Marine Headquarters · Marineford, Admiral Sengoku's office.
Admiral Sengoku was busy with paperwork at his desk. Beside him, Ortoren flicked a draft document back and forth, teasing the admiral's treasured goat.
"By the way, Admiral," Ortoren suddenly asked, "about that thing I mentioned last time—have you thought it over?"
Admiral Sengoku didn't look up, his tone slightly puzzled. "What thing?"
"The roasted whole goat, of course," Ortoren replied matter-of-factly.
Sengoku answered calmly, "Looks like I'll have to send you to the New World soon. Otherwise, if you stay here, my goat won't survive for long."
"Hahahahaha..." Ortoren laughed, then tossed the draft to the goat before plopping onto the sofa and pouring himself a cup of tea.
With Ortoren lounging leisurely while sipping tea and Sengoku buried in work, anyone walking in might mistake Ortoren for the one in charge.
After more than ten minutes, Sengoku finally finished his stack of documents. Letting out a weary sigh, he muttered, "That bastard Garp... if he'd just accept the position of Admiral, I wouldn't have to shoulder all this work..."
Ortoren grinned. "Don't always fixate on Garp-san. How about me—do I stand a chance?"
Sengoku shot him a glance, picked up his teacup, and said, "You've got a long way to go. If you want to be an Admiral, you need grassroots experience first. This time, you're being sent out as a Base Commander. Put your heart into it and deliver results. That way, if the chance comes, you'll be more competitive."
"That's exactly why I came today—to ask how my assignment will be arranged. Is it like Sakazuki, heading to G-1?" Ortoren asked.
The importance of G-1 was beyond doubt. It was part of Sengoku's contingency plan as a backup headquarters. If anything happened to Marineford, the Marines could immediately "reincarnate" at G-1.
But Ortoren wasn't eager to go there. First, it was too close to the Red Line, still under Mary Geoise's watchful eye, just like Marineford—making many things difficult to manage.
Second, G-1 already had a fixed development direction, aligning itself with the concept of a new Marine Headquarters.
Third, it was staffed with a group of long-established veterans, leaving little room for Ortoren to build his own team.
In his view, it would be better to let him establish an entirely new Marine base from scratch—something the Marines did have plans for.
"You want to go to G-1?" Sengoku asked.
"Honestly, not really. G-1's framework is already set. I might avoid mistakes there, but it's unlikely I'd earn much merit either," Ortoren said with a shake of his head.
"But G-1 is modeled after Headquarters. Serving there would help your dream of becoming an Admiral," Sengoku pointed out after some thought.
Ortoren hesitated. That much was true—precisely because G-1 aligned with Headquarters, it carried the sense of "training future Admirals."
Seeing his hesitation, Sengoku smiled. "As for your transfer to the New World, there are three options. First is G-1, as we just discussed. Second, you could be responsible for building a new Marine base from scratch. Third... is a bit unusual. But if you succeed there, it'll highlight your abilities even more."
"What's the third?" Ortoren asked directly.
"You know G-5, don't you?" Sengoku raised an eyebrow.
"The trash bin!?" Ortoren looked at him in surprise.
Sengoku's face stiffened, and he quickly corrected him. "Watch your words. How can you call your fellow Marines a 'trash bin'?"
Still, Sengoku's expression made it clear he knew exactly what G-5 was. If there was one Marine base that stood out as the most unusual, it was definitely that one.
First, G-5 Marines were stationed on the very frontline of the New World, facing pirate forces head-on under crushing pressure. Second, it was exactly what Ortoren implied by "trash bin."
G-5 had been built from the Navy's most unruly troublemakers. For over a decade, the worst-behaved and hardest-to-manage Marines were all sent there—out of sight, out of mind—while also serving as the New World's first line of defense.
The place was full of Marine thugs whose behavior rivaled pirates, and their reputation within the Navy was far from good.
That was why Sengoku had said, "If you can make achievements there, it'll truly prove your capability."
But that wasn't the most outrageous thing about G-5. What made it completely unique was that, aside from essential logistics and supplies, Marine Headquarters didn't even allocate them military funding!
That's right—across the entire Marine system, only G-5 survived entirely on self-sufficiency.
This explained why their methods often mirrored those of pirates—they too survived through plundering, though they mainly targeted pirates themselves.
And despite receiving no military funding, G-5's economy thrived. Every Marine stationed there, from top to bottom, was practically swimming in money. After all, how much they had depended entirely on how much they could seize—their motivation was sky-high!
Thus, a bunch of troublemakers—despite being self-sufficient in funding—were predictably hard to control. Fortunately, they couldn't build their own warships or manufacture weapons and ammunition, and they still relied on Headquarters to "sweep in some trash" now and then to replenish personnel. Otherwise, they really could have split off at any moment.
The thought made Ortoren instantly interested. Wasn't this exactly what he wanted?
Base Commanders everywhere held great power, like local warlords, but they were still tightly constrained by Headquarters—and the grip wasn't light.
Only G-5 was truly beyond reach. Headquarters' words? Useless!
I'll hit whoever I want. I'll take whatever I want. Don't like it? Shoot me! Without us holding the front line, let's see if the other Base Commanders would still have it so easy!
Soon, Ortoren came back to himself and eyed Admiral Sengoku suspiciously. "You want to send me to G-5—don't tell me you're trying to cut my pay?"
"I won't speak for the rest of G-5, but the Base Commander's benefits will not be docked!" Sengoku shot Ortoren a glare.
If even the Base Commander were pushed out of the Marines' system, could G-5 still be called part of the Marines?
"Go to G-5. If you can forge a unit with exemplary discip—" Sengoku paused, seeming to realize he was asking for too much. "Ahem, let's set conduct aside for now. If you can forge an elite unit there—formidable in combat and obedient to Headquarters' orders—and plant it firmly on the New World's front line, that alone will prove your ability."
"Isn't G-5 already highly combat-capable?" Ortoren frowned, getting to the point.
As the Marine base at the New World's foremost frontier, G-5's location wasn't fixed. Wherever the Marine front line was, that's where they would take root, facing the harshest pirate threats head-on. So despite their terrible reputation, their combat strength was among the very best across all bases—every one of them a blood-soaked desperado!
"Over a month ago, G-5's main force was annihilated by Douglas Bullet," Admiral Sengoku said heavily.
At the time, Rouge was giving birth, so Ortoren hadn't been following the news. He was taken aback. "What were the losses?"
"Severe—almost wiped out the entire structure. Former G-5 Base Commander Vice Admiral Wolf was gravely wounded and crippled, no longer fit for active duty. So sending someone who can fight—and who's highly capable—to rebuild this elite unit is imperative," Sengoku continued.
Ortoren hadn't met Vice Admiral Wolf, but he'd heard about him from Momonga and the others: Doberman and Dalmatian looked up to him. He was a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user with a colossal gray wolf form, frighteningly strong—one of the top masters among the elite Vice Admirals.
From Sengoku's tone, it sounded like he'd be stepping back from the Marines' front line. That's the harsh reality of the Marines: the benefits are good, but the risk of casualties and sacrifice is immense. Even high-ranking officers like Vice Admirals can fall just like that.
Somewhat shocked by G-5's devastating losses, Ortoren also noted keenly that after Roger's execution, Douglas Bullet had really started to cut loose...