Moria, You Offended the Marines' Abbot and Still Want to Run?

When Ortolan arrived at Punk Hazard, he came empty-handed. When he left, he not only took the Seastone warship technology with him, but also the Mythical Zoan Artificial Devil Fruit, which was only different in color from Kaido's.

However, in return for Dr. Vegapunk's sincerity, Ortolan also donated two large vials of his own blood.

Sitting in a sun lounger on the deck of the warship, Ortolan looked at the Devil Fruit in his hand and murmured softly, "I hope there really will be a technological breakthrough to cure Teacher Zephyr's asthma..."

After putting the Devil Fruit back in his suitcase, Ortolan glanced at the newspaper beside him. There was nothing particularly noteworthy in today's paper; it was all trivial stuff that wasn't worth paying attention to.

He was looking at the date in the newspaper and calculating the time. After resting at G-5 for about two months, he would be going to Cake Island to attend Charlotte Linlin's Tea Party.

Just as Ortolan was thinking about these things, his Den Den Den Mushi rang.

Ortolan took out Den Den Mushi from his pocket, glanced at it, and then answered with a warm greeting, "Admiral Sengoku, how have you been lately? Is there anything I can do for you?"

Admiral Sengoku was immune to such flattery and asked calmly, "Borsalino told me that you have left Punk Hazard, right?"

"That's right, I'm on my way back to G-5," Ortolan replied.

"Hmm." The Admiral Sengoku responded, then asked Yu curiously, "What do you need that Seastone technology for?"

"To make money!" Ortolan said matter-of-factly. "How can I develop G-5 without money? The Ministry isn't giving me any support! Nowadays, the main routes for entering the New World are either Fish-Man Island or Mary Geoise. Occasionally, some daring individuals dare to directly cross the Calm Belt, but those are extremely rare. Going through Fish-Man Island is too risky, and going through Mary Geoise incurs too high taxes. Under these circumstances, if I were to open up a safe route through the Calm Belt to the New World, the profits would be enormous! I've already reached an agreement with the Donquixote Family of the North Blue on this matter..."

The Admiral Sengoku did not object to this, but instead asked Yu, "What else?"

"Besides that..." Ortolan said softly, "I plan to use the pirates imported from Impel Down to develop the resources of the Calm Belt, initially including food, timber, and mining... Let's see if there are any other developments later? Speaking of which, with so many undeveloped islands in the Calm Belt, could there be gold mines or something?"

When the Admiral Sengoku heard about this plan, he was somewhat shocked. Even though he didn't understand the development of the Calm Belt, he could roughly estimate its importance. It could be said that whether the Marines's economic shackles could be lifted would depend on whether the Calm Belt could be utilized effectively!

Therefore, after calming himself down, the Admiral Sengoku said, "You always manage to come up with something new... This matter is of great importance. If the higher-ups find out, it will cause a huge mess. So you must keep it a secret and protect me perfectly. I'll pretend I know nothing about this for now..."

"Don't worry, Admiral. Only a very few people will know. Once those imported pirates are put into the Calm Belt, I guarantee they'll never get out. Besides, I'll use the shipping route business as a cover. If they find out anything, I can just use the shipping route business to take the blame. Double insurance," Ortolan replied immediately.

"Yes, it's good that you understand the seriousness of this situation. Make sure to stockpile food and funds, so that if anything unexpected happens in the future, we can stand tall." The Admiral Sengoku gave another instruction, then changed the subject and asked, "Last time you said you were planning to attend the Big Mom Pirates' Tea Party?"

"Yes, that's my plan. Now that G-5 has left Mary Geoise and the Second Division, it's impossible for it to leave the Underworld and the New World. There will be many relevant people at the Tea Party, which will be a good opportunity for me to expand my network of contacts and social connections," Ortolan replied.

"As long as you show your face, Mary Geoise will definitely know about this matter, do you understand?" the Admiral Sengoku asked again.

"That's why I had to report to you. Do you have any ideas?" Ortolan asked.

"It can't be hidden." The Admiral Sengoku gave the answer without hesitation, and then added, "Stussy from Pleasure District will also be invited to this Tea Party, and this Stussy is a member of the CP Agency, so there's no way to hide it."

After a pause, the Admiral Sengoku continued, "Here's what we'll do: I'll report this matter to the Fleet Admiral. The Fleet Admiral should inform them beforehand before heading to Mary Geoise. As for the reason, say it's for clandestine intelligence gathering and exchanging favors..."

"Whatever you think is suitable is fine," Ortolan agreed with a smile.

The idea of Marines contacting pirates and engaging in intelligence sharing and exchanging benefits sounds illogical, but that's at the lower levels. The higher you go, to the high-ranking officials of the Navy and Mary Geoise, the more reasonable it seems.

The Five Elders even meet with Red-Hair in private, don't they?

Using this reason to report it, coupled with Ortolan's unique background, makes it even more reasonable.

After explaining the situation, the Admiral Sengoku asked again, "By the way, I heard that you arranged some kind of guarantee fee for this Shichibukai? Two hundred billion? A while ago, you kidnapped the new Smoker and extorted two hundred billion Belly from him?"

Upon hearing this, Ortolan quickly retorted, "Who? Who snitched on me? Do you think it's easy for me to earn money? As Marines, is it illegal for me to extort money from pirates? There's no regulation in our Marines that says we can't ask Shichibukai for a bail fee, is there? Admiral, I'm innocent!"

"What are you yelling about, you brat? Do you think I'm here to ask for your share of the profits?" The Admiral Sengoku grumbled impatiently as he listened to Ortolan's crying and shouting.

"You didn't come here to ask me for money, did you?" Ortolan paused for a moment, then quickly stopped crying and said, "Then what do you mean?"

"I think your act of collecting guarantee fees doesn't actually violate the laws of the World Government or our Marines's regulations. After all, what's not prohibited by law is permissible... Those pirates have committed so many atrocities, and because of Mary Geoise's policy, once they become the Shichibukai, we can't just deal with them easily. Having you, this unruly troublemaker, torment them is a way to vent our anger. Personally, I support you in this matter," Admiral Sengoku said with a smile.

After a slight pause, the Admiral Sengoku said, "It's like this. Early this morning, Mary Geoise sent us a document inviting Gecko Moria, who had a fierce conflict with the Beasts Pirates, to become the Shichibukai. Our department has discussed it urgently and approved the invitation. We've also contacted that Gecko Moria, but he said he needs someone of sufficient stature to talk to him in person. I figured you're also going to collect this money, and it's convenient in the New World. You're also of sufficient stature, so you should go."

When the Admiral Sengoku mentioned this matter, his tone was somewhat annoyed.

After all, what kind of lowly pirate would dare to talk to the Marines like that, wanting to become one of the Shichibukai?

Are you qualified? Are you worthy? Don't even mention that you're a defeated opponent of Kaido. Even Kaido, do you think he's qualified to talk to an Admiral like Sengoku?

So, as Marine Admiral, how could he not be angry when he learned of this?

"Ya, since you want someone of importance, then I'll have Ortolan talk to you. You asked for this!"

"Is that guy really that arrogant?" Ortolan asked in surprise.

"Yes, so after you've been through this, you need to have a proper talk with him," the Admiral Sengoku said in a sinister tone.

"How far should we talk about it?" Ortolan asked tentatively. "If you don't like him, how about we talk about his personal life?"

"It hasn't come to that. We discussed it, and although he's annoying, he's actually quite suitable to be Shichibukai. At least we're on the same page when it comes to the conflict with Kaido. His strength isn't excessive, so he wouldn't become an uncontrollable threat. He's quite suitable. So you should talk to him until he's willing to obediently become Shichibukai. Do you understand what I mean?" Admiral Sengoku emphasized earnestly.

"It's all thanks to your magnanimity. You truly deserve to be called Admiral. You repay evil with good. I admire you!" Ortolan flattered him again, then said, "Don't worry, send me the address of the meeting. I'll go and talk to him right away. After the meeting, we can attend the Tea Party. I guarantee I'll talk him until he becomes a highly respected Shichibukai our Marines!"

"Well, then I'll wait for your good news." Seeing that Ortolan understood his meaning, the Admiral Sengoku praised him with a few words of satisfaction before hanging up the Den Den Mushi.

On the other side, as Ortolan put away the Den Den Mushi, he couldn't help but sigh, "Moria, of all people to offend, you had to offend the abbot of our Marines? Don't you know how petty the abbot is? This is exactly what happened to you."

This guy has completely forgotten that he just praised the Admiral Sengoku for his magnanimity.