December 9, 1495, Age of the Sea Circle
At the Marine base on Murano Island.
A Black Den Den Mushi intercepted the communication between Orion and the Charlotte sisters.
The marine officer in charge of transcribing the intercepted messages hurriedly rose from his chair with a sheet of paper in his hand. On it were the contents of the conversation in which Orion asked the Charlotte sisters to go find Galette, as well as the coordinates of the island where they were located.
This was important news!
Vice Admiral Grodiger had been enraged by the theft of the Devil Fruit, which he wanted to use to curry favor with the world government, as well as the sudden disappearance of Charlotte Galette, whom they had taken prisoner.
He had given explicit orders to use all available resources of the South Blue marine to find the culprit.
Who would have thought that just twelve hours later, the culprit would have revealed his own location in a completely irresponsible manner? No experienced criminal would reveal his location so explicitly! It was simply an invitation to the marine.
Of course, Orion had no idea the Black Den Den Mushi existed, so he didn't even bother encoding his message to the Charlotte sisters. Even if he had known, he might not have had the presence of mind to try to cover his tracks, as his mental condition hadn't been entirely good when he made that call.
The Marine rushed to report the news to his immediate superior, who in turn relayed the information directly to Vice Admiral Grodiger.
Grodiger, who was searching for any trace of Galette and the Devil Fruit in the opposite direction in which Orion had escaped, exploded in anger upon hearing that the person who had robbed him from under his nose had now sent such a message, and he thought it was a direct challenge to him. In his twisted mind, Orion was simply saying, "Yes, I'm here. What are you going to do about it?"
He immediately gave the order that any ship in the vicinity of the coordinates he'd obtained was to go and capture the culprit. Then, he began heading to the location himself. Right now, he was a bit far away, but if his subordinates could buy him a little time and prevent the thief from escaping, he could finally arrive and teach him a lesson.
He would never forgive him for making a fool of him. He would make sure that damned thief, whoever he was, knew the consequences of his actions.
The large marine ship began to move forward at full speed, cutting through the waves like a knife. On the deck, Vice Admiral Grodiger stared at the horizon with a sinister and grim expression. His emotions were brewing, and they would explode the moment he reached his destination. It was not advisable to anger a vice admiral.
.........
Orion slowly opened his eyes, his mind still confused.
Suddenly, a great pain invaded him, and he couldn't contain a cry of pain.
"Aaaargh! Duck! It hurts so much!"
Galette, who was sitting nearby, heard the boy's voice and saw the expression on his face, immediately realizing that he was the child version of the strange man.
During the hours since Orion lost consciousness, she had been thinking about everything that had happened during the journey.
Now that she was certain the strange man had no ill intentions toward her, she began to consider the words he had said.
She clearly remembered that after the man's personality changed and he became like that of a child, he had told her he had two personalities.
At the time, she hadn't believed him, but now she didn't rule out the possibility that this was true, and she had decided to move forward with this theory in mind. After all, it would explain the man's strange behavior.
She approached Orion, who was screaming like a pig being slaughtered, and looked at him with disdain, her arms crossed over her chest, her posture haughty.
"Do you really have to cry over those wounds? Are you a man? Pathetic!"
The little girl's melodious voice, speaking such brutal words, made little Orion feel his pride hurt.
How could he not be a man? He would be a great hero in the future and would help the world. How could he allow his good name to be tarnished just like that?!
He immediately stopped screaming, gritted his teeth, and said with some difficulty, "It really doesn't hurt."
Galette saw Orion's aggrieved expression, who was trying his best not to appear vulnerable, even though his eyes were glazed over and his mouth was pouting, and she couldn't help but laugh out loud.
In the eyes of Charlotte Galette, a girl who had grown up among the most brutal pirates, little Orion's innocent attitude seemed novel and refreshing... And cute.
She laughed for a moment, then crouched down beside him and placed a hand on his head.
"Don't move too much. I bandaged your wounds as best I could, but it was the first time I'd done it, and it didn't turn out very well. Your fever's gone down, so you should be fine. As for the pain, you're going to have to bear it like a man!"
Orion looked at his body and saw that it had indeed been bandaged sloppily using pieces of cloth , and the wound caused by the sea serpent on his neck was no longer visible as it had been before he fainted.
He tried to switch places with his adult self, but there was no response. He had obviously reached the time limit, and little Orion would have to wait to be able to switch places with him again.
Now the situation depended on him. He had to be responsible and take charge of completing the mission to return Galette to her family.
He focused his mind on the system screen and saw that his passive skill "Poison Resistance" had advanced to level 1. This made him very happy, as he hadn't had to spend points to increase its level!
"Hey, are you listening to me? Don't you know it's rude not to answer when someone is speaking to you?" Galette said, somewhat annoyed at being ignored by him.
"Oh, sorry! I was thinking I had to hurry up and help you get back to your family," Orion replied without thinking too much.
Galette trembled slightly at his words, and her face suddenly blushed a little.
"I don't need you to worry about me! In your current state, you should be worrying about your own health! Besides, didn't you say you weren't 6 yet? I'm already 6, so I'm older than you! If anyone should be worried, it's only natural that I should be worried about a little kid like you!"
Galette's favorability rating, which had been at 70, increased to 71.
If Orion's adult mind were present, he would undoubtedly be surprised by how easily the girl's favorability increased now that she no longer considered him an enemy.
Galette was a person who, once she recognized someone, easily generated an increasingly positive opinion. It was a trait that had developed in her as a result of her upbringing, and several of her siblings shared the same trait.
"Age has nothing to do with it. You can't stop me from worrying about you. Even if you don't want me to, I'll still worry and take care of you!" Orion said stubbornly, trying not to be outdone in his reasoning, unaware that his careless words were like a large hammer hitting the little girl's heart.
Favorability Rating: 73
"Hmph! Idiot," Galette said, almost whispering.
Orion didn't listen to her; he simply lay on the sand, staring up at the spring sky and trying to endure the pain that came in waves every time he took a deep breath.
He remembered his other self leaving him a message telling him to try to be nice to Galette and form a friendship.
He looked at the little girl standing next to him, her arms still bound in the Kairoseki cuffs, crossed over her chest, staring at him.
How could he improve their relationship? He remembered his interactions with his best friend, Gion, and decided to try things that had worked for her.
"Galette, you're really cute, we should get married." Little Orion wasn't the greatest thinker. He simply used his most powerful attack without giving it much thought.
Galette was petrified. What was this stupid bastard saying?!
How could he even talk about marriage... Although it might not be impossible. But her mother probably wouldn't approve it.
She blushed up to her ears and said in an aggressive tone.
"Stupid! Don't talk nonsense! Do you think anyone can marry me? You have to at least become a great pirate before you're worthy of being my husband! But if you're serious… Increase your power and I'll think about it."
Galette had started her response aggressively, but as she spoke, her voice grew softer and softer, and her face grew redder and redder. Little Orion didn't pay much attention to the changes in the girl's expression and continued.
"Of course I'm serious! You don't have to worry about my power; in the future, I'll be the strongest in the world! But I'm not going to be a pirate. Pirates are evil. When they attacked my village, many people died. I could never be a pirate. I want to make this world a better place. Someday, I'm going to make it possible for the people of this world to live full and happy lives!"
Galette listened to the boy's firm voice and his serious words, and the blush on her face subsided, but her heart began to beat faster. She had to admit that at this moment, Orion seemed to shine with a light of his own; the handsome boy was truly charismatic, at least in the mind of the already almost convinced Galette.
The girl's favorability rating suddenly rose to 85. The girl's feelings had been sublimated in that moment, completely changing her perception of him.
"Well... Then, I'll wait for the moment when you're strong enough and come looking for me. If you're not strong, my mother won't accept it."
"Don't worry, I always keep my promises!"
"I hope so, because if you change your mind and break your word, I'll look for you even if you hide at the ends of the earth, and I'll destroy you!"
"Haha, I already told you not to worry, why are you so distrustful? Ouch!"
Orion, who hadn't paid any attention to the vicious threat hurled by the little girl, responded naturally and was lightly punched by Galette on the shoulder, causing his eyes to immediately fill with tears once again.
"Anyway… Why did you suddenly make that decision? Wh-what do you like about me?" Galette asked, her voice slightly trembling as she blushed again.
Orion continued speaking without thinking.
"Well, you're very cute! I especially like your horns; they look really cute. Ouch!"
Again, he received a blow to his injured shoulder.
Galette covered her cheeks, which were completely pink, and felt her heart pounding. All her life, she and her twin sister had been discriminated against for their physical appearance, even by the rest of her family, whom she loved.
Because they were a cross between two species, both she and her sister, Poire, had unusual features. In her sister's case, it was her large mouth and powerful teeth, and in her case, it was the horns that protruded from her head like antennae.
For years, she had endured countless taunts about her horns, but this was the first time anyone had ever told her they were cute. Her heart pounded at the reaffirmation of her natural features, which no one had ever offered her, and her favorability rating took another giant leap, reaching 89.
Watching her favorability skyrocket, Orion thought his method was undoubtedly the right one! After all, that's what had worked for Gion too, giving nice compliments was the way to go!
The little boy's mind hadn't analyzed the matter too deeply, and when his adult mind awoke and saw the actions of his childish self, he could only sigh bitterly, thinking, "Why are you trying to start a harem at six years old?!"
The two children continued talking about their respective lives and getting to know each other a little better. Orion opened the map to see the Charlotte sisters' location and discovered with surprise that they were very close and would likely arrive in the next few minutes.
However, he also noticed something strange: on the island where they were currently located, there was a mark, indicating that another Named Character was there!
Little Orion was about to see the information about this new Character, but before he could, a group of marines appeared running across the beach at high speed, carrying their weapons and looking fierce. They clearly didn't have good intentions.
Galette reacted immediately and helped Orion to his feet, intending to escape. She was being suppressed by Kairoseki's handcuffs, so she couldn't do anything against this group of marines, and Orion was in a terrible state, so the only option was to escape.
A shot suddenly rang out, and a bullet was fired at their feet, in front of them.
It was a warning shot; if they tried to continue their escape, the marines wouldn't hesitate to shoot them mercilessly.
Orion saw the 58 SP he had in reserve and made a decision. He placed a hand on Galette's shoulder and said with a smile, "Don't worry, Galette, I'll protect you."
It was one of the few times he wasn't trying to sound cool, and he had succeeded unintentionally. Galette's eyes widened and he grabbed the hem of his clothes in fear. She was afraid he would overexert himself and his injuries would worsen.
Orion simply removed the girl's hand gently and patted her comfortingly. Then, his body began to grow into its adult form.
It was time for him to prove that he, too, could fight, just like his adult self!
Orion kicked the ground with immense force, sending a significant cloud of beach sand billowing upwards, obscuring his position
The soldiers immediately opened fire, but Orion had already moved to another location, carrying little Galette away in the process.
Despite the great pain he felt from his wounds, he took up his sword and performed one of his techniques.
"Thirty-six styles, Roaring Dragon Sword!"
The sword in his hand truly seemed to roar, and without much opposition, he cut down nearly a dozen marines.
However, Little Orion wasn't as decisive in his attacks as his adult self, and the injuries these marines suffered were superficial.
Orion knew he couldn't fight in his adult form for more than five minutes with the SP he had, so he directly attempted to destroy his enemies' firearms and damage their legs to reduce their mobility.
The attacked marines fell one after another, and the situation became desperate. Little Orion, now in his adult form, was like a wolf in a flock of sheep. There was no way they could stop him.
One of the soldiers who had fallen to the ground with a minor wound saw that the situation was unfavorable and immediately spotted Little Galette in the distance. She was wearing Kairoseki's cuffs, so she was weakened. The Marine grabbed his weapon, which hadn't been destroyed by Orion, and opened fire, shooting the little girl in the distance.
Fortunately, the shot missed. But Orion noticed the Marine's treacherous attack and immediately approached Galette, intending to push her further away from the battlefield. Some of the Marines around him followed their comrades' example and opened fire on the defenseless girl.
Galette closed her eyes, but didn't feel the pain of the bullets hitting her body. Instead, she only felt a warm liquid hitting her face.
She slowly opened her eyes and saw Orion, whose battered body had protected her from the bullets fired by the Marines.
Several bullet holes appeared on Orion's body, and the blood gushing from them dyed his clothes red.
Galette's eyes filled with tears, and she angrily tried to run toward the Marines, who had momentarily stopped firing, to fight them. But Orion grabbed her arm and shook his head, signaling her not to act recklessly. If she tried to attack the Marines, she would only be harmed in vain.
Orion reverted to his child form, having exhausted almost all of his SP. He only had 8 left.
Meanwhile, Galette watched with resignation as the Marines advanced steadily along the beach and began to surround them.
Just as they were about to be captured by the Marines, a drastic change occurred on the battlefield.
Several Marines' heads suddenly rolled to the ground, unable to even make a sound before dying. Several others suddenly began to "dry out" until they were completely mummified, and some simply flew through the air, every bone in their body pulverized.
The Charlotte sisters had arrived!
"Who dares touch my little sister!" Compote said with a scream that sounded almost like a roar.
"Time to clean up the trash," Broyé said indifferently.
While Smoothie said nothing and continued using the Marines as mobile juice boxes.
Orion sighed in relief when he saw that the Charlotte sisters had finally arrived, and collapsed to the ground again, completely exhausted.
Galette crouched down beside him with concern and checked his wounds, making sure his life wasn't in danger.
A few moments later, all the Marines present on the beach were brutally slaughtered by the three sisters, who managed to release some of the pent-up anger they had.
Then, they saw their little sister Galette, her eyes brimming with tears, hugging a seriously injured little boy.
Compote took a step forward.
"Galette, are you okay? We were worried sick." The older sister's tone was filled with affection.
Galette saw that her sister had come closer and said somewhat excitedly.
"Sister, hurry up and help Orion with his wounds. He was the one who saved me from the Marines."
Compote looked at the little boy in her sister's arms and her eyes remained indifferent. In Compote's eyes, anyone who wasn't family was unimportant.
However, seeing her little sister's tears, she decided to comply with her request.
She waved her hand and ordered her subordinates to attend to the child.
Then, she looked at him and said,
"You're the one who called me in the den den mushi? What do you want? Why did you save my sister? Make your request."
Compote's tone was completely indifferent. In her opinion, the only reason the strange boy in front of her had risked his life to save his sister was to obtain some kind of reward from his mother, and as the leader of this expedition to the South Blue, it was her responsibility to take care of this matter.
Orion simply shook his head and said:
"No reward is necessary. But can you give me a boat? Mine was destroyed on the way."
Little Orion obviously didn't want a reward from her; after all, the system would give him a large reward when Galette was out of danger. How could the system's reward compare to Compote's? What Galette's older sister could offer simply wasn't appealing to his childish mind.
Hearing his words, Galette's tears began to flow down her cheeks again, and her favorability rose to 93.
Compote stared at him for a few seconds with her cold, penetrating gaze, then finally nodded and said,
"Very well, then we'll leave you a boat before we leave."
After saying this, she turned and walked back towards her ship. Without looking back, she added,
"I owe you one. Come on, Galette, it's time to go."
The subordinates who were tending to Orion's wounds finished their first aid and left the scene immediately, following their captain.
Galette saw Orion, who was lying on the sand, completely exhausted, and her eyes showed a hint of reluctance. Now that the time had come, she didn't want to say goodbye to him, but she knew this was the end of their brief time together.
She hugged Orion affectionately and kissed him on the cheek. Then, somewhat shyly, she said,
"I'll be waiting for you to come get me!"
After saying this, she ran off at high speed. She wanted to get away from him as quickly as possible, before her desire to stay together made her do something crazy. With her older sisters around, she couldn't get too close to him, or she might endanger him.
And just as she feared, Smoothie, who was watching their interaction from a distance, raised her eyebrows in surprise at seeing her sister kissing the little boy. She immediately approached Orion and took his arm. Then, without giving him time to react, she began to suck his life energy.
Orion's arm began to mummify, as if it were a raisin. Meanwhile, Smoothie looked at him with a big smile and said,
"Don't think you're worthy of my sister. If I see you near her again, I'll kill you without a second thought!" There was a maniacal tone in her voice. She wasn't a normal little girl.
Suddenly, Orion's eyes, which until then had been pristine and pure, took on a depth that didn't belong in a child's eyes.
Broyé, who was standing in the distance, raised her eyebrows slightly and moved at high speed, grabbing Smoothie by the scruff and pulling her away from Orion.
Smoothie, who had been thrown by her sister like an old rag, complained indignantly.
"Hey! What are you doing, sister?! Don't tell me you approve of him getting close to Galette. We have to put him in his place so he doesn't get any strange ideas!"
Broyé didn't respond to his little sister's accusations. She simply pointed down and said:
"You've become careless, Smoothie. You have to avoid being so arrogant in the future if you don't want to have an accident."
Smoothie looked in the direction her sister was pointing and saw that her dress had been cut in two, leaving her bare torso completely exposed.
She gave a cry of surprise and saw the little boy lying on the sand in the distance.
His left arm was almost completely mummified, and a sword had appeared in his right hand, giving her a strange sense of danger.
"You're welcome, Smoothie. If I hadn't moved you out of the way, you would have been cut in two," Broyé said calmly, as if she were talking about any ordinary event.
Smoothie saw the little boy's icy eyes and shivered involuntarily. Then she felt a great shame; she had never received such humiliation from someone she considered an inferior being.
Smoothie took a step forward, intending to attack Orion again, but Galette, who was in the distance, shouted angrily.
"Smoothie! Don't hurt him or I'll never forgive you!"
Smoothie paid no attention to her younger sister. In the Charlotte family, her status was much higher than Galette's, and she had no reason to listen to her.
However, before she could launch an attack, Broyé stepped in her way, and without saying anything, grabbed her by the head and threw her forcefully into the distance.
Smoothie flew at high speed and crashed hard onto the deck of the Charlottes' ship. If she didn't have a body much stronger than an ordinary human, she would have died from the impact.
Broyé looked at Orion on the ground and then looked trepidatiously at some nearby bushes. Finally, she took a small box from her clothes and placed it at Orion's feet.
"This time you've done us a big favor. If you need help in the future, you can contact me using the den den mushi in this chest. I also left my vivre card in there."
Broyé said nothing more, simply turning around and retreating toward the ship in the distance. Compote stood motionless in the middle of the beach, frowning at the nearby bushes. Only when all her sisters had boarded the ship did she breathe a sigh of relief and speed away.
Orion watched the Charlottes' ship depart, and he promised that one day he would teach Charlotte Smoothie a lesson!
A notification indicating that he had completed the mission sounded in his mind, and Orion finally breathed a sigh of relief. The mission was finally over.
His adult mind had just awakened a few moments ago, when his younger self was being cruelly abused by Smoothie, and less than ten minutes had passed, and he was already on the verge of fainting again.
His heavy eyelids slowly drooped, and Orion once again fell into a deep sleep.
A few minutes later, a large group of marines approached imposingly. At the head of the group was Vice Admiral Grodiger, who had finally arrived at the scene after traveling at full speed.
Seeing all the marines massacred on the ground, and the complete absence of little Galette, a large vein appeared on the vice admiral's forehead, and his fists creaked from the pressure of clenching them tightly.
Grodiger saw the little boy, who was the only person present on the beach, and his anger clouded his judgment. His efforts to gain merit with his superiors in the world government had been thwarted, and someone had to pay for it.
Grodiger was not a kind leader. On the contrary, he was a vile and narrow-minded man.
His arm turned to mud and fell heavily on the little boy, covering his face and burying him. Someone had to pay for his anger, no matter how stupid it was.
Orion began to choke on the mud blocking his face, but his mind was completely asleep, and his body remained motionless. He had no choice but to die pointlessly at the hands of a stupid but powerful man. Countless people had suffered a similar fate throughout history. That was a trait of this world, where the weak were at the mercy of the powerful.
Grodiger was unleashing all his anger on the helpless little boy, under the complicated gaze of his subordinates.
Not all marines were trash. In fact, the vast majority of them truly wanted to improve the world. It was simply the system that was corrupt, and positions of power usually fell to those who aligned themselves with the despotic vision of the world's owners.
Just as Orion was about to die, a huge wave of energy rippled across the beach.
The marines began to fall one by one, unconscious. Finally, only Grodiger remained standing under the great pressure of the energy wave.
Or at least he remained standing for longer than his subordinates.
Finally, even the vice admiral collapsed, unconscious on the soft sand of the beach.
A figure slowly emerged from the bushes, scratching his head.
"I honestly didn't think the Marines would have sunk so low as to attack a defenseless child. And the level of their troops seems to be deteriorating! This guy is a vice admiral like Garp, but he still couldn't withstand that level of Haki. It seems the Marines will have a hard time maintaining control in the future."
The man approached the child and lifted him off the ground, taking him in his arms.
Seeing the unconscious boy's face, he couldn't help but smile.
"This is a good seed. I liked what you said about trying to make the world a better place! Young people have to have big goals if they want to go far!"
He began walking toward the small boat the Charlotte sisters had left at Orion's request, muttering in a barely audible voice, "I don't know where this boy was planning to go, but with his injuries, it's dangerous to leave him here. Never mind, I'll take him with me to Baterilla, and then when he wakes up, we'll see what happens!"
The man placed the boy in the boat and began rowing toward a distant island.
On the beach of this small, uninhabited island in the South Blue, a large number of mutilated marines littered the ground, while an equally large group remained unconscious for hours.
This small beach would go down in history for the events that had occurred that day. And the encounter that had just taken place would slightly change the course of history, probably leading to a better future. Although only time would tell.