November 30, 1498, Age of the Sea Circle
"Your sister-in-law?" said Hanafuda, surprised by Orion's words, then smiled in a rather strange way and added,
"So you're married to one of Big Mom's daughters? Is it one of those two?"
Hanafuda pointed toward Mash and Cornstarch, who were standing in the distance. Orion turned around to look at the two "robust" women far away, and his lips twitched slightly.
"No… it's not one of them," Orion replied, trying to keep his composure. It wasn't that he wanted to discriminate against them for their looks, but they simply didn't match his tastes.
"Oh? And can you tell me who it is? Not that I mean to interrogate you, but I don't recall hearing that any of Big Mom's daughters had a husband like you," Hanafuda said, narrowing his eyes at him.
He suspected Orion was just making things up as an excuse to intervene in the fight, though he wasn't sure why. He certainly didn't believe that Orion was truly Big Mom's son-in-law.
"Oh, you probably don't know her. Her name is Galette," Orion answered.
Hanafuda's face once again showed an expression of surprise, and he finally lowered his scythe.
"Galette? Isn't she… a little girl?" asked the Shichibukai, bewildered.
He knew the names of Big Mom's daughters—after all, as a Warlord, he was well informed about the most powerful factions in the world, and Big Mom was certainly among the top. What he hadn't expected was for Orion to mention the name of a girl under ten!
"Ahem… she's my fiancée," Orion answered after clearing his throat, feeling rather uncomfortable under the Warlord's stare.
Hanafuda's gaze shifted from curiosity to sheer ferocity in an instant, and with bloodlust radiating from him, he said in a grave tone:
"So… you're the kind of man who can form an engagement with a little girl. Don't even think about making a move on my beloved daughter too, or I'll castrate you right here and now!"
Dark lines formed on Orion's forehead, and inwardly he couldn't help but curse Hanafuda and his twisted line of thought.
No matter how obsessed this stupid Warlord was with his infant daughter, Orion had nothing to do with it! And yet Hanafuda kept insisting on accusing him of wanting to seduce her—even though, according to Orion's information, she wasn't even a year old!
"I'm not interested in your daughter at all!" Orion said through gritted teeth, but that answer only enraged Hanafuda even more.
"You bastard! Are you saying my daughter isn't good enough for you?!"
Hanafuda swung his scythe again, forcing Orion to use Soru and dodge the devastating strike by a hair's breadth.
"Fuck! This damn Shichibukai is insane!" Orion thought indignantly.
"Hey, let me go!" shouted Mozart, who was still in Orion's arms after he had helped her moments earlier.
Orion released the girl and told her sternly,
"Fall back, I'll deal with Hanafuda."
Mozart felt Orion was underestimating her, and she didn't like being ordered around by some nobody, so she was about to erupt with all kinds of profanities. But before she could, Mash called out to her from the distance.
"Mozart! Hurry, we have to leave right now!"
Mozart gave Orion one last indignant look, then dashed away at full speed.
"Give my regards to Galette and Poire. My name is Orion, remember it," Orion said without looking back at Mozart, who was running toward Big Mom's fleet ship.
At the sound of the name "Orion", Mozart's steps faltered for a moment, but then she recalled her sister Mash's urgent words and kept running at full speed. Still, she now knew who that strange man was—the one who had suddenly appeared to help her, and had even dared to order her around as if she were his subordinate.
He was none other than the infamous fiancé of Galette, the man her mother absolutely disapproved of, and had sworn to tear apart with her own hands if she ever laid eyes on him.
Hanafuda saw Mozart fleeing, and his attention shifted away from Orion—the scoundrel trying to seduce his young daughter—back to Big Mom's child, whom he couldn't allow to escape without teaching her a lesson.
He raised his scythe, channeling his Armament Haki, ready to unleash an attack Orion couldn't possibly block, one that would surely leave Mozart gravely wounded.
"Hanafuda, wait a moment! If you insist on attacking her, you won't be able to claim this Devil Fruit," Orion said, raising the Mythical Devil Fruit above his head.
Hanafuda froze instantly and checked his robes for the Devil Fruit he had stored there. To his shock, it had completely vanished!
"How did you do it?" Hanafuda asked seriously, staring at the Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit, Pegasus model, now in Orion's hand.
"Does it really matter? The point is, the Devil Fruit is in my possession now. If you insist on attacking my sisters-in-law, I'll take it and leave immediately. So decide—what's more important?" Orion replied coolly.
Hanafuda remained silent for a moment, and seeing that the Charlotte siblings were already sailing away at full speed in the distance, he finally sighed in resignation and put away his scythe.
"Fine, brat, we'll do it your way—but only because I like you and don't want to kill you before you've fully matured so we can fight again. Otherwise, I'd have eliminated you without a second thought for daring to threaten me like that," said the Warlord seriously.
Orion flashed a broad grin and approached Hanafuda in a friendly manner.
"Come on, come on, don't be so grumpy. I can't just let you hurt my fiancée's siblings right in front of me. How would I face her next time if I did? Put yourself in my shoes," Orion complained with a shrug.
He had taken a gamble by showing up in front of Hanafuda. In truth, he hadn't wanted to intervene at all—he had been watching the conflict between both sides with great interest after finishing helping the townsfolk.
Orion could tell at a glance that Hanafuda wasn't fighting seriously, and he didn't think the Charlottes needed his help. However, when the four siblings decided to retreat and Hanafuda attacked in earnest, Orion had no choice but to step in to protect his sister-in-law.
He was betting that Hanafuda wouldn't be angry enough to cause a major conflict. From their previous contact, Orion felt he had a fairly accurate grasp of the kind of person the Warlord was, and that was why he took the risk of intervening, thinking it wouldn't lead to bigger problems.
In the end, his gamble had paid off, and he had managed to help the Charlottes escape, thereby earning himself another favor. In the future, when he stood before Big Mom, he would at least have several points in his favor. No matter how unreasonable the legendary pirate might be, if he showed up with several tricks up his sleeve, and perhaps with an extra gift, Orion hoped to establish a relationship friendly enough that he wouldn't be forced into a life-or-death battle against her.
Not because he feared her, but simply because he didn't want to put Galette at odds with her mother, knowing how much she valued her. Orion was certain that given enough time to train, he could reach Charlotte Linlin's level of power and even surpass it, so he had no fear whatsoever.
On this occasion, not only had he saved the four Charlotte siblings, but he had also sacrificed a Mythical Devil Fruit to do it—something he could definitely add to the ledger of favors owed by Big Mom, and something she would have to at least acknowledge in the future when he finally sought her out.
Hanafuda walked up to Orion and simply took the Devil Fruit from his hand, tucking it back into his clothes. Then, he looked around and stretched lazily. After a bit of exercise over the last few days, he felt refreshed, and now he could continue his journey toward Wano in good spirits, having secured a Mythical Devil Fruit.
"Well, it's time for me to leave. Unless you want a new sparring match," Hanafuda said with a provocative smile, but Orion simply ignored him.
Shaking his head lightly, Orion said,
"It's better not to stay here. Don't you find it strange that the Charlottes suddenly retreated? A powerful enemy is approaching."
Orion knew of Akainu's presence nearby, because his name had appeared on the system's map, and the marker indicating his location was glowing red!
The last time the system had warned him about the danger of a Named Character had been when he encountered the strange Vasco Shot, whose powers were incredibly troublesome to deal with. Now, once again, it indicated imminent danger—so Orion had no intention of staying here and risking a clash with the maniacal Vice Admiral and his lava fists.
However, sometimes the things one least desired were the ones that happened most. Before Hanafuda could even ask who the enemy Orion was referring to was, a massive wave of magma rained down from the sky onto Big Mom's fleet, sinking two ships almost instantly.
Orion's Prism Eyes activated, and his vision zoomed in as though he were using a camera. He saw a stern-faced man with half his body transformed into blazing lava, tearing through the ships in the distance. Luckily, the four Charlotte siblings were aboard a different vessel and had narrowly escaped the Marine's attack.
"Fuck! Akainu? That guy's no fun," said Hanafuda, showing none of his usual eagerness to fight.
At the moment, his weapon was damaged, and he couldn't use his full power, so he didn't even consider the idea of battling the Vice Admiral.
Even if he had been at full strength, he wouldn't have wanted to fight Akainu—he had done so before, and it had been a headache rather than any kind of enjoyment.
"Are you sure you don't want to fight him? He looks pretty strong," Orion said with a smile, trying to provoke a conflict so he could slip away unnoticed.
"Not at all. His Devil Fruit is way too bothersome—I prefer close-quarters combat. Logia Devil Fruit users are usually no fun," replied the Warlord, waving his hand dismissively with no interest in fighting.
"Well, then I guess this is goodbye," Orion said, opening a door in the air.
Hanafuda glanced at the distant conflict that was unfolding and walked off in the opposite direction.
Meanwhile, Orion made no attempt to help the Charlotte siblings, since he didn't think it was necessary—and even if it were, he probably couldn't do much anyway.
Unfortunately, something unexpected happened again. Akainu, who had been attacking Big Mom's ships, suddenly appeared on the island's shore and charged straight toward Orion.
"Fugitive from Guanhao, traitor of Cipher Pol—Orion. It's time to face justice!" declared the Vice Admiral upon seeing Orion opening a door in the air, exactly as described in the confidential information he had received about him.
This was a dangerous fugitive, and in Akainu's eyes, his importance far outweighed that of Big Mom's children, who were nothing but trash.
Orion immediately stepped into the Pocket Dimension, closing the door behind him just before the lava came crashing down on him.
From within the Pocket Dimension, he could see through the membrane as Akainu used his magma to carve a massive crater into the ground. The power of his Devil Fruit was truly terrifying.
Orion breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he was safe within the parallel dimension—but Akainu didn't leave. Instead, he was scanning the area as if trying to locate Orion. Then, to Orion's shock, and to the shock of everyone else inside the Pocket Dimension, Akainu slammed his fist into the air—and the dimension's membrane began to tremble faintly, showing tiny cracks!
Orion's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately made a decision. After his experience with Moria, he knew his Pocket Dimension wasn't infallible—the only reason he hadn't had issues before was that his enemies' levels hadn't been high enough.
That was why he couldn't risk holing up in the parallel dimension and waiting to see what happened.
If Akainu somehow managed to break through into the Pocket Dimension, everyone inside would be in danger.
Orion walked up to Hina and gave her an embrace, taking the young Marine completely by surprise.
"O-Orion, what are you doing?" Hina asked timidly.
"Hina, this is goodbye. It's been a pleasure traveling with you, and I hope we meet again someday. And if you ever want to leave the Marines and join my kingdom, you'll always be welcome!" Orion replied with a radiant smile that only confused her even more.
She couldn't understand why he was suddenly saying farewell, but Orion's next actions made everything clear.
His gentle expression vanished, replaced by a cold look in his eyes. He placed his cutlass against Hina's neck and stepped out of the Pocket Dimension before Akainu could continue his powerful strikes that threatened to shatter the membrane between the two worlds.
The Vice Admiral looked at Orion with contempt—he had come out of his hiding place like a rat, now standing before him once more. Then Akainu's attention shifted to the girl Orion was holding, and the cutlass pressed against her throat.
"What exactly do you think you're doing?"
Orion began to use his acting skills again, putting on what he believed was the perfect villain's expression. Then, with arrogant bravado, he said,
"What's the World Government's dog doing here?"
Akainu's expression grew darker, but he remained calm.
"What exactly do you think you're doing?" the Vice Admiral repeated, completely ignoring Orion's provocative words.
"What am I doing? Are you blind? This girl is my hostage! I took her as a precaution along the way, but I didn't expect to have to use her this soon."
Akainu raised his eyebrows, as if he couldn't quite process Orion's words, but said nothing. Orion, however, continued with his monologue.
"This is an elite recruit, summoned by Marineford Headquarters to be trained in a special unit! Don't you think it'd be a shame if she died here? If you don't want anything to happen to her, you'd better cooperate with me! I want you to let me leave. I want 100 million Berries, and I want a shi—"
A massive wave of lava fell onto Orion, cutting off his words. Using Soru and Geppo, he barely managed to escape, landing at a distance.
Staring at Akainu in shock, he shouted in panic,
"Didn't you hear me? I'll kill this girl if you don't let me escape!"
Orion's sword left a cut on Hina's neck, while she still struggled to comprehend how the situation had escalated this way.
Akainu simply stepped forward, the ground burning beneath his magma, and spoke with no emotion whatsoever—
"If she has to die in order to capture a dangerous criminal, then she can be proud of having contributed to justice!"
Then, without caring in the slightest for Hina's life, Akainu hurled a magma punch at Orion.
"Fuck! Damn lunatic!" Orion shouted, pushing Hina aside and stepping forward with his Kairoseki gloves.
"Rokuogan!"
The impact between the Rokuogan and the wave of magma was tremendous, causing a huge explosion that shook the surroundings.
Akainu narrowed his eyes and spread out his Observation Haki to locate his enemy's position, but found he could only sense Hina in the area. Irritated, he pushed his Observation Haki to the maximum, hoping to once again detect the existence of that strange parallel space Orion had been hiding in earlier.
This time, however—to his surprise—he sensed nothing. It was as if Orion had truly vanished from the face of the earth.
A group of Marines came rushing toward Akainu's position, and the captain in charge saluted the famous Vice Admiral with nervous solemnity.
Akainu simply nodded and pointed at Hina, who was still there, her neck bleeding slightly from the shallow cut Orion had left, wearing a dazed expression.
"Detain and interrogate that girl. She might be an accomplice of an important criminal," Akainu ordered impatiently.
Hina's sudden appearance alongside Orion was undeniably suspicious, and he didn't buy the kidnapping story—even if technically it was the truth. Just to be sure, it was best to interrogate her thoroughly. If she were innocent, then she would have suffered for the sake of justice, which was perfectly justified. But if she were guilty of conspiring with a criminal… only death or Impel Down awaited her.
The Marine captain answered affirmatively, giving a formal salute, while Akainu transformed his body into magma and began striding across the sea, creating a path of solidified lava. If he couldn't capture Orion, then at least he had to go after Big Mom's children!
Meanwhile, deep beneath the earth, inside the Pocket Dimension, Orion let out a relieved sigh as Akainu's marker was moving away.
The only way he had managed to survive his encounter with the Vice Admiral was by combining the Pocket Dimension with Nibble's burrowing ability.
Thanks to his little companion, he had managed to escape Akainu's Haki range, evading the relentless Marine.
Now, all he had to do was wait until the Vice Admiral was completely gone from the area, and then he could resume his journey home without further trouble.
Olive came up behind Orion and hugged him, making him suck in a sharp breath of pain. His body suffered damage every time he used Rokuogan, which was why he reserved this powerful technique only for emergencies—like this one.
Even a simple embrace from his beautiful concubine could cause him great pain, due to his torn muscles.
Olive noticed his condition and immediately let go, looking at him with concern.
"Darling, are you okay?" she asked, resting her palm against Orion's cheek.
"Yes, I just need to rest a little," Orion said, forcing a smile with some difficulty.
"It's a shame we won't be seeing Hina again. I was just starting to get used to her strange way of speaking," Olive sighed.
"There's nothing to be done. This was the best time for her to return to the Marines—after all, we'll be entering the Calm Belt soon. Our paths would have split anyway, so it's good I gave her a cover story for her absence. Technically, I kidnapped her in the West Blue, so this simply marks the end of her time as a hostage," Orion said, recalling the time he had spent with Hina on their journey.
What he didn't know was that Hina had been deeply undecided about continuing with the Marines, and if Orion had pushed just a little harder, he might have successfully recruited her. Now, however, she was on her way to Marineford, where she would become a pillar of the Marines in the future.
Perhaps the next time they met, they would have to face each other as enemies—though Orion hoped that would not be the case. Judging from the girl's favorability toward him, he knew she didn't see him as an enemy. Orion even planned to try recruiting her in the future, once she saw firsthand the activities of the Marines at Headquarters.
After all, the Celestial Dragons didn't venture much into the Four Blues, but in the Grand Line it was inevitable for Marines to have contact with them—especially in Marineford.
"Well, don't worry too much. Look, I have a surprise for you," Orion said, changing the subject as he pulled a Devil Fruit from his inventory.
Olive's eyes widened in shock at the sight of the Devil Fruit, and she let out a small scream.
"Ah! Th-That's… the Mythical Zoan Fruit, Pegasus model?!"
...
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