The scene fell silent for a moment.
Whether it was Roger and the others on the distant Oro Jackson, or Whitebeard and the rest, their bodies bloodied with gaping wounds, all eyes turned toward the figure standing proudly.
At this moment, Orin no longer wore the easygoing smile he often carried, nor the carefree air of smoking at leisure. What remained was only a presence...
A presence that could only be described as overwhelming.
This wasn't Haki like Conqueror's Haki. It was an aura—an innate force.
Around his pupils, black lines radiated with a chilling gleam that swept across everyone present.
Even monsters like Golden Lion, who once claimed to fear nothing and boasted ambitions of ruling the world, were forced into silence by Orin's lone blade and rifle.
It wasn't that they were cowed.
It was because they could feel it—the man before them truly had the confidence to cut them all down.
And confidence like this couldn't be faked.
Golden Lion, Whitebeard, and the others, destined to become sea emperors in the future, had chosen to follow Rocks not just because of his immense ambition or his overwhelming Conqueror's Haki that commanded respect.
The truest reason was his absolute strength—the kind of power that could erase any one of them with ease.
Orin now carried the exact same confidence they had once seen in Rocks. Even if his actual power might not equal Rocks', still...
"A monster of the sea after another..."
Whitebeard's eyes burned with fighting spirit, but he chose not to act.
He had already seen it in that earlier clash—Orin's Conqueror's Haki had directly repelled his strongest strike. That meant his true strength was genuine.
If Orin joined hands with Roger's crew, their captains alone might really be crushed here today.
"Roger can't always rely on such luck..."
Golden Lion had a crude bandage wrapped around him, cigar dangling from his mouth, his expression dark with wariness as he looked at Orin.
For his Float-Float Fruit, opponents like Orin, who could dominate the battlefield, were the worst matchup. His ability would be nearly useless.
"Next time, Roger, you won't escape!!!"
He had long been irritated by Roger's inexplicable luck in escaping. And Orin, of all people, already knew how that would end.
After all—he had participated in the Battle of Edd War.
The atmosphere of the battlefield grew strange.
The Oro Jackson was surrounded by the Rocks Pirates.
Orin stood on their ship, confronting Whitebeard and Golden Lion, while Roger's crew looked on from the edge.
Keek stood among the crowd, dazed, surrounded by eager underlings whose gazes burned with admiration.
If not for the current tension, they might have declared Keek their boss on the spot.
Who would have thought—he had actually managed to wound that terrifying monster who had shaken the entire battlefield?
But Keek himself knew the truth.
When Orin's figure flashed past him earlier, the blade had never even left its sheath.
He stared at the man standing proud with that fierce blade aura, eyes filled with mixed emotions.
Just as the underlings and Roger's crew thought the battle was over, and even Whitebeard and Golden Lion prepared to back down,
A sharp voice suddenly broke the stalemate.
It was a loud, angry woman's voice—not aimed at Orin, but at Newgate, Golden Lion, and the others.
"Hey!!! I'm asking you guys, are you really planning to slink away with the fleet just like that?!"
Following the voice, everyone turned.
It was Charlotte Linlin—the world's strongest woman—who had just been restrained by Orin earlier.
Now she had retrieved Napoleon, rubbing her reddened wrist, teeth gritted as she glared at the Rocks Pirates.
"If you really do that, how will you explain yourselves to Rocks? After all, his order was clear—bring Roger back!!!"
"..."
At the mention of that name,
Whitebeard, Golden Lion, and the others instantly furrowed their brows, exchanging grim looks.
She was right...
Orin was troublesome.
But Rocks was no less so.
And right now, they were still his subordinates. They had no choice but to obey.
The Rocks Pirates, who moments ago were hesitant because of Orin's terrifying Conqueror's Haki and bizarre fruit powers, now turned vicious once more at the mention of Rocks.
"Kakaka—"
At the same time, streaks of Conqueror's Haki, tangible and ferocious, surged forth as jagged black-red lightning.
It split the air, leaping from the sea toward the Rocks fleet.
It was from the Oro Jackson—Roger's crew was moving in fast, intent on standing together with Orin.
The balance Orin thought he had secured shattered instantly—all because of a single name: Rocks.
"Rocks... a very familiar name..."
Just as both sides were about to clash again, Orin raised his hand toward Roger's ship.
"There's no need for this, everyone..."
He swept his gaze across the battlefield, pausing on Keek's face for a moment longer than the rest.
Then, in a firm and commanding voice, he declared:
"Since Rocks insists on war because Roger refuses to submit, then..."
"Let me, Orin D. Dotor, take Roger's place...
And join the Rocks Pirates!!!"
"???"
"!!!"
"... "
"Yeahhh!!!"
"No way!!!"
The moment the words left his mouth, two voices erupted at once—one near, one far.
The distant one came from the Oro Jackson, where Roger stood at the bow, glaring across the waters.
"My son could never join the Rocks Pirates!!! Absolutely not!!!"
He despised Rocks more than anyone. And now Orin was offering to join in his place?
To Roger, this was nothing less than betrayal!
The nearer voice came from Keek, twin blades clutched in his hands.
The instant he heard Orin say his name, he understood.
Why Orin had deliberately let him "win" earlier.
Dotor...
That surname was rare upon these seas.
Could it be...
As if realizing some crucial truth, he turned and shouted angrily at Roger in the distance:
"Roger, you @#%! You're only in your thirties! How could you possibly have a son this old?! And he doesn't even share your family name!!!"
"Orin... He's my brother!!!"