In the days that followed, Charlotte Linlin did not give a definite answer, and it was unknown whether she had spoken with Kaido.
However, Ortolan didn't intend to rush anything, and he wasn't in a hurry.
On the third day, Vergo informed Ortolan that Luffield and Umit had set off for G-5 and were expected to arrive in about two weeks.
Ortolan calculated the time and estimated that he would have to meet Kaido after meeting these two partners from the Dark World.
Meanwhile, in the Sabaody Archipelago, in the First Half of Grand Line.
In the Zone 13, at Shakky's Shakky's Rip-off Bar.
At this moment, an old woman, her body hunched over and holding a snake staff, was talking to Shakky. On the sofa in the tavern, Rayleigh was holding his wine bottle, his brows furrowed, as if he was also worried about something.
This old woman was none other than Gloriosa, the former emperor of Amazon Shakky.
Because the current Amazon Lily emperor fell ill with lovesickness and died young, the previous emperor Gloriosa, had to step in and temporarily take charge of Amazon Lily.
"Boa Hancock?" Shakky listened to the name, pondered for a moment, and then said, "The next Imperial heir?"
"That's right. The Boa sisters are all the next generation of Imperial heir of Amazon Lily. Among them, Hancock is the most talented. Normally, when she comes of age, the Emperor's Hunt ritual will be held, and she will succeed to the throne of Amazon Lily. But now, she and her two sisters have been captured from Amazon Lily by a slave team. We have been tracking them for a long time but have not found any relevant clues. So I have no choice but to come to you. Shakky, your intelligence network is more powerful than ours..." Gloriosa said in a heavy tone.
"This is really a big problem..." Shakky said, somewhat troubled.
Although she had long since left Amazon Lily, she still kept the matter of Amazon Lily in her heart. In the story, Shakky once traveled all the way to Amazon Lily with Rayleigh to help Hancock solve the problems of Blackbeard and the Marines invasion.
"The slave trade is a very complex business, and the people behind it are no ordinary individuals. Even we don't know much about its secrets. It's really difficult to find the Boa sisters among so many slave-hunting ships on the high seas..." Rayleigh said with a hint of helplessness.
In the story, Gloriosa also sought help from Rayleigh and Shakky, but it's clear that Rayleigh and Shakky were unable to solve the problem, as they never found out where the Boa sisters were captured.
Years later, when Fisher Tiger burned Mary Geoise and liberated the slaves there, the three Hancock sisters escaped from Mary Geoise and came to the Sabaody Archipelago, where they reunited with Shakky, whom they remembered living in seclusion there, and eventually returned to Amazon Lily.
"Wait a minute, let me ask around..." After thinking for a moment, Shakky took out his Den Den Mushi and began contacting his network of contacts to inquire about the situation.
"It's the first half of the Paradise, the slave-catching team active in the South Calm Belt... Right, the three sisters... Don't you know much about this? Well, sorry to bother you."
"It happened about a month ago... So you've recently quit this line of work? I understand..."
"Do you only handle business with Fish-Man Island?"
After contacting everyone, Shakky hadn't gotten anywhere. With a somewhat helpless expression, he said, "My relationship with these slave traders is just so-so. Some of them genuinely don't know anything, while others have no intention of helping and are just trying to fool me..."
Shakky and Rayleigh themselves weren't interested in slaves or anything like that, and they never got involved in such businesses. But since they both lived in the dark world, and the Sabaody Archipelago was so chaotic, they were bound to have some connection. However, just as Shakky said, it was only a casual relationship, and the slave traders wouldn't care much about her affairs.
Seeing that Shakky couldn't help much, Gloriosa's expression turned somewhat desperate. For a moment, she didn't know how to solve this problem.
Rayleigh, who was drinking and pondering something, remained silent for a moment before speaking up, "Should we look for that Bane guy?"
"Bane?" Shakky paused for a moment, then said, "His influence extends to the New World, right? I heard he's incredibly powerful there, with connections in both the New World. Everyone gives him some respect. There's a saying in the underworld: 'Better to mess with Whitebeard than G-5...'"
"The upper-class nobles of the World Government are the biggest customers of the slave trade. Beneath the Holy Land of Mary Geoise lies countless tragic slaves. Bane is, after all, a member of the World Government, so he might have some connections. And didn't you just say that he now has connections in both the underworld and legitimate society, and is extremely influential in both? The quality and level of his connections are far superior to ours. If he's willing to help investigate, we might find something useful." Rayleigh tapped the table with one hand as he explained.
Gloriosa was truly at her wit's end, and as if grasping at a straw, she asked, "The Bane you're talking about, is it Bane Ortolan, the Marine Base Commander in the New World?"
"It's him, no doubt..." Shakky nodded, then looked at the Den Den Mushi in his hand and said, "But our relationship with him isn't that great, is it? Would he really be willing to help?"
"I can't be sure... but there's no harm in trying, is there?" Rayleigh said softly.
After considering for a moment, Mrs. Shakky fiddled with the Den Den Mushi in her hand a few times and sent out a signal wave.
Meanwhile, in the New World, at Marine Base G-5.
Inside the naval port, several warships that had clearly just experienced war were slowly mooring into the harbor. As soon as the ships came to a stop, the gangways were quickly lowered, and then a large number of Marines soldiers carried stretchers and rushed down the gangways.
The stretchers were filled with Marines soldiers who were seriously injured.
Ortolan stood in the harbor, directing a group of medics to take care of the wounded. Hearing his men's painful cries, Ortolan felt a pang of pity.
But this wasn't the first time he'd seen this kind of scene. In fact, it was a common sight on G-5, which was just how intense it was on the front lines!
"Bane, we should consider recruiting more medical-type ability users and talents into our G-5 medical unit..." Tesoro stood beside Ortolan, looking at the situation, and said with some reluctance.
Ortolan nodded and said, "Of course I know. The recruitment office offers higher salaries for anyone related to medicine. In fact, the logistical and medical capabilities of our G-5 far surpass those of other conventional Marine Base. Only headquarters is stronger in this area, but headquarters has accumulated experience over several weeks..."
At this point, Ortolan seemed to remember something. If he remembered correctly, there was a healing Devil Fruit hidden on the abandoned Green Bit Island in Dressrosa, which was later eaten by the Tontatta princess Mansherry.
Perhaps we could ask Doflamingo to go look for it when he has some free time. If he finds it, G-5's medical capabilities should see a significant improvement.
In addition, there's Trafalgar Law and the Ope Ope no Mi (Op-Op Fruit) in the future, which I might consider.
Thinking of this, Ortolan suddenly asked, "By the way, I heard that during the previous World Conference, the Kingdom of Drum was originally one of the ten Council Nation, but it temporarily relinquished that right? And Alabasta took its place instead?"
The ten Council Nation rotate in each World Conference. Originally, Alabasta shouldn't have been included in this World Conference, since Alabasta participated in the last one, which would be against the rules.
However, the Kingdom of Drum, which was originally supposed to be the Council Nation, relinquished its rights and transferred them to Alabasta, which is why Cobra was able to launch a scathing attack on the World Government and the Celestial Gold on Mary Geoise.
"That's true," Vergo, who was on the other side of Ortolan, quickly replied.
"Why did the Kingdom of Drum give up its status as Council Nation?" Ortolan asked again.
"It is said that the king of the Kingdom of Drum was unwell and seriously ill, so he was unable to attend and therefore withdrew," Vergo explained after thinking for a moment.
"I see... So, as a major medical nation, has the king's illness been cured?" Ortolan asked again.
Vergo hesitated for a moment and said, "I'm not too sure about that, but I don't think so. If I remember correctly, I saw a eulogy in the newspaper about two months ago, which seemed to be related to the old king of the Kingdom of Drum. It's possible he has already passed away..."
"Passed away?" Ortolan raised an eyebrow, then said, "Go and verify it."
If the old king passes away, the newly appointed Wapol is no good. The entire Kingdom of Drum will undergo drastic changes, presenting a great opportunity for a large outflow of medical talent. If G-5 can make a name for himself, the medical level here should become more satisfactory.