After a few polite exchanges, Lu Feld seized the right moment to introduce, "Vice Admiral Benn, this is my close friend Umit—the one I was so eager to bring you to meet."
Upon hearing that, Umit stepped forward and warmly shook Ortoren's hand.
"A pleasure to meet you, Vice Admiral Benn."
"Hahaha, Mr. Feld has told me about you before. I've been very much looking forward to your visit," Ortoren replied with a friendly smile.
After the brief introductions, Ortoren stood up and invited the two to sit. Then, he reached into the cabinet behind him, took out some tea leaves, and personally brewed a pot for his guests.
Rather than returning to his office chair, he sat down on the sofa across from them and continued with light conversation.
At one point, Lu Feld mentioned the 200 billion Belly in cash they had brought along, to which Ortoren responded with sincere thanks.
"This time, Umit was adamant about meeting you. He believes there's something you could use his help with—and he genuinely wants to contribute," Lu Feld said, gradually steering the conversation toward business.
It was a smooth and well-phrased transition. Ortoren kept his relaxed smile and responded openly.
"You're making me feel a little self-conscious here," he said with a chuckle. "But it just so happens there really is something I'd like Umit-sama's help with."
He didn't put on any airs, nor did he act like he was in a position to make Umit beg. He was upfront in acknowledging that cooperation was both welcome and necessary.
Not waiting for the others to follow up, Ortoren continued, "I imagine Umit-sama is already somewhat familiar—some of G-5's business operations originate from the North Blue."
Umit quickly nodded. "I've done a bit of research. That's actually the main reason I came to visit you. Recently, a large volume of goods from the North Blue has been moving through the underworld, ending up for sale in Totto Land. Business is booming. At first, I was curious—who had the ability to link North Blue trade with Totto Land? Once I asked around and heard it was you behind it, everything clicked."
"I grew up in the New World—born and raised here. I know how rough it can be. The environment makes resources scarce, and life's hard for the average person. But this trade route you've opened up has made a real difference. It's drastically improved living standards across the New World."
From there, Umit launched into a stream of praise. What was clearly a money-making venture, he framed as if Ortoren were selflessly doing charity work.
"This business has brought real benefits to us New World natives. And as one of them, I'd really like to contribute. If there's anything you need, just say the word," Umit concluded, turning the conversation back to Ortoren.
He didn't mention profit shares or demand a cut. He simply stated his stance, leaving the arrangement entirely in Ortoren's hands—whatever Ortoren decided, he'd go along with it.
That was tactful—and it left Ortoren with an even better impression of Umit. As expected, anyone who could climb to the top of the chaotic and treacherous underworld had to be sharp and well-versed in how to play the game.
Ortoren took a sip of tea, then said, "As you already know, when it comes to this trade between North Blue and Totto Land, supply isn't an issue. The Donquixote family has deep roots in North Blue—their power and influence there are immense. As long as they want to move goods, supply will always be stable and abundant."
"But for both us at G-5 and the Donquixote family, transport capacity is the limiting factor. We're not logistics specialists. And right now, it's exactly this bottleneck in transportation that's capping how much business we can do. Everything else—connections, permissions, supply chains—is already in place. You can see that for yourself."
Umit didn't interrupt, simply nodding with a focused, thoughtful expression.
"When Mr. Feld told me he wanted to introduce the legendary Shipping King from the underworld, I was genuinely excited. If we join forces—your massive transport network, our existing resources and connections—this operation could scale up dramatically. We're talking several levels of growth, just like that. What do you think, Umit-sama?" Ortoren asked with a smile.
"You're absolutely right. I came today precisely to make use of that advantage," Umit replied without hesitation.
"I'll admit, I'm not too familiar with the scale of your operations. What's your current shipping capacity like?" Ortoren raised an eyebrow as he asked.
"To be frank, I currently have direct control over 2,200 transport ships. Besides that, there are nearly 2,000 more owned by independent captains who rely on my network to stay afloat. They're essentially under my name. Altogether, it comes to about 4,000 vessels," Umit said confidently, finally laying out his strength.
Before this meeting, Ortoren had done some surface-level research on Umit. He knew Umit had a lot of ships, but he hadn't realized just how massive his influence truly was.
Four thousand ships—what did that even mean?
The Atlantis Merchant Guild, backed by G-5 and made up of many of the New World's top merchants, collectively operated fewer than 600 ships. Umit alone controlled nearly seven times that number.
There's a reason nicknames stick. "Shipping King" wasn't just a title—it was an earned one.
In terms of logistics, if Umit could withstand the political pressure, he genuinely had the power to decide who thrived or failed in New World trade.
"No wonder you're the Shipping King, dominating smuggling and transport in the underworld…" Ortoren praised with clear admiration.
Umit's confident look quickly softened into a more humble expression. He followed up, "Although I do control close to 4,000 ships, most of them are already locked into fixed operations. As much as I'd love to throw everything behind our partnership, the reality is... I just can't."
Ortoren completely understood. Even when Umit mentioned that some of those routes were operating at a loss, he believed it. At Umit's level, making money was still important—but influence, presence in the industry, and long-term positioning were just as crucial. Some routes, even if unprofitable, had to be maintained no matter what.
And Ortoren had never expected him to go all-in anyway. Right now, the North Blue–Totto Land route, jointly operated by the Donquixote family and G-5, had squeezed out every available vessel they could muster—fewer than 200 ships, most of them small or mid-sized. The transport capacity was nowhere near what was needed for the scale of this business.
Compared to Umit's enormous shipping network, even a fraction of his fleet would elevate the entire operation to another level.
"Umit-sama, I'll get straight to the point," Ortoren said, drumming his fingers lightly on the table after a moment of thought. "If we're willing to give up a share of the North Blue–Totto Land line, how much shipping capacity could you commit at maximum?"
Umit had come prepared. He had assumed they'd go over the details first—talk terms, discuss profit splits, hammer out the specifics—then he'd quote a number based on how things went.
But Ortoren was skipping all that. He was playing off-script, pushing Umit to show his cards before any terms were even on the table. It caught Umit a little off guard.
Still, seeing the confidence in Ortoren's eyes, feeling the weight of his presence, Umit took a deep breath and chose to be direct.
"Ten percent," Umit said, holding up a finger. "Right now, I can allocate 400 ships."
As Ortoren listened, he felt that this—this was where the gap between people became visible.
Umit offering just ten percent of his fleet still meant more than double what Ortoren and the Donquixote family had managed to scrape together with everything they had.
After a brief silence, Ortoren continued, "Currently, the profit split is fifty percent to me, thirty to the Donquixote family, and twenty to Totto Land. If I want you to commit all 400 ships, how much would you ask for?"
The honest exchange was over. Now they were negotiating.
Of course, Ortoren wasn't about to lay out the real numbers. In truth, the deal was a 70–30 split between him and Doflamingo. Totto Land didn't get anything—just access to the resources, which was already a huge boost to their internal development.
But here, Ortoren added a fake twenty percent for Totto Land, just to drive down Umit's bargaining leverage.
As for whether that counted as deception... how could it? Ortoren carried the Charlotte family's blood. If he said he was representing Totto Land's share, bringing the total to seventy percent, wasn't that technically true?