In the days that followed, Charlotte Linlin still hadn't given a clear answer. Whether she'd spoken with Kaidou or not remained a mystery.
But Ortoren wasn't in any rush. He had no plans to pressure her.
On the third day, Vergo informed him that Lu Feld and Umit had already set out and were en route to G-5, expected to arrive in about half a month.
Ortoren did the math and figured he'd meet with those two underworld partners first before heading to see Kaidou.
...
Meanwhile, on the Sabaody Archipelago, in the first half of the Grand Line.
At Area 13, one of the lawless zones, inside Shakky's Rip-off Bar.
An old woman with a hunched back and a snake-headed staff was quietly conversing with Shakky. Across from them, Rayleigh sat on the couch, holding a bottle, brows tightly furrowed—clearly worried about something.
That old woman was Gloriosa, the former Empress of Amazon Lily two generations ago.
The current Empress had died young after falling ill from lovesickness, forcing Gloriosa to come out of retirement and temporarily oversee the affairs of Kuja Island.
"Boa Hancock?" Shakky echoed the name, thinking for a moment. "She's the heir to the throne?"
"That's right. All three Boa sisters are heirs to Amazon Lily, but Hancock stands out the most. Normally, once she comes of age, we'd hold the Empress's Hunting Ceremony to crown her as the next Empress," Gloriosa said heavily. "But now, all three of them have been captured by slave hunters who raided Kuja Island. We've been tracking them for a long time but haven't found any leads. I had no choice but to come to you, Shakky. Your intelligence network is far more powerful than ours…"
"This really is a mess…" Shakky muttered, rubbing her temples.
Even though she'd long since left Amazon Lily behind, she still cared deeply about the island. In the original events, she and Rayleigh had even traveled there together to help Hancock fight off an invasion from Blackbeard and the Navy.
"The slave trade runs deep. The people pulling strings behind the scenes are never ordinary. Even we haven't delved too far into that world. Trying to find the three Boa sisters among so many slave ships scattered across the sea... it's not going to be easy," Rayleigh said with a sigh.
Back in the original story, Gloriosa had also come to Rayleigh and Shakky for help, but they hadn't been able to do much. They never discovered where the sisters had been taken.
It wasn't until years later, when Fisher Tiger stormed Mary Geoise and freed the slaves, that the Boa sisters escaped. They made their way to the Sabaody Archipelago and reunited with Shakky, who was hiding out there, before eventually returning to Amazon Lily.
"Give me a moment. I'll reach out to a few people…" Shakky said after some thought, pulling out her Den Den Mushi and making a few calls.
"The slave hunters active in the southern Calm Belt, right? Around the first half of Paradise... Yes, yes, the three sisters... You don't know anything about that? Alright, thanks anyway."
"It happened about a month ago… You've quit the trade since then? Got it."
"You only dealt with the Fish-Man Island routes?"
After calling around, Shakky came up empty. With a resigned look, she said, "I've only ever had a few loose ties with those slave dealers. Some genuinely don't know anything. Others just don't want to help and are giving me the runaround…"
Neither she nor Rayleigh had ever cared for that kind of business. They never got involved in the slave trade. But since they operated in the same underworld circles, and with how chaotic Sabaody was, they had to maintain at least a few working connections. Still, just as Shakky had said, they were nothing more than surface-level relationships. The slavers had no reason to lift a finger for her.
Seeing that Shakky couldn't help, Gloriosa's expression grew increasingly bleak. For now, she had no idea what to do next.
Meanwhile, Rayleigh, who had been quietly sipping his drink and mulling things over, finally spoke up after a moment of silence. "What about asking that Benn guy?"
"Benn?" Shakky blinked, then said, "Isn't his turf in the New World? I heard he's making waves out there—working both sides of the law. Even the underworld gives him respect. Rumor is, 'Better to mess with Whitebeard than cross G-5.'"
Rayleigh tapped the table and explained, "The upper elite of the World Government are the biggest clients of the slave trade. Beneath the Holy Land of Mary Geoise lies a sea of suffering. Since Benn is technically part of the World Government, he might have some access. And like you said—he's got clout in both the legal and illegal worlds. His network and reach are far beyond ours. If he's willing to look into it, there's a real chance he could uncover something."
Gloriosa, desperate and grasping at straws, quickly asked, "You mean Benn Ortoren, the Marine Base Commander of G-5 in the New World?"
"That's the one." Shakky nodded, then glanced at the Den Den Mushi in her hand. "But we're not exactly close with him. Would he really be willing to help?"
"There's no way to know... but trying won't cost us anything," Rayleigh said calmly.
After a moment of thought, Madam Shakky tapped a few times on the Den Den Mushi and sent out a signal.
...
At that same moment in the New World, inside the G-5 Marine Base.
At the military harbor, several heavily damaged warships—clearly fresh from battle—were slowly pulling into port. The moment they docked, the gangways dropped and Marines swarmed ashore, some carrying stretchers at full speed.
The stretchers were filled with gravely injured soldiers.
Ortoren stood at the dock, coordinating the medical team as they rushed to receive the wounded. Hearing his subordinates' groans and cries, a trace of pain flickered in his expression.
But this wasn't his first time seeing a scene like this. At G-5, it was a grimly familiar sight—this was just the reality of the front lines.
"Benn-sama, we should seriously consider bringing in more medical-type Devil Fruit users and skilled medics into G-5's medical unit," said Tesoro, standing beside him with a heavy look.
Ortoren nodded. "I know. Recruitment's already offering premium packages to anyone with medical expertise. Honestly, our medical logistics at G-5 are already way ahead of most regular Marine bases. Only Marineford itself surpasses us—and that's due to centuries of built-up infrastructure."
As he said that, something came to mind.
If he remembered correctly, the abandoned satellite island near Dressrosa—Green Bit—was rumored to hide a healing-type Devil Fruit. It was eventually eaten by Princess Mansherry of the Tontatta Tribe.
Maybe it was time to have Doflamingo search that place. If they could secure that fruit, G-5's medical capacity would level up in a big way.
Then there was Trafalgar Law and the Ope Ope no Mi. Something to keep in mind for the future.
With that thought lingering, Ortoren suddenly asked, "By the way, I heard that during the last Reverie, Drum Kingdom was supposed to be one of the 50 Council Nations, but gave up its seat? Letting Alabasta take its place?"
Council Nations rotate every summit, and Alabasta had attended the last one—so technically, it wasn't their turn. That would've been against protocol.
But since Drum Kingdom had stepped down, the seat was passed to Alabasta. That's how Cobra managed to stand on the world stage again and launch into his speech attacking the World Government and the Heavenly Tribute.
"That's true," Vergo replied promptly from Ortoren's side.
"What was the reason Drum Kingdom gave for stepping down?" Ortoren asked.
"Apparently, the king was gravely ill. Said to be too sick to attend, so they withdrew," Vergo replied after thinking for a moment.
"I see... and as a nation known for its advanced medical care, did they ever cure his illness?" Ortoren continued.
Vergo hesitated. "I'm not sure... but probably not. If I'm remembering right, I think I saw an obituary in the papers two months ago. It was about the former king of Drum Kingdom—he might've already passed away."
"He's dead?" Ortoren raised an eyebrow. "Then verify it."
If the old king was really gone, the newly crowned Wapol was a piece of work—and not in a good way. The entire Drum Kingdom could be heading for major upheaval. That kind of instability might lead to a mass exodus of medical talent.
If G-5 could capitalize on that wave, their medical capabilities could be raised to a whole new level.
...
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