Overwhelming power.
Despair-inducing power.
That was the first impression Namira had.
No wonder Kuzan was so wary of this man, who didn't even look very old. Just based on his Haki alone, he surpassed everyone present.
"Ah la la… Don't ignore me now… Black Gun!!!"
Crack crack crack—
Almost the very moment Rinari was sent flying, a man wreathed in frost made his move.
He tried to seize the slight delay after Orin's attack.
Clusters of ice crystals spread through the air, freezing the moisture into brilliant ice blossoms. Orin, still maintaining his kicking posture, was instantly sealed within a massive block of ice.
"Your movement ability is certainly strange, Orin. But when you attack, your body must become tangible—unless you constantly stay in evasive mode."
If you teleport, you can't attack.
If you don't teleport, you'll get frozen.
To be fair, Orin had to admit—Kuzan did have some combat sense.
To pull off something like this—
It was enough to stain even his clothes a little.
Frozen in that pristine crystal-clear ice, Orin remained in a perfect kicking pose, like a sculpture.
At that instant, Namira endured the pain of a dislocated hand and forcibly pulled her wrist free from Orin's grip. She retreated several steps to Kuzan's side.
"No wonder you're a crewmember of the Pirate King Roger. I couldn't even fight back!"
She gripped her sword one-handed, expression solemn, staring at the handsome, long-haired man encased in ice.
"The ice won't be able to hold him for long, will it?"
Kuzan agreed silently. Cold air continued to swirl from his hand as he reinforced the ice, never taking his eyes off the figure within.
Taking advantage of this brief moment, Namira adjusted her stance while recalling everything she knew about Orin.
She'd only heard about him in passing from Tsuru-san. He was a subject of special attention by Fleet Admiral Kong himself—a major threat to the Navy's future. His bounty had been raised repeatedly and outside normal protocol.
At the time, she had dismissed Orin as just a kid riding on Roger's coattails, an overrated name.
After all, she was also part of the Navy's new era—trained under Zephyr-sensei—and believed that people like Sakazuki, Borsalino, Kuzan, Rinari, and herself were the most elite of their generation.
But today, facing this so-called rookie from Roger's crew...
She finally realized how vast this sea truly was.
If she remembered correctly, he was only fifteen—still younger than all the Navy's new officers.
What was she doing at fifteen? Probably not even a swordswoman yet.
"This kind of monster… We have to leave him here in Marineford today!" Namira gritted her teeth.
"You're going to leave who behind?"
"What?!"
In just a blink—literally in the blink of an eye—the figure inside the ice block vanished.
A wave of dread swept through their bodies. Instinctively, both of them attacked behind them—only to hit nothing.
Orin had reappeared far off, perched lazily on a rooftop balcony with his elbows propped up, watching them with that same calm, unchanging face.
"Hey, why don't you two just pretend you didn't see me? I'm just here sightseeing, not doing anything bad. I even paid for my meal, fair and square."
"Technically, I'm contributing to Marineford's GDP, aren't I?"
"Black Gun Orin!! What do you take Marineford for?! This is Navy Headquarters—the bastion of justice! It's not some place where pirates like you can come and go as they please!"
Namira shouted righteously, though in her heart she understood—his mobility was far too high, and his advanced Observation Haki made him nearly impossible to trap.
Just the two—no, three—of them had no hope of keeping him here.
So, though it felt cheap, even using provocation to buy time was worth it—at least until reinforcements like Sengoku and Garp arrived.
Only then could they have a shot at capturing him and sending him to Impel Down—where he'd share the same fate as his captain.
"As a member of the Pirate King's crew, is running away all you know how to do? Answer me! Orin!"
Namira raised her voice, as if she'd forgotten who'd just been so easily restrained moments ago.
Orin only smiled in response.
Of course, he could tell it was bait.
But he had to admit—it was a little interesting.
He wondered—could this future Admiral-candidate actually give him a proper fight?
Then, he raised one hand.
Curled his finger.
"You're right. It's been a while since I had a proper one-on-one… You both come at me together. I think I can finish this before Garp even arrives."
Orin saw right through her tactic, which made Namira both embarrassed and angry. Kuzan, standing beside her, was equally incensed by Orin's arrogant posture.
"Don't get cocky, Black Gun!!!"
Crystalline frost burst out from Kuzan's body again. Massive ice spears began to form and launched forward with immense kinetic force.
Following close behind—blade-sharp slashes of pure sword aura.
...
At the edge of the battlefield—
Several lower-ranking officers had already sensed the commotion and arrived to support.
After quickly evacuating the civilians, they spotted who Kuzan and Commodore Namira were fighting—
—a pirate from a wanted poster.
They immediately joined the fray.
But with Kuzan entering his "low temperature" mode, his large-scale freezing attacks made it impossible to even approach the high-level battlefield. All they could do was stand at a distance and observe.
At the same time, they dialed into Navy Headquarters.
"Beru beru beru beru—"
Click.
"This is Sengoku. What's the situation?"
"Admiral Sengoku! In the southern residential district of Marineford, Rear Admiral Kuzan and Commodore Namira are currently engaged with remnants of the Roger Pirates! Requesting immediate support!"
"NANI?!?!"
They had to pick now, while Fleet Admiral Kong was at the Holy Land on duty?
Those bastards!
Hearing this, Sengoku—who had been handling paperwork—immediately stood up and smashed his desk into pieces.
"How brazen of them! A member of Roger's crew daring to invade Marine Headquarters—still not giving up?!"
"Was it Rayleigh or Gaban?"
"Uh… neither. It was Black Gun—Orin!"
"Black Gun?"
Sengoku froze, stunned.
If he remembered right...
That brat was just an intern on the Roger Pirates, wasn't he?
How dare he?
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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