Ortoren, stationed at G-5, had no idea his high-ranking position had nearly been jeopardized by Rosinante. Luckily, his protector Sengoku was strong enough to shield him!
Nearly two months passed quietly at G-5, but plenty had happened during that time. The Donquixote Family raided the Heavenly Tribute, and the World Government failed to suppress it.
News spread across the seas, instantly boosting Doflamingo's reputation as a pirate. Pirates fighting pirates, or even pirates clashing with Marines, wasn't exactly breaking news. But someone as ruthless as Doflamingo, who managed to seize six Heavenly Tribute escort ships in one strike? That was like a scorpion's sting—something no one else could pull off!
The World Government responded quickly. Though its prestige took a hit, CP handled things neatly, and in the end, the Heavenly Tribute was returned by the Donquixote Family.
To "commend" Doflamingo for his so-called repentance, the World Government granted Donquixote Doflamingo the title of Shichibukai. Of course, everyone knew what really went on behind the scenes.
And so, Doflamingo became the fourth Shichibukai on the seas, his fame unmatched for a time!
As for Ortoren, he too received New Year's gifts—tributes personally sent by Doflamingo, along with a Devil Fruit and gold bars from Spandine.
Rumor had it Spandine performed exceptionally well this time, earning high praise within the World Government. The CP commander-in-chief even held a commendation ceremony, publicly patting Spandine on the shoulder and calling him the pillar of both CP and the World Government—someone who truly stepped up when it mattered! His future was said to be boundless.
With his new status as Shichibukai, Doflamingo gained more legitimate means to exploit Flevance. The country had fallen into chaos, with massive riots breaking out. The three neighboring nations had already sealed their borders with Flevance.
The ruling nobles had long since fled, taking people and assets with them.
In Flevance, the Donquixote Family was making early preparations, while Doflamingo himself returned to the New World. During this time, he spoke with Ortoren, saying he planned to move on Dressrosa.
Since Dressrosa wasn't in G-5's jurisdiction and had never paid Ortoren protection money, Ortoren didn't care to interfere.
Still, Doflamingo mentioned planning to extort 200 billion Belly from Dressrosa.
That left Ortoren puzzled. In his memory of the original story, Doflamingo had only extorted 10 billion Belly from Dressrosa. Could it be that because Ortoren had taken 200 billion from him, Doflamingo now wanted to make up for it elsewhere?
But Ortoren didn't bother with such irrelevant details.
His focus was on business with Doflamingo. The connections to Totto Land were already secured, and the Calm Belt route had been developed. The first batch of five warships had launched, all equipped to cross the Calm Belt. The smuggling business from the North Blue through the Calm Belt to Totto Land was now fully set to begin.
Ortoren planned to test the waters with this first fleet. If it worked, the shipbuilding island would start converting armed transport vessels. That meant the old business of selling pirate warships would come to an end.
All pirate ships seized by G-5 would be refitted with the ability to cross the Calm Belt, then organized into transport fleets to keep the venture running steadily.
Ortoren didn't handle the projects personally, instead entrusting everything to Captain Tesoro.
Today, the G-5 naval base was calm under clear skies. A warship from headquarters slowly docked in the military port.
At the port, Gion happened to be free today and decided to personally welcome Smoker, the young Logia user transferred from Headquarters at Ortoren's request.
Momonga was also free and joined her in waiting.
Back in their academy days, Momonga had harbored feelings for Gion. But he quickly realized she had no interest in him at all—her attention was drawn entirely to Ortoren. Being straightforward by nature, Momonga cut off those thoughts immediately and never looked back.
Thus, he graduated from the ranks of Tokikake's so-called "dragons and phoenixes." Now, in all of G-5, only Tokikake remained that clown still clinging on. But lately, he'd been out at sea with Issho, hunting pirates, and rarely came back.
"Gion, did you eat that Devil Fruit?" Momonga asked casually, cigarette hanging from his mouth.
Gion shook her head. "I put it away. I haven't decided if I want to be a Devil Fruit user or not..."
"That's the same ability Kaidou has! It'd be a huge boost for you. Zephyr-sensei once said you had the potential to be an Admiral. If you became a Mythical Zoan user, your path to becoming an Admiral would be practically guaranteed." Momonga sighed.
"Maybe. But I don't really have an obsession with becoming an Admiral. If I could, I'd rather be someone like Tsuru-neesan in the future." Gion smiled faintly.
At that moment, the ship's gangway dropped. Gion smiled. "Come on. Let's see what this troublesome junior who's been giving Headquarters headaches actually looks like..."
Her face carried anticipation, but after just a couple of steps, she froze when she saw who was coming down.
Huh? Rouge!?
Sure enough, the first to step off the ship weren't Smoker at all, but Rouge and Robin—with Ace in her arms, wide-eyed and staring curiously at the world around him.
Smoker followed behind, thoughtfully reminding them to watch their step as they came down.
Spotting Gion, Rouge's face lit up. From a distance, she waved warmly. "Gion-san, it's been so long~"
Gion quickly gathered herself and smiled back, walking forward to greet her. But beside her, Momonga couldn't shake the feeling that Gion's aura had suddenly shifted.
Did he just imagine it, or did he actually glimpse a flash of killing intent in her eyes?
"Could this be a battlefield of demons? Is Rouge worried that Gion and Ortoren have gotten too close at G-5, so she's showing up in person?" Momonga thought with a smirk. He slipped aside, pulled out a Den Den Mushi, and called Ortoren.
At that moment, Ortoren was in his office, going through paperwork. He answered calmly when the Den Den Mushi rang. "What is it? You pick up the kid?"
"Not just the kid. Your wife showed up with the baby to see you, Ortoren." Momonga's tone dripped with schadenfreude.
"My wife?" Ortoren froze, then realized. "Rouge's here!?"
"Yeah! Hahaha! Surprised? Didn't see that coming, huh?" Momonga burst out laughing.
Ortoren sat there stunned. Wait… what the hell was going on?
...
Back at the dock, Smoker was about to greet Gion when she waved him off. "Step aside for now. I need to talk to Ms. Rouge."
Her tone was clipped and cold. Smoker felt a wave of pressure roll over him, nothing like the rebellious "problem child" he'd been described as. He stiffened and nodded obediently. "Yes, Gion-senpai!"
Rouge reached over, ruffled Robin's hair, and handed Ace into her arms. "Robin-chan, go on ahead with Smoker. I need to have a private talk with Gion-san."
Robin immediately sensed the tension. Though both women were smiling politely under the sunny sky, the air felt icy. Not daring to linger, she quickly left with Smoker.
Once the others were gone, Gion's smile vanished. Her eyes darkened as she fixed them on Rouge. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh?" Rouge feigned innocence. "As his wife, isn't it natural to visit my husband who's been working so hard away from home?"
Gion had only been suspicious before, but that statement made Rouge's intentions crystal clear.
Her expression hardened. "You and Ortoren aren't really husband and wife!"
"That was before. Now I intend to make it real!" Rouge declared firmly.
"You've barely even spoken to him—you don't understand him at all! How can you do this? This is a betrayal of me, of Garp-san, and of Ortoren!" Gion snapped.
"Maybe I know him better than you think," Rouge replied evenly. Then her voice softened. "I'm sorry. What I'm doing may be a betrayal to you. But I don't believe I've betrayed Garp-san or Ortoren..."
A flicker of regret appeared in her eyes. She knew full well how Gion felt about Ortoren. And now, by using the kindness Gion once showed her, she truly was betraying her.
After a pause, Rouge continued, "That's why you're the only one I can acknowledge and accept, Gion-san..."
Gion clenched her teeth. "I don't need your acknowledgment! If that's the case, then let's settle this with our own strength!"
Rouge nodded solemnly. "I'm sorry... but I'll give it everything I have."