Chapter 86: Ivankov – He’s Just a Lunatic, Why Bother Arguing with Him?
The weather was clear and bright, not a single cloud in the sky.
After venting himself the night before, Ortoren’s spirits were high, almost as if a weight had been lifted off him. He now sat on a rock amid the ruins of the forest, holding a newspaper, reading it with full attention.
“Crocodile the Desert King and the Demon Heir, Douglas Bullet, clashed fiercely on Jadenburg Island, leading to the island’s complete destruction. Casualties are estimated at nearly twenty thousand... Tch, these damn pirates are getting more and more arrogant. Doesn’t anyone rein them in anymore?” Ortoren muttered with a sigh as his eyes scanned the page.
Hearing his voice, Dragon—who sat not far away, bandaging his arm—snapped in irritation. “Don’t sit there acting like nothing happened while reading a paper! And that’s the paper our Freedom Fighters bought. Pay me the reading fee, bastard!”
As Dragon’s temper flared, Ivankov hurriedly pulled at him, trying to calm him down. “Alright, alright, don’t lose your cool. You can’t beat him. If you piss him off again, we’ll be in trouble...”
Dragon froze for a second, then his face darkened. “Can’t beat him? Iva, are you kidding me? Last night he was out of his mind. I didn’t want to take advantage of him, so I held back on purpose. You think I can’t beat him?”
Ivankov glanced at Dragon’s heavily bandaged arm, his face twitching slightly, before muttering, “Fine, fine, you’re amazing. But he’s a lunatic. Why are you even competing with a lunatic?”
Ortoren didn’t bother arguing with Dragon’s stubborn pride. Truth be told, he felt embarrassed. After all, he had gone and blown up half of Dragon’s base for no real reason, and that did weigh on his conscience.
From the side, Gion watched with amusement but added gently, “Exactly, don’t take it so hard. He’s usually decent—it was just an episode last night.”
Dragon wasn’t truly furious. He was more annoyed than anything—sitting at home one moment, only to get dragged out and beaten senseless the next. No one would take that lightly.
But seeing the embarrassed look on Ortoren’s face, he finally sighed. “Forget it, forget it. Just my bad luck.”
Short on funds already, and now half their base destroyed... Dragon couldn’t help but wonder if his streak of bad fortune had only just begun.
When Ortoren saw Dragon calming down a little, he gave an awkward smile. “Last night really was an accident. I thought this was just another deserted island. Who knew you Freedom Fighters had set up a base in such a godforsaken place?”
“Hmph!” Dragon snorted coldly. “Sorry we’re poor, and, oh yeah, an illegal organization. We can’t exactly announce to the world that this is Marine Headquarters like Marineford, can we?”
After tossing out that jab, Dragon casually asked, “So, what are you even doing here? Don’t tell me you came just to investigate us?”
There was a probing edge to his words, but Ortoren answered without hesitation. “No. We came to the South Blue to investigate a case involving scholars. Lately, there’s been a group roaming the seas searching for Poneglyphs...”
As he spoke, Ortoren noticed the subtle change in Dragon’s expression. His tone sharpened. “From what we’ve found, your Freedom Fighters seem to have had some contact with them. Do you know anything?”
“You think I’d answer that kind of question?” Dragon shot him a sidelong glance. “I’ve got nothing to say about scholars.”
“As I thought—you do know something.” Ortoren’s brow furrowed. “This is dangerous. You should understand what kind of consequences their actions could bring. If we put a stop to it now, maybe there’s still a chance to pull back. But if they actually manage to uncover something, there’ll be no room left for negotiation...”
Dragon fell silent at those words.
The truth was, while he had been fishing the day before, trying to focus his thoughts, Ortoren had suddenly realized he’d been stuck in a mental loop.
He had taken it for granted that Ohara’s fate was already sealed the moment the scholars secretly began their research into the Poneglyphs.
This line of thinking came mostly from the attitudes of the big names around him—figures like Sengoku—toward the scholars, the orders issued from Mary Geoise, and also from Ortoren’s own knowledge of how the original story unfolded.
But stepping out of that mental loop and re-examining things from the present perspective, Ortoren suddenly realized that the Ohara incident might not be as hopeless as it seemed.
Right now, the incident is only at its early stage. According to intelligence, the scholars have been investigating the Poneglyphs for barely a year, which means they probably haven’t uncovered anything too shocking yet.
In the original story, the Ohara incident broke out in the year 1500 of the Sea Circle Calendar—still about three years away.
In other words, the situation has only just begun. If the scholars were exposed now, considering Ohara’s scale and influence, as long as they hadn’t yet uncovered the World Government’s deepest secrets through the Poneglyphs, it shouldn’t warrant a total extermination, right?
Looking at it calmly, the World Government’s stance toward the scholars has always been contradictory.
In the original account, after Ohara was discovered, the Five Elders personally held a conversation with Professor Clover. Thinking about it now, that exchange probably wasn’t meant from the start to signal Ohara’s destruction.
It was more likely a probe to see just how far Ohara had gone in their research.
It was only when Professor Clover mentioned the existence of a certain Great Kingdom that the Five Elders, enraged, ordered him shot on the spot and launched the Buster Call. Before that, their tone toward him had even carried a degree of respect.
Afterward, their treatment of Nico Robin was a different story entirely. They wanted her captured alive, not executed.
That decision was most likely because the Five Elders believed Robin, being so young, was just a newly recognized scholar. She could read the Poneglyphs, but she almost certainly hadn’t been exposed to Clover and the others’ core research.
Because of that, she was allowed to “live.” The World Government clearly also wanted the ability to decipher the ancient language for themselves, so they could replicate the powerful technologies of over 800 years ago.
This conclusion isn’t only evident from Robin’s case—it’s also reflected in Dr. Vegapunk’s.
With that in mind, Ortoren reconsidered the mission and realized that as long as the scholars were handled before they reached the World Government’s core secrets, then most likely Ohara wouldn’t be wiped out. Instead, the Government might choose to recruit them—just as they did with Vegapunk—harnessing Ohara’s knowledge to study ancient scripts and put it to use for themselves.
Whether the people of Ohara would accept such recruitment was another matter.
But that wasn’t Ortoren’s concern. He could only do his part and leave the rest to fate.
Still, pursuing this path would be very advantageous for him.
First, it would fulfill Sengoku’s commission—resolving the Ohara matter without it spiraling into catastrophe. That would preserve the reputation of both the Marines and Sengoku himself, making the mission a perfect success.
Second, since the Science Division had already been established and Vegapunk was at its center, if the scholars of Ohara were forcibly recruited, they could easily become a branch of that unit. They would be integrated into the Marines’ structure, working alongside Vegapunk and complementing his research.
That would be like borrowing a chicken to lay eggs. For Ortoren’s budding vision of the future, if he ever built his own faction one day, the scientific division would be indispensable. By letting the World Government fund and staff these forced research projects now, later, when he overturned the system and emerged as a so-called “savior,” he could seize all the research results, personnel, technology, and knowledge for himself.
Wouldn’t that be perfect?
It would also give him the foundation of strategic weaponry strong enough to stand against the World Government.
After all, those ancient weapons were like nuclear arms in terms of strategy. You might not use them, but you couldn’t afford not to have them.
Author's Note
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