As soon as Ortoren finished speaking, the entire conference room dimmed.
Immediately after, the screen positioned directly in front of the conference table lit up, projecting a series of images and lines of text.
Displayed were photographs of numerous pirates who looked vicious and intimidating at a glance, along with brief profiles outlining their identities.
Hina stood beside the screen, a pointer in hand, and began her briefing.
"Based on intelligence gathered from multiple sources, the Whitebeard Pirates' main force currently consists of sixteen division commanders. They are: First Division Commander, Phoenix Marco; Second Division Commander, the Wano samurai Kozuki Oden; Third Division Commander…"
She continued introducing the members of the Whitebeard Pirates one by one. Although most of those present were already familiar with this information, everyone still listened carefully and followed along.
"The sixteen commanders collectively command a total of twelve thousand six hundred combat personnel. This figure is accurate as of two months ago."
Hina paused at that point.
Soft murmurs spread through the conference room as several Marine officers leaned toward one another, exchanging quiet remarks.
"Their numbers are lower than expected…"
"That's only the core crew. If I remember correctly, Whitebeard also has quite a few independent captains under him. Many of them used to be division commanders."
"That's true, but even if you include them, their total strength shouldn't exceed fifty thousand, right?"
"If that's the case, doesn't that put us at an advantage?"
After giving them a few minutes, Hina resumed.
"What I just mentioned covers the basic intelligence on Whitebeard's main crew. Beyond the core force, according to the latest reports, Whitebeard currently has thirty-two independent captains under his banner. They include the Ice Witch Whitey Bay, the Maelstrom Spider Squard, the Wanderer Knight Doma…"
She steadily listed all thirty-two independent captains affiliated with the Whitebeard Pirates before concluding.
"The total strength of these forces cannot be investigated as precisely as the main crew. However, rough estimates place their combat personnel at around thirty to thirty-five thousand. As a result, the Whitebeard Pirates as a whole are estimated to field between forty and fifty thousand fighters."
Seated at the head of the table, Ortoren rubbed his chin, one eyebrow lifting slightly. This was the first time he had examined the Whitebeard Pirates through such detailed numerical data.
In his recollection, during the Battle of Marineford in the original story, the Whitebeard Pirates had mobilized a little over fifty thousand troops.
The difference from the current figures was smaller than he had expected.
It seemed that under his influence, the Whitebeard Pirates had indeed undergone quite a few changes.
"About fifty thousand troops… that's roughly equivalent to the size of two Marine bases."
"Base Commander, our numbers give us an overwhelming edge. Ten of us against one of them wouldn't be a problem."
"Ten to one is an exaggeration. Do you really think the Admirals have half a million elite troops at their disposal?" Stainless said to a Rear Admiral beside him. "G-5 alone has close to one hundred seventy thousand personnel. Adding in the other Marine bases, and excluding the so-called coastal patrol units, we can scrape together about two hundred thirty to two hundred forty thousand at most."
"Even then, that's still four or five against one. This should be an easy win," the Rear Admiral said excitedly.
"That's not how the numbers should be looked at. Just wait and listen. There should be an explanation coming up," Stainless replied, shaking his head.
After the officers in the conference room exchanged quiet discussions for a while longer, Hina switched the projection again.
This time, an aerial view of the G-5 Marine base appeared on the screen.
Sakazuki had often heard reports about G-5, but he had never visited it in person. The moment he saw the image, his eyes widened in shock.
If not for the G-5 flag flying prominently above it, he would have thought the Marines had already relocated their headquarters.
The massive fortress rivaled Marine Headquarters in sheer scale. Along the coastline, the defensive installations were even denser than those at the main base. Three smaller islands formed a triangular defensive ring around G-5, while the sprawling dockyard complex was vast enough to inspire unease. The harbor itself was packed to the brim with Marine warships.
Is this seriously a Marine branch base?
Sakazuki had once been stationed at G-1 for many years. G-1 was the product of the so-called "New Marine Headquarters Project," a base designed to be capable of replacing the main headquarters at any time. Nearly every standard there had been built to match headquarters specifications.
Yet now, just from this aerial view alone, Sakazuki could clearly feel that G-5 was far more formidable than G-1 ever was.
Especially the number of warships shown in the image. That level went far beyond anything that could be described as merely "above standard" or "exceeding regulations."
With a rough glance, Sakazuki counted more than a hundred standard-issue warships visible in the image alone.
Was that even reasonable?
Before coming here, Sakazuki already knew that Ortoren had been stirring up trouble in the New World, doing things behind the World Government's back. Still, he had never looked into it too deeply. He only had a general idea and knew that Ortoren was already operating far beyond normal limits.
But seeing this now, it was obvious. This wasn't just overstepping.
He was completely off the charts.
Under normal circumstances, a Marine base would have between twenty and thirty thousand personnel. Based on that, it would usually be equipped with around fifteen warships. A fully loaded warship could carry about two thousand Marines, so standard allocations followed a formula: enough ships to transport the full base complement, plus an extra fifty percent for rotation, repairs, and losses.
In other words, ten warships could transport twenty thousand troops, but a base with twenty thousand personnel would generally be allocated fifteen ships at most.
That was the theory.
In reality, warships were scarce resources. Every base was lined up waiting for new ships. For a standard base with twenty thousand troops, having seven or eight warships was already considered decent.
Yet the G-5 shown in Ortoren's image had no fewer than a hundred warships, a scale not inferior to headquarters itself. How could Sakazuki not be shocked?
For a moment, a thought flashed through his mind.
Could it be that over the years, the Fleet Admiral had been secretly suppressing warship allocations to other bases, funneling them all to Ortoren?
But Sakazuki immediately rejected the idea.
Impossible. A transfer involving over a hundred warships would never go unnoticed if it came from headquarters.
Which meant only one thing.
Something far more outrageous, far more against the rules.
Damn it.
Ortoren was definitely building warships himself in the New World.
Sakazuki hadn't conducted a real investigation before. He knew Ortoren was abnormal, but he had never imagined that Ortoren could actually construct warships in the New World.
And judging from the image, it wasn't just a few. A hundred was the bare minimum. Even if someone told him there were another hundred outside the frame, Sakazuki would honestly believe it at this point.
The real question was…
Where did all that money come from?
This base. These warships. This level of firepower. And on top of that, G-5 supposedly had over a hundred thousand troops.
On the surface, each detail seemed plausible on its own.
But the problem was that as a Marine Admiral, Sakazuki knew one thing very clearly.
G-5 had never received a single coin of funding from headquarters. Everything it had was built through its own development.
Without even one beri of military funding from headquarters, how did Ortoren build a base like this?
It was completely absurd.
Precisely because Sakazuki had served as the base commander of G-1 for many years and had extensive experience at the grassroots level, he found it even harder to comprehend.
Where did all this money come from?
Yet amid the shock, Sakazuki suddenly realized that his heartbeat had sped up significantly. Only when he noticed the change in his body did he understand it clearly.
He was excited.
He had already tried his best to overestimate Ortoren's strength in the New World, but only now did he realize that he still hadn't truly grasped Ortoren's capabilities.
The New World Marines had grown this powerful?
While these thoughts churned in Sakazuki's mind, Hina was already introducing the New World Navy's own situation.
"Taking into account G-5, overseas garrisons, and the combined manpower of all major bases, we hold an absolute advantage in combatant numbers. The total strength of the New World Navy stands at two hundred seventy-six thousand seven hundred twenty-six personnel," Hina said gravely.
Stainless raised an eyebrow when he heard that.
"It seems we've been in the New World for too short a time. We're still missing a lot of finer details. I thought the Admiral's publicly accounted forces were only around two hundred thirty to two hundred forty thousand. I didn't expect it to be close to two hundred eighty thousand."
Both numbers were in the two-hundred-thousand range, but the difference between them was large enough to fit an entire Whitebeard Pirates crew inside.
Beside him, Cancer smiled faintly and leaned closer, lowering her voice.
"Have you considered that this might only be what the Admiral is willing to let people see? Even without counting the Marine Police force established just over two years ago, there may be even more hidden military strength in his hands."
"Huh?" Stainless looked startled. "There's more?"
Momonga, seated across from them, seemed to catch their conversation and couldn't help but smile slightly.
Cancer wasn't wrong.
That said, Hina hadn't lied either. She had emphasized the term "New World Navy." Within the scope of the New World, this really was all the strength the Admiral was openly displaying.
But it didn't include the Calm Belt.
From the moment Ortoren took over G-5, development of the Calm Belt had already begun. At present, tens of thousands, edging toward a million laborers, slaves, and zombies were working there.
The forces stationed to guard that area were fewer than the laborers, but they still numbered close to one hundred thousand.
That wasn't the key point.
The real issue was that if the situation ever deteriorated to the worst possible level, those slaves currently digging trenches could be converted into Marine auxiliary forces at any moment. That alone represented an enormous reserve of manpower.
Of course, that was only a hypothetical scenario. Thinking about it carefully, if things truly reached that point, there wouldn't be much hope of victory left anyway. It would just be a desperate struggle before the end.
Stainless and Cancer continued whispering to each other.
Meanwhile, Sakazuki sat in his seat without saying a word.
Yes.
He was completely stunned.
How many troops? Two hundred eighty thousand?
How did he dare to do this? How could he possibly afford to maintain it?
Leaving aside the forces under Momonga, Stainless, Cancer, Strawberry, and the others, their bases weren't even fully staffed yet. After all, they hadn't been established for very long, and unlike G-5, they didn't have the authority to develop independently. Their funding and supplies all came from headquarters.
Even combined, those bases only amounted to around eighty thousand personnel.
In other words, Ortoren was single-handedly sustaining two hundred thousand elite troops.
And as Cancer had pointed out, this was only what Ortoren was willing to show to those present.
Who knew what else he was keeping hidden?
At the very least, Sakazuki absolutely did not believe that Ortoren had revealed everything.