The chaos on the battlefield gradually settled. Faced with the overwhelming momentum of the Navy, the Whitebeard Pirates—having lost their spiritual leader—were reduced to something like stray dogs, fleeing in disgrace.
Admiral Sakazuki had truly gotten his fill of killing this time. During the pursuit, many marines witnessed a side of the Admiral so terrifying it left a lasting impression.
He would charge straight into the collapsing pirate ranks with savage ferocity, letting out a villainous, rasping cackle before unleashing torrents of magma. With brutal force, he would blow apart a skull with a single punch, or tear a heart straight out with one claw. He looked every bit like a demon incarnate.
It was so frightening that many marines didn't even dare get close to Sakazuki.
At the same time, to prevent Sakazuki's extreme brutality from damaging the Navy's image of justice, the Navy officially declared victory as soon as the pursuit began and cut off the live Den Den Mushi broadcast.
Joking aside, if Sakazuki's merciless slaughter were aired, it would absolutely have a negative impact on the Marines' overall public image.
Of course, that kind of impact would cut both ways. Some people would find it abhorrent, but others would undoubtedly be exhilarated by it, swearing absolute loyalty to Sakazuki.
No matter which way it went, none of that was what Ortoren wanted. Shutting down the broadcast Den Den Mushi was simply the best option.
On the execution platform, Ortoren dropped himself onto the edge beside Tokikake. Looking out over the battlefield as the situation became clearer by the second, he spoke calmly.
"Looks like… we've won."
"Yeah," Tokikake replied, also watching the battlefield with a sigh of emotion. "In our original proposals, even if Whitebeard had been defeated by you, the Whitebeard Weevil shouldn't have collapsed this completely. But who would've thought you'd crush Whitebeard so thoroughly, shattering their will in one blow…"
He wasn't wrong. During the planning phase, the pursuit had been designed with several layers and contingencies in mind. Yet Ortoren had defeated Whitebeard in such an overwhelming fashion that the Whitebeard Weevil had simply fallen apart on the spot.
With things turning out like this, most of the earlier tactics were pointless now. There was no need for finesse—just charge straight through.
After observing the battlefield from above for a moment, Ortoren suddenly snatched the Den Den Mushi from Tokikake's hand. He opened an internal channel and roared into it.
"Hurry up! Send some people to pin Sakazuki down! Damn it, haven't I already said this? Do your best to capture them alive! Anyone burned to ashes by Sakazuki is completely useless!"
What, did he think you could power zombies with a pile of cinders?
This time, the Whitebeard Weevil had assembled over fifty thousand pirates—nearly sixty thousand—for the war. Although the initial positional battles were bloody and vicious, the overall conflict didn't last very long, just a little over half a day.
As a result, there were still plenty of pirates alive. No matter how you looked at it, there had to be more than forty thousand left.
And what were those, exactly?
To Ortoren, they were nothing but pure labor. No wages required. Just ship them straight to the Calm Belt, and they'd generate a steady stream of production value.
How could he possibly let that bastard Sakazuki slaughter all these lovely pirates?
Sakazuki could kill a pirate in less than a second, sure—but a healthy pirate turned into labor could serve Ortoren for at least ten years.
And that was assuming they died early.
Even after death, they could still continue creating surplus value.
So, just as Sakazuki was laughing maniacally while cutting down pirates, Isshō and Momonga suddenly stopped their pursuit. Instead, they surrounded Sakazuki, leaving him utterly confused.
Hey, wait a second.
I'm a Navy Admiral, you know?
You're actually stopping me from killing pirates? Is that even reasonable?
"Mr. Sakazuki, stop killing them. These people are money!"
"Admiral Sakazuki, if you kill them, they're dead in an instant. That's letting them off easy. Capture them instead and send them off as slaves. They can continuously create value for our Navy!"
Seeing that Sakazuki's slaughter had finally been brought under control, Ortoren let out a sigh of relief and stopped paying attention to the battlefield.
Tokikake glanced at the row of prisoners kneeling and waiting for execution and asked,
"The livestream's already been cut. Should we still carry out the executions, or send them all to the Calm Belt to work the mines?"
Ortoren looked over at Inuarashi and Nekomamushi, both fellow Minks. At this moment, the two of them were utterly hollow, their spirits completely crushed. As retainers, they had failed to protect their lord and had even watched him die here. Their faith was gone.
After a brief silence, Ortoren waved his hand.
"Forget it. Send them all to the Calm Belt to mine. Killing them with one stroke would be letting them off cheap. Oh, right. Leave that one called Momonosuke behind. Later, get in touch with Ivankov from the Revolutionary Army. Turn that brat into a woman and send him to the Calm Belt as a reward for the pirate slaves who perform well."
Tokikake froze.
Wait… Admiral, isn't that a bit too brutal?
"What exactly did this Momonosuke do to piss you off?" Tokikake asked, genuinely confused.
Ortoren replied with undisguised disgust,
"I just don't like him. He makes me sick."
Seeing the revulsion written all over Ortoren's face, Tokikake didn't ask any further questions. He waved his hand, and the former executioners immediately escorted the prisoners away.
With Kuzan sealing off the pirates' escape routes with ice, this battle had effectively turned into a full-scale hunt.
Aside from a small number of pirates who weren't Devil Fruit users and managed to smash through the ice and jump into the sea to escape, the vast majority of the Whitebeard Pirates were trapped on the battlefield.
As their officers, division captains, and independent captains were taken out one by one by top-tier Navy forces like Sakazuki, Kuzan, and Isshō, the Whitebeard Pirates as a whole finally entered a state of surrender.
By the time night fell, the war had come to an end.
That said, the night ahead was destined to be a busy one.
Large numbers of marines were tasked with counting prisoners, shackling them, and transporting them in batches into the holding cells aboard warships.
At the same time, the medical units brought in by logistics were operating at full capacity, rapidly treating injured marines from the battlefield.
Those responsible for cleaning up the battlefield retrieved the bodies of fallen marines one by one. Proper procedures would follow, with compensation paid where due and everything handled according to protocol.
As for the pirates of the Whitebeard Pirates who had died in battle…
To prevent the volcanic island's heat from causing the corpses to rot and spread disease, Kuzan had frozen them all.
This also happened to help Doflamingo. He had already begun contacting organ-trafficking groups in the underworld, planning to harvest any usable organs from these bastard pirates for future medical needs.
It was said that in recent years, thanks to Doflamingo, the price of organ transplants on the market had dropped significantly, allowing many patients who previously couldn't afford them to benefit. Whether that counted as committing sins or doing good deeds was anyone's guess.
After the organs were removed, the bodies were frozen again and shipped in batches to Hachinosu to further expand Moria's zombie labor force.
Pirate corpses that were too badly damaged to be of any use were incinerated on the spot. The ashes would be processed into fertilizer and transported to the Calm Belt for farming.
In short, whether alive or dead, these pirates were going to contribute their value.
All to help create a better future for this world, as repayment for their past crimes.
Late at night, Ortoren stepped out of a medical tent, his expression noticeably more relaxed.
Yamakaji's injuries had stabilized, and his life was no longer in danger.
Just then, Gion and Hina walked in side by side from outside the camp. Seeing Ortoren, they both shook their heads.
"We didn't find that guy named Teach. He probably escaped during the chaos. Also, the Whitebeard Pirates' Fourth Division Captain Thatch and Eighth Division Fishman Captain Namur are missing as well. They likely escaped too…"
Ortoren nodded.
"Forget it. If we didn't catch them, so be it. They're just remnants. They won't be able to cause any real trouble. What about the rest of the officers and captains?"
Even Teach didn't register as a threat to Ortoren. His current strength spoke for itself. Even if Teach hadn't eaten the Yami Yami no Mi, Ortoren could still beat him until he spat blood.
If he couldn't, then that just meant Teach had an unusually clean digestive system.
"Most of them were captured alive. No major issues," Gion said, then raised an object in her hand. "But take a look at this."
Ortoren focused his gaze.
A Devil Fruit?
"What ability?" Ortoren asked.
Hina spoke up excitedly,
"It's a Mythical Zoan, the Phoenix. Marco's ability from the Second Division!"
"Marco is dead?" Ortoren asked in surprise.
"Yes. During the final pursuit, Sakazuki and Isshō teamed up and killed him. He refused to surrender. As for this Devil Fruit, I was about to bring you some fruit earlier and found it by accident in the basket. Hina immediately checked it against the Devil Fruit records. Turns out, it really is Marco's ability," Gion said with a sigh.
Ortoren froze for a moment, then immediately gave an order.
"Quick. Have people inspect all the fruit in our camp and on the warships. Look for any Devil Fruits that might have transformed. Check whether Whitebeard's Gura Gura no Mi has fallen into our hands."
If Gion hadn't discovered the Phoenix ability, Ortoren would have nearly forgotten that there could be unexpected gains like this.
...
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