Chapter Summaries

Ortolan confirmed that Katakuri’s deal had secured weapons for G-5 and found that Momonga and Issho would tolerate his rule-bending as long as it strengthened the Marines. He then proposed making G-5 self-sufficient by building its own warships, interpreting Sengoku’s words as permission to pursue the plan outside normal channels.

• Momonga and Issho found Ortolan singing in his office, and he told them he had traded the warships to a Big Mom Pirates distributor for weapons.
• Momonga welcomed the deal because weapons and ammunition would help G-5 train recruits, while Issho advised Ortolan to be more discreet and offered to help handle future dealings.
• Ortolan reassured them that Sengoku had authorized him to strengthen G-5 so long as he did not betray the Marines or commit serious crimes.
• Ortolan proposed that G-5 become self-sufficient and gain the ability to build Marine warships, surprising Momonga because even Headquarters lacked that authority.
• Ortolan explained that Sengoku’s challenge to build fifty thousand elite troops and fifty warships without Headquarters support was a hint to pursue the plan by unconventional means.

Ortolan returned pirates who had raided Sotan Orlov Kingdom and used the meeting with its King to seek funding for G-5. He proposed stationing Marines in affiliated nations in exchange for those nations paying the troops’ expenses.

• Ortolan presented the captured pirates to the King of Sotan Orlov Kingdom and explained that they had already spent the treasure they looted.
• The King praised the Marines, and Ortolan described G-5’s shortages before asking the kingdom for financial support.
• Ortolan dismissed the King’s suggestion of paying Celestial Gold and floated a one-billion-Belly contribution, prompting the King to offer two hundred million.
• Ortolan proposed a comprehensive protection plan that would station G-5 Marines in important ports and cities across affiliated nations.
• The King welcomed the prospect of direct Marine protection, and Ortolan said each host location would need to cover the stationed troops’ expenses.

Ortolan persuaded a king to pay G-5 for a permanent force of Marines to protect both the country and the royal family, then planned to expand the arrangement across the New World while concealing the growing force from Headquarters. As the final troops assigned by Headquarters arrived, Ortolan remained determined to build G-5’s strength himself.

• The King agreed to pay G-5 roughly 700 million Beli per year for two warships and 4,000 Marines, who would protect the kingdom and follow his orders during internal unrest.
• Ortolan and the King finalized an agreement to provide G-5 with two bases, and Ortolan urged the King to promote the protection plan to neighboring kingdoms.
• On the return voyage, Ortolan projected that G-5 could build a force of around 200,000 by stationing troops throughout more than thirty countries under its jurisdiction.
• Ortolan told Momonga to hide the training camps and their personnel from Headquarters and report only G-5’s official staffing numbers.
• Momonga informed Ortolan that Issho had reported the arrival of the final 1,000 troops from Headquarters, completing the assigned 5,000, though many were inexperienced recruits rather than veterans.

Ortolan planned to expand G-5 by recruiting troops, finding shipwrights, and setting up a dependable channel for selling seized goods. Vergo’s arrival offered a way to contact Doflamingo, while Momonga brought news of Crocodile’s defeat by the Whitebeard Pirates.

• Ortolan ordered G-5 to recruit tens of thousands of soldiers, accepting that they would be trained through combat because the base lacked capacity for formal training.
• Issho told Ortolan that Headquarters had delivered fifteen fully equipped warships, but G-5 lacked enough sailors and shipbuilding technicians.
• Ortolan decided to recruit unemployed shipwrights from Water 7 and considered contacting Spandam to bring Master Tom and other workers to G-5.
• Ortolan chose the Donquixote Family as a potential partner for selling seized goods and considered using Vergo, whose files showed he had been assigned to G-5, to contact Doflamingo.
• Momonga reported that Crocodile had challenged the Whitebeard Pirates and lost in the Lansco Sea, and Ortolan dismissed the news as irrelevant to his jurisdiction.

Ortolan revealed that he knew Vergo served Doflamingo and asked him to arrange cooperation with the Donquixote Family. Meanwhile, the Five Elders ordered Fleet Admiral Kong to implement the Seven Warlords of the Sea plan, leaving him worried about the damage to his reputation.

• Ortolan used Observation Haki on Vergo, then revealed that he knew about Doflamingo and proposed using the Donquixote Family as G-5's underworld distributor.
• Vergo agreed to convey Ortolan's offer to Doflamingo and was told to become Ortolan's assistant if the young master accepted.
• Ortolan reviewed Marine reports showing rising pirate numbers and casualties as pirates converged on the New World.
• Fleet Admiral Kong objected that the Five Elders' new policy would harm the Marines, but Saint Saturn and Saint V. Nusjuro insisted it had already been decided.
• Kong left the Five Elders' office with the Seven Warlords of the Sea Plan and feared it would ruin his reputation.

Ortolan returned to Marineford and learned that the Five Elders planned to establish the Seven Warlords of the Sea and require Marine cooperation. He joined Zephyr and Sengoku in condemning the plan, but Sengoku admitted the Marines had little choice.

• Ortolan visited Zephyr at the Officer Training Camp and saw Smoker and Hina attending his class.
• Zephyr told Ortolan that Headquarters had recalled several elite Vice Admirals because the Five Elders wanted to recruit seven Great Pirates for the World Government.
• Ortolan angrily condemned the plan and demanded to know what Sengoku and Fleet Admiral Steel Bone intended to do.
• Sengoku arrived, traded barbs with Ortolan, and agreed with Zephyr that the Shichibukai plan damaged Marine dignity.

Ortolan and the other Marine officers protested Mary Geoise’s plan to create the Shichibukai, which would place pirates on a level with Marine Headquarters. In private, Ortolan urged Sengoku to challenge the Five Elders, but Sengoku rejected the idea as too extreme and asked for another solution.

• Ortolan told Kuzan and Gion that Mary Geoise planned to establish the Shichibukai and give its members treatment equal to Vice Admirals.
• At the conference, Sakazuki and other Marine officers condemned the proposal, and Kong adjourned the meeting until the next day.
• Sengoku brought Ortolan to his office and asked why Mary Geoise never respected the Marines.
• Ortolan argued that Mary Geoise controlled Marine funding and supplies, and that the Marines could resist by threatening to quit cooperating with the Shichibukai plan.
• Sengoku refused Ortolan’s suggestion to confront the Five Elders directly and asked whether he had another idea.

Ortolan advised Admiral Sengoku to select Shichibukai who met Mary Geoise’s requirements but posed little real threat, and argued that the Marines needed autonomy to earn its respect. He ended by declaring himself the unconventional path Sengoku could use to pursue that goal.

• Ortolan proposed appointing low-threat figures such as Dracule Mihawk as Shichibukai, and Sengoku approved of the idea.
• Ortolan said the Marines needed autonomy to gain respect from Mary Geoise, and Sengoku described his failed efforts to secure greater institutional and production control.
• Ortolan argued that Mary Geoise would not grant the Marines authority through proper channels and suggested an unconventional approach.
• When Sengoku asked what that approach was, Ortolan declared, “I am that unconventional path!”

Vice Admiral Bane Ortolan and Admiral Sengoku tested each other's loyalty and agreed to build up G-5 without Marine Headquarters' support. Ortolan declared that the Marines would eventually choose their own Fleet Admiral, and Sengoku entrusted him with the difficult path ahead.

• Ortolan and Sengoku joked about stewing Sengoku's paper-eating goat, then Sengoku asked whether Ortolan truly stood with the Marines.
• Ortolan pledged to uphold the Marines' justice while admitting he also wanted promotion and wealth, and Sengoku chose to trust him.
• Ortolan explained that he would build G-5's warships, weapons, and budget without asking headquarters for support.
• Sengoku warned that Mary Geoise would eventually discover G-5's progress, costing Ortolan its trust and ending his conventional path to Fleet Admiral.
• Ortolan said the Marines would choose their own Fleet Admiral after victory, and Sengoku placed his hands on Ortolan's shoulders and entrusted him with the difficult path.
• Ortolan and Sengoku formed a secret understanding to work together.

Ortolan stayed home with Rouge and Ace while headquarters held a meeting, then learned that Douglas Bullet was heading toward the Newland Sea Area. Momonga also reported rumors that Kozuki Oden had escaped Wano Country, prompting Ortolan to consider how he might use Oden against the Whitebeard Pirates.

• Ortolan told Rouge he was skipping the Marine officers' meeting and expected to return to G-5 within two days.
• Momonga called to report that the Marines had located Douglas Bullet, and Ortolan ordered him to keep watch without making a move until Ortolan returned.
• Momonga warned that Bullet was heading toward the Whitebeard Pirates' forces in the Newland Sea Area and might provoke a battle.
• Momonga reported a rumor that Kozuki Oden had been driven out of Wano Country by Kaido and might be joining the Whitebeard Pirates.
• Ortolan decided Oden could still be useful in his future plans against Whitebeard, despite Oden's unexpected escape from Wano Country.

Ortolan met Doflamingo at a hot spring on Frania Island and proposed a limited partnership between them. Doflamingo accepted, while their future cooperation depended on whether they could prove each other’s worth.

• Ortolan arrived on Frania Island ahead of Douglas Bullet and rested at a hot spring while the Whitebeard Pirates remained anchored nearby.
• Doflamingo joined Ortolan in the hot spring, and the two exchanged jokes before discussing the New World.
• Doflamingo showed that he was willing to cooperate and accepted Ortolan’s proposal to keep Vergo as their link and let the Donquixote Family take over G-5’s illicit businesses.
• Ortolan explained that Doflamingo might later become his shadow if he proved capable, while Doflamingo asked what benefits the partnership would bring him.
• Ortolan offered Doflamingo his friendship and support, and Doflamingo agreed to a pleasant partnership while keeping his doubts about Ortolan’s abilities.

Ortolan met with Spandine on Frania Island to seek help obtaining Fish-Man Tom and shipwrights for G-5. Spandine agreed to secretly send Tom to G-5 in exchange for Ortolan’s cooperation against Douglas Bullet.

• Ortolan left the hot spring hotel and met Spandine, who welcomed him to a private meal.
• Ortolan asked Spandine about the case against Fish-Man Tom, and Spandine explained that his son handled it through CP-5.
• Ortolan said G-5 needed Tom and other shipwrights to repair warships and rebuild its combat strength.
• Spandine offered to recruit other Water 7 shipwrights and hinted that Ortolan should cooperate with CP-9 against Douglas Bullet.
• Ortolan agreed to join forces against Bullet, and Spandine promised to fake Tom’s death and secretly send him to G-5.

Douglas Bullet arrived at Frania Island to challenge Whitebeard but attacked Bane Ortolan after seeing his public invitation. Ortolan struck Bullet hard enough to earn his respect, and Bullet declared that they would fight to the death as Ortolan recognized his self-destructive madness.

• CP Agency evacuated Frania Island after spotting Douglas Bullet approaching, and Bullet found a notice inviting him to Sunshine Beach.
• Bullet confronted Bane Ortolan, who denied capturing Roger and said Roger had turned himself in.
• Bullet boasted that he would become the strongest in the world and claimed Vice Admiral Wolf had begged for his life, prompting Ortolan to challenge him.
• Bullet punched Ortolan, who endured the blow and countered with a punch that bruised Bullet's chest and sent him flying.
• Bullet called Ortolan a worthy opponent and vowed they would fight until one of them died, while Ortolan realized Bullet was willing to destroy himself in battle.

Ortolan used his fight with Bullet to test his lightning and electromagnetic abilities, escalating from iron-sand restraints to a barrage of explosive spikes. Bullet survived by using his Combine-Combine Fruit to protect himself, while Ortolan held back a more powerful attack to keep testing his abilities.

• Ortolan summoned buried iron sand with his Goro Goro no Mi and used it to trap Bullet's arm, but Bullet broke free and charged him.
• Ortolan encased Bullet in iron sand and fused it into an iron sculpture, but Bullet burst out unharmed.
• Ortolan turned the iron fragments into electrified spikes and unleashed his Lightning Rain attack, piercing Bullet's Haki and injuring his arm.
• Bullet used his Combine-Combine Fruit to form a sealed fortress around himself and withstand the explosions.
• Ortolan decided against firing a more powerful Railgun-like attack, while Bullet realized Ortolan was using him to test his abilities.

Ortolan tested his long-range attacks and refined Lightning Armor while fighting Bullet at the beach fortress. He injured Bullet with a powerful elbow strike, leaving Bullet battered in the rocky ruins.

• Ortolan considered the strengths of his energy attacks and Railgun before Bullet charged out of the fortress.
• Ortolan tested his defenses by blocking Bullet's attacks and using Lightning Armor to repel their force.
• Ortolan shifted Lightning Armor into an enhancement mode, boosting his speed and physical power as he charged Bullet.
• Bullet covered himself in liquid alloy and Haki to defend against Ortolan's attack.
• Ortolan struck Bullet's crossed arms with Heavy Flow Blast, shattering his alloy defense and sending him crashing into the cliffside rocks.

Bullet transformed Frania Island into a colossal beast, while Ortolan summoned a thunderstorm and unleashed his Bull of Heaven. From the Moby Dick, Newgate and Marco watched as the two prepared to clash.

• Bullet realized Ortolan had overwhelmed him physically, then used his power to make Frania Island collapse and merge into a giant form.
• Ortolan calmly smoked as the island’s debris gathered around Bullet, allowing him time to complete his transformation.
• Newgate and Marco watched from the Moby Dick, and Newgate agreed that Ortolan was a troublesome opponent with few apparent weaknesses.
• Bullet’s colossal beast grew taller than the surrounding mountains, while Ortolan rose into the sky and covered the island in dark storm clouds.
• Ortolan called forth the lightning-shaped Bull of Heaven, and Newgate laughed at the spectacle.

Ortolan defeated Douglas Bullet with the Bull of Heaven, devastating Frania Island, while Whitebeard watched from the Moby Dick and recognized Ortolan as the victor. Ortolan recovered the unconscious Bullet and called Spandam to come collect him.

• Ortolan's Bull of Heaven clashed with Bullet's giant form, producing an explosion that devastated Frania Island and sent a tsunami across the surrounding sea.
• Newgate shattered the approaching tsunami with the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, then told Marco that Ortolan had won and sailed away aboard the Moby Dick.
• Ortolan sensed Whitebeard's presence and felt unusually intimidated by him before surveying the crater and destruction left by the battle.
• Ortolan used electromagnetic force to lift the unconscious Bullet from the crater, confirmed he was alive, and complained that Shiki had endured more.
• Ortolan called Spandam and told him the fight was over and Bullet was ready to be picked up.

Ortolan arranged for Spandam to send Tom and other shipwrights to G-5 while Momonga brought him news about Kozuki Oden and the base’s growth. After securing Sengoku’s private support, Ortolan decided to remain G-5’s Base Commander long-term and prepare a five-year development plan.

• Spandam ordered his son to falsify Tom’s death certificate and send him to CP-9, while arranging for Tom and other shipwrights to be delivered to G-5.
• Momonga’s warship met Spandam’s ship, and Ortolan left Spandam to escort Bullet back to Impel Down.
• Momonga told Ortolan that Kozuki Oden had rejoined the Whitebeard Pirates’ 2nd Division and that his household had likely escaped Wano Country too.
• Momonga reported that G-5 had replenished its forces to twenty thousand but lacked enough warships, and Ortolan said he was handling the shortage.
• Ortolan told Momonga that Sengoku would privately support G-5’s activities and that he would remain its Base Commander unless a major event required his transfer.
• Ortolan said G-5 would need more trusted officers and planned to create a five-year development plan after returning to the base.

Ortolan and Momonga discussed G-5’s staffing, warship construction, and mounting expenses, but they lacked a reliable source of funding. Ortolan considered looking for a business-minded ally at Sabaody Archipelago.

• Momonga reported that Issho was training G-5’s troops, and Ortolan said Gion had agreed to apply for a transfer while Kajiki had offered to serve as an external assistant.
• Momonga showed Ortolan a map of islands suitable for a shipbuilding base and warned that materials, equipment, and operating costs would strain G-5’s finances.
• Momonga proposed charging merchant ships protection fees and tolls, prompting Ortolan to compare the plan to pirates robbing travelers.
• Ortolan suggested selling ordinary ships alongside warships, and Momonga said G-5 needed someone with business talent.
• Ortolan noticed Sabaody Archipelago on the map and wondered whether Gild Tesoro was there.

Ortolan read about the Revolutionary Army’s founding and Crocodile becoming the first Shichibukai while visiting Sabaody Archipelago. He told Doflamingo that he could help him secure a Shichibukai position if Doflamingo proved his worth and overcame Mary Geoise’s resistance.

• Ortolan read that Monkey D. Dragon had renamed the Freedom Army the Revolutionary Army after conquering the Sorbeth Kingdom and had publicly declared its opposition to the World Government.
• Ortolan saw Ginny and Bartholomew Bear among the Revolutionary Army members and noted that they had joined despite his changes to Dragon’s path.
• Ortolan learned that Crocodile had become the first Shichibukai after surviving his defeat by Whitebeard.
• Doflamingo called Ortolan and asked whether he had a chance of becoming a Shichibukai.
• Ortolan told Doflamingo that he lacked sufficient reputation and strength, but offered to handle the Marines if Doflamingo could prove his value and deal with Mary Geoise’s opposition.