May 26, 1497, Age of the Sea Circle
Orion looked at the map and saw that they were near the island where the Named Character Hototogisu was located.
They had been sailing for a day and a half and were finally about to arrive.
Along the way, Orion didn't encounter the pirates who had attacked Yukimura's village, so it was likely that they had already reached the island where Hototogisu lived. He could only pray that her village hadn't been completely wiped out.
Orion walked across the deck of the ship, and his eyes fell on a little girl sitting in a corner with her head bowed.
This crimson-haired girl was Helsing, whom the system had categorized as a follower with excellent potential.
Orion opened one of the new screens he had unlocked yesterday when he had used the Insight Card on Helsing. On this screen, some basic information about the little girl now appeared, as well as some notes about her talents.
The Insight Card was a consumable item that could only be used once per person. Upon doing so, a screen with information about the person was created in the system, and Orion could access that information at any time, which was extremely useful for him as he was on the path to building his own faction.
The information he had obtained by using the card about Helsing was somewhat brief for his liking, but the system had indicated that the information received could be improved in the future. However, it hadn't explained how.
Orion surmised that perhaps the system needed to be updated again before he could obtain more comprehensive information, but he was still happy with the reward he had received for completing this 'hidden mission'
In addition to little Helsing, Orion had used two more Insight Cards to create information sheets for Kalifa and Yukimura. Once he saw the basic information the system offered about them, Orion drew up some plans in his mind to facilitate the development of these precious Named Characters he had recruited.
Kalifa was far superior in talent to Yukimura, and if she trained enough, she would surely be one of the most powerful people in his faction in the future. However, for the moment, Orion didn't plan to have her train.
He wanted her to live quietly for a while, and when she grew a little older, she could begin serious training.
It turned out that Kalifa's talent in espionage was truly spectacular, but she also had great talent for combat, teaching, governing a territory, and more. She was truly a prodigy in every sense of the word, and he had been very fortunate to be able to meet her and recruit her to his cause.
On the other hand, Yukimura's talent was much more limited, focusing primarily on combat, more specifically on swordsmanship. So that would be the route he would have him follow when they returned to Pacific Town.
Finally, little Helsing also had great talent in swordsmanship, which was on the same level as Yukimura's. So Orion was thinking that in the future he would have to recruit a good instructor to teach both her and Yukimura.
The elegant figure of the geisha swordswoman Shimotsuki Ren, whom he had met when he visited Gion, crossed his mind, and he thought that perhaps he could visit her and try to convince her to join his faction in the future.
In addition to her talent for the sword, there was another point that stood out in the information the system provided about Helsing: she was extremely loyal. Once she recognized someone as the object of her loyalty, it was practically impossible for her to betray him.
This was a point that Orion considered fundamental when making future plans. These were the kind of people he could trust to take important positions in the future, as he wouldn't have to worry about being stabbed in the back.
Helsing wasn't a Named Character, so her favorability hadn't initially appeared on the system screen. But after using the Insight Card, the little girl's favorability had appeared on this generated information sheet.
Helsing's favorability was currently 50, indicating that Orion still had a long way to go before he could gain her loyalty.
He also had the Favorability Coupon, which he had obtained as a quest reward, and which allowed him to increase anyone's favorability, but he didn't plan to use it on Helsing.
After all, the little girl was now in his care, and he could certainly increase her favorability naturally. It was better to hold on to that precious item and use it on someone who was impossible to reason with or who hated him for no apparent reason.
Helsing was 7 years old, making her the same age as him, though a couple of months younger, her birthday falling on April 15th. She had already been an orphan before the pirate attack. Her mother had died during childbirth, and her father had never been there in the first place.
No one in the village knew who her father was, and it was rumored that he was a pirate who had raped her mother during a previous attack on the village. She had grown up in the care of the village leader, who had raised her along with other orphans in his home.
During the last pirate attack, her adoptive father had been killed, and the house where she lived had been burned to the ground, leaving her with nowhere to return.
Interestingly, Orion hadn't recruited Helsing from her home village, but had rescued her from one of the pirate ships whose crew he had annihilated in recent days.
She had been held prisoner along with other children and women. Although she had suffered mistreatment, at least she hadn't been sexually abused by the pirates, which in this world could be considered a miracle.
If Orion hadn't wiped out the pirates and freed her, she would likely have been sold into slavery, as that was one of the pirates' ways of making easy money.
Slave selling was a widespread practice in this world, and almost nowhere could people escape this scourge.
He closed the system screen and approached Helsing, who was still sitting alone in a corner. He had spoken to her yesterday after discovering she was fifth on his list of promising talents, but hadn't been able to get her to say much.
She was an introverted girl and had also suffered significant trauma recently, so it was understandable that it was difficult to get her to open up to a stranger like him.
His plan for connecting with her was simple: be patient.
If he continued to interact with her little by little, he would eventually break through her defenses.
Orion, who was in his natural form, sat down next to her and said,
"Hello, how are you?"
They had spoken yesterday, and he had introduced himself, though he had gotten no response from the girl.
Helsing looked up slightly and saw Orion sitting next to her, looking at her with a smile.
She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but eventually lowered her head again without responding.
Orion noticed when she looked up that there was panic in her eyes, and she seemed afraid of him.
He wasn't impatient with the girl's behavior. He looked thoughtful and finally took his drawing materials out of his inventory.
"Do you like to draw?" Orion asked, placing a notebook next to her as he took another and began to draw a portrait of the girl.
Helsing didn't move, continuing to keep her head bowed, not daring to look up. The sight of this little girl, trembling with fear, was truly heartbreaking, but Orion wasn't planning on just walking away. Even if it was a little uncomfortable for her, she had to start interacting with other people. After all, humans couldn't live alone.
After a few minutes, Orion finished his drawing and gave it to Helsing, who reflexively took it in her hands.
Seeing the image of the smiling girl in the drawing, Helsing had a hard time understanding that this was a portrait of her.
Throughout her life, she had suffered all kinds of mistreatment, and she had probably never smiled as happily as she appeared in the portrait Orion drew.
"I have to go. We're almost at our destination. Whenever you want to talk, you can come find me," Orion said with a friendly smile as he stood and prepared to leave.
Helsing took him by the sleeve of his shirt and said timidly,
"Th- Thank you... for the drawing."
Her voice was soft and almost imperceptible, but Orion heard it loud and clear.
He was immediately pleased, because this was a major breakthrough. At least the girl no longer refused to utter a single word!
"If you like, I can draw another one for you tomorrow," Orion said cheerfully.
This time Helsing didn't speak, only timidly nodding in response to his words.
Orion left the scene, taking on his adult form and going directly to find Yukimura, who was looking into the distance where an island had begun to appear.
However, this island wasn't in the peaceful state it should be during the night; instead, it was incredibly active.
In the distance, columns of black smoke could be seen rising, illuminated by the moonlight. The fire, spreading ever wider, gradually engulfed the island; cannon fire flashed from both directions. Everything formed a chaotic scene in the distance.
Orion could see three large ships, and recalled the time he had wiped out part of Scarlet Blaze Blake's fleet, rescuing little Ina and the other captives.
Yukimura watched silently, his eyes red and his fists clenched. The wounds Orion had treated the day before had reopened due to the teenager's involuntary movements.
Orion approached and placed a hand on his shoulder, saying,
"Come on, Yukimura, it's time for your revenge."
With a wave of his hand, he opened a door in the air and threw the teenager inside the Pocket Dimension. Then, he used Geppo to advance toward the island.
Looking at the burning island, he thought bitterly that he hadn't made it in time, though at least he hadn't arrived so late that he found a pile of ruins.
Orion ignored the pirate ships, where a large crowd was still present, and headed straight for the island. The most important thing now was to minimize the damage to the civilians and ensure that Hototogisu was safe.
He landed directly in the village and immediately eliminated the surrounding pirates without giving them time to react.
Then he used Soru and dashed at high speed toward where Hototogisu was.
Along the way, he encountered a large number of pirates committing all sorts of mischief, and of course, he couldn't simply ignore them.
"Thirty-six styles, Roaring Dragon Sword!"
Orion launched a massive attack and completely destroyed a group of five pirates who were raping a defenseless woman. Then, without pausing, he put the woman into his Pocket Dimension and used Soru to appear in front of another group of pirates and eliminate them.
The level of these pirates wasn't too high, or at least not high enough to compete with his current strength, which had grown exponentially after his training in Guanhao and the acquisition of the two sources of power.
In reality, the level of these pirates was quite high for the South Blue and was similar to that of Scarlet Blaze Blake's crew, which he had eliminated with great difficulty almost a year ago.
The pirates soon realized an enemy was among them, annihilating their comrades, and they quickly notified their captain.
The scene became much more chaotic, with Orion reaping the lives of the pirates, who, now that they had identified him as an enemy, were alert and offered minimal resistance.
A volley of bullets was fired at Orion, who simply used Tekkai to harden his body and employed the strategy he had used against Charlotte Effilée: using his inventory offensively!
He could store the bullets flying toward him in his inventory and then release them again, returning them to his enemies, who were caught off guard by the sudden change in direction of these bullets, unable to react in time.
After all, normal pirates didn't have the same reaction speed as Orion or Effilée, and faced with a shot traveling at full speed, they had no choice but to close their eyes and pray.
In truth, projectile attacks were completely ineffective against Orion, unless he was taken by surprise, overwhelmed by a large number of projectiles, or the attack used Armament Haki.
Otherwise, it was impossible for a simple attack like a bullet or any other projectile to damage him.
Perhaps if he had to face a high-caliber weapon that fired continuously like the ones in his previous life, he would have trouble defending himself, but fortunately, in the world of One Piece, the firearms used by pirates and people in general were quite rudimentary.
Despite using his inventory to absorb the shots, he didn't have enough free space to do so in large quantities, and he was only able to redirect a small portion of the bullets. The rest impacted his body but couldn't penetrate the defenses granted by the combination of Tekkai and Steel Skin.
The pirates present saw some bullets bounce harmlessly off Orion's body, while another bunch were thrown back at them, and they immediately felt their legs go weak in fear.
This pirate crew was one of the largest in this area, and they had faced all kinds of enemies and seen all kinds of strange things, so they knew they were no match for Orion.
The only reason they hadn't started fleeing yet was because their captain was on his way, and they were confident he could defeat this strange individual standing before them.
Yukimura watched the situation unfold from within the Pocket Dimension and felt a great thrill as he saw the pirates he had slaughtered time and time again in his dreams being eliminated like insects by Orion.
He knew the person he had decided to follow as a subordinate was very strong, but seeing him in action, he realized that his estimation of Orion's power had been far too low!
With the level Orion was displaying, he would likely have no trouble dominating the South Blue if he transformed into a pirate.
Or at least he could earn a place among the strongest pirates.
After all, truly powerful pirates didn't stay in the South Blue; they headed to the Grand Line, seeking new horizons, chasing the One Piece or other grandiose ambitions.
Orion was moving at high speed through the group of pirates, eliminating a large number of thugs at surprising speed, when suddenly a figure fell from the dark sky, landing in the middle of the battlefield.
"What's going on here?! Who the fuck are you?!" shouted the pirate captain, who had arrived responding to the call of his subordinates.
Orion looked at the man closely. This pirate was very tall, at least as tall as his Master Roger, who was taller than a normal person; his hair was dark blond, almost brown, and was long and tangled, forming dreadlocks.
While this pirate didn't seem as imposing at first glance and definitely didn't seem as depraved as Blake, there was something that immediately caught one's attention: his body was completely covered in ropes!
That's right, this pirate captain was a Devil Fruit user, and he had eaten the Nawa Nawa no Mi, turning him into a 'Rope Man'
Orion looked at a pair of ropes emerging from his waist and extending several meters into the distance. There were a large number of people bound by this pirate's ropes, and looking more closely, he could see that all the captives were women!
Perhaps he had been too hasty in concluding that this pirate wasn't as depraved as Blake.
"Are you a deaf son of a bitch?!" roared the pirate when he saw that Orion had ignored his questions and immediately launched himself at him, using his ropes to gain mobility.
Orion didn't move from the spot and watched as the pirate captain approached with a swirl of ropes around him.
Just as he was about to be caught by the ropes the pirate had thrown, Orion opened a door in the ground and disappeared without a trace.
The pirate saw Orion's powers and knew he was facing another Devil Fruit user. He immediately ordered his subordinates to adopt an improvised attack formation, preparing to suppress him with the power of their numbers.
Suddenly, he felt himself lose connection with one of his ropes. The rope extending from his waist and trapping the women he had declared as his belongings had been cleanly cut, and the women were gone!
Orion, who had brought the women to safety in his Pocket Dimension, reappeared, opening a door in the air.
No hiding, no complicated tactics. For an enemy of this level, there was no need for such delays; he could simply suppress him using brute force!
He cracked his knuckles, looked at the surrounding pirates with a smile, and said,
"Very well, let's continue. Are you ready to be punished?"