July, Year 1507 of the Sea Circle Calendar.
Admiral Benn's flagship slowly sailed into his loyal G-3 Naval Base.
The gangway was lowered, and soon Ortoren stepped off the ship, draped in the Marines' Justice cloak, wearing a black suit, and sporting his Admiral shoulder insignia.
Yes, an official announcement had been made to the outside world, saying he had complied with Headquarters' orders and stepped down from his post as a Marine Admiral.
But in reality, Ortoren still walked around with his Admiral shoulder insignia on, and no one dared to bring up anything like, "Haven't you already resigned?"
...
"Stainless, long time no see! How have you been? Any issues?"
Ortoren walked onto the pier, spotted Stainless waiting there, and greeted him with a bright smile.
Stainless saluted first, then replied with a broad grin:
"What issues? Everything's normal. Most of our G-3 fleet has already gone to G-1 to rendezvous with Strawberry. I heard Cancer and the others are the same. Even over in Dressrosa, Mr. Doflamingo has arranged several large marine patrol fleets to head for G-1. Everyone's waiting for you to give the word..."
"What 'give the word'? We're loyal Marine forces. Don't talk nonsense."
Ortoren waved his hand with a deliberately serious air.
"Sure, sure. You're loyal."
Stainless brushed it off, then added:
"All the Shichibukai are here. They're waiting for you in the conference room. I've still got things to arrange, so I won't walk you over."
"Don't worry. I know the way. Go take care of your work."
Ortoren nodded.
The last time he'd held a meeting here with Sakazuki and the others to discuss how to take down the Whitebeard Pirates, it had been at G-3, so Ortoren genuinely knew his way around.
...
Inside the main building of G-3 Naval Base.
In the conference room, all seven Shichibukai had gathered.
Doflamingo, Moria, and Slekemind sat like an iron triangle, their relationship clearly close. Ever since Slekemind had joined this family of wealth and prestige, the three of them had been linking up frequently, so they were familiar to the point of being effortless around each other.
Across from them, Mihawk was still as solitary as ever. He sat alone on a sofa, one leg crossed over the other, arms folded in front of him, eyes closed as if resting.
Jinbe clearly wasn't cut from the same cloth as this crowd of pirate-originated types, but he happened to be quite familiar with Moria. After all, Moria had been working as a foreman in the Golden City for a long time, and Jinbe had been there too. So Jinbe sat beside Moria, occasionally exchanging a few words with him.
There was another one who looked just as aloof as Mihawk: Crocodile, the Desert King. Slicked-back hair, cigar clenched between his teeth, coat draped over his shoulders, sitting alone in a single armchair with a big-shot posture, looking at no one and acknowledging no one.
To be fair, Crocodile had wanted to come to the New World in the first place. But the moment he arrived, he received a mandatory Shichibukai summons issued in Ortoren's name, delivered through Momonga's side.
Since he had intended to meet Ortoren anyway, Crocodile accepted the summons and came to G-3 Naval Base.
Don't be fooled by how cold and arrogant he looked right now. Among the Shichibukai present, he was the one who felt the most uneasy and unsure.
The other Shichibukai had, one way or another, worked together before, known each other before, and at the very least had some kind of relationship with Ortoren.
Only him.
He had no idea what to expect.
Just sitting there, he could already feel it. He didn't seem to belong to their circle at all anymore, especially with the three led by Doflamingo subtly shutting him out.
Thinking back, his original reason for coming to the New World to see Ortoren had been simple. Ortoren was already making moves against the New World pirates, and Crocodile figured he could seize the opportunity, maybe find a way to join forces with Ortoren against Kaidou, and then take Wano Country for himself.
Instead, he reached G-3, and before he even met Ortoren, the war was already over.
And the result completely shattered Crocodile's expectations.
The Beast Pirates had disbanded. Kaidou had brought everything he owned and thrown it into the Big Mom Pirates' embrace.
Then, right after that, the Big Mom Pirates disbanded too. Under the name Totto Land, they fully absorbed Kaidou's territory. Now there was no longer a Wano Country, only an Onigashima Administrative District under the Totto Land system!
And before he could even finish reacting to that explosive piece of news, there was another one.
Totto Land had become a World Government member nation.
The Marines weren't going to attack Totto Land anymore. They'd been "cleansed" and brought into the system, becoming allies of the Marines themselves.
As a Shichibukai, Crocodile had immunity. In theory, the World Government wouldn't care whether you committed atrocities against a member nation. If Crocodile insisted on attacking Totto Land, that wouldn't be a problem. The World Government wouldn't intervene.
But the problem was…
Did Crocodile have the ability?
Totto Land was now a joint force of Charlotte Linlin and Kaidou. Back when he'd wanted to take on Kaidou, he'd been thinking about how to rope Ortoren into joining him. If he went and stirred up trouble now, that would be suicide.
So Crocodile had been miserable these days, feeling like his future suddenly looked bleak, with no idea where he was supposed to go next.
Especially when he saw Slekemind.
He couldn't help feeling a little envious of him.
These days, Slekemind could be called the strongest pirate in the entire New World.
After all, the three who used to be above him were no longer in the running. Whitebeard was dead, and the Whitebeard Pirates had basically fallen apart. Charlotte Linlin and Kaidou had "gone clean" and stopped being pirates.
So the former number four had suddenly become the New World's pirate boss.
That left Crocodile feeling awful. If we're talking Shichibukai, he was the very first Shichibukai in the entire lineup!
I was the first!
So how the hell did I end up doing the worst!?
...
"Leaving the New World back then really was the wrong move. I should've paid that twenty billion Belly early. Maybe I'd already be making waves in the New World by now, and I'd have taken Pluton ages ago..."
Crocodile was full of regret.
On his side, he was lamenting the ten years he'd wasted taking the long way around.
...
Meanwhile, the last Shichibukai, the Pirate Empress Boa Hancock, couldn't sit still at all. She paced back and forth in the conference room, looking anxious and uncertain, and every so often she'd check the mirror to see if her makeup was off, or if anything about her outfit looked strange.
Just as Hancock was pacing, footsteps sounded in the hallway.
Hancock's face lit up, anticipation flashing in her eyes as she looked toward the conference room door.
At the same time, Doflamingo and the others, who had been chatting and joking a moment ago, quickly fell quiet.
Before long, Ortoren's tall figure came into view. With a cheerful smile, he raised a hand and greeted everyone.
"Sorry. The wind was pretty strong on the way, so I'm a bit late. Kept you waiting."
...
"You and Doffy always use the same excuse, Admiral..."
Moria burst out laughing.
"When I had him deliver supplies to Golden City, it was either 'too windy' or 'it's raining.' A hundred excavators took him two months to deliver. Anyone would think I told him to ship them to the moon!"
...
"Fufufufufufu, don't say it like that."
Doflamingo laughed as he picked up the thread.
"Didn't I send you two hundred in the end? The schedule didn't get delayed either..."
Before Ortoren could even respond, Hancock rushed up to him like a whirlwind. She clasped her hands together nervously under her chin, cheeks pink, and looked up at Ortoren with eyes full of infatuation.
"Admiral, I finally get to see you again. Do you still remember me~"
...
"Oh, Hancock?"
Ortoren almost felt like his eyes had been blinded, and he couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
"Has it even been that long? You've already grown into such a gorgeous beauty. I heard that when you first set sail, the World News caught a photo of you, and that issue sold out instantly... Everyone calls you the most beautiful woman in the world. Seeing you now, they weren't wrong. You're really stunning!"
Today, Hancock was wearing a black-and-white cheongsam with a yin-yang flavor to it, still in her dramatic style with a slit so high it was almost up to her waist. With every step she took, those smooth, delicate long legs looked downright lethal.
Add in her perfectly curvy figure and flawless face, and she really could steal a person's soul.
Hancock got praised for being beautiful every day, and she'd long since become immune to that kind of thing.
But the moment Ortoren said it, it was like she'd been hexed. Her delicate face flushed bright red on the spot, steam practically rising from her head, her eyes turning into dizzy spiral swirls, and she started wobbling like she couldn't even stay upright.
...
"Admiral... Admiral, saying that... could it be you want to... marry me!?"
The thought nearly made Hancock pass out.
Luckily, Hina, who had been following behind Ortoren, stepped forward at once and caught Hancock before she hit the floor.
Hina felt utterly disgusted inside. Damn it, another competitor?
But the moment she saw Hancock's pitiful, fragile look, Hina felt like her own preferences were starting to shift...
Why is my heart racing so hard just from holding her up!?