After returning to the Sabaody Archipelago, Orin stayed here for quite a while.
For the first time in ages, he properly took up the responsibilities of being a Boss. He presided over Tesoro and Stella's wedding, checked on the development of the various forces under his command, and handled a mountain of pending matters.
Tesoro's application to build the Golden Ship — Orin approved it, allocating an immense amount of funds.
He inspected Umit's maritime shipping fleet, providing crucial guidance and instructions.
He reviewed the expansion of Doflamingo's family, the quality of Stussy's red-light district workers, Field's financial chains, Giberson's warehouses, and Peclo's assassination squads.
And of course, there were also Morgans' news-delivering gulls — Orin even gave a special commendation to the Seagull King.
Orin tried it out himself, but somehow… no matter what he did, even his Conqueror's Haki Infusion couldn't knock the Seagull King unconscious. No clue why.
Since every time he came back, he never stayed long, this extended visit was unusual — perhaps a way to soothe the lonely hearts of the girls and women under his command.
Mihawk lived a life of nobility while constantly honing his swordsmanship. Crocodile, aside from her training, would occasionally go enjoy herself at the casino.
Orin was about the same. Today, he had just returned from his inspection rounds.
Bored, he headed straight to Sammi's office.
"By the way, Sammi… do we have any businesses that deal in selling merfolk?"
Orin stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows, gazing down at the island and the vast ocean beyond, watching those freshly coated ships slowly sink beneath the waves.
"Merfolk, huh…"
Sammi, writing on some documents, paused at his question and gave it some serious thought.
"Of course we do. And it's not just small-scale either — it's massive. Considering half the Underworld falls under our reach, there's no way shady trades like that wouldn't exist…"
Among Orin's many gray-area industries, merfolk trafficking was indeed included.
It wasn't that Orin was some heartless monster who deliberately wanted to be a slaver — it's just that before he took control of the Underworld, the situation had been ten times worse than it was now.
After all, slavers are impossible to wipe out completely. Wherever there's profit, there will always be people willing to exploit it. The best Orin could do was regulate the trade, keeping its impact to a minimum.
Sammi followed the same philosophy. Many unfortunate girls who would have been captured, tortured, and turned into slaves were instead bought by Sammi and given jobs in the red-light district — at least providing them a way to survive.
Orin and his subordinates couldn't be called "good people" by any means. The Underworld had always been dark, and it would never truly vanish.
But making that darkness controllable — that alone was Orin's greatest achievement.
"Then… let's prepare a few countermeasures. The merfolk trade industry is about to hit a downturn soon."
After listening to Sammi, Orin nodded and issued his instructions.
The slave trade targeting Fish-Man Island was far too rampant. It wasn't just the Underworld; countless pirates on the seas were involved, along with the World Government's own slaver ships.
If nothing unexpected happened, the world's strongest man — Whitebeard — would make his move soon, hoisting his pirate flag and placing Fish-Man Island under his protection.
And Fish-Man Island's location… was right beneath Sabaody's nose.
Although Orin had no real interest in ruling Fish-Man Island, conflicts were inevitable.
Even if Orin and Whitebeard clashed, no matter who won in the end, Fish-Man Island would end up under someone's control.
When that happened, the price of merfolk would skyrocket, and the merfolk trafficking business would shrink drastically.
This was just an early reminder for his people.
"Are you planning to set sail, Orin-sama?"
Sammi was sharp, and she understood Orin well enough.
From his tone, she could sense something big was about to happen on the seas.
And whenever something major was brewing, Orin was never far from the action.
"Yeah… can you believe it's already Sea Circle Calendar 1505? Time really flies~"
"Guess it's about time I went out to have some fun on the seas again."
...
Sabaody Archipelago.
Shakky's Rip-Off Bar.
Business here was never booming. At least, every time Orin visited, the place was practically deserted. Probably because of Shakky's fearsome reputation — no one dared step foot inside.
In reality, the bar mostly survived on two things: intel trade… and Orin's occasional financial support.
"So you've been talking about going to Fish-Man Island for ages, and now you're finally doing it?"
Mihawk gave Orin a teasing glance.
"There wasn't any rush anyway, right?"
Crocodile, on the other hand, didn't care much. After lazing around Sabaody for so long, going out to stretch her legs sounded refreshing.
The group walked into the bar. Looking around, they saw only Shakky behind the counter, wiping down some glasses.
Upon seeing them, Shakky immediately smiled warmly.
"My, my… if it isn't Orin. Here to have a drink?"
Her drinks were notoriously overpriced — daylight robbery, really — but she knew Orin didn't care about money anymore. That concept had long stopped applying to him.
And, as expected, Orin didn't disappoint. He ordered a ridiculously expensive fruit cocktail, along with some fine red wine and grape wine.
The three of them sat down at the bar counter.
Orin took a sip and casually said:
"I'm actually here to see Rayleigh today. I want to ask him to coat the Oro Jackson. We're planning to set sail and take a look around."
At that, Shakky rested her chin on one hand, a sly smirk tugging at her lips.
"Oh my, the Black Emperor himself setting out to sea again? That's quite the scoop~ You know, I could probably sell this intel for a fortune."
She joked as she lit up a slim ladies' cigarette.
"But you're out of luck today. At this hour, Rayleigh's probably still at work. You'll have to wait a while for him to come back."
They weren't in any rush, so they sat there chatting idly.
Suddenly, footsteps echoed outside the bar.
But as they neared the door, they suddenly stopped — as if the person had been frozen in place.
Then, slowly… tried to back away.
"Since you're here, why leave? Am I really that scary?"
Orin slowly turned his head to look at the newcomer — a young Fish-Man boy with six arms, resembling an octopus.
It was none other than Hatchan.
"Or… Orin-sama…"
"Since you're here, come in and have a seat."
"Y-Yes!!!"
Hatchan crept inside with stiff, awkward steps, sweating bullets under the crushing stares of Mihawk and Crocodile.
Shakky chuckled softly and handed him a glass of juice.
Orin really had a habit of scaring Hatchan whenever they crossed paths here, leaving the poor kid traumatized every single time.
Still, Orin knew his limits. After all, Hatchan had once saved Rayleigh's life, so Orin never went too far.
Although… Orin still couldn't figure out how Rayleigh — a man who could swim across the Calm Belt barehanded — could possibly need saving by a little Fish-Man kid in the first place.
"But this actually works out, Hatchan."
Orin grabbed the back of the boy's collar, flashing a knowing grin, ignoring his panicked expression and the frantic flailing of his six arms.
"I'm planning to head to Fish-Man Island next. You've probably got plenty of friends down there, right?"
"Then you can be our tour guide. That shouldn't be a problem, right~?"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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