The shore of the Golden Land · Shandora.
Holding a balloon octopus in his hand, Ortoren looked toward Isshō and the Marines waiting on the shore.
"Isshō, I'll leave everything else to you."
This was where they would part ways.
Now that the Golden Land had been found, Isshō no longer needed to stay with the ship. With his gravity powers, he could directly control the Golden Land and return to the New World from the sky.
As for Ortoren, he still had an appointment to keep at Fish-Man Island. There was no reason for him to waste time following Isshō.
"Isshō-san, don't go running off with the Golden Land," Hina called out from the edge of the deck, unable to resist a final reminder.
Isshō burst into laughter from the shore.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to pocket the gold for myself. I couldn't even carry that much."
"I'll feel a lot more at ease as long as you don't take it to a casino," Ortoren replied, rolling his eyes.
After a few lighthearted exchanges, they went their separate ways.
Isshō's power instantly enveloped the entire Golden Land. The half-island that had been fixed in place for four hundred years trembled under his control, then slowly began to move, drifting off into the distance.
Watching the scene, Ortoren casually tossed the balloon octopus in his hand to Hina.
"Pump it full. It's time for us to head down too."
The warship soon sailed to the edge of the White-White Sea, then plunged straight downward. Moments later, several massive octopus balloons spread open like parachutes, carrying the warship gently toward the Blue Sea below.
...
Meanwhile, at the Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
At the very top of Pangaea Castle, inside the Five Elders' office, the Chamber of Power.
The Five Elders were in a furious rage, harshly berating a CP agent kneeling before them.
This man was the newly appointed Director.
He knelt there under crushing pressure because the Devil Fruit CP had been transporting through the East Blue, the Gomu Gomu no Mi, had been intercepted by the Revolutionary Army.
The Director had no idea why the Five Elders placed such importance on that fruit, but all he could do now was kneel and endure their wrath.
"Useless trash!!! So many people assigned to guard a single Devil Fruit, and you still let the Revolutionary Army's dogs steal it!"
"Have you figured it out yet? Was this a planned operation, or a chance encounter?"
"If it was planned, then who leaked the information to the Revolutionary Army? Has CP been infiltrated to this extent?"
Faced with the interrogation, the Director finally dared to speak, his voice trembling.
"My deepest apologies. According to our investigation, this appears to have been an accident. The Revolutionary Army's East Blue Division Captain, Ginny, was originally planning an infiltration of the Kingdom of Goa. It seems she was investigating the so-called Uncertain Object Terminal there…"
He hurriedly explained the situation. In short, Ginny had been operating in the Kingdom of Goa when her actions were suddenly exposed. She withdrew with her team, and on the way out, they happened to encounter the CP fleet and seized the opportunity to hijack it.
As for the so-called Uncertain Object Terminal, the Five Elders didn't even bother trying to understand it. Matters that trivial were beneath their attention.
The Director had expected even harsher scolding after giving his explanation.
Instead, to his surprise, the Five Elders fell into an unusual silence.
"Is it happening again?" Saint Warcury murmured after a long pause, his voice heavy with reluctance.
"That fruit… it's as if it has a will of its own, rejecting us."
"For centuries, every attempt to recover it has ended in similar accidents…"
Normally, the Five Elders would never accept an explanation like "it was an accident" so easily.
But when it came to that cursed Gomu Gomu no Mi, the moment the Director finished his explanation, they accepted it.
Because this was far from the first time such a thing had happened.
After a brief exchange among the Five Elders, Saint Warcury turned his gaze to the CP Director.
"The East Blue is known as the Sea of Peace. It's one of the World Government's most important achievements and symbols. Has the Revolutionary Army's East Army already grown into something substantial there?"
"No," the CP Director replied quickly. "In fact, the Revolutionary Army's East Army is currently the weakest of their four main forces. We've wiped out their combat units multiple times already. However, they show no intention of abandoning the region. They've shifted to guerrilla tactics, clearly intending to exploit our emphasis on the East Blue to tie down our forces."
"Then let them have their way," Saint Warcury snapped, slamming his hand onto the table, anger flashing in his eyes.
The CP Director froze for a moment, lifting his head in confusion to look at the Five Elders.
That hesitation immediately drew Saint Warcury's displeasure. He frowned and said coldly,
"Idiot. Do you really not understand what I mean? Since they want to use the East Blue to restrain us, then grant their wish. Within one year, I want the Revolutionary Army's East Army completely wiped out. And that woman named Ginny, I want her dragged to Mary Geoise and punished."
One year.
That meant before February of 1507.
It was an extremely difficult task, but the CP Director knew the Five Elders were in no mood for excuses. He didn't dare say anything unnecessary and immediately answered,
"Yes. I guarantee the mission will be completed."
Only then did Saint Warcury slightly rein in his anger. He looked back at the Director and added,
"As for the rubber fruit, continue investigating it. Do everything you can to determine which member of the Revolutionary Army consumed it. Once the target is confirmed, list them as a priority hunting target and capture them as soon as possible."
"Yes," the Director replied again.
The Five Elders clearly had no interest in saying anything further to him. With irritated waves of their hands, they signaled for him to leave.
The CP Director didn't dare linger and hurried out of the Chamber of Power.
After he was gone, Nusjuro spoke up,
"Ever since the incident where Mary Geoise was set ablaze, those useless CP people have only grown more incompetent when dealing with the Revolutionary Army."
"A lot of our intelligence and records were seized by the Revolutionary Army back then," Mars Saint Maz said with a hint of resignation.
"Still, things seem to be progressing well in the New World," Saint Saturn said, as if recalling something. "Didn't Spandine recently cooperate with Ortoren to set up that Marine police force? They wiped out Revolutionary Army combat units there and killed nearly two thousand people, didn't they?"
"Compared to that useless CP lot, the Marines' achievements over the past few years have indeed been outstanding," Saint Peter nodded in agreement. "Ortoren is a rare talent."
As soon as he finished speaking, Saint Warcury chuckled.
"Well? Back when I hinted at him and extended that invitation, didn't you all think it was inappropriate? And now you're calling him a great talent?"
"That invitation does seem rather farsighted in hindsight," Nusjuro said after some thought. "If he really manages to take down the Big Mom Pirates and suppress the New World, making him a Celestial Dragon wouldn't be impossible. Isn't he quite close to that odd one from the Donquixote family? I've heard that so-called Marine police force is being led by that Donquixote outcast. If they perform well, we could have them return to the Holy Land together and fold them into the Donquixote family as fresh blood."
The so-called outcast of the Donquixote family was, of course, Doflamingo.
"We shouldn't make such decisions so lightly," Mars Saint Maz objected. "Besides, if he becomes a Celestial Dragon, what about that so-called Charlotte family? Are we supposed to absorb all of them as well?"
"If Charlotte Linlin is willing, giving her a chance wouldn't be out of the question," Saint Peter said after thinking it over. "As for the rest of that rabble, there's no need. If we can bring Charlotte Linlin to Mary Geoise this way, it will make infiltrating Totto Land much easier afterward."
He wasn't wrong.
Charlotte Linlin ruled Totto Land absolutely. As long as she remained there, Totto Land was entirely under her control.
But if she were to abandon Totto Land and come to Mary Geoise to enjoy life as a Celestial Dragon, no successor of the Charlotte family could ever exert the same level of control. They wouldn't possess the power of the Soru Soru no Mi.
Once that happened, cracks would inevitably form within Totto Land, allowing the World Government to exploit them and infiltrate from within.
Over decades, or even a century, Totto Land would gradually become no different from other affiliated nations, unable to break free from the World Government's influence.
Saint Warcury looked at his old colleagues and said with a hint of helplessness,
"You might be thinking too far ahead. Ortoren hasn't even taken Totto Land yet, and the Golden City has only just begun to move…"
The Five Elders found nothing wrong with that reasoning. They dropped the discussion of these distant possibilities and quickly shifted to the next topic.
It was now the year 1506 of the Sea Circle Calendar.
The world conference held once every four years… was due to convene this year.