April 11, 1498, Age of the Sea Circle
"Attention, move slowly and no pushing, please! Respect the order of the line!" Ginny shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth to amplify her voice.
They were currently in a small village in the southern part of Sorbet. A large portal stood imposing and mysterious in the center of the town, as the villagers entered it one after another, in an orderly fashion.
Many of them carried luggage with them, though nothing too large. Orion had told them to bring only their most important belongings; everything else would be left behind.
This scene, of course, was the exodus of people from southern Sorbet to Pacific Kingdom, through Orion's Space Gate.
It had been nearly a week since the transport had begun, and they were still only halfway through the population they planned to evacuate.
After discussing it with his allies and consulting with his uncle about how to settle the people with minimal issues, Orion had gotten to work on the relocation.
Due to the great exhaustion that came with transporting large groups such a long distance—between Sorbet and his kingdom—Orion had no choice but to move the population gradually. They had been doing it nonstop for nearly a week, and Orion was completely drained.
With the help of Kuma and Ginny, who both had impeccable reputations in the area, Orion had managed to convince many to emigrate; though many others still refused to abandon the place where they had lived their entire lives.
After eliminating the squad of soldiers six days earlier, the king had started paying closer attention to the south of the kingdom, afraid that the people were organizing to rise against him. For that reason, Orion had ordered Lucky Roux and Christina to serve as a distraction, causing chaos in the northern region and keeping the royal army occupied as long as possible.
The two had publicly declared themselves as the killers of the soldiers and had announced that their objective was to take the king's head, terrifying Bekori, who then focused all his efforts on finding and eliminating them.
Lucky Roux and Christina had been very busy causing all sorts of disturbances in the flashiest ways possible, and they'd successfully drawn enough attention away from the south to allow Orion to begin the massive evacuation.
"Are you okay, Orion?" Ginny asked with concern, approaching him and wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.
Transporting large numbers of people was incredibly exhausting and consumed a huge amount of mental energy, but with Orion's current power, the fatigue was bearable.
"I'm fine, Ginny, don't worry," Orion replied with a smile, keeping his concentration on his task: maintaining his Space Gate active.
The people entered the portal little by little, and after nearly an hour, no one remained in the area. Once again, one of the villages in southern Sorbet had become a ghost town.
This time, the number of people Orion had to transport was quite large—he estimated around 6,000 individuals. This was considerable for his small kingdom, whose current population was barely 2,900.
That's why his uncle Lolo had been stressed and buried in work these past few days. Accommodating so many people at once wasn't easy and could cause the entire situation to collapse if not handled carefully.
Regardless, Orion had no intention of leaving these people defenseless behind, and he had put his faith in his uncle to handle it. Lolo, in turn, had no choice but to obey his king's orders and devise the most effective plan to resolve the issue.
The reason Orion was relocating people in such a short time frame was that the situation in the Sorbet Kingdom was deteriorating rapidly. He feared that if he didn't act quickly, many of those he hoped to evacuate wouldn't live long enough to make it.
Once everyone from the village had been transported, Orion sighed, completely exhausted, and stretched his arms. He felt an uncontrollable urge to sleep, and his eyelids began to droop.
This was the third village he had evacuated today, and even though the sun was still high in the sky, he wouldn't be able to continue using his Space Gate unless he rested a bit first.
Ginny approached silently and lifted him onto her back, letting him sleep peacefully on her shoulder. This had become their daily routine over the past week, and she was used to handling Orion's fatigue this way.
Because maintaining the Space Gate was so draining, Orion didn't use his Age Change ability to remain in his adult form. Throughout the whole process, he had stayed in his natural form—that of an eight-year-old child.
Ginny walked back to the church with a beautiful smile on her face. Every so often, she'd reach up and pinch Orion's cheek, stretching it a bit, which made him look quite funny. She never got tired of it, and each time she did it, she laughed out loud at his squirrel-like cheeks.
Just as they were about to reach the church, Orion's Den Den Mushi began ringing insistently, waking him reluctantly.
He pulled the little snail from his pocket and answered the call. Immediately, Giolla's worried voice rang out loud and clear:
"Orion! We've got a problem, the Marines came for Rouge!"
Orion instantly snapped awake and, without hesitation, opened a portal to return to Pacific Kingdom. If he allowed anything to happen to Rouge and little Ace, he would never forgive himself and would be betraying the promise he made to his master Roger to protect his family in his absence.
Orion jumped through the Space Gate, and Ginny, who was right beside him, leapt in before the portal could close!
She had acted without thinking. The moment she saw the worry on Orion's face and how he disappeared through the portal, she felt something inside her pushing her to follow him.
Curiously, she was able to pass through the Space Gate without issue, despite not receiving Orion's explicit permission. The two of them fell through the space-time tunnel for several long seconds, until they finally appeared in the central plaza of Pacific Kingdom.
Seeing that Ginny had followed him here, Orion approached her and placed a hand on her cheek to ask if she was alright. Of course, there had never been any issue with people crossing the Space Gate, but when it came to Ginny, Orion couldn't help but worry more than necessary.
"I'm fine, Orion. Sorry for following you so suddenly—I wasn't thinking…" said Ginny, thinking he might be angry with her for her actions.
But Orion smiled in relief when he saw she was perfectly fine and gently caressed her cheek.
"It's okay, Ginny. I'm glad you came. You can get to know the kingdom ahead of time."
Then he straightened up, using his Age Change ability to assume his adult form despite his fatigue, and added:
"Sorry I can't show you around, but I have something urgent to take care of. Wait here for me, Ginny."
Orion looked in the direction of Pacific Town and used Soru to rush to his house at full speed. Meanwhile, he opened the system screen and saw two new markers on the map: Monkey D. Garp (55), Bogard (36).
There was even a notification indicating that someone had forcibly crossed the Mysterious Fog in the bay.
Normally, anyone wanting to cross the Mysterious Fog had to obtain his authorization; otherwise, it would be impossible, and they'd wander aimlessly in the mist without finding the path to the island.
However, if someone's Haki level was high enough, things changed: they could use their powerful Haki to dispel the mist!
That was clearly the case with Garp, whose monstrous strength allowed him to cross the Mysterious Fog with ease. Thinking about the Marine legend his master Roger had spoken of so often, Orion felt a sharp headache, but at the same time, his worry eased a little.
Given what he had heard about Garp from Roger, it was unlikely the man had come with the intent to harm Rouge and Ace. That wasn't the kind of person the Marine hero was.
Still, the reason for his visit was unclear, and Orion couldn't help but imagine several negative scenarios as he sped toward his home.
After a few minutes, he finally arrived at his front door—but before he could approach the entrance, a figure appeared suddenly like a flash, and Orion had no choice but to draw his cutlass in defense.
Clang!
The two blades clashed with force, sending sparks flying.
Orion felt the immense power behind his opponent's strike and couldn't withstand more than a second before being launched like a cannonball into the distance.
He crashed into a tree, completely shattering it, but luckily suffered no injuries thanks to his body, which was far tougher than a normal human's.
Orion slowly stood and looked at the figure staring at him with crossed arms. The man had a serious expression and wore a very formal suit. The elegant hat on his head gave him an extra touch of character—he looked like one of the early film stars Orion had seen in his past life.
"Hmm. You're pretty decent with the sword," said Bogard, eyeing Orion with a hint of approval.
Orion's lips trembled slightly, thinking that if he hadn't been good enough, he would've been sliced in two by this nonchalant Named Character!
"Who are you? What are you doing at my home?" Orion asked, glaring.
Even if Bogard wasn't showing hostility, the fact that he was standing guard at his house couldn't be ignored. This was where his precious family lived. With the pride of a monarch he had been developing, Orion couldn't allow such a powerful stranger near his home without permission.
Even if he had to sacrifice everything, he wouldn't let anyone cross that line—his dignity wouldn't allow it!
Bogard saw that Orion was watching him seriously and would likely act if he didn't receive a satisfying answer. He decided not to keep teasing him. After all, they hadn't come to stir up conflict or cause trouble with the people here.
"I think you already know why we're here. Garp came to see your master's son, just as he promised he would," Bogard said plainly.
The Marine's words didn't calm Orion; quite the opposite. Right now, he didn't have enough power to confront someone like Garp. If the Marine decided to take Rouge and Ace away, Orion wouldn't be able to stop him.
"Then I'd better go greet the Marine hero," said Orion, sheathing his cutlass and walking toward the front door, where Bogard stood.
This time, the serious Marine didn't get in his way. He simply stepped aside to let him pass. In the current situation, he wasn't playing an active role. He was just a supporting actor accompanying Garp and had no right to interfere like Orion, Roger's apprentice, did.
Orion walked past Bogard without a word and opened the door to his house. Just as he was stepping inside, the Marine's voice echoed in his ears once more.
"By the way, I didn't expect you to have your master's sword. It's a real treasure."
Orion gripped the hilt of his cutlass silently and kept walking, leaving Bogard alone at the entrance with his arms crossed, surveying the surroundings with boredom.
Upon entering the house, Orion immediately saw his family gathered in the living room: his parents Paul and Lira, his grandfather Mario, his two younger siblings Sofia and Dante, and little Helsing.
As for Kalifa and Hototogisu, they were in the heart of the kingdom, where they spent most of their day working. Shyarly was helping the fishermen, and Giolla had given instructions for Shyarly to be taken to her house and hidden as soon as she returned.
She didn't know what the Marines' intentions were, and she didn't want them to discover a mermaid's presence here, as she feared they might try to capture her.
"Son!" Lira said, running to hug him.
She hadn't seen him in months and had missed him dearly. Seeing him again, she couldn't hold back her emotions and ran into his arms.
"Mom. I'm back," said Orion gently, hugging her with affection.
The twins ran to hug him too, and Orion had to lift them in his arms to calm them down.
"Where's Giolla?" asked Orion, looking around for the beautiful artist.
"She's in Rouge's room with the Marine…" said Paul, nodding in that direction.
The family didn't really know what was going on with the sudden arrival of the Marines, but they were always alert when an officer showed up, as most of the time, their visits meant bad news for regular people.
Besides, Giolla had been quite alarmed when Garp arrived, even calling Orion to return immediately, so the Lysander family suspected the situation was serious.
Orion nodded at his father's words and set his two younger siblings down.
"I'm going to see what's going on. Don't worry—you can go on with your routine," said Orion with a smile, and quickly made his way to Rouge's room.
He entered without knocking, and the moment he crossed the threshold, he felt a massive pressure on his shoulders—as if a mountain had landed on him, trying to crush him like an insect.
Orion clenched his teeth and withstood the monstrous pressure, which dissipated a few seconds later without a trace.
Covered in a thin layer of sweat, Orion focused on the imposing man standing with crossed arms in the room: Monkey D. Garp.
Garp was looking at him with a furrowed brow, deep in thought, and his eyes seemed to glow. Orion felt as if Garp's gaze could see right through him, like it could uncover all his secrets. It was an unsettling sensation that made him uncomfortable and a bit irritated.
Suddenly, his 'Prism Eyes' ability activated involuntarily, and a dense black light covered the Vice Admiral's body. Orion didn't fully understand how the ability worked, but he instinctively knew what that light meant: Death.
To him, Garp represented an extreme danger—someone who could easily erase him from existence if he wanted to.
For Orion, who after years of training had reached a high level of power—strong enough that few could compare to him in these South Blue waters—the presence of a being like Garp was humbling.
It would be a lie to say Orion wasn't proud of his growth—he had even begun to grow a little complacent. So suddenly facing Garp was like a cold shower, a harsh reminder of just how far he still had to go if he wanted to reach the pinnacle of this world.
If he truly wanted to change the world, his power would have to surpass even Garp's. He still had a long road ahead.
Suddenly, Garp's expression relaxed, and he stopped frowning. He burst out laughing and said:
"Hahahaha! You're not as weak as Roger said! I thought you'd pass out from that level of Haki!"
"Fuck! Why do these Marines have such a need to test me in violent ways?!" Orion thought, outraged.
Both Bogard and Garp had attacked him the moment they saw him—and though they didn't intend to hurt him, they could've seriously injured him if he'd been a bit weaker. Couldn't they be a little more moderate?! Orion wondered.
Of course, Bogard and Garp had only used a tiny fraction of their power. Otherwise, Orion wouldn't have stood a chance and would've entered his next reincarnation cycle.
"My master told me about you, Garp," said Orion, slightly bowing his head in greeting.
Garp looked at him in surprise and burst into laughter again.
"Hahahaha! You're way too polite—I can't believe you're Roger's disciple!"
Hearing Garp's words, Orion remembered the time he'd spent with his master years ago, how Roger used to tell him he was too formal and needed to relax and live freely.
A warm smile spread across Orion's face, catching Garp off guard mid-laughter. Seeing that expression, Garp nodded slightly in approval.
"It's good that you're here. Your name is Orion, right?"
"That's right," Orion replied, returning from his memories, and added, "May I ask the reason for your visit this time, Vice Admiral?"
Garp uncrossed his arms and, taking a step forward, looked Orion straight in the eye and said:
"Simple. This time I've come to take this woman and the child with me—so it's good you've arrived, so you can say goodbye to them."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees, and Orion narrowed his eyes, staring intensely at the Marine hero who was no longer laughing.