Alabasta had been saved, but the atmosphere did not improve much.
Even King Cobra of Alabasta collapsed to the ground, consciousness fading, under the casually released Conqueror's Haki, and it was at that moment that they finally understood—Alabasta's victory had never been a complete victory.
But since they had at least secured temporary peace, Alabasta still held a grand banquet for their heroes—the Straw Hat Pirates.
At the banquet, Luffy happily stuffed himself with food, devouring roast meat and rice balls nonstop, yet he failed to notice that aside from him, no one looked like someone celebrating a victory. Everyone wore dark lines on their faces and remained silent.
After a long while, perhaps feeling the silence was too much, Luffy suddenly lifted his head. Still stuffing food into his mouth with puffed cheeks bigger than his body, he stared wide-eyed at the others.
"What's wrong? This food is so good, why aren't you all eating?"
He shouldn't have spoken. The moment he did, several hashtag-like veins popped on everyone's foreheads.
"You idiot!!!"
Nami's fist smashed straight down onto Luffy's head, her expression instantly turning sharp and terrifying.
Even the rest of the Straw Hat crew couldn't help wanting to punch him too.
That line—"Then I'll just send Orin flying too!"—was still echoing in all their ears.
Sure, Orin's personality was relatively easygoing, but only when he had other entertainment to focus on. But if you became his entertainment target—
Zoro the mosshead and Sanji the ero-cook had watched Orin's movements on the seas since childhood; they understood the consequences better than anyone.
He was the "Black Gun," someone even more terrifying in strength than the Hawk Eyes they had faced before—and with an even worse personality!!!
"Why are you all looking at me like that?"
Luffy, face swollen blue and purple from Nami's punches, wasn't even angry. He only scratched his head, still confused.
"You bastard!!!"
Zoro and Sanji grabbed his collar, yelling as they shook him wildly.
"That line about sending Orin flying—HE HEARD IT HIMSELF!!!"
"..."
Luffy froze for a moment, then his mouth opened wide.
"Eh?! Orin is actually in Alabasta too!???"
But unlike the others, he didn't show exaggerated panic. He was only surprised for a moment before returning to normal, face full of seriousness.
"But… if Orin really did what Crocodile said, if he really let his subordinates do so many bad things, then I will send Orin flying!!!"
"Hey!!! Orin!!! Are you here? Can you hear me?!!!"
As he spoke, Luffy even suspected Orin was hiding somewhere in a corner and started searching the air.
Nami and the others hurried to cover his mouth in terror.
"Stop shouting!!! Even if you want to be reckless, there's a limit!!!"
Nami didn't know how strong Orin was, but based on Zoro and Sanji saying he was even stronger than Hawk Eyes from Baratie—that alone was enough to plunge her into despair.
"But aren't we getting stronger too?!!"
Luffy, unusually, didn't give in to Nami. Instead, he spoke seriously—so seriously that everyone froze.
He continued:
"If we can't even surpass Orin, how am I supposed to become Pirate King?!!!"
"It's like Zoro—would he really accept being stepped on forever by Orin's right-hand man, that Hawk Eyes?!"
These words left everyone utterly speechless.
Zoro and Sanji sat in silence. Nami and Usopp wore heavy expressions at hearing such bold words.
Only Chopper, a clueless sea bumpkin, supported Luffy wholeheartedly.
After a long while, the Straw Hats slowly calmed down.
After all, Luffy was right.
If they wanted to fulfill their dreams, they couldn't always fear the powerful obstacles ahead.
Everyone forced down their earlier anxiety.
Yes… no need to worry too early…
Surely they wouldn't meet him that soon.
...
"Fufufufufufu…"
A sinister, suppressed laugh echoed from the other end of the Den Den Mushi in Orin's hand.
Doflamingo was sitting on a flamingo-shaped ship, legs crossed, reporting the situation.
"Yes, Orin-sama. The noses of those World Government guys are sharp. I already tried to keep things low-key."
Blue veins bulged on his forehead—his mood clearly did not match the smile on his lips.
Especially after hearing that the companion whose personality matched his the most—Crocodile—had been thrown into prison again, he was obviously even more upset.
But in front of Orin, he still maintained composure.
"So they found something?"
The message from Doflamingo sounded somewhat troublesome, but Orin wasn't worried. His expression remained calm.
What if they discovered something?
At worst, it just meant tearing off the masks early.
He had long been prepared for that. The ones guarding old Keek were the strongest forces under his command—there was no way CP could abduct him.
Besides, neither the Elders nor Imu would dare do such a thing.
If they didn't kill the old man and instead kidnapped him, the kidnapping would be a joke in front of Orin's Devil Fruit abilities.
If they did kill him, then Orin wouldn't bother playing anymore. He would immediately fast-forward everything straight to the final chapter—no need to wait for Laugh Tale or the massive war.
He would show them what it meant to clear the entire One Piece storyline in one day.
So the only thing Orin worried about was that the World Government's lack of cooperation would reduce his entertainment.
But fortunately, things hadn't gotten too bad yet.
"No… they only found out that we're conducting some experiments related to biological weapons. The detailed information and capabilities are still safe."
"Although after Mihawk arrived, he sliced down several CP0 directly, I'm sure the World Government will still be suspicious. So more trouble is coming."
There was no helping that.
Originally, the World Government sent CP0 just to check things out—just in case—to see what Orin was secretly researching.
It would've ended with a simple inspection, but now that the Shichibukai themselves had been deployed to obstruct them, it only proved the matter wasn't simple.
Because of this, the relationship between the World Government and Orin deteriorated further.
This was also one of the reasons Crocodile was successfully imprisoned in the end.
"Good work, Doffy."
"Fufufufufufu… it's nothing, it's what I should do. I just happened to come to Paradise for some business, so I figured I'd report it."