March, Sea Circle Calendar 1504.
More than a month had passed since Ortoren returned to the Sabaody Archipelago from Fish-Man Island. He hadn't lingered long on the archipelago, instead wandering around with Gion, never straying too far.
He took the Sea Train to Water 7 and Spring Queen Island.
The Sea Train project had officially launched. Under the name of Dressrosa, the Shichibukai, King of Dressrosa, the Heavenly Demon, Donquixote Doflamingo, had established the Sea Train Transportation Company to operate the line. Thriving throughout the New World, the project—commissioned by Master Tom—first incorporated Water 7 into its network. It quickly became a huge success, and island governors and rulers were lining up to apply for Sea Train routes.
This venture was expected to become one of G-5's fastest-growing revenue sources in the coming years.
Thanks to the Sea Train, Ortoren could travel back and forth in the area without delaying any plans. His goal was to maintain the appearance of enjoying a sweet vacation with Gion while secretly arranging everything behind the scenes.
Dragon and Rayleigh were working just as efficiently. Revolutionary Army ships, all flying various pirate flags, infiltrated the Sabaody Archipelago one after another. Rayleigh, the old man, still held considerable influence among the coating craftsmen; with a single gesture, he gathered a large number of them to coat the Revolutionary Army's ships.
Over the span of about a month, the Revolutionary Army fleet steadily converged toward Fish-Man Island. Rough estimates put the count at fifty or sixty ships, perhaps even more.
Most of these vessels were ordinary small and medium-sized ships rather than large warships. Unlike Navy vessels, which could carry two thousand people each and evacuate twenty or thirty thousand slaves with a dozen or so ships, these boats lacked such capacity. With Revolutionary Army members already onboard, even fifty or sixty ships might not be enough.
But this was the maximum fleet they could muster in the region on short notice. Later, Tiger stepped in, diverting ships from Fish-Man Island as a backup force, giving Dragon a safety net.
Tiger truly lived up to being the leader of the Fishman District's hundred thousand fishmen—one command from him, and over seven thousand strong fishmen were ready to mobilize.
When Ortoren returned to the Sabaody Archipelago once more, he immediately spotted Issho waiting for him at the port.
Issho wasn't wearing his Marines uniform. Instead, he sported what Ortoren considered a ridiculously flashy disguise—oversized sunglasses hiding half his face, a brightly colored sun hat from who knows where, a blue beach shirt, and a pair of gaudy oversized shorts. Only his wooden clogs remained unchanged.
"Over here, over here~!" Issho waved energetically the moment he saw Ortoren and Gion.
Honestly, seeing him dressed like that made Ortoren want to pretend he didn't know him. But since Issho was waving and pushing through the crowd toward them, Ortoren had no choice but to meet him.
As he approached, Gion covered her mouth and laughed.
"Mr. Issho, why are you dressed like this? It's completely unlike your usual calm style."
Issho grinned sheepishly.
"It's all Ortoren's idea. He said we were on some secret mission and I shouldn't reveal my identity, so I improvised a disguise…"
"Looks like we need to send you to the Intelligence Department so you can learn what a proper disguise is supposed to look like…" Ortoren sighed.
Issho pouted.
"Just answer me—did anyone recognize me like this?"
At that point, Ortoren could only give him a thumbs-up.
After they pushed through the crowd and reached a quiet side path, Issho finally removed his sunglasses.
"What's the mission? Something highly classified?"
"Extremely classified. I need you to impersonate Saki, cause chaos in Mary Geoise, and burn that Holy Land to ash…" After confirming with his Observation Haki that no one was around, Ortoren spoke in a low voice.
Issho froze.
He slowly put his sunglasses back on, then gritted his teeth.
"Burn down Mary Geoise? Is that something the Marines are supposed to be doing?"
"What exactly are the Marines for?" Ortoren shot back confidently.
"Enforce justice, eliminate evil." Issho responded without hesitation.
"Don't you know whether Mary Geoise is justice or evil?" Ortoren shot back without a hint of doubt.
"Ah… well…" Issho rubbed his nose, realizing he couldn't outargue Ortoren on this kind of twisted logic. So he shifted topics.
"But asking me to impersonate Shiki? That's pushing it. Everyone knows you're the one who personally dragged that bastard into Impel Down."
Ortoren's mouth curled into a grin as he patted Issho's shoulder.
"Relax. Shiki is about to break out… everything is in place. Don't ask unnecessary questions—just follow my instructions. Once this is over, I'll recommend you for Vice Admiral."
Issho had been about to ask for details, but at those words he slapped his chest confidently.
"You should've said earlier that you'd recommend me for Vice Admiral. Impersonating Shiki and raising hell in Mary Geoise? Leave it to me."
But right after saying that, Issho suddenly froze, as if something clicked.
"So… does that mean you might be promoted to Admiral?"
"This whole operation was designed to push the Navy's upper ranks forward. Not only will you be promoted to Vice Admiral, but I'll most likely be promoted to Admiral. Admirals become Fleet Admirals, Fleet Admirals become Supreme Commanders—one step after another." Ortoren smiled, not bothering to hide anything from him.
Issho listened, baffled. The Navy was orchestrating an operation to burn down the Holy Land of Mary Geoise… and afterward the entire Navy leadership would be promoted and rewarded? What kind of scheme was this?
Gion spoke up.
"I was discussing it with him earlier. Once he becomes an Admiral, Mr. Issho, you'll take over as the G-5 Base Commander."
"Me?" Issho felt both startled and delighted.
Before coming to G-5, Issho believed the best positions were those held at Marine Headquarters—right next to the center of power and authority. What could be better?
But after all these years under Ortoren's madness at G-5, he had realized something: Headquarters officers weren't that impressive. Even a full-strength Vice Admiral at HQ—how many forces could they muster for a mission? Ten fully crewed warships? Twenty thousand troops at best?
But at G-5? As Base Commander he would have over a hundred thousand troops at his command. In the entire New World, who would dare not show G-5 respect?
And don't think G-5 would lose its power once Ortoren leaves. Issho knew perfectly well Ortoren would never abandon G-5—this was the foundation and core interest of their little faction.
So on paper, Ortoren would become an Admiral. In practice, he would still be G-5's ultimate backbone.
Once his initial shock passed, Issho asked,
"What about Momonga?"
If anyone at G-5 could take over after Ortoren left, it would be Momonga or Issho. Gion was technically still part of the Intelligence Department, merely assigned to G-5 temporarily. Tokikake was the same—ultimately under Garp's command. Neither could take over G-5, leaving only Momonga and Issho qualified.
Ortoren had already thought this through. In the end, he chose Issho as the next G-5 Base Commander.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Momonga. On the contrary, if the question was trust, Momonga was his closest long-time brother-in-arms, ever since they joined the Marines. But Issho was the better choice for two reasons: he was trustworthy, and far stronger.
Momonga, stubbornly refusing a Devil Fruit, had capped his potential. Without a Fruit to break past his limits, he would never reach Admiral level. Issho, however, had both the talent and the strength. And with G-5 being the Marines' frontline outpost in the New World, without a powerful commander, even Ortoren's reputation wouldn't protect them forever.
So Ortoren chose to elevate Issho. Of course, he wouldn't shortchange Momonga either. After becoming an Admiral, he planned to launch a New World campaign. With greater authority, he intended to build new bases modeled after G-5. Momonga, one of the founders who built G-5 from nothing, had invaluable experience. He would be the perfect person to lead a new base.
Just as they were talking, the Den Den Mushi on Ortoren's body began ringing.
He answered immediately.
"What is it?"
"Everything is ready. We can begin the operation," Dragon's voice came from the other end.
Ortoren grinned.
"I'll inform Magellan right away…"
After hanging up, Ortoren looked up at the towering Yarukiman Mangrove trees of the Sabaody Archipelago, anticipation gleaming in his eyes.
"The show is about to begin."