You Have Truly Made Things Difficult for Me!

Golden City is not far from Cake Island.

In just a few days, the Donut was already able to see Cake Island at the end of the sea.

On the deck of the Donut, Ortolan, holding Den Den Mushi, said with some confusion, "Boa Hancock has already passed through Fish-Man Island? She's coming to see me? What for? Didn't she already agree to become Shichibukai? Is she rushing to pay me?"

Out of respect for Rayleigh and their previous contact, Ortolan had no intention of charging Hancock a 20 billion Belly guarantee fee for Shichibukai; he didn't even mention it.

"I don't know. According to Admiral Kuzan, Hancock, as Shichibukai, has some conditions and benefits to discuss with you..." Tokikake said on the Den Den Mushi.

"Then you can talk for me. Anyway, you're my Admiral when I'm not around. I'm about to go to Whole Cake Island, how can I have time to meet with her? If she has the patience, let her wait until I finish dealing with things here before we talk," Ortolan casually replied.

Soon, Ortolan hung up the call with Tokikake and stood at the bow of the ship, watching Whole Cake Island get closer and closer.

With his eyesight, he could already see the figures on the Cake Island dock.

Wearing Justice Cloak and Vice Admiral epaulets, Gion's belly was already slightly protruding. Standing in front of her were Ace and Robin, chatting and laughing with Gion. Rouge, also with a protruding belly, stood side by side with her.

For some reason, when he saw them, Ortolan felt a strange sense of peace, as if he had truly become one with the world only after witnessing this moment.

Soon, the Donut arrived at the port of Cake Island. After the gangway was lowered, Ortolan strode off the ship to greet them.

Gion and Rouge also happily came up, and Ortolan laughed and said, "I didn't expect that you two would both be pregnant at the same time..."

He was chatting with Gion and Rouge about these things, while Lucci was excitedly talking to Robin on the side.

"Long time no see, Robin. How are you? I'm now a proud Marine Colonel, and I serve by the side of Admiral every day," Lucci, shaking his epaulets with a hint of pride.

Robin happily echoed Lucci's words, then said, "Once we leave Cake Island, I can join the Marines. Senior Hina has already processed my military registration. After that, I will report to the Secretariat."

Katakuri walked up to Ortolan and casually asked, "I've been asking you this since we left the Golden City, have you decided on a name yet?"

"Gion is all boys, so..." Ortolan paused here, then grinned and said, "I haven't decided yet... hahaha, let's talk about it later, let me think about it properly, there's no rush now anyway."

This is the capital island of the Totto Land of Totto Land, and naturally it has a fairly advanced medical system. When they first came down from Ortolan Red Line and learned about the situation here, they were already more than two months pregnant. Now, another two months have passed, and it's almost May. Charlotte Linlin has already determined the gender of the fetus. After all, this is her own grandchild, so how could she not care?

Gion was pregnant with a boy, while Rouge was pregnant with a girl.

Ortolan had been thinking about names for both sides all the way, but he still hadn't come up with one.

As they stood idly on the harbor, enjoying the sea breeze and chatting, a warship slowly sailed in and docked. Soon, Momonga and Smoker disembarked.

Smoker has now been transferred from G-5 to G-12 of the Momonga and is serving as the Flying Momonga's Vice Admiral assistant. If conditions are right, he could be promoted to Vice Admiral at any time.

"Why did you all come here?" Ortolan asked curiously.

The Momonga chuckled and said, "We just happened to be nearby. We heard you're about to conquer Whole Cake Island, so we came to join in the fun. After all, it's time to decide who will be the leader of this New World, and of course we want to witness it with our own eyes. By the way, congratulations on becoming a father again!"

After chatting with Ortolan for a bit, the Momonga started talking to Gion.

Smoker, standing nearby, said to Ortolan, "Admiral, after Gion Vice Admiral and Rouge became pregnant again, everyone in our New World Marines who heard the news was extremely excited..."

Ortolan felt something was off about what he was hearing. Momonga's reaction was the same. Gion and Rouge were pregnant, and Momonga was even more excited than Ortolan. Back in the Golden City, Issho was just as happy when he heard the news, as if he were a father. If he hadn't been busy there, he probably would have come to see for himself.

Not only them, but Ortolan also shared the news with his relatives and friends. Spandam was also excited. Hoshigaki, Strawberry and others all said that they would make time to come and visit as soon as possible.

Looking at Smoker now, the smile on his face was genuine; he was truly happy.

Ortolan was genuinely puzzled. "My wife is pregnant, why the hell are you all so happy?"

Just as Ortolan was about to ask what was going on, Smoker said with a sigh, "Although there has been a young master Ace before, to be disrespectful, this sea is quite turbulent, and anything can happen. In addition, there is the great event we are about to undertake... If you do not have many children, we who follow in your footsteps will sometimes feel uneasy... Now that we have heard this news, we feel much more at ease, so everyone is very happy."

Only then did Ortolan realize what was going on.

I understand!

To be honest, Ortolan had never considered these matters. After all, he felt he was still very young, and he would most likely find some Pure Gold in the future, so who knew how many years he would live... Therefore, whether it was Ace or Gion and Rouge's two children, he had basically not considered the issue of orderly succession.

He might not consider it, but there are plenty of people in the New World Marines who will.

Everyone is now loyal to him, Ortolan; though he is one person, he is also a family.

In particular, Ortolan comes from a super-powerful family like Charlotte's, which makes the situation even more complicated for the people of the New World Marines, with both advantages and disadvantages.

The advantages are obvious, but the downside is that the vast majority of members of the New World Marines do not really approve of the Charlotte Family.

If Ortolan were to die unexpectedly, would the New World Marines obey the Charlotte Family's arrangements? Impossible. They would only be loyal to Ortolan. At that time, the most likely successors to Ortolan's power and status would be Gion and Ace, not the Charlotte Family.

However, Gion and Ace alone cannot make the New World Marines personnel feel completely at ease. Therefore, the more children Admiral Ortolan has, the happier they are. Among so many children, surely some can become successful? Surely some are worthy of their loyalty and nurturing?

Only after Ortolan has multiple offspring can the merger of the New World Marines and the Charlotte Family ensure the continuation of the dynasty. Otherwise, if anything happens to Ortolan, the unified forces of the entire New World will disintegrate in an instant.

At the same time, Smoker's words also made Ortolan realize another sentiment of the New World Marines, which was that they wished him Ortolan, to become king!

Ortolan had neither probed nor inquired about this situation within the New World Marines.

But now, Smoker's words, though unspoken, have already conveyed a great deal of meaning.

For an ordinary Marine Admiral, who the hell cares whether you have children or not?

It's even less likely that they will be loyal to you and then to your descendants.

Only when everyone considers themselves your retainers and loyal to your personal identity, rather than to your external titles like Admiral or Fleet Admiral, will they consider issues such as your succession.

Smoker is a troublemaker, and even he has prepared himself mentally. If he has started to consider these things, then Ortolan doesn't need to ask what the officers and senior officers of the New World Marines are thinking or what they are considering.

He only just realized that when he told his friends and family that he was going to have another child, their enthusiasm, excitement, and joy were essentially a response, telling him what their intentions were Ortolan!

At that time, however, Ortolan did not consider these circumstances and therefore only felt that they were a little too happy, without giving it much thought.

Now that Smoker has said that, he's done it.

His Marines officers are all now eager to make a name for themselves by following the emperor!

In reality, having taken this step, Ortolan could only continue moving forward. He didn't want to give up. The people below would push him forward, creating more benefits and a broader future for everyone!

"Alas, you have truly caused me great suffering..." Ortolan lamented in his heart.

The premise and signs of him donning the yellow robe have now become apparent.