December 20, 1498, Age of the Sea Circle
Hina was in her cabin, reflecting on everything that had happened during her journey from the West Blue. She had been chosen as one of the most talented prodigies and invited to Marine Headquarters to receive elite training alongside a selected group of other geniuses with immense potential from every corner of the world.
This summons was something she had dreamed of for a very long time. She had eaten her Devil Fruit when she was only four years old, so her powers had become an inseparable part of who she was as a person. However, even though in this world Devil Fruit users were an accepted existence among people, that didn't mean they weren't subjected to discrimination from ordinary folk.
Hina came from a noble family in a small kingdom in the West Blue. Her father held the title of count and controlled a small territory within the kingdom, while her mother was the ninth princess of that realm.
Born under such favorable conditions, Hina's life was meant to be bright and free of complications—or at least, that had been the case until the day she ate the Devil Fruit. From the moment she gained her powers, even if they weren't as flashy as those of a Logia, the people around her began to change their attitude toward her.
Even her own parents had distanced themselves from the little girl, slightly intimidated by her strange abilities. For Hina, who was a small child and understood very little of the world, this change was abrupt and bewildering, leaving a deep impact on her developing personality.
She was naturally a serious person, and even as a child, she rarely smiled and spoke with a sophistication far beyond what a girl her age should possess, which only made the adults around her feel even more uncomfortable.
It was common to see Hina, utterly serious, using her powers to trap small animals in cages, then watching over them and caring for them with great interest. To young Hina, there was nothing unusual about her actions—she was simply enjoying her leisure time. But to her parents and the other adults around her, the scene was a little intimidating, and many wondered whether, when she grew older, she would tire of small animals and start caging humans to observe them.
The fact that Hina was always serious only worsened matters, leading people to genuinely doubt whether she might be a psychopath.
Of course, Hina never harmed the little animals; she even released them after a short while, having fed them and spoken to them for a few days. But under the prejudiced and ignorant eyes of the people, the scene was entirely different.
As the years passed, Hina began to notice the difference in how people treated her, and worried, she sought a solution with the few resources she had. Finally, one day she stumbled upon a satisfactory answer.
It happened while she was walking alone through town. A little girl walking with her parents had adorably spoken in the third person, and her parents had reacted with joy, saying how her way of speaking always filled them with tenderness.
Hina's eyes lit up, and she hurried home to try it herself. As soon as she saw her parents, with her face utterly serious and a cage full of birds in her hands, she blurted out:
"Hina found two very pretty birds today. Hina wants to show the birds to Papa and Mama."
Hina's parents felt a chill of terror upon hearing her words, thinking that their daughter had finally gone completely mad and might be capable of anything. For that reason, they forced a smile and tried to be as gentle and sweet as possible, so as not to further agitate their strange little girl.
However, in Hina's childish mind, what had just happened was entirely different. She didn't notice the fear in her parents' eyes or their forced smiles. Instead, she felt that for the first time in a long while, her parents had responded to her with kindness and shown interest in her hobbies!
From that day on, Hina began speaking in her strange manner of referring to herself in the third person—a habit that would stay with her for the rest of her life, though she would never again have much opportunity to speak with her parents.
When she turned seven, her parents sent her to the Marine base to be trained and join their ranks. In truth, they had all but severed their connection with their daughter at that moment, though Hina would not realize her parents' abandonment until many years later.
Curiously enough, in the Marines Hina seemed to find her place in the world. There, no one looked at her strangely; in fact, her existence was almost completely ignored, as though it didn't matter whether she was there or not. For her, who had grown up used to being the focus of attention everywhere she went—and in a negative way—this change felt like a breath of fresh air.
Hina, naturally serious as she was, began her training in the Marines with great zeal, and thanks to her natural talent and the powers of her Devil Fruit, she quickly became a Marine whom everyone at the base knew. Once again, she was the center of attention whenever she entered a room, but this time, it was not in a negative way. People looked at her with admiration and respect.
Young Hina became intoxicated by this new sensation of positive fame, and she threw herself into her training with even greater determination. When the day finally came for her to officially join the ranks of active Marines, those who fought pirates on a daily basis, she discovered that the work of a Marine suited her perfectly.
Not only could she capture wrongdoers with her bars and be celebrated by her comrades, but she also earned the gratitude and respect of the people she rescued in the process. It was like a rain shower washing away the painful experiences she had endured with people in the past, soothing her fragile heart.
Once Hina completed her very first mission, there was no turning back. She became completely enchanted with the life of a Marine, and dedicated herself even more to training and improving her abilities. Still, she never stopped speaking in the third person, even though there was no longer any need for it since she was now surrounded by a different kind of people.
Perhaps it was her way of not severing the connection with her parents and her past entirely.
After a couple of years, she was finally summoned personally by Headquarters, and she took the opportunity to board a ship that was departing for Impel Down to deliver Olive. Marineford was very close to the underwater prison, so her plan was simply to accompany the crew in delivering Olive, and then continue her journey to Headquarters.
However, all of her dreams had been shattered by a single person: Orion.
Orion, who had infiltrated the Marine vessel to rescue Olive, kidnapped Hina after briefly clashing with her.
Hina would never forget the feeling of loneliness and bewilderment she experienced when she awoke inside the Pocket Dimension. That feeling did not last long, however, for it was soon replaced by another vision she would never forget.
Through the membrane separating both spatial planes, Hina had watched, with both embarrassment and curiosity, the sensual first encounter between Orion and Olive, which ended with the pirate falling in defeat after a long and intense battle.
Afterward came the journey with Orion. During the first days, she remained on guard and refused to interact with him, but as time passed, her defenses began to relax unconsciously. By the time they reached Poober Cedy, the underground city, she no longer felt any rejection toward Orion. On the contrary, she even held a favorable opinion of him and feared she might have developed Stockholm syndrome!
When Orion bid her farewell in the underground city, Hina felt the impulse to follow him and beg him not to abandon her. But her rationality won out, and she ultimately refrained from uttering such embarrassing words. She was a proud Marine serving justice, and he was nothing more than a criminal allied with pirates. There was no possibility of them maintaining a friendly relationship in the future.
Yet, the situation grew complicated once again. After parting with Orion, she sought out Marines in the city to help her resume her journey to Headquarters, but the treatment she received was far from ideal. One could say they practically ignored her.
To make matters worse, the Marines she had encountered were utterly vile and repulsive, seeming more like a band of pirates than defenders of justice. Meeting such a group of Marines upon first arriving at the Grand Line deeply disappointed Hina, who had expected that here she would find only the bravest and noblest soldiers.
She was no fool—she had witnessed corruption within the Marines many times in the West Blue. However, she had hoped that things would be different with Marines from Headquarters. That was why encountering those disgraceful Marines felt not only disappointing but almost like a betrayal.
By a twist of fate, she encountered Orion once more, and without hesitation, she asked him to allow her to travel with him again… only until they found a Marine base. In truth, she simply wanted to remain by his side and learn more about him. She felt a deep curiosity toward the charismatic man who seemed to align with neither good nor evil—at least not in the classic sense of good and evil she had been taught.
As a consequence, she ended up witnessing once again the dark side of the Marines. When they arrived at an island where two pirates were fighting and had caused massive destruction to the civilians living there, Hina watched with sadness and resignation as the Marines present had no intention of helping the civilians. Instead, they were concerned with obtaining the Devil Fruit the pirates were fighting over.
In her view of justice, the Marines existed to protect the people, and that should have been their main priority given the situation on the island. That was why, when Orion began helping the islanders as though it were the most natural thing in the world to him, saving countless lives without asking for anything in return, Hina realized that this was the true ideal of justice she had been pursuing all along.
For a moment, Orion's actions resonated with her, and all her convictions and worldview began to falter, as though their fragile foundations were being corroded by his unintentional deeds.
When Akainu, the famous Marine Vice Admiral she so admired, appeared on the battlefield to capture Orion, she felt nothing but concern for Orion. She did not care in the slightest that Akainu was carrying out the will of the Marines and justice. In that instant, all she wanted was for Orion to be safe—nothing more.
She knew that Orion could not be confined within a simple definition of "good" or "evil," and that was why she could not accept the idea of him being captured by the Marines. Yet once again, Orion's actions surprised her.
Before she could react, he had taken her into his arms, pressing his sword to her throat as he staged his fake hostage act. Before leaving the Pocket Dimension, he had looked at her with a smile and given her a playful wink.
It all happened so quickly that by the time Hina regained her composure, Orion had already vanished without leaving a trace, abandoning her once more. A deep bitterness and sorrow welled up inside her, and her serious face showed a rare expression of fragility. She felt the warmth of tears gathering in her eyes, but she forced herself to hold them back and regain her composure.
What followed was a thorough examination by the Marines, and a harsh interrogation that pushed her to the very limits of her mental endurance.
Hina managed to keep her story straight: she had been kidnapped by Orion in the West Blue and had now been released. As for her private thoughts, or the admiration she had developed for him along the way, her lips never let a single word slip. After all, she was not an ordinary young woman. She had grown up under Marine training, and her mental discipline was far beyond that of a normal person.
Once the Marines confirmed she was not a traitor, Hina regained her freedom and was taken aboard one of their ships. In the following days, her journey to Marineford would begin, and at last, after many obstacles, she would finally reach the place she was meant to go.
During her voyage to Marineford, Hina did not interact much with the other Marines, only holding a brief conversation with a recruit named Hound, who had apparently just received his summons to the same elite unit she had been invited to join—making him a future comrade.
Most of the time, Hina remained in her cabin, replaying in her mind everything that had happened in the past few months. Orion's image was burned into her memory, and she could not help but recall again and again his smallest actions, analyzing the nuances she had once overlooked.
In the last two months, she had experienced a whirlwind of emotions that had changed her forever. It was strange for her to think how such a short period of time could have caused such a drastic transformation in her thoughts.
Lying on the bed in her cabin, Hina was reflecting on all of this when suddenly, the blue scarf around her neck began to stir as if by magic, and before her incredulous eyes, it transformed into a small chest.
"What is this?" murmured Hina, approaching the chest with curiosity and opening it to look inside.
Inside the chest was another smaller chest, a Den Den Mushi, and three envelopes. Hina picked up the envelopes and saw names written on them. One said Gion, another Doll, and the third Hina. She did not know who the other two people were, but she immediately took the envelope with her name and opened it, finding a letter Orion had written to her before parting ways.
In truth, Orion had originally intended to stage the hostage act at a Marine base, only in case he needed to provide Hina with a cover story, and so he had prepared a farewell letter in advance. In the end, he had improvised the hostage scene in front of Akainu, but his earlier preparations had not gone to waste.
Since Orion could not use his Art Coating ability on living beings, he had placed a chest inside his Canvas Realm, then used Art Coating on the Canvas Realm itself, creating a sort of Matryoshka-style camouflage effect.
Hina read the letter with great interest, and when she finished, a broad smile spread across her face. In the letter, Orion bid her a warm farewell and wished her luck in Marineford, adding that the doors of his kingdom would always be open to her if she ever chose to leave the Marines and join him. More than anything, what delighted her most was that Orion had explicitly said they were friends, and that he hoped never to meet her on the battlefield as an enemy in the future.
Hina set the letter aside and hugged her pillow with joy, kicking her legs as she daydreamed about a possible reunion with Orion. It was rare for her to show so many emotions, though it was a pity that no one was there to witness them.
Finally, she got up from the bed, took the chest, and carefully stored its contents. The other two letters and the chest were addressed to two people in Marineford, and Orion had asked her if she could do him the favor of delivering them on his behalf, so Hina took this favor as an important mission and would not allow anything to go wrong.
As for the Den Den Mushi, it was a way to communicate with him in case of an emergency. Although Orion had told her not to use it unless it was strictly necessary, since the navy could trace and attempt to spy on the call.
He used a specialized counter-espionage snail, so the navy would not be able to obtain any information even if they tried, but it was still dangerous for Hina to attempt to use the Den Den Mushi since the mere act of making an untraceable call could put her in danger.
Once Hina finished storing the letters and the small chest, she put on her boots and stepped out onto the deck to happily enjoy the good weather. Perhaps she could also speak with that recruit named Hound, who would be her training partner in the future.
…
Meanwhile, in the South Blue, Orion was traveling mounted on Olive, who was flying at great speed as her hooves burst with winds and sparks.
Thanks to the powers of the Pegasus Devil Fruit, they had been able to advance much faster, and in just twenty days they had covered the remaining stretch of the Grand Line, crossed the Calm Belt, and were now already in the South Blue, returning to Pacific Kingdom.
At the speed they were currently traveling, Orion estimated that it would probably take about another month to arrive, so they would undoubtedly be on time for Robin's birthday, which was on February 6th.
If there was enough time, Orion wanted to stop along the way and get some books, which would surely be a wonderful gift for the intellectual girl.
Thinking that soon he would see all his loved ones again in Pacific Kingdom, Orion closed his eyes and relaxed, feeling the wind against his face and wishing to arrive as soon as possible.
...
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