. Of these, only two were Member Nations. The rest were native New World territories with no World Government protection.
But Ortoren didn't care whether they were Member Nations or not. Justice couldn't be divided into ranks. As long as they were willing to pay, he would treat them all equally—uniform garrisons for all.
This garrison plan proved highly effective, greatly strengthening the security and stability of those nations and islands. It was expected that more clients would soon approach Ortoren for cooperation.
Among the seven garrison posts, some housed four to five thousand troops, while others held two to three thousand. The allocations depended entirely on how much protection money each was willing to pay.
In total, about thirty thousand Marines were stationed abroad.
These thirty thousand were an even mix of veterans and new recruits. Their combat power wasn't particularly impressive, but it still far outclassed the so-called royal armies they replaced.
The only issue was the promised warships hadn't been delivered. Ortoren's own bases still lacked enough ships for themselves—how could they spare any for others?
For now, the Marines stationed abroad mainly used pirate warships seized by G-5. They would have to make do until shipbuilding ramped up and replacements could be provided.
Counting everything, Vice Admiral Benn Ortoren, commander of the G-5 Naval Base, now commanded seventy thousand Marines. Among naval bases worldwide, he truly stood at the top... not second to anyone. Compared to other bases, his forces were in an entirely different league.
Take Kuzan's G-8 base, considered one of the larger ones. Kuzan had only twenty-five thousand men—completely overshadowed by Ortoren!
Though Ortoren's real command numbered seventy thousand, headquarters only recorded G-5 as having twenty-five thousand Marines and fifteen warships. That was it.
The rest of his forces were essentially "off the books."
Fleet Admiral Sengoku never questioned it, and Ortoren never reported it. The two shared an unspoken agreement—what isn't seen isn't a problem.
...
In April of Sea Circle Calendar 1501, more interesting events unfolded in the New World.
Gecko Moria, who had long been drifting around the New World without a fixed base for his crew, had gradually seen his bounty climb past 300 million over the past two years. Perhaps convinced the New World suited him, Moria decided it was time to claim a stronghold of his own.
But whether out of foolishness or blind confidence in his strength, he set his sights directly on Wano Country—the Beast Pirates' territory—and tried to seize it as his base. Leading his men, he launched a surprise attack on their headquarters.
As it happened, on the day of the assault, Kaidou was said to be dead drunk and completely unconscious. Taking advantage, Moria's crew managed to force their way into Wano.
The next day, when Kaidou finally sobered up on Onigashima, he erupted in fury and went after Moria.
The two sides clashed fiercely across Wano for two and a half days. In the end, Moria barely escaped with his life. But his comrades—those who had fought alongside him through countless battles into the New World—were all slaughtered by the Beast Pirates.
At the time, Moria's forces had been considerable, numbering three to five thousand, enough to make him a recognized figure in the New World. Not one survived. Kaidou impaled them on stakes, lining the Wano coastline with a gruesome "spectacle" stretching several kilometers, meant to terrify anyone thinking of challenging him.
Now, Moria's whereabouts were unknown. Still, Ortoren figured it wouldn't be long before the World Government extended him an invitation to become one of the Shichibukai.
After all, anyone who dared challenge Kaidou and even managed to escape his grasp clearly wasn't weak.
And with such a bitter enmity now forged between Moria and Kaidou, the World Government saw value in that. When the time came to deal with Kaidou, Moria would surely be eager to contribute.
If the World Government really did recruit Moria as a Shichibukai, it would be good news for Ortoren too. If Moria accepted, Ortoren would earn another twenty billion Belly.
...
Beyond the Moria incident, another notable event occurred in the New World, this time within Whitebeard's territory.
Since the dawn of the Great Pirate Era, the famed swordsman Dracule Mihawk had never stopped challenging masters across the seas, carving out a fearsome reputation. It was there that Mihawk clashed with a crew of rookie pirates.
Everyone expected Mihawk to crush them instantly. Yet the outcome shocked many—he fought their captain to a standstill in swordsmanship.
That battle instantly propelled the crew to fame. They were the Red-Haired Pirates, led by none other than Red-Haired Shanks.
Yes, without Ortoren even noticing, the Red-Haired Pirates had already formed a formidable force and entered the New World.
Perhaps still haunted by the beatings Ortoren gave him as a child, Shanks seemed careful to avoid him. To this day, Ortoren had received no reports from his men about the Red-Haired Pirates appearing in G-5's jurisdiction.
In other words, whenever that guy roamed the New World, he deliberately steered clear of Ortoren's territory. He never came near G-5 at all.