November 10, 1498, Age of the Sea Circle
*Ding*
*You have positively influenced the Named Character Sharinguru, changing his future. You have obtained 3,500 SP.*
Orion glanced at the notification that had just appeared on his system screen and let out a relieved sigh. Finally, after two days of treatment, the shamans of this island had managed to eradicate the curse afflicting the young blacksmith's parents, saving their lives and altering the future of this Named Character.
Orion noticed the small "(+)" sign at the end of the notification, and when he focused his mind on it, the message expanded slightly, giving him extra details about the nature of the changes that had occurred in Sharinguru's life thanks to his intervention.
According to the system's description, in the original timeline, Sharinguru's parents would have died from the curse almost immediately. This would have triggered a dramatic change in the boy, as he would not only have lost the opportunity to inherit his father's blacksmithing knowledge, but would also have developed a deep hatred toward Hanafuda and, by extension, pirates in general—ultimately leading him to join the ranks of the Marines.
Orion's actions had prevented the death of his parents, and with it, the death of his dream to become the greatest blacksmith. At the same time, they had also deprived the Marines of a potentially powerful warrior.
Every time Orion witnessed these kinds of changes as a result of his actions, he felt a deep satisfaction, convinced that everything he was doing was truly leaving a mark on this magical world—and that even small deeds could lead to great changes in the future.
"Orion, thank you so much for saving my parents! As I promised, I'm ready to follow you back to your kingdom and become your subordinate!" said young Sharinguru with solemnity, though his voice carried joy and the relief of knowing his parents were safe.
Orion placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head slightly.
"I appreciate your good intentions, but I think the best thing for you would be to stay here for now," Orion replied calmly.
Sharinguru looked at him in surprise, not expecting Orion to turn down his offer to follow him back to his kingdom.
Seeing his startled expression, Orion smiled faintly and said:
"Don't get me wrong—it's not that I'm refusing to take you as my subordinate. I just believe the best thing for you right now is to remain in your hometown and perfect your blacksmithing skills."
This was something Orion had been considering during the past two days. He had analyzed Sharinguru's talent with an 'Insight Card' and discovered that the young man had an extraordinary gift for blacksmithing. It would be a waste not to let that talent flourish.
Sharinguru also had considerable combat ability, but not enough to earn a place among Orion's main subordinates. If not for the presence of his Devil Fruit, Orion would not have considered him a warrior worthy of the core group—and even with his magical powers, he was just barely on the edge of qualifying.
That was why Orion's plan for Sharinguru focused far more on developing his skills as a blacksmith. And for that, there was no better place than the city of blacksmiths, Poober Cedy. There, he could inherit the craft from his father, refine his technique, and when he was ready, it wouldn't be too late to officially join Orion's kingdom.
After all, Pacific Kingdom was still in its early stages of development and had no means to provide Sharinguru with the resources he needed to grow as a craftsman. In a way, it was similar to the situation between Vegapunk and the Revolutionary Army.
Dragon had told Orion that he had once tried to recruit the famous scientist, but Vegapunk had turned him down, saying they lacked the resources to fund his research and that joining the revolutionaries would only waste his talents.
In the same way, Sharinguru would gain far more by staying in his hometown for the time being. That was why Orion was now refusing to take him back to the South Blue.
There was another reason as well—Orion wanted Sharinguru to create a faction within Poober Cedy and eventually take control of the city, as well as the surrounding towns.
Of course, Orion was not planning to install a tyrannical government by force; his plan was far more ambitious. He wanted Sharinguru to rise as a distinguished figure and, with the backing of the Revolutionary Army, persuade the island's population to abandon the World Government's control and join the opposing side—more specifically, Pacific Kingdom.
This was a plan that would take years—decades, even—but Orion believed it was achievable. His confidence came from knowing that the people of the underground cities, like so many other civilizations, did not feel any real loyalty toward the World Government. They had simply been forced to work for them to avoid annihilation. It was fear that kept them in their current situation, and Orion wanted to change that from within, no matter how long it might take.
At present, it was impossible for Orion to recruit the people of the underground cities. They would not follow him, nor did they have any intention of rebelling against the World Government. That was why he needed someone who could lead them toward the revolution that would break the status quo, and Orion believed Sharinguru was the perfect candidate for that role.
With the young man's talent, he could undoubtedly become a famous and respected figure in the underground cities in the future, someone capable of guiding them toward revolution—with Orion's help and forces, which by then should be developed enough to carry out large-scale operations, such as liberating an entire country.
Orion had already discussed this with Dragon, and although there were still details to iron out, they had reached an agreement and begun laying the groundwork for this long-term plan. At the same time, Dragon told him he had begun similar preparations in other kingdoms around the world, ready to seize any opportunity to act in the future.
"Let me explain it to you in detail," Orion said, and began telling Sharinguru about his future plans and the great expectations he was placing on him.
…
November 11, 1498, Age of the Sea Circle
Another day passed in the blink of an eye, and at last, the people Orion had been eagerly waiting for arrived at Moai Island.
"Orion boy! Did you miss me? Heeeee-haw!" said Ivankov, who was currently in her female form and, for some reason, had enlarged her face dramatically.
"Iva, you finally made it. I was starting to get impatient," Orion said with a smile.
He wasn't lying. Ivankov had taken three days to reach Moai, and during that time Orion had been worried that the slavers who had escaped might return with reinforcements to try to capture the natives of this island once again.
"Oh? Could it be that you've finally succumbed to my charms? Ohhh! It's so hard to be so desired by everyone!" Ivankov began spinning like a ballerina, one hand pressed dramatically to her forehead, and even fake tears glimmered in her eyes, as if she were truly burdened by the stigma of being too desirable.
Orion's lips twitched slightly, and he had to make an effort not to get swept into the fictional world of the revolutionary leader, who clearly had a very vivid imagination.
"Iva, there's no time to waste. We need to act before the enemies return, or we'll have much bigger problems," Orion said, trying to bring the conversation back to the main issue.
"Of course, Orion boy! I've already spoken with Dragon, and I'm ready to follow your orders! I'm clay in your hands—do with me whatever you wish!" Ivankov said without stopping her spin, batting her enormous eyelashes coquettishly.
Orion's eyebrows twitched, and he took an involuntary step back. Even so, he managed to maintain his usual expression and got down to business. He called over the leaders of the Moai natives and introduced them to Ivankov and her men. Then he explained the situation to them once more, confirming their intentions for the final time.
He had already spoken to them about this beforehand, warning that they could not remain on the island because there was a target on their backs. The Celestial Dragons had marked them, and they would not rest until they either captured them or destroyed them in the process.
Their only option was to evacuate, leaving their homeland behind. Orion had thought it would be difficult to convince them to abandon their land, but to his surprise, the Moai natives had immediately accepted his words without question.
Orion didn't know it, but after he had helped them repel the slavers, the shamans had made further predictions, telling them they had to leave if they wanted to avoid tragedy. Orion's words had merely reinforced their conviction—and convinced them that he truly intended to help them. As a result, they were quite cooperative in following his directives, which made the situation far easier to handle.
The plan was for the natives to evacuate under the protection of the Revolutionary Army. They would leave with Ivankov and be hidden from the World Government in a secret location. In the future, when Orion could once again use his Space Gate, he would come to retrieve them and transfer them to the Pacific Kingdom.
For now, traveling from here to the South Blue was extremely problematic—mainly due to the large number of people to transport and the enormous distance to cover. That was why Orion had chosen not to take them with him on his journey back home.
However, not all the Moai natives would be leaving with Ivankov. Orion had specifically requested that Gab follow him back to his kingdom, because his potential was simply too great to pass up now that he had found him—and the timid young man had accepted Orion's offer.
In addition, Gab's shaman master would also accompany them, to continue instructing him in shamanic arts. Lastly, the young woman Hada had stepped forward and asked to join them, her cheeks flushed red.
Apparently, after surviving the slavers' attack, the young woman had confessed her long-hidden love to Gab, who, in turn, acted with more courage than he had ever shown in his life and told her he loved her too.
Overjoyed, they had consummated their relationship, becoming an official couple, and Orion obviously had no intention of separating them by force. Thus, he accepted Hada's request to join the group returning with him to the South Blue.
Off the coast of Moai Island, three large galleons lay anchored, awaiting the order from their leader Ivankov to set sail. Meanwhile, the extravagant Drag Queen gave Orion a tight hug.
"Orion boy, this is goodbye! I hope to see you soon in the Grand Line. I know full well you'll miss me and come looking for me!" said Ivankov, squeezing Orion so hard that he had no choice but to undo his "Age Change" ability to break free from the revolutionary's grip.
"I'll definitely miss you, Iva!" Orion said in his natural form, his face that of an innocent child—but before Ivankov could get too happy over his words, Orion followed up with a classic line:
"Or not!"
Then, he leapt away using Geppo, pulled a sailboat from his inventory, and began to sail off without looking back.
"Hahaha! You're learning how it's done, Orion boy!" Ivankov called out with a big smile, waving as he watched Orion sail away.
"Send my regards to Ginny!" Ivankov shouted with his booming voice, and Orion raised a hand in farewell until the distance grew enough for the revolutionaries' ships to vanish from sight.
Orion checked the system's map and adjusted his course toward the island of the underground cities. After dropping off Sharinguru and his parents there, he would resume his journey home, though he would have to make a brief stop along the way to drop Hina off at a nearby Marine base.
Orion was about to close the system screen and focus on navigating when a new notification suddenly popped up.
*Ding*
*You have changed the future of the Named Character Gab. You have gained 5,100 SP.*
Orion raised his eyebrows in surprise for a moment, then immediately smiled with joy. The appearance of this notification meant that Gab was now without a doubt safe from being captured by the slavers, since he was traveling inside Orion's Pocket Dimension.
This time, however, the system didn't offer any extra information like it had when he changed Sharinguru's future. Orion wasn't entirely sure why there was this distinction between the two characters, but he suspected it might have something to do with each of their particular futures.
What he didn't know was that his actions had just caused the future Yonko, Red-Haired Shanks, to lose a second member of his crew to Orion—whose deeds had far greater repercussions in the world than he realized.
"Mmm, I've saved up quite a lot of SP," Orion murmured, looking at the massive total in his SP reserves.
*SP: 64,319*
It was indeed a huge amount, considering the pace at which he usually earned SP; however, in practice, it wasn't as impressive as it looked. If he tried to use that much SP to improve his main combat skills—such as Observation Haki or Swordsmanship—it still wouldn't be enough to raise them very much.
Especially his Conqueror's Haki, which required 50,000 points just to reach Level 1, the most basic level of all.
The reason Orion was saving his SP wasn't mainly to improve his abilities, but just in case another situation like the tragedy of Ohara happened again. On that occasion, the system had offered him the chance to take part in the historic event, but he couldn't because he lacked the SP needed to transport himself there.
Orion feared that another similar historical event could occur, and that he might miss the chance to intervene again because of insufficient SP. That's why he didn't spend his extra points immediately—though he wouldn't hesitate to use them if it became strictly necessary.
Shaking his head, Orion stopped thinking about such hypothetical scenarios and closed the system screen, focusing instead on sailing toward Sharinguru's homeland.
…
Meanwhile, at the Marine base closest to Orion's current location, Hound was listening intently to a report from his superior officer. He had trained for years in the South Blue, and had even gone to Pacific Town after the pirate attack that had ended with Gion and her parents leaving the town.
Even so, Orion had never had the chance to speak with him, and didn't know what kind of person this Named Character was. After Roger's death and the start of the Great Pirate Era, Hound had remained for a year at the South Blue base before being transferred to the Grand Line.
Now he was serving at this base in the first half of Paradise, though he hoped he would soon be recruited by Marineford to join a group of select, talented young people who would be trained as elite troops.
If there was one thing that worried him a bit, it was that he was currently 19 years old, and he didn't know if he could be considered for that training because of his advanced age. While it was true that he had great talent and a strong sense of justice, most of the young people recruited into this elite group were between 12 and 17 years old.
"Hound! Are you listening?!" barked the Marine captain, slightly irritated to see Hound distracted in his thoughts.
"Yes, sir!" Hound immediately replied, giving a perfect salute as he stood to attention.
"Hmph! Very well, you'll be in the strike group this time! You're dismissed," the irritated captain said, ending the meeting.
In truth, he was jealous of Hound's talent and youth, knowing that the young man would soon surpass him in rank, and there was nothing he could do about it. That was why, whenever he had the chance, he tried to make Hound's life difficult—unaware that in the future, when the young man held a higher rank than his own, these past actions could have negative consequences for him.
Hound gave an affirmative response without showing the slightest sign of dissatisfaction, and hurried off to prepare his gear. He was a serious Marine who always followed the rules. To him, the orders of his superiors were absolute, no matter how dangerous the situation might become in following them.
For example, this time they would have to face one of Big Mom's crew divisions, which was causing trouble in the area. Even knowing that being on the front lines of this confrontation could mean his death, Hound did not shy away from his responsibilities. He was a Marine—the justice of this world—and his duty was precisely to ensure that justice prevailed over evil.
Recalling the details of the mission at hand, Hound couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed. Not only was one of Big Mom's daughters present with her crew, but there was also a Shichibukai involved—and a Devil Fruit in the mix!
Conflict seemed inevitable, and his mission was to subdue Big Mom's pirates and try to aid the innocent people of the island, who were about to be caught up in a battle that had nothing to do with them.
Even so, Hound grinned energetically, thinking that no matter who their enemies were, this time they would surely triumph—after all, they would have the assistance of one of the most famous and powerful Vice Admirals in the entire Marine force!
...
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