Two weeks later, Phoenix Island.
After the fishing competition, Ortolan was shouting and yelling on the street, while Gion, looking very embarrassed, hugged Ortolan from behind and tried to drag him away.
"It's a cover-up! It's absolutely a cover-up!"
"Those bastards must have given me the wrong bait, otherwise how could more than a week of other players be catching fish while I'm the only one not!?"
"They're rigging the game! This is unjust and unfair! I'm going to kill those bastards!!!"
Seeing that Ortolan was about to start radiating electricity, Gion tugged at him Ortolan, saying, "Alright, alright, let's not bother with them..."
They managed to drag Ortolan from the street to a secluded spot, but Ortolan was still indignant, grumbling and saying, "There's a great evil lurking on this island! They dare to manipulate the fishing tournament now, what will they do when they rebel against the World Government? Can we just let this go?"
"Do you think there's even the slightest possibility... that it's because your skills are too bad?" Gion asked, somewhat amused, as she looked at Ortolan's exasperated expression.
"How could that be?" Ortolan said confidently, "Why don't you ask around G-5? Do you think my title of Fishing King is just for show? There are so many people in G-5, who can fish better than me!?"
Gion looked at the confident Ortolan and hesitated for a moment. "Is it possible that there was something fishy going on at G-5?"
Ortolan paused, then looked at Gion with indignation. "You suspect that I use my power to oppress the people of G-5 so they dare not beat me!? Am I that despicable?"
"No, no, no, you misunderstood..." Gion covered her mouth, laughing as she said, "I think everyone respects and loves G-5, which is why you were able to become the Fishing King..."
Ortolan pondered these words for a moment, then rolled his eyes. "Doesn't that mean the same thing?"
However, after this round of banter, Ortolan wasn't so angry anymore.
But Ortolan still loathed this unjust island filled with darkness and evil, and said with a slightly annoyed tone, "The darkness and oppression here make me feel uncomfortable. Let's not stay here. Let's go to the next destination. Didn't you say you wanted to go to Ramani Island to see the beach?"
"But our tickets are for tomorrow..." Gion looked at Ortolan with amusement.
Ortolan pouted, looking annoyed, and said, "Money, money for today's tickets. I don't want to stay here for another minute..."
Gion on Ortolan quite a bit, and finding his appearance rather adorable, she agreed. The two then chatted and laughed as they walked towards the port to see if there were any cruise ships departing Phoenix Island for Ramani Island that day.
However, just as the two arrived at the port, they suddenly heard the sound of cannons roaring. Then, there was a commotion at the port, but it did not immediately turn into chaos.
Gion and Ortolan exchanged a glance, then quickly headed towards the port.
The roar of artillery fire continued, but it seemed the target wasn't the port. The residents of the New World seemed to have gotten used to this situation, and after a brief period of commotion, they calmed down again. As long as it wasn't aimed at the port, they might as well join in the fun.
Before Ortolan and his group even reached the docks, they had already heard some rumors.
"It's the Whitebeard Pirates' ship! They're the ship that's chasing Blood Hand Lion Reynolds!"
"How did they start fighting? Is it because the Blood Hand Lion want to rob Phoenix?"
As Ortolan listened to these conversations, he exchanged a glance with Gion, both feeling somewhat surprised.
Phoenix Island, located on Whitebeard Pirates territory, does indeed fly the Whitebeard Pirates flag. Perhaps the Whitebeard Pirates are truly protecting this island?
But Blood Hand Lion Reynolds is a bit interesting. This guy can now be described as a 'ghost' on the sea. He was originally a key member of Golden Lion Shiki's crew. He possesses the Zoan type Cat-Cat Fruit, Ancient type Zoan, Cave Lion ability. Moreover, he had already Awakening his ability when Ortolan appeared. He was highly valued by Shiki, and his bounty once reached 300 million Beli.
After Shiki's downfall, his original forces were basically all disbanded. They were either eliminated in the power struggle or switched sides and joined the ranks of other big shots.
The Big Mom Pirates and the Beasts Pirates, for example, absorbed many members of the former Shiki Flying Pirates.
However, Blood Hand Lion Rengar seems to be extremely loyal to Shiki. So far, he has become the only Great Pirate in the New World who still calls himself a member of the Flying Pirates '.
Rumor has it that Kaido had personally tried to recruit Rengar, but Rengar firmly refused.
Logically speaking, Rengar shouldn't provoke the Whitebeard Pirates, so what's going on here?
With these thoughts in mind, Ortolan and Gion quickly arrived at the dock, looked out at the sea, and observed the current situation.
"It's the flagship of the 3rd Division of the Whitebeard Pirates, the Diamond Jozu ship!" Gion, as expected of someone who handles intelligence, recognized the Whitebeard Pirates ship, which was on the offensive, at a glance.
"Is the Moby Dick not here?" Ortolan raised an eyebrow and made his judgment.
The Whitebeard man is nowhere to be found!
With Whitebeard gone, many things became easier to resolve. Ortolan no longer held back, his powers surging, his hair crackling and sparking with electricity.
Immediately afterwards, an invisible Observation Haki, combined with his ability, rapidly spread out, enveloping the two pirate ships that were chasing him in the blink of an eye.
With his Mantra- Goro Goro no Mi Fruit powers, Ortolan developed Observation Haki, which allows him to eavesdrop to a certain extent, even to the point of listening to people's thoughts.
"If only that Namul guy were with us, I could just cleave the Rengar ship in two with one strike!"
"Yes, but I'm afraid that Devil Fruit might also fall into the sea. I'm a Devil Fruit user, and you can't stay underwater for long..."
Ortolan overheard some of the conversation, but just as he was about to continue listening, his Observation Haki was suddenly dispersed by a force.
In those final moments, Ortolan had already sensed who the other person was!
"Someone's spying!" Kozuki Oden frowned, looking towards the port and saying, "There's a powerful expert over there!"
Like Roger, Kozuki Oden possessed an extraordinary ability: he could truly hear the voices of all things. Therefore, when Ortolan Observation Haki, he immediately sensed it.
Meanwhile, at the port, Ortolan opened his eyes, slightly surprised, and said, "Not only is it 3rd Division Jozu, but 2nd Division's Kozuki Oden is also on the ship... Moreover, they seem to be chasing Devil Fruit, and it seems that Rengar has a very good Devil Fruit." Ortolan said.
Gion placed her hand on the Konpira at her waist, smiled, and said, "Since we're already here, how about we try our hand at being pirates?"
"What do you mean by 'guest pirate'? As Marines, we represent justice, thwart pirates' plundering plots, and seize some spoils of war. Isn't that perfectly reasonable and justifiable?" Ortolan laughed loudly.
However, before Ortolan could even begin to act, Blood Hand Lion Rengar's ship suddenly exploded. It wasn't hit by Jozu's warship, but rather an explosion occurred inside the ship's cabin.
Then, a figure holding a Devil Fruit burst out of the smoke and stood atop the mast, laughing wildly.
"Hahahaha, you foolish pirate, I'll take this ability!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than a strong figure emerged from the smoke and fire. It was none other than Blood Hand Lion Rengar. He glared angrily at the figure on the mast and roared, "Aramaki, you betrayed us!?"
"Betrayal?" Aramaki sneered. "Don't get me wrong, you foolish pirates. I've never been allied with you. I only put on a show for you to obtain the power of this Devil Fruit..."
At this moment, on the port, Ortolan looked at the figure, his eyes shining. He had been wondering what the Devil Fruit that the Whitebeard Pirates were entangled with was. Now, although he still couldn't recognize the Devil Fruit, he could recognize the person.
In the original story, Aramaki, along with Issho, went through the World Military Draft and rose to become Marine Admiral!
If there hasn't been a major deviation, then the Devil Fruit he's holding right now is most likely the legendary Logia-type Mori- Woods-Woods Fruit, right?