Sengoku was completely stunned. Hearing Ortolan's firm voice, he quickly asked, "Wait, wait, has the Whitebeard Pirates done anything lately to provoke you?"
"No, they've been very well-behaved lately, or rather, for a long time now, and haven't gone against me at all," Ortolan replied calmly.
"Even Whitebeard didn't provoke you, so why did you go and fight him?" Sengoku asked helplessly.
"Huh?" Ortolan said in surprise, "Commander, there's something wrong with your stance. People who know you are the Marines Commander-in-Chief, but people who don't might think you're from the Whitebeard Pirates. As righteous Marines, isn't it only right for us to wipe out pirates when the situation allows and the conditions are right?"
Ortolan's words were so righteous that Sengoku was speechless for a moment. Damn, what this kid said makes so much sense. How am I supposed to refute him?
No? Why should I argue?
I'm a handsome Marines!
Ah, yes, that's right. Over the years, we've gotten used to living peacefully with the Whitebeard Pirates, so this sudden change makes me instinctively a little worried.
The concerns of the Sengoku were indeed justified.
"Ortolan, you've certainly accumulated quite a fortune in the New World over the years. But don't forget why we've done so much in the New World. Before you take action, think carefully about whether it's worth it and whether it's appropriate..." Sengoku subtly reminded him.
Although it wasn't said explicitly, Ortolan understood what Sengoku meant.
The reason they engaged in so many illegal and irregular activities in the New World was ultimately to confront the World Government; it was an accumulation of resources and power.
Do Ortolan let your momentary arrogance and overconfidence lead you to risk your resources against Whitebeard. You'll only end up with a mutually destructive Whitebeard. Even if you wipe out the Whitebeard Pirates, you'll lose the confidence to confront the World Government. That's a terrible trade-off!
In Sengoku's view, the Whitebeard Pirates were on the opposite side of time. In other words, if left unattended, the gap between him and the New World Marines and Ortolan would only widen over time!
Therefore, if Whitebeard doesn't actively provoke conflict, the New World Marines should ignore him and wait for him to grow older, his condition to decline, and the entire Whitebeard Pirates to become increasingly weak before dismantling him. That would be the right approach!
From the most conservative perspective, this is indeed the case.
The real opponent you need to go all out against is in Mary Geoise!
This was the understanding Sengoku.
From his perspective and logic, there's nothing wrong with it; it's indeed a rather prudent and correct choice.
This is also why Sengoku wanted to persuade Ortolan here.
After a moment of silence on the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Ortolan spoke in a deep voice, "Commander, there are many things you may not have felt yet. The pressure coming from Mary Geoise is already very obvious. I have to speed things up. As our size grows, we can no longer completely hide what we do. Right now, they haven't discovered it, not because they've done something particularly good for us, but because they've been unlucky for us... Once one day, those five suddenly decide to peel back the layers of fog and insist on looking in our direction, nothing will be hidden!"
Upon hearing this, Sengoku felt a great deal of pressure.
One thing Ortolan was right about: the reason the five on Mary Geoise haven't realized something was wrong yet is because they haven't really gone to investigate, haven't really thought about it or studied it. With Tsuru, Stussy, Spandam, and even the Commander-in-Chief covering for them and keeping things vague, their attention has never really been focused on the matter. But if one day they want to investigate and take a closer look, it won't be able to be kept from them.
As Ortolan said, it didn't matter when they were small, but now that they're big, the reason they haven't been exposed isn't because they did a perfect job, but because they were lucky!
"That's why I need to stabilize the rear before confronting Mary Geoise head-on. Whitebeard is the most unstable element in my plan to use the New World as my base. Even though I know he can't join forces with the World Government at a crucial moment, because he can't bring himself to do it and can't let go of his pride, I still can't gamble on that possibility. Killing him and eliminating the Whitebeard Pirates, or even just Whitebeard, Kaido, and Big Mom, is the same... I need to settle this outcome before I can go all out to deal with Mary Geoise. What do you think?" Ortolan said in a deep voice.
After a long silence, Sengoku finally spoke, "Anything else? Are there any other reasons?"
"Of course," Ortolan chuckled softly, "There's another reason, which is crucial to me personally!"
"What reason?" Sengoku asked, his expression softening considerably, as if he had already found the answer in his eyes.
"At his peak, Whitebeard can't hold on for long. I want to defeat him fair and square while he can still maintain his peak condition. I also want to sit in the position of 'the World's Strongest'!!!" Ortolan said without hesitation.
His tone was firm and resolute!
From a strategic and tactical perspective, the best option is to let Whitebeard grow old and wait for the right time to make a move.
For Ortolan, this was not what he wanted; he hoped to fight against Whitebeard in his prime!
Given this condition, the Whitebeard can't be maintained for long, so time is running out for Ortolan.
"So that's how it is..." Sengoku murmured softly, then sighed, "I had a feeling long ago that you would take this step, Ortolan ... Now it seems that my premonition was correct."
Ortolan ignored Sengoku's words and said with great confidence, "I will win, Commander. The title of the strongest should belong to us, the Overlord of the Sea of the Marines! It is an insult to justice to let pirates sit on this throne."
Sengoku didn't intend to persuade Ortolan any further. After a moment, he asked, "So, what kind of support do you need from our department after this?"
As Sengoku was saying this, there was a knock on his office door.
"Handsome, it's me." Sakazuki's voice came from outside the door.
Sengoku Genichiro wanted to send Sakazuki away first, but then he thought that there was no need to hide anything about fighting the Whitebeard, and there was no way to hide it anyway. Sakazuki was absolutely trustworthy in this kind of situation, so he immediately said, "Come in."
Then, Sakazuki pushed open the door and walked in. "Handsome, it's almost time to head to Mary Geoise. We... um? Are we busy?"
"Hmm." Sengoku nodded.
The Chief Staff Officer Tsuru softly from the sofa, said, "Ortolan plans to wage war against the Whitebeard Pirates, intending to annihilate Whitebeard Pirates in one battle. He's currently discussing this with Commander-in-Chief..."
Sakazuki paused for a moment upon hearing this, then his eyes flashed with a sharp light. "He's not attending the World Conference because of this? Well, sorry, Commander, I won't be going to Mary Geoise either..."
What kind of World Conference is this? Does World Conference even need Whitebeard?
Before Sengoku could speak, Ortolan said to himself on the other end of the Den Den Mushi, "No, I don't plan to use the Second Division's forces this time. Our New World Marines is more than capable of taking down Whitebeard..."
After saying this, Ortolan asked with some confusion, "I think I heard Sakazuki's voice?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Sakazuki suddenly pounced on Sengoku, grabbed the Den Den Mushi from Sengoku's hand, and said excitedly, "Take me with you, Ortolan! I won't fight you for any command or anything like that. Just take me to the New World to fight the Whitebeard, and we can talk about anything!"
Ortolan????
Why are people still rushing to give it to me?
He wasn't Sakazuki, and couldn't understand Sakazuki's excitement. The Whitebeard Pirates could be considered the benchmark among pirates today. If Sakazuki, as Marine Admiral, missed the chance to wipe out the Whitebeard Pirates, he would definitely regret it for the rest of his life!
Originally, Sakazuki thought that anyone who wanted to do this kind of thing would have to gather the Marines's elite forces, but judging from what Ortolan said, he planned to bypass the ministry and go it alone.
Sakazuki was now truly anxious, because he felt that Ortolan could actually take down the Whitebeard Pirates with the power of the New World Marines.
Wouldn't he miss out on this grand celebration?
Whenever he thinks of this incident in the future, he will probably regret it so much that he beats his chest and stamps his feet. So at this moment, Sakazuki disregarded his status as Admiral and immediately asked Ortolan to take him to fight the Whitebeard!
I don't need anything but my own food, as long as I can fight the Whitebeard and those bastard pirates!
Please, please take me to the side room of the Whitebeard!