October 19, 1501, Age of the Sea Circle
Three more days passed as Orion continued his new routine, infiltrated within the Domain of the Gods in Mary Geoise. Following his encounter with Dragon days earlier, he had come to learn the details of the revolutionary's family situation.
It seemed that Dragon had met Celestia during his time as a Marine and had fallen hopelessly in love with her. During a mission in which he was tasked with escorting the young Celestial Dragon, he had saved her life from an enemy attack, earning the girl's favor in the most classic, heroic way possible.
Even so, they had not formally established their relationship until much later, when Dragon had already left the Marines to found the Freedom Fighters. They had remained in contact despite their formal ties having dissolved, even finding themselves on opposite sides of the world's conflict.
With time, it had been inevitable that things would take their natural course, and they eventually took the final step to become a true couple. Yet the story did not have a happy ending, for Celestia's fate took a terrible turn when she was struck by the mythical disease known as "Sapphire Scale," which had afflicted countless Celestial Dragons throughout history—particularly those of the Figarland family.
Little was known about the illness, and there were those who believed it to be a curse that lingered within the bloodline of the Celestial Dragons, imposed upon them by their ancient enemies.
Whatever the truth, what was known was that it was a fatal disease that weakened its host and subjected them to excruciating torment, while rendering them unable to walk beneath the light of the sun or moon, condemning them to live virtually in darkness.
Throughout Mary Geoise's history, this disease had surfaced innumerable times—most often among the Figarlands, who seemed to have a special predisposition for contracting it. Fortunately, it was not contagious, so even those afflicted were not expelled from the Domain of the Gods; they were simply ignored by the other inhabitants of the holy land.
It was said that one of the Five Elders (Gorosei) had been researching the disease in an attempt to find a cure, yet no solution had been found in centuries.
Celestia, who had suddenly manifested the first symptoms of the illness, was forced to seclude herself within her chambers, losing any possibility of continuing her relationship with Dragon, who remained actively engaged in his struggle with the Freedom Fighters around the world.
Still, the determination of the revolutionary leader was not something that could be dismissed easily. Even though Celestia tried to cut ties with him to avoid dragging him into her health problems, Dragon refused to abandon her. Taking great risks, he began infiltrating the Domain of the Gods whenever even the slightest opportunity arose, just to see her.
It was during one of these secret visits that their child, little Luffy, had been conceived. And thanks to the fact that Celestia lived entirely alone in the large Figarland mansion's pavilion, she had no trouble keeping the existence of her baby hidden from the outside world.
The rest of her family paid her little attention, with the possible exception of her young nephew Shanks, who had once shared a close bond with her and used to visit daily. However, after Shanks left to pursue his life as a pirate, Celestia was left completely alone in this place, with only her infant son for company.
Had Figarland Garling—or even Shamrock—taken the slightest interest in her, there would have been no way to conceal Luffy's existence, and she would have had no choice but to invent some story about an illicit affair with a slave or something similar to protect her family.
If it had come to that, she could at least count herself fortunate that, within the Figarland family, unions with people from the lower world—often slaves—were not as harshly condemned as they were among the other noble families of Mary Geoise. This was because, due to the recurring presence of the Sapphire Scale disease within the Figarland bloodline, most other noble houses avoided marrying into them.
For that reason, the Figarlands were the noble family with the greatest genetic diversity, as they had been less able to engage in the strict endogamy that the other families practiced so rigidly. Paradoxically, this was what allowed the Figarlands to retain a more natural physical appearance, and it was also why their abilities remained at the pinnacle of the holy land's hierarchy.
At present, Figarland Garling was considered the most powerful Celestial Dragon in Mary Geoise. He himself was the son of the former family patriarch and a high-level slave brought from the surface—something that only further demonstrated that the strict inbreeding practiced by the other families was far from wise.
With the birth of little Luffy, Celestia—who had lived alone for many years in her secluded pavilion—had finally found companionship again, and she loved her baby deeply, regarding him as her greatest treasure.
Even so, both she and Dragon knew they could never allow their son to grow up in the sacred land of the Celestial Dragons, for if he did, there was a great chance he would grow to become a wretched being, just like almost all the others of his kind.
It was extremely difficult, in a society so culturally polarized, for an individual to emerge who openly questioned its idiosyncrasies and the current status quo, and neither Dragon nor Celestia wished to test whether Luffy might somehow be capable of that.
The only reason Celestia herself had been able to develop mentally enough not to become like the other despicable Celestial Dragons was simply because she had been fortunate enough to suffer an accident many years ago, during one of her journeys to the surface when she was still a small child.
That accident had forced her to live for nearly a year among "ordinary humans," and it was precisely that period of her life that had saved her from becoming a wretched person.
After Dragon and Celestia had told Orion the full story of their forbidden love and Celestia's tragic condition, he couldn't help but sigh, thinking that the beautiful, curly-haired blonde woman possessed every quality that the mother of an epic protagonist should have.
Moreover, considering the constant advance of her illness and the fact that they were planning to send Luffy to a distant place, Orion could only surmise that Celestia would inevitably face a terrible tragedy in the future—and it was likely that she had died in the original timeline, never once appearing in the story.
That day, Orion did not rush to tell Dragon that he would help him with his problems, nor did the solemn revolutionary make any requests of him. Yet, deep inside, Orion swore that he would do his utmost to assist this tragic couple, hoping that perhaps they might be granted a happy ending after all.
Thinking about Celestia's strange illness, Orion began to consider possible solutions. To begin with, he needed to further improve the level of his medical skill, but he also required a particular Devil Fruit: the Ope Ope no Mi.
This was a Devil Fruit whose powers, according to the system, were essential to solve the "out of time" condition in which Toki currently existed. Over the past year, Orion had researched this fruit and discovered its astonishing applications. If he could truly extract the power contained within it to refine new abilities, he would undoubtedly be capable of performing medical treatments that could only be described as miraculous.
In that case, perhaps Celestia's disease could also be cured, helping her and Dragon to overcome one of their greatest struggles. Nevertheless, Orion mentioned nothing about this to them, not wanting to raise false hopes. There would be time to speak of it later, once he had found the whereabouts of the Ope Ope no Mi.
Orion had instructed all branches of the Revolutionary Army to remain alert for any possible information regarding the fruit, though after more than a year, there had been no progress. This was largely due to the Revolutionary Army's limited capacity for information gathering, though Orion couldn't reproach them for it—the strengths and goals of the organization were focused elsewhere.
For that reason, Orion had been toying with the idea of creating a new organization in the future, one that would function similarly to Cipher Pol but be subordinate to his kingdom without being bound by it. It would become a new pillar of his influence in the world, though it was an ambitious and difficult project to realize in the short term.
As for the plan to evacuate Luffy from the Domain of the Gods, Orion decided not to interfere for now and let Dragon and Celestia continue with their original plan. After all, it was obvious that the plan had succeeded in the original timeline—otherwise, the story of One Piece would never have existed.
Orion didn't want to try to help and end up getting in the way, altering the future for the worse, especially when the fate of the story's protagonist was at stake. He was not indifferent to Luffy's presence, because he knew that in a story like One Piece, the main character would always be an unstoppable force.
He didn't wish to intervene more than he already had in Luffy's life, fearing he might ruin his growth as a protagonist—though he had to admit he felt a strong urge to recruit him into his kingdom immediately. After all, this was the story's protagonist!
After his conversation with Dragon three days earlier, Orion had bid the revolutionary farewell and told him that if he ever needed help, he shouldn't hesitate to call him. Dragon had once again shown a kind expression—something exceedingly rare for him—and had thanked Orion for the offer, though he said it probably wouldn't be necessary.
Since that day, Orion had not seen Dragon again in Mary Geoise, for the revolutionary never dared to infiltrate for long or do so repeatedly within short intervals. Orion, on the other hand, continued with his daily routine, which consisted of exploring the Domain of the Gods to gather information, visiting the Kuja to ensure their well-being, and keeping watch over Fisher Tiger's situation.
He had also added a new activity to his daily routine: visiting Celestia and her baby.
The Celestial Dragon woman was a wonderful source of information about Mary Geoise, though much of what she knew was outdated due to her years of seclusion. Even so, she could tell him many important things about the organization of the Domain of the Gods, the distribution of families, and much more.
In the past three days, the amount of information Orion had gathered was truly impressive, and he couldn't help but regret that he still lacked the strength to strike against the Celestial Dragons—for with the knowledge provided by Celestia, he could undoubtedly take them by surprise.
"Kairos, where are you from? You've never told us about your homeland," Hancock asked as she sat beside Orion, holding onto his arm in an intimate yet entirely non-romantic gesture.
During the past week, they had become friends, and there was now a degree of trust and familiarity between them. This was largely because Orion had been protecting them every single day without fail, ensuring that Vespasian didn't so much as lay a finger on them.
"My home is in the South Blue. It's a small kingdom, almost completely unknown," Orion replied while peeling an orange and handing it to Sandersonia, who sat across from him, listening attentively to the conversation between her older sister and Orion.
"In the South Blue? Where's that?" Marigold asked, tilting her head in an adorable way.
"It's outside the Grand Line, south of here, across the Calm Belt," Orion said, handing Marigold another orange.
"The Calm Belt… You mean The Snake's Nest?" Hancock asked, bringing a finger to her chin and looking upward with a thoughtful expression.
Orion couldn't help himself—his hand moved on its own, and he pinched Hancock's cheek, just like Ginny had always loved to do to him. He had to admit, he was finally beginning to understand Ginny's fascination with that habit.
"Ah! What are you doing?!" Hancock exclaimed, slapping Orion's hand but not using much force, her cheeks flushed red.
"If by The Snake's Nest you mean the place where there's no wind and the Sea Kings live, then yes," Orion continued, finishing his answer without paying attention to the adorable, blushing Hancock glaring at him in protest.
"I may not look like it, but I'm a king in my own kingdom!" Orion added with a playful smile, puffing himself up a bit.
"Woah! You're a king, Kairos?" Sandersonia asked, her eyes lighting up. In their culture, there were no kings—only the Empress of Amazon Lily, the most powerful person on the island.
"That's right. So if one day in the future you ever want to visit me, I'll welcome you at the royal palace!" Orion went on.
"To visit you… in the future…" Hancock murmured, and the expressions of the three girls darkened.
They had been taken as slaves, and though Orion's presence gave them a small measure of comfort, they didn't truly believe they could ever escape from this place.
They were not stupid; they had been trained as warriors since early childhood, and they knew there were countless monstrous enemies nearby. For now, their only hope was that Orion would continue protecting them as he had been, and that they wouldn't have to endure a tragedy—but even that modest wish felt incredibly ambitious for the young girls.
Seeing them in that state, Orion extended both arms and suddenly pulled all three girls into an embrace, catching them completely off guard.
"Don't worry. There will be a chance to escape this place. You just have to be patient. I promise I'll get you out of here safely!" Orion said with utter seriousness, looking straight into Boa Hancock's eyes—eyes that, for the first time in her life, reflected a strange new feeling, a fluttering sensation in her stomach she couldn't quite understand.
Orion was not yet ready to make his move to escape, as his preparations were still incomplete. At that moment, he could have used his Space Gate to flee with the three Kuja, and the plan would likely have succeeded—but Orion also wanted to try freeing Fisher Tiger, and if possible, other slaves as well.
Currently, the unfortunate salmon-skinned Fish-man was still in the middle of the torture sessions orchestrated by the Celestial Dragon who had bought him, and Orion had no way to rescue him under the constant watch of CP0 agents.
Even so, Orion didn't intend to wait much longer, as the arrival of Shamrock or Garling in the Domain of the Gods would make things far more complicated. Ideally, he would stay only a few more days before executing a silent escape without leaving any trace behind.
…
October 30, 1501, Age of the Sea Circle
More than ten days passed once again, and Orion remained infiltrated deep within enemy territory without suffering a single setback. Still, he constantly reminded himself never to let his guard down—not for even a moment—and to be ready for an immediate escape at all times.
In the last few days, the situation had improved significantly, and he was finally prepared for his great escape. Fisher Tiger had at last been released from his continuous torture, since it seemed the Celestial Dragon who had purchased him had grown bored and decided to buy a few Tontatta instead, to continue his macabre experiments on other races.
Orion had been analyzing his plan of action in great detail, and he had finally made up his mind to put it into motion.
Before leaving, however, he decided to meet with Celestia one last time to bid her farewell.
The Celestial Dragon woman said goodbye to Orion with a certain sadness, for she had truly come to enjoy his company over the past two weeks, though she didn't say anything about it. She knew that Orion would not have many opportunities to act successfully in his escape, and he needed to seize this one.
Orion hesitated for a moment about the possibility of offering to take little Luffy out of the Domain of the Gods, just as she and Dragon had planned, but in the end, he decided not to. The lonely woman had no company other than her small baby, and if Orion were to take him away, her emotional state would probably deteriorate significantly, which could cause her illness to progress faster.
"Celestia, this is goodbye for now. I hope that next time we meet, things will be much better!" said Orion, giving a small bow to Dragon's wife.
"Goodbye, Orion. Be careful during your escape—the surveillance at the outer borders is much stricter than within the Domain of the Gods," the woman said with her usual calm smile.
Orion nodded silently, offering no details about his plans, and after gently caressing little Luffy's head, he disappeared from Celestia's pavilion without leaving a trace.
He had no intention of crossing the borders of the Domain of the Gods, despite having studied the route just in case. For this escape, he had decided that the safest option was to use his Space Gate to travel directly to Pacific Kingdom. Once there, he could escort the Kuja sisters or Fisher Tiger back to their homelands with greater peace of mind.
Orion appeared in the wing of the mansion where Vespasian lived—a place he had visited many times over the past month—and without paying any attention to the man lying drunk on the floor, he approached the three Kuja and said,
"Are you ready to leave?"
It was finally time to abandon Mary Geoise, though perhaps things wouldn't go as smoothly as Orion had initially hoped.