Two ambitious, relatively green young men were sailing through the Calm Belt near the West Blue, heading toward the New World.
"So this is the Calm Belt—there really is no wind here."
It was Orin's first time visiting the Calm Belt.
Back when he was with the Roger Pirates, he had already been to most places in the world, whether Paradise or the New World, but this "silent realm" that separated the four seas from the New World was rarely traveled, since the Oro Jackson didn't have mature energy propulsion systems and usually avoided this route.
Most of the time, they went via Fish-Man Island and the Twin Capes.
"Also, isn't Amazon Lily located in the Calm Belt?"
While steering the Oro Jackson halfway through the Calm Belt, Orin clapped his hands as the thought struck him.
A real-life version of a country of women. Orin had heard that Rayleigh-san had apparently been there.
Since they weren't in a rush to visit the old man, detouring to Amazon Lily didn't sound bad—after all, this voyage was meant to be fun.
With that in mind, Orin went to ask Mihawk for the pointer to the island of women,but he was promptly scolded.
"Hey... are you an idiot? Amazon Lily is in the Calm Belt next to the South Blue. We're in the Calm Belt near the West Blue right now!"
Not only was it out of the way, but there was also a whole Red Line between them.
Acting on a whim again...
Mihawk sighed deeply, clearly exasperated.
Hearing that, Orin dropped the idea, now totally unmotivated.
Guess I'll go there next time. Come to think of it, the Empress hadn't been kidnapped yet...
Orin reclined on a chair, flipping through his little notebook.
Inside were notes of events he remembered and the years in which they would occur.
As he read, he casually released his Conqueror's Haki Infusion, so tangible it was almost solid.The Sea Kings attempting to approach the Oro Jackson all rolled their eyes and passed out before they could get close.
Mihawk stood at the bow. A massive arc of emerald green sword aura slashed across the sea,slicing the collapsed Sea Kings cleanly in half.
The cuts were smooth. Some of the beasts were cleared to remove obstacles, while others were carefully selected by the little hawk, butchered for food reserves.
As the Oro Jackson plowed ahead without restraint, a vast, pitch-black shadow suddenly emerged beneath the sea.
"Aha... a super-sized Sea King, huh?"
Orin's hand paused mid-flip of his notebook. As if already expecting it, he slowly turned his head.
It was a monstrous creature with a tiger's head and a fish's body.
It surfaced, eyeing the intruders with predatory intent.
As for its size...
Probably dozens of times larger than the Oro Jackson. Orin figured even its pupil was bigger than he was.
Still, it didn't exceed ten thousand meters, so it was well within the range of his Observation Haki.
"What a big fish~ But I don't have fishing on the schedule today."
Orin remained expressionless.
On a normal day, he wouldn't mind playing fish-tamer, but today, he was in a good mood—almost home again.
He wasn't in the mood to play cat-and-mouse with this behemoth.
After all, if he teleported the Oro Jackson several thousand meters, this thing would barely have time to splash.
So...
"Get lost!!!"
"VMMMM——!!!"
Orin's eyes turned sharp.
In an instant, his Conqueror's Haki Infusion erupted like lightning, crashing across the sea toward the massive Sea King!
"!!!"
The Sea King struck by the black-and-red lightning showed a surprisingly human-like expression of terror. Its house-sized pupils trembled violently.
It backed away slowly, then flipped and dove straight into the depths of the ocean.
The resulting tidal wave nearly capsized the Oro Jackson.
Only Orin's quick teleportation into the sky saved them from being swallowed by the giant vortex.
"Looks like Marine ships are still smarter—they use Seastone and stealth radar."
But hey, the Marines may have tech, but we've got brute force.
Just bust on through with Conqueror's Haki!
"Heh heh heh, almost home~"
Lying happily on his lounge chair, Orin began reminiscing about the days before he joined the Roger Pirates.
...
"What the hell!!! Where did this brat come from?! I don't have time to babysit!!!"
"You can stay for one night. Once I find your irresponsible parents, I'm sending you off!"
"No laughing! I'm a great pirate! Just because I'm feeding you formula doesn't mean—"
"Ow ow ow ow... let go! LET GO! What are you, a monster?!!"
"Huh?! How do you even know what's in the birthday box? Hey, explain yourself!!"
"Well... kid, you're definitely gonna grow into one of the world's top monsters. Just like those captains I followed in my youth! I tell you, when they made a move..."
"From now on, you're my grandson!
The future monster: Orin!!!"
When Orin was still a toddler, old Keek had already retired from piracy and become a full-time nanny.
Orin had heard the old man grumble and nag more times than he could count:
"Orin, when you become a great pirate someday, don't forget your grandpa. Back in my day, I had dreams of becoming the ruler of the seas too! It's just that I didn't have the same advantages you do..."
Little Orin had heard it all before, and to be fair, he couldn't even argue with it.
With Keek's talent, even if he trained from childhood, boarded a ship, learned Haki, and fought through life-and-death battles, his peak performance might still only be enough to take on a Commodore or Rear Admiral.
He'd be a regular combatant on Rocks' ship at best.
Even a lifetime of effort couldn't match the starting point of his grandson.
If he remembered right, Orin was able to one-shot a Marine Rear Admiral by the time he was twelve or thirteen.
So it was no surprise Keek pinned all his dreams on Orin. His own body just couldn't cut it anymore.
And hey, raising a Pirate King beats being one, right?
Because Orin had such monstrous talent from childhood, even feeding him became a serious problem.
Even though Keek had saved up a lot in his youth, he still had to find side jobs and accept donations from the townsfolk.
The locals knew it was thanks to Keek that they weren't under noble oppression, so they were more than happy to help raise the boy.
Even if Orin bullied their kids, as long as it wasn't too much, they'd turn a blind eye.
So you could say Orin was raised on meals from a hundred households.
As a kid, he'd often go hunting in the mountains, dragging down a few beasts to feed the whole town.
This return trip was also part of repaying that kindness.
How should he do it...
Maybe conquer a country for fun?
It's not like those nobles are anything but freeloaders.
Who sits on the throne doesn't matter.
Besides, the World Government still owes him a favor...
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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