Ortolan: I'm Coming Clean, I'm Getting Promoted to Rear Admiral!
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
In the living quarters, at a tavern called the 'Marine Club,' a large group of Marines officers were sitting together drinking and boasting.
The guy in the lead was making a lot of noise, and upon closer inspection, it turned out to be that bastard, Ortolan.
Ortolan held a glass of ale in his hand, and boasted, "Back then, the Red Count was incredibly powerful. It was our duty as Marines to defeat such a pirate, so I went in despite the pressure. You have no idea how strong the Red Count was. I fought him for three weeks, and half an island was destroyed! The scene was truly..."
Before Ortolan could finish his boast, the Momonga interrupted Yu: "Wait, wait, are you taking advantage of us because we weren't there? We heard about it a long time ago, what three rounds?"
Ortolan glared at the Momonga: "Don't you understand artistic embellishment? If I just gave a dry account of what happened back then, how would you guys have anything to drink with? How can upholding justice be called bragging?"
Then came incomprehensible words, such as "justice is poor" and "those who are ignorant," which made the Marines men in the tavern burst into laughter, filling the tavern with a joyful atmosphere.
After ending that topic, the Momonga said with a hint of regret, "We were planning to show you off when you came back this time. See? The Rear Admiral's epaulettes!"
That's right. When Ortolan returned, he found that the Momonga and the others had already graduated from the Officer Training Camp. Those who entered as field officers all came out as Commodore like Ortolan, while the Momonga and the others graduated directly as Rear Admiral generals.
Theoretically speaking, the Momonga is now the superior of Ortolan again, but he is not excited at all.
The reason is simple: in the past few days, with the news of the arrest of Red Count Patrick Riddles published in the newspapers, Ortolan has truly become famous in this world for the first time!
It must be said that the Fleet Admiral was quite magnanimous. Perhaps it was out of consideration for and nurturing of Ortolan, or perhaps he no longer needed the support of fame. In any case, he, who should have been the protagonist in this incident, did not occupy much of the news coverage.
On the contrary, Bane Ortolan, the rising star of the Marines, has become a hot topic in the media. Newspapers are full of praise for his fierce battles with Kaido and Charlotte Linlin, as well as his defeat of Red Count Shanks.
If Ortolan were a pirate, he could easily get a bounty of 300 to 500 million Belly right now. The Marines might even have already started holding meetings to discuss him.
The rumors circulating within the Marines, such as the "Four Great Autonomous Systems" and the "Four Great Monsters," have finally broken through the Marines's barriers and spread across the seas.
Even as a user of the Goro Goro no Mi, Ortolan was expected to have even higher expectations than Sakazuki and the others.
As a result, the promotions of Momonga and others brought them no sense of satisfaction at all in Ortolan.
"A Rear Admiral general? I can catch up with him in ten minutes!" Ortolan said Haki.
On the way back, Garp had already spoken with him, saying that the mission was great and Ortolan's performance was quite remarkable. The Fleet Admiral had also privately expressed his opinion of him, which clearly meant he was going to be promoted upon his return.
On the way Ortolan thought about it and concluded that this should be a sure thing. After all, he didn't have any enemies in the Marines. As the disciple of Admiral Zephyr, the subordinate of Garp the Hero, and the opponent of the Fleet Admiral, once he had some outstanding achievements, he would definitely have no obstacles in his path.
After all, he was only promoted to major Rear Admiral, not Vice Admiral or Admiral Candidate, so he still needed to consider his seniority.
Especially now that he's incredibly popular, even if the Marines is considering public opinion and propaganda, they certainly won't block him, which would discourage many Marines who aspire to promotion and wealth.
Even someone as accomplished as Ortolan can't get promoted, so what's the point of us trying? Why don't we just give up?
"Yes, yes, yes, your ambition is to become Admiral and Fleet Admiral, everyone knows that, keep up the good work!" Hoshigaki patted Ortolan on the shoulder and laughed heartily.
Upon hearing this, Onigumo and the others burst into laughter, cheering on Ortolan.
Just then, the tavern door was pushed open, and Gion, wearing Rear Admiral Justice Cloak Gion, poked his head in, then rolled his eyes and said, "So, you guys just drink here whenever you have free time!"
"Although we've just graduated, we'll probably be assigned to different places soon, and there probably won't be such a relaxed time anymore. So why not take advantage of this time before we take up our posts and get together as much as possible? Who knows when we'll have another chance like this?" the Momonga said with a grin.
"Yes," Onigumo said with a sigh, "Since joining the Marines, we've rarely had such a relaxed time as we have in the past year. Now we'll be facing the iron and fire of the seas again..."
Gion shrugged, then said, "I'm not here to chat with you guys. Ortolan, come with me. The commander and the others want to see you; it's probably about your promotion."
"So fast?" Ortolan exclaimed in surprise.
He just returned to Marineford yesterday, and things are settled today?
"It's just a promotion to Rear Admiral. What's the big deal in the eyes of those big shots? Do they need to hold a meeting to discuss it with you?" Gion said with a smile.
Ortolan thought about it and agreed. A Rear Admiral was nothing special; there were plenty of them in the Marines. What was a big deal to him was just so-so to those big shots.
Therefore, Ortolan stood up, his expression solemn and tinged with regret, and patted Hoshigaki, Momonga, and the others on the shoulders, saying, "Alas, after today's parting, if we meet again, our relationship won't be like this..."
"Huh?" The Momonga was a little confused. What do you mean by that?
"I wanted to get along with you guys as a Commodore general, but all I got in return was your estrangement. Fine, I'm not going to pretend anymore. I'm laying my cards on the table. I'm going to be promoted to Rear Admiral. We'll all be rank 1 from now on. Ahahahahaha!" Ortolan laughed arrogantly, then got up and left.
After Ortolan left the tavern, the Momonga slammed his hand on the table and shouted, "Did you see his ugly, arrogant face just now? Seriously, if he hadn't run away so fast, I would have taught him a lesson!"
No sooner had Jie Kuan finished speaking than Ortolan poked his head out from outside the door again, "By the way, this meal is on me, put it on my tab, consider it an early celebration of my promotion and wealth. And Momonga, didn't you call me just now?"
The Momonga wore a bright smile, "No? You must have misheard! You should hurry up and get promoted, sir. I'll take care of things here for you, and make sure everyone has plenty to eat and drink!"
"Oh, thanks!" Ortolan nodded, then made his escape.
After waiting a few more seconds, seeing that Ortolan was really not going to show himself again, everyone burst into laughter.
"Wait, why didn't our Rear Admiral Momonga teach that Commodore a lesson?"
"That's right, we need to let him know the authority of his superior!"
"He runs fast, huh? It's alright, I'll just call him back with the Den Den Mushi and have him listen to the teachings of Rear Admiral General Momonga!"
The Momonga slammed its hand on the table, its expression a mixture of embarrassment and anger. "Enough! Enough! I can't handle foreigners... no, I can't handle Ortolan, but can't I handle you guys?"
As soon Momonga finished speaking, Hoshigaki, Yuberman, Onigumo, Tokikake, and the others exchanged glances, and a ferocious smile appeared on their faces, "This kid is probably drunk. We need to sober him up!"
A moment later, Ortolan, who had already stepped out onto the street, looked back in the direction of the tavern with a puzzled expression, his brow furrowed slightly. "Gion, did you hear me?"
"It's like I heard the Momonga's howl, maybe it's just my imagination..." Gion said, somewhat puzzled.
"Yeah, it's probably just my imagination, or maybe that guy lost at cards again." Ortolan nodded, pondered for a moment, and then stopped paying attention.
After taking a few steps, Gion suddenly spoke up, "By the way, my birthday is in a couple of days..."
"Oh, really?" Ortolan said casually, "Then happy birthday in advance."
After he finished speaking, he continued forward. Gion's delicate face twitched slightly, and she cursed the boring man in her Gion, then fell silent.