Though I Trafficked Arms and Dealt Warships, I Was Still a Good Marine!
For more than a month before Ortolan took office as the commander of G-5, he was basically cleaning up the mess at G-5. Just as he expected, the news of his 'willingness to lay off staff' had just been released.
The G-5 team members signed up enthusiastically, so much so that within a month and a half, the Marine Base Commander, Ortolan, only had a little over 600 people left.
The rest either went back to their hometowns to get married or were transferred to other places to do logistics.
What does six weeks' worth of people mean? It means that even if Ortolan went out, he couldn't gather a full complement of warships.
Meanwhile, inside the G-5 naval port, Ortolan was chatting with Katakuri he hadn't seen in a long time.
That's right, Katakuri appeared openly in the Marines base, and nobody cared about it in this place.
Inside the G-5 headquarters building, Momonga and Ichisho were peering out the window, curiously watching the situation at the port.
"Charlotte Katakuri, the leading figure of the new Big Mom Pirates, with a bounty of 360 million Belly, just like that, he brazenly appears in our Marines base. Aren't you worried?" Issho looked at the wanted poster in his hand and turned to ask Momonga.
"Ah, a smile." The Momonga, a cigarette dangling from his lips, sighed with feigned maturity. "As a veteran Marines officer with many years of service, I can tell you that this situation is indeed against the rules. But how should I put it... our Marines isn't all about fighting pirates. There are human relationships involved too. Think about it, when Admiral Sengoku sent Ortolan to G-5, did he ever consider these kinds of situations? Now G-5 is practically crippled and needs rebuilding. Headquarters can't give us much support. We have to rely on ourselves. If we don't turn to the Big Mom Pirates today, we'll have to turn to the Beasts Pirates tomorrow, or some villain from the Underworld..."
"Isn't this considered arms trafficking? Selling our Marines's resources to pirates?" Yixiao thought for a moment and then asked Yu.
The Momonga pointed to the port. "Where are our Marines's resources? Aren't those all pirate ships? Not a single warship in sight. How can we resell Marines resources? Putting aside Katakuri's identity, we've found a second-hand recycler to recycle and reuse the waste materials in the G-5 Marine Base. Selling these useless items will also lighten our burden and increase our financial reserves!"
Yixiao looked at the Momonga with a surprised expression. "Did Ortolan teach you all of this?"
"That's right!" the Momonga said matter-of-factly. "When he first proposed this plan to me, I also felt it was inappropriate, but after thinking about it, I felt that what he said made sense. Anyway, if we sell to those middlemen in the Underworld, they will eventually resell it to pirates. So why don't we just sell it directly to the pirates and save those middlemen from making a profit on our price!"
Meanwhile, at the port, Ortolan was leading Katakuri around the area where numerous pirate warships were anchored.
"Look at these ships. They're basically all ready to be deployed immediately, and they've been tested in war. Those with poor performance or bad luck certainly won't be captured; they'll be sunk by our Marines's warships. The ones that survive are top-quality, you know?" Ortolan promoted his wares.
Katakuri looked at Ortolan with a slight smile, thinking to himself, "Even secondhand goods become top-quality goods in your hands. Your eloquence is truly impressive."
Speaking of which, this kind of small business... Yes, for Ortolan, this business is already quite large, being his first external transaction during his tenure as the base commander. But for the Big Mom Pirates, it's just a small business, and originally, Katakuri wouldn't have needed to get involved at all.
However, considering that he hadn't seen his younger brother for a long time and had nothing to do recently, Katakuri took the initiative to meet with Ortolan after receiving Ortolan's 'trade request'.
"If it weren't for the fact that these warships don't fit our Marines's image, I would really like to keep them. Unfortunately, we can't. Our Marines can't exactly sail out on pirate ships, can it? So we have to sell them to raise funds. But I'm reluctant to sell these ships to outsiders, so I've come to you. With these ships, you'll definitely be invincible. Next time you go on an expedition and can't win, come to me, and I'll send a large army to help you!!!" Ortolan, who had six weeks of troops under his command, said very generously.
Those who don't know better might think he really has 500,000 elite troops under his command!
Katakuri looked at his younger brother's expression and felt a little amused, but on the surface he still asked seriously, "So how many 'superior warships' do you have in total?"
"Thirty-eight ships in total. I'm practically giving them away for free. Fifty million per ship isn't expensive, is it?" Ortolan said, looking at me as if I were getting a great deal.
Katakuri isn't ignorant of the market. If he remembers correctly, the current market price for a standard Marines warship manufactured in Water 7 and ending up in Marines hands is less than 80 million Belly. This guy, Ortolan, really has the nerve to ask for 50 million Belly per ship, even though it's just a small sale.
"If you dare to sell your Marines's warships, I can buy them from you for 100 million Belly each. I'll take as many as you have. But this secondhand pirate ship, you want 50 million Belly? Isn't that a bit expensive?" Katakuri looked at Ortolan with a smile.
Ortolan paused for a moment, then nodded. "You guys have this quirk? Well, I'll have all these ships renovated, painted in our Marines colors, and have the symbols of justice and the Marines painted on their sails, that's not out of the question..."
It's just a warship, right? He can build one right here!
Katakuri's face twitched and he said, "I said this is your headquarters' warship!"
Upon hearing this, Ortolan's expression immediately turned serious, and he said earnestly, "That thing... is a deal that could cost you your life!"
There's nothing wrong with him reselling these captured pirate ships here. It's not just G-5 that does this; in fact, Marines all over the world do the same thing. Headquarters also has this intention, but most of them sell directly to middlemen in the Dark World. In the end, these middlemen still sell these ships to pirates. But it's rare for someone like Ortolan to skip the middlemen... Yes, relatively rare. In fact, although there is no survey data, Ortolan thinks it should exist.
If he were to sell the Type 051 warships from headquarters here, he would definitely be a target of severe crackdown. Headquarters would not allow such a trend to spread!
"So?" Katakuri asked, dismissing Ortolan's serious expression with disdain.
"So, we'll have to pay more!" Mayor Ortolan rubbed his hands together and said, "Of course, I can't just sell you the Type 052 warship openly. Well, how should I put it? Every year we have to fight overseas, and we fight you ruthless pirates to the death. Some equipment will inevitably be damaged... and the limits of this equipment damage are quite flexible..."
The warship was hit by a shell, only slightly grazed, but it wasn't a major problem. As the base commander, Ortolan still had the authority to determine that it posed a danger or hazard. For the safety of his Marines colleagues, it could no longer continue to serve and could be declared scrapped.
Decommissioned warships are not something headquarters can easily tow back; that would be too time-consuming and labor-intensive. They are usually dismantled on-site, and the timber resources are recycled and that's it.
So I buy a batch of about 1000 cubic meters of timber from the market, then say I've dismantled it, but actually resell it... cough cough, that's quite reasonable and logical, isn't it?
Just as Ortolan was selling these secondhand pirate ships to Katakuri, his Den Den Mushi rang in his pocket. He took it out and saw that it was Admiral Sengoku.
Ortolan didn't mince words and Den Den Mushi directly, saying, "Admiral?"
"Are you busy?" the Admiral Sengoku asked naturally.
"Yeah, I'm busy trading warships with my second brother," Ortolan said matter-of-factly.
The Admiral Sengoku was stunned for a moment, then quickly said, "Ortolan, you are still young, don't go further down the path of crime!"
"It's not a warship, it's a G-5 inventory pirate ship. By the way, Admiral, I don't have any warships here. Momonga applied for one, have you received it yet? It's been over a month! You can't expect the horse to run but not eat grass, can you?" Ortolan said with great dissatisfaction.
Upon hearing that it was a pirate ship, the Admiral Sengoku breathed a sigh of relief. Without asking any further questions, he said directly, "That's exactly what I wanted to tell you. It's too much to ask Momonga to apply for this. Fifty warships? Where am I supposed to find those for you? Fifty thousand elite troops? Where am I supposed to draw them from? You need to revise this for me; it won't pass the approval process!"
"Forty-five ships? Thirty thousand elite troops?" Ortolan hesitated for a moment before asking.
"Fifteen ships, five thousand seasoned soldiers who have experienced war. If you nod your head, I'll sign immediately; otherwise, forget about it," the Admiral Sengoku said firmly.
"It's not impossible!" Ortolan immediately agreed. "You know it's unlikely that you can build a sharp elite force that can withstand pressure, so if headquarters can't provide me with much support, I can do it myself, right? It's just that the methods used might be a bit against the rules!"
"If you can get G-5 to produce over 50,000 elite troops and 50 warships without asking headquarters for support, even if you use illegal means, as long as you don't betray the Marines or commit any crimes, I'll take responsibility for you!" Admiral Sengoku said Haki.
This department didn't even need to produce any special personnel; yet they gained such formidable combat power. So what if they took some responsibility? So what if they broke the rules? Even Admiral Sengoku wasn't incapable of flexibility!
Otherwise, just the fact that Ortolan is directly trading with pirates would, according to Marines regulations, make him a suspect in a military court!
"Admiral, rest assured, although I may be involved in arms dealing and warship trading, I am definitely a good Marines, and my loyalty is unquestionable!" Ortolan quickly reassured him.