November 19, 1503, Age of the Sea Circle
Ten days had passed since the great slave escape in Mary Geoise, and the world was still shaken by the immense event that had taken place in the land of the Celestial Dragons. Thousands of slaves had been freed thanks to the actions of Orion and the others, and the great fire in Mary Geoise had become a massive stain upon the reputation of the World Government.
Fisher Tiger was pointed out as the main culprit behind the incident, and a bounty of 230 million Berries was placed on his head, which forced the valiant Fish-man to abandon his homeland in order to avoid putting the other people living there in danger.
At the moment, Fisher Tiger's whereabouts were unknown, although rumors suggested that he had formed a pirate crew composed entirely of fish-men and merfolk.
Curiously, none of the news in the newspapers had made any mention whatsoever of Orion or Dragon, as if they had not participated in the affair at all. Although Orion was not entirely sure of the reason for this, he believed that the most likely explanation was that Shanks had intervened in some way.
Dragon's absence from the news was somewhat more understandable, since with the powers of his Logia Devil Fruit he had been capable of moving unnoticed while creating chaos within Mary Geoise. Orion's presence, on the other hand, had been undeniable, since he had openly fought several CP0 agents before Shanks arrived to handle the situation.
Orion did not know whether Shanks had had to pay some sort of price in order to remove his name from the list of those responsible for the attack on Mary Geoise, but he intended to ask him about it the next time they met. After all, Orion was not someone who disregarded his debts of gratitude, and he needed to know just how much Shanks had helped him so that he could offer appropriate compensation.
During the previous ten days, Orion had remained in Pacific Kingdom together with his family, traveling daily to Dressrosa through the Space Gate in order to keep Scarlett company, since she was about to enter the final month of her pregnancy.
After arriving in Pacific Kingdom with the people he had rescued from Mary Geoise, the first thing Orion did was treat his wounds, because Shanks had injured him quite severely during their brief confrontation. Although his life had not been in danger at that moment, the same could not be said if he left unattended the large gash that ran across his entire torso.
After using the powers of his Room to perform surgery on himself, Orion sighed in relief once he had finished treating his injuries, bandaging the area and preparing to let his body heal naturally over the course of the next month.
Once his health had been restored to an acceptable level, he finally had the time to give the slaves the attention they deserved. Arriving at one of the inner courtyards of the Government building where his uncle Lolo worked daily together with the rest of the royal advisors, Orion released the confused people from his Pocket Dimension.
As soon as the slaves from Mary Geoise left Orion's small parallel dimension, they did not cause any commotion and simply remained standing where they were, trying not to disturb their new captors.
In the minds of these poor people, they had not been liberated at all; they had merely changed masters, and therefore their servile attitude and their instinctive fear toward their new captors remained exactly the same as before, when they had lived in the land of the gods.
To be honest, the vast majority of these people had lived through a living hell during their time in Mary Geoise, and they had learned that the only way to survive in this world was by being completely submissive and avoiding drawing the attention of those in power.
The chains of slavery were not easy to break for those who had been enslaved for a long time, because the mental prison followed them wherever they went.
Orion observed the expressions of the individuals he had rescued with his own hands, and he could feel their emotions through his Observation Haki, which filled him with deep sadness as he empathized with their suffering.
There were different kinds of applications for Observation Haki, and the way it manifested varied depending on the inclination of each person's talent. Orion possessed a great talent for perceiving the emotions of others, which allowed him to clearly feel what these newly arrived people were going through.
Just as Orion was wondering how best to explain the situation to the rescued slaves from Mary Geoise, a woman emerged from the crowd and began running at full speed toward Lolo.
The soldiers of the royal army present in the courtyard stepped forward with the intention of stopping the woman in order to protect the prime minister, but before they could take more than two steps they froze in fear when they saw Orion standing in front of them, looking at them with a deep, unwavering gaze.
The woman, who carried a small baby in her arms, ran forward without any obstruction until she reached Lolo, throwing herself against him and embracing him tightly as she wept bitterly.
Lolo, who had been unable to react at all upon seeing the appearance of the elderly woman running toward him, felt the dampness of his mother's tears against his chest, and a tremor spread throughout his entire body as he extended his arms to embrace the thin and fragile body of Bianca.
When had been the last time he had seen his mother? More than thirty years ago, when he had been nothing more than a child. On that occasion he had been unable to do anything to protect her, forced instead to flee alongside his father and his little brother in order to save their lives.
For decades, Lolo had lived with the humiliation of having fled while leaving his mother behind as a sacrifice, and it was something that continued to haunt him even now in his most terrible nightmares.
After escaping from Koldara and losing everything, Lolo had been like a ghost, drifting through life without direction, burdened with regret and bitterness. Only when his nephew Orion rescued him from Rum Wolf and brought him to the newly founded Pacific Kingdom did he regain the will to live and the hope that a better future was possible.
Even so, he had never once dared to imagine that he might one day see his beloved mother again. He did not feel worthy of even dreaming of such a future, because guilt gnawed at him from within whenever he allowed himself to think of it.
For that reason, when Orion called him along with several of the most important subordinates of their faction to this inner courtyard, he had not expected to find himself facing a situation like this.
Orion had not told anyone where he was going when he left with Kuma on this occasion, partly because he did not want to worry the others, but also because he wanted to give them a great surprise if he managed to find his grandmother Bianca and bring her back.
Just as Lolo refused to allow himself to imagine a happy future in which his mother had survived and returned to them, Orion had also believed that the chances of Bianca still being alive after so many years of captivity were not very high. Because of that, he had said nothing to his family, unwilling to raise false hopes within them.
And yet, the best possible outcome had come to pass. His grandmother was alive, and he had successfully brought her back home, giving Lolo and the others a surprise beyond anything they could have expected.
At this moment, the only member of the family present in the courtyard was Lolo, and the instant Bianca saw him in the distance, she immediately knew that he was her little son—the child who had been unjustly taken from her.
Unable to contain herself, she rushed toward him without a second thought and embraced him tightly, afraid that if she did not, Lolo might dissolve like a cloud of smoke or a fleeting mirage.
"My son… sob… my son…"
Bianca cried bitterly in the arms of her son Lolo, who was now a grown man—so different from the small boy with clear, innocent eyes she had last seen decades ago.
"Mom… I'm sor—" Lolo began to apologize to his mother in a hoarse voice, but he could not finish, because a knot in his throat prevented him from speaking any further.
"Everything is alright now," Bianca said through tears of joy as she listened to the beating of her eldest son's heart.
For years, she had been terrified that her family was suffering in her absence, because she knew that although they had managed to keep their lives when facing the despicable Hannibal Rosward, they had lost their noble status and had been left in a very precarious situation.
Hundreds—thousands—of nights she had awakened from terrible nightmares in which her young children and her husband suffered the worst tragedies imaginable. That was why, now that she saw Lolo standing safely before her—healthy, alive, and transformed into an elegant and imposing man—her happiness overflowed beyond measure.
Orion did not interrupt the emotional family reunion between his uncle and his grandmother, and instead quietly walked toward a platform located in the distance. Climbing it slowly, with the dignity of a king, under the attentive gaze of the frightened former slaves.
"Attention," Orion said as he looked around with a calm yet profound gaze.
"First of all, I want to tell you that we are no longer in Mary Geoise. This is my kingdom, Pacific Kingdom, in the South Blue."
Orion's voice echoed powerfully through the courtyard, and the newcomers began to murmur softly upon hearing his words.
The South Blue? Just a few hours earlier they had been in Mary Geoise, on the other side of the world, so the idea that they were now in such a distant place was almost unbelievable to them.
Even so, the former prisoners of Mary Geoise did not question Orion's words, because during the time they had spent inside the Pocket Dimension they had witnessed him perform all kinds of incredible feats—from battling CP0 agents and Celestial Dragons to performing surgery on himself with seemingly magical powers.
"Here, your days as slaves are over. Starting today, you are free men and women once again!"
Orion declared the liberation of the former slaves with great momentum, yet he did not receive a particularly lively response from his audience, since they remained in a state of disbelief and did not dare to accept that they had suddenly been granted freedom without any conditions.
Orion understood what they were thinking, so he had expected a reaction like this and did not find it strange at all. He knew that over the coming days these people would gradually realize that his words were true, and that there was no need to rush the process. For now, it was enough to inform them of their new situation and give them the time they needed to process it.
"Starting today, your destinies are in your own hands. Those of you who wish to remain here in my kingdom—I promise you protection against the World Government and its lackeys.
If you choose to stay, you will be able to build a new home and live peacefully and without worry, although you will have to take care of your own livelihood, since you will not be treated as refugees, but as immigrants.
Do not worry, you will not be left to fend for yourselves. Those who wish to stay will receive initial assistance and housing, but your future will depend on your own effort. Do not mistake our goodwill for weakness—there is no place for parasites in Pacific Kingdom!"
The voices of the newcomers fell completely silent, and all of them listened with great attention to their savior, who seemed to be speaking seriously about their new status as free people. The hearts of the former slaves of Mary Geoise began to beat a little faster, influenced by Orion's words, although they still did not dare to accept everything without any proof.
"Finally, those of you who wish to leave for another place or return to your homeland—we will try to help you as much as possible so that you may achieve it. However, I must warn you that your current status in the world is that of fugitives, and if you are discovered by the forces of the Celestial Dragons, you will be returned to your former life as slaves."
The faces of some of the people present in the courtyard darkened upon hearing Orion's statement, because they knew it was true. It did not matter whether they were in the South Blue or anywhere else—so long as they were alive, they would remain fugitives sought by their former masters in Mary Geoise.
Orion noticed that the emotions of the slaves had once again become unsettled after his reminder of the dangers of the world, so he decided to conclude his short speech on a more hopeful note.
"As I said at the beginning, your future is in your own hands. Do not give up now—even when the situation may seem difficult and you feel the urge to throw in the towel, keep your heads held high and keep fighting. Dawn will always arrive at the end of the night, no matter how long it may be."
Orion possessed a passive ability called Charism Halo (Level 4), which subtly influenced the people who came into contact with him, and depending on the circumstances its effect could vary in intensity. At this moment, delivering a speech from atop a platform with an imposing posture, the effect was particularly strong, and the favorability of the newcomers increased rapidly and silently.
With a kind smile, Orion raised one arm as he concluded his words.
"For now, get some rest. Eat something delicious, and enjoy your freedom. Tomorrow you can begin thinking about the future!"
Orion finished speaking and stepped down from the platform, using Soru to appear beside his uncle Lolo, who, after briefly losing his composure upon reuniting with his long-lost mother, had regained his emotional balance and was ready to get to work.
He was accustomed to ensuring that the will of his nephew Orion—the glorious king of Pacific Kingdom—was carried out without fail, taking care of the necessary dirty work behind the scenes, and this time would be no different. Orion had promised freedom, housing, and assistance to these newcomers, and it was Lolo's job to make those promises a reality.
However, just as Lolo stepped forward and was about to begin giving orders to his subordinates, Orion appeared at his side and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Uncle, let your subordinates handle this matter. We will return home with Grandma."
Lolo immediately stopped in his tracks, and after giving a small formal bow, he stepped back and returned to Bianca's side, who was watching everything that was happening with wonder.
In public places, Lolo always maintained the necessary ceremony and formality when interacting with Orion, because he did not want Orion's image as king or his authority before others to be damaged in the slightest.
Orion had told him several times that it was unnecessary, but Lolo insisted that it was part of his duty as the king's representative within the government of Pacific Kingdom, and in the end Orion had given up trying to convince him to change his ways.
In private, Lolo treated Orion as his nephew, but in public settings he always tried to maintain the utmost formality. Bianca observed the interaction between her son and her grandson—of whom she knew nothing more than his name—and began to wonder what their lives in this place were like, while at the same time starting to form theories about it.
In truth, both Lolo and Orion shared with Bianca the tendency to overanalyze things, whereas Paul was more similar to Mario, who was far more carefree.
Lolo's subordinates began guiding the newcomers out of the inner courtyard in an orderly manner, while Orion spotted Koala in the distance.
Opening a Space Door, he appeared beside her and lifted her into his arms, causing the little girl to let out a small involuntary cry before quickly covering her mouth with both hands, afraid that she would be punished for making too much noise.
Orion noticed her small movements and her nervousness, and he felt a deep sense of pity for her, because her time in Mary Geoise had probably been especially harsh. A child so young behaving in such a way made it painfully clear how much her mind had been conditioned by the terror of her past experiences, and once again Orion swore to himself that one day he would destroy the Celestial Dragons and the World Government.
"Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you. Come with me to my home—you'll be able to eat something delicious there and sleep peacefully," Orion said, trying to appear as gentle as possible so as not to frighten the girl, who was as skittish as a small defenseless animal.
Koala's body trembled slightly, and she forced a wide smile from ear to ear, immediately nodding and promising that she would do whatever he said and would not cause any trouble.
Orion sighed once again, thinking that Koala's condition was truly severe. However, he knew it was not something that could be solved immediately, so he simply remained silent and walked forward with the girl in his arms, returning to where Lolo and his grandmother Bianca were standing.
There would be time for Koala to recover mentally in the future, and with the passing of days she would come to realize that she was no longer in danger—or at least that was what Orion hoped.
With little Koala in his arms, Orion walked back home alongside Bianca and Lolo. Shalria was still sleeping in her grandmother's arms, unaware that the direction of her life had completely changed, while Aria remained unconscious inside the Pocket Dimension.
Orion felt a headache every time he thought about his aunt Aria, who displayed the typical traits of the Celestial Dragons. Reforming her and undoing so many years of upbringing would be complicated, although Orion already had certain plans in mind that he intended to discuss with Lolo and the others later on.
Even so, for the moment he did not want Aria's existence to ruin Bianca's reunion with the rest of the family, so he had no intention of waking her for now, allowing her to sleep peacefully within the small parallel dimension.
On the way to the royal palace of Pacific Kingdom—where Orion's family lived, together with several people he had rescued over the years such as Kalifa and Helsing—Lolo told his mother about the current situation of their family, without going into too many details about the harsh years before Orion founded his kingdom.
For Lolo, the most important thing now was to show his mother the current prosperity of the Lysanders, and there would be time later to delve into the more tragic parts if she so wished.
Meanwhile, Orion used the walk back home to review the notifications the system had sent after he completed the mission of freeing the slaves of Mary Geoise.
This time he had received several rewards, beginning with 20,000 SP, which were added to his reserves to reach a total of 364,000. On the other hand, he had also obtained a new hand-to-hand combat technique, and although he had not yet had time to test it, he knew it was one of the most powerful that existed in this world.
Fish-man Karate was known throughout the world, and Orion was very pleased with this ability, thinking that he could try to combine it with his Rokushiki and his Electro—his other two unarmed combat techniques—in order to generate a powerful synergy between them.
For Orion, who enjoyed training every day, having a new technique to level up was not a negative thing but rather an incentive to work harder and attempt to grow even stronger.
Finally, the last of the original rewards had been an increase in the favorability of all Fish-men—and Merfolk—although he was not certain just how significant the increase was until he visited the Ryugu Kingdom to see it for himself.
He was planning to go to Marineford soon to pick up Gion and then visit that mysterious underwater island. Perhaps with this new buff obtained on this occasion, new opportunities would arise during his visit to Ryugu, which made Orion quite excited about his future trip to the underwater kingdom.
Beyond the three original rewards, Orion had also received two additional ones due to his good performance and high final score. The first of these rewards was an item: Quincy Crown.
Surprisingly, this was a personal item belonging to a Named Character whose name was, fittingly, Quincy. After reading the description of this object within the system, Orion showed a thoughtful expression.
*Quincy Crown: a crown belonging to the Named Character Quincy. If you gift this crown to Quincy, her favorability will increase exponentially.
Special Effect: increases all of Quincy's abilities by 100% and her natural talent by 50%.*
Clearly, this was an item that was only useful for the Named Character Quincy, but the problem was that Orion had absolutely no information about this person and had never encountered her before, which meant that for the moment this reward was completely useless to him.
Even so, Orion did not feel discouraged, since it was, after all, an extra reward. Besides, if he were to encounter this so-called Quincy in the future, it would likely be easy to recruit her if he gained a significant amount of favorability by gifting her the crown.
For a brief moment, Orion recalled the Empress Ring—another object he had obtained some time ago that also had very specific usage conditions. He planned to give it to Boa Hancock, since she was probably the only one who met the requirements to use it—90% or higher compatibility and more than 90 points of favorability.
Orion had not forgotten about this matter, although he had to admit that it was not very high on his current list of priorities. After all, according to the system's standards Boa Hancock had the potential to become a Main Wife, but she was currently only fourteen years old, which meant Orion could not take her as a wife yet.
According to his plans, he would likely go to visit her in a couple of years and bring her the ring, prepared to take her as his wife if possible. Although Orion was very curious about the famous island of women where the Kuja warriors lived, he currently had many other matters to attend to, and so he could only postpone his arrival to that mystical place for a little longer.
Lastly, Orion checked the final reward, which was a recipe for "Gelato Supremo," and as its name suggested, it was simply a cooking recipe. However, the gelato produced from this recipe was supposedly such a delicacy that it could drive any foodie mad with delight.
For Orion, this was the worst of all the rewards he had obtained this time, but he tried to maintain a positive attitude and keep an open mind. In the magical world of One Piece, perhaps there would one day be a situation where he would need a recipe for Gelato—and perhaps that was precisely why the system had offered such a reward.
Orion finished reviewing the system notifications just as they arrived at the royal palace where the rest of his family was waiting. At long last, his grandmother Bianca would be able to reunite with her beloved husband Mario after so many years of forced separation.