After Gion and the others left the Holy Land and Gunko headed to the God's Knights conference hall for the meeting, Orion—unsure where to go next—made his way straight to the Chamber of Flowers.
Though the Chamber was guarded by heavily armed palace sentinels and hidden watchers, not one single person dared to stop him.
In the garden pavilion, Imu seemed to have anticipated Orion's arrival.
A lavish feast had already been prepared, awaiting his presence.
Yet Imu remained silent, seated quietly at the table with a thick book in hand, engrossed in reading—or at least pretending not to notice Orion's entrance.
"Drop the act!"
Sitting down at the table, Orion picked up his chopsticks and unceremoniously skewered a piece of Water Meat.
"Your performance is terrible. Even if you hadn't seen me, you'd have sensed my presence long ago."
With that, he popped the meat into his mouth, savoring it slowly.
Imu abandoned the pretense, setting the book aside to look at Orion.
"You subdued that thousand-year-old elephant in the New World?"
Orion nodded. "A trivial matter. Nothing to fret over."
"Just... casually?" Imu's lips twitched slightly beneath the veil. "Do you realize Zunesha dates back to ancient times and was commanded to walk endlessly?"
Orion tossed another piece of Water Meat into his mouth, speaking somewhat indistinctly.
"No matter what era it's from or why it was commanded, the moment I subdued it, the past became irrelevant. From now on, Zunesha will become a sharp blade thrust into the New World, a nightmare for any pirate entering its range."
Imu's interest was piqued. "Are you planning to purge the pirates in the New World?"
"Nah, there's no need to rush." Orion waved his hand. "We'll recuperate for a while, replenish the Marines with fresh blood."
Imu nodded. "After the recruitment ends, you'll preside over this year's Reverie. Before that, your status needs to change."
Orion froze.
"How does my status need to change?"
Without further explanation, Imu simply uttered a name.
"Saint Orion."
Hearing this, Orion couldn't help but laugh. "First handing over the treasury, now wanting to give me Celestial Dragon status. What, trying to tie me down with sugar-coated bullets?!"
"No need for that though. As long as you don't betray me and maintain our agreement—'you rule the Holy Land, I call the shots outside'—whether you sit on the Empty Throne or become a god, suit yourself."
With that, Orion put down his chopsticks and stood up.
"I'm full. I'm going for a walk."
Without waiting for Imu's reaction, Orion turned and left decisively.
Hmm?
Just as he turned, Orion seemed to discover something new.
He suddenly turned back and walked up to Imu, looking down at the thick book beside her.
"What's this book? Lend it to me for a while!"
"No." Imu reflexively grabbed the book and held it protectively to her chest.
Realizing her overreaction, she quickly explained, "I haven't finished reading it yet."
"I think I've seen this book somewhere," Orion said, his gaze fixed on the thick volume in Imu's arms, his expression serious.
"I heard it possesses miraculous power—not only can it forcibly form Devil Contracts to quickly build a Devil Legion, but it can also summon weapons like swords and spears from its pages."
Imu's pupils dilated in shock at Orion's unexpected knowledge about the book.
"How do you—"
Before she could recover from her astonishment, Orion abruptly changed the subject.
"Hurry up and finish it, then let me study it!"
With that, Orion left without hesitation.
Even after Orion exited the Chamber of Flowers, Imu hadn't fully regained her composure, staring blankly at the figure that gradually faded into the distance until it disappeared.
Her reaction was understandable—this book was one of Imu's greatest trump cards.
She had assumed Orion knew nothing of its purpose, yet he had deduced its general function at a mere glance.
This meant that to Orion, neither this magic book nor the three Ancient Weapons held any secrets.
*****
With the Marine Headquarters' Publicity Department issuing a global conscription announcement and major news agencies worldwide promptly publishing it, the grand-scale World Military Draft officially commenced.
A new day arrived.
Since Gion was handling the conscription affairs, Orion, who had returned to Marineford, found himself relatively free.
Yet he still maintained his habit of rising early and arrived at the Fleet Admiral's office bright and early.
The office was spotless and the documents on the desk were neatly arranged.
Since some files required the Fleet Admiral's review and signature, Orion wasted no time sitting down.
He picked up a document, reviewed it, skillfully signed his name and stamped it with the official seal of the Headquarters Fleet Admiral.
Before he knew it, the morning had slipped away unnoticedly.
Having finished reviewing all the documents, Orion stood up and stretched his limbs.
Just as he was about to do some eye exercises to relax, a large group photo hanging on the wall opposite his desk abruptly caught his attention.
The photo wasn't the one taken with the Marine Headquarters officers and soldiers after his coup but rather a picture of over a dozen Marine recruits in their new uniforms.
Before Orion could process it, the office door swung open and Gion walked in, carrying a stack of documents.
Spotting this, Orion quickly pointed at the photo and asked, "Gion, why is this photo hanging here? I remember keeping it at home!"
"Huh?"
Gion blinked and explained, "You told me to hang it here—on the very day you replaced Sengoku-san as Fleet Admiral!"
Orion nodded, his gaze lingering on the photo as he murmured, "Six years... If even one of them were still alive now..."
His voice trailed off as his throat tightened.
Silently, he walked over and took the frame down.
Thanks to Orion's meticulous care over the years, the photo looked as fresh as if it had just been created, with every face in the group shot clearly visible.
There were sixteen people in total.
Orion, wearing a Marine recruit uniform, stood in the center, his face bearing a youthful smile.
Having just crossed over into this world, he had instinctively flashed a peace sign.
Flanking him were two towering figures, each over two and a half meters tall, like guardian deities shielding the "smallest" Orion in the group.
And that's exactly what they did.
During their first field training after recruit drills, they encountered a pirate crew.
One of them took a bullet for Orion and died, while the other was pierced through the heart by a pirate's blade while protecting Orion in the chaos.
Throughout that year of recruit training, it was these fifteen comrades from the photo who built a wall of life around him, ensuring his survival.
Because of them, he entered the officer training program a year later, eventually rising through the ranks to become a Marine Headquarters Captain, Rear Admiral, Vice Admiral...
And now, the all-powerful Fleet Admiral of the Marine Headquarters.
After staring at the photo for a while, Orion took a quiet, deep breath and looked up at Gion.
Knowing what Orion wanted to ask, Gion took the photo frame from his hands and carefully hung it back in its original place as she spoke.
"Don't worry. All these years, we've been sending money to their families as you instructed. I can't confirm before I took over, but since then, it's never been interrupted."
After saying this, Gion stepped back two paces after rehanging the frame, raised her hand in a devout salute towards it.
As Orion's most trusted confidant, she naturally knew the relationship and history between him and the soldiers in the photo.
Apart from Orion, the other fifteen in the photo had all sacrificed their lives one after another during missions—each dying to protect Orion when he was still a weakling.
Though they died nameless, their sacrifice was immeasurably great.
For they had successively given their lives to protect the Greatest Fleet Admiral of the Marines.
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