Chapter 36: Garp – If You Join the Marines, You Can Bring Your Mother to Live in Marineford

After the brief surprise, Garp composed himself, still wearing a kind smile.

"Come to think of it, I haven't introduced myself yet…"

"Vice Admiral Garp, the Hero of the Marines. You don't seriously think you're some no-name, do you?" Ortoren rolled his eyes and threw in a jab.

"Bwahahaha! You little brat, so rude—but I like that!" Garp roared with laughter.

After a pause, he continued, "You're a Goro Goro no Mi user, but I've never heard of you before. I'm guessing you haven't been at sea for long, huh?"

"To be precise, I haven't set out to sea at all," Ortoren replied with a nod.

"Oh?" Garp's eyes lit up. "Then how about joining the Marines? I'll be honest—our benefits are excellent. You're still young, so maybe you don't know, but job competition is tough nowadays. Public service jobs like ours are highly sought after. And the perks at Marine Headquarters? Legendary! You—"

Garp went on and on until Bogard, standing to the side, finally couldn't take it anymore and cleared his throat with a pointed cough.

Only then did Garp snap back to the moment and quickly add, "But before we get into all that, we should probably get to know each other a bit. Are your parents still around? What's your family situation? And how did you end up clashing with the Roger Pirates?"

"My father's passed away. My mother... she's still alive," Ortoren said, his tone shifting slightly.

"Your father's gone? That's unfortunate..." Garp sighed, then added, "The New World is a chaotic place these days. But if you join the Marines, things could be different. You'd even be able to bring your mother to live in Marineford. We've got a designated family housing area there—it's secure and well-maintained."

Ortoren went silent for a moment, then said calmly, "My biological mother is Charlotte Linlin. Are you sure she can live in Marineford?"

Garp froze, then blinked in disbelief. "Charlotte Linlin? Which Charlotte Linlin?"

"The one you're thinking of—Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin," Ortoren replied bluntly.

If there was one thing he'd taken to heart from his last meeting with Charlotte Linlin, it was her warning not to underestimate the Marines' intelligence network. If they wanted to dig into his background, hiding the truth was impossible.

Just look at Ace. In the original story, he had almost no ties to Roger—his mother died giving birth—but the Marines still tracked his lineage down, even with Garp covering for him.

So Ortoren had decided—no lies this time.

Garp sat there stunned. What kind of situation was this?

He thought he'd struck gold with a promising recruit, only to find out the kid was Big Mom's son. It was like hitting the jackpot for 360 million—and then realizing the prize had expired yesterday.

"Wait… Isn't your last name Benn?" Garp finally asked, looking like he had a headache.

"I was abandoned as a child. My father raised me, so I took his surname. He was a pirate too—Benn Seronis. Don't know if he was exaggerating, but he claimed to be a big-time pirate with a bounty around two to three hundred million Belly. That was all before I was born," Ortoren said, delivering yet another blow.

Both parents were notorious pirates—great.

But Garp didn't seem too concerned about the father, especially since he'd passed. Instead, hope flickered in his eyes.

"So you're saying… you didn't grow up with the Big Mom Pirates?"

"No, I was raised on Terian Island," Ortoren said.

"Have you ever met Charlotte Linlin?" Garp asked, clearly hoping the answer was no.

If Ortoren had never met her, there might still be a way. The kid's talent was undeniable, and even if his bloodline wasn't perfect, some things could be overlooked.

"I have. The reason I clashed with the Roger Pirates was because we had an unpleasant run-in on Whole Cake Island not long before that," Ortoren answered honestly.

He could've twisted the truth a bit—mix in some lies, blur the timeline—but he chose to be upfront. Since his background was already problematic, the rest of him had to be clean. If he lied now and got exposed later, that'd be a disaster.

"Even the Goro Goro no Mi—I only got it from her recently," Ortoren added.

This time, Garp was completely dumbfounded. He rubbed his temple, visibly troubled.

"So what, you've basically joined the Big Mom Pirates but just haven't made your debut yet? A pirate in training?" he muttered.

He'd thought he'd stumbled upon a prime recruit for the Marines… and it turns out he might've found a pirate prodigy instead?

Just a moment ago, he was thinking about how to take Ortoren back to Marineford. Now he was considering whether to ship him straight to Impel Down.

But then again, that didn't quite add up. Ortoren didn't have a bounty, and he hadn't committed any criminal acts either.

"No way!" Ortoren responded firmly. "Charlotte Linlin may have thought highly of me, invited me to join the Big Mom Pirates, even offered me a Sweet Commander position—but I turned her down."

"You turned her down, and she still gave you the Goro Goro no Mi? You trying to pull one over on me?" Garp gave him a skeptical look.

"To be exact, the Goro Goro no Mi was more like my father's 'legacy.' He had tracked down its location, but never retrieved it—it was on a Sky Island. Later, I told Charlotte Linlin about it, and she got it for me. As for why... maybe to win me over, or maybe to make up for abandoning me back then?" Ortoren said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin.

"I see… So that's where it disappeared to all these years—a Sky Island." Garp's eyes narrowed in realization, then shifted back to Ortoren. "Still, she's one of the most infamous pirates in the New World. If she values you that much, why reject her?"

"I don't want to be a pirate. My father didn't want me to follow his path either. Does that reason work for you?" Ortoren answered calmly.

In truth, his old man had never said anything like that—if anything, he'd hoped Ortoren would carry on the family trade. But there was no way to verify that now, and it made for a stronger case.

"I see..." Garp crossed his arms, looking troubled and conflicted.

After a moment, he asked, "How do you feel about Charlotte Linlin? Do you hate her for abandoning you?"

"Not really." Ortoren shook his head without hesitation. "I've only met her twice. Before that, even though I knew she was my biological mother, I didn't feel anything—she was just a stranger. But both times we met, she treated me well. Helped with my illness, gave me the Goro Goro no Mi... So if I'm being honest, I've got a fairly decent impression of her, all things considered."

"You know, you could easily make up a bunch of sweet-sounding lies to fool an old guy like me on things nobody can verify," Garp muttered, rolling his eyes.

"There's no need for that. I'd rather be upfront." Ortoren let out a faint sigh. "Honestly... I do want to join the Marines. So to avoid any trouble later on, it's best I lay everything out clearly now. Saves everyone the hassle down the road."

"You actually want to join the Marines?" Garp looked genuinely surprised. "With your background, I thought all that was just to throw me off. And yet… this is what you want?"

Ortoren narrowed his eyes slightly, voice lowering.

"So, you—Marine hero—are you a believer in bloodlines too? That the noble are born noble, and the children of pirates can only grow up to be pirates?"

That hit Garp hard. He froze.

For a long moment, he said nothing. But slowly, the hesitation faded from his face. His expression turned resolute.

"No," Garp said firmly. "I believe that good and evil, nobility and disgrace… those aren't things you're born with. They're choices each person makes for themselves."