August 3, 1500, Age of the Sea Circle
Orion, who had been traveling through a spatial tunnel created by the system using his "Space Gate" ability, finally emerged once more into the real world without any issues.
Upon seeing the strange landscape around him, he sighed in relief, thinking that at least this time he hadn't encountered that mysterious crimson-eyed entity that had interrupted him the last time he had used Space Gate. Perhaps it was because, on this occasion, it had been the system itself that had transported him here, likely using a slightly different method than his personal ability.
Orion sat down on the ground and opened the system screen, staring at the incredible number of markers that had appeared. This was the first time he had seen so many gathered in one place, which made it clear that Wano was a crucial location in the original history of One Piece.
Among the markers displayed on the map, Orion spotted some names he recognized. They belonged to Oden and his family, as well as the infamous pirate Kaido, rumored to be one of the strongest men in the world.
Orion knew of Oden from the stories his master Roger had once told him, and so his attention focused on him. At present, Oden was located in the same place as Kaido, while his family was positioned elsewhere, a significant distance away.
Orion himself had landed at a midpoint between Oden and the rest of his family. All around him stretched nothing but a vast prairie, with no signs of life in sight, though in the distance, towering columns of smoke rose toward the heavens, signaling the presence of a great fire.
Just as Orion was deciding in which direction to head, new notifications appeared on the system screen.
*Ding*
*You have arrived at the historic event: "The Fall of Wano"*
*A new Dungeon has been generated*
* Complete the following objectives to earn points. At the end of the Dungeon, your accumulated points will be tallied and an evaluation will be given:
-Save Kouzuki Oden
-Save Amatsuki Toki
-Eliminate Kaido
-Eliminate Orochi
-Eliminate the enemy forces under Kaido and Orochi *
*Rewards will be distributed according to final score. Good luck*
Orion scanned the list of objectives the system had provided and immediately knew he wouldn't be able to accomplish them all. Despite the fact that his power had grown considerably over the past year, he was still far from the level of monsters like Kaido or Oden.
After all, Oden was on a level comparable to that of his master Roger, proof of his monstrous strength. Orion stood no chance of defeating someone of that caliber, and it would likely be difficult even to save Oden. From the fragmented information the system had provided, it was clear Oden was on the verge of dying at the hands of Kaido and that other enemy named Orochi.
Orion pondered the situation for a moment but finally decided to head toward Oden. Even if he couldn't defeat Kaido, he could at least try to save his master Roger's good friend. However, what Orion didn't know was that the system had set him up with an impossible mission.
…
August 4, 1500, Age of the Sea Circle
Orion had been traveling without rest for a day and a half, and was still at a considerable distance from the capital where Oden was. Suddenly, a new notification appeared on the system screen.
* Named Character (VIP) Kouzuki Oden has died*
Orion came to an abrupt halt and opened the system map, only to see Oden's marker vanish before his eyes.
"Fuck!" Orion spat in frustration.
He had been traveling nonstop at his maximum speed, yet still hadn't managed to arrive in time to save Oden. If the system really wanted him to rescue Oden, shouldn't it have transported him closer to his location? Orion wondered bitterly.
Oden had died before Orion could even reach the scene to attempt helping him, and now he had to immediately adjust his objectives. He knew he was no match for Kaido, and he had no idea about Orochi's strength or that of his forces, so he quickly turned his attention to the other person the system had assigned him to protect: Amatsuki Toki, Oden's wife.
According to the system's information, she was fated to die just like her husband, which meant there was no time to waste grieving Oden's loss. At this moment, Orion had to reach Toki and get her to safety before it was too late.
Fortunately, his current location was much closer to Toki's than the place where he had originally landed nearly two days earlier. From here, he could likely reach her in less than a day—though he would have to hurry.
Orion exhaled heavily and pulled out an energizing medicine from his inventory, one he had prepared himself. He downed it in a single gulp and immediately felt some of his exhaustion fade. Running nonstop at full speed for nearly two days had been no easy feat, even for him, whose body was eight times more resilient than that of an ordinary person.
Without wasting another instant, Orion adjusted his mindset and began sprinting in the direction where Toki was, hoping that this time he would arrive in time to save her.
During his journey, Orion watched with unease as a gigantic dragon soared through the skies, heading straight toward Toki's location. Seeing the marker's label on the system—confirming the dragon was Kaido—Orion felt a bitter pang in his chest, thinking that once again he would likely fail to reach her in time.
However, to his surprise, Kaido did not kill Toki. By the time Orion arrived at her location, night had already fallen, and the fire was devouring the great castle where Oden and his family had lived.
Checking the system map, Orion saw that Toki was still alive inside the castle, so without a moment's hesitation, he rushed toward it. The system didn't display the precise condition of individuals, so for all he knew Toki could be gravely wounded, or about to perish in the blaze.
Orion reached the castle gates just in time to see someone on horseback galloping away at full speed into the distance. Cross-referencing with the system map, Orion confirmed that it was Toki, and immediately cursed his luck once again before hurrying to chase her down the hill.
Orion was utterly exhausted after traveling nonstop for two and a half days, and thus couldn't rely on Soru for extended periods. That meant he was unable to catch up with Toki, who rode at breakneck speed on her fastest steed.
His only hope of reaching her was if she decided to stop somewhere, and that was exactly what he was praying would happen. Along the way, she had already been struck by arrows fired by nearby enemies, and Orion grew deeply worried that she might receive a fatal wound and die before his eyes. Such an outcome would have been truly heartbreaking for him, after the superhuman effort he had made to reach her.
Fortunately for him, Toki finally came to a stop, arriving at a large stage, where she began to recite cryptic poetic verses before a gathered crowd.
Noticing that several enemy soldiers and what appeared to be Kaido's pirates were scattered among the crowd, raising their weapons and aiming at Toki, Orion clenched his teeth and poured all his energy into reaching her before the enemies could strike.
Yet, luck did not seem to be on his side, and it was clear he would not make it in time. From the distance, he saw the enemies pulling their triggers, bows drawn taut, ready to take Toki's life. Fury exploded inside Orion—he would not let that happen before his very eyes!
"Stop!!" Orion roared furiously, and an invisible wave of energy burst from his body, surging outward at incredible speed and crashing into both the crowd and Toki herself.
Orion still couldn't control his Conqueror's Haki, and since he had unleashed it involuntarily in his anger, everyone in the vicinity was struck. Both the enemies and the rest of the onlookers—along with Toki—collapsed to the ground unconscious, leaving only Orion standing.
Although his "Conqueror's Haki" ability remained at level 0, its raw strength had grown over the past year and a half, and Orion was certain he was just a step away from advancing to level 1. Still, he needed training to control his Haki outbursts, so as not to harm innocents as he had just done.
Ignoring everything else, Orion rushed to Toki, lifting her into his arms and quickly checking her condition. She had received several arrow wounds on her way here, but none were fatal, and with simple treatment they could be healed without much trouble.
However, there was something that gave Orion a headache. With his medical knowledge, he could tell with a simple examination that Toki was dying—but the cause was "strange." She didn't seem to be suffering from her wounds, but rather from a mysterious force draining her life away. The problem was that Orion had no way to treat such a condition with his medical skills!
Toki's state fell into what could only be considered "the fantastical side" of this mysterious world, and Orion had no means to resolve it with his current abilities. At this rate, he could only watch helplessly as Toki followed her husband into the afterlife.
However, after holding Toki in his arms for a few moments, the system emitted a new notification that reignited his hope.
*Compatible energy source detected*
*Analyzing energy source… Analysis complete*
*Toki Toki no Mi identified nearby. Current status: incomplete*
*Partial absorption of the Toki Toki no Mi's power is possible. Do you wish to absorb? Yes/No. WARNING: Absorbing the power of this energy source will halt the loss of vitality of Named Character Amatsuki Toki, but may produce unexpected effects on her.*
Orion read the notifications carefully, while his mind raced, analyzing the situation. From the information the system had just provided, Orion could conclude that it was Toki's Devil Fruit that was causing her death.
For some reason, her Devil Fruit was siphoning her life force. Right now, even if Orion treated Toki's wounds, she would still die, since her vitality was draining away at alarming speed due to the strange workings of her Devil Fruit.
Partially absorbing the energy source meant that the system would take in part of the powers of the Toki Toki no Mi that Toki had consumed, and in doing so, it would halt the loss of vitality, as the fruit itself would weaken. However, the system had warned him that this would trigger unexpected effects on Toki, which was only natural.
After all, Devil Fruit users were one with their powers; if an external force suddenly consumed a portion of those powers, an instability would inevitably arise within the user. The reason why the system had labeled the effects as "unexpected" was most likely because it couldn't determine the precise change that would occur—only that some kind of change in Toki was inevitable.
Orion drew in a deep breath and made his decision.
With his mind, he selected the affirmative option, and the system began absorbing the powers of the Toki Toki no Mi. The most important thing now was to stop Toki's loss of vitality. Once she was out of danger, he could worry about the side effects of the process.
This was the first time Orion had faced a situation like this, where he was absorbing the powers of a Devil Fruit that had already been consumed by someone else. Until now, every energy source he had encountered had been ownerless, existing in the natural form of a Devil Fruit.
Orion couldn't help but wonder if it would be possible to perform this procedure with other users in the future, or if the current circumstances were somehow unique in a way he didn't yet understand.
Still, Orion didn't dwell on the thought, as he lacked the information to find an answer. Instead, he focused on retreating to a safe location with Toki.
Even though all nearby enemies were currently incapacitated, Orion didn't want to risk remaining exposed here, where someone like Kaido could suddenly appear.
If that happened, his only option would be to use his Space Gate to escape—but that would be a shame, since the Dungeon was still active, and he would lose the chance to earn more points by taking down Kaido's forces, or even that Named Character called Orochi.
Utterly exhausted, Orion clenched his teeth and ran toward the distant mountains on the horizon, carrying the unconscious Toki in his arms. On the system's screen, a loading bar had appeared, indicating the absorption process of the Toki Toki no Mi, which would be completed in about half an hour.
Orion reached a remote area and opened a door in the air, allowing Nibble to emerge into the outside world.
His adorable companion beast had grown quite a bit in the last year and a half, now reaching the size of a wolf, which meant he could no longer nap on Orion's shoulders as he used to love doing.
Still, despite his change in size, he remained just as adorable. One thing that had changed, however, was his digging ability, which kept becoming more and more astonishing.
"Nibble, dig a tunnel here, and once I go in, cover it completely," Orion said, stroking Nibble's head with a smile.
Nibble nodded and immediately got to work, creating a large tunnel almost instantly. Orion jumped inside with Toki in his arms and descended deep underground. Once he deemed it sufficiently deep, he opened another door in the air and entered his Pocket Dimension.
This was a precautionary measure, since Orion didn't know whether Kaido might be able to detect his Pocket Dimension, as some other powerful figures had in the past, and he didn't want to test it unnecessarily.
Underground, Kaido's Observation Haki would not be able to reach his Pocket Dimension, so it wouldn't matter whether or not he could perceive the small parallel dimension.
Orion was completely drained, and before continuing with the Dungeon's other objectives, he wanted to rest enough to be in peak condition. On the other hand, Toki now seemed out of danger, since the power of her fruit had weakened enough, and her life energy was no longer leaking away like a rushing torrent.
During the journey to this remote location, Orion had noticed that Toki had stopped losing vitality, although the absorption process was still ongoing, only halfway completed.
Orion walked over to the bed and collapsed onto it with Toki in his arms, closing his eyes and letting his fatigue wash over him. A tingling sensation filled his head and eyes, and he slowly drifted into a deep sleep.
About fifteen minutes later, the system completed the absorption of the Toki Toki no Mi, and Toki slightly opened her eyes, showing great confusion.
She looked at the man lying on the bed beside her and tried to recall past events, but her mind was completely blank; she couldn't even remember her own name. With great effort, she tried to stand, but a strong dizziness overcame her, and she fell back onto the soft bed.
Her eyelids began to close, and despite her best effort, she couldn't stay awake. Her eyes shut completely, and she sank into a deep sleep. Lying beside Orion, her body began to glow with a faint white light. Her entire body seemed to be enveloped in a layer of energy, swirling erratically into patterns imperceptible to the vision of a normal person.
If Orion had been conscious, he could surely have seen this energy swirling using his Prism Eyes, and although he wouldn't have fully understood the phenomenon before him, at least he would have had more information to explain what would happen to Toki in the future.
…
Meanwhile, in the royal castle of Wano's capital, Orochi was bathing with two beautiful women, fondling their voluptuous bodies lewdly. Since taking power in this nation, he had indulged in the greatest pleasures and was truly living the life someone of his lineage deserved.
However, at that moment, a shiver ran through his entire body, and the thermal water in which he bathed seemed to freeze.
"Shit! Why is this water so cold?!" the foolish monarch screamed.
"..? Lord Orochi, the water temperature is still the same…" one of the beautiful women began to say, but Orochi rose with great fury and slapped her forcefully.
"Bitch! Are you saying I'm wrong?! Do you want me to execute your entire family?!" Orochi was completely out of control, feeling an intense cold coursing through his body.
"Forgive me, Orochi-sama, forgive me, Orochi-sama," the woman continued to repeat, terrified by Orochi's angry expression.
"Enough. Take this bitch away from here. And heat the water immediately!" Orochi shouted, believing he was imposing.
The servants began heating the water more and more, but the chill in Orochi's body did not lessen.
Suddenly, Orochi thought of something that made him shudder even more, and he shouted with a voice filled with fear:
"Bring me the bodies of the Kozuki samurai! And the heads of their family members! Especially that of his wife, Toki! I want you to bring me proof that they are dead!"
...
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