Issho: If You Do Not Reject Me, I Am Willing to Acknowledge You as My Foster Father!
"It's so smoky inside, I can't even open my eyes. Come out when you're done, I'll wait for you at the door." Gion said, holding Den Den Mushi in her hand, standing at the entrance of the gambling den.
On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Ortolan chuckled and said, "I'm coming out now, wait for me."
Quickly, Ortolan lifted the curtain of the gambling den, a smile he couldn't suppress, and walked out. Behind him was another person, none other than Yi Xiao. However, in stark contrast, Ortolan was overjoyed, while Yi Xiao's face was as bitter as if it were the end of the world.
Looking at the two people, Gion somewhat puzzled. How could this be? One went in, and two came out?
"And who is this?" Gion asked politely.
"His name is Yixiao, and he calls himself a wandering ronin." Ortolan covered his mouth, laughing non-stop. After a pause, he couldn't help but say, "Sorry, sorry, I introduced him wrong. His name should be Yixiao, and he's known as the Kress Island's Little Gambling King!"
Hearing this, Yi Xiao's face twitched again, and his mature, middle-aged face flushed with embarrassment.
Tian really lost badly!
"So what's going on here?" Gion still didn't quite understand.
"He owes me 2.6 million Belly right now, and I'm currently unable to repay him. If I were to fight him, it would probably take him two or three years to pay it back. However, I see that he is strong and powerful, so I've decided to recruit him as my bodyguard to work for me until the debt is paid off!" Ortolan couldn't hold back any longer and said with a laugh.
"Huh?" Gion looked at Ortolan in shock, then quickly said, "Hey, don't do anything reckless. Don't forget you're Marines. It wouldn't be good to coerce him like this, would it? Besides, are you that good at gambling? You've only been here a short time, and you've already won 2.6 million Belly from him?"
"Ah, don't misunderstand, I didn't coerce him, it was his own choice, and I didn't play a single game, so I'm not very good at it," Ortolan quickly explained.
Gion was even more surprised upon hearing this and asked curiously, "Then how did he steal your money?"
"I lend money!" Ortolan said confidently.
Gion?
Is this something a righteous Marines like you should say?
Do you still want to be named a "Three Good Marines" and "Advanced Individual" for the year?
Oh, the bonus isn't as much as what he took from you? Then forget it!
At this moment, Yixiao, who was standing to the side, also came to his senses and asked in surprise, "You're in the Marines!?"
"Oh right, haven't I introduced myself to you yet? My name is Bane Ortolan, Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral." Ortolan belatedly said.
"I didn't say that!" Yi Xiao said, looking completely bewildered. "I thought you were some kind of merchant..."
"Look at his big frame, he doesn't seem like a merchant, does he?" Gion couldn't help but say.
"No, where did you get so much money to lend me? And you're a Marines, recruiting me as a bodyguard? How does that make sense?" Yi Xiao asked, bewildered.
Ortolan is my boss, but he's in the Marines, and I'm supposed to be his bodyguard. So what am I? Am I even considered Marines?
"As Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral, I enjoy high-end welfare benefits and allowances, which basically cover all my daily living expenses. Therefore, my salary is equivalent to having no expenses. As a Rear Admiral in the Headquarters, it is reasonable for me to be able to pull out several million Belly at any time, right?" Ortolan said matter-of-factly.
Gion to the side, nodded in agreement. "That makes perfect sense. In fact, I served longer than you. Before I left Marineford, I had over a hundred million Belly in my savings account."
"Over a hundred million!?" Yi Xiao exclaimed in surprise, "No, is the Marines that rich?"
The present day is not like the later era when the Great Pirate Era caused chaos at sea, economic and commercial stagnation, and inflation, making money practically worthless.
A current investment of over 100 million is quite impressive!
Ten years from now, the cost of building a standard warship for the Marines Headquarters will be around 200 million. Currently, according to Rear Admiral Ortolan of the Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral, the cost of building a warship is only around 70 million Belly!
A comparison reveals that Gion is definitely a wealthy woman.
"Basically, the benefits for Marines officers are quite good, but becoming a Marines officer isn't easy, especially for those of us with general's rank on the shoulder... unless you are exceptionally capable and of trustworthy character," Ortolan said.
After a slight pause, seeing the stunned smile on his face, Ortolan teased, "What? You're interested in the Marines?"
Yi Xiao finally snapped out of his reverie about the Marines's wealth, swallowed hard, and said, "I wasn't interested before, but now I am. Do you know how much I earn a day working at the fishing grounds?"
"How much?" Ortolan shook his head and asked in return.
"Two thousand Belly!" Yixiao said through gritted teeth, "A month's salary is only sixty thousand Belly, and with other benefits, it's at most around eighty thousand. That means, after deducting food, drink, and expenses, it will take me at least three years to pay off this one million six hundred thousand... And yet, all of you Marines officers are rolling in money? What's wrong with this society?"
"You work in the fishing grounds, you don't go out to sea and risk your life. Our Marines has high welfare benefits, but the intensity of sacrifice and death is not low either!" Ortolan said with a smile, patting his shoulder.
The principle that risk and reward are directly proportional is a concept that can be considered a truth.
Yi Xiao remained silent for a moment, then said, "To be honest, I consider myself to be fairly strong, of decent character, and with a strong sense of justice. I have always admired the Marines, but I have never had the opportunity to join it. If you are willing to accept my Marines, I would like to appoint you as my admiral!"
If it weren't for his age, he would have wanted to become his godfather, so that if his godfather were to die in battle at sea someday, he could inherit some of his estate.
At this point, Issho made a point of clarifying, "Don't worry, I'm not doing this because the Marines's salary is high enough to allow me to gamble freely. It's purely for my sense of justice, you know that, right?!"
Damn it, you just said you weren't interested in our Marines before, and now you're fighting for justice?!
Although he was inwardly complaining, Ortolan outwardly nodded in agreement.
"Yes, yes, for justice! Me too. I joined the Marines not for any other nonsense, but for my sense of justice that had nowhere to go!" Ortolan said with a smile, looking at him with admiration.
As Rear Admiral in the Marines, Ortolan naturally has a designated position under his command. So far, he has only given away half of his position, which was given to the brat Rob Lucci.
The reason it's only half is because the Marines isn't like those inhumane bastards in the CP Agency. The Marines still needs to maintain its image on the surface, so they don't hire child laborers. They have to wait until Lucci is fifteen or sixteen years old, when he looks about right, and then give him a fake certificate to say he's an adult before he can be enlisted.
Otherwise, wouldn't it be too much?
So Lucci is currently studying at Marineford. Before Ortolan left, he entrusted Teacher Zephyr to take good care of him and basically reserved a suitable spot in a future Officer Training Camp.
Given Ortolan's status, he couldn't directly assign Yixiao the rank of general, not even Commodore.
However, he could easily arrange the status of a colonel. As long as Yi Xiao was really willing to join the Marines, Ortolan could immediately arrange a colonel position directly under Rear Admiral Bane for Yi Xiao!
As I said before, whether you climb the ranks step by step after joining the Marines, or you can rise to the top in one step, depends on your ability and connections.
Back then, Ortolan became a colonel in one step thanks to his connection with Garp, and then joined Teacher Zephyr's team, graduating as Commodore.
Now, he himself has become one of the 'backers' in the Marines's vast and complex network of connections.
There's one thing about Gion that Ortolan particularly admires and likes: she never meddles in other people's business. For example, recently Ortolan jokingly said he wanted to recruit Xiaoxiao here to become Marines, without even checking his background or conducting any background checks, and was already preparing to arrange for him to be a field officer.
Gion, however, did not object at all, which to some extent shows that she trusted Ortolan.