The first half of the Grand Line, Paradise.
On the deck of the training ship, the sun was shining brightly, and the sea breeze was gentle.
Zoro, shirtless with sweat soaking his green headband, was using a massive anchor as a barbell for weighted squats.
His heavy breathing was distinctly clear on the deck.
On the other side, Ace and Sabo were sparring, but their minds clearly weren't on the match.
Their eyes kept drifting toward the distant horizon, as if anticipating something.
It had been nearly a week since they left the North Sea and entered the Grand Line, yet they hadn't even spotted the shadow of a pirate ship, let alone encountered a merchant vessel.
For a group of young men thirsting for battle and glory, this was nothing short of torture.
"I'm so bored—!"
Luffy lay sprawled on the deck with a blade of grass in his mouth, weakly complaining.
"Not even a single pirate in sight! I want meat, meat, meat~!"
Just then, his gaze fell upon a figure sitting cross-legged in the corner.
Basil Hawkins.
Ever since being "captured" and brought aboard the ship, Hawkins had become the most peculiar presence onboard.
He was neither a crew member nor a prisoner.
Aside from eating and sleeping, he spent his days sitting alone in the corner, fiddling with his worn-out Tarot cards.
Luffy's eyes lit up.
He sprang up from the ground like a carp leaping out of water and dashed over to Hawkins, plopping down right in front of him.
"Hey! Fortune-teller! Don't you know how to predict the future?"
Hawkins didn't even lift his eyelids.
Luffy paid no mind and poked his arm with a finger.
"Quick, tell me when we'll run into some pirates? Preferably the really strong ones!"
Hawkins slowly raised his head, his perpetually dead-fish eyes fixed on Luffy, his voice devoid of any emotion.
"The probability of you continuing to disturb me is one hundred percent."
"Ooh! One hundred percent!" Luffy clenched his fists excitedly. "Does that mean it's happening soon? Awesome!"
Hawkins: "…"
He decided to ignore this guy whose thought process was anything but normal and lowered his head again, focusing on his cards.
But Luffy wasn't one to give up so easily.
"Hey, just one reading! Just one!"
"Do I need to pay? I don't have money, but I can share half of my meat with you!"
"Your cards don't look very fun. Want to play with mine instead?" Luffy said, already reaching into his pocket to pull something out.
Hawkins finally had enough.
He took a deep breath and put away his Tarot cards.
"What do you want me to divine?"
"When we'll get to fight!" Luffy grinned.
Hawkins' actions quickly caught the attention of a few idlers on the ship.
"Wow! Is Hawkins performing magic?" Chopper trotted over on his short legs, his eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"Chopper, that's called divination—the ability to foresee the future!" Usopp followed behind, putting on a know-it-all air.
"Let me see, the great Captain Usopp will judge whether your predictions are accurate!"
Franky also came over, striking his classic "SUPER" pose, his muscles practically glowing.
"Oh! Are you going to divine whether I'm just as SUPER today?!"
Surrounded by the group, Hawkins expressionlessly reshuffled the cards and smoothly spread them out on the deck.
He closed his eyes, his fingers hovering over the cards before finally settling on one.
...
Meanwhile, in the lounge chair area at the stern.
Orion was resting with his eyes closed, enjoying the grapes Hancock was feeding him.
Morgan approached quickly, holding a Den Den Mushi in the middle of a call, his expression somewhat odd.
"Fleet Admiral."
He briefly reported the intelligence just relayed from the Holy Land.
"Oh? The old and new Celestial Dragons are fighting?" Orion opened his eyes, a playful smile curling at the corner of his lips.
"Seems the Holy Land has been quite lively lately."
"More than just lively!" Morgan clenched his fist, his face brimming with eager excitement. "If my subordinates were there, it would be even more chaotic than this! We'd definitely make those self-proclaimed gods taste true cruelty!"
Orion smiled faintly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Just then, a startled exclamation came from the other end of the deck.
"D-death rate—one hundred percent!"
Everyone turned to look.
Hawkins was staring at a Tarot card he had just drawn, his forehead covered in cold sweat.
On the card was an armored skeleton riding a white horse, holding a banner, with countless fallen corpses beneath its feet.
[Death]
"One hundred percent? What does that mean?" Luffy scratched his head, completely confused.
"Could it be... we're going to encounter a hundred enemies this time?" Chopper guessed.
"Idiot! A one hundred percent death rate means we're all going to die!" Usopp clutched his head, tears instantly streaming down his face, his legs shaking like they had motors attached.
At these words, the expressions of Ace, Zoro, Sabo, and even the haughtily standing Vinsmoke siblings changed.
Trafalgar Law also suddenly opened his eyes and looked toward Hawkins.
"Don't be ridiculous," Sanji leaned out from the kitchen, his face full of disdain.
"With Fleet Admiral Orion here, who could possibly kill us?"
"Exactly," Ichiji snorted coldly. "This kind of cheap fortune-telling can only fool idiots."
Hawkins ignored everyone's comments.
He didn't believe it himself either.
Although he had only known about Orion through newspapers before, ever since this Fleet Admiral emerged and swept through the Grand Line with overwhelming force, he understood that there were almost no powerful beings in this world who could threaten Orion.
Let alone achieve an unprecedented one hundred percent death rate for the entire ship.
There must be some mistake!
Hawkins took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
He quickly collected the Tarot cards, reshuffled them, and performed another reading.
This time, his movements were more solemn and slower.
When he tremblingly turned over the final card, his pupils suddenly contracted to pinpricks.
The result was exactly the same.
The death rate remained one hundred percent!
Now, Hawkins didn't dare to be careless in the slightest.
He scrambled up from the ground and rushed over to Orion, quickly reporting the divination results.
"Your fortune-telling is absolutely inaccurate!" Before Orion could speak, Morgan firmly denied it from the side.
"The Fleet Admiral is the strongest in the world! In today's seas, the only ones qualified to be Fleet Admiral's opponents are that Whitebeard in the New World and Red-Haired Shanks!"
"However, even if those two joined forces, they couldn't defeat Fleet Admiral! Your one hundred percent death rate is nothing but a joke!"
Of course, Orion didn't believe it either.
His power had long reached the pinnacle of this world.
As long as he was on this ship, no threat could possibly exist.
Still, just in case, he slowly closed his eyes.
Ultimate Observation Haki silently spread out in all directions from the training ship, instantly covering hundreds of miles of sea.
The sea surface was calm and peaceful, with clear skies stretching for miles.
But deep in the unfathomable ocean depths, the situation was completely different.
Several immense auras, unimaginably vast like leviathans from the deep sea, were converging at an astonishing speed from different directions, heading straight toward the training ship!
Sensing these auras, Orion frowned slightly.
They were merely a few super-sized Sea Kings.
Though their size was exaggerated, they were far from enough for Hawkins to predict a 100% mortality rate.
Even if there were a hundred of them, he could easily handle them.
There must be another reason.
With a hint of doubt, Orion opened his eyes and calmly said.
"Everyone, prepare for battle."
"A few big ones are swimming up from below."
"Big ones?"
"Are they Sea Kings?!"
Upon hearing the order, the trainees immediately entered combat stance, awaiting Orion's command.
Only Usopp and Chopper were already hugging each other in terror, tears and snot smeared across their faces.
At that moment—
BOOM—!!!
The sea surface several hundred meters away erupted without warning!
A colossal shadow, large enough to blot out the sky, burst through the sea amid an ear-splitting roar, churning up monstrous waves!
It was a massive sea serpent-type Sea King of indescribable size!
Just the half of its body above the water stood a thousand meters tall, its enormous head nearly touching the clouds, casting a shadow that completely engulfed the entire training ship!
On the deck, all the trainees stared up at the "big one" Orion had mentioned, their expressions varying—some were shocked, while others drooled greedily.
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