November 9, 1503, Age of the Sea Circle
Nearly two hours passed as Orion treated Celestia's condition. In the end, the time limit of his Room ability reached its end, and he was forced to interrupt the treatment.
Even so, even if he had possessed unlimited time to use his ability, he would not have been able to resolve Celestia's current condition, as the disease had progressed too far, to the point where her body could no longer endure any more.
That was right—despite Orion's efforts to heal Celestia, he had been unable to prevent the collapse of her organs, and had only managed to ensure that, in her final moments, she was no longer covered by the crystals that distorted her appearance.
Somewhat exhausted from the continuous use of his Room and the intense concentration required to remove the crystals from Celestia, Orion rose from the chair where he had been sitting beside the woman's bed and allowed Dragon to take his place.
At this point, there was nothing more that could be done for Celestia's health, so the most sensible choice was to leave the couple alone so they could say their goodbyes in private.
"I'm sorry… there was nothing I could do…" Orion said with his head lowered, thinking about his failure to cure Dragon's wife.
However, both Dragon and Celestia simply smiled and spoke almost at the same time.
"Don't worry, I'm grateful that you at least removed all those annoying crystals from me."
"No, thank you for trying."
Celestia was truly happy to at least be able to leave this world with her original appearance, so her gratitude toward Orion was sincere. She had been prepared for her death for a long time, and at this moment she felt only absolute calm, though it was true that she was sad about not being able to see her son grow up in the future.
As for Dragon, despite his curt reply—something entirely typical of him—he was deeply grateful to Orion, who had not only accompanied him to Mary Geoise without a single objection, but had also done everything in his power to try to save his wife.
Dragon was a man who valued his allies, and he would not forget Orion's actions on this day. In the near future, what had happened here today would become the foundation for a decision that would once again change the course of history.
Shanks approached his aunt Celestia and, with a gentle smile, said,
"Aunt, don't worry. In the future I'll keep an eye on Luffy to make sure he's doing well. If he needs me, I'll be there to help him."
Shanks knew that Luffy would be taken to another distant place by Dragon, and that he had no say in the matter. Whether as a pirate or as a Celestial Dragon, his status was not something one would want associated with her child, so he had never offered to look after little Luffy in the future.
Even so, that did not mean he did not care about his young cousin, and right now he was making a promise to Celestia—and to Dragon—that he would watch over Luffy in the future and help him if necessary.
"Thank you, Shanks," Celestia said with a weak voice and a radiant smile.
Shanks nodded and left the room without another word. He had no intention of making the farewell overly solemn, because he knew that was not what Celestia wanted.
Orion said his goodbyes to the couple, and together with Kuma left the room, leaving Celestia and Dragon alone so they could spend their final moments together before the end.
For a moment, Orion thought about how fortunate he was that his wives were safe and healthy, silently vowing that he would do everything possible to ensure it remained that way in the future.
…
Only half an hour later, Dragon emerged from the room carrying his small son Luffy, who was still sleeping peacefully, unaware of everything that had been happening around him.
Orion, who had been replaying the treatment process over and over in his mind, immediately set his thoughts aside and approached Dragon. Although he had not been able to save Celestia due to how advanced her condition was, he had gained valuable experience regarding this mysterious disease.
With the data he had gathered this time, he would undoubtedly be able to design a far more effective treatment. That way, if he were to encounter a situation similar to Celestia's in the future, he would be able to save the patient and cure their condition.
Orion did not know whether he would truly encounter someone with the same strange condition as Celestia in the future, but regardless, he would be prepared just in case. Celestia's life, though tragic, had caused a great impact on this world, and even the treatment of her illness on this occasion would be important for Orion in the future.
"Dragon, just as we discussed before, I'll help you take Luffy out of Mary Geoise using my Pocket Dimension, and then we'll go our separate ways."
After Orion had received the mission regarding Fisher Tiger and the liberation of the slaves, he had spoken with Dragon to inform him of his intentions, telling him that he would help rescue Luffy as originally planned, and then proceed with his own plan to free the slaves.
At the time, Dragon had not said anything in response, which Orion had taken as acceptance of his plan. However, now Dragon did not remain silent.
"No, your mission to free the slaves is something I want to take part in. Let me accompany you and help create chaos in Mary Geoise," Dragon said, showing a very faint, aggressive smile.
"But… what about Luffy?" Orion asked, confused.
They had come explicitly to retrieve Luffy, so it was obvious that the most important thing was to get him to safety as soon as possible, and only then could they think about freeing the slaves.
Dragon did not reply to him and instead turned to Kuma, saying,
"Kuma, can you take the child to this location? There will be someone there who will take care of him. Vice Admiral Garp, of the Navy."
Kuma looked confused upon hearing Dragon's words, especially because the hero of the Navy, Garp, had been mentioned as the person who would take care of the child they were trying to rescue. After all, the Navy were the enemies of the Revolutionary Army, since they were the armed forces of the World Government.
Even so, seeing the seriousness on the revolutionary leader's face, Kuma nodded firmly and took little Luffy into his arms.
"All right, leave it to me," Kuma said as he turned to look at Orion with a complicated expression.
He had wanted to help Orion during the rescue of the slaves in Mary Geoise, but now it seemed he would not have the chance to do so, and that made him feel somewhat bad for letting his friend down.
Orion immediately noticed the emotions on the gentle revolutionary's face, so he said,
"Don't worry about me, Kuma. I'll manage just fine on my own. The most important thing right now is to get Luffy to safety."
In the previous days, Orion had thought about asking Dragon to allow him to take Luffy to Pacific Kingdom, where he could protect him, but now that he had the mission to free the slaves, this was not the right moment to bring it up. Even so, Orion had not discarded the idea, thinking that in the future he would try to convince Dragon to leave Luffy in his care.
Upon hearing Garp's name, Orion recalled his encounter with the vice admiral many years earlier, when he had awakened his Conqueror's Haki in the middle of a fight against the hero of the Navy.
Now that his level of power had increased considerably, Orion felt the urge to measure himself against Garp once more, even though he knew he was still far from reaching the level of power of the legendary vice admiral who had once been the rival of his master, Roger.
Kuma nodded at Orion's words and, tucking Luffy inside his coat, bid farewell to the three men with a simple gesture, using the powers of his Devil Fruit to launch himself far away from Mary Geoise, toward the location where he would meet Garp.
"All right then, it's time to get to work. I'll leave the guards to you, Shanks," Orion said as he opened the system map to confirm once more the location of Fisher Tiger.
"All right, all right, but remember you'll owe me one. In the future, when I ask for your help, you'd better answer my call," Shanks replied as he vanished from the place like a specter.
Orion had informed him of his plan to free the slaves—since there was no way to keep it hidden from Shanks anyway—and had managed to get the red-haired pirate to help him with his mission.
While Orion would take care of freeing Fisher Tiger and the other slaves, Shanks would manipulate the guards using his status, trying to prevent them from interfering with the slaves' escape.
As for Dragon, he would be responsible for generating chaos and acting as a distraction for the guards alongside Shanks, presenting himself openly as the greatest antagonist. Even so, Orion had to move quickly, because although the defenses of Mary Geoise were low and they had Shanks's help, there was a limit to what they could accomplish with only two people.
"See you, Orion. Thank you for your help this time. I won't forget it," Dragon said, as he transformed into wind and headed toward another area of Mary Geoise. Dragon would create chaos in an explosive manner and then withdraw on his own, so Orion would not see him again anytime soon.
"All right, it's time to complete this mission!" Orion said as he used Soru to advance at full speed toward the place where Fisher Tiger was being held captive.
…
From his dark cell, Fisher Tiger looked at the early morning sky through a small crack in one of the nearby walls, just in time to see a great pillar of fire violently rising into the air, while the ground trembled slightly, shaking his cell.
Confused, he tried to see what was happening outside, but before he could make anything out, a voice echoed beside him.
"Hey, Fisher Tiger. It's funny that we meet again like this, isn't it?"
Fisher Tiger turned toward the source of the voice and found Orion, who had just emerged from the Pocket Dimension and was looking at him with a smile.
"You! What are you doing here?" Tiger asked.
The last time he had seen Orion had been years ago, when he had been helped by him after being captured by the Celestial Dragons. On that occasion, Orion had saved several slaves during his escape and had specifically freed Fisher Tiger, since he was a Named Character.
After that, Fisher Tiger had not seen Orion again, but even so, he had kept his gratitude toward his savior in his heart, thinking that one day he would repay the favor. Now, however, not only was he not repaying it, but Orion once again had to rescue him, which made the proud Fish-man feel a bit ashamed.
"I heard that you came to rescue the remaining slaves, and I decided to come help you. After all, I can't just stand by and watch you get captured again!" Orion said as he cut through Fisher Tiger's chains with his cutlass, finally freeing him from his restraints.
"We don't have much time. My friend is already creating chaos in the area. You go and rescue as many slaves as you can, and then head for the elevators. Don't worry about anything else, and stay away from the outer edges of the Red Line for now."
Orion gave Fisher Tiger his instructions and then shattered the dungeon wall with a powerful strike, allowing the morning sun to finally shine once more upon the face of the deeply moved Fisher Tiger, who still could not fully react to Orion's rapid movements.
From the moment he arrived at the location to Fisher Tiger's liberation, Orion had used barely a single minute, knowing that there was no time to waste right now. Dragon was drawing all the attention, but the amount of time he could buy with his distraction was limited, even with Shanks's help as a double agent among Mary Geoise's guards.
Seeing that Fisher Tiger was standing there without moving, Orion sheathed his cutlass and stepped closer, placing one hand firmly on his shoulder while at the same time extending his other hand in a friendly gesture.
"Tiger, now is the time to act. Can I count on you?" Orion asked with a friendly smile.
Fisher Tiger felt his body tremble slightly, and part of the deep hatred he felt toward humans quietly faded away.
For someone as proud as him, the despicable humans who had captured and tortured him were utterly detestable and abhorrent, yet at the same time it had been a human like Orion who had saved him from confinement on two separate occasions, and he could not ignore that fact.
His mind knew that not all humans were the same, but his negative feelings toward them had been far too powerful to contain—at least until now. Orion's appearance to save him once again this time had not only freed him from his physical prison, but also—and more importantly—from his spiritual one.
Fisher Tiger extended his hand, gripping the one Orion had offered him in a friendly gesture with strength, and nodding solemnly, he said,
"Of course! I didn't come this far just to give up. You can count on me—I'll save every slave I can!"
"Good! I'll see you at the elevators to escape, but if I don't, you can count on my friend Dragon. He's the leader of the Revolutionary Army. He's strong and noble—if you need help in the future, don't hesitate to call on him."
Orion looked at Fisher Tiger with seriousness as he parted from him with those words. He knew that the situation in Mary Geoise would be extremely chaotic during the slaves' escape, so he had decided to say his goodbyes to Fisher Tiger now, in case he would not see him again anytime soon.
Moreover, Orion was paving the way for a future alliance with the Fish-men and Tiger, as they would undoubtedly be an excellent addition to his forces in the battle against the World Government to come.
From Orion's perspective, the Fish-men's kingdom lay far beyond his sphere of influence, so he was first trying to establish a connection between Tiger and Dragon, in order to lay the foundations for a stronger alliance in the future.
What Orion did not know was that these simple words would completely change Fisher Tiger's destiny in the near future.
…
Orion parted ways with Fisher Tiger and headed straight for the Rosward mansion to investigate the whereabouts of his grandmother, Bianca Vespa. Although he did not have much hope of finding her there with such limited time, he had to at least try, or else he would not be able to look his family in the eye when he returned to Pacific Kingdom.
Running at full speed, he arrived at the mansion Shanks had indicated and observed on the system map that there were two markers there: Rosward Shalria (0), Rosward Charlos (7).
Orion did not have much information about the Roswards, since he had come to accompany Dragon without any time to prepare, so his plan was simply to find someone with high status within the family and interrogate them.
For that reason, he decided to head first to where the two Rosward Named Characters were located, thinking that there would surely be someone important accompanying those children. Still, Charlos and Shalria were positioned quite far apart, so Orion ultimately chose to go to Shalria's location, as she was a baby and would undoubtedly have a caretaker with her.
Moving through the mansion's luxurious corridors, Orion ignored the people who were running in panic to take shelter from the chaos unfolding in Mary Geoise due to his allies' actions, and finally arrived at a large pavilion in the western section of the mansion.
With a kick, Orion smashed the imposing doors open while activating his Prism Eyes and his Observation Haki to survey the area. Almost immediately, he sensed the presence of a young woman dressed in the classic attire worn by the Celestial Dragons, and using Soru, he appeared in front of her, grabbing her by the neck.
"Now I'm going to ask you a few questions. If you want to keep your head attached to your body, you'd better answer me honestly," Orion said in an icy tone.
The young Celestial Dragon woman clutched Orion's arm desperately, trying to break free from the grip that was cutting off her breathing and slowly suffocating her, but it was impossible for an untrained woman like her to compete with someone like Orion, so she had no choice but to nod with her eyes filled with tears.
"Very well. I'm looking for someone named Bianca Vespa. Do you know anything about her?" Orion asked as he focused his Prism Eyes on the young woman to detect any possible lie.
Aria's eyes—the girl Orion had captured—widened in shock upon hearing her mother's name, and turning her head with difficulty, she looked toward a beautiful elderly woman standing in a corner, trying to go unnoticed while holding a small baby in her arms.
Orion followed the girl's gaze and immediately felt his pulse quicken. He had come with little hope of finding his grandmother, but now, seeing this woman in the distance, he could feel a strange connection with her.
With a flick of his hand, Orion released Aria as if she were a piece of trash, paying her no further attention. Then he ran toward the elderly woman holding the baby and spoke in a voice filled with uncertainty.
"Grandma?"