August 29, 1503, Age of the Sea Circle
The small sailboat in which Orion was traveling together with Mitsu reached the shores of the desolate island where one of the main bases of the Ice Witch Whitey Bay's crew was located.
Although Orion could have arrived without anyone noticing his presence, he had chosen to approach the pirates openly, since he had already interacted with them before and was not coming with hostile intentions.
However, when he reached the gates of the pirate base, he found himself facing a problem he had not foreseen.
"Who are you, bastard? Why do you want to see our captain?" said a young man with long, curly blond hair, speaking in a hostile tone.
This pirate was one of the new recruits in Whitey Bay's crew, and Orion had not encountered him the last time he had been in contact with the beautiful pirate captain and her crew.
This young man, who was acting in such a hostile manner toward Orion, was one of the main rookies of recent times, although he could not compare in strength to people like Shanks, Blackbeard, or even Catarina Devon.
For that reason, once he had entered the New World, this young man had decided to immediately place himself under the protection of one of the most powerful factions in the world: the Whitebeard Pirates.
Within Whitebeard's crew there were two clearly defined divisions among its members; on one hand was the main crew, which was composed of sixteen divisions, and on the other hand were the allied pirates, who had their own crews yet were also part of the great faction of the legendary pirate.
At the same time, within the allied pirates there were different categories, with certain groups being practically satellites of the main crew, while others were simply subordinates who helped make up the numbers.
Overall, the organization of the most powerful pirate crew in the world at present was quite complex.
Whitey Bay did not belong to the main crew —at least not currently, although she was indeed part of Whitebeard's original crew— but rather she was an allied captain. Even so, due to her past in the original crew, her status within the vast faction was somewhat special, and she was practically the leader of the allied pirates.
She had separated from Whitebeard's crew many years earlier at his suggestion, and had formed her own crew through great effort, training during her first years as a captain in the first half of the Grand Line —where she had encountered Orion— before entering the New World once again and taking control of a specific territory.
On the other hand, the rookie with long blond hair was known as Galus "the Charmer", and he had chosen to come and serve under Whitey Bay's command voluntarily, instead of keeping his status as a captain and finding himself relegated to a more insignificant position within the great pirate faction.
As for the reason why Galus had made such a decision… it was because he was hopelessly in love with the Ice Witch and wanted to win her heart. With that somewhat impure objective in mind, he had joined Whitey Bay's crew, and during the last year and a half he had been openly courting her.
For Whitey Bay, the presence of Galus and his romantic advances toward her were an interesting novelty, since men generally felt intimidated by her and did not even look her in the eyes despite her beauty. On the other hand, she could not feel any attraction toward her subordinates, and thus had never taken an interest in the men of her crew.
For many long years she had felt zero interest in the men around her, which had led to her being called "frigid" by those who despised her —generally enemy pirate women.
The last time Orion had seen her she had been 25 years old, and that had already been six years ago, so the beautiful blue-haired pirate was now 31, and throughout her entire life she had never had a romantic relationship with a man, which is why the rumors that she was frigid were accepted by the vast majority of people.
Truth be told, she had felt attracted to a man only once in her life, and it had ended up being a great disappointment, since it turned out to be a brat who had been using a special ability to increase his age and transform into an adult: Orion!
After her encounter with Orion, Whitey Bay had not felt interest in any other man again, but that did not mean she was closed off to love. She was a normal woman with normal needs, and she longed to one day find someone capable of making her legs tremble with a single glance.
Even so, due to her status and her experiences —having grown up alongside the strongest man in the world as her father— she refused to accept just any man into her bed, and wanted to find someone who was truly worthy of her.
If she were never able to find such a person, then she had no problem spending her entire life alone, never knowing love. Such was her stubbornness in these matters that she preferred to fail in love rather than lower her standards to match the level of her lover.
As for the rookie Galus "the Charmer," Whitey Bay found his advances interesting, since they pulled her a little out of her routine and also bolstered her ego and self-esteem to some extent. After all, no matter how beautiful she might be, if every man who crossed her path looked at her with fear or respect, she could never truly feel like a sensual woman in a satisfying way.
Even so, she had never responded to Galus's advances, nor did she have any intention of ever doing so. Although she did not stop his romantic attempts toward her, she did not encourage them either, and it could be said that she simply tolerated him.
In the Ice Witch's mind, Galus was nothing more than a young man full of energy who had become infatuated with her, and his conviction to conquer her would probably fade away as the months and years went by.
There was no need to take a step forward and beat the young rookie to give him an unnecessary lesson, since time itself would take care of destroying his illusions —which, for some people, might even seem far more brutal than a direct rejection.
Because Whitey Bay had not openly rejected his advances, Galus believed that she also felt attracted to him and was simply putting him to the test. For that reason, he began to fantasize even more about possessing the beautiful Ice Witch whom everyone feared, and in his mind he already considered her his "property."
That was why, when one of the guards assigned to watch the base's gate informed him that an unknown man had arrived requesting an audience with the captain, Galus felt it was his duty, as Whitey Bay's future man, to filter out any bothersome individual who might harbor negative intentions toward his captain.
Galus emerged from the depths of the base with the posture of a ruffian and came face-to-face with Orion, who, as usual, was in his adult form thanks to his Age Change ability. The moment Galus saw how handsome Orion was, alarms went off in his mind, and he immediately decided that he could not allow this fuckboy to get anywhere near his future girlfriend!
Although Galus was also quite a handsome man and did not seem to follow the aesthetic line of most pirates —unkempt and filthy men with rotten teeth and skin weathered by years at sea— it was difficult for him to compare to Orion's level of attractiveness, as the latter had been blessed with the effects of his passive abilities, which increased his desirability in the eyes of the opposite sex with the intention of boosting the production of high-quality offspring.
Galus immediately felt a great hostility toward the handsome Orion, so he approached him in an arrogant manner, spitting on the ground with his hands in his pockets, having no intention whatsoever of allowing Orion to enter the base and see Whitey Bay.
"My name is Orion. I am a friend of your captain, Whitey Bay," said Orion in response to Galus's aggressive question, and then, showing an aggressive smile, he added:
"As for the reason why I want to see her… that is not something I need to tell a mere subordinate like you. Now go and call your captain while I am still being polite."
Although Orion tried not to be overly aggressive or arrogant unless necessary, that did not mean he was a pusillanimous man who would let others treat him badly in the open without reacting.
Galus obviously had an aggressive stance toward him, and Orion had no intention of playing along. If the blond long-haired pirate in front of him truly wanted a fight, Orion had no problem giving him a beating.
By now, Orion was no longer the inexperienced young man who had arrived in this world more than a decade earlier. After going through all kinds of experiences and challenges, he had matured considerably, and his power had reached a level sufficient for him to demand respect wherever he went.
Moreover, he was the king of a nation, a pillar of the Revolutionary Army, and the person attempting to dethrone the Celestial Dragons and free the world from their tyranny; he possessed a dignity that could not be tarnished by any random pirate who suddenly appeared in front of him.
Galus listened to Orion's aggressive words and was quite surprised, since he had not expected him to respond so harshly to his question. After all, this was the territory of Whitey Bay's pirate crew!
Did this foreigner truly believe he could come all the way to their base and act arrogantly without facing any consequences?! Galus would personally make sure to prove him wrong.
Swish!
With a swift movement and without uttering a word, Galus unsheathed his rapier and began launching thrusts at Orion with great fury. Even so, he did not use his full strength in the attack, as he did not want to kill Orion, but merely give him a painful lesson to erase his arrogance.
Curiously enough, Orion was thinking exactly the same thing, so he immediately took his cutlass Ace out of the system inventory, making it appear in his hand as if by magic, which took Galus by surprise.
Orion coated his cutlass with Armament Haki and blocked all of Galus's attacks without much difficulty. Then he stepped forward and used one of his oldest techniques.
"Thirty-Six Styles, Roaring Dragon Sword!"
A great "cloud" of energy and wind seemed to form as a result of Orion's attack, shaping the mouth of a gigantic dragon that advanced in a straight line with tremendous violence.
Even so, Galus was not a weak pirate, and he immediately identified the weak point in Orion's attack, stepping forward and delivering two precise thrusts that completely stopped the dragon's momentum.
Galus showed a pleased smile as he thought he had been able to repel his enemy's attack without any trouble, but he was immediately forced to suppress his feelings of victory, since Orion's appearance had changed slightly.
He was now looking at him with eyes that gleamed in different colors, yet that was not the only change, because he had also reduced his height, and his face now looked like that of a teenage brat!
"Age Change,"
Orion said in a low voice, while a finger emerged behind Galus thanks to his use of Un Fleur. Orion's finger came into contact with the pirate's body, and Galus felt as though everything around him had become gigantic, even though in reality it was his own body that was shrinking, since he was being transformed into a small child.
Maintaining his aggressive smile, Orion used Soru and appeared beside the pirate, using Electro to immobilize him completely with electricity, and then finishing him off with a powerful blow by using one of the abilities he had never used until now.
"Cream Punch!" Orion said, as his fist struck Galus's right cheek, while the hand he had previously created with his "Un Fleur" attacked with a punch from the opposite direction, hitting his left cheek.
Bang!
A loud impact echoed through the place, and Galus collapsed to the ground unconscious, his eyes white and open, while his body returned to its normal size after Orion dispelled the effect of his Age Change ability.
"The power of this attack isn't that great, but it's still better than I expected. Maybe because I used 'Un Fleur' it didn't turn out as strong as it should have," Orion said thoughtfully, placing a hand on his chin as he returned to his adult form, analyzing the brief fight.
He had used the "Cream Punch" for the first time, an ability he had acquired some time ago but had never been able to use before, since it was a "combo" ability —in other words, a technique that required the active participation of someone else in order to be activated.
Furthermore, the other person needed to perform an identical attack from the opposite direction and with the same power as his, which made it extremely difficult to execute. Orion had tried to perform it before with the help of his subordinates, but he had been unable to achieve it.
That was why he had no other choice but to use Un Fleur to simulate a second person, finally managing to use the attack successfully, even if with slightly less power than expected.
While Orion was looking at the unconscious pirate Galus, his sleeve began to move, and his snake companion Shesha woke up from his nap, somewhat irritated by the noise his master was making. He flicked his tongue repeatedly, as if he were trying to say something, and finally, seeing that the battle had already ended, he curled back around Orion's arm and fell asleep again.
The battle had been so short that Sheha had not even finished waking up before it was over, thus losing the chance to fulfill his role as a combat-specialized companion beast.
Orion was a little disappointed by Galus's level, but he simply thought that his own power had increased enough that this kind of pirate no longer posed a threat.
However, just as Orion was about to ask the guards once again to call Whitey Bay, his Observation Haki reacted violently, and he immediately launched an attack with his cutlass to one side with all his strength.
Bang!
A great wave of energy exploded across the area, causing all the pirates nearby to be blown away through the air.
At the epicenter of the great explosion, Orion had just stopped Galus's surprise attack with his cutlass at the very last moment, and he now looked confused by the pirate's sudden presence behind him, when he had clearly seen him fall defeated by his Cream Punch just a moment earlier.
The stalemate lasted for a few moments, until Orion finally managed to repel Galus thanks to his superhuman strength, which was superior to that of the pirate.
"Tch, I didn't think you'd be able to escape from that attack. You're better than I thought," said Galus, who seemed to be completely unscathed, although, if one paid very close attention, one could see that both of his cheeks were slightly swollen.
Orion frowned and looked at Galus's body lying on the ground —the one he had considered to be the real one. Focusing his Observation Haki in his eyes, he finally managed to see the "truth."
The body of Galus on the ground began to dissolve until it disappeared completely, as if it had never been there.
Galus saw the expression of surprise on Orion's face and, with an arrogant smile, said:
"Don't feel bad, kid —men far better than you have fallen at my feet to the very same attack."
Orion fixed his gaze on the pirate and understood what was happening: Galus clearly possessed a Devil Fruit, and it was obviously quite a troublesome one. Although Orion did not yet know the exact details, it was clear that he could create illusions capable of deceiving even his Prism Eyes —unless they were reinforced with Observation Haki— which was quite terrifying.
If Orion had not possessed the combination of his Prism Eyes and his Observation Haki, he would undoubtedly have been defeated by Galus's violent attack, or at the very least, he would have been injured.
The arrogance that Orion had felt a moment earlier vanished completely, and once again he focused his entire spirit on his rival.
Because he had been quite successful in his recent fights, battling against high-level enemies, Orion had begun to develop a silent arrogance that could have become very dangerous in the future.
However, thanks to this unknown pirate from Whitey Bay's crew, Orion had once again regained his humility and accepted that the world was a very large place, full of all kinds of powerful people who weren't famous, like this nameless pirate.
In truth, Galus was one of the most famous rookies of this generation, although because of the presence of monsters like Shanks or Blackbeard, he went a bit unnoticed. If to that one added the fact that he had chosen to become a subordinate of Whitey Bay instead of continuing as the captain of his own crew, it was understandable that Orion couldn't recognize him — even though he had seen his name in Revolutionary Army reports before.
"I suppose I'll have to get serious," said Galus with an arrogant and aggressive smile, as he raised his rapier with the intention of going back on the attack.
Orion also felt his muscles beginning to prepare for battle, and he thought that perhaps he could fight with all his strength and gain valuable experience in the process.
However, before the two men could launch an attack, a beautiful voice interrupted the combat atmosphere.
"What is happening here!" said Whitey Bay, the Ice Witch, who arrived in the company of her vice-captain, whom Orion had seen years ago… and Mitsu.
"Ah! Captain! I was simply getting rid of this stalker who came with the intention of stealing your underwear so he could smell it and satisfy his dark perverted desires!" said Galus, who immediately took the opportunity to invent the most negative thing he could think of about Orion, so as to prevent his captain from being deceived by the handsome appearance of the damn fuckboy standing before him.
"Enough! I don't want to hear any more! Galus, go clean the latrines, and if I find out that you didn't clean them personally…" Whitey's expression was so severe that several of the pirates present began to tremble visibly.
"N-No, no, I wouldn't dare, Captain! It is a pleasure for me to follow the orders of the most beautiful captain in all the seas. The sun can't compare to the beauty of one of your hai—" Galus abruptly stopped his string of cheap romantic words, because Whitey Bay was radiating a negative aura, and she would surely beat him up if he didn't stop.
After giving Orion one last aggressive look, Galus sheathed his rapier and hurriedly left the place to carry out his captain's orders, although in the end he would end up extorting other pirates to do the dirty work for him.
Meanwhile, Mitsu approached Orion while eating an ice-cream popsicle, and tugged on the sleeve of Orion's shirt as she spoke.
"Orion, I brought the woman you were looking for. This way you won't have to waste your time with that stupid blond-haired pirate."
Orion had been so focused on his battle with Galus that he hadn't noticed that Mitsu had gone deep into the pirate base to call Whitey Bay. In that moment, Orion thought that Mitsu was a truly adorable girl who knew how to treat him with respect and affection — although the girl's next words shattered his fantasy.
"Now you owe me 100 meals as a reward. Today I want risotto."
Orion preferred to ignore the girl's words and play dumb, choosing to believe that Mitsu was simply an adorable child
"Orion? Is it really you?" said the Ice Witch suddenly, approaching him with eyes lit up with curiosity and expectation.
She hadn't seen Orion in years, and his appearance — still under the effects of his Age Change — was different, since he had received buffs from the system that slightly improved his looks.
Whitey Bay had thought many times about a possible reunion with that brat who had made her heart beat for a moment, and she hoped to see him turned into a real man in their next encounter.
Now that Orion was standing before her, Whitey Bay felt her heart beating strongly with anticipation.
Orion took a step forward, and taking a beautiful blue flower from his inventory, he said:
"Whitey, I have come to fulfill my promise of making you mine."
Under the setting sun, the handsome smile of Orion caused the heart of the Ice Witch to thaw a little.