Not only the Rocks Pirates,
On the western coast of God Valley, a pirate ship with a striking red theme slowly docked.
"It's the Roger Pirates!!!"
The Marines shouted in shock as their eyes locked onto a figure leaping down from the bow.
"A whole year! Do you know what kind of feelings I've been living with!!!"
"Orin? He was never my brother!!!"
"Roger, wait for us!!!"
The God Valley battle—Roger Pirates entered the fray.
"Full of energy as always, Captain Roger~"
At this moment, inside God Valley, the pirates of the Rocks crew had already begun clashing with the Knights of God and the Marines.
Orin stood on a slope, his Observation Haki sensing the Oro Jackson approaching from afar. A faint smile crept across his lips.
Originally, Orin had been targeted. As the most threatening of the Rocks captains, and as someone falsely recognized as a member of the nonexistent Knights of God, Saint Garling had wanted to test his strength against Orin.
But Whitebeard's arrival had forced Garling to split his attention, gritting his teeth as their duel raged on.
Seeing Orin stroll away so casually, Garling grew furious. The mere fact that Whitebeard, just another pirate, had disrupted his plans made his blood boil.
A few slashes later, Whitebeard's chest bore several deep wounds.
...
"So then… where exactly are these treasure chests?"
Two figures, one tall and one small, walked leisurely within the valley. Orin turned his head, scanning the surroundings.
Although his Observation Haki covered a vast area, there were far too many places to check. And with his hazy memory of the story, he hadn't found much yet.
Still, he knew—once they found Kuma and the others, they would definitely get results.
As Orin strolled casually, Keek at his side held two swords tightly, nerves stretched taut as he scanned for threats.
To him, in such a chaotic war, Orin's strength would surely draw terrifying opponents. He absolutely couldn't afford to drag his captain down.
"No need to be so tense. The monsters have only just landed on the island. The war won't end that quickly."
Orin considered making a move, but there was no rush. Fights between top-class monsters never ended quickly—
Especially Rocks himself...
Even Orin frowned slightly at the thought.
Standing before that man, the ability of the Warp-Warp Fruit felt as if it simply vanished. Sure, he could still fight with brute strength and Haki, but winning? That would be… unlikely.
It had taken Roger and Garp—two peak powerhouses without Devil Fruits—to bring him down. Orin knew at his current age, without the Warp-Warp Fruit, there was no way he could outlast Rocks.
Fortunately…
As long as he didn't let Rocks get close, he'd be fine.
Orin expanded his Observation Haki to full power, then tightened the range to just a kilometer around him. The precision rivaled radar—nothing within escaped his senses.
Soon, he picked something up.
"Hey, Keek. If you ever stop being a pirate, what would you do?"
The casual tone sounded like Orin was just making small talk, so Keek didn't doubt him. He thought seriously before answering.
"I still want to be a pirate. But if I really had to choose something else…"
"I guess I'd go back to my hometown, help out the people there. Maybe retire peacefully or something."
As Orin remembered, the old man always cared deeply for his people. Being around him, Orin had absorbed that attitude too—he had even gone as far as to knight many of them.
"Then…"
"After this battle, I'll tell you everything. From then on, you'll have to take care of yourself."
"Huh?"
Keek blinked, confused by Orin's words. But before he could ask, the scenery blurred, and the two of them reappeared in another part of God Valley.
...
In an area crowded with slaves, a young girl with pink hair was secretly gathering intelligence through special bio-electric means.
"This contest's prize is the key to our escape!!!"
"Prize?"
The slaves didn't understand what Ginny was talking about.
"I've already confirmed it—two Devil Fruits!"
"One is the strongest Zoan, a Mythical Beast-type that turns you into an Azure Dragon. The other grants the power to send yourself or others flying incredible distances—the Paw-Paw Fruit!!!"
"If someone eats them, at least dozens of people can escape this hell and the Marine encirclement!!!"
But the plan also required bait to draw attention.
The young Kuma volunteered to shoulder that burden.
"So kind… little Kuma."
As the slaves whispered about their escape plan, no one noticed two figures watching from a distant hillside.
Unlike Orin's hazy recollection, Kuma and the others already knew where the treasure chest was. Seizing the chance while the main forces fought elsewhere, they slipped into a small house at the valley's center and stole the chest.
Excited, they were about to eat the fruits when a massive figure suddenly barged in—
It was Charlotte Linlin, who had sneaked here to hunt the treasure alone.
She snatched Ivankov in one hand and grabbed the Mythical Zoan Azure Dragon Fruit with the other. Then she reached for the fruit in Kuma's grasp—
But suddenly, a voice cut through the moment.
A tall figure had appeared silently behind Kuma.
Without hesitation, he plucked the Paw-Paw Fruit right out of Kuma's hands.
"So this is the Paw-Paw Fruit?"
Everyone froze, staring at him.
Especially little Kuma, who panicked when he realized the fruit was gone. He stretched on tiptoe, desperately trying to grab it back, but the height difference made it impossible.
When Charlotte Linlin saw who it was, the scowl on her face tightened. She hesitated for a moment, then sighed and feigned compromise.
"So it's you, Orin~"
"Looks like there's no choice. Since you took it, let's split them—one fruit each."
Had it been anyone else, Linlin wouldn't have given up so easily. Every Devil Fruit here was top-tier. With a suitable user, each one could produce at least a Yonko Commander-level powerhouse in the future.
But against Orin… she could only let the Paw-Paw Fruit go.
Tossing Ivankov aside, Linlin twisted her curvy waist and turned to leave.
Yet just then, a cold voice sounded behind her.
"You can leave…"
"But the fruit stays."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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