In the end, Ortoren returned to the Marine Headquarters he was loyal to.
He had been tied up in Mary Geoise for so long without any real rest that the moment he got back, he went straight to his courtyard at headquarters.
To be fair, even though he hadn't lived here much over the years, and the past year had been filled with nonstop turmoil around him, his deterrence and influence were still very much there. Even in his absence, the place was cleaned thoroughly every single day.
Because of that, Ortoren could move right back in without lifting a finger.
He slept comfortably at home until the next morning.
What he didn't know was that while he slept, his "loyal" Marine Headquarters had already betrayed him the night before.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku and a group of top Marine brass had rushed back to Marineford overnight. They immediately mobilized a large number of Marines and, in a single night, set up a ceremonial platform in Justice Square.
As for rehearsals?
Were rehearsals even necessary? With the Marines standing in neat, orderly ranks across the square, all they had to do was wait for Ortoren to step onto the platform and then shout "Justice and Loyalty" in unison.
That would be enough.
When the time came, whether he wanted to or not, he would have to take the position of Fleet Admiral.
Early the next morning, Ortoren woke up in his bedroom, washed up, and got dressed. He put on his black suit, adjusted his hair, draped the mantle of justice over his shoulders, and hummed lightly as he prepared to head out for a walk.
It had been a long time since he'd been able to rest this leisurely at headquarters. He wanted to see what had changed over the years.
But the moment he stepped into the courtyard, something felt off. It was as if someone's gaze was lingering on him, faint and elusive.
He turned his head and scanned the courtyard.
No one was there.
He considered using Observation Haki to check more carefully, but then dismissed the thought. Maybe he was just being paranoid. This was his loyal Marine Headquarters, Marineford. Who here would try to harm him?
"Maybe some pretty girl from a nearby house is secretly watching me," Ortoren thought, feeling rather pleased with himself. With that, he stepped out of the courtyard.
At the same time, atop the clock tower in the Marine family residential area, Borsalino leaned back against the ledge, hiding there as he waited. After a brief pause with no signs of anything unusual, he pulled out a Den Den Mushi.
"Rat, Rat, this is Monkey. Do you read me?"
"Rat here. What's the situation?" Momonga's voice came through from the other end.
"Bull has left his residence and is wandering around the residential area. Based on his route, he should be heading from Second Avenue toward the plaza. How are your preparations?" Borsalino replied quickly.
He sounded far more energetic than when he was actually on duty.
"All preparations are complete. We can move at any time," Momonga responded. He then switched to another channel and spoke again, "Big Dog, Big Dog, do you copy?"
Inside a noodle shop on Second Avenue, Sakazuki's expression twitched when he heard the call from his Den Den Mushi. In the end, he clenched his teeth and answered, "Big Dog here. Go ahead."
"Bull is moving toward your position. Keep a close eye on his movements and report immediately," Momonga instructed.
A Vice Admiral giving orders to an Admiral. Sakazuki had no way around it. He took a deep breath and replied, "Understood. Big Dog out."
Sakazuki sat in the noodle shop. About two minutes later, he spotted Ortoren's unhurried figure strolling over. He immediately picked up the Den Den Mushi again.
"Clown, Clown, do you read me?"
"Sakazuki, I've told you already, call me Dolphin! Call me Clown one more time and I'll fight you to the death!" Tokikake, who had long since returned from the North Blue, cursed furiously through the Den Den Mushi.
Sakazuki froze, genuinely confused. "Huh? Is the code wrong? Momonga told me your codename was Clown…"
The Den Den Mushi fell silent for a moment before Tokikake exploded in rage.
"Momonga, I swear I'll kill you!"
All across Marine Headquarters, every officer capable of receiving this encrypted signal burst into laughter, covering their mouths as their shoulders shook.
Even Sakazuki couldn't help but let out a brief chuckle. Before Tokikake could completely lose his temper, Sakazuki quickly straightened his tone.
"Enough nonsense. Ortoren has already passed my position. You can prepare to act on your end."
"Understood," Tokikake replied, forcibly suppressing his anger.
Inside, he was already cursing up a storm. Damn it. In this massive Marine Headquarters, there wasn't a single decent person. Every last one of them was a bastard.
On the other side, Ortoren continued walking along the breakfast street, growing more and more uneasy.
Something just felt wrong.
He kept observing his surroundings, but still didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. Had it really been so long since he last returned that the mix of familiarity and unfamiliarity was making him feel this uncomfortable?
As he was thinking about that, he spotted Hina in the distance, carrying a large bundle as she turned in from another street and headed his way.
Running into his personal secretary put Ortoren at ease, and the doubts in his mind faded away. He smiled, raised a hand in greeting, and said,
"Hina, here for breakfast too? What're you carrying there?"
Hina had, of course, already betrayed her Admiral. But as the saying goes, the more beautiful a woman is, the better she lies. At this moment, her inner award-winning actress was in full possession, her performance flawless. With a bright smile, she greeted him naturally.
"Good morning, Admiral. These are some cloaks that need to be changed and washed…"
Ortoren noticed that the bundle in her hands did seem to contain Marine justice cloaks. Hearing her explanation, he didn't give it a second thought.
The two chatted for a bit before Hina smoothly shifted the topic.
"I heard there's a new recruit drill going on in the square. If you're free, Admiral, why don't we go take a look together?"
Ortoren hadn't had anything planned anyway and was just wandering around. Hearing that, he nodded without hesitation.
"Sure. Might as well see how the quality of the new recruits at headquarters has been these past few years…"
Before long, Ortoren and Hina left the residential streets and headed toward the square.
After observing this, Sakazuki picked up his Den Den Mushi.
"Do… cough, Dolphin. The pink-haired one has already guided the Bull toward the designated location. Stay alert and get ready to move and take him down."
"Understood," came Tokikake's muffled, clearly unhappy voice from the Den Den Mushi.
Still, he quickly issued the necessary orders on his end without delaying anything.
...
At the same time, Ortoren and Hina exited the residential area and entered the military district. Just around the next corner was Justice Square. As they walked, Ortoren spoke up.
"Hina, since you returned to headquarters, have you felt anything… off?"
Hina's heart jolted, but on the surface she simply tilted her head with a puzzled look.
"Off? What do you mean? No, not really."
"Is that so?" Ortoren rubbed his chin, looking confused. "Maybe I'm just being overly sensitive. Ever since I woke up this morning, I've felt like something's not quite right, but I can't tell what exactly…"
The words had barely left his mouth when he noticed something was wrong.
They were just about to reach Justice Square. So why had two Marines suddenly appeared at the alley entrance ahead, acting all sneaky?
The reason they stood out was simple. Whenever Ortoren walked through headquarters, any Marine who saw him would immediately stop and salute. These two were different. Their heads were lowered, they looked like they didn't dare meet his eyes, and they were deliberately edging closer to him.
A bad feeling rose in Ortoren's chest.
Could there still be die-hard World Government loyalists hidden within headquarters?
What was this supposed to be? An assassination attempt? Where did they get the nerve!?
"Hina!" Ortoren shouted in a low voice, about to warn her as he prepared to act himself.
But before the words could fully settle, his ever-loyal little secretary betrayed him.
Hina suddenly grabbed his wrist.
"Admiral, my apologies!"
Ortoren trusted Hina deeply. Because of that, the moment she made her move, he realized things weren't what he had assumed. His original alertness eased, and instead of resisting immediately, he chose to see what she was trying to do.
What, was she going to confess to me?
Since when did a confession require two atmosphere guys on standby?
The very next second, the two Marine Captains lunged forward and pinned Ortoren down.
"Admiral, it's getting cold. Put on an extra layer!"
The man hailed as the strongest in the world, the one who stood at the very peak of power and had reached the far shore, Benn Ortoren, understood exactly what was about to happen the moment he heard those words.
So, despite being the strongest of them all, he was effortlessly pinned in place, held down on both sides by two otherwise unknown Marine Captains.
Hina then quickly opened the handbag she had been carrying and pulled out a brand-new Marine justice cloak. Having changed Ortoren's clothes countless times before, her movements were smooth and practiced, almost instinctive. In just a few swift motions, she removed his Admiral's cloak and immediately draped the new one over him.
Only then did Ortoren clearly see it.
The Admiral's shoulder epaulettes on the new cloak had already been replaced with those of a Fleet Admiral.
"You…" Ortoren exclaimed in surprise.
Before he could finish speaking, the two Marine Captains hooked their arms under his shoulders and took off at full speed. They dashed straight to the end of the alley, turned the corner, and burst into Justice Square.
As they ran, they shouted at the top of their lungs,
"The Grand Fleet Admiral is here! The Grand Fleet Admiral is here!"
Only then did Ortoren realize that Justice Square was completely filled with Marines, forming a massive square formation. Judging by their shoulder insignia, every single one of them was a commissioned officer. There were no new recruits anywhere to be seen.
At the same time, Fleet Admiral Sengoku had already removed his uniform and Fleet Admiral epaulettes. He stood atop the ceremonial platform, looking down at Ortoren with an amused expression.
At this point, Ortoren, who had already more or less guessed the truth, naturally understood exactly what was happening.
As the two Marine Captains continued shouting, a deafening roar erupted from the ranks. Waves of chants followed one after another, "Loyalty," "Justice," "Victory," rolling like a tidal surge and echoing throughout the entire Marine Headquarters.
Just like that, Ortoren was forcibly escorted onto the grand platform, wearing a helpless, wry smile as he looked down at the endlessly cheering formation of Marine officers below.
Kuzan and Momonga were now standing beside Fleet Admiral Sengoku. They took over from the two Captains and quite literally lifted Ortoren, placing him firmly at the center of the platform.
"Enjoy it, Ortoren," Kuzan said with a grin.
"Lead the Marines toward a new future!" Momonga added excitedly.
Standing atop the high platform, Ortoren looked left and right, his face full of bitter amusement. He slapped his thigh and sighed.
"You people… honestly, you people… why go this far?"
He looked out at the overwhelming, awe-inspiring formation in the square, then turned his gaze to Sengoku.
In the end, Ortoren let out a long sigh.
"I've been loyal for so many years, and in a single day my reputation is gone. You've really put me in a tough spot…"
Yet somehow, by the time he finished speaking, the bitter smile at the corner of his mouth had already turned into a brilliant grin he couldn't suppress.
Looking out at the countless Marines before him, Ortoren finally understood.
The new throne he had forged was right here, within these thunderous cheers.
That throne was cast from justice and victory, from iron and fire, from blood and glory.
At last, Ortoren stepped forward, arriving at the broadcast Den Den Mushi.
The moment he took that step, the entire Marine Headquarters fell into complete silence.
Gazing at the vibrant, spirited Marines before him, like a newly risen sun, a new Marine force, Ortoren felt a surge of emotions, yet found himself unsure of what to say.
After a long pause, countless thoughts condensed into a single sentence.
"Justice will prevail!" Ortoren shouted.
The very next second, a thunderous response erupted from the formation.
"Justice will prevail!"
After the third chant, the Marines snapped from their at-ease stance to attention. In perfect unison, tens of thousands moved as one and delivered a standard salute toward Ortoren on the platform.
"Loyalty!!!"
"Loyalty!!!"
"Loyalty!!!"
Ortoren seemed to feel that burning expectation as well. His expression turned solemn, and he raised his hand, returning a standard Marine salute as he roared back,
"Loyalty!!!"
On January 1st, Sea Calendar 1508, Marine Headquarters Admiral Benn Ortoren officially ascended as the new Grand Fleet Admiral.
A brand-new tide of the era surged forward. An age where justice would prevail opened the gates to the New World.