September 9, 1498, Age of the Sea Circle
In Pacific Kingdom, Shyarly was trying to reach Orion through their mental connection, although just like in the previous days, she had no success. The link between them had suddenly gone silent over a week ago, which deeply alarmed the little mermaid, who feared something terrible might have happened to her best friend.
On top of that, it wasn't possible to contact Orion via Den Den Mushi either, which meant that those closest to him who had remained in the kingdom were growing increasingly concerned for his safety. Lucky Roux had tried to steal a ship and head out to sea to look for him before being stopped by Giolla.
Giolla had been acting as the de facto queen of Pacific Kingdom, and she knew this was no time to panic. Stirring chaos among the people of the kingdom wouldn't help anyone.
Ginny, who was in the room along with Giolla and Christina, looked at the little mermaid, who had just opened her eyes again, with a heartbroken expression on her face.
"Shyarly, were you able to reach him this time?" asked the leader of the Southern Revolutionary Army quickly.
Shyarly shook her head, pouting. It was clear she was on the verge of tears.
"I'm calling Kumachi and telling him to investigate!" Ginny said abruptly, jumping up from the couch she had been sitting on, intending to grab her Den Den Mushi to call Kuma.
"Wait, Ginny, there's no need to bother Kuma. He's very busy with his current responsibilities in the Revolutionary Army," said Christina, grabbing Ginny's arm.
"I don't care how busy he is! Kumachi would never ignore it if Orion were in danger!" Ginny shouted irritably at being stopped. She didn't want to lash out at Christina, but her desperation made her incredibly short-tempered right now.
"I know, Ginny. Kuma would never ignore a friend in danger. But that's exactly why I don't want you to call him. Right now, he's focused on his role as a leader. If he drops everything to help Orion, it would undermine his authority among his subordinates—especially now that he's still new in that role," Christina said calmly, analyzing the situation.
"But Orion could be in danger! Are you just going to sit there and do nothing!?"
Ginny was truly angry, thinking Christina didn't care about Orion's well-being. As one of his concubines, she should be the most worried, at least from Ginny's perspective.
At that moment, Giolla stepped forward and wrapped an arm around Ginny's neck, trying to soothe her.
"Christina, the way you say it, it's obvious Ginny will misunderstand!" said Giolla with a tone of reproach, causing Christina to raise an eyebrow in surprise, unsure of what she had done wrong. She was a serious woman without much experience dealing with others. Despite having been a Marine captain, her interpersonal skills were lacking.
Seeing Christina's reaction, Giolla sighed and looked at Ginny warmly.
"Don't worry so much about Orion, Ginny. He's fine. I don't know why we can't reach him right now, but I can assure you nothing bad has happened."
Both Ginny and Shyarly looked at Giolla in surprise, and the beautiful revolutionary asked,
"Is that true? How can you know he's okay if we can't contact him?"
"It's hard to explain clearly, but Orion and I have a bond. A kind of spiritual connection. And even now, that connection is still there, so I can feel that he's fine," Giolla said, placing a hand over her chest and feeling her own heartbeat.
Ginny showed a surprised expression, looked at Christina, who was nodding with a face that said "that's the case," and couldn't help but ask curiously,
"Christina… Do you also feel the connection Giolla's talking about?"
"I do. It's a strange but comforting feeling. I'm certain he's okay, so there's no need to bother Kuma and cause him trouble while he's still finding his footing as a leader," Christina answered with her usual seriousness.
Ginny lowered her head, thoughtful, processing the words of the two women. They obviously wouldn't joke about something this serious, so it had to be true that they had a special connection with Orion and could sense he was alright. For a moment, she felt jealous of such a powerful bond that allowed them to feel his presence even across the world, but the thought quickly passed, and she buried it, simply smiling in relief that Orion was safe.
On the other hand, Shyarly puffed her cheeks with frustration, thinking her connection with Orion had always been the closest and most special, since they could speak mentally from anywhere in the world. However, now that link seemed to be failing, and it appeared Giolla and Christina's bond with him was even stronger than hers!
In silence, the little mermaid decided that in the future, she would try to build the same kind of bond with Orion that those two women had, even if she didn't know what that might entail.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, in West Blue…
Little Orion was completely unaware of the conversation taking place among some of the people closest to him, triggered by his sudden disappearance. Right now, he was buying supplies for the journey they would embark on later that afternoon.
After eliminating the group of fanatics, which had included Perona's stepmother, he had no choice but to leave the town to avoid drawing further attention. The robed attackers were part of a secret cult active not only in that city but also spread across nearby islands.
They were essentially a sect that worshipped strange gods and practiced questionable rituals. The idea that Perona was cursed by the devil had originated from this cult, although it was her stepmother's hatred that had initially twisted those beliefs to justify her abuse.
Perona's stepmother also had a tragic backstory. She had been sold into marriage, then drawn into the shadowy cult, and eventually exposed to the authorities who found her at the scene of the battle between Orion and the cultists. In that city, practicing that cult's rituals was illegal, so she was likely to face severe punishment.
Of course, none of that mattered to Orion, who, after fleeing town to avoid trouble, had camped in the woods for two days with Robin and Perona before finally reaching another city on the opposite side of the island.
In this new city, Orion resumed his routine of earning money and caring for Perona to support her emotional recovery. After ten days of affectionate treatment she had never experienced before, the little girl had finally begun to display normal emotions. She had even started to communicate with Orion, though she still struggled to speak clearly.
Seeing her in much better physical and emotional shape, Orion decided it was time to set sail again. His destination: the Medici base in West Blue, and his reason for changing his mind about going there was that the system had finally shown signs of life once more!
Now, the system interface was visible again, though it only displayed a loading bar indicating a reboot in progress. Based on the speed, Orion estimated it would take another week to be fully operational, so in the meantime, he planned to get as close to the Medici base as possible.
Once he finished buying supplies, Orion made his way to the port where Robin and Perona were waiting on a small sailboat. This modest vessel, not much bigger than a rowboat, had been purchased from a local fisherman and would serve as their transport—at least until the system rebooted and Orion could access the boats in his inventory again.
"Ready to set sail?" Orion said with a grin, hopping into the tiny boat.
"Are you sure you can handle sailing…?" Robin asked, a bit worried.
She remembered how hard it had been for Orion to cook a simple meal initially and feared his sailing skills might be similarly lacking, putting them in danger at sea. After all, even though West Blue waters were calmer than the Grand Line's, it was still a treacherous sea, full of pirates and sea monsters.
"Don't worry, I've sailed since I was little! There won't be any problems," Orion replied, giving a thumbs-up with a confident expression that did little to reassure Robin, especially considering he'd said the same thing before burning breakfast nearly two weeks ago.
Orion raised the sail, and with Robin and Perona, he set course for the Medici base.
.......
September 20, 1498, Age of the Sea Circle
After sailing for eleven days, Orion and the two girls finally reached the island where the Medici base was located in West Blue. This powerful family of agents had their tentacles spread across the world, embedded within the ranks of the World Government's loyal dogs and enjoying a status above nearly everyone else—save for the Celestial Dragons, who rarely ventured beyond Mary Geoise.
Orion looked at the system screen and opened the map. Two markers indicated the presence of Named Characters: Alpha (4), Laskey (36).
The little boy was surprised to see those names, as they had been mentioned by Kalifa when she spoke about her family. These two weren't just anyone; they were Kalifa's younger sister and her father, Laskey!
Orion had come here only intending to infiltrate the Medici base and find information on Alpha's whereabouts, so he could "kidnap" her and take her to Pacific Kingdom—fulfilling the promise he made to Kalifa. But he never imagined he'd actually find her here, which was a very welcome surprise!
Now, there was no need for deep investigation—he could just quietly snatch Alpha without alerting the Medici and flee.
Although the system had successfully rebooted and Orion once again had access to his special abilities and normal functions, his adult consciousness had not yet resurfaced—so the child Orion remained in control for now. Still, he could feel that this wouldn't last much longer. His memories were about to be unlocked, marking the return of his adult mind.
The island was now close enough that he could clearly see the town's buildings. Orion stored the boat in his inventory and used the classic Geppo + Pocket Dimension combo to reach the shore.
Once there, he entered the Pocket Dimension again and found Robin and Perona playing with Nibble on the large bed. It's worth mentioning that Orion's little pet had remained completely isolated in the Pocket Dimension the entire time the system was down.
Luckily, the little creature spent most of its time sleeping and barely noticed the situation before everything returned to normal.
"Orion, are you still planning to infiltrate the Medici base?" Robin asked seriously, stretching the tiny creature's cheeks with her hands.
"Yes, but the plan's changed a bit. The person I was looking for is here, so I'll focus on her. If I get the chance to gather information too, I'll take it—but if it's too risky, I'll retreat immediately," Orion replied firmly.
Robin looked at him intently. While she could still see the differences between his childish and adult personalities, she could also tell that the younger Orion had matured quite a bit over the past weeks.
"From what you're saying, I take it you're going alone and leaving me here, right?" she said with a smile.
"Well, you'll be in the Pocket Dimension, so technically you'll be there with me, won't you?" Orion replied, matching her playful tone.
"Ha! Then I'll be watching you closely—if you get into trouble, just call and I'll come save your butt," Robin said, sticking out her tongue and making a funny face.
Over time, Robin and Orion had grown very close—he was the only friend her age she had ever had. With him, she could show a side of herself that she had never revealed to anyone else.
In that sense, she was glad Orion had suffered some backlash from his fight with Moria, which allowed his 8-year-old self to take over—otherwise, their relationship would've been completely different, likely with an insurmountable distance between them, despite the respect she'd had for him from the start.
Orion walked over to Perona and placed his hand on her soft pink hair.
"Perona, I'll be gone for a little while. When I get back, I'll cook something delicious!" he said with a grin.
Perona looked up, and her bright, lively eyes sparkled.
"I want sweets!" she said, grabbing his arm and acting spoiled, to which Orion happily agreed—making her raise her arms in celebration.
The change in Perona over just twenty days was incredible. Anyone who saw her now wouldn't believe the horrible state she'd been in when Orion and Robin first found her. Now, she wasn't just healthy and vibrant—her mental stability had returned. Perona could now express emotions like any normal child, showing that her previous condition had simply been a defense mechanism, not the result of any serious illness.
Once she was removed from the hostile environment and treated with kindness by Orion and Robin, her mental state quickly stabilized. Now, Perona acted like a typical three-year-old—albeit with a growing spoiled streak, since Orion could never bring himself to say no, which had made her a bit overindulged.
In many ways, Perona's situation was similar to that of Kalifa's younger sister, Alpha. Like Perona, Alpha had also begun to develop a distorted personality due to her abnormal environment—though the changes followed different paths. For Perona, it was a defense against abuse. For Alpha, it was external conditioning by her family, combined with her own desire for acceptance and belonging.
Still, in Orion's mind, the distinction didn't matter much. His job was to rescue her—and if anyone got in his way, he'd tear them apart, just like he had done with the cultists and Perona's stepmother when they tried to harm her.
Orion said goodbye to the girls and exited the Pocket Dimension, dashing toward the Medici base in the distance.
This island wasn't private property of the powerful spy family—their base was simply located in a large existing city. It was a strategic point in West Blue, and the Medici had built their base here many years ago.
Orion approached a building that looked like a castle from a distance and used his Space Door ability to enter effortlessly. Once inside, he activated his Observation Haki and used his Distorted Future ability to change his appearance. That way, even if he were discovered, his true identity wouldn't be immediately revealed.
He walked through the base's corridors, avoiding people using his Pocket Dimension, until he reached an inner courtyard where a group of children were practicing martial arts under the watchful eye of a stern instructor.
Among them, Orion immediately spotted a little girl who looked almost identical to Kalifa—and he instantly knew this was Alpha, the one he had come to find.
From a dark corner, Orion watched the scene carefully but didn't make a move to abduct Alpha right away—his instincts warned him not to.
Though he didn't know why he felt uneasy, Orion didn't let his guard down or act recklessly. He just waited patiently for the right moment to act.
Meanwhile, from another shadowy corner, Laskey was watching with piercing eyes in Orion's direction, barely keeping his killing intent from leaking out.
...
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