Late November, Sea Circle Calendar 1506.
It took Ortoren nearly two full months to leisurely make his way from the New World, cross the Red Line, and finally arrive at Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
During those two months, the New World never truly settled down.
The remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates were still roaming about, causing trouble everywhere. Their former Fourth Division Captain, Thatch, had declared himself the second-generation leader of the Whitebeard Pirates. This new iteration included Teach, Namur, and a mixed assortment of other pirates.
Thatch openly announced that he would one day avenge Whitebeard, swearing to kill Ortoren and drive the New World Navy out of the New World.
From his position and identity, those words weren't exactly out of place.
In reality, however, almost everyone treated this so-called second-generation Whitebeard Pirates as a complete joke.
As a pirate and one of the Shichibukai, Slekemind was the first to make a move, publicly announcing a full-scale war against the Shattered Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates. Across the major seas of the New World, he began encircling and hunting down these so-called Whitebeard remnants.
And once Slekemind took the lead, the response was immediate and overwhelming.
The Navy, of course, needed no explanation. Suppressing pirates was their duty to begin with.
The underworld, however, became especially lively.
The Loan Shark King, Lu Feld, loudly and indignantly declared that he had been exploited and squeezed dry by Whitebeard for years, claiming that Newgate owed him hundreds of billions of Belly that were never repaid. Because of this, he too would answer the call to crusade against the Whitebeard Pirates and contribute his strength to peace in the New World.
He then announced a no-strings-attached donation of 200 billion Belly to the G-5 Navy's military funds.
On the surface, people praised Lu Feld as a righteous businessman with deep pockets. Privately, though, everyone mocked him for having no shame at all, saying he was already kneeling and licking Ortoren's boots.
The Shipping King, Umit, was especially vocal. Rumor had it that in a private gathering, he sneered that Lu Feld had already become Ortoren's lapdog, making it clear he looked down on people like that.
Then, the very next day, Umit made a public announcement in the newspapers.
He declared that his New World shipping company had once been relentlessly plundered by the Whitebeard Pirates. Now that Whitebeard had finally fallen, he was filled with excitement, passion, and gratitude that had nowhere to go. As a result, he was donating supplies worth 250 billion Belly to the New World Navy, specifically to Vice Admiral Momonga of G-12, to help build a powerful Navy capable of safeguarding peace in the New World.
When the other big players of the New World saw this, they cursed Umit nonstop, saying that despite his honest-looking face, he turned out to be just as spineless, kneeling to the Navy without hesitation.
Of course, while they were publicly cursing Umit and Lu Feld, they immediately turned around and began scrambling over one another to donate this and offer that to the Navy.
They were practically tripping over themselves to give things away.
It was as if anyone who dared not donate would instantly be branded an enemy of justice.
After all, back in the past, the New World still had two undisputed giants. The Whitebeard Pirates and the New World Navy had never truly clashed head-on, so no one could say for certain who was stronger.
The Navy had numbers and organization, sure, but the Whitebeard Pirates had the world's strongest man.
Now, though, anyone with working eyes could see that Ortoren was poised to sweep across the entire New World.
At a time like this, if you didn't rush to offer gifts, build goodwill, and openly declare your support for the Navy and for justice, then when the Navy sailed out to suppress pirates next time, you might be the one labeled a pirate.
An enemy of justice.
Once they slapped the label of "Whitebeard Pirates remnant" on you, you'd never be able to shake it off.
Outside of the underworld, the Big Mom Pirates and the Beasts Pirates only sent token forces to get involved. Their real attention was focused on Ortoren himself.
According to unverified rumors, on the sixth day after the end of the New World Summit War, Kaidou had already traveled alone and in secret to Totto Land's Whole Cake Island, where he held a private meeting with Charlotte Linlin.
This news spread across the seas, but to this day it has never been confirmed. Or rather, no one ever came forward to acknowledge it.
After that, the various kingdoms that had once flown the Whitebeard Pirates' flag rushed into action. Their royalty hurried by ship to the nearest Marine bases, meeting with base commanders one after another. As soon as they arrived, they burst into tears, crying bitterly about how brutally tyrannical Whitebeard had supposedly been in their lands. Stories poured out one after another, from sleeping in royal beds to humiliating princesses, even to eating human flesh raw. Every outrageous accusation imaginable came spilling forth.
Once they finished condemning the Whitebeard Pirates' "atrocities," they immediately opened their coffers, presenting huge sums of money and treasure. They begged the Marines to understand that their past actions, flying a pirate flag, had been forced by circumstance. More than that, they expressed a fervent desire to join the glorious, righteous family of the New World Navy, pledging loyalty and service to Admiral Benn and his cause.
It really was a case of everyone pushing once the wall had fallen.
Although Ortoren had stood firmly opposed to Whitebeard, he never believed that the old man was capable of things like sleeping in royal beds, humiliating princesses, or eating people alive.
On the contrary, according to Marine investigations, aside from collecting protection fees, the Whitebeard Pirates had not treated the nations under their banner with any particular cruelty. In fact, they had even protected them on multiple occasions.
But such was the tide of the times.
Those royal families had no choice. If they didn't come now to declare their stance, if they still dared to fly the Whitebeard Pirates' flag, they would surely be dealt with later. When it came to survival, dignity was a luxury.
Even Fish-Man Island had already taken down the Whitebeard Pirates' flag.
That said, Neptune had at least acted decisively. Back when the war hadn't even begun yet, when the Marines published their anti-pirate proclamations in the newspapers, Neptune had already made the call to remove the flag.
He had chosen early, without giving off the impression of being overly scheming.
As for the various forces and nations that had already been within the New World Navy's jurisdiction, they were practically celebrating the victory. After all, their interests had long since been bound together with Ortoren's Navy. If the Navy fell, their current status and wealth would lose all protection, and the New World would once again become a place overrun by pirates.
They had no desire to go back to those hard days.
So after the war ended, even without considering political alignment, simply to celebrate and to reward the troops, every one of them eagerly sent huge amounts of supplies and money to Navy bases across the New World.
And when all the accounts were tallied up, it was almost unbelievable.
Ortoren had mobilized more than a hundred thousand elite Marines, built massive battlefields, requisitioned supplies from all over, and paid out enormous compensation. Yet after wiping out the Whitebeard Pirates, not only had the Navy suffered no losses in logistics or finances, it had actually started making huge profits, even before fully absorbing Whitebeard's former territories.
Justice truly was a meaningful cause.
One worth holding onto firmly.
...
The warship slowly docked in Justice Harbor at Marine Headquarters. The gangway was lowered, and Ortoren stepped off the ship.
The moment he appeared, the naval port erupted with excitement.
From the lowest menial soldiers to Marine Vice Admirals, everyone who saw Ortoren began shouting and greeting him enthusiastically.
"Admiral!"
"Admiral, you're amazing!"
"Standing above the heavens!"
"The strongest man!"
As Ortoren waved back at the cheering Marines, he quietly scanned the crowd, trying to figure out who the hell had just shouted "standing above the heavens."
He was ready to skin that person alive.
Then he spotted the culprit.
Garp.
…Forget it. Garp-san was getting on in years. Ortoren had always respected the elderly, so he let it slide.
"Damn it, this is all because I wasn't good enough back then! Admiral! If I'd worked harder, I could've stayed in G-5 and followed you to fight Whitebeard!" a Marine Rear Admiral shouted from the side of the road, his face full of regret.
Ortoren turned toward the voice and burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! Modell, I remember you! When I sent you onto a headquarters warship back then, you were still just a Captain. And now, in the blink of an eye, you're already a proud Rear Admiral?"
"Admiral!!!" Modell's eyes instantly filled with tears when he realized Ortoren still remembered his name.
Just as he had said, G-5's roster had always been limited. Ortoren also needed to send elite personnel to other Marine branches to expand his influence, so a large number of former G-5 Marines had been transferred elsewhere.
On the surface, moving to headquarters or other commands looked like promotions with better pay.
But within the G-5 faction, now known as the New World Navy faction, they all believed the same thing.
They thought they hadn't been good enough back then. That they weren't as outstanding as those who stayed behind, and that was why they'd been sent away to headquarters or other regions.
That's right.
In their own eyes, leaving G-5 was nothing short of a demotion.