May 23, 1504, Age of the Sea Circle
The following morning, Orion woke up with a slight hangover after spending the entire night celebrating at a banquet with Shanks and his crew, though compared to the pirates, he was actually in fairly good condition, because after all, he possessed the passive skill "Alcohol Resistance"—a result of his encounter many years ago with Vasco Shot—as well as the passive skill "Strong Body," which made his physique more resilient overall.
After preparing breakfast for Perona and the others—ignoring Monet's repeated requests to let her take care of all his basic needs (breakfast)—Orion began his daily training routine, finishing around noon, which was when the pirates finally started waking from their stupor.
After taking a brief bath, Orion spent several hours with Uta playing songs together, something that brought immense joy to the little prodigy, who as always enjoyed Orion's presence beside her to the fullest.
However, this would be the last time they could spend time together like this for quite a while, because today they would be going their separate ways.
Shanks needed to continue his search for the Gomu Gomu no Mi, since this was something extremely important to him and to his future plans, and one could even say it was the cornerstone of the great event he had been planning for years.
For that reason, after everyone shared one final meal together, the pirates bid farewell to Orion and began preparing to set sail once more.
"Now we're heading to the East Blue in search of any clues regarding the Gomu Gomu no Mi," Shanks said, showing his usual lively smile, though Orion could sense a trace of exhaustion in him.
According to what the pirate had told him during the week they had traveled together, they had previously gone to the West Blue—Shanks' birthplace—in search of the Gomu Gomu no Mi, and after finding nothing there, they had traveled to the North Blue, where they currently were.
Their next destination was now the East Blue, and if they failed to find anything there, they would probably head to the South Blue as well, meaning it might not actually take that long before Orion encountered the Red Hair Pirates again.
Upon hearing that Shanks planned to travel to the East Blue from their current location, Orion wondered how exactly he intended to accomplish that, since the Red Line stood between them.
For example, Orion himself had traveled from the South Blue over the Red Line before arriving at the West Blue, and then crossed the Grand Line from there to reach their current location, but he had done so with the help of his wife Olive, who could carry him flying over the gigantic continent surrounding the world thanks to the powers of her Pegasus Zoan Devil Fruit.
However, no one in Shanks' crew possessed Devil Fruit abilities, so Orion found himself curious about how they planned to make the journey, prompting him to ask directly and without hesitation.
"How are you planning to travel to the East Blue? It's a long journey if you intend to use the conventional routes by taking advantage of your identity as a Celestial Dragon."
"Nah, while I'm with my crew, I can't use my status as a Celestial Dragon, because otherwise it'd cause me quite a few unnecessary problems.
Only a handful of people at the very highest level know my identity as part of the Figarland family," Shanks replied without hiding the information, before adding,
"We're simply going to use the deep currents to get there. It's much simpler and faster."
"Deep currents?" Orion asked uncertainly, encountering a term he wasn't familiar with, though he hadn't expected Shanks to show a surprised expression upon hearing his words.
"You… know what deep currents are… right?"
Shanks' bewildered expression only made Orion even more confused than before, but he simply admitted that he had no idea what the pirate was talking about, causing Shanks to smack his own forehead.
"I thought someone with as much information as you would know something this basic, but then again, you're not a pirate, so maybe you're unfamiliar with the concept.
Deep currents are special ocean currents that move beneath the surface of the sea.
They're impossible to navigate without a skilled navigator and precise knowledge about them, because a single miscalculation can send you straight to the bottom of the ocean in an instant.
Even the great pirates of the New World are cautious when using these kinds of currents, but my crew is pretty accustomed to traveling through them to save time, and Limejuice is quite skilled as a navigator."
Shanks explained the concept of deep currents to Orion, then placed a hand on his chin before adding,
"Didn't you have a conflict with Umit some time ago? He's known for using these deep currents to smuggle goods quickly, which is what allowed his company to grow at an explosive pace.
According to rumors, he found extremely valuable information regarding the deep currents, and that's how he managed to achieve something like that, to the point where even the World Government started working with him because of how convenient it was to transport supplies through the deep currents.
Didn't you create your own merchant company to compete with him? I should warn you that it'll be impossible for you to compete against him without knowledge of the deep currents, though perhaps your spatial abilities might allow you to do something about it."
In just an instant, Shanks briefly explained the concept of the Deep Currents, while also analyzing several points that were important for Orion, taking into account the existence of his recently created merchant company, which demonstrated just how much information Shanks possessed about him.
Most likely, if Shanks had not been helping him cover his tracks from the inside, the World Government would have already come looking for him in an attempt to eliminate him, which was rather concerning, considering that Shanks had warned him that he might soon have to abandon his status as a Celestial Dragon.
Shanks seemed to guess what Orion was thinking the moment he saw his solemn expression, and with a relaxed smile, he said,
"Don't worry too much. The only reason I have so much information about you is because I've been paying special attention to you from the very beginning.
Even if I'm no longer in Mary Geoise, you won't run into too many problems. How should I put it… it's not that those guys are idiots, they're just arrogant.
In their eyes, you're nothing more than an insignificant insect, so there's no need for them to pay you much attention.
Maybe that'll end up being their downfall in the future, huh? Just imagine the looks on their faces when you arrive at their doorstep with your armies of kidnapped people gathered throughout the years," said Shanks as he cheerfully patted Orion on the shoulder.
After hearing Shanks' words, who was clearly trying to encourage him, Orion relaxed a little, stopping himself from dwelling on matters beyond his control, and nodded as he said,
"It really is amusing to imagine a scenario like that."
"In any case, it's time for me to go. But let me give you one last gift before I leave," Shanks said energetically before running back toward his ship, only to return a few minutes later.
"Here, this contains the information about the Deep Currents my crew and I have been using. They can't compare to Umit's, but it's a start. Maybe they'll help you in the future."
Orion had not expected Shanks to hand him information that valuable, so for a moment he didn't know how to react, and in the end it was the pirate who shoved the documents against his chest as he said,
"Since when did you become so cautious? Just take it, and now you owe me another favor for the future," said Shanks, before forcefully patting Orion on the back and adding,
"See you around, Orion. Don't go dying before we meet again!"
Shanks leapt through the air, crossing a tremendous distance in a single bound, and within moments he was already back aboard his ship alongside the rest of his crew. Then, without wasting another second, the pirates raised anchor and began sailing toward their next destination.
Standing on the shore of Minion Island together with Perona, Law, Mitsu, and the sisters Monet and Sugar, Orion waved his hand goodbye to Uta and the pirates, who were cheerfully bidding farewell from the deck of the ship as they gradually disappeared beyond the horizon.
Storing the valuable information Shanks had given him inside the system inventory, Orion thought that perhaps the red-haired pirate was not quite as unbearable as he liked to act, but at that exact moment his Baby Den Den Mushi rang, and the instant he answered the call, Shanks' teasing voice echoed from the other side.
"Ah, right, Orion. Since I'm heading to the East Blue now, I'll be passing through Foosha Village. I wonder how Makino is doing? I bet she's grown into a beautiful young woman by now.
What do you think? Should I try seducing her? You don't mind, right?"
Orion's body shrank slightly in size as his Age Change ability lost its effect, while at the same time the young Orion took control of the body.
"Shanks!! You damned bastard! If you lay a finger on Makino, I'm going to fucking destroy you!" shouted young Orion vehemently after hearing that Shanks was planning to seduce his girlfriend.
It had to be understood that, unlike Orion in his adult state, young Orion's romantic experience —who was the version of Orion that emerged when his adult mind and memories from his previous life were sealed away— was far more limited.
Young Orion only had two official girlfriends, one of them being his first love, Makino, and the other his second love, Nico Robin. Even though young Orion no longer surfaced very often, since Orion could now spend almost the entire day with his adult mind active, he still appeared during certain specific situations, such as when talking with Robin or Makino.
Even though both Robin and Makino were currently very far away from him, Orion remained in constant contact with them through near-daily calls using the Den Den Mushi, and he had even convinced Makino and her parents to immigrate to Pacific Kingdom, though he still had not found the time to travel to the East Blue and bring her there himself.
Normally, Orion would not have reacted to one of Shanks' childish provocations, but lately his mental state had been somewhat unstable, and on certain occasions his younger self forcibly took control of the body.
This was because the development of his current body had finally reached the necessary point for his adult mind to completely unify with it, which would mean the "disappearance" of young Orion, although technically that was not truly the case, since they were the same person.
Orion estimated that the complete fusion of both selves could happen at any moment, and he was currently in a stage of instability before it occurred, which made situations like the current one possible.
Even so, Orion did not see it as a nuisance, because he was incredibly grateful to his "other self." After all, it had been thanks to his memories remaining sealed for long periods throughout his childhood that he had been able to integrate properly into this world and form genuine relationships with his parents, something that otherwise would have been impossible for someone with an adult mind.
Moreover, although Orion himself had not fully realized it, little Orion —or rather adolescent Orion now— had also influenced his adult personality, because in his previous life he had been far more cautious and calculating.
Part of the drive and impulsiveness of his other self had slightly changed his adult mind, just as his adult mind had also influenced the accelerated maturity of his younger self.
Now that everything was approaching its conclusion, both personalities would merge together perfectly, and there would no longer be any distinction between his adult mind and his childish mind. It could be said that he would finally become complete within this world.
In any case, all of these concepts were rather difficult to understand, even for Orion himself, who always tried to remain pragmatic and avoid thinking too deeply about such matters unless it was strictly necessary.
"Hahahaha! Don't get angry, Orion, it was only a joke… Or maybe it wasn't? Hahaha, I guess we'll see what happens."
Clank.
Shanks abruptly ended the call, and young Orion gritted his teeth in irritation, thinking that Shanks truly was a bastard after all!
A few minutes later, Orion's adult mind regained control of the body, and he sighed bitterly while thinking that Shanks could be genuinely irritating at times.
Even so, he knew the pirate had actually been joking with his comments about seducing Makino, but even if he had not been joking, Orion was not particularly worried about it, since Makino's favorability stood at 90 points, which proved that her feelings for him were not so fragile that they could be destroyed so easily.
Still, Orion thought that he should add the trip to the East Blue to his schedule in order to bring Makino and her family to Pacific Kingdom, although he would probably have to wait until the following year to take care of it.
Finally, Orion took out one of the sailboats he stored inside his Pocket Dimension and once again began sailing through the waters of the North Blue together with his companions, who were now also joined by Drake, although the boy would only remain with them until they reached the next inhabited island.
Orion had one final stop to make in the North Blue before returning home, and it was a last-minute decision, because while traveling toward Minion Island, a marker had appeared on the system map, indicating the presence of a Named Character called Basil Hawkins on a nearby island.
He wanted to go take a look at this Named Character, and if he possessed the proper talent and personality, recruit him into his forces. He could not allow the opportunity to recruit people with great potential to slip away, since they would become pillars in his future struggle against the World Government.
"It would be nice to find someone with great talent for navigation, and with a good sense for money," Orion muttered as he steered the sailboat in the direction marked on the system map.
He had just obtained extremely valuable information from Shanks, but the problem was that he currently had no subordinates skilled enough to put it to use, and most likely any of his soldiers who attempted to use the Deep Currents would end up dead.
Perhaps only he himself, and maybe some of his more experienced wives such as Olive or Christina, would be capable of using these underwater routes, so it would be ideal to find a genius in that field who could personally handle the matter, and perhaps even train other people to do the same.
Besides possessing great talent for navigation, it would also be convenient if this person were skilled with money as well, because in that case Orion could directly place them in charge of his merchant company, Timu.
At the moment, the company was operating very inefficiently under two separate leaders. In the South Blue, it was being managed by Nayana, the de facto minister of economy of Pacific Kingdom, while in the West Blue it was under the control of Capone Bege.
However, both individuals had inherent issues that made them unsuitable as long-term pillars of his commercial enterprise. Nayana simply lacked the talent necessary to compete on such a massive scale, while Bege had been recruited through the use of absolute force, which meant he was not a subordinate Orion could trust in the long term, something reflected in his low favorability score.
It was highly likely that the mafia boss was currently plotting ways to betray him while extracting as many benefits as possible, and Orion had never intended to treat him as a core member of his forces.
For now, Orion's plan was simply to keep him under control and make him work for him while he remained useful, and when the time came, he would eliminate him without hesitation before the mafioso could stab him in the back.
Although Orion was trying to make this world a better place, he was not a saint, nor was he afraid to dirty his hands with these kinds of maneuvers. To begin with, the only reason he had chosen this course of action with Bege was because the mafioso's morality was completely corrupted, and it was impossible to reform him into a "good citizen."
It could be said that Bege was practically a dangerous psychopath, but at the same time he was talented, so Orion planned to make use of his talents for as long as possible, and later simply dispose of him once he became too uncontrollable.
"Sigh… It would be nice to find a great talent in navigation and commerce, but I doubt it'll be that easy to find someone like that," Orion said with a sigh, before setting those thoughts aside and focusing on sailing toward the island where Basil Hawkins was located.
…
Meanwhile, two other ships were also heading toward the same island Orion was sailing toward. One of the ships resembled a large raft, bearing a rather peculiar jolly roger that displayed three skulls upon it.
Aboard this raft-ship were Blackbeard and his crew, who, after fighting against Shanks a few weeks earlier, had gone to recruit Doc Q, only to discover that the gloomy boy they were searching for had already left the place.
After that, they had sailed through the waters of the North Blue searching for clues regarding Doc Q's whereabouts, finally managing to trace him after discovering one of the villages he had ravaged during the previous days.
Now, they were certain that Doc Q was nearby, and were traveling toward the closest island to see if they could find him there.
Meanwhile, the other ship heading toward Hawkins' island was much smaller, and there was only a single person aboard it: the very same Doc Q whom Blackbeard and his crew were searching for.
He drifted aimlessly with the wind while reading medical books he had acquired on the previous island, and scattered across the deck of the small ship were the corpses of a fisherman family, the original owners of the vessel he was now traveling on. They had become little more than piles of rotting flesh whose appearance was difficult to distinguish due to the multiple diseases the gloomy boy had used to infect them as part of his experiments.
Very soon, an incident would occur on the peaceful island where Hawkins lived.
...
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