Ortolan: We Must Learn from You, Mr. Garp!

Today, G-5 was quite lively. At the port, Ortolan stood on the dock, a cigarette dangling from his lips, watching a Dog Head Warship slowly moor.

After the gangway was lowered, Garp and Bogard stepped off the ship together.

Upon seeing Ortolan, Bogard couldn't resist the urge to play and said, "Long time no see, Ortolan, wanna play a couple of rounds?"

"Let's play a couple of rounds of gamble later. I've been hearing lately that you're spreading rumors that I like gambling with you and always lose to you," Ortolan said, glaring at Bogard.

Bogard scratched his head, slightly embarrassed, and said, "How could that be? I never said anything like that... By the way, where's Yixiao? If you're not playing, I'll go find him to play with."

"Yixiao hasn't returned yet, you'll have to wait a couple of days." Ortolan was too lazy to argue with Bogard, so he waved his hand and then looked at Garp, saying, "Mr. Garp, it's been a long time. I'm relieved to see that you're still in such good spirits."

"I've been stretching my muscles a lot lately, hahaha. You know what, that Jora Mihawk is really something. He's definitely a master swordsman. Give him a few more years, and he might just become one of the Great Swordsman." Garp laughed heartily.

Compared to Mihawk's disheveled appearance, Garp looked much more energetic and didn't seem to have any injuries, at least not on his face.

"I told you a long time ago, don't always stay cooped up in headquarters, you need to get out and about more often. If you're interested, how about we organize a hunt for the Whitebeard Pirates?" Ortolan joked with a smile.

Garp rolled his eyes at Ortolan and said, "Even if you had the guts to organize it, Sengoku and the Fleet Admiral wouldn't approve it. You know the strategy the Headquarters has for the Whitebeard Pirates: avoid provoking them as much as possible, while secretly trying to sow discord among the Great Pirate to find a suitable opportunity..."

That's true. The Marine Headquarters usually doesn't easily provoke super Great Pirate crews like the Big Mom Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates. It's not out of fear or because they can't beat them, but mainly because they feel it's not worth it or not worth the effort.

Without continuing the topic, Garp put his arm around Ortolan's shoulder and said, "The Mihawk affair is over. I stopped by for a couple of days to replenish my supplies before heading out of the New World..."

"Go back to headquarters and keep bothering the Admiral Sengoku, huh?" Ortolan asked with a smile.

Garp waved his hand and said, "No, I asked Sengoku for a vacation before, but he wouldn't give me one. So don't blame me for being unreasonable. This time, I plan to go directly from the New World to Mary Geoise, and then land in the East Blue..."

"What are you doing in East Blue? Going back to your hometown again?" Ortolan complained.

"Ahem..." Garp patted Ortolan's chest in a mocking manner and said, "Have you forgotten what I told you before about that guy Dragon's affair in the East Blue?"

Ortolan was stunned for a moment before he suddenly realized that it was already March of the 1503rd year of the Marine Era. If there were no unexpected factors, in two months, the next Chosen One, who would inherit Roger's green... cough, Straw Hat King Luffy, would be born!

"You're such a big shot?" Ortolan raised an eyebrow.

Garp immediately beamed and shook his head, saying, "Hahaha, that's right. At the end of last year, when the World Government held the World Conference, didn't they say they were going to attack the Revolutionary Army afterward? That traitor Dragon felt that his situation wasn't very safe afterward, so he left the child in Windmill Village to be raised by me..."

"So you want to ambush Dragon in Dragon Windmill Village first, and then, once he shows up, kill him outright and completely eliminate this scourge of the Revolutionary Army for the sake of the World Government, right? I understand. As expected of you, Mr. Garp. This spirit and will are worthy of our entire Marines's emulation. I'll report to Mary Geoise right now and sing your praises..." Ortolan said, while deliberately looking at Garp with great admiration.

Garp was stunned by these words. After a long while, he touched his nose, slightly embarrassed, and said, "Well, I think there might not be enough time. This ambush situation..."

"I travel fast, you know that. I can fly to the East Blue Sea without even using a ship. If you think you're running out of time, I can totally do my job and help you kill Dragon!" Ortolan teased again.

"Are you never going to stop?!" Garp cursed angrily.

After cursing twice, he, Ortolan, and Bogard behind him couldn't help but laugh again.

Garp isn't the kind of person who would sacrifice family for the greater good, especially since the Revolutionary Army's situation isn't the Marines's priority. These matters are usually handled by the CP Agency. Why would he, with nothing better to do, insist on sacrificing family for the greater good?

Do you really expect Dragon to get promoted and make a fortune? Is it even necessary? If he wanted to become Admiral, he could submit a report today and it would be approved tomorrow.

Since the topic had been brought up, Ortolan then asked, "So what's next? Are you planning to raise the Dragon children in the East Blue, or bring them back to the tribe?"

Upon hearing this, Garp hesitated for a moment before saying, "I originally intended to bring the child back to the frontier, but I'm worried there might be problems..."

"What's the problem?" Ortolan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The Zephyr incident back then was very suspicious, and we still haven't figured it out. Dragon is just a small spark now, and the World Government doesn't really take him seriously yet. But who can predict what will happen in the future? What if he becomes too powerful someday? If I take his child in the Second Division, wouldn't I be at their mercy? After all, I can't be in the Second Division all the time." Garp said with some difficulty.

It can't be said that there's a problem with Garp's idea.

After a moment's thought, Ortolan asked, "Does that mean it's safe to stay in Windmill Village?"

"It can't be said to be safe. The main problem is that if it were brought to the second part, it would be impossible to keep it a secret. Right now, only a few of you know about it. If it were in Windmill Village, and you didn't say anything and I didn't say anything, we could probably keep it a secret for a long time..." Garp sighed.

Ortolan thought about it and realized it made sense. If Garp took the child back to the 2nd Division, the 2nd Division would be unable to keep it a secret, and everyone would know that Dragon had a child.

Now, although Ortolan and the others know about this, they are all people that Garp trusts and would never betray him. The others don't know anything about it at all, which actually reduces the risk considerably.

However, it was clear that Garp had not yet made a decision, and Ortolan was too lazy to get involved in the Monkey Family's messy affairs, so he said no more.

The two quickly shifted the topic to other areas. Garp looked at Ortolan and asked in a low voice, "I heard Rouge came to your G-5? What's going on?"

"I don't know either. They just showed up without even telling me." Ortolan shook his head, then added with a cheeky grin, "I guess it's because I'm too charming, hahaha..."

Garp glanced at Ortolan, frowned and thought for a moment, then asked, "Has she mentioned anything about divorce to you?"

"No," Ortolan shook his head.

"So what are your own thoughts now?" Garp sensed something was off and quickly asked.

"Me?" Ortolan hesitated for a moment.

To be honest, he didn't have any particularly deep feelings for Rouge. On the contrary Rouge, he had something to say with Gion. But now, for some less-than-honorable reasons, he was actually a little reluctant to ask Ortolan to take the initiative to ask for a divorce.

After Rouge, Rouge was beautiful, had a great figure, and was very family-oriented. She took perfect care of his daily life, a feeling that Ortolan truly savored.

As I said before, it's impossible for Ortolan not to have any feelings for a beauty like Rouge; he just hasn't made any actual moves yet.

Seeing Ortolan's hesitant and indecisive look, Garp couldn't help but roll his eyes and said, "Guotong, you've reached that age..."

A young man in his early twenties, full of vigor and vitality, how could he resist such temptation?

Garp is still understandable.

Garp felt something was off about this, and he felt sorry for Roger. But after thinking about it more carefully, if he was sorry for Roger, would he be doing Rouge by letting Rouge live a life of widowhood?

Everyone, at every stage of life, should have their own choices. Garp did what he was supposed to do, so you can't blame him for how things turned out this way, right?

Scratching his head vigorously, Garp gritted his teeth and said, "Forget it, I should have let go of these things a long time ago. Roger has been dead for so many years, and it's only right that Rouge wants to start anew. But I still want to remind you of one thing: don't do anything that would embarrass others. At least act like a man, understand?"

"If I were that despicable, I'd already have a second child, why are you still telling me?" Ortolan rolled his eyes at Garp and muttered under his breath.