After exchanging a few brief pleasantries with Stussy, Ortolan took her around the grounds of the Golden City without any further business.
He gave her a very detailed explanation of the situation here, and also had Hina hand her the Golden City plan.
It's as if Ortolan really intends to hand over power here to Stussy.
Stussy accepted the offer without hesitation, at least on the surface, displaying the confidence of someone appointed by the World Government and showing no intention of yielding to these powers.
At the same time, Ortolan also introduced Stussy to the person in charge here.
For example, Gecko Moria, Shichibukai in charge of the raid.
Tesoro is in charge of logistics, Master Tom is in charge of modifying the island's ships, and there are other Fish-Man Island partners such as Fisher Tiger, with whom they will cooperate later.
"In a couple of days, someone from Whole Cake Island will be coming. If nothing unexpected happens, it should be the Candy Minister of Totto Land, Perospero. He is the person in charge of the Golden City project in Totto Land..." Ortolan explained the situation to Stussy in the field.
"This project was nominally proposed by Totto Land, so now that he's here, I'm supposed to cooperate with him, right?" Stussy raised an eyebrow.
"I don't think Perospero is very interested in this place. If I hadn't insisted that someone from over there come, at least just to make a brief appearance, I'm afraid none of them would have been interested in coming. So Your Majesty, you don't need to worry about anyone causing any unpleasantness here. You can make all the decisions here," Ortolan said with a smile.
However, Stussy understood what he meant: Totto Land would fully cooperate with the process here and no one would interfere.
The so-called "she has complete control" actually means that she can perform here in peace without worrying about anyone coming to disrupt the show.
"With you saying so, Admiral, I'm relieved." Stussy nodded knowingly.
After a slight pause, Stussy continued, "Although I bear the orders and responsibilities from Mary Geoise, I am well aware that my abilities are limited. I am not certain that I can shoulder all the responsibilities of the Golden City, so I hope that the Admiral can give me some guidance."
This means that although I come from Mary Geoise, I have no intention of meddling in other people's business. Whatever your plans are, I'll listen to them.
Both of them subtly expressed their sincerity, and the atmosphere became even more pleasant.
There's really nothing good to do here, and Her Majesty the Queen doesn't really need to know the details of the situation here.
So after wandering around for a while, Ortolan invited Stussy to have lunch on his warship, and Stussy naturally agreed.
This lunch was not served in the ship's mess hall, but in the reception room of Ortolan on the ship.
The two were sitting opposite each other at a dining table, and Ortolan even poured Stussy a glass of red wine.
Hina originally intended to stay here and keep watch, but Ortolan assigned her a task, which made her leave.
Once only Ortolan and Stussy remained in the room, Ortolan took a black box from a nearby bookshelf and glanced at Stussy.
Seeing this, Stussy gave Ortolan a charmingly disdainful look and said, "Does the Admiral really distrust people that much?"
Ortolan picked up the box and sat back down at the table, laughing heartily, "How could that be? It just puts us both at ease, doesn't it?"
As he finished speaking, he pressed a button on the black box, and then there was a hissing sound, as if something was spreading out.
As a top-tier special agent, Stussy naturally knew what this black box was. It was the most advanced anti-eavesdropping and interference recording technology currently available. Once activated, no signal wave could enter or exit within a 50-meter range. At the same time, all sound sources would be blurred and could not be preserved by any known sound recording methods.
However, just as Ortolan said, both of them felt reassured once the device was turned on.
After all, although Ortolan had a certain level of trust in Stussy, because Queen Stussy had cleaned up his messes many times.
The two of them haven't had enough contact yet. Ortolan is usually a rough person, but when he needs to be careful, he can be quite meticulous.
After the black box was opened, the two did not start a conversation. It seemed that opening the black box had stripped away their disguises, and the two were somewhat unaccustomed to it.
The food on the table smelled enticing, but neither of them actually intended to eat.
After a long silence and staring at each other, Ortolan finally smiled and said, "We had many oversights in our work before, and I really have to thank Your Majesty for helping me fix those flaws. I've always wanted to thank Your Majesty in person, and today I finally have the opportunity."
"Everyone says that Admiral is a pillar of the World Government, loyal and brave, and was personally praised by Old Star as a 'loyal and righteous warrior.' Many people sigh that the World Government is truly blessed to have you in its ranks..." Stussy first praised Ortolan a couple of times, then changed the subject, saying, "However, in my opinion, the Admiral doesn't seem to be really as everyone says..."
"So, what am I like in Her Majesty's eyes?" Ortolan asked, raising an eyebrow.
"In my opinion, the Admiral is a very formidable person..." Stussy said softly. "Most people who don't know you think Admiral 're a rough, unrefined, brave but lacking-careful fighter. But those who know you better know that you're a person with the heart of a tiger, yet capable of appreciating the subtleties of a rose. You're also incredibly shrewd and worldly-wise, with many friends across the world. You have a strong interest in power, wealth, and status, and you make no secret of your pursuit of these things. You're generous and magnanimous, and countless people want to be your friend..."
However, it was clear that Stussy hadn't finished speaking. After a brief pause, she looked into Ortolan's eyes and said earnestly, "But in my opinion, none of this is enough to describe you. Although we haven't really talked face-to-face or had much contact, perhaps I am the one who has truly understood and analyzed you in detail..."
"Is that so?" Ortolan picked up the glass of red wine on the table, took a sip, and remained noncommittal.
"Ambitious, cunning, even ruthless...that's your true nature." Stussy chuckled. "Power, status, wealth, fame—you certainly want them all, you've pursued them all, and you've already obtained far too much, but it still isn't enough to satisfy your appetite..."
Ortolan didn't speak, but simply held his wine glass to his lips and looked at Queen Stussy.
Then, Queen Stussy said calmly, "This power, this status, this wealth, this reputation—this combination of all of these is what you want..."
"What would it be if you combined all of these things together?" Ortolan asked softly.
"The world!" Stussy replied without hesitation.
Ortolan paused for a moment, then laughed.
Before Ortolan could speak, Stussy shrugged and said, "But these are just my guesses. I claim to have a thorough understanding of you, but who can guarantee that this isn't the image you want to present to me? Fortunately, none of this matters. Whether you're Marine Admiral, New World hegemon, or some kind of world king, what you want is meaningless to me... I just... really... really admire you, and want to offer some help before you gain power, to win your favor and seek some things I desire... That's all."
"What do you want?" Ortolan asked Stussy.
This wasn't the first time Ortolan had asked Stussy this question; it happened when the two first met on Cake Island at the Big Mom Pirates' Tea Party.
Ortolan once asked Stussy this question.
At the time, Stussy said she wanted to be his friend, Ortolan.
Now, they can be considered friends.
Therefore, Ortolan asked the question again.
"Freedom!" Stussy responded precisely and forcefully, no longer offering a vague and evasive description as before.
"How can I give you this so-called freedom?" Ortolan asked calmly, without a trace of surprise or doubt in his eyes.
"First step, help me kill Bakin Stussy. From now on, I want to be the one and only Stussy!" Queen Stussy replied calmly.
Ortolan nodded and said, "No problem."
Although Stussy used the term 'first step', after Ortolan agreed, he didn't seem to intend to mention a second step.
Seeing this, Ortolan smiled and said, "It seems that Your Majesty still has some concerns. Let's continue to deepen our friendship after I kill her."
Stussy smiled and said, "Then thank you very much, Admiral. However, although Whitebeard has never admitted anything, doing this might offend him."
Ortolan laughed heartily and said Haki, "No problem, I'll just take this as the strongest name while I'm at it!"