Whitebeard: Linlin's Talent May Blossom in You
As Ortolan hung up the Den Den Mushi, a figure suddenly appeared beside him—it was none other Gion.
She glanced at the unconscious Kozuki Oden at Ortolan's feet, then at the Whitebeard Pirates' Moby Dick approaching in the distance, and asked, "What do you mean? I just bought my ticket. If you want, I still have time..."
Ortolan????
No, just now, with such a wonderful scene unfolding here, there were still people selling boat tickets at the port?
Aren't they all going to join in the fun?
"What? Are you bringing Kozuki Oden along?" Ortolan asked Gion, looking somewhat unsure how to respond.
Gion paused for a moment upon hearing this, then said earnestly, "I only bought two tickets..."
"Ah..." Ortolan looked at Gion with surprise. "Are you kidding me?"
Hearing this, Gion stopped teasing Ortolan and laughed, "How are we going to end this now? You're not planning to fight Whitebeard here, are you?"
"I have a slight idea..." Ortolan responded softly, glancing at the Moby Dick in the distance. After a slight pause, he continued, "Last time, after I killed Glass Bullet, I had a brief encounter with Whitebeard from afar. Ever since then, I've regretted it..."
"Regret what?" Gion asked.
"I regret that the so-called strongest was right in front of me, yet I didn't make a move..." Ortolan said, his tone filled with strong anticipation, and continued, "Today I ran into Whitebeard again. Don't you think this is a blessing from fate?"
As he said this, Ortolan's eyes gleamed with excitement, and he unconsciously clenched his fist, the power of the Goro Goro no Mi crackling on his fist.
"Yes, the Admiral will not allow you to escalate the conflict between us and the Whitebeard Pirates..." Gion saw that Ortolan was getting a little carried away and quickly tried to persuade him.
"I know, that's why I didn't say I wanted to start a full-scale war with Whitebeard here. I wanted to weigh things over... Is that alright?" Ortolan licked his slightly chapped lips.
"What are we measuring?" Gion asked hesitantly.
"How far am I from being the strongest?!" Ortolan asked without hesitation.
Gion the determination in Ortolan's eyes, as if he had already made a decision, Gion thought for a moment, then finally sighed, "Just don't get too carried away, or things will get complicated..."
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. You know I'm very calm and collected. How could I possibly lose my temper easily? Controlling my emotions is one of my strengths!" Ortolan said confidently, patting his chest.
Upon hearing this, Gion looked at Kozuki Oden, who was lying half-dead on the deck, and thought to herself, "How do you have the audacity to say such a thing?"
However, when Gion glanced at Kozuki Oden this time, she smiled again, "We've already fought, we can't just come away empty-handed, can we?"
As she spoke, she squatted down and reached for Kozuki Oden's belt, then, with her hands and feet numb, she untied the Famous Sword, Ame no Ama no Habakiri, that was hanging at Kozuki Oden's waist.
At the same time, Gion asked Yu, "Isn't this guy Two-Sword Style? Where's his Enma?"
Ortolan wasn't a swordsman and had no interest in Famous Sword, so he hadn't noticed this at all. It was Gion asked that he realized, scratching his head. "At the very end, he was One Sword Style was Enma. I used a Ōryū Bōchō in the end, so he probably dropped it? I didn't notice at the time; I reckon it's been swept to the bottom of the sea by now..."
Seeing a hint of regret on Gion's face, Ortolan smiled and said, "No problem, as for Famous Swords, I have several more, like Shiki and Kogarashi, and Roger and Oto Ace. If you like them, I can give them to you."
"There's no need for that. I don't have any collecting fetish. I just feel that since we've already fought, we can't let him off so easily." Gion Shin stood up, hung the Ama no Habakiri on his waist, and said frankly.
Seeing this, Ortolan didn't pursue the topic any further. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he quickly reached into his pocket and rummaged around for a moment. He then pulled out the Devil Fruit and said with a look of lingering fear, "I almost forgot I had this thing. I just shoved it in without a second thought. Luckily, it wasn't damaged. Here, keep it. If I start fighting Whitebeard later, you can retreat first."
Meanwhile, on the Moby Dick, that Namul, carrying Jozu, had already climbed onto the deck by rope.
"How is it?!" Marco stepped forward to lend a hand, helping Namul place Jozu on the deck, and asked with some concern.
"I took a quick look, and Jozu is fine. He just drowned, there are no other injuries..." Namul initially agreed, but then added with some concern, "However, that Bane Ortolan is truly ruthless. Oden must have suffered a lot. Even just a glance from him, I knew I was no match for him, especially with Jozu on my back, so I didn't act rashly..."
Just then, Whitebeard walked over. He first checked on Jozu and found that Jozu was indeed not injured, just unconscious from drowning. He breathed a slight sigh of relief, then asked in a deep voice, "Oden still alive?"
"He was alive. I could sense his presence back then. Although it was a bit unstable, he was definitely still alive, but he must have suffered some kind of injury..." Namul said.
"We're not too far from Jozu and the others, less than half an hour's flight away... In just half an hour, that guy was able to defeat Oden ..." Marco said, glancing at his father.
"Hmph, that Oden guy has no respect for anything. He might learn something from this experience..." Newgate snorted, somewhat annoyed by his lack of ambition.
But after a slight pause, Newgate continued, "But that Ortolan..."
When he mentioned Ortolan's name, a hint of reminiscence flashed in Newgate's eyes, and his gaze was filled with emotion. After a moment, he continued, "That guy, now it seems, has indeed inherited that bastard Linlin's talent... He's a troublesome fellow."
Newgate wasn't quite sure how old Ortolan was this year, but he should be in his early twenties at most.
Back then, when he was on the same boat as Charlotte Linlin, Charlotte Linlin was also in her early twenties and in the prime of her life.
On Rocks' ship, Newgate's strength was absolutely top-notch. Of course, the others were also very ruthless, but Newgate was not afraid of any of them, not even Shiki.
Only Charlotte Linlin, from the day Newgate met her, he felt that this woman might actually surpass him!
Her talent was truly terrifying. Even though Newgate considered himself to be a gifted genius, he was still somewhat inferior to her.
However, Charlotte Linlin's growth was not particularly remarkable in the end, and Newgate gradually let go of his fear of Linlin. He realized that this woman was really wasting her talents. Despite having such good conditions, she chose to have children one after another and indulged in overeating, without making any effort to transform her talents into strength!
Newgate thought that a monster with such terrifying talent as Charlotte Linlin wouldn't appear again for a year, but unexpectedly, Charlotte Linlin actually gave birth to a monster no less than herself. For a moment, Newgate didn't know whether her choice to choose the path of giving birth to children was right or wrong!
"Bane Ortolan ..." Newgate's memory finally reached that day.
What was that Mink Tribe's name again? He couldn't remember, but his union with Linlin resulted in a baby without any intelligent racial characteristics, like a wild beast. The child and his mother were driven away from the Rocks Pirates' ship by Charlotte Linlin.
"Perhaps that's the thing Linlin regrets the most in her life?" Newgate murmured softly.
That child, now that I think about it, must have been Bane Ortolan!
By the way, his relative's surname is indeed Bann.
"Linlin's talent might blossom in you..." Newgate thought to himself.
He had a strong premonition, just like when he first met Charlotte Linlin. He suddenly felt that perhaps in the future, the person who would be able to take the title of the strongest warrior from him would be him... Bane Ortolan!